grrrl boxer carnival here May 18!

I'm hosting a Blog Carnival called Grrls Boxer Shorts for females who enjoy boxing, alone or with others, for competition or for fitness,or simply to watch and yell and wince. Everything on topic is welcome - bios, anecdotes, creative writing, photos, tips, work out music, etc.

Submit links at the carnival page online submission form, or post to me here in comments. This is my first try at this, so we'll see how it goes. Could be cool!

Thank you to Katie for introducing me to Carnivals and for inviting me to submit to this one: check out her Carnival of Feminists at her fab blog kit kat's critique!

why I hate Yahoo

okay, there are lots more reasons to hate Yahoo, but this represents a bunch of them. Posting this before my head explodes


caloric restriction vs. anorexia

Ideas! Thought! Information! Kate Taylor delivers unusual insights and logic in a quick and easy read in this terrific piece showing how similar anorexia and the caloric restriction fad are; Slate ran eating for fewer than one today. I've never been anorexic, but because I've had friends and clients who were, I've done a lot of reading about it over the years, and thought I had a pretty complete grasp of the subject. Yet the insights Kate offers in this brief article are fresh and profound.

How she manages weaving her personal experience into this essay successfully gives her ideas authority. It's nice to see this style of writing carrying such value in content, for two reasons: one, I'm a big fan of narrative as a teaching medium; and two, usually, we general readers would only stumble upon such information in a stuffy, overwrought, verbose academic piece, and I believe that writing style is just not necessary to convey complex ideas.

Back to the content, I've seen some pieces on this caloric restriction fad in the media, and it didn't sit right with me. Now I understand why.

So I urge anyone remotely interested in these topics to read her piece. Judging by this article, I'd say Taylor's upcoming book is one to watch--an anthology of essays about anorexia called Going Hungry, which will be published next spring. Taylor is an arts reporter at the New York Sun.

exerpts

Like anorexics, CRONies discover in starvation an apparent solution to their problems: a source of energy (at least at first), a sense of purpose, and relief from stress...

my interviews led me to conclude that calorie restriction, while not anorexia, constitutes its own new kind of eating disorder.

new vid

My first project through iMovie! This program is so frigging awesome!

Armed Miss America 1944 stops intruder


What's not to love in this story? Be sure to read the last line.

AP no byline - Waynesburg, Ky
--Miss America 1944 has a talent that likely has never appeared on a beauty pageant stage: She fired a handgun to shoot out a vehicle's tires and stop an intruder.

Venus Ramey, 82, confronted a man on her farm in south-central Kentucky last week after she saw her dog run into a storage building where thieves had previously made off with old farm equipment. Ramey said the man told her he would leave. "I said, 'Oh, no you won't,' and I shot their tires so they couldn't leave," Ramey said. She had to balance on her walker as she pulled out a snub-nosed .38-caliber handgun.

"I didn't even think twice. I just went and did it," she said. "If they'd even dared come close to me, they'd be 6 feet under by now." Ramey then flagged down a passing motorist, who called 911. Curtis Parrish of Ohio was charged with misdemeanor trespassing, Deputy Dan Gilliam said. The man's hometown wasn't immediately available. Three other people were questioned but were not arrested.

After winning the pageant with her singing, dancing and comedic talents, Ramey sold war bonds and her picture was adorned on a B-17 that made missions over Germany in World War II, according to the Miss America Web site. Ramey lived in Cincinnati for several years and was instrumental in helping rejuvenate Over-the-Rhine historic buildings. She returned to Kentucky in 1990 to live on her farm.

"I'm trying to live a quiet, peaceful life and stay out of trouble, and all it is, is one thing after another," she said.

___

Kuronya taking on USA Boxing -- in courtroom

Remember this story? Kuronya, the 2006 captain of the Elite USA Women's Boxing Team, filed suit March 1 in US District Court in Portland against US Amateur Boxing, charging gender discrimination and civil rights violations. There's been some movement already, even before a judgment: USA Boxing's website announced recently that "female boxers will be extended the same travel stipends as the males who qualify to attend the tournament."

The Boston Globe covered it nicely. I mention it not only because they did a good job, but because it's nice to see the story getting such high-profile exposure.

Here's a link to a video piece on the story by Globe Newspaper Co. I just love this new video journalism genre.

office ergonomics

Since I'm having some problems, thought I'd post the basics. While these guidelines are officially approved in the U.S., they still have a ways to go; after all, sitting with 90 degrees at the hips is bad for you. Still, it's something.

From this article at Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Trauma



And there's a recommendation to break for ten minutes every hour. Someone tell me how you do that and keep your job?

weightlifting video playlist

I'm building a vlog of my fave lifting videos on YouTube. I find YouTube's performance spotty; sometimes all my account items show up, but oftentimes they don't. It may be a matter of time until everything shows up throughout their system. Anyway, seems handy; we'll see how this goes.

Here's one of the all-time best lifting videos I've found so far. The lift is a powerclean. The video production, with the tactical analysis technique--slowdown with the lines drawn onto the image--is super. DWHA says he found it on the net.



See that Dartfish insignia in the corner?

Dartfish appears to be a video software (with a certification-based course structure on using it) that focuses on sports as one of its specialities. Its headquarters is in Switzerland, another office is in France, and its US office is in Georgia.

Competition : Home-made gym equipment

ETA: NOTE This contest is over, but Straight to the Bar often has cool contests going on, so if this is up your alley, stop by.

How cool is this? Scott Bird over at the venerable Straight to the Bar just announced a contest where - it's true - everyone's going to win and, of course, some peeps will win the ultimate: free stuff. While I'll scare up competition for myself by advertising, this is just too fun not to share the joy.

click here for homemade gym equipment competition details

"Construct something for use in your workouts. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a sandbag, a squat rack or a full-blown all-in-one machine. The only constraint is that is has to be constructed between now and May 30 2007. No old stuff, please."

window in full light

no filter, raw photos. shot right into blazing setting sun, camera freaking out.



fence light show

raw pics. shot right into the sun.


spring kitties!



It's that time of year again!

heavy bag fall down go boom

Wham! Fall down. The D-ring holding it up wore through! You know you're working it regularly when...

The pink ribbon is from the guy I bought the stand from; he'd given it as a birthday present to his girlfriend. She apparently didn't stick with it. I left the bit of balloon ribbon on it.