10 Goodreads Review Wins

1
 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

"I could bang Mr. Rochester like a screen door 'till next Tuesday.
That's about all I got from this book, honestly..."



2
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

"Fuck me insensible. Oh ya cunt, ya! Ah dinnae watch the movie, bit ma heid’s spinnin fae readin this shite, ah kin fuckin tell ye. The book’s no novel – mair a collection ay short stories, likesay, aboot a bunch ay Scot junkies. The cunts go aroond, fartin n shitein n shootin smack. The book is written in the Scottish dialect, sortay like whit ah’m tryin tae imitate, ken whit ah mean? It wisnnae easy fe us tae git intae it. It made us scoobied aboot whit the cunts were sayin, likesay, bit after a while it became very enjoyable, ken. There’s like a hundred “cunts” in ivry paragraph ay this book, bit it doesnnae mean bad. Ivrybody jist caws ivrybody a cunt – no offense meant or taken, likesay. Bit nivir caw a lassie a cunt – thit shite is sexist. "

3
On a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino














"YO DAWG, I HEARD YOU LIKE READING, SO I PUT A BOOK IN YO' BOOK, SO YOU CAN READ WHILE YO' READ."




4
The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

"The Thin Man is best read with a drink in hand. Do you have a drink? Do you need a refresher? Would you like another? Above all else, it is important that you be drinking!

Seriously...DRINK!

My god, a lot of alcohol is consumed in this book! It reads as if Ernest Hemingway had taken up crime noir."




5
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky













"Cyprus hill said it best, "there is something you can't understand. how i could just kill a man."




6
Maus by Art Spiegelman

It didn’t dawn on me until later that this brilliant piece of graphic artistry and fiction is actually a very clever allegory. On the face of it, we’re led to believe that it’s a story of the terrible suffering perpetrated by the Nazis against the Jews in Poland and throughout Europe. But if you scratch beneath the surface, I think you’ll find that this particular holocaust story was made to symbolize something more pervasive and endemic. I speak of the horrific violence that persists to this da...mo""It didn’t dawn on me until later that this brilliant piece of graphic artistry and fiction is actually a very clever allegory. On the face of it, we’re led to believe that it’s a story of the terrible suffering perpetrated by the Nazis against the Jews in Poland and throughout Europe. But if you scratch beneath the surface, I think you’ll find that this particular holocaust story was made to symbolize something more pervasive and endemic. I speak of the horrific violence that persists to this day; that inflicted by cats on defenseless mice. Perhaps the most obvious clue that this is, in truth, the intended theme lies in the title itself: Maus. For those of you unfamiliar with German, this is their word for mouse. Beyond that, when you look carefully at the drawings, you see that the goose-steppers have distinctly feline features, while the persecuted Jews in the ghettos and camps have rodent-like proboscides and disproportionately small eyes."

7

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

"It was like raking my fingernails across a chalkboard while breathing in a pail of flaming cat hair and drinking spoiled milk, meanwhile Conrad is screaming DARKNESS DARKNESS OOOH LOOK AT MY METAPHOR ABOUT THE DARKNESSSSSSSSSSS like a fucking goth on a loudspeaker."

8

American Tabloid by James Ellroy

"Sometimes i chug coffee to the point where i'm glazed with sweat, red-eyed, about to crap my pants, and i throw my headphones on and blast either miles davis bitches brew or motorhead ace of spades. i sit down in front of the computer and write write write. and the result is exactly what you'd imagine from a mediocre writer w/a flair for the hyperbolic all hopped up on caffeine. not too good. imagine, however, if a brilliant writer, a demented rotgut-drunk coozehound of a bastard did what i did and laid out some genius shit... you'd have something like american tabloid. "




9
Smashed by Koren Zailckas

"... With the amount of alcohol Zailckas speaks of having consumed, she still sounds like a child. I appreciate her honesty in admitting to all those embarassing moments high on alcohol and pot, but she should have stuck to writing poetry about dried flowers and broken fingernails.

All the childish intensity glaring from her ridiculous picture on the back of the book can't improve the drolling story which only inspired me to pour those stiff drinks and "breathe the sugary smell of hard alcohol" while "a buzz comes on like sweet music".

The result is a whining, draining, waste of time that I could have spent getting drunk--but now she's taught me how."




10
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

"For cheap supermarket fiction, this sure was cheap supermarket fiction. It would have helped if this was the first book I had ever read. Unfortunately, having read Curious George as a child (a towering work of literary genius by comparison), The DaVinci Code suffered perhaps unjustly."

Schools give harmful BMI report cards

Most of us remember high school. Those who don't decided to give students body mass index report cards.

In short, some schools, in an effort to help students be aware of what they eat and weigh, started administering BMI tests to students. The tests are then sent home to parents with a report on suggested eating habits and lifestyle changes.

The Examiner does a great job explaining why this is a bad idea, citing bullies and shaming and encouraging eating disorders.

The root of this problem is the false belief that BMI tests are at all scientifically accurate in determining health.


Prince Fielder,
Professional Baseball Player,  BMI 37.3 Very Obese

Developed over 150 years ago, the body mass index measures only that. In case you've never had one. They take grips of your body and measure it with a caliper. These measurements are then set into a standard equation with ones weight and height.

The problem is the equation is set up for average built females roughly 5'11". he farther one deviates from the mean height the more inaccurate the information becomes. For example, Professional Football player Eli Manning, at 218lbs. 6'3" has a BMI of 27.2. Overweight.

Most demeaning of this measure of body mass is it's suggested correlation with health. This is so ingrained with society that some insurance lobbies have suggested using BMI in paid premium determinations. Having those classified as overweight pay more accounting for the research that shows they're increased risk.

