What a wonderful world.

My favorite song ever........
    A wonderful way to wake up! David Attenborough does it again!
What a stunning commercial from BBC !
www.youtube.com/embed/auSo1MyWf8g?rel=0 

The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on. Carl Sandburg, Chicago Poems (1916) "Fog"

     The day began with heavy silent secret fog....chilling. Who knows what ghouls were out and about.  But then the sun appeared and it went on its way in rolling waves of indecision.

fog heading out

fog rolling back in

The Peace Factory

            
                                   shared from  Freedom Service Dogs         

Charleigh Brown, the Great Pumpkin

     I have a scout-mom good friend who has organized a boy scout haunted house for the past 5 years.  Last night I was privileged to help out a bit. I don't have the opportunity to be around little kids very often in my day-to-day life, so I had a blast!  It reminded me, yet again, how really good and sweet children can be.
     I got to run the pumpkin ping-pong toss....5 chances to toss ping-pong-eyeballs into pumpkin pails for only 1 ticket.  This simple game appealed to the small set. I did get lots of exercise chasing the bouncy eyeballs as they caromed around the cafeteria off of walls and between people's feet, but the kids helped, too, racing after the eyeballs they had lost....I think that was half of their fun. The best moment was when a costumed toddler dressed as a convict in stripes, took a try.  He was a smart kid....he gathered his ping-pong-eyeballs and toddled over to the pumpkin buckets and neatly put one in each.....no risky tossing or bouncing the eyeballs for him!  (This baby convict also won his age group in the costume contest).
     A popular game for the older elementary kids was shooting a rubber-band gun at a row of shrunken plastic heads and skulls dangling from strings.  How creative!  Of course, the most popular kid activity was the cake walk....but I got to see more than one winning cake accidentally upended on the floor while the winner wandered around.
     The boy scouts ran the haunted house.  There were hallways of games run by girl-scouts.  I was so proud of my friend for pulling off such a great event. It could have been chaotic, but wasn't.  I do not have that skill set.  I would have been pulling out my hair, but she remained calm and cheerful all evening.

     This morning was Saturday family fun-run group with costume contest.  Some people had amazing costumes!  I seem to lack the creative gene. Charleigh went as a jack-o-lantern.....Charleigh Brown, the great pumpkin.  The pet costume winner was a little chihuahua dressed as a squirrel.  He won 3 big marrow bones, bigger than he was, so shared one with Charleigh who was out of her mind with joy.  The costumes did freak Charleigh out a bit....especially the beagle in full fireman regalia complete with helmet, and the little boy dressed as a fuzzy purple dolphin who must have resembled a big stuffed toy.


Eat. drink, and be scary..........author unknown.

It took me a second.....

                      Non Sequitur                                   10-26-13

Urgent need to stop deforestation

     Below is a link to a short 6 minute talk by Robert Goodland, a tropical ecologist, who served as the World Bank Group's environmental adviser for 23 years.  He feels there is an urgent need to stop deforestation.  As you have read, raising and eating livestock is not sustainable.  The livestock sector is responsible for 51% of greenhouse gas formation.  According to Mr. Goodland, we have a very small window of time to reverse this.  The first tipping point will be massive flooding, possibly as early as 2017.
     The first thing we must do is decrease livestock production to free up food growth for people, to feed the expected future 10 billion humans and environmental refugees on earth by the end of the century.
     Secondly, in parallel, we must plant more trees to sequester carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere.
     Thirdly, it is essential to continue the rapid conversion from fossil fuel economies to renewable energy, but this will take far too long by itself.
     He feels, and I quote, that "we have no option.  We must do this or we will be wiped out as a civilization."
     Please take this information to heart, act on it, and spread it to everyone you know.
     

http://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/videos/advanced-study-weekend-experts/robert-goodland-deforestation/


     As a side note, this is interesting.  Bicycles are outselling new cars in  almost every European country.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/10/24/240493422/in-most-every-european-country-bikes-are-outselling-cars

"The reason we race isn't so much to beat each other but to be with each other." Christopher McDougall

     Runners are friendly, supportive people. We share the same experience, whether over 3 hours or 6 hours. It is hard.  At the race Sunday in my starting corral I met a woman from Washington state who runs for her daughter who died 4 years ago at age 14.  This Mom has run dozens and dozens of races in her daughter's memory to publicize the charity she started.  She showed me photos of all of her race medals. She is truly amazing.  The charity is BooksFromBug.org  Check it out.

     I've been reviewing my experiences over the past few months of training to determine what, if anything, I learned.  Running is mostly mental.  You are going to get tired.  You do it anyway, any which way you can. It is a metaphor for living a life.  Others have said it all so much better than I ever could, though.........
 
