Nom Nom Nom

Remember to enjoy your food--thanks for the reminder kitten!

Chris Brown: Of Course, I Remember What Happened

In a detailed statement to PEOPLE, the singer clarifies what he calls incorrect reports – based on a clip of an interview with Larry King airing Wednesday night – about the events with Rihanna that led to his arrest:

"There have been reports on the Internet that I didn't remember what happened that night with Rihanna. I want to try and set things straight.

"That 30 seconds of the interview they used of me was taken from a one hour interview during which that same question was asked something like four or five times – and when you look at the entire interview you will see it is not representative of what I said.

Chris Brown: I Don't Remember Beating Rihanna

In his first interview since his Feb. 8 arrest for beating Rihanna, Chris Brown tells Larry King he doesn't remember abusing her and is still shocked the incident happened.

"When I look at it now, it's just like, wow, like, I can't — I can't believe that — that actually happened," he says in the interview, set to air Wednesday.

Along with his mother Joyce Hawkins, Brown told King how he grew up in an abusive home. Hawkins said her husband beat her – and Brown said he knew it: "I used to be scared to go to bed."

But he said he is not blaming his past for the attack on Rihanna.

"Nobody taught us how to love one another. Nobody taught us a book on how to — how to control our emotions or our anger," he said. "I wish I could have changed that night."

The Chris Brown and Rihanna issue was very tragic and each will be affected by it for the rest of there lives in different ways. I think only time will tell if they each learn their lesson. Rhianna on how to see warning signs and get out sooner rather then later. Chris Brown will learn that violence is never the answer.

Must Read Recommendation

Salon's Jaclyn Friedman has a great interview up HERE with Lisa Jervis, author of Cook Food and founder of Bitch Magazine. Its called "CliffsNotes to the Food Revolution" which I think is apt. Essentially take 1 part feminist criticism of unequal gendered obligation to the household, 1 part Michael Pollan food politics, 1 part Nickled & Dimmed economics justice theory/practice, and 1 part practical cookbook that doesn't assume you are an Alice Waters kitchen-ready chef and you've got:

Cook Food

Here's a short exerpt:

When Michael Pollan recently called for Americans to get back into the kitchen, a lot of feminists pointed out that, given the division of labor in American households, that would likely mean women getting back into the kitchen. Are you at all worried about the gendered implications of your work?

I love Michael Pollan, but the way that he talked about American feminists' attitude toward cooking was incredibly reductive and, frankly, pretty ahistorical. Articles like Pollan's (and anything that makes people feel like they are failing their obligations to themselves and their families by not cooking) produce a lot of guilt, and that guilt is gendered. That is a problem.

But I don't think the solution to that is to stop trying to get people to cook. The solution is to make sure that the household work is distributed more equitably. And I say that with full understanding of how little things have changed since the '70s, in terms of getting men to fucking do their share around the house. And I also think that it's no accident that the kind of rarefied, chef-dominated cooking discourse that I was talking about earlier, that often makes people feel like they can't cook rather than helping them feel that they can, is very male-dominated. Whereas the quotidian meal prep in this country is still mostly female-dominated. The feminist movement has generated a lot of good analysis around that. However, we have not moved the needle very much. I don't have an answer for that.

I also have a lot of frustrations with the way Pollan talks about "obesity." He talks about how obesity rates rise as rates of cooking fall. And I'm sure that's true, but it doesn't actually matter. Because obesity is not a good measure of health.

What really saddens me about the state of the pro-food discourse about obesity right now is that when Monsanto says genetically modified soybeans are not an environmental problem or a health problem, the pro-food movement is extremely skeptical, and they call that out as total bullshit. Whereas when the medical industry says "fat kills," they're not like: Actually, no, diabetes may kill, but the cause and effect relationship between the two is not as uncomplicated as you'd have us believe.

So, go read the whole thing HERE if you're interested!

Ryan Kwanten: Yoga Body

True Blood is seemingly everywhere this summer--as it well should be, its a great show and I love Charlaine Harris' books, on which the series is based. The very dim Jason Stackhouse is portrayed by a very bright actor, Ryan Kwanten. Mr. Kwanten talks to Muscle & Body magazine about living a healthy and balanced life, which for Mr. Kwanten involves a healthy dose of Vinyasa Yoga.

