Lady Jane, you Goonie!

Heyyyyy you guys, I totally love "the Goonies"! I even travelled to Astoria, OR where they filmed the movie and I have a photo of me and a Baby Ruth bar (natch) in front of the Walsh house. Plus, there's an awesome pirate! Which of the Goonies is your favorite?

Happy Trails!

I'm kinda psyched because I am running my first race this year on Saturday! I will be running with a couple of other folks in my lab, and so it should be a great time! It's *just* 5 miles on a hilly dirt trail, and I've been subjecting myself to various hills in training so I hope that I'm ready. Because I run pretty slow, and don't really care about how I place in my age group and all that other ego-related jazz, I'm just looking at Saturday's race to be a good run in a beautiful park. But...if I manage to run near 11 minutes/mile, it'll be icing on the cake.
Keep it real. :) LJS

PS: Yipppee! Marathons!
__________________________________________________________________
5/1/06 update: My time was...11:07 min/mile... which is good for my slow-poke self! Next up is the Ann Arbor-Dexter 10K on June 4th!

April 21st, a 31st for one

I was reading an email from Mad Sweeney about defending his home from the brigands of New Jersey-ites, and it reminded me of my favorite passage from Rumi.

"The worth of a treasury is indicated by the many locks upon it. The greatness of a traveler's goal is marked by the intricate windings of the way, and the mountain passes to be endured, and the brigands infesting them"

Domie; Happy Birthday! Today we celebrate with you as you mark another trek around the sun. May your travels be marked with joy, love and difficult turns, for it is these that make the journey worthwhile. I thank you for a quiet ear, a happy laugh, many jokes, and your caring soul.

Hugs and kisses from afar. Love, LJS

PS...The Depends, denture fixatives, and large-print Readers' Digests are in the mail! :P

John Sinclair

Last year, I had seen John Sinclair present some of his poems at the Ann Arbor Library and I thought two things.
1) He is an amazing poet. Some people write poems to be read, John's poems are meant to be heard.
2) He does these presentations for himself as much as he does them to for the audience. It's evident that when he recites his poems, he is taken back to when he wrote it, to when he had these experiences.

With that in mind, I had written this.
_________________________________________________________
When I am an old man,
my beard will be wild.
I'll wear a fanny pack
my khaki's are torn
and, of course, my shirt is black.

My tales of lore, looking back
to a yesteryear where men were cats
and women were babes.
Take me away, my poem, take me
to my old glory days.

Of baseball and jazz and pot
I still think of Lennon (alot)
and my love of Monk grows
like Sunshine beads through my woes.

Take me away, my poem, take me
to my glory days.
When my rage would awaken
the sun, rise me too.
My cries howl with the hoardes.
My beat goes on and on.

My rages of youth replaced
by a calm and mellow oasis
slowly spreading
over my heart's arid landscape.
In my soul, I feel her
Somehow, through my pain.
I love, though, for sure.

Take me here, my poem, take me
to my glory days where I live.
My wife, my love.
I adore you until I have no more life.
Let my mouth tell you through and through.
All my days, I love you. I do.

Release your inner ninja

Daniel-san writes so well that I can't help to contemplate grabbing some ninja jammies of my own. Enjoy his fine fine literary musings. If he's agreeable, I'll post more of his writing. But, hopefully he'll soon join the esurient mass of bloggers.
Setting sail, stealthly and in my jammies...
:) LJS

RELEASE YOUR INNER NINJA

By Daniel

Today, I have nothing to do. Well, I do, but my boss is on vacation

and when the cat is away, the mice will play. This is true in even

amongst the hardest groups of workers. Since I am stuck here in front

of my brain sucking computer, I thought I might share a few thoughts I

have had recently in an effort to get them out, make sense of them, and

then laugh at them. My wife says I have a sick sense of humor and often

wonders whether she should laugh or worry, so to clarify, you all may

laugh. No need to worry.

