waking up on their first morning here,
the aussie joeys begin their day,
amidst
junk food,
stuffed animals,
blankets
and
cartoons.
and
in the cottage
of their grandmother,
peaches
who loves them.
—
life would be perfect if:
Mondays were fun, junk food was healthy, drama didn’t exist,
and goodbyes were only until tomorrow.
– author unknown
children and the young at heart
are encouraged to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty
in honor of International Mud Day.
a man is getting old when he walks around a puddle instead of through it. ~R.C. Ferguson
—
image credits: letthechildrenplay.com, firefliesandmudpuppies,g2goutside.org
the more time i spend in the “always interesting” world of online dating, the more i’m amazed by the many options and specialized sites that appear. npr recently featured the latest in michigan dating sites: yooper. singles.com.
for those of you not familiar with the state of michigan, it’s made up of two peninsulas. the lower peninsula, and the more remote and rustic, upper peninsula. the upper peninsula (u.p.), is where the ‘yoopers’ live. originally settled by the native americans, and later the cornish and finns who came to work in the mining and logging industry, they have their own dialect, and have tried off and on to become their own state. much to their dismay, they are still a part of our state as of this posting.
one of the food mainstays for these hardy working people were pocket sandwiches/pies known as pasties. filled with root veggies, and with or without meat or fish, a pasty is considered an art form in the u.p., with recipes passed on through generations.
and just like people from every culture all over the world, yoopers are on the universal quest for love. thus, their site was born, and just like every other dating site, it has its own slant, target demographic, and set of parameters. to register you’re required to answer a series of questions only a yooper would love:
a) how do you prefer your pasty served?
naked, with ketchup, with gravy
b) favorite color?
carharrt tan, real tree camo, duct tape grey
c) interests?
wearing plaid, bear wrestling, outdoor snow activities, chopping wood, home brewing
d) favorite great lake?
and then there’s the pitch:
At Yooper Singles we will match you with a quality Yooper. Each of our members is looking for a long lasting connection, that’s deeper than Lake Superior. Every year, dozens of single Yoopers seek love in the vast forests of the Upper Peninsula and along the beaches of the Great Lakes. Yooper Steez pioneered the dating industry in the Upper Peninsula by launching Yooper Singles and within days, YS has served as many as eighteen Yoopers, across all fifteen Upper Peninsula counties. We continue to redefine the way single Yoopers meet, flirt, date and share pasties, proving time and again that you can make love happen in the Upper Peninsula and that lasting relationships are possible. Our members aren’t only serious about finding flannel, saunas, and pasties, they also seek love. Yooper Singles puts you in control of your love life; meeting that special Yooper and forming a lasting relationship, where you can live happily ever after … in a log cabin. Whether you’re interested in Lumberjack Dating, Fisherman Dating, Finnish Dating, Native American Dating, or just finding someone to share your venison with, we can help you find the date or relationship that fits you best. Search free through all of our online personals. Literally, dozens of single Yoopers in your area have posted their dating profiles on Yooper Singles. Young and old alike, bearded and not, from everywhere around the world, there is a Yooper waiting for you. Find your Yooper today!
and the reviews:
I have finally found my lifetime sauna partner — Toivo
Thanks, for helping me find my lumberjack— Jane
love, eh?
maybe i’ve been looking on the wrong peninsula?
i do really love the great lakes and pasties and accents.
still not sure about the bear wrestling though.
Right now, I’m as single as a slice of American cheese.
Nick Cannon
credits: npr/stateside, yooper.singles.com, michigan pasties
Red wine compound improves memory
The antioxidant resveratrol, most often associated with red wine, improves memory and brain function in elderly people, though it is also found in peanuts, chocolate, and other fruits in addition to grapes. It has been linked to better heart health, anti-aging effects and even (in limited laboratory studies) cancer-fighting properties. A study published this month in the Journal of Neuroscience has released the first evidence that resveratrol improves memory and brain function in elderly people.
The improvement in memory occurred in parallel with an improvement in glucose metabolism—the way the body breaks down sugar. Researchers compared 46 people between 50 and 75 years old, who were given either a resveratrol supplement or a placebo pill for 26 weeks. Before and after the 26-week intervention, they tested the participants’ memory (by measuring their recollection of words they had been told 30 minutes earlier) and used brain imaging to measure the size and connectivity of a brain area called the hippocampus, which is critical for our ability to form memories. They also did blood tests to measure participants’ metabolism and markers of inflammation. The participants who took resveratrol lost body fat, showed an improvement in glucose control (poor glucose control is linked to type 2 diabetes), and scored better on the memory test compared to participants who were given a placebo.
Brain imaging also revealed that the connectivity between memory centers in their brains (hippocampus and frontal cortex) had increased. This trial is small and preliminary, but its results are promising—resveratrol might represent a new strategy to prevent brain aging.
The aging process has you firmly in its grasp if you never get the urge to throw a snowball.
~Doug Larson
—
credits: emilie croisier, intelligent optimist magazine
(Source: Journal of Neuroscience June 2014, doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0385-14.2014, Pubmed)
http://theoptimist.com/red-wine-compound-improves-memory/#!30z39
happy birthday sweet baby girl
you are the last
of the grandbabies
six under six
to turn two
little r.
and your beloved dog, baron
and the rest of our family
will always watch over you
and look up to you
even if you are the youngest.