He says:

“I think it’s important to get your sweat on and to not just limit yourself to one particular sport,” he says of his varied fitness interests. “To do nothing but lift weights to me would be a quick death. Life has too many great things to offer in terms of physical exertion. I think you always need a sense of clarity, whether you get it through meditation or going for a hike, when it comes to bettering your life. It may not work for everybody, but it does for me. I come from a somewhat of a macho background when it comes to sports,” says the former boxer. “When a friend of mine suggested I try yoga to help with flexibility, I said, ‘No, that’s more for the girls. It’s not my cup of tea.’ But I tried it and it beat me up. That first class I was looking across the room and seeing girls and even guys putting their feet behind their heads, and I thought, Wow, that’s where I want to be. And I’m sort of naturally competitive, so once I sink my teeth into something I’m not going to let go.”

Being firmly rooted allows for more fearless inner exploration. As Ryan states at the end of the interview:

“To be a man means more than having muscles; there’s so much more to being a stand-up guy,” he explains. “I always loved that Ralph Waldo Emerson quote: ‘What lies behind us and what lies before us is small matter compared to what lies within us.”

Le sigh, check out the whole interview here.

Oh, and in honor of the True Blood aesthetic, here's a gratuitious shot of Mr. Kwanten's yoga-blessed physique:

Drinking for a Flat Belly

Kicking your liquid-sugar habit may be the easiest route to a flatter belly.
Drink these freely:
Unsweeted Tean and Coffee

Avoid these:
Sobe Lizard Lava has a sugar equivalent of 11 Rainbow Popsicles
Starbucks Coffee Frappuccino has a sugar equivalent of 31⁄2 scoops of Dreyer's Double Fudge Brownie Ice Cream
Arizona Kiwi Strawberry has a sugar equivalent of 7 bowls of Froot Loops

Go Easier on These:
Milk
Alcohol
Juice
Diet soda

Detox Your Office: Some Tips from Natural Health

Here are some tips from Natural Health Magazine (I love NH, I've had a subscription for years) on how to detox your office:

2. Use Power Strips. By plugging printers, computers, and other electronics into power strips, you can flip a switch and turn them off completely. Left on standby mode, electronics account for 5 to 20 percent of your energy bill.

6. Ask the Company to Recycle. If your office doesn't recycle paper, bottles, and other materials, form a "green team" with co–workers and start a program. Learn how at energy star.gov/index.cfm?c=guidelines.team ing_up_to_save_energy.

9. Add Plants. Some potted plants, like philodendrons (a favorite at OrganicWorks) and peace lilies, help remove pollutants such as formaldehyde from the air; but any type helps create a peaceful, grounding vibe for the office "A chair that's well designed but has damaged or ugly fabric can be reupholstered for about $50," says Seo.

Check out the full article for all nine tips!

The "Pistachio Principle" of Weight Loss

The key to the "Pistachio Principle" is to eat food that take a long time to eat. Such as food that have shells. It i the belief of James Painter, PhD, RD, that we aren't fat because if calories eaten, but because we eat to fast for our body get fullness queues from the brain.

How you might put the Pistachio Principle to the test:

Instead of drinking juices, where calories are quickly consumed, eat fresh fruit instead--a whole orange or tangerine, for example, eaten slowly and section-by-section after peeling it, takes longer to consume and has fiber you don't find in the juice.

• If you have a hankering for peanuts, go with shelled vs. unshelled.
• Try cutting up fresh fruits and veggies into much smaller pieces than you normally would and see how slowly you can eat them.
• The bottom line is that it takes your brain 20 minutes to get the signal that you're full.
• The Pistachio Principle may slow your eating down to the point where you can feel that the stomach is full before you tuck into that second helping.

What do you think about the "Pistachio Principle"?

RIP Ellie Greenwhich

Ellie Greenwich is the woman in the center.

In this week of momentous deaths (I'm working on a Ted Kennedy post), I wanted to remember to honor Ellie Greenwich, female song-writer who gave us not just a few singles to put of the sound-track of the 1960's. Bitch has a great profile up, so read it if your interested.

