Book Review: “I’m Fine: A Practical Guide to Managing Your Emotions,” by Rob Nugen

This is a book written for men, and written by a man describing his life experience.  It's a book that every man should read.  I know that sounds cliché; in fact one of the endorsements says "A must read for every man"

I liked how the book was structured.  Between the foreword and closing words, it's divided into five parts, which are broken into chapters and subdivided into small sections.  I was able to read just one section if I was lacking time, and then when I returned to it, I was able to get re-oriented easily.

I expected to read the first part, or a few chapters, and then post a preliminary review.  And that review would have consisted of what I just wrote previously, plus a comment on how easy it is to read and the lack of typos.  And then I'd read through the rest quickly before "Paying it Forward."

But then I started to identify with the author's life experiences.  This is what went through my head:

I'm not the only one who tried to please everyone.  I'm not the only one who did something foolish while driving my parents' car.  I'm not the only one who endured demeaning treatment from a high school girl.  I'm not the only one who thought "My life is over..." after hearing my partner say she's pregnant.  (Except in my case I said it out loud.)

I started therapy a few years ago.  At the beginning of each session, my therapist would ask, "So, how do you feel?"  And I'd reply, "I dunno, okay I guess."  Gradually I learned that the stomach pains I experienced prior to a meeting with the boss weren't caused by food; they evolved from a severe aversion to episodes of humiliation.  When I was laid off and finally walked out of the building, the weight of all that lifted.

The author's discussion of fear was my favorite part of the book.  As I wrote on my blog¹, fear can point you in the direction of growth.  But if you succumb to fear, it can hold you back.  So it was easy for me to accept the author's idea that other "emotions are messengers, not problems."²

The author encourages his readers to pass the book along to another man.  But I'm not sure I'm willing to give up my copy so quickly.

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¹ https://square--peg.blogspot.com/2013/06/fear-as-ally.html
² https://www.robnugen.com/en/books/im-fine/

This review was posted to LibraryThing on 2026-02-11.
I received a free signed copy of this book in order to write this review.

Book Review: "My Bully, My Aunt, & Her Final Gift," Harold Phifer

This is a review of "My Bully, My Aunt, & Her Final Gift," by Harold Phifer.

This is a humorous account of the funeral of Aunt Kathy, the woman who raised the author.

The cast also includes the author’s older brother Jerry, who (unfairly) always got his aunt’s preferential treatment; the much younger brother, Thomas; and the mentally ill mother, with colorful and predictable ravings.

The story of the funeral itself is book-ended by the author’s recollections of his difficult childhood.  He’s treated unfairly by his Aunt Kathy, and I commiserated with him each time.  Yet the tone of the narration is more upbeat than bitter.  And the storytelling is smooth, fast-paced and laugh out loud funny in spots.

I was dismayed at first when I read the author’s bio, which says that he “bust tables.”  But then I decided to be less of a snob and just enjoy the book.  Which I did.

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This review was posted to LibraryThing on 2025-05-12.  More reviews can be found here.  I received a free copy of this book in order to write this review.

Quotes from David Perlmutter and Alberto Villoldo's "Power Up Your Brain: The Neuroscience of Enlightenment"

Here are quotes from "Power Up Your Brain: The Neuroscience of Enlightenment," by David Perlmutter and Alberto Villoldo...

Andrew Newberg, M.D., director of the Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania, uses sophisticated brain mapping and imaging techniques to examine how meditation changes both the structure and function of the brain.  In his book How God Changes Your Brain, Newberg states that meditation not only modifies specific areas of the brain but helps the meditation practitioner behave and express emotions and a more positive manner. 

Newberg's work shows that meditation enhances blood flow as well as function in an area of the brain called the anterior cingulate, an evolutionary newcomer that mediates empathy, social awareness, intuition, compassion, and the ability to regulate emotion.  This structure sits in the front of the brain and wraps around the anterior of the corpus callosum, which is the thick network of neurons that bridges the two hemispheres.  In addition to these functions, the anterior cingulate acts as communications conduit between the amygdala, which, as we've already stated, is one of the most primitive brain structures, and the prefrontal cortex. 

The anterior cingulate thus stands at the crossroads.  Its functionality, or lack thereof, helps determine whether our day-to-day behavior is reflexive and fear-motivated or is a manifestation of our uniquely human ability to recognize a wide array of choices, implications, and consequences.  Newberg has quite graphically shown that meditation and other spiritual practices strengthen the anterior cingulate while also calming the primitive amygdala. 

