Friday, August 12, 2011

Martial Arts AFFIRMATIONS to IMPROVE your SKILLS

Two women fighting martial artImage via WikipediaAffirmations to improve martial arts skills.

If you don't like the music, you can hit the MUTE button, as I do. I find the silence more soothing. Watch repeatedly for best effects:
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Thursday, August 11, 2011

Lizard Birth Funny Story

Two of Sesame Street's most famous characters:...Image via Wikipedia
This was forwarded to me from my friend, Roy (very funny!):


Lizard Birth

If you've raised kids (or been one), and gone through the pet syndrome, including toilet flush burials for dead goldfish, the story below will have you laughing out LOUD!

I had to take my son's lizard to the vet.

Here's what happened:

Just after dinner one night, my son came up to tell me there was "something wrong" with one of the two lizards he holds prisoner in his room.

"He's just lying there looking sick," he told me. "I'm serious,Dad. Can you help?"

I put my best lizard-healer expression on my face and followed him into his bedroom. One of the little lizards was indeed lying on his back, looking stressed. I immediately knew what to do.

"Honey," I called, "come look at the lizard!"

"Oh, my gosh!" my wife exclaimed. "She's having babies."

"What?" my son demanded. "But their names are Bert and Ernie, Mom!"

I was equally outraged.

"Hey, how can that be? I thought we said we didn't want them to reproduce," I said accusingly to my wife.

"Well, what do you want me to do, post a sign in their cage?" she inquired. 

"No, but you were supposed to get two boys!"

"Yeah, Bert and Ernie!" my son agreed.

"Well, it's just a little hard to tell on some guys, you know," she informed me. 

By now the rest of the family had gathered to see what was going on. I shrugged, deciding to make the best of it.

"Kids, this is going to be a wondrous experience," I announced. "We're about to witness the miracle of birth."

"Oh, gross!" they shrieked.

We peered at the patient. After much struggling, what looked like a tiny foot would appear briefly, vanishing a scant second later.

"We don't appear to be making much progress," I noted.

"It's breech," my wife whispered, horrified.

"Do something, Dad!" my son urged.

"Okay, okay." Squeamishly, I reached in and grabbed the foot when it next appeared, giving it a gentle tug. It disappeared.  I tried several more times with the same results.

"Should I call 911?" my eldest daughter wanted to know.

"Maybe they could talk us through the trauma." (You see a pattern here with the females in my house?)

"Let's get Ernie to the vet," I said grimly. We drove to the vet with my son holding the cage in his lap.

"Breathe, Ernie, breathe," he urged.

The vet took Ernie back to the examining room and peered at the little animal through a magnifying glass.

"What do you think, Doc, a C-section?" I suggested scientifically.

"Oh, very interesting," he murmured. "Mr. and Mrs. Cameron, may I speak to you privately for a moment?"

I gulped, nodding for my son to step outside.

"Is Ernie going to be okay?" my wife asked.

"Oh, perfectly," the vet assured us. "This lizard is not in labor. In fact, that isn't EVER going to happen. . Ernie is a boy. You see, Ernie is a young male. And occasionally, as they come into maturity, like most male species, they um . . um . . . masturbate. Just the way he did, lying on his back" He blushed, glancing at my wife.

We were silent, absorbing this.

"So, Ernie's just, just . . . excited," my wife offered.

"Exactly," the vet replied, relieved that we understood.

More silence. Then my vicious, cruel wife started to giggle.

And giggle. And then even laugh loudly. Tears were now running down her face. "It's just ... that ...I'm picturing you pulling on its . . . its . . . teeny little. . ."

She gasped for more air to bellow in laughter once more.

"That's enough," I warned. We thanked the vet and hurriedly bundled the lizard and our son back into the car. He was glad everything was going to be okay.

"I know Ernie's really thankful for what you did, Dad," he told me.

"Oh, you have NO idea," my wife agreed, collapsing with laughter.

Two lizards: $140.

One cage: $50.

Trip to the vet: $30.

Memory of your husband pulling on a lizard's winkie:

Priceless!

Moral of the story: Pay attention in biology class.

Lizards lay eggs!

by Angus Whitton

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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Hottie of the Day goes to Twinners Scottie Thompson & Olivia Wilde / Movie Review "Skyline"

Olivia Wilde in 2010 Independent Spirit Awards.Image via Wikipedia
We have another set of look-a-likes! Scottie Thompson (Skyline, 2010) and Olivia Wilde (House, TV Series). And they are both amazing and gorgeous. Olivia has been on my Top 10 List for a while. But Scottie is brand new.

Check Scottie out in "Skyline", a 2010 Sci-Fi that also stars Donald Faison from one of my all-time favorite comedy series "Scrubs"... with an exemplary performance by character actor David Zayas.

"Skyline" is my favorite type of Sci-Fi: Scary, edge of your seat alien suspense. If this happened for real... your heart would just effen stop.

Even though it has some elements similar to "War of the Worlds" and "Monsters, 2010 (non-animated, which I also loved)" it is still an original work of art and definitely worth a look. In fact, some scenes are far beyond the ordinary.

Favorite Lines:
"What are you doing, huh? Like it or not this is happening... You gotta be strong."

"They're not dead... just really really pissed off."

Favorite Scene:
The crash... I exclaimed out loud, "This is so COOL!" ...and then the 2nd crash TOPS THAT!


So many unique and interesting camera shots. Bravo!

And the ending? Beyond anything I had ever imagined. The Brothers Strause, WOW, you guys are amazing. In fact, I'm looking forward to seeing it AGAIN.

Overall I have to say that I LOVED IT! Highly recommended.


Available now on Netflix instant play.