Meanwhile, I'll leave you with a few of her compositions, "Be My Baby" sung by the Ronettes, "Leader of the Pack" sung by Shangri Las, and "Da Do Ron Ron" sung by the crystals:

Work-Week Food Blogging

This tableaux pretty much represents my lunch Monday-Thursday this week and dinner on Tuesday and Wednesday. Sandwich, veggies with hummus, diet coke with lunch, though not with dinner. I also had a bit of soup after class Tuesday/Wednesday evenings. I'll be honest, I can't remember which sandwich corresponds to which day. This will be a fairly boring post until we get to Thursday dinner.

Apple & cheese for a snack--Tuesday.

Similarly, yogurt & granola for breakfast Mon-Thurs.

Thursday, I bought some take-out sushi, dumplings, & tempura chicken in a ginger dipping sauce. Every bite was delicious. I also had a BL Lime with this.

Sushi close-up.

Dumpling & Chicken Close-Up.

This morning (Friday--the beginning of my weekend), I made Bob's Red Mill Oatmeal with Chia Seeds. I LOOOOOVVE this way of eating oatmeal.

I used the last of the free-Chia seeds I got to review. I need to go buy some, but I've only found a large canister of them at Co-Op for $17.99. I'd rather buy a smaller bag, but a $5.99 bag at GreensPlus, costs $7 to ship--which seems ridiculous. So, I think I'll try Whole Foods one more time and see if they've got them in a smaller container (which before, when I tried about two months ago, they didn't have any) and if that fails, I'll go back to Co-Op and buy the big container. Yesterday, I tried to find them in the expanded organic section of the super-Kroger (they're organic section is HUGE for a conventional grocery store--almost a whole grocery store within the grocery store), but they didnt' have them either.

Isn't this a pretty picture? I treated myself to pink carnations. You'll see my mini-French Press Pot Coffee in the picture as well. I love French-Press, its frothy and lovely. It also uses less coffee then drip coffee.

Oatmeal close-up.

French-Press close-up!

Body Diversity or a Token Stunt?

This season of Tyra Banks' "America's Next Top Model" will feature "short" girls--all under 5'7''

In previous seasons, Ms. Banks has given opportunities to a variety of women who may not have fit the "high fashion" mold. Most significantly, perhaps, was her selection of Whitney Thompson to compete along size sample-size models (I refuse to call them "normal" models when Ms. Thompson's size 12 frame makes her much closer to "normal" than the double zero's.). Not only did she compete, but she won cycle 10.

Whitney:
This season, Tyra is tackling "petite" models, which is great. But, I'd like to add that petite sizing starts at 5'4'' and below, whereas most of these girls seem to be just under the sample-sized model standard of 5'7''-6'1'' at about 5'6''--so is this really an opportunity for truly petite women to compete? I would say yes, and no. Petite women are not (unless I learn that there's someone 5'2'' in the running) really competing here, but non-sample sized women are, which is a general boon for body diversity.

Omari Hardwick on What It Means When Black Men Date Outside Their Race

From Esscence.com

The interracial dating debate always raises a level of sensitivity among Black women, especially when it comes to brothers courting women who don't look like "us." It's nothing that we can't escape, and with recent heated discussions and opinions about NFL great Terrell Owens of VH1's "The T.O. Show," sisters have plenty to say about his tastes in women and other notable Black men such as Terrence Howard, Derek Luke and Reggie Bush who have dated or married women outside of their race. ESSENCE.com caught up with TNT's "Dark Blue" hunk Omari Hardwick, who shared his unadulterated views about whether love is truly color blind or if a brother shouldn't bring any woman home that can't use his mama's comb.

Omari Hardwick says the following as his conclusion:

So what I've learned through my personal experience of interracial dating is that sometimes you might be able to help who you love but sometimes love just happens when you least expect it and when it does you have to be able to embrace it with an open heart.

Well, in my black woman sister circles the problem we have have with inter-racial dating is when the black man "trades down" to get a white woman.