"It's important to know that at the end of the day it's not the medals you remember.  What you remember is the process--what you learn about yourself by challenging yourself, the experiences you share with other people, the honesty the training demands--those are things nobody can take away from you whether you finish twelfth or you're an Olympic Champion."---Silken Laumann, Canadian Olympian
   
"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face...You must do the thing which you think you cannot."   Eleanor Roosevelt

"A man can live his entire life without knowing whether or not he is a coward."  John Berryman

"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them.  They went out and happened to things."  Leonardo Da Vinci

Slow runners make fast runners look good.  You're Welcome.

At mile 20 I thought I was dead.

At mile 22 I wished I was dead.

At mile 24 I knew I was dead.

At mile 26.2 I realized I had become too tough to kill.

Denver Rock N Roll

     I finished in 5 hours, 57 minutes, and 16 seconds!  I got slower as I went along.  The first half or so I ran at a 12 min. per mile pace, but you can see that my overall time dropped to 13:38 min. per mile.  That is because I had to walk for two miles due to leg cramps after mile 21, and then did a run/walk thereafter.  But I finished!  And I see I was 9th out of 20 in my division, 958th out of 1996 for my gender, and 2128th out of 4376 overall.  I will take it.
     I plan no running at all for a while. It will be a welcome break.

Deborah Johnson

Littleton, CO

Age: 62 | Gender: F

• Overall: 
  2128 out of 4376
 
• Division: 
  9 out of 20
 
• Gender: 
  958 out of 1996

• Pace
• Chip Time
• Clock Time

• 13:38
• 05:57:16
• 06:19:03

That's me in the green shirt with the red jacket tied around my waist.  It was a cold but beautiful autumn day.  

     

and i have miles to go before I sleep

Wise Running

Today I will rock the run. 
I may not be the fastest, but I will give it what I have.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.  I couldn't sleep at all last night.  I'm trying to get my mind right.  It is all mental from this point on. I trained like I trained, so no second-guessing myself now.  Forecast--possible rain showers.

It's okay if the cougar eats me because I've done some really cool things."
--Jenn Shelton

Downtown

     It's a snowy cold morning here and I need to go downtown mid-day for a race expo.  I am hoping to take the light-rail, but I am expecting that all prudent commuters are doing the same, thus there will be zero parking spaces available mid-day at the light-rail stop.  I will maybe have to postpone until tomorrow if that is the case.
     I always have loved this song ever since I first heard it.  It is so cheerful, especially on a dreary day.

                                        (email subscribers go to blog to view video)


     Interesting news:  Mexico bans GMO corn effective immediately.
“Corn is a staple food crop in Mexico, intricately intertwined with the country’s cuisine, history, and culture. Authorities are concerned that Monsanto’s genetically modified corn will contaminate native species, and could cause both health and environmental issues,” Care2 reported at the time

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/mexico-bans-gmo-corn-effective-immediately.html#ixzz2i58nLlpV


"You cannot insert a gene you took from a bacteria into a seed and call it life.  You haven't created life, instead you have only polluted it."  Dr. Vandana Shiva

"As I'm sitting here doing nothing but aging..."

     I was listening to George Harrison singing "While my guitar gently weeps" this morning as I sat at the computer reading emails, facebook, etc.  Then I heard the line, "as I'm sitting here doing nothing but aging."  It is getting me off my chair and out the door. Happy Thursday to you and try to do less sitting and aging.

                                            Email subscribers go to blog to view video.  Thanks.

Review: "Eating on the Wild Side"

     I just finished reading Jo Robinson's book, "Eating on the Wild Side, the missing link to optimum health."  As you are probably aware, modern fruits and vegetables have been bred over the past 10,000 years for sweetness, large size, uniformity, and ease of harvest and transport; consequently there is a dramatic difference in nutrition between wild and domesticated plants, with wild varieties generally winning by a very large margin. Our foods have not been bred for increased phytonutrients.
     Robinson gives a short nutritional history of each group of fruits and vegetables, followed by very practical, research-based, suggestions as to which varieties available in the supermarket and the farmer's market today have the most nutrients.  She also suggests methods to store and cook each variety to help maintain, or even increase, nutrients.  If you are a gardener, she lists the varieties that are the healthiest.
     I really enjoyed it and suggest that, if you want the most bang for your buck from your supermarket shopping, you check-out this book from your local library and give it a read. If you really like it, you may want to buy it for your personal resource library.

   

Happy birthday to Paul Simon!

     Happy 72nd birthday to Paul Simon.  We loved the music of Simon and Garfunkel, (and Peter, Paul, and Mary, and of course, the Beatles).  Our kids can attest to this as we indoctrinated them early-on to "our music."