As might be expected, anger produces an effect quite the opposite from meditation.  Anger shuts down communication to the prefrontal cortex.  Emotion and fear determine and dominate behavior.  As Newberg states, "Anger interrupts the functioning of your frontal lobes.  Not only do you lose the ability to be rational, you lose the awareness that you're acting in an irrational way.  When your frontal lobes shutdown, it's impossible to listen to the other person, let alone feel empathy or compassion….  When you intensely and consistently focus on your spiritual values and goals, you increase the blood flow to your frontal lobes and anterior cingulate, which cause the activity in emotional centers of the brain to decrease." - page 80-81

Bӧn is ancient indigenous spiritual tradition of Tibet.  The lineage of Bӧn teachers is said to have been founded by Tӧnpa Shenrab 18,000 years ago, predating Buddhism by many thousands of years.  Tӧnpa Shenrab was born into a royal family and, according to legend, left the comfort of the palace and traveled to Mount Kailash, where he meditated and attained enlightenment.  Even today, follows of the Bӧn religion venture into nature to fast and pray so they can heal their Light Body and attain a greater understanding of the workings of the mind and of consciousness. 

An essential teaching of Bӧn, known as Dzogchen (or the Great Perfection), suggests that once you heal your Light Body with specific practices, you are even able to survive physical death. 

After the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet during the 7th century, the Bӧn traditions, which to this day remain shamanistic, lost favor among the royal families.  In 1987, however, the Dalai Lama, who is a master of Dzogchen, recognized Bӧn as one of the five schools of Tibetan Buddhism and forbade discrimination against Bӧn practitioners. 

Dzogchen practice cultivates a Light Body that is free from the imprints of trauma and disease.  This is known as the natural, primordial state of an unconditioned mind.  In this state, meditation comes easily and infuses everyday activities.  You no longer need to retire to a primordial cave or monastery to attain inner peace and joy.As your Light Body heals and your natural mind establishes itself, you'll start to attain an inner peace and equanimity that will radiate all around you. 

As you become increasingly enlightened, your body will become more luminous.  People will notice there is no longer a figurative dark cloud hanging over you or a literal dark mood about you.  Instead, there is a new radiance to your being. 

As your Light Body heals and your natural mind establishes itself, you'll start to attain an inner peace and equanimity that will radiate all around you.  As you become increasingly enlightened, your body will become more luminous.  People will notice there is no longer a figurative dark cloud hanging over you or a literal dark mood about you.  Instead, there is a new radiance to your being.  - page 130

While any day of the month would be fine for fasting, the Power Up Your Brain Program recommends that you fast on the 11th day after a full Moon, which is the day considered auspicious for fasting in Ayurvedic texts.  We believe there is a special advantage to fasting on the same day as the many other people who participate in the Power Up Your Brain Program.  When you fast with others, whether they're physically present with you or halfway around the globe, you enter into intentional resonance with those persons.  This will make it easier for you to attain brain synergy as you, along with others, collectively awaken the capabilities of the prefrontal cortex.

Check out the website www.drperlmutter.com for more information, including the five core species of probiotic.

Book Review: “I Drink for a Reason,” David Cross

This is a review of “I Drink for a Reason,” by David Cross.

I was amused by this book as soon as I picked it up.  The tattoo of a cat butt on the author’s face totally cracked me up.  But then I laughed even harder when I realized it wasn’t a tattoo at all.  It was a small crescent-shaped stain from a bit of dried cat feces!  I didn’t realize it was cat feces right away – it wasn’t until I scraped it off with my thumbnail that I surmised what it was.

Now that I think about this, I was in the kitchen when this happened.  I hope I wasn’t eating at the time and that I remembered to wash my hands.

So then I started to actually read the book.  That’s when I really started laughing.  Because that was when I realized I could write a funny review about the book and mention how I found cat feces on the author’s face!

Now on to the actual review….  Can I say that I couldn’t put the book down?  No I honestly cannot say that.  That would be a lie.  Of course I could put the book down.  In fact, that’s how I preferred to read it.  I sat at the kitchen table and put the book down in front of me.  That way I could read it and have both hands free to fondle myself.  Unfortunately, the cat decided to lie on top of the book.  At that point I paid less attention to the book and more attention to the fondling.

But one time I had put the book down on top of the newspaper.  So when the cat went on top of the book, I was able to slide the newspaper out from underneath and read that instead.  I was hoping that if I then put the newspaper next to the book, the cat would get off the book and lie on top of the paper.  If there’s anything irresistible to a cat, it’s a newspaper, especially one that a human is trying to read.  But the cat showed total indifference to the newspaper, and I was unsuccessful getting my book back.  Well, at least I was able to read the newspaper that night, so the book proved to be quite valuable in that regard.  Next time, I hope to put the newspaper on top of the book.  And then when the cat lies on top of the newspaper, I’ll slide the book out and read it.  I really hope Mr Cross writes another book, so I can write another review and let you know how well the newspaper-on-top-of-book trick worked.