Examples of trading down:

1. Kanye West and Amber Rose. She is a bi-sexual stripper at the least.

2. Tigger Woods and Elin Nordegren. She was a former Nanny.

3. Ice-T and Coco. She does sexy pics for a living. He has a Grammy and is a decent actor.

Couples that I am OK with because I think they are equals.

1. Hedi Klum and Seal. She totally has her own everything. Also, please note Seal is way big in Europe.

2. Taye Diggs and India Menzel. They both started together in rent.

3. Ellen Pompeo and Chris Ivery. Ellen has a great career.

4. Everyone Russell Simmons dates because he only dates models.

But on an everyday level. Every black man with a white woman on Jerry Springer or Maury ends up with the trashiest and often overweight white chick. Please note: I will concede that if a couple is on Jerry or Maury they are trading down in both directions.

And before you hate on me for me being one side. Here is a positive photo montage of inter-racial relationships.

Mo'Nique's Trigger to Lose Weight

Above is the infomous Mo'Nique doing the Crazy in Love dance.

Mo'Nique says she decided to start living healthier after a wake-up call from her husband, Sidney Hicks. "I was very comfortable at 262 pounds," she says. "I'm in the bathroom mirror one day admiring 262. And Sid says to me when he comes out of the shower, 'Mama, how much do you weigh?' I said, '262.' And he said, 'Mmm.'"

Mo'Nique says she knew something was coming next. "He said to me in the most gentle, loving way, 'I want you for a lifetime,'" she says. "Baby, I started working out right then."

I love me some Mo'Nique. She is so real. First I am happy that she is so deep in love that she will tell her husband her real rate. I am also happy, that she listen to his words objectively and not just get defensive. I am striving to her.

I only recently let my husband look at the scale while I was on it. I still couldn't tell him my weight aloud. I also went off on my husband last night when he suggested that I go to sleep before 1 am since I am always complaining about being tired. In hindsight he did make sense so I apologized to him this morning, because I did feel better after sleep.

Also, note she will appear on Oprah on August 28, 2009

The Mommy Myth of Being your own Boss

We have to remember that we are not superwoman. There are only 24 hours a day so we can't do everying thing. Below are tips from an article about being realistic about starting your own business as a mother.

- Talk to your spouse about working as a team when it comes to child/home responsibilities.
- Get good child care, whether it's day care, a babysitter or a co-op with other entrepreneur moms.
- Find a place in the house for your business so you can shut the door, and set boundaries for children when it comes to interrupting Mommy.
- When you do anything in start-up mode, the investment of time is extraordinary. You have to realize it will be all-consuming.

For the body conscious, 'cankles' offer another focus for obsession

Cankles? What are cankles? We've heard about saddle bags, muffin tops and love handles, but it seems that some women and men of the 21st century are now focused on the chubby joints of their lower extremities.

Zinszer has seen patients try to alter their cankles. Some people turn to ankle liposuction, which can cost anywhere between $4,000 to $8,000, depending on how extensive the ankle-shaping need is.

People need to get a grip. We can't be doing cosmetic surgery on the ankles. I bet 99% of the world is to busy to looking at your ankles.

Weekend Food Blogging

I've been meaning to try Chia seeds for a while now and Diane over at Greens Plus sent me a free sample.

According to Dr. Weil, if you put Chia seeds in some kind of liquid for 15-30 minutes, they'll form a gel. I put 1/2 Tbsp of Chia seeds into a couple Tbsp of milk. Prior to putting them into my oatmeal, I broke up some cloobs with a fork. Science...

I used Bob's Gluten Free Red Mill Oats

I used 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 milk, 1/2 water, a pinch of sea salt, and a little vanilla extract, cooked on the stove and stirred constantly. Once the oats were almost all done, I added the chia seeds soaked in milk and I let cook a bit longer so that the added milk woudn't make it runny. Oh, my goodness, this is how I'm having oatmeal for now on! Seriously, omega-3 goodness besides, I loved the taste and added texture. I only got a small sample, so know that I will be going out and purchasing some Chia Seeds this week! I want my mom to try them as well. This was Saturday's breakfast.

More veggies from the garden, those are box-car willie tomatoes. Kind of flatish.