A few days ago, a member of a message board I was on posted an

aggravated question about his new neighbors and their desire to ride

un-muffled dirt bikes at one in the morning, and what he should do to

stop them. The suggestions that followed were those from every walk of

life (religious preference, ethnic background, law breaking, law

abiding, etc.). My suggestion? Learn the ways of the Ninja.

While the various people argued (people argue over anything

nowadays) back and forth over their beliefs, I plugged away with my

philosophy on what should be done. Mostly from a humorous standpoint.

My thoughts were well received by the originator, but as most people do,

the over-analytical political correctness of today's American took over

and my thoughts were discounted. To each his own. I sat back and

watched as the "love thy neighbor" crowd got their butt kicked by the

"kick his ass" crowd, and then trampled every rational idea in between.

It is just like us to argue so much that we move from the original

problem and begin attacking each other on a personal level. Which of

course leaves the individual with the problem standing there, shaking

their head in disbelief, and of course with no solution.

You are probably asking what this has to do with the Ninja. Well, in

reality, nothing. It is simply just a state of mind on how to deal with

a pesky neighbor. The Ninja today is more commonly acquainted with

something one may see on Saturday morning cartoons, or in a video game,

but the actual history of the Ninja is shrouded in secrecy. Today's

versions are merely modern interpretation of fables dating back 1100

years. In fact, the word Ninjitsu, which the word Ninja is derived

from, means "the art of stealth," and I can see where this could be

handy in dealing with the annoyance in question. You see, there is

nothing funnier than watching someone (the annoyance) get up quickly and

look around dumbfounded wondering what happened to them. Sort of like

falling flat on your face and then getting up to see if anyone saw it

happen. I think the art of stealth is a much more fun and satisfying

way to rid yourself of the pestilence next door. Some may argue that it

would be sinking to the level of said individual, and that the police

should be called or ask him nicely to stop, but I say, fight fire with

fire. Release your inner Ninja.

In the case of the midnight motocross, one could play many tricks to

curtail this behavior in the future, and not even break the law. The

first thing you will need is jammies. Yes, that's right, Ninja jammies.

Those solid black outfits that give the true Ninja his stealth. But

lets get creative. There is a certain creepiness about running around

in the woods at night, and even the most boozed up motorcycle rider as

invincible as they may seem, can easily have the bejesus scared out of

them. So along with your jammies, you'll need a ghoulish mask.

Something realistic. Next time Knievil gets on his bike for a midnight

cruise, don your outfit and head out into the woods. The biggest part

of the plan at this point is to figure your escape route. This is most

important as a true Ninja will never be apprehended. Once you have

figured out the plan, find a tree or any suitable shrubbery and hide

behind it. When the biker comes along, with perfect Ninja skill and

timing, jump towards the motorcycle, but not in front. Although you must

be seen to get the full effect of the scare, it would only be

momentarily, and will leave a lasting impression. Do not wait to see if

your plan worked, as escape in the opposite direction of your home is

more important. You will know your plan worked when the motorcycle goes

back inside never to be heard from again unless the sun is out. Then

sit back and revel in your success. Your spouse will wonder what you

are constantly snickering at, but you must never tell as a Ninja never

reveals his secrets.

***This article was written only as a parody. The world of the Ninja

can be very dangerous, and the writer assumes no responsibility for

injuries occured while attemping. Do not try this at home.

Professional driver on closed course. All models are over 18. Objects

in mirror are closer than they appear. If rash occurs, discontinue use

and seek professional medical treatment. This product not 100 percent

effective against preventing pregnancy.***

Random Kvetch

I'm glad to see that even a fool hasn't pforgotten the fundamentals of running a company. I wish I could get paid $15 million/year to run a company to the ground. And my stock hangs out at $24/share like a unwashed drunken house guest at 4am. It's just not going anywhere...dammit.

New...Everything!