In every book review, I always like to write about my favorite part of the book.  I would have to say that my favorite part was the bit about how he wakes up and finds out that someone got into his bedroom and stole a beautiful gold cup.  He gets really bad ass crazy, like flying around, smashing things and roaring.  He’s not sure who did it, but he’s sure someone from town had something to do with it.  So he flies over to the town, screaming the whole time, lighting people’s houses on fire.  People run in all directions, especially into the lake to get away from all the flames.  All that unbridled anger and fury – it’s so wicked cool.  Unfortunately, there’s this guy who stays totally chill during the melee.  He shoots his lucky arrow at him, and hits him right in the chest where his scales are missing.  The arrow penetrates all the way in. He screeches in pain and fury, but it’s too late.  He plunges dead into the huge lake, making a great cloud of steam burst up.  I think this part could’ve been even better if he caught the arrow in mid air, lit it on fire and threw it back at the guy, hitting him right in the eye.  Yeah that would've been awesome.

Anyway, I think you’ll enjoy this book.  I’ll be returning it to the library tomorrow so that you can check it out next.

Quotes from Bruce Lipton's "The Biology of Belief"

Here are quotes and resources from Bruce Lipton’s Tenth Anniversary Edition of “The Biology of Belief”:

“...tDCS can influence neural activity that results in increasing attention, expanding memory, improving visual abilities and mathematical skills, and alleviating symptoms of depression. (Sanders 2014)” There’s also a reference to Nathan Whitmore, a neuroscience researcher at the National Institute of Aging and advocate of DIY brain zapping. http://www.diytdcs.com/tag/nathan-whitmore/ .

Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation, “To create awareness in our children and our communities that we can choose love over anger, gratitude over entitlement, and forgiveness and compassion over bitterness.” http://www.JesseLewisChooseLove.org

“Soul survivor : the reincarnation of a World War II fighter pilot,” by Bruce and Andrea Leininger, available at SPL. https://books.google.com/books?id=gTHiKTfWhrgC

“Dying to be me : my journey from cancer, to near death, to true healing,” by Anita Moorjani, available at APL & SPL. https://books.google.com/books?id=Pmc5wFoi578C

http://www.brucelipton.com

http://psych-k.com

http://www.HealYourLife.com

Book Review: Poundstone's Search for Human Happiness

I started reading humor in earnest about one week after the November 2016 election.

When I came across “The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness” I hadn't heard about Paula's first book yet, but I was accustomed to hearing her on NPR's Wait, Wait, Don' Tell Me, where she'd advocate for the humane treatment of Twinkies or extol the virtues of the Apple Cinnamon Pop Tart. So I was really excited to get my hands on it. The book, not the Pop Tart.

I won't say that I couldn't put the book down – that would be lying. And besides it's such a pathetic cliché. But I will say that I read the book in record time. And one night, while I was lying on my back in bed, holding the book above me so that I could read it, I picked it right back up again after I dozed off and dropped it on my face. (Note to self, avoid reading hardcover books while lying on back.)

I enjoyed the variety of humor. There's plenty of the self-effacing cracks that you'd expect from a comedian / cat lady. There's also a spot light on the thoughtlessness / stupidity all of us face as we navigate our day-to-day existence. For example, she tells how she needed to sign up online for a class on computers for absolute beginners. And, my favorite, the mental slapstick during her meditation class. All this undergirded by a bizarre unique, out-of-the-box thought process.

There were sections that made me uncomfortable, though. I kept worrying that she would smash the Lamborghini (or that it would get vandalized or stolen) even as I entertained the notion that she had somehow gotten her publisher to reimburse her for the rental fee. And the first “Get Organized” chapter was draining because it hit so close to home. I still remember how tedious and dreadful it was for me to declutter my home office, even though it was more than ten years ago. Personally I think she should've kept the underwear with all the holes in it. I find that “holey” underwear is nice on a hot day. And with global warming, the summers won't be getting much cooler for at least the next dozen or so epochs.

This is one of the few books that I was able to read the Acknowledgments section to completion. In most books, it's a seemingly endless string of shout-outs. But Paula's gratitude is genuine, if, perhaps, swamped with relief over having completed the book. Yet I'm surprised that she did not thank her sixteen cats – they deserve to be acknowledged for not peeing on the computer keyboard, or for not highlighting the file and stepping on the Delete key, before Paula sent the manuscript to the publisher. Or maybe they did, and Paula had a backup copy.