Left over mustard chicken, sweet potato fries, and sugar snap peas (I also had some tomato with salt/pepper, unpictured). Saturday's dinner--where's lunch? Veggie soup with tomato over millet toast, forgot to take a picture. The soup was made by my mother--thank you again!

Magical, happy oatmeal with chia for Sunday breakfast. So good!!!

This is my favorite quinoa pasta. Def recommend it if you are looking for something more whole grain or gluten free for pasta.

Some left over frozen corn/red pepper/onion/black bean mix plus a sunshine burger crumbled up. I mixed it with traditional red sauce (and served half over the quinoa pasta) for Sunday lunch.

Yummy, very grain heavy weekend now that I look back on it.

I made some True Blue Berry ice-tea with lemon and stevia to have as a refreshing drink during the week. Better than soda or commerical ice-tea and healthier. I need to make some iced-green tea for caffeine during the week, to ween off of diet coke again.

Sunday dinner, salmon, asparagus, some red-beans in a tomato sauce.

Monday's breakfast, Chobani Greek Yogurt with a measured serving of granola. Here's the funny bit, I thought it was a quarter cup, but was actually a 1/3 cup. So, when I decided to measure out my 1/4 serving I was surpised how much MORE granola I got then when I eye-balled it in the moring. Of course, I thought that I was under-estimating a 1/4 cup, when I actually probably got it right. So, I'll bring an actual 1/4 cup and see next week.

Sandwich experiment take one: turkey, cheese (I forgot the lettuce/tomato I meant to cut up), I also forgot the light mayo, so I had to use a very old packet of real mayo which was probably transfatty and bad. I could have used the hummus, in hindsight. Pictured with olives and sugar snap peas with hummus. I had some carrots earlier, before finishing make the sandwich. Thus far, no sandwich fall out. Its organic flax bread.

Another 1/2 a sandwich as a snack. Laughing cow with turkey.

Dinner was divine, pinto and cranberry soup with tons of onion, corn-bread (made into little hearts) and iced-blueberry tea. I had another heart-shaped corn muffin with strawberry jam for dessert later.

Close-up

Close-up

Close-up

And, this morning's breakfast: vanilla Chobani yogurt with flax-plus granola.

Cosby Mom Drops 35 Lbs. in 8 Months

The actress, 61, plans to show off her new svelte shape in a new Jenny Craig commercial titled "Uphill Battle," beginning Aug. 29.

"The most rewarding thing about reaching my goal weight is that I feel so much lighter," she said in a released statement. "There's just an overall sense of well-being. And there's the increased energy as well. It's nice to have people say you look nice. Who knew losing weight could be so much fun?"

I am happy because she is not doing the new commercial in a Bikini.

Lizzi Miller Update

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Check out the video of Glamour Editor and the plus sized model, Lizzi Miller, on the Today Show yesterday. I just love that this story of her "pouch" is still generating interest and might actually impact Glamour's editorial pages in issues to come (though we'll see if they get the point: its not about the exceptionalism of Ms. Miller, but the fact that body diversity and a greater breadth of bodies in our media are important for women to see a bit of themselves on the page, screen, and stage.)

Anyway, I love this quote of Lizzi's: "My normal is this...I live a healthy lifestyle and I embrace it."

