Schedule change changed back
Measles… they’re baaack.
Despite the scientific evidence, however, many still cling to this unfounded fear. (We have Jenny McCarthy and Oprah to thank for this.) An increasing number of parents are deciding to play it “safe” by not giving their children the triple vaccine designed to protect against measles, mumps, and rubella. As a result, measles is making a comeback.
Score one for pseudoscience!
Banning obese diners?
The odds of such a ridiculous infringement on our personal freedom actually becoming law? Unlike the people it’s supposed to protect, hopefully slim.
Well hello!
If any of you have previous knowledge of Brenda Dickson and her legendary video “Welcome to my Home,” I have one question for you: WHY HAVE YOU NOT TOLD ME ABOUT HER??
The first half is a compilation of clips giving advice on fashion. (“Ostrich feathers, anyone?”) The second half is her fitness advice. (“Fruit is the best thing you can eat. It’s pre-digested!”)
GENIUS.
"If You Can Sit, You Can Get Fit…."
This video speaks for itself. From hawaiichair.com, some information about this marvel of technology:
The Perfect Hawaii Chair combines the ancient art of the Hula with patented 2,800 RPM Hula motor to create an easy-to-use waistline slimming and fat burning aerobic workout exercise machine that take the work out of your work.
Permanent schedule change
A downside to this restructuring is that GECs are required to teach four classes per week. Since these must be classes already on the schedule, that means the classes have to be taken from instructors already teaching them.
This is all a long-winded way for me to say that I won’t be teaching the 7:30pm TBC on Monday evenings, starting this coming Monday. There’s a possibility that I’ll eventually get the class back, but for the time being it’s no longer mine. Keep in mind that the class is still on — it’s just being taught by Bianca from now on.
Not the end of the world. At least they didn’t take a step class. Phew!
Fast food calorie counts
The Board of Health claims the informed consumer will think twice before purchasing calorie-heavy items. Meanwhile the Restaurant Association claims posting calorie content won’t have any effect on the consumer’s choice.
So if there won’t be any effect, why is the NYRA fighting to block the proposal? They claim the menus will look cluttered. Give me a break.
‘Tis the season to get sick
Reader’s Digest to the rescue. OK, it’s not the Journal of the American Medical Association, but the tips to stay healthy are still good. Among the pearls of wisdom:
2. Wash your hands twice.
6. Nuke your toothbrush.
8. Avoid stress at work.
10. Crack your windows at home.
13. Sit in a sauna.
21. Don’t blow your nose. Wipe it.
And if you do catch a cold? Roast garlic in the oven and spread it on toast. Now that’s advice I can follow.
Simpler days, more complex hair
Alesia, the woman to the right in this picture, is one of the people responsible for training me as a step instructor for the University of Virginia’s group fitness program (where I got my start teaching step).
Heather, unfortunately not pictured, was also responsible for my training. More importantly, however, she ran UVa’s impressive fitness program more efficiently than most professional gyms are run today.
As it turned out, these women were also a blast to hang out with. As such, they became dear friends of mine. I even lived with them for a brief period of time.
In the above picture, Alesia and I (yes, that’s me) are team-teaching a double-step class at a conference in Richmond, TWELVE years ago. If memory serves me, Alesia was sick as a dog that day. Halfway through our routine, she ran off stage to go throw up, leaving me on stage with no choreography left to teach. Memories!
Thanks to my friend Mark, for digging these picture up from God-knows-where and sending them to me.
Wine: better than ever for you
There have already been many studies that conclude wine drinkers have healthier hearts, but none of then have truly explored the nature of this link. In fact, it’s possible that people with healthy habits tend to also be wine drinkers, so wine could actually not be responsible at all for improving health.
A new study, however, is making wine look better than ever. It found that
What was unique about this study is that it focused on a specific way wine could be helping the heart: low level inflammation, which can lead to fatty deposits in the arteries. Both red and white wine increased HDL (good cholesterol) levels and lowered inflammatory substances in the blood. Red worked better than white.
Although the study was only performed on women, I can’t imagine the results would be much different for men.