One of the virtues of being very young
is that you don’t let the facts get in the way of your imagination.
~Sam Levenson
the more injuries you get, the smarter you get.
mikhail baryshnikov
yes, it’s a sports injury.
no, i was not
playing in a world cup match
representing the u.s.a.
i was
walking in the house
while singing bohemian rhapsody.
with gusto.
opera style.
a door jumped in my way.
out of nowhere.
now my baby toe is broken.
and feels a little jacked up.
i must be a genius by now.
—
image credit: nationalgeographic.omc
the aussies have finally landed on the continent
and the little joeys have been like this since their arrival in nyc.
can’t wait until they hit ann arbor on sunday night.
—
jet lag is your soul trying to catch up after flying.
ryan ross
having a bit of trouble posting this one, and i apologize in advance if you get this 3 times )
as i watched team u.s.a. hold their ground tonight against portugal
it reminded me of where i was 20 years ago.
it was 1994
and somehow
i talked my boss where i was an advertising intern during the day,
and my boss at the hotel where i worked as a cocktail waitress at night,
and my professors where i was taking classes at all hours,
and my ex-husband who i shared my daughter-time with,
into agreeing to work around my special schedule for a few weeks.
i applied to work at the 1994 fifa world cup here in detroit.
4 matches would be played on my turf.
and i told fifa i would love to do it
before i had negotiated any time off
but
i knew it would be a once in a lifetime extraordinary experience
and that i would find a way to do it.
—
my job…
View original post 592 more words
as i watched team u.s.a. hold their ground tonight against portugal
it reminded me of where i was 20 years ago.
it was 1994
and somehow
i talked my boss where i was an advertising intern during the day,
and my boss at the hotel where i worked as a cocktail waitress at night,
and my professors where i was taking classes at all hours,
and my ex-husband who i shared my daughter-time with,
into agreeing to work around my special schedule for a few weeks.
i applied to work at the 1994 fifa world cup here in detroit.
4 matches would be played on my turf.
and i told fifa i would love to do it
before i had negotiated any time off
but
i knew it would be a once in a lifetime extraordinary experience
and that i would find a way to do it.
—
my job was to work in press operations in the media center.
helping the press with credentials, schedules, seats. access and information.
and then
it became a reality.
we were taught about the nuances of soccer
the role of the press
how to deal with the passionate fans
and the customs and languages of the countries participating
learning helpful things like,
‘if a russian offers you a shot of vodka, it’s an insult to say no, so you’ll have to find a diplomatic way to do so.’
this was our transportation around the pontiac silverdome lot
where we met many enthusiastic fans along the way
and also
interesting press from all around the world.
on my first day,
a photojournalist
based in hong kong
working for the french press
of dutch and italian descent
walked in.
he was smiling
as i gave him his credentials,
answered his questions
and told him to enjoy the games.
later that night
i left the media center
and turned back into
a cocktail waitress.
as i approached a table
and a man at the table turned around
i saw that it was the journalist i had met earlier in the day.
we were surprised to see each other again
and he told me some of the press corps were staying at my hotel.
and i told him that i worked there on some nights.
very, very small world.
and we parted ways when his group left for the night.
each day at the world cup was a new adventure
i was able to see the matches
and enjoy the frenzied air of competition and excitement.
and many times
out of 78,000 people
the journo and i kept crossing paths.
between his schedule and mine
and ever changing locations
and job commitments
and no cell phones
and no computer
we kept trying to set up a time and place
to meet away from the stadium
when neither of us was working
to have a real conversation.
finally
it was his last night here
and the final match in detroit was being played.
i was finished in the media tent for the day
and we planned to meet at a local bar
after he filed his report.
i went to the bar
and found the brazilian fans there celebrating
it was total madness and fun and frolic
and then
the police came
and shut down the bar
for the first time
in history.
the brazilians’ exuberant enthusiasm
had somehow overflowed
to the outside
and they were dancing
a samba line
down woodward avenue
a major thoroughfare in the detroit area.
the bar was done for the night
and the crowd dispersed
and we never were able to find each other that night
we had no backup plan
for a place to meet
and we went our separate ways
armed with addresses
and the beginning of a friendship.
and i went back to my jobs/school/life
and he continued on with his assignments
and flew back to hong kong.
mp on assignment in new guinea
—
and we began to write letters
and we have been pen pals for 20 years now
and we send hand-written letters
and postcards
back and forth from all over the world
and we’ve gone through life together on paper
and stayed friends
who never dated
and maybe one day
we’ll find ourselves in the same country once more
at the same time.
and we can continue our conversation.
There is no distance too far between friends, for friendship gives wings to the heart.
– author unknown
some ideas,
like warm cookies and milk delivered to you
at your house or your dorm
until 3am,
are simple,
and just brilliant.
Insomnia Cookies was born out of the dislike of heavy meals late at night, love of food delivery, and the realization that by the time you get hungry at night, nothing is open. The concept was founded by Seth Berkowitz in 2003 from his dorm room while attending the University of Pennsylvania. Berkowitz started baking and delivering warm cookies to students late-night on campus… and Insomnia Cookies was born.
and now, when i see the truck heading out through the streets of ann arbor, i smile every time.
I usually travel with a posse. I roll deep.
I travel like a rapper, but without the artillery.
We don’t carry guns, we carry cookies.
Gabriel Iglesias
I didn't have my glasses on.... 