Hey y'all,
I redid the whole damn blog! New name, new link, new template, new links! Wowee-zowee! I adore the artwork, many thanks to Selina for being so nice to us bloggers.
And, thanks to Hypey for "letting me" use the template 'cause it really wouldn't have fit in the Institute...anywhere.
Ahoy! :) LJS

Friendly

I love Ohio, people are super friendly and kind. I thoroughly enjoyed my run yesterday in Hinckley Metropark yesterday because I saw so many people who said "good morning" and "hello" back to me. Contrast that to my experiences here in Michigan where people will look at you, after you've greeted them, and completely ignore you. It's still a culture shock for me, especially after growing up in Ohio and going to undergrad in Wheeling aka "the friendly city" WV. Have you experienced anything like that?
:) LJS

Unpimp

I'm totally digging the "Unpimp" VW commercials, many thanks to Monkey Boy for the link.

da Blog has a contest!!

Yours truly is a runner. Well, come to think of it, I should be saying I am a foot shuffler. Semantics aside, my old pair of Mizunos has seen better days and I am retiring them to the land of casual tennis shoes. They will be very happy indeed. The retirement party will involve tequila.
I have two (yes, two!) new inductees to the LJS method of torturing shoes, otherwise known as long-distance running, and I'd like to bond with them. In addition to running in them, I want to name them. Actually, I'd like you to help me name them. So...I'm holding the first-ever grand and exciting contest on da Blog. And it is "Name my Shoes". Awesomely cool huh?
To get you started, I'll give you my ideas. I want your comments people!

a) Spunky and Kinky
b) Fred and Barney
c) Dick and Jane
d) Betty and Boop

Happy trails, :) LJS

The Joy of Discovery

After spending a day impaling little mousey legs onto a thumb tack, I was getting pretty sick of the minutae of doing research such as the pettiness and frustration and (sometimes) egotism that is typically associated with these endeavors. Last night I saw Samuel Ting, a Nobel Laureate in Physics, speak. This dude found a new subatomic particle, the J quark, that has properties that are very different from other quarks. He won his Nobel prize only two years after publishing his discovery, which is the shortest amount of time anyone has won a Nobel after publishing.
And, he loves UM football.
Earning your respective field's top accolade gives one a unique perspective and I was very curious on what he would talk about. He had five lessons, based on his career. The last lesson, the one I like most, was always find joy in discovery. Think about that. The joy of discovery. How simple, how wonderful.
How many times have you found something new or seen things in a different light? How do you feel afterwards? Excited, happy to learn, joyful? Or, depressed because you don't have things "right" and your safe haven of reality is thrown off kilter?
I'm off to discover the effect of diabetes on bone health. Even though the data analysis is routine, I'm excited because I'll be discovering something new. With spring here, there are so many chances for new discoveries and much joy. The crocus flowers, the chirping robins, new career opportunities, watching amourous squirrels chase each other, new loved ones.

PS, This morning in yoga class, I learned where my kidneys are located. I've been wrong all these years! Cool huh?

Approval ratings

I had an epiphany last night. But, for me, these rare moments of clarity are sponsored by some very unpleasant realizations.
(Highly relevant tangent: two years ago at my JOB, I saw a rather large bumblebee hanging out in the lounge, obviously trying to get out. Since my policy on killing insects is "if it's cute, I try not to kill it", I grabbed a styrofoam cup and trapped the bee inside the cup. I took the cup outside and freed the bee. Nice story huh? Well, I learned a really important lesson from that seemingly simple experience because I worried if the bee was anxious while it was trapped.)

Here's the lesson: in order to obtain true freedom, one must endure a bit of imprisonment. The trick is figuring out what is holding us back, because what impales us with fear or anxiety is often invisible to us.
Flash forward to last night. I was chatting with my sister and I came to a complete and total understanding that my mother would much rather give her time and energy to those who could care less about her. All of my feelings of being rejected had hit me like a stone wall: I got really upset and wanted to confront my mom about this. Ask her why if she could spend all of her love and attention on people who just use her, then why couldn't she give me just a little bit especially when I want nothing else. After some more reflection and thinking, I am starting to realize that seeking approval and attention from my mom was one of my prisons. Even just realizing this has released some emotional tension and this new feeling is...freeing.
Buzzing off, :) LJS

PS...check out the photographs of Dick Dokas