I've Got the Beat

Well, I got the results of my echocardiogram and everything is A-OK. Yes, it determined that I have a mild heart murmur (I knew about that) but it's not bad enough to warrant antibiotics when visiting the dentist. That's cool. Hate taking meds.

While the test itself is non-invasive, it IS kinda creepy to hear your heart beating and whooshing. I was listening to it while trying to determine if what I was hearing was normal or abnormal. Of course, not being a medic, I had no way of knowing.

Too Gone For Too Long

This is one of my favorite Randy Travis songs and I send it out to an ex (when I say ex, I mean EX, talking 15 years ago!), who still sends me emails saying he misses me and wants to see me. Too effin' bad, Dude. You just don't get it, do you? Well, I'll let Randy tell it (with apologies, I just changed "she's" to "he's").


You've been too gone, for too long,
it's too late to come back now
It's been so long since you walked out my door
now you're just an old song nobody sings anymore
I gotta a new love and he's the true love
but darlin' how could you have known?
you've been too gone, for too long
now it's too late to come back home

You've came a long way, goin' the wrong way
don't even set your suitcase down
You wanted to roam, now you're paying the bills
you're an old rollin' stone who rode over the hills
I had a good cry when you said "Goodbye"
I didn't wanna let you go
but you've been too gone for too long
now it's too late to come back home

I had a good cry when you said "Goodbye"
I didn't wanna let you go
but you've been too gone for too long
so why don't you just stay gone?
now you've been too gone for too long
now it's too late to come back home.

As If....

As if I needed another reason to hate teenage boys:


Teen thugs film attack

Nab 4 in brutal assault on immigrant

BY CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

In a sick sequel to the Florida fools who were videotaped beating a homeless man, four Philadelphia teens grabbed a camera, picked a victim at random and filmed themselves pounding the man to a pulp.
The victim, a Haitian immigrant, suffered a busted jaw and narrowly escaped being hit by a car before the teenage terrors were nabbed and charged with attempted murder.

"The sad thing is that it doesn't seem like it was a big deal to these kids," said Philadelphia police spokesman Lt. John Walker. "It was like they were making a documentary."

The oldest suspect, 18-year-old Tyrez Osbourne, was caught crying to his mommy by the local ABC affiliate, WPVI-TV.

"I'm not even on camera assaulting the man," Osbourne insisted. "I don't understand why I'm here."

Walker said witnesses can place Osbourne and the other suspects, whose names have not been released because they are 17 and 16, at Friday's crime scene.

"They're pretty much laughing through the movie, even when one of them tries to throw the victim in front of an oncoming car," he said.

Officials would not release the footage, but Walker said it shows the alleged hoodlums "doing some gangsta rapping and then they're walking and talking about how bad they are."

Finally, said Walker, one of the teens said "just pick somebody out for me."

"Unfortunately, that's when the victim shows up in the video," the officer said. "You can see a teen step in front of him. He strikes him in the jaw and the man falls against a wall. He's screaming, 'Why are you doing this to me?'"

The other teens can been seen pounding on the prone man and then the hulking 17-year-old who landed the first punch allegedly pushed the victim in front of oncoming traffic, Walker said.

The victim, a 30-year-old engineering student from Haiti who attends Drexel University, told investigators he intends to return home to Haiti, because he feels safer in his chaotic homeland.

Glad She's Gone!

"We heard the news the other day/And we don't know what to say/Except we're glad she's gone (glad she's gone)/You're rid of her (glad she's gone)."

These are the lyrics from a 70s pop band from Syracuse, NY, called the Pop Tarts. It's a girl singing to a guy, saying she's glad his ex is gone, she was no good for him, et cetera.

But, it COULD be applied to Anna Benson!

I, for one, am glad she's gone. Good riddance, Bubblehead!

RIP, Nixmary Brown

If you're reading this, most likely you've been following the accounts of the murder of little Nixmary Brown of Brooklyn who was brutally beaten to death at the hands of her stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez. Her mother did nothing to save her.

I'll spare you all the gory details (if you want them, you need look no further than The New York Post or The Daily News) but suffice it to say, this 7-year-old child knew nothing but a short life of pain, starvation and torture at the hands of BOTH of her parents, the people who should have loved and protected her.

And, let there be no doubts: I emphasized the word BOTH for a reason. You watch. In the days to come, now that the wake and funeral are over, the spotlight will be on the ACS, the child welfare agency that failed Nixmary and others like her (more on this later); the people who knew something was wrong but said and/or did nothing; and the lawyers. Especially the lawyers.

Mark my words. The little girl's body is not even cold in the ground yet and the mother's lawyer is already looking for an alibi. No, he's not denying that she took part in the murder but he's telling anyone who will listen that she, herself, was a victim and therefore suffers from Battered Women's Syndrome, the same syndrome suffered by Hedda Nussbaum more than 15 years ago. Everyone's a victim today, everyone has their own syndrome, how convenient. I call bullshit.

In my eyes, the mother is even guiltier than the stepfather! Why? Because she killed her own flesh and blood.

Flash ahead to today, January 20: The miscreant stepfather is now telling anyone who will listen that Nixmary pretty much deserved what she got because she didn't behave! And, he's crying crocodile tears saying he's sorry he killed her, but... What a croc, indeed.

