A Christmas Wish For Y'all

Mraw Humbug!

Cure for Diabetes?

So the article in the National Post is tentative, and the news is coming from Canada :), but a basic paradigm shift in the etymology of diabetes could lead to something HUGE.

Apparently, in mice with Type 1 diabetes, the cause seems to be malfunctioning pain neurons in the pancreas. When researchers eliminated the pain neuron issue, the mice were cured of their diabetes overnight.

They still have to do tests on humans, and it probably won't work on all types of diabetes, but still...this is massive.

Read the whole thing here.

Celebrity Friends

Oh, Meeshy Meesh!

I bow to you and your expertise on international travel trends!

"We have seen a noticeable decline in traveller numbers in the past five years," says Michelle Grant, a research manager for Euromonitor International, a business research group that monitors trends in domestic and international travel.

Read the whole article here.

Soundtrack of my Soul Track #3

Polyester Bride
Liz Phair


I was talking, not two days ago
To a certain bartender I'm lucky to know
And I asked Henry, my bartending friend
If I should bother dating unfamous men

And Henry said,
"You're lucky to even know me,
You're lucky to be alive.
You're lucky to be drinking here for free,
'cause I'm a sucker for your lucky, pretty eyes."

And then he said,
"Do you wanna be a polyester bride?
Or do you want to hang your head and die?
Do you want to find alligator cowboy boots they just put on sale?
Do you want to flap your wings and fly away from here?"

And I was sitting, not two days ago
Feeling lonely, 'cause I'm just feeling low
And I asked Henry, my bartending friend
Why it is that there are those kind of men

And Henry said,
"You're lucky to even know me,
You're lucky to be alive.
You're lucky to be drinking here for free,
'cause I'm a sucker for your lucky, pretty eyes."

And then he said,
"Do you wanna be a polyester bride?
Or do you want to hang your head and die?
Do you want to find alligator cowboy boots they just put on sale?
Do you want to flap your wings and fly away from here?"

"Princess, do you really want to flap your wings and fly?
Because you've got time."
He keeps telling me, "You've got time."
But I don't believe him
"You've got time."

I keep on pushing harder
I keep on pushing farther away
But he keeps telling me, "Baby",
He says, "Baby, yeah

Do you want to be a polyester bride?
Or do you want to hang your head and die?
Do you want to find alligator cowboy boots they just put on sale?
Do you want to flap your wings and fly away from here?"

"Do you want to be a polyester bride?"
Away from here
"Do you want to be a polyester bride?"
Away from here
"Do you want to be a polyester bride?"
"Princess, do you really want to flap your wings and fly away from here?"

Soundtrack of my Soul Track #2

This one came out when I was 8th grade, and it still resonates:


Dog's Eye View - Everything Falls Apart


Don't look now,
things just got worse
I'm drunk again,
I swear this crescent--is just a curse

I got here by killing all my friends
I think I figured it out - my life begins when the fun ends

I've got my wings,
I'm free to go as I please
Yeah, I got my wings,
now nothing really pleases me 'til

Everything falls apart,
then I get to try to put it back together
Everything falls apart,
and you can count on that like you can count on bad,
bad weather again

Was it good?
I don't remember much about it
When things start to feel right,
you can count on me to start to doubt it

The devil's not in the details,
the devil is in my hands
It's shoot first, apologize later,
another quick end to a short shod romance

I got what I wanted,
now I don't want anything
I got what I wanted,
now my life is just boring 'til

Everything falls apart,
then I get to put it back together
Everything falls apart
and you can count on that like you can count on bad,
bad weather this year

I met God this afternoon
Riding on an uptown train
I said "Don't you have better things to do?"
He said, "If I do my job, what would you complain about?"
So I let it go to Hell,
now I'll have something to do
I let it go to Hell,
does that sound familiar to you?

Everything falls apart,
then I get to try to put it back together
Everything falls apart
and you can count on that like you can count on bad,
bad weather

Everything that falls apart,
sooner or later gonna come back together
Everything that comes together,
sooner or later falls apart

Sountrack of My Soul -- Track #1

dSo I like to make soundtracks in my head, and I decided this morning to make one that pertained to me--as in, who I am, not a situation I'm going through at any given time. This is not the soundtrack of my life, it is the soundtrack of ME--of my soul. It will come in bits and pieces.

The order of the tracks is subject to change. The opening track, though, is pretty certain. Enjoy.

The Long Way Around (Dixie Chicks)

My friends from high school
Married their high school boyfriends
Moved into houses in the same ZIP codes
Where their parents live

But I, I could never follow
No I, I could never follow

I hit the highway in a pink RV with stars on the ceiling
Lived like a gypsy
Six strong hands on the steering wheel

I've been a long time gone now
Maybe someday, someday I'm gonna settle down
But I've always found my way somehow

By taking the long way
Taking the long way around
Taking the long way
Taking the long way around

I met the queen of whatever
Drank with the Irish and smoked with the hippies
Moved with the shakers
Wouldn't kiss all the asses that they told me to

No I, I could never follow
No I, I could never follow

It's been two long years now
Since the top of the world came crashing down
And I'm getting' it back on the road now

But I'm taking the long way
Taking the long way around
I'm taking the long way
Taking the long way around
The long
The long way around

Well, I fought with a stranger and I met myself
I opened my mouth and I heard myself
It can get pretty lonely when you show yourself
Guess I could have made it easier on myself

But I, I could never follow
No I, I could never follow

Well, I never seem to do it like anybody else
Maybe someday, someday I'm gonna settle down
If you ever want to find me I can still be found

Taking the long way
Taking the long way around
Taking the long way
Taking the long way around

Sliding Scale of Virginity

But local groom Plamen Baldescu, 27, said: 'The priest heard that sometimes I was allowed to stay over at my girlfriend's parents' house and suddenly he is demanding large amounts of money from us as my fiancee supposedly “does not deserve to wear white”. Weddings are so expensive already - this is just too much.'

What on earth could he be talking about? Check out this article about fines for women who are not virgins on their wedding day at Metro UK.

C'mon, Priesty-Priest...if you're going to uphold Christian values with ridiculous fines, shouldn't you make the men pay, too?

Men Watching Women

What a shock.

Two Swedish border control officers risk disciplinary action for keeping a photo collection of "exceptionally beautiful" women that passed through their checkpoint, police officials said Tuesday.

The binder contained instructions on how to compile the collection, and orders to make backup copies in case the binder would go missing or be confiscated by "evil-minded bores," police said.

Is this really news? Back in college we had a list of boys. Hat boy. Skater Boy. BSchool Boy. Over the years we added points based on interactions, looks, and personality. Should we be charged with "sketchiness"?

Hmmm...if only sketchiness had been a crime when were in school. All the boys would have been arrested.

A Christmas Blessing

F****R Frist has decided to do something valuable with his time. He plans now to go back to doing medical missionary trips instead of screwing up America.

According to today's Reuter's Article:

He said he would take a sabbatical from private life and "return to my professional roots as a healer."

"In the short term, I will resume my regular medical mission trips as a doctor around the world to serve those in poverty, in famine, and in civil war," he said. "I will continue to be a strong voice to fix what is broken in our health care system and to address the issues of clean water and public health globally."

Joy Abounds!