                                         shared from Hippie Peace Freaks
                                          (email subscribers must go to blog to view video)

     The Chicago Marathon is happening this morning.  I am watching an on-line stream from NBC. It looks like a beautiful day there.  So far the top 7 men are from Kenya and Ethiopia.  I'm not sure about the women.  I want to see some Americans closer to the front.  Go Chicago.
     Update:
          Dennis Kimetto of Kenya won the men's race in 2:03:45, a new course record.
          Rita Jeptoo, also of Kenya, won the women's race in 2:19:57.
          Carpe Diem!

     P.S.  Am I getting hardcore or what?  I just ordered a headlamp.  I hope it helps get me out the door in the coming dark winter days, plus keeps me safe.

"It was real, wasn't it? You and me. Such a long time ago, we were just a couple of kids. But we really loved each other, didn't we?"---The Notebook

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."  A.A. Milne

"He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much;  who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children;  who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;  who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;  who has never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it;  who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had;  whose life was an inspiration;  whose memory a benediction."--Bessie Stanley, 1905, commonly misattributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson

                                              Seasons of Love

Heaven is an hour spent at the pet-store.....

I treated Charleigh to a visit to the petstore.  She will do a sit-stay for hours and hours here.

How many dogs does it take to change a lightbulb?

1. Golden Retriever: The sun is shining, the day is young, we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and you're inside worrying about a stupid burned out bulb?

2. Border Collie: Just one. And then I'll replace any wiring that's not up to code.

3. Dachshund: You know I can't reach that stupid lamp!

4. Rottweiler: Make me

5. Boxer: Who cares? I can still play with my squeaky toys in the dark.

6. Lab: Oh, me, me!!!!! Pleeeeeeeeeze let me change the light bulb! Can I? Can I? Huh? Huh? Huh? Can I? Pleeeeeeeeeze, please, please, please!

7. German Shepherd: I'll change it as soon as I've led these people from the dark, check to make sure I haven't missed any, and make just one more perimeter patrol to see that no one has tried to take advantage of the situation.

8. Jack Russell Terrier: I'll just pop it in while I'm bouncing off the walls and furniture.

9. Old English Sheep Dog: Light bulb? I'm sorry, but I don't see a light bulb?

10. Cocker Spaniel: Why change it? I can still pee on the carpet in the dark.

11. Chihuahua: Yo quiero Taco Bulb. Or "We don't need no stinking light bulb"

12. Greyhound: It isn't moving. Who cares?

13. Australian Cattle Dog : First, I'll put all the light bulbs in a little circle...

14. Poodle: I'll just blow in the Border Collie's ear and he'll do it. By the time he finishes rewiring the house, my nails will be dry.

The Cat's Answer: Dogs do not change light bulbs. People change light bulbs. So, the real question is: "How long will it be before I can expect some light, some dinner, and a massage?" ALL OF WHICH PROVES, ONCE AGAIN, THAT WHILE DOGS HAVE MASTERS, CATS HAVE STAFF! (shared from birddogsforever.com)

Life after death?

This is from thedenverchannel.com, 7 News.  What do you think?

Life after death? Science may be getting closer to an

 answer.

SHARETHIS

Posted: 10/08/2013

•  Brien McElhatten  | Email Me

Where do we go when we die? When our hearts stop, our lungs cease to process oxygen and the electricity buzzing through our neurons fizzles out, do we cease to exist?

Thousands of people report having near death experiences during medical procedures. When their hearts stopped beating, patients claim they left their bodies and floated above the operating table. Many say they could hear the doctors trying to save them, but were pulled upward toward a white light.

Upon resuscitation, patients who had near death experiences shocked doctors by repeating conversations the physician had while describing complex medical equipment not visible from the operating table.

Was this a side-effect of chemical processes in a dying brain or something else? Could near death experiences offer a glimpse into a world beyond our physical existence?

-- Research --

A scientific study in hospitals around the world is exploring the question. The AWARE study is a long-term project that aims to study the relationship between mind consciousness and the brain in patients who undergo cardiac arrest. Research is currently being conducted at 25 major medical centers in Europe and the United States.

-- Methods --

Researchers monitor the brain activity and blood oxygen levels of patients in an effort to determine their level of consciousness when, during the course of medical treatment, their hearts stop.  Perhaps most interestingly, scientists are using hidden objects that cannot be viewed from a patient’s position on the gurney. These are typically images that face upward toward the ceiling.  The objects serve as “independent objective markers” that can only be visible to someone floating above the room. If a patient has a near death experience, they may be able to describe the hidden object to researchers.