Regardless of intention, I think the book serves just as well as a self-help book as it does entertainment. Obviously the humor provides immediate relief from the doldrums. But then for extended relief, you'll benefit from Paula's findings, three of which are that: 1. Happiness from a fancy car is fleeting; B. Getting a good night's sleep does wonders for your outlook; π. Striving to make others happy brings happiness to yourself. So the book is like that dual-action, 12-hour Mucinex – immediate and long-acting relief.

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• This review was posted to LibraryThing on 2017-06-04.
• More reviews can be found here.
• I received a free copy of this book in order to write this review.

Quotes From "The Raven's Gift"

Ravens may drop walnuts on your head, storms may batter your canoe, blizzards may scatter your reindeer, but lighten up; nature is "'playing' with you and that is all.  It is not to be taken seriously." (page 210)

I wonder, does nature make traffic lights turn red just as you get to them?

The Koryak Creation Story

When the cosmos was new, there were no people, so Etinvin, our God, made people and placed them on the earth.  He started off first by making the Northern People.  He gave them the best, richest, and most wonderful place on the planet, right here near Vyvenka and above.  He put salmon in the rivers, seals in the bays, and reindeer on the tundra.

When Etinvin finished, there were many places left on the earth with no people.  But he ran out of genuine parts to make people with.  He asked Kutcha [the Raven God] what he should do and Kutcha suggested that they carve some people out of wood.  So Etinvin carved people out of wood.  These people became the Europeans.  They are stupid because they are made of wood and not genuine parts.  They fight too much and they don't think about the future of the earth.  They build too many machines that destroy the earth.

When all the people were finished, Etinvin looked down and saw a woman on the tundra.  She was giving birth and crying in great pain.  Her husband didn't know what to do, so he tried to cut the baby out of the woman's stomach with a large knife.  But that made the women and the baby dead.

Etinvin was sad and called Kutcha: "These people are new and they don't know how to live.  You must fly down from the heavens and teach the people how to live."

So Kutcha gathered the people, and explained: "Women must go to the tundra.  Watch the birds and see how they give birth."

The women walked out to the tundra and watched the birds laying eggs.  And then they understood.  They had many healthy babies and their numbers grew.  But still the people didn't know how to live very well.  So Etinvin called Kutcha again and told him to go back down to earth and tell the people out to live.

And Kutcha gave the following advice:

"Ocean water is full of salt and is not good to drink.  Drink water from the mountains.  That is the sweetest water.

"When the sun is setting, your children must not cry.  They must sit near you and you must tell them stories.  After the stories, the children must sleep.

"You must wake up early in the morning, especially in the spring, when the earth is waking after the winter night.

"If a child falls down, you the must say, 'Stand up.  Don't cry.'

"When fish swim up the river, you must have silence near the river.  The fish will have babies, so you must be quiet to respect the children.

"If you have a headache or stomachache or other pain, you must call Kutcha and say, 'Help me.'  And Kutcha will put on his raven coat and fly down from the heavens.  He will spit on the place that makes the pain.  Then you must push the pain through the body with one finger.  Pick up the pain on the other side of the body, grab it in your hand, and say, 'Go to your mother.  She lives in the darkest place in the North.'  Then you must go outside and throw the pain into the wind." (pages 194 - 195)

From "The Raven's Gift," by Jon Turk

Experiment 2 -- E-Squared

I'm trying the second experiment in Pam Grout's E-Squared first.  (I know, "Try not!  Do you must!")  She calls it "The Volkswagon Jetta Principle" because..., oh it doesn't matter.

During the first 24 hours of the experiment, I'm supposed to count how many green cars I see.  (Well first she writes "green cars."  But then she changes the color to sunset-beige.  But I don't know what sunset-beige looks like, so I decided to stick with green.  Besides, it's my favorite color.)

The first 24 hours began at midnight on Thursday, July 23.  I saw zero green cars.  I think I was supposed to see a surprisingly large number.  Nope, not me.  Well, to be fair, I saw three motor vehicles that were green.  One was a pickup truck.  I guess that counts as a car.  The other two were the cabs from much larger trucks.  I discounted those vague putty-like colors that, if the car were parked on a lawn, it would suggest green.

