Monthly Archives: November 2002

patrons of a disorderly house with controlled substances

Last week, a party in Washington was busted on the suspicion of drug use. Three people were arrested for posession and 445 were busted for being “patrons of a disorderly house with controlled substances.” How disturbing is it that one can be arrested for being in the same room with people who are doing drugs? Does this mean that if i’m chilling with an elected official who is doing coke in the back room that i can be arrested? Disturbing…

male contraceptive pill

It seems as though researchers have developed a pill for men. Interestingly, it operates on the same principle as the female pill: induce pregnancy hormones. In order to counteract the problems that this would cause on a male system (impotence, decreased sex drive, etc.), they also pump the body with testosterone.

I’m fascinated that we’re willing to allow this level of hormone messing for folks to keep from getting pregnant, but we still won’t allow hormone futzing for trans folks. How much do you want to bet that this will be covered by insurance the moment that it is released on the market?

thieves play cribbage

It would humor me greatly to think that the thieves who stole my cribbage board from my trunk play cribbage, but somehow, i kinda doubt it. In fact, they probably just took it thinking that it would contain CDs, but little did they know that they would be forced to learn a fabulous snotty game!

So, i had my goodbye party and it was so much fun to hang out with folks that i love and just laugh and be silly. And one friend made liquid nitrogen ice cream which was fantastic! And then i ran off to New York in theory to go dance, but in reality to have a very enlightening and well-needed conversation in gaia time. And of course, my car got busted into, which is annoying but not all that surprising. And of course, we had nothing in it in preparation for the likelihood that they’d see outta state plates and break in. But all they got was my change of clothes and my beloved cribbage board which we replaced shortly later (in a non-CD case format). And then i had one of the most lovely chill-out times that i’ve had in a long time… mmm.. connecting with people is good. So i’m very happy and ready to go off and away and start a new and refreshed life in the land where i won’t need my heavy winter coat since it was stolen anyways..

TV Addiction is Real

I was visiting a friend this weekend and somehow conversation wandered off into a discussion about TV Addiction and he started rambling off about a Scientific American article that he read back in February. As i was buried in my own research, i never even heard about this little bit flying by. How great is it to finally feel justified in my hatred of the TV for its addictive powers!

Apparently, we are biologically programmed with an orienting response that handles situations that provide a quick change in scenary. This is crucial because when something changes rapidly, we need to focus on it. Blood rushes to the brain to handle the thought processing necessary to react to such stimuli. Unfortunately, it takes upwards of 16 seconds to adjust to such changes in order for blood to leave the brain and stop focusing. Television capitalizes on this because scene-shifting is so common. Thus, we focus on the TV and never let go. Our processes slow down below sleep levels, making us feel even more groggy because we aren’t actually metabolizing at a high level. This sudden shift in reduced body processing is what makes us feel initially relaxed by sitting down in front of the TV – everything grinds to a halt. But the result is problematic and we start to feel gross with continued sitting, but are unable to break our gaze away from the addictive box. The initial draw to the TV becomes both a habit and an addiction, as we want that sudden stress relief, regardless of feeling even grosser hours later. Mental note: TV == heroin.

Now i can feel better knowing that i never want a TV in my home.

Keywords for search: Csikszentmihalyi

too emotionally involved

I went to bed horrified; i woke up crying as NPR articulated all of the ways in which we are becoming a society in which i have no interest in associating myself with. A Republican House & Senate??? Mitt Romney?? Mandating English-only in classrooms? Female candidates lost almost everywhere (and Hawaii gets a Republican one!). All major drug reform laws shot down (even those that would have instituted rehab over jail). At least there were two smiles: Rendell in PA and Cicilline in Providence. But dear god, it’s been a painful morning and i’m way to emotionally involved with politics.

Must remember: a grown-up activist no longer gets angry or depressed, but just finds everything in life absurd. One day i’ll be there..