Podcast Smorgasborg

NBC News Surveys State of Black Women
News & Notes, November 26, 2007 · In its weeklong series, NBC News will take a look at some important issues shaping the lives of black women in America.

Mayors Take Action as Texas Slacks on Climate
All Things Considered, November 26, 2007 · Texas is the country's largest emitter of global warming gases. But the state's political leaders say climate change isn't a problem and have blocked even minor efforts to address the issue. That has prompted the mayors of some of the state's biggest cities — including influential Republicans — to take the issue into their own hands.

Strange Science: Dust (VIDEO PODCAST)
Published: Nov 10, 07
Dust is everywhere but what is it actually made of?

Strange Science: Magnetism (VIDEO PODCAST)
Published: Nov 3, 07
What do sunspots, mass extinctions, and your bad mood have in common?

Article about library resources of a different kind

Christina Hall of the Free Press wrote a pretty nice article about librarians. At first I was a little bit like, "huh?" I didn't get why library's would check out stuff that didn't really count as information, things like tools, artwork, etc. After a few minutes I realized that each still counted as a tool - a tool towards a little extra appreciation of art or toward redoing one's floors. And if libraries can lend how-to manuals, cookbooks, travel guides and the like or guide their patrons to trust worthy websites or online databases, we may as well provide the tools fit for a library's community, as those mentioned in Ms. Hall's article. Always good to hear about libraries getting creative!

Read the article HERE.

November: Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Generally, I try to keep my posts non-personal, but one of my personal goals is something I feel strongly about: every smoker should QUIT. This is self evident, but November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and my glorious alma mater posted this in their electronic newsletter:

Smokers have several strikes against them that help make lung cancer the leading cancer killer in America. For one, the early stages of the disease—coughing, shortness of breath, weight loss, fatigue and coughing up blood—often go undetected because they are common to smokers. In addition, there is the stigma that smokers bring the disease upon themselves. These factors lead to late diagnosis, which is often deadly. The yearly death toll is higher than 160,000, claiming more lives than breast, prostate, colon and pancreas cancers combined. The U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center provides these and other important facts during November, which is Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

Join me in taking deeper, longer breaths - and more of them.

Women's Woes: Heart Disease, Birth Control, Cancer, HPV

Rarely do I turn my focus towards women's issues, but my latest physical and an MSNBC report really sparked my interest. Be warned, male readers, this post may be a little graphic, but it's knowledge nonetheless.

Birth Control
First of all, I had considered getting on the birth control pill that eliminates monthly periods and gives a woman 3-4 periods annually. Sounds good, but it's really not. For example, the Seasonique (http://seasonique.com/) site states, "While you get 4 periods a year, you’re also more likely to have bleeding or spotting between periods. This can be slight to a flow like a regular period and should decrease over time." Uh, well, I'd rather have 12 periods that are on schedule than random bleeding throughout the year.

A similar statement is made on Lybrel's site (http://lybrel.com/): "Unscheduled bleeding or spotting is likely to occur while you are taking LYBREL. The convenience of having no regular menstrual periods should be weighed against the inconvenience of unscheduled or unplanned breakthrough bleeding and spotting." Right.

Earlier this week, and right around my annual physical, I heard a report that prolonged use of birth control can increase plaque in arteries. Being that I'm approaching a decade, this report caught my attention. However, after reading this article, I felt a little better. Issues of heart are nothing new in the birth control discussion. Plus, I just quit smoking and as every woman should know, smoking and birth control is a death cocktail, especially after age 35.

Cervical Cancer
The pill may slightly increase risk of cervical cancer, says an MSNBC article. Again, I heard the term "cervical cancer" dropped at my physical. My doctor strongly recommended I get the HPV immunization shot. Now that I know there's a slightly increased risk of cervical cancer with birth control, I will probably get the vaccine. My doctor told me that in my situation, the only thing that can spark cervical cancer is sex. I gave up smoking. I'm not giving up sex.

Getting old sucks, but at least I have health insurance.

Book Review: A Long Way Gone

Title: A Long Way Gone

Author: Ishmael Beah

This is probably one of the most violent non-fiction books I've read. It's a horrifying look into what war does to children in Sierra Leone and many other places around the world. This is a recommended read for anyone. It's short and the reading is quick, but it is very powerful in its brevity. I would say that this book produced similar emotions in me as did Night, by Elie Wiesel. Both short, but both unforgettable.

Irony: sometimes it's astounding!