During the second 24 hours, I'm supposed to count butterflies and/or purple feathers¹.  In the text she specifies yellow butterflies.  And then she suggests purple feathers instead.  Finally she leaves it to the reader to choose.  Seeing how dismal the first half of the experiment went, I figured I'd count any butterfly plus purple feathers.  And even when I read "purple feather" I knew I'd have at least one to count -- I have one in my office.  As well, I have a (dead) butterfly in my office.  So far, that's all I've seen all day.  And this is Summer -- there are supposed to be butterflies all over the place!  I'm even looking closely at artwork and product packaging.

So, one green "car," one non-yellow butterfly and one purple feature, um, I mean feather.

But now I wonder if this dismal outcome is a success in some twisted way.  I don't really believe in the so-called law of attraction, made popular by Rhonda Byrne's "The Secret".  For example, if it were real, a lot more guys would be having a lot more sex, for starters, because that's what most guys think about most of the time.  So my underlying expectation is to be totally underwhelmed by the results.  And so far, my expectation is being met really well.

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¹ Every time I try to type "feather" I end up typing "feature" and I think the "FP" is trying to alter the request. After all, there are a lot more purple features than there are purple feathers.

Pam Grout's Red Pill Corollary

I just finished reading Pam Grout's E-Cubed, which features ten "experiments" on the law of attraction, a subject I view with much skepticism.

I tried the "Red Pill Corollary" first.  In this experiment, the reader attempts to encounter eight items, which are listed at the link.  I'd been hearing the belly laughs (the first item) while reading that section of the book, because my daughter had a friend over for a social visit.  So I wondered if it might actually work this time.

The number 222 came a bit unexpectedly.  I was supposed to drive my daughter to another friends house so that she would arrive at 2pm.  But we were running late, about 20 minutes late.  So I wondered if we might arrive at the house at 2:22pm.  But alas, we were still on the road at 2:21 and still several minutes away.  So I figured I'd look again at the clock in another minute.  But the next time I looked, the clock was at 2:23pm.  So I missed it.  But after I dropped off my daughter and while I was driving back home, I glanced at the side of the road right at a sign for house number 222, which I just happened to be driving by.  I enjoyed that little twist of fate from The Universe.

Unfortunately, the other six items were not to be discovered.  Well, technically I suppose the billboards I saw had messages for me -- they're designed to have messages for everyone.  But the messages I saw did not seem directed at me, as the author's text implies.

I suppose there was a smiling baby on at least one of the Christmas cards we received, and if I wanted to, I could've looked through them again to find it.  But I don't think this experiment is supposed to work that way.

But anyway, the other items never showed up.  I'm sure they'll show up for some people, just based on probability.  And nearly everyone will see a few items, as I did.  But we probably won't bother to report our failures.  However, those who saw all eight items probably will report their successes.  And so, the experiment will appear to be a success, en masse.

That Twee Thing

Tuesday's Colin McEnroe show on "Twee" whisked me all the way from "What on Earth are they babbling about?" to "Oh my Gosh I LOVE TWEE!" before it ended.  Mr. McEnroe often takes on important and controversial issues.  So devoting the entire show on something called "Twee" must mean that "Twee" is important, right?

But in the beginning it really didn't seem so important after all, as they struggled to define the term.  The thing that caught my attention was a person called "Zooey Deschanel" whom I've never heard of before.  They'd repeat her name, Zooey Deschanel said this, Zooey Deschanel did that.  And all this in the context of this "attitude" called "Twee".  I was so intrigued that I actually picked up my Android tablet and used Google's voice search to find out "Who is Zooey Deschanel?"

I saw several images of the beautiful entertainer / actress, plus a list of TV shows and movies that she performed in, almost all of which I'd never seen or even heard of.  The only movie that I was familiar with was one of my all-time favorite movies, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."  Yes, Zooey Deschanel played the role of Trillian, whom I'd wistfully imagine asking me to go to Madagascar with her.  "Yes, of course, I'd love to!" was always my reply.

My favorite scene is the one in which Zooey shoots Zaphod with the Point-of-View Gun.  Of course, it's so much better when viewed in context with the story line.

When I connected Twee, Zooey Deschanel and the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" movie, it helped me define and pinpoint that movie, and how its tone differed so much from the books in Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's" series.  Yes, while the books depicted the Universe (or at least the Galaxy) as a harsh and unforgiving place in which if anything could go wrong it would go wrong at the worst possible moment, the movie was Twee, wasn't it?  It was a place where torture involved having to listen to really bad poetry.  It was a place where the zots from numerous Vogons' guns couldn't possibly hit you because the Vogons were such poor marks-creatures and their firearms so cheaply made.  It was a place where, if your house got bulldozed to make way for a bypass on a planet that was demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, someone would come along and make exact replicas of both.