Data from the study are being processed and an update is expected by the end of this year. Results will be peer reviewed and eventually published.

-- Philosophy meets physics --

Some scientists have developed theories on what happens when we die. While many of their peers balk at the idea of a “soul” or “spirit” that is separate from our physical bodies, these theories assume the presence of a “soul” or at least consciousness that is separate from autonomic brain activity.

1. Quantum Immortality:  The newest theory, quantum immortality suggests that your consciousness can be found inside microtubules. These tiny structures are located inside brain cells. When you die the information inside the microtubules -- your soul -- doesn’t disappear. Instead, it is absorbed into the universe.

2. Thermodynamics: If you paid attention in your college physics class you may recall the law of thermodynamics. It states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed. It goes on to say that energy can only be converted.

This theory takes quite a leap in assuming that your “soul” is a form of energy that we don’t quite understand. But since it is -- according to the theory -- energy, even in death it cannot be destroyed. It is instead converted into something else.

Science may never be able to answer the question that has intrigued humans since the beginning of time. However, studies like AWARE aim to tread further in a realm which will ultimately be experienced by every one of us.

Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc.

"For love is immortality." Emily Dickinson

    I love the works of Rumi.  He was a 13th century Persian poet and theologian.  His works are.universal and resonate for me.  Did you know that in 2007 he was described as the most popular poet in America?  His writings reflect what I am feeling and cannot express.

Its your road, and yours alone.
others may walk it with you,
but no one can walk it for you.

     **************

There's nothing worse than to walk out along the street without you.I don't know where I'm going.
You're the road, and the knower of roads, more than maps, more than love.

     **************

Wherever your feet have walked on this planet
I go there secretly and lay my cheek.

     ************

I can sense your presence in my heart 
although you belong to all the world. 

     *************

I am a Mountain.You call , I echo.

     *************

Your body is away from me, 
but there is a window open 
from my heart to yours.
From this window, like the moon, 
I keep sending news secretly.

              (my favorite)

     **************

"My Beef with Meat"

     I just finished reading "My Beef with Meat" by Rip Esselstyn.  This is his second book. He previously wrote "The Engine 2 Diet."  Rip is a former professional triathlete and fire-fighter who promotes a plant-strong diet.
     It was easy to read and explains things well for those not having a medical or science background.  He also included 140 recipes that sound fantastic, which I am anxious to try.

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." ---L.M.Montgomery

"Out beyond ideas
of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field.
I'll meet you there."
              Jelaluddin Rumi, 13th century

Hmm..

"When I no longer thrill to the first snow of the season, I'll know I'm growing old." --Lady Bird Johnson

     It is time to dig out the gloves, hats, polartec, gore-tex, boots, and yaktrax; and hope that the furnace is working as it will be needed later today.
     Keep warm out there, people.

Some days you just have to create your own sunshine.

Congress is being stupid.

     Due to the Federal Government shutdown, I just discovered that the NOAA.gov (national oceanic and atmospheric administration) website is shut down.  That is where I get my local weather since I don't have cable for local television news and weather.
     How strange to have a government being held hostage over healthcare!
     I just read an article stating that American's are using Facebook and Twitter to tell congress, "You should all be fired."  Congress better not be getting paid for this debacle. The tea party have gotten on their high horse and will not be moved no matter how many hundreds of thousands of people are being hurt.  I hope all Americans remember this at the next election.  Our economy is too fragile for this grandstanding.
     Meanwhile, Colorado's Obamacare exchange website, ConnectforhealthColorado, had a huge volume yesterday.  I haven't checked it out yet, but certainly will.

     On another note, the running store I go to now names an "Athlete of the week."  This week it was a woman who looks to be my age. She has run well over 200 marathons.  In the past 5 days she ran 3 marathons and 2 half-marathons in 5 states.  Amazing.  She puts me to shame. It gives me reason to go on and try again next year.  (How does one afford the entry fee for 200 marathons, much less travel expenses and all the shorter races she does?)
   

"Last is just the slowest winner." C. Hunter Boyd

   
     I'm sorry I haven't blogged much lately, but there isn't much of interest happening in my life.  I'm dealing with the mundane....taking the car in to the shop, insurance adjusters out to examine hail damage to my house and roof, sprinkler system blown out for winter, etc. etc. etc.
     I did a long run Sunday.  It went poorly and once again I was the slowest one out there.  I think I may have been the oldest, too, but it really gets tiresome to work so hard and still be so slow.  It was difficult, but I did finish.  I'm still waiting for the miracle to happen.


  "Believe that you can run farther or faster.  Believe that you're young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do.  Don't let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself."  John Bingham


Slow and steady wins the race, except in a real race!