off the charts

This is Stephen Colbert's interview with Malcolm Gladwell the author of Outliers, the story of success, which I have yet to buy. He claims to have figures out the best year to be born in the 20th century if you want to become rich. Sorry, nothing we can do now!

to fight or not to fight

"When couples get together, one of their main jobs is reconciliation about conflict," Harburg said. "Usually nobody is trained to do this. If they have good parents, they can imitate, that's fine, but usually the couple is ignorant about the process of resolving conflict. The key matter is, when the conflict happens, how do you resolve it?"

The above is an exert from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor's news website, Newswise. Ernest Harburg is a professor emeritus with the School of Public Health and the Psychology Department at UoM and the lead author on the paper "Marital Pair Anger Coping Types May Act as an Entity to Affect Mortality: Preliminary Findings from a Prospective Study" which will appear in the Journal of Family Communications this month.

They report that in couples who do not fight, the likelihood of early death is twice as high! Now if that doesn't tell you that making your feelings known is a good thing, I don't see what does. You can find the article in Newswise here.

وقتی می آی

Albert Hall, London, 1987

Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness

"It's that time of year again!"

Lake Superior State University "maverick" word-watchers, fresh from the holiday "staycation" but without an economic "bailout" even after a "desperate search," have issued their 34th annual List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness. This year's list may be more "green" than any of the previous lists and includes words and phrases that people from "Wall Street to Main Street" say they love "not so much" and wish to have erased from their "carbon footprint."

- source

influences

We have always mocked how so much of our information about the world, animals and such comes from the programs we watched as children; but now that politicians are using their childhood learnings to discuss issues, it maybe time to reconsider our attitude!

I don't like forecasting, particularly if the future is involved.

- Yogi bear (quoted by Mitt Romney)

source of information

I went to see my podiatrist and this is, in concept, what it said on the cartoon picture on wall:

A few things you should know about your period:

1. it won't go away if you stand on your head
2. if you have 22 babies in 22 years you will avoid a lot of periods
3. if you go on vacation it will come with you
4. although PMS, GST and PST sound similar they are of very different nature

waterboarding

my two cents

It seems that a lot of people inside and outside the Liberal party agreed with me about the serious flaw in the leadership of the Liberal party. Yesterday, Dion finally did what he should have done after his defeat in the federal election and announced that he will step down once the Liberals have chosen a new leader.
But it's not that simple. New Brunswick MP, Dominic LeBlanc, has stepped down from the leadership race in support of Michael Ignatieff; but it seems that Bob Rae isn't being as kind or as thoughtful. He has been described as "bitter and angry" by other Liberal MPs. What surprises me is that Rae doesn't have much support either; personally I don't think he stands a chance. Ignatieff has been a favorite with both the MPs and party members for a while now. Whereas Rae, although well respected, has never had a strong endorsement from either group.
Anyway, I think it is in the interest of the Liberals, the coalition (which I am not sure will even make it until January) and maybe all Canadians to deal with this as soon as possible. Dragging it out can only give Harper the upper hand ...
This is Jon Stewart's take on the recent issues in Canada, eh!

state of mind

About 2pm on Sunday, unsuspectingly, we walked into a store on Davie. A woman about 50, thin, with light blue jeans and a not so stylish shirt and jacket, walked rapidly towards us and asked us in a very high pitched voice whether someone had referred us to the store and without pause followed that she has been in business since 1993. Silly me, I took it as a greeting and said: "no, we were just walking by."
As those words left my lips, her face grew tense and she started telling us how she dresses people and that people come from a long way away and that they make appointments ... and she didn't breathe! She talked faster and faster and grew more aggressive as she went on. We stood there with our eyes wide and our jaws hanging! I don't know how long that went on but it seemed an infinity.
As soon as she breathed to say that her store is not for looking around in, I turned to the door and reached to push it open. She yelled in her squeaky voice: "no, no, don't touch the door, I'll open it, you already jammed it!" Even if I had jammed it coming in, which I hadn't, she couldn't have known!
We walked out and away so shocked at what we had just witnessed that we couldn't even talk. We still haven't figured whether she was bipolar, high on drugs or just pure crazy and we couldn't even tell if she wanted us gone, wanted us to come back with an appointment or was looking for a specific reaction.
After getting something to eat we walked back to find the name of the shop. Believe me, she was walking out to slap me as I was looking for the name of the store on the window. And yes, I ran away before she got to the door!
It was reassuring to learn later that we weren't the only people who had encountered the crazy lady (apparently she's called Linda). I wonder how she is still in business! Oh, and the name of the store, State of Mind, how fitting!