Earth to Reality Show Producers: Black Face is Offensive, not Risque

In the above clip, one of the "wives" of the Real Housewives of Atlanta franchise proposes to dress up all the other "wives" up in their alter-ego. Nene thinks that Kim should be painted, wigged, & dress to look like a Black woman, Keena, for her "alter-ego." The premise is that this is Nene's idea and that this is the kind of thing that rich, indulgent women do for fun in Atlanta. Most probably, however, it is the "hilarious" idea of the RHOA producer. All of the housewives shows are staged--and I will admit to watching the two episodes a season of NYC, NJ, & Atlanta that Bravo allows Hulu to put online--because its all so ridiculous. But seriously, in the NYC version they put on a charity event, totally staged but plausible. In NJ, they staged simple things like all the "wives" and their husbands/children going to a ballroom dancing class together or simply all these strangers getting together for an Italian meal in Teresa's new home. The stage-y-ness of Atlanta is more transparent in this particular stunt and it could lead into seriously offensive territory. Somehow, because it was a Black woman who suggested it, the producers think that perhaps they can get away with it. Guess what, you can't! Don't do it Kim! Dressing up in blackface is always offensive because it is steeped in oppressive and racist stereotypes. So often I hear white people complain about how they can't say the "n" word or dress in blackface, but Black people can use the "n" word and two black men wrote, directed, & starred in White Chicks. Boo-hoo white people (yes, okay, I'm white but one of the privileges of being white is the ability to call out the racism of white people without being accused of using "the race card"). History, especially in Atlanta, can't be swept under the rug for the purposes of a cheap reality show prank. It shouldn't be. Blackface is offensive and in this era where racist white men come armed to a townhall meeting where the first African American President of the United States of America is there to talk about healthcare reform, race baiting and racially insensitive jokes are particularly disgusting...and possibly inciting of violence.

Jessica Simpson Calls Her Dog a "Lesbian"

The singer posted a message on Twitter this morning about her maltipoo, Daisy. (A gift from ex Nick Lachey.)

"Daisy and her best friend Bella back together again," Simpson captioned a photo. "Lesbian lovas forever!"

Is Jessica Simpson's career built on controversy?

She is always making quotes that are off center. She is either moron or the smartest woman in the world to keep her career going without making a good song in years. She has only had one Number 1 album and obviously people weren't feeling it after listening to it, because her label dropped her shortly after the concert tour.

I wish her success. Cause faking being a "dumb blond" must be the hardest job in the world.

More To Love: More Crying and More Stereotypes

So in the Second Episode. There were some "fat stereotypes" played to the hilt.

1. Being picked last for teams. So they award the last person picked by given her a solo date.

2. First dates in Swimsuits. So you have to cry. Please many men are happy with however they can have sex. But 99% of all men don't want a woman who they have to puff up 24/7.

3. Then Kristian goes off on Malissa in the confessional about not being fat in high school. What is up with hating on someone based on when the got fat in his/her life. On the real being overweight is hard whenever it happens. I actually think it is harder for the formerly skinny to turn fat because they can see the dramatic change of how people treat them.

4. Here is the racist part of the episode. He says to Christina on the Vegas date, that he loved her dark skin. If he was really in to dark skin her would have put some woman of real color on the show.

5. It is psycho how these chicks talk about this guy is the one after one week on a show.

6. The only good thing about the second episode they stop posting the women's weight when they talk.

7. And as you recall from my previous predictions I said he would get rid of the remaining older woman. Here was the elimination breakdown.

Melissa – 21 – Beverly Hills, Calif. – Plus-size model

Heather – 22 – Ankeny, Iowa – Cocktail waitress

Christina – 23 – Brighton, Mich. – Student

Amanda – 23 – Los Angeles – Student

Magali – 24 – Los Angeles – Teacher -Eliminated on 2nd episode

Bonnie – 25 – Portland, Ore. – Make-up artist/Stylist

Danielle – 25 – Los Angeles – Theater company technical director coordinator

Natasha – 25 – Los Angeles – Rocket scientist-Eliminated on 1st episode

Kristian – 26 – Wallington, N.J. – Substitute teacher

Lauren – 26 – Atlanta – Event planner

Malissa – 26 – Los Angeles – Waitress

Mandy – 26 – Long Beach, Calif. – Fitness and dance instructor

Tali – 26 – New York – Artist and motivational speaker

Anna – 27 – Los Angeles – Plus-size model

Natalia – 28 – Dallas – Make-up artist -Eliminated on 1st episode

Sandy – 30 – New York – Dancer -Eliminated on 1st episode

Vanessa – 32 – Los Angeles – Criminal defense attorney -Eliminated on 2nd episode

Michelle – 32 – Orange County, Calif. – Production -Eliminated on 1st episode

Shari – 34 – Los Angeles – Corporate trainer -Eliminated on 1st episode

Arriane – 37 – Santa Monica, Calif. – Entertainer -Eliminated on 2nd episode


I think on the real. They should rename the show to More Insecurities.