The other night at the library, a young lady was kicked out of the library for violating the code of conduct. She was told she could go to Public Safety (the Police Station).

About a half hour later, the troublemaker's mom comes in hooting and hollering that her daughter should not have been kicked out because she doesn't have a coat.

My thought: it's November in Michigan. The kid, regardless where she was going, needs a f***ing coat. Perhaps if the mom added a little quality parenting into the mix, her kid wouldn't have been kicked out and would have a coat. Just a thought.

Just in Time for Christmas: Knowledge

Before you go lay the smack down on some Christmas shopping for the kids, make sure to check out the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website. This will provide shoppers with recall information and product safety, especially toys for young kids. Check it out.

Think tank: Climate affects security

Never quite thought of it this way, but it makes sense. As the climate gets unstable and certain resources become more scarce (water, farm land, etc), more conflict is inevitable.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands --Climate change could be one of the greatest national security challenges ever faced by U.S. policy makers, according to a new joint study by two U.S. think tanks.

The report, to be released Monday, raises the threat of dramatic population migrations, wars over water and resources, and a realignment of power among nations.

Read the entire article HERE.

Coal plants firing mess all over the world, from all over the world.

During some of my past research, I learned how bad coal-firing plants are to the environment. Their emissions contain all types of horrible particulates that embed themselves in acid rain, soil and contributes to more ozone by increasing cloud cover. Thing is, I thought that this was well known and industry was trying to find other sources. Wrong! Turns out, due to it's abundance and low cost (monetarily speaking), it's the preferred fuel all over the world.

And China's booming economy is also a booming polluted mess. Shortly, they will take our place as the world's foremost polluter. Check out these bits of article.

TAIYUAN — It takes five to 10 days for the pollution from China's coal-fired plants to make its way to the United States, like a slow-moving storm.

It shows up as mercury in the bass and trout caught in Oregon's Willamette River. It increases cloud cover and raises ozone levels. And along the way, it contributes to acid rain in Japan and South Korea and health problems everywhere from Taiyuan to the United States.

Read the rest of the article HERE.

Double-Sided Sword of Religion

If you are at all familiar with Christian Zionism and manifest destiny, than you know how messed up these concepts are. I'm not one for religion to begin with, but these two ideas are essentially a response to radical Islam. They are crazy and quick to judge. These concepts are also believed by millions of people in the United States.

Here is a bit of a description of these folks' theology, from Bill Moyer's website:

"Increasingly, some American evangelical Christians have emerged to form an alliance with Israel. Citing Biblical prophecy, this group of evangelicals call for all of the West Bank to remain in Israeli hands, and they oppose any two-state solution. Sometimes called Christian Zionists, they believe that a Christian Messiah will return to earth in Jerusalem. They have joined with conservative Israeli politicians to oppose any division of the city."

Pretty scary, huh? When I learned about these kind of folks back in college, I thought that it was too absurd to be true. After taking my politics and religion course, I realized that there were plenty of souls that thought this way - that wait eagerly for the Messiah and Armageddon and all that jazz.

While these people provide me plenty of concern and frustration, there is always the other side of religion that makes me realize that it is good for some people. I understand that religion is good to raise children with, a relatively easy way to instill values into them.

Yet, what really gripped me about religion was the wonderful message of forgiveness. Of course, not all religion practices what they preach, but the Amish do.

While working out one morning (and listening to Bill Moyers), I heard the story of Amish forgiveness. On Oct. 2, 2006, a local milk man went into a school house and murdered five little girls, while injuring 5 others. He then turned the gun on himself.

Normal Americans were outraged, but the Amish took it in stride. They went to the killer's funeral. They comforted the killer's family. They stuck together as a community and healed as a community. Instances like these make me wish that I had something that strong to hold onto. I wish that there were more communities that were that close, that strong. Instead, I feel the opposite is true.

I truly recommend that everyone check out all the stories from that week of Bill Moyers, who is an excellent journalist. You can read about the Amish HERE. You can read about Christian Zionism HERE and HERE. I HIGHLY recommend that you watch the video and here some of the Christian Zionists talk. You can't make stuff like this up.

Mark Twain Project

University of California is pleased to announce the launch of the beta version of Mark Twain Project Online (www.marktwainproject.org), a digital critical edition of the writings of Mark Twain.

Mark Twain Project Online (MTPO) applies innovative technology to more than four decades of archival research by expert editors at the Mark Twain Project. It offers unfettered, intuitive access to reliable texts, accurate and exhaustive notes, and the most recently discovered letters and documents.