Wow.  Twee.  I love it!

Choosing a Career

When I was in high school I took a personality test that was designed to help me figure out what college to go to and what to major in.  The results suggested that I might enjoy going to a college in Oregon to study forestry.  I recall that I responded that I like the outdoors, hiking, trees and solitude, plus I was good in math and science.

But I did not follow the advice.  First, it sounded ludicrous.  Second, I didn't want to move from home.   Yet today, if I woke with a new life studying trees, I probably wouldn't mind.

Two of the books that I'm "currently reading" show up on the side bar of this blog.  They are really for my daughter, who is expected to graduate high school in about two and a half years.

• "What Color Is Your Parachute? 2009: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers"
• "Refuse to Choose!: Use All of Your Interests, Passions, and Hobbies to Create the Life and Career of Your Dreams"

They're more for job hunters and career changers -- folks who are burned out and need to try something different. "What Color Is Your Parachute?..." in particular contains a great deal of information about job hunting -- writing resumes and cover letters, networking, that sort of thing.  But I thought they would be helpful in choosing a first career.  The 8-pedalled rose chapter in "What Color Is Your Parachute?..." alone is worth the price of the book to those who need career guidance.

One other resource mentioned in "What Color Is Your Parachute?..." is the "Self-Directed Search," or SDS.  This is an online assessment tool that helps you figure out what your Holland Code is.  The SDS is not free; the test and report cost $9.95.

There's also a free test that you can take here: http://personality-testing.info/tests/RIASEC.php. In fact, I just took this test before I cleaned up the previous paragraph.  My results show that my Holland Code is IAS, meaning Thinking (I), Creating (A), Helper (S).  I got a little bar graph, too:

Knowing one's self is the first step in choosing a rewarding career.  I hope this information is helpful!

Quotes from "Why We Get Fat"

Because the insulin level in the bloodstream is determined primarily by the carbohydrates that are consumed ... it's those carbohydrates that ultimately determine how much fat we accumulate.  Here's the chain of events:

1. You think about eating a meal containing carbohydrates.
2. You begin secreting insulin.
3. The insulin signals the fat cells to shut down the release of fatty acids (by inhibiting HSL) and take up more fatty acids (via LPL) from the circulation.
4. You start to get hungry, or hungrier.
5. You begin eating.
6. You secrete more insulin.
7. The carbohydrates are digested and enter the circulation as glucose, causing blood sugar levels to rise.
8. You secrete still more insulin.
9. Fat from the diet is stored as triglycerides in the fat cells, as are some of the carbohydrates that are converted into fat in the liver.
10. The fat cells get fatter, and so do you.
11. The fat stays in the fat cells until the insulin level drops.

If you're wondering whether any other hormones [besides insulin] make us fat, the answer is effectively no....

- Gary Taubes, "Why We Get Fat," page 122

...cortisol makes us store fat both directly (through LPL) and indirectly (through insulin).  But then it works to release fat from our fat cells, primarily by stimulating HSL, just like other hormones.  So cortisol can makes us fatter still when insulin is elevated, but it can also make us leaner, just like every other hormone, when insulin levels are low.  And this may explain why some people get fatter when they get stressed, anxious, or depressed and eat more, and some people do the opposite.

The bottom line is something that's been known (and mostly ignored) for over forty years.  The one thing we absolutely have to do if we want to get leaner -- if we want to get fat out of our fat tissue and burn it -- is to lower our insulin levels and to secrete less insulin to begin with.

- ibid, page 124

...when you eat sugar, according to research by Bartley Hoebel of Princeton University, it triggers a response in the ... part of the brain ... known as the reward center ... that is targeted by cocaine, alcohol, nicotine, and other addictive substances.  All food does this to some extent, because that's what the reward system apparently evolved to do: reinforce behaviors (eating and sex) that benefit the species.  But sugar seems to hijack the signal to an unnatural degree, just as cocaine and nicotine do.

- ibid, page 142

Resources for "Your Brain at Work"

Here are links to online resources that are cited in "Your Brain at Work," by David Rock.

For research behind the book: http://www.your-brain-at-work.com/

Neuroscience of leadership: http://www.neuroleadership.org/

Information on brain-based coaching programs: www.ResultsCoaches.com

School for children K - 5: www.TheBlueSchool.org

Online tests and training exercises: www.MyBrainSolutions.com

Author's website: www.DavidRock.net

Is This Treat Worth Going Off My Diet For?

It's that five second interval between seeing that desirous but forbidden food and putting it in ones mouth that's critical.  It's important to be mindful at this time. But what should one's thought process be?