Oddly, in 1998 the NIH and CDC reclassified overweight BMI from 27.8 to 25, effectively overnight making 29 million Americans overweight. They were all healthy the day before, now they're told to lose weight. This done with no concern how they feel or perceive themselves -- no medical check-up with a primary physician. Is that something we want done to our kids?

Specifically, consider my case. At my lowest, most malnourished weight I was 175lbs. I'm 6'3". The BMI chart, at that height and weight, set me directly in the center on the "normal" BMI range.
Consider then, my psychologist and doctors trying to tell me I need treatment for my eating disorder when I can clearly see my body mass index is within normal range.

Now, extrapolate that information to the hundreds of thousands of at risk teens receiving these measurements at school.

Faulty information and science (in this case BMI) make terrible way-points to a healthy society. As long as our culture continues to yolk health and weight together, progress will be slow and harmful.

One chart to rule them all.



Red Band Society Missed Opportunity for ABC

This fall ABC launched Red Band Society, a dramedy that focuses on teenagers in the hospital. There's a couple cancer patients, a girl pre-transplant and another with anorexia, Emma. A couple episodes in i knew where things were headed. Emma was nice. Flirty and confident, she was the envy of other girls at her prom.

 "Like, oh My God. I'm jealous how skinny you are."

Make no mistake. This will be damaging to teenagers struggling with eating disorders. It will fuel unhealthy body image and harmful behaviors that contribute to starvation.

I am upset. Mostly for the missed opportunity the network gave away. And for what? How could enabling eating disorder behavior ever be a good idea? Are the producers and writer too obtuse to recognize the negativity and feeling a character like this can have?
I have no answers.

I do not dislike the show. In fact I encourage a more prevalent role of people with eating disorders in media. That's why I have this blog and tell those who ask and listen.
However, this characterization of anorexia if off the mark.

So what really happens?


From Liana Rosenman for Project Heal: 

• Abnormally slow heart rate and low blood pressure, which means the heart muscle is changing. The risk for heart failure rises as the heart rate and blood pressure levels sink lower and lower. 
Reduction of bone density (osteoporosis), which results in dry, brittle bones.

• Muscle loss and weakness.

• Severe dehydration, which can result in kidney failure.

• Fainting, fatigue, and overall weakness. 
Dry hair and skin; hair loss is common. 
Growth of a downy layer of hair—called lanugo—all over the body, including the face, in an effort to keep the body warm.

Eating Disorders are a deadly mental illness. I have personally seen it take away someones life.

If you or someone you know are having problems with weight or think maybe you have an eating disorder it may help to ask someone who knows. Contact the NEDA Helpline @ (800) 931-2237  Monday-Thursday from 9AM to 9PM Eastern Time and Friday 9AM to 5PM.

Or click here to find help on their site.

Eat less. Exercise more

A common conversation with my brain goes like this:

"You need to eat before you workout so you have energy to burn."
"So I need to eat so I can go to the gym to lose weight the I gained by eating?"
"Yep."
"But if I don't eat then I don't have to go to the gym to lose weight I gained by eating."
"No."
"But if I don't eat I'll lose weight. And if I don't eat and workout I'll lose weight faster."
"No"
"But if I don't eat then ..."
"No."
"Why?"
"Science."
"Damnit, brain. You're right."

As a culture struggling with obesity we're told by media to eat healthier (read as "less") and exercise more. Generally, that's true. But for a growing percentage of Americans it's a recipe for disaster. A piece in Outside Magazine outlined, for one group, the difficulty and danger that comes from following common advice spewed from troves of lifestyle and fitness magazines.

The author told the story of a man training for a marathon, who, despite following a rigid balanced diet and daily mileage goals, was not getting any of the numerous benefits of an active lifestyle. His consulting physician said his reduced sex drive and chronic fatigue were due to eating too little, which led to a hormore deficiency and sent his body into a starvation state. The fix, while seeming counter intuitive is, with a basic knowledge of metabolism, frankly straight forward, eat more.

My mind can understand these facts but lacks the trust to use them, because a more sinister truth is below the surface.

Ten years ago when I was at the start of my eating disorder I ate very little and exercised twice a day. I lost weight. It worked, I lost weight. Years later, I did the exact same thing again and lost weight. It's how I've always done this, in a very unhealthy and dangerous way usually ending with me postponing my career and education malnourished in the hospital.

Now, on finishing substance abuse treatment, I've gained much weight -- more than my healthy weight set by a dietitian. So I'm in a position to legitimately lose weight.

This time I'm doing it right. Yes, I'll argue within myself. And it may be a struggle at time. But it's worth getting healthy the right way.

Assignment 5

In my seventh week of substance abuse treatment the assignment is to write an autobiography. Or, rather, summarize ones life with emphasis on significant addictive events, tragedy, moments of personal growth, and religion (because one can't get clean without religion, but that's for another time.)

Of course, the glaring difficulty with asking someone who has had frequent blackouts over the last decade to recall specific events of that decade is obvious.

Dozens of memoirs are on my bookshelves. The majority of them I've read. They fall into two categories. The authors who write what happened, however crude or objectionable; and the authors who write what happened followed by understanding, perspective and often remorse. That is not to say either author doesn't feel remorse or guilt -- a mistake I feel critics make if the author doesn't explicitly state regret -- only they have made the editorial decision that writing about it plays a significant role in the narrative. Most times, I think, this is done to appease the detractors.

Ultimately, I realize people will think what they want, and often, likely, say it to my face.

So, step one in writing a narrative of drug history: be confident, honest and humble.

Here we go...