a dose of sunshine

I have decided to start taking vitamin D. The general recommendation is for people in the lower mainland to take vitamin D supplements from October to April. In addition, ethnicity studies suggest that people with darker skin tones should take vitamin D supplements. So despite my resistance I am finally convinced! It hasn't been that long yet but I do feel a little more awake when I get up in the morning. Now whether that is psychological or it's really the effect of the pills I can't tell :)

Two related articles you may want to take a look at: sunshine vitamin, pregnant and lactating women and infants. The suggested intake for vitamin D is about 1000 IU per day. The table below gives some information about the sources of the sunshine vitamin.

Source: B.C. Ministry of Health
Food	Serving	Vitamin D
Milk	1 cup	100 IU
Fortified rice or soy beverage	1 cup	100 IU
Fortified margarine	2 tsp	53 IU
Salmon canned, pink	3 oz	530 IU
Tuna canned, light	3 0z	200 IU

حس آشنا

درست قبل از امتحان بود که یکی از بچه های ایرانی رو دیدم. گفتم می شه یه سوال بپرسم؟ با لبخند و خیلی مودب گفت: شما از من؟ و یه چیزی توی این مایه ها که آخه تو که خیلی خرخونی! اون موقع حواسم پرت بود و عجله داشتم، ولی بعدش که بهش فکر کردم نفهمیدم چرا اینقدر حرف به این سادگی حس آشنایی در من برانگیخته بود! چند ساعتی گذشته بود که دو هزاریم افتاد. این از اون حرفهایی بود که بچه ها توی مدرسه می زدن و سالها بود که کسی این حرف رو به من نزده بود! احساس دوران بچگی بود که اینقدر آشنا بود و حس برگشتن به اون موقع بود که من رو خوشحال کرده بود

torn

Yesterday, prime minister Harper asked the Governor General of Canada to prorogue parliament, despite the bad image it gives him. As he said, he was willing to take any legal measure to keep the government going. But on the other hand, in my opinion, the opposition coalition tried to stir things up a little too soon. I mean at the least the economic situation is tight and we just spent millions on an election!

Think of it, there's the Bloc Quebecois who basically supports mayhem and Harper just calls them the separatist although they have somewhat softened that tone. I can't say I disagree with him on that.
Then there is the NDP, who until yesterday were friends of the Conservatives and gave Harper the confidence of a majority government. I really don't understand Layton's move in getting with the coalition because he was a lot closer to Harper before and after the recent election and then he woke up on Wednesday and was buddies with Dion!
But the biggest and baddest of them all are the Liberals. I admired Paul Martin both as a minister and as the prime minister. When he stepped down there was no one to step into his position, the Liberals had no leader. On the other hand Steven Harper, despite the fact that I don't trust him, emerged as a strong leader. I think the quality of the televised messages from Harper and Dion (without even listening to the content) showed how much more organized and able the Conservatives are at this point in time.
The recent election showed the lowest level of Liberal support and of course everyone knew who was to blame. Now don't go blaming it on the accent, didn't everyone love Chrétien? It's his lack of leadership and his poor communication skills that repel people, even the Liberals themselves have admitted it time and time again. Dion is the type of guy you would put in charge of a museum, not a government.
So as far as the coalition goes, I don't support it at all. Two parties who have different objectives along with the separatist and no leader to pull them together isn't going to do Canada much good. Especially with the difficult financial situation we are facing. They might have had a chance if Dion was wise enough to let Layton lead. It goes without saying that I have never and will never approve of Harper and his politics, but right now he is the lesser of two evil.
All of this being said, suspending parliament seemed like a very extreme measure to me. My initial reaction was that Michaëlle Jean will not approve of it. After thinking about it a little more though it just seems very unconventional but most likely the correct move ... all of the controversy goes to show that even old Canada can stir things up a little. Now all we have to do is wait until the end of January to see what will become of Harper's government ...