The authors of "It Starts With Food" have an answer.  They call it "Guide to Nutritional Off-Roading," and they offer it to their readers for free.  You can find it here:

http://whole9life.com/book/ISWF-Nutritional-Off-Roading.pdf

Right now my stomach is full, but there is an abundance of ice cream in the freezer.  Sigh.

Book Review: Why Can't I Change?

The book "Why Can't I Change? How to Conquer Your Self-Destructive Patterns" serves as three books in one.  First, as the title suggests, it's a self-help guide.  Second, it's a book on parenting.  Third, it's a book on interpersonal relationships.

The self-help aspect of the book describes attachment theory.  It uses this theory to draw a connection between how we react to stress and emotional situations today and how accessible and responsive to us our earliest caregivers were in the past.  This connection brings us insight into our behavior.  Once aware of our needs, we can circumvent misunderstandings and bring resolution to conflicts.

The aforementioned connection to our caregivers is what also makes this a helpful parenting book.  Those of us who don't want our kids to turn out as screwed up as we are can benefit from knowing how to respond to displays of emotion.  (Hint, not with, "Oh you'll get over it;" rather, "It's upsetting that the boy dumped you.")  The author gives us hope -- we can repair neglectful parenting fairly easily.

And because everyone we deal with, (boss, coworker, spouse, classmate, teacher, etc.) may not have had the most ideal parenting, we gain a bit more understanding, tolerance and perhaps even compassion when dealing with difficult people.

One concern I had is that the author doesn't discuss neurological disorders.  Her description of the "avoidant attachment" type could also describe someone with mild autism.  We are left to ponder whether autism is the result of avoidant mothers ("refrigerator mothers.")  A brief statement explaining that attachment theory applies only to neurotypical individuals should be included.

Overall the book is easy to read.  The author deftly combines theory with anecdotes from her own life and that of her patients.  Exercises for self-discovery and behavior modification are included.  Spelling and grammar are very good with only two minor errors.

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• This review was posted to LibraryThing on 2012-09-15.
• More reviews can be found here.
• I received a free copy of this book in order to write this review.

Creativity Quotes from "Imagine"

Don Lee on inventing the bacon-infused old-fashioned:

"Basically I experimented with fat-washing because I was bored and nobody told me not to," Don says.  "I'm sure most bartenders would have told me it was a terrible idea, that it would never sell, that I was wasting perfectly good bourbon.  But the laws of chemistry told me that it should work, so why not try it?  I guess my only secret was that I didn't know any better."

- from "Imagine," by Jonah Lehrer, page 117

So it's not such a far-fetched thing to add ghee or extra virgin olive oil to hot tea, then, as I do!

The outsider problem affects everyone....

This is one of the central challenges of writing.  A writer has to read his sentences again and again. (Such are the inefficiencies of editing.)  The problem with this process is that he very quickly loses the ability to see his prose as a reader and not as the writer.  He knows exactly what he's trying to say, but that's because he's the one saying it.  In order to construct a clear sentence or a coherent narrative, he needs to edit as if he knows nothing, as if he's never seen these words before.

This is an outsider problem -- the writer must become an outsider to his own work.  When he escapes from the privileged position of the author, he can suddenly see all those imprecise clauses and unnecessary flourishes; he can feel the weak parts of the story and the slow spots in the prose.  That's why the novelist Zadie Smith, in an essay on the craft of writing, stresses the importance of putting aside one's prose and allowing the passage of time to work its amnesiac magic.

When you finish your novel, if money is not a desperate priority, if you do not need to sell it at once or be published that very second -- put it in a drawer.  For as long as you can manage.  A year or more is ideal -- but even three months will do . . .  You need a certain head on your shoulders to edit a novel, and it's not the head of a writer in the thick of it, nor the head of a professional editor who's read it in twelve different versions.  It's the head of a smart stranger, who picks it off a bookshelf and begins to read.  ou need to get the head of that smart stranger somehow.  You need to forget you ever wrote that book.

- from "Imagine," by Jonah Lehrer, page 132 - 133

I'd love to write fiction, but I can't tell if I would get my story across the way I play it out in my head.  I think this outsider problem is part of it.  But I think I also get too caught up in the detail of specific scenes and pay little attention to the overall flow, cadence, pace of the story.

The Long-Term Benefits of High School English

At our daughter's Open House, the English teacher presented us parents with an Assignment: What was your favorite poem, short story, book from high shcool English?  Describe how English helped you in real life.

(Can you imagine a similar assignment from an algebra teacher -- how much bullshit that would have generated?)

