Jun 30Member-onlyBeing Obese Is Not Our Fault: Robert Lustig Uncovers ALL the Causes of Extra WeightI’m reading Dr. Robert Lustig’s 2012 book Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease. I already knew sugar was toxic to the body, but here’s what this book taught me. What We Individually Do Yes, our bodies run on glucose (sugar) and can’t survive without…Weight Loss6 min readWeight Loss6 min read
Sep 30, 2022Member-onlyWhat Causes Obesity?Possible reasons you keep getting bigger, and they have NOTHING to do with diet or exercise. — In June 2021 I posted Eight Things That Affect Obesity. I’ve adjusted that list to include these factors that I believe are more likely to cause people to grow in size than what they eat or how much they move. In fact, I believe diet and exercise have been distractions…Obesity5 min readObesity5 min read
Jun 17, 2022Member-onlyChicana on the Edge Turns 18I didn’t want children, but I’m happy to have an 18-year-old blog! — I like telling people that back in 2004 the word was that blogs were over. Less than ten years after “the Internet” had become a household word, blogs were seen as this trend that had run their course and now people had moved on. It made sense. In 2004 we…Blogging2 min readBlogging2 min read
May 15, 2022Member-onlyCopywriting for Healers & Spiritual EntrepreneursI’m a copywriter and my clients are those in the healing arts. Why? — My copywriting business, The Detail Conductor, specializes in writing services that support alternative healers, spiritual entrepreneurs and those who serve the open-minded. Why? Because of the experience I’ve had with my healing. A Singer without a Voice In the winter of 1993 I was working hard on my vocal skills…Copywriting4 min readCopywriting4 min read
Apr 19, 2022Member-onlyMy Dad Won’t MoveWe get to choose where we’ll be buried. Why not be allowed to choose where we’ll die? — I am 55 and a half years old. My father is old. He lives alone in California with no family nearby. I live in Chicago and almost everyone else in the family lives in Houston. Because of certain health conditions, it would have been an excellent idea for my dad…Family5 min readFamily5 min read
Mar 25, 2022Member-onlyHow Aging Is Like a Science Fiction MovieIs an old person in your life driving you absolutely crazy? — A few weeks ago I watched one of those movies/shows that’s about a human being who gradually realizes they’re not a human being, but an android or clone. This poor character has a brain loaded with memories of having a full life and a home he thought he’d return to…Aging2 min readAging2 min read
Mar 5, 2022Member-onlyUnvaccinated in Chicago Is a Particular Kind of PainAnd where I live might be the most uncomfortable of all — It’s surprising and deeply disappointing to me that as the planet opens up and countries leave their COVID restrictions behind, this is when I feel most keenly the absence of friends who are avoiding me for being unvaccinated. Is avoiding unvaccinated people really about reducing viral exposure? How can it…Coronavirus5 min readCoronavirus5 min read
Jan 11, 2022Member-onlyWhat’s Lonelier Than Social Distancing?Social distancing PLUS needing to stay unvaccinated for health reasons. — I used to work in the polio eradication division of Rotary International. I coordinated meetings that included representatives from Rotary, the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. We were allied to immunize every child in the world against polio.Coronavirus5 min readCoronavirus5 min read
Dec 22, 2021Member-onlyChristmas Movies In Which No One Falls In Love and No One Saves ChristmasTired of the icky-sweet stuff? Try these. — I like Christmas movies, but not the ones that focus on children or thin white people realizing they’ve found the love of their lives. Here are 10 movies I’ve enjoyed that have Christmas as a central part of the plot, but that don’t feature any of that stuff. …Christmas3 min readChristmas3 min read
Dec 19, 2021Member-onlyChristmas Still Isn’t RightChristmas 2020 sucked. Christmas 2021 was supposed to be better. — I love Christmas. December is my favorite month and Christmas is my favorite holiday. Without family in Illinois, there have been years when I spent Christmas Day all alone, creating my own private holiday and still loved it. It didn’t matter what I did on Christmas because I knew I…Christmas4 min readChristmas4 min read