diabetes cure?

Dr Mehran Anvari, McMaster University, is offering new hope to type 2 diabetes patients, especially those suffering from obesity. According to the article in Spec, a local Waterloo news website, 10% of people in Ontario suffer from diabetes. This is the posting for the study of Laparoscopic Bariatric surgery to treat type 2 diabetes in obese patients. The major concern is that the study is in its early stages and not all the side effects are known.

ballet

Today, Ballet British Columbia announced that they are laying off all the staff and dancers! What a shame! They are calling it a reorganization. The truth is that the dancers will either have to move away from Vancouver or find something temporary and hang around in hopes that it won't take them too long to get back into business. I think that's a big risk though and my guess is that the dancers who really care about their careers will move away ... if you live in Vancouver and haven't seen Nutcracker, I suggest you do it this year. Who knows if there will be a ballet any time soon in the city.

state of shock

Now I know I messed up bad
You were the best I ever had
I let you down in the worst way
It hurts me every single day
I'm dying to let you know

Now I'm here to say I'm sorry
And ask for a second chance
Cause when it all comes down to the end
I could sure use a friend

P.S. I know you will both be strong and make it through :)

right now

justice

I have always admired the great civilization of Egypt. I guess they owe their abundance, at least partially, to their long history. My envy is that as a society us Iranians come from a rich background too, but we have failed to hold ourselves to the same standards. I can't blame it on governments or systems because the Egyptians have had their fair share of corrupt leaders. I think it has more to do with our personal sense of belonging to the society and our willingness to fight for our human rights. I don't want to downplay the great men and women who have done so much for our country, but I'd like to draw attention to the moral values we may have given up on.
This is what triggered these thoughts in my mind again:

The student concluded that the government could do whatever it wanted - oppress, detain, torture, whatever - but if the judiciary was independent, then freedom had a chance in Egypt. Without these independent judges, there was no hope of protecting human rights.

- Amin Ashmawy (interview with Robin Wright)

This is a testament for truth's sake. If I did not record it, I would be accountable before God on the Day of Judgment. by what I write here, I do not intend to support or defame any party. It is merely a question of telling the truth, to which I have devoted my life, and to honor the justice that I have vowed to uphold.

- Noha al Zeiny, Al-Masri al-Youm newspaper, 2005 (Dreams and Shadows)

geeky humor

optimist: the glass is half full
pessimist: the glass is half empty
engineer: the glass needs to be redesigned

- Carl Selinger

me and her

It had been raining all night and now a little sunshine was coming through the clouds. I walked by a large window swiftly and took a quick glance at myself in the glass ... and ... I slowed down as I approached the next window ... and ... I WAS her ... I stood and looked at myself in the glass ... I looked like the person I had dreamed of being as a little girl. In the glass, I saw the image of a woman I had wanted to be ever since I was a child, and, now I AM her, I'M HER! By this time there was a big grin on my face ... me and my future image of me are one now ... I need a new vision ...

W, always a disappointment

We went to see the movie W. The only believable characters in the movie were Bush senior and junior. The rest of the movie was a mess; even the travels in time were a disaster. It had insignificant details highlighted and important events skimmed. I don't know what Stone was thinking but didn't it ever occur to him that the Bushs wouldn't be watching election reports on their home TV? All in all I would give it a mere 4 out of 10; just like W himself, a dissappointment!