See my "Monsters" movie review:
http://bodybeautybliss.blogspot.com/2011/03/movie-reviews-monsters-2010-non.html


Images, photos, pics Scottie Thompson: CLICK HERE

Images, photos, pics Olivia Wilde: CLICK HERE


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Thursday, August 4, 2011

Kung Fu Muslim Women / Girls India (Martial Arts Women)

Young Muslim woman in the Thar Desert near Jai...Image via Wikipedia
Think Muslim women are all subjugated home-bodies? Think again. Check out these Muslim high school girls in India practicing Kung Fu.

http://www.china.org.cn/sports/news/2008-07/10/content_15987444.htm




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Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Am I a Hoarder? What is Compulsive Hoarding? What is OCD?

Compulsive hoarding ApartmentImage via Wikipedia
Compulsive Hoarding Apartment
My favorite new past-time (I think it should be spelled pass-time) is watching the TV shows "Hoarders", "Clean House", and "Obssessed". All three of these shows deal with the OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) of hoarding stuff... to the extreme.

Am I a hoarder? I thought so and I guess I am because I have always tended toward clutter. But my case is in no way as severe as some of these patients. Still, I had some of these attributes. Do you?:

1. Do you keep "stuff" for purely sentimental reasons?
2. Do you keep toiletries, food, or medicines long past the expiration date?
3. Do you hold onto things, even though YOU don't need them, because they're "still good"?
4. Do you have clothes in your closet that no longer fit or are decades out of fashion?
5. Do you have "project" materials waiting to be created... "Someday I'll get to it."
6. Do you have sealed boxes of stuff stored away somewhere that you haven't looked at in years?
7. Does it cause you anxiety when someone else tries to take control of your stuff... your "mess"?
8. Are you embarrassed to have people over? Do you AVOID having people over?
9. Do you feel SHAME and GUILT but don't know how to stop? Do others try to make you feel ashamed and guilty?

If you answered yes to any of these questions you should give these shows a try. I've found that I've learned a lot about myself by watching these "hoarders". In every show I find a bit of advice that I can use to help remedy my own problem and they inspire me to get to work.

For instance, I used to ignore expiration dates. Here are a few more questions you can ask yourself:

1. How long has it been since I used it? Will I use it? Can somebody else get good use out of it NOW? If it's "still good", you can give it to a charity store like Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

2. Does it fit? Is it still in fashion? How long since I've worn it? More than 2 years? Is it even my style? Does it look becoming on me? Could someone else get better use out of it... right now?

3. Does it actually NEED to be saved? I know tax information should be saved (they say) for at least seven years. But I have bank statements from 20 years ago! And saving an old checkbook from a closed account even got me into trouble once. A thief stole it and wrote bad checks and that information appeared on my credit report. BE WARNED.

4. Is it out of date? Check! Then chuck it if it is... food, medications, toiletries. It may be unhealthy or unsanitary to use it now.

5. Will I really "find the time" to finish that project? Be honest with yourself. If the answer is no, let someone have it who WILL get good use out of it... NOW.

You'll find that PURGING can actually feel as good as (or even better than) ACQUIRING. I keep a box ready and every day (my rule is) something, at least one thing, gets thrown out or given away.

If you're feeling really ambitious, you can make it one thing per room! For me, that's 7 items per day (which amounts to over 200 items per month!) and, I must say, that it didn't really become a HABIT until I started doing one thing per room/area. Now, I actually say things like, "I still GET TO DO my seven items today!".... and it feels so good. I feel like I'm moving forward, finally, instead of backwards. I have pride instead of guilt.

The thing that makes this HABIT so great, is that you are starting at the BOTTOM of the pyramid (aka pile). You are looking for the item you are LEAST attached to. The whole trick is to AVOID OVERWHELM. That's what got us into this mess in the first place. We walked into a room/house and went,"Oh, my God! I just can't deal with this" or "How the hell DO I deal with this?" The really neat thing is that it gets easier and easier. Instead of just looking for a piece of garbage on the floor, you're actually getting rid of those "good jeans" that, if you're honest with yourself, you'll never wear again.

We also try to throw out at least one (plastic) grocery bag of household/kitchen garbage per day. Sometimes two or three.

Oh, yeah, and I almost forgot. The real key is to stop bringing it in. Imagine a clogged sink with a drippy faucet. The drippy faucet is YOU bringing stuff in (until it over-flows!) because the drain is clogged (nothing is going out!). But if you unclog the drain, everything will be alright. You should still fix the faucet, however.

It was easy for me (because I've been unemployed these last few months) and no money was coming in to spend! I still needed food, though, and got some help with that. But that was it. The only thing I allowed myself to purchase was FOOD.

And what a revelation it's been. I am HAPPIER than ever! I know it's cliche', but I am finding immense joy in the small things.

Early on I shopped at department stores. Then I shifted to discount stores. Then second hand shops. And finally to garage sales. All the while telling myself that it was about saving money. But the STUFF kept piling up. With the help of these shows (which I highly recommend and found on Netflix Instant Play), this year I quit even garage-sailing (as I called it). Now, at last, stuff just goes out. There's light at the end of the tunnel. Ahh.

And a really big plus is that IT SAVES MONEY! Who couldn't use a little more money these days.


Please note, too, as you will learn if you watch any of these shows, that hoarding may stem from disturbing events or circumstances. And that, although it may cause you shame or guilt, you needn't feel bad (I know - easy to say) because it may actually be genetic... something you inherited. There may be a hoarding gene! (see related articles below). "They" are saying now that whether you are a "neat freak" or a "hoarder", it's in your DNA.

So relax. Maybe it WILL take you a year to clear just one room. That's okay. As long as you are "moving in the direction of", you'll get there.


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