Cindy Crawford at 43: "I Have Cellulite"

Cindy Crawford admits her body isn't quite perfect at 43.

"I have cellulite," she says while laughing in the September issue of Redbook. "I admit it. But sometimes I just say, 'Screw it, I am going to wear a bikini.'"

Well, I am glad Cindy Crawford is living her life in the dreaded Bikini definition of thin even with cellulite. Personally of the paparazzi didn't take pictures of people on private boats she wouldn't even have to mention her cellulite to the masses.

Professionalism

Remember ladies, professionalism isn't just for the workplace.

In the above clip, a Kindergarten teacher assumes that she knows the a man in the grocery store after all-night partying and snogging. It turns out he's the father of one of her students. Pulling is turning into one of my favorite shows. Totally irreverent, yet if you can't find aspects of yourself in their bad behavior then you're not being honest. Since I'm going into teaching (after considering the ministry, which I still might pursue in a few years), I've been keenly aware of how such "high respect, low pay" jobs require an extra dose of discretion. I'm sure that Karen is an excellent Kindergarten teacher and she is an adult woman who is allowed to drink too much and kiss a stranger in a club. Its just in certain fields, one is held to a higher standard. Quite frankly, all women are held to a higher standard of conduct across the board. So, dear reader, any juicy stories you want to share where you're (or your friends') professional perhaps needed a bit of work?

Eat a Sandwich

So, I got a letter from my doctor with my Celiac panels back and according to those FIVE vials of blood I do not have Celiac! So, that's a good thing!!! Now, that doesn't mean that gluten DOES NOT bother my stomach--it certainly does at times, but that does mean that gluten is not attacking my stomach lining, causing horrible damage. I will continue to eat many gluten free things--I love quinoa pasta, millet toast, gf desserts, etc. But, I won't have to police the gluten as strictly as a "real" celiac, thank goodness. There are certain things that are high in gluten that I simply can't have: like pizza crust (though there is gf pizza crust which is very good), but I think next week I might bring some Rye Bread or Oatmeal Bread along with other sandwich making things to work as an experiment to see if I could have sandwiches. I you see, my schedule is crazy again this semester and millet bread is only good toasted, so having a convenient and healthy meal option is important at least two days out of the four (I have to eat lunch & dinner at work on Tuesday & Wednesday due to my schedule). So, I will try to "eat a sandwich" with bread that has a small amount of gluten in it and see if it bothers my stomach. If it does, I'll look into a wider selection of gluten free breads. Its just an experiment--if it turns out that I just need to not eat too much gluten, then that's great.

Caster Semenya: Champion Female Runner Subjected to Invasive Tests to Prove Gender

South African champion runner Caster Semenya is being subject to invasive tests to prove her gender status as female because of speculation that she "looks" male. This story has been broadly cover, from the LA Times detailing all the possible genetic or hormonal variables that might lead to her non-gender conforming appearance, the Guardian featured Germaine Greer querying:

"Big, blokish and bloody fast, could she really be a girl? No simple chromosomal test will decide. Establishing her sex will require the services of an endocrinologist, a gynaecologist, an expert on gender and a psychologist. For those of us who have never been allowed to doubt that we were female, the process seems bizarre. We don't know if we think like women or not. We just think. Is there a reputable psychologist out there who would dare to distinguish a female thought process from a male one?"

Jezebel had two articles on the subject, including testimony from her father stating that she never liked dresses like her sister and preferred trousers, but that he changed her nappies and that's all the proof needed to attest to her gender. Jezebel post I & II.

This has all been quite traumatic for the champion runner and she almost didn't accept the gold medal she won because of the scrutiny her "appearance" has generated. This is essentially a media induced and encouraged "are you in the right bathroom?" Gender expression is most certainly on a continuum and in some cases biological sex can be variable. If she were to have a some sort of chromosonal varience, perhaps it might give her a bit of an edge, but so does having long legs--which after all, are genetic. For the most part, this "controversy" has just been an exercise in cruelty and the demand for gender conformity "or else!"

I wish Caster Semenya all the best in HER running career and I hope that her family will not continued to be baggered by the panty-sniffing media.