30 Day Challenge - Additional Motivation

I wasn't completely honest about the 30 Day exercise challenge. I said it was about health and trying new things, but it is also about the charity 5k I signed up to do in November.  I haven't done one in a long time, and I really don't want to be the last person crossing the finish line. 

I know that the purpose is to raise awarness and money for Leukemia research ( a very good cause - and if you want to help, there's a donation widget on the right - thank you) but it's humiliating to be the slowest person out there. Besides if I'm advocating for health, I should try to be healthy, right?

And progress is being made. I am getting a little faster. My legs don't hurt as much now as they did in the beginning. Don't get me wrong: I'm not going to start tracking my shoe mileage and worrying about lactic acid build-up in my legs anytime soon. (I know some serious runners - they keep telling me this stuff.) But I want to finish a 5k without completely embarrassing myself. A modest enough goal, don't you think?

Current Events

All I can think of right now is the protests going on in the Muslim world.  I'm wondering how much of it is really about Islam. Can people really get this upset about a badly-made film, produced on the other side of the world, that almost nobody has seen? The protesters have publicized the film far more than the makers managed to do.  Or is it really an excuse to yell at Americans?

If it really is about blasphemy, wouldn't it only really matter if the people making the film were Muslim? But since the people making this film are infidels who by definition are going to hell anyway, what does it matter? Doesn't Allah have the muscle to stand up to a few idiots and a bad movie?

It's like being upset that somewhere, someone is not thinking the way you do. And that's a given, even among the faithful, since everyone hears a message in their own way. The only way to be certain there are no dissenting opinions is be the only person on the planet. And that would be pointless.

If it's an excuse to yell at Americans, it's an unfortunate choice, because attacking embassies and killing ambasadors over a movie makes them look unbalanced. I'm not saying there aren't reasons to protest American involvment, there are, but this is a lame one.

Anyway, sitting here typing isn't going to solve anything. Back to our regularly scheduled happy fluff next week.

80's flashback

I have nothing to say today, so I'm just going to leave you with a joke.

If you don't get this, you are too young.  For the original click here.  Happy Wednesday!

Playing with my camera: The Orange Show

If you live in Houston, you've heard of The Orange Show, one man's incredibly quirky, theme park tribute to his favorite fruit.

It's been about a decade since I last visited. It's basically the same. Brightly painted, full of odd remnents and self-taught welding.

He obviously never met a tile remment he didn't like, or a tractor seat.

It's oddly romantic, filled with hearts and even a wishing well. (No. I won't tell you what I wished for. It won't come true if I tell you.)

But the real news is that on the land next door, they are building Smither Park, which looks like it's going to be The Orange Show to the 3rd power. It is going to take a while to finish (mosaic is not a rapid process), but I had a blast looking around.

 

This is going to be unbelievably beautiful when they finish.



Love the cat at the angel's feet, and that the wings are covered with keys!



I'm not sure what this little creature is, but I love the way they used pool balls for eyes.

I was speaking with one of the volunteers/artists and they do accept donations, so if you want to help build the park, go to their website: http://orangeshow.org/about-smither-park/

An anniversary

Today is the 47th anniversary of that most iconic of television shows: Star Trek.

I love Star Trek. I am not the kind of person to make costumes and hang out at conventions (although I would love to have my own tribble) but I just love the show, in almost every version (DS9 - meh). I love the optimism, the humor, the technology, the thrill of the unknown, it's just so freakin' cool. Stephen Fry has said  that "most of human history and art can be expressed through Star Trek plots." (link here) and I quite agree.

Even better, there's going to be a new movie in 2013! and Benedict Cumerbatch is playing the bad guy! The Star Trek movies are notoriously uneven, but even at their worst they are not as ponderous as Lucas's re-working of Star Wars. (way to kill a good franchise, George)

Google seems to share my sentiments, making their doodle for today an homage to Star Trek. 

 Fun Fact: Brent Spiner (Data) is from Houston, Texas.

Live long and prosper y'all!

Update: 30 Day Exercise Challenge

Two weeks ago, I said I was going to exercise every day for the next 30 days. I know you are just quivering with anticipation. Did she do it? Did she lose momentum over Labor Day weekend? Did she sit on the couch and watch bad movies instead? And the answer is...

I have exercised for at least half an hour, every day, for the past two weeks. I know, this is only the halfway point, but still. I have exercised every day for two entire weeks. I am committed.

Do I enjoy it? No. Every time the way-too-cheerful guy at the gym wishes me a good workout, I want to kick him. But I still go. Partly because I swore I'd do it and partly because I'm trying to change the way I look at exercise. I've stopped trying to think of exercise as "fun".

Stay with me. The gym I go to, like most gyms, is covered with inspirational pictures of incredibly fit people climbing mountains and running marathons, with slogans like "Find your inner athelete".  The problem with that is I don't want to be an athelete. I just want to not be in a wheelchair when I'm in my seventies.

It's not like I haven't tried. I have taken part in a few of these endurance events over the years (the MS 150 bike ride, a half marathon, a century ride, competitive swimming) and to be completely honest, for me there was no glow of acheivement when I crossed the finish line. My thoughts were more along the lines of "Thank goodness that's over. Where are the showers?" (And can someone bring me a really big margarita?)

  

So I'm trying to mentally reframe exercise as the equivalent of flossing. You don't floss because it's fun, but  because you want to have teeth when you're older.  I find if I think of exercise as good hygiene and not something I'm expected to enjoy, I'm more likely to do it. 

It may not work for anybody else, but that is what gets me in the door. That and the thought of a big frosty drink afterwards (a girl's got to have some fun).

Praising the chorus

Today is Labor Day, a day to honor the contributions of the everyday working man and woman. So what better time to write about the workhorse of the floral world: baby's breath (aka Gypsophila or soapwort).

 

Baby's breath looks like an airy bush full of teeny, tiny carnations.  It is often used as "filler" to bulk out a composition of more expensive flowers, like roses, and because it is inexpensive, it's gotten a reputation of being tacky; a bouquet with a lot of baby's breath is a way of saying "I'm cheap".

 

But that is like saying only the stars of the movie matter. If the supporting actors, CGI, makeup artists, etc. aren't there, who do the stars interact with? What shows the stars off and gives depth to the composition?  People may go to a movie to see the star, but it's the supporting cast that allows the star to shine.

 

I have a love of "filler flowers" The overlooked, the workhorses. They are easy to find, they work with any color scheme,  and if you let them, they shine all on their own.

 

Seriously, who wouldn't love an airy cloud of white blossoms on their dinner table?  

 



Happy Labor Day everybody.