I wish for two things to come out of this:

1. Privatization of the ACS. Little Nixmary is not the first tragic consequence of the ACS and its union drones. They just don't seem to get it, do they? My solution is to not just revamp this useless agency but to shut it down completely, make it a private enterprise and hire some top notch MSWs with salaries to match their abilities. Then no longer will we have to hear the hew and cry of "We are so overworked and underpaid, blah-blah-blah."

2. That Nixmary's *mother* and stepfather live to be 100 years old--in prison--and have to think about what they did every day for the rest of their sorry, pitiful lives.

10 Trivia Tips About Miss Martta

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Miss Martta!

1. In the kingdom of Bhutan, all citizens officially become Miss Martta on New Year's Day!


2. Marie Antoinette never said 'let them eat cake' - this is a mistranslation of 'let them eat Miss Martta'!


3. The book of Esther in the Bible is the only book which does not mention Miss Martta.


4. Reindeer like to eat Miss Martta.


5. Miss Martta will always turn right when leaving a cave!


6. Miss Martta was banned from Finland because of not wearing pants!


7. A cluster of bananas is called a hand and consists of 10 to 20 bananas, which are individually known as Miss Martta!


8. The porpoise is second to Miss Martta as the most intelligent animal on the planet!


9. Lightning strikes Miss Martta over seven times every hour!


10. When provoked, Miss Martta will swivel the tip of her abdomen and shoot a jet of boiling chemicals at her attacker!

I am interested in - do tell me about
herhimitthem

Crisis!

I just spoke to a skinny friend of my mine who is going to Florida at the end of this month and {{{{HORRORS!}}}}} has gained a few pounds and cannot fit into her size 4 shorts and pants any longer!


My question is should I smack her now or wait until she comes over on Sunday to borrow some of my size 6s?

I'm Ready for My Closeup

Evidently, my doctor thinks I'm somewhat of a success story because I've managed to lower my cholesterol without drugs but just by making some lifestyle changes. As a result, she asked me if I would mind being featured in a national news release video about women and heart disease being produced by the American Heart Association. I told her that if it meant educating other women about the dangers of high cholesterol and heart disease, sure.

Well, last week I got a call from the video company and it was a go! I talked to the boyfriend (they wanted to feature him, too, about the effect my lifestyle changes had on him), he was cool with it and we all agreed on Saturday, Jan. 7, as a shoot date. The vid production team said they were shooting (no pun intended) for a half-day shoot, beginning at 10 AM and ending up around 1:30 PM.

Prior to the shoot, I needed to get permission from my two older brothers to use their likenesses in the taping, since the AHA wanted to show the familial relationship to heart disease. Both brothers were agreeable, although one of them asked if I would be using a flattering photo! LOL! I told him, of course, that I would use the one from my older brother's wedding a year ago.

The crew was extremely professional. They showed up early and were done by noon! If they moved any furniture and whatnot, it was moved back into its proper place before they left. They had instructed me on what colors to wear, how to dress and what questions they would be asking me.

That being said, I think they should have asked me more about the type of dwelling in which I reside. When they arrrived at my place, the cameramen groaned that I lived in a three-story walkup! No big deal to me but then again, I don't have to carry 50 pounds of camera equipment up the stairs, either. They were also a bit perturbed that I live in an apartment which faces the street, thereby picking up all the street noise. These are physical things over which I have no control but I still think they should have asked me about them so that they wouldn't be so surprised when they arrived.

The first 20 minutes of so was spent filming me running in Verona Park. Fortunately, today was a gorgeous day so the cameraman got some good shots. He filmed me running towards him and then away from him and the lake in the background was a nice backdrop. A couple of people walking by wondered what we were doing and that was kinda cool. My 15 minutes of fame had arrived!

Back to the apartment when they proceeded to interview me about my family history, my own history and my thoughts about women and heart disease. I think a big point of this video is to show women that heart disease is not just a "man's disease," that it's still the #1 killer of both men AND women. It's just that in the past, all of the studies and research have focused on men.

They had told me not to wear red or any type of print or pattern that might be distracting. So I had worn a black turtleneck and black pants which made me look very slender. However, since my running outfit had been all black, the cameraman decided that I needed a splash of color. Well, since red was out (too bad, it's a fave of mine), I suggested an olive green V-neck sweater. They didn't seem thrilled about it until I put it on and then they loved it! Said it brought out my hair and eyes. Speaking of hair, the interviewer would occasionally lean over to push a tiny strand of hair off my face.

Then (and this one cracked me up) I was told that they needed to powder to my nose and forehead because my skin was shiny! I always complain about my dry skin in the winter and am always slathering on tons of moisturizer so I don't know where the shine came from. Maybe because I had just come back from running, who knows. They asked if I had any powder (I don't, I never wear it) but they did have their own.

For the most part the interviewer liked my answers, only asking me to repeat a couple of them for emphasis. The street noise proved to be problematic at times, though, and we had to halt taping a couple of times due to a car horn or truck noise.

Then it was onto the kitchen where they wanted to get some b-roll and me and BF preparing food. This was the most annoying part of the shoot, I have to say. Everytime one of us opened up the fridge or a kitchen cabinet, we had to turn cans, bottles and boxes around so as not to display brand names! I understand why they asked us to do this but it was still a pain in the arse.

Also, it felt very fake to be cutting up fruit for salad after we just ate breakfast about an hour ago and making inane conversation while doing it but I imagine that most of this will end up on