We were limited to only ten minutes, and I had to listen to the teacher's open house spiel while thinking and writing, and I had to wait for a pencil to become available.  At first I couldn't even remember anything that I read in High School -- I'm such an avid reader on my own I wasn't sure if anything noteworthy was assigned by a teacher.

So I wrote simply that I built a large vocabulary, and that I learned the difference between "affect" and "effect" and "lay" and "lie."

Then I remembered having to present William Carlos Williams' "The Red Wheelbarrow," so I mentioned that.  And then I remembered more.  I remembered reading Grendel, which was wonderful.  So I mentioned that.  I also wrote that my 12th grade English teacher was an actual  comedian who would perform at comedy clubs in the evenings.

Ultimately, I had trouble ascribing any benefits to the English I studied in High School.  I feel that it was my natural inclinations toward writing and reading that built my vocabulary and established my (above average among engineers) facility with writing.

Did the subject of High School English benefit you at all?  Did any subject?  How?

Amazing Quotes From "Zoobiquity"

Some animal intestines perform an amazing trick. They expand and contract like accordions. This may not sound all that impressive, but its effect on weight can be profound. It allows the body to absorb varying quantities of calories from the same food, depending on the task at hand.

The mechanism is simple: a ribbon of muscle running the length of the intestine allows it contract and expand. When guts are clenched, they’re shorter, tighter and smaller. When relaxed, they’re elongated.

When intestines are in the longer, stretched-out mode, they expose more surface area to the food passing over them. This allows the cells to extract more nutrients and, therefore, energy. When the intestines shrink back to their shortened state, some of the food passes by essentially unused.

Could a similar accordion-like lengthening and shortening in human intestines underlie some unexplained weight gain in our species? ...there are intriguing clues. Our intestines are also lined with smooth muscle. And we know from autopsies that human intestines are some 50 percent longer after death, when smooth muscle control is no longer exerted. Perhaps, during life, dynamic muscle activity allows the human intestine to vary its calorie-absorbing length in response to medications, hormones, and even stress -- factors frequently pointed to when weight inexplicably increases even when a patient isn’t eating more. Many common drugs cause undesired weight gain through unclear mechanisms. It’s intriguing to consider whether smooth muscle effects of these drugs contribute to ... intestinal stretch leading to greater calorie absorption and weight gain.

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Psychiatrists studying eating disorders note that bulimic binge eaters rarely overconsume protein or leafy greens.  ...they focus their eating sprees -- sometimes with obsessive intensity -- on sugars and simple carbohydrates.

In the Yale study [of grasshoppers exposed to predatory spiders], the insects’ food choices were driven by external factors beyond their control, in other words, the ecology of fear.  In the presence of a predatory threat, they chose foods that would accelerate a lifesaving escape.  These animals provide an underexplored possible context for a human binge eater’s food choices.  They suggest an evolutionary origin.  A stressed person’s decision to forgo the chicken breast and vegetables in his lunch box and consume candy bars instead can seem pointless, weak and even self-destructive.  But knowing that some nonhuman animals prefer high-sugar foods when they’re fearful could help a human stress eater better understand his own candy binge.  While he knows it’s unhealthy for his waistline, blood sugar, and molars, the impossible-to-resist impulse may spring from a hardwired response to threats that for eons has saved animals’ lives.

Towel Day

Author Douglas Adams died unexpectedly on May 11, 2001 at age 49.  Adams was the creator of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," the work he is perhaps best known for, and in which we learn that the Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything is 42.

Fans organized a wake called "Towel Day" to take place two weeks later, May 25, 2001.  It was such a success (as if a wake could be a success) that it has been held annually on May 25.

This year, Towel Day falls on 5/25/12, which is numerically auspicious.  You see, 5 + 25 + 12 = 42.

Here are some links so that you can learn more about Towel Day.

http://strugglingwriter.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/happy-towel-day-2010/

http://TowelDay.org

Quotes from The Omnivore's Dilemma

On the industrial farm, it takes about ten calories of fossil fuel energy to produce one calorie of food energy.  That means the industrial farm is using up more energy than it is producing.  This is the opposite of what happened before chemical fertilizers.  Back then, the Naylor farm produced more than two calories of food energy for every calorie of fossil fuel energy invested.  In terms of energy, the modern farm is a losing proposition.  It's too bad we can't drink petroleum directly -- it would be more efficient.

TBHQ is a form of butane (lighter fluid).  Eating a single gram of TBHQ can cause "nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse."  Ingesting five grams can kill you.  But the government allows food makers to spray a tiny amount of this on your food to preserve it.

- Michael Pollan, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" (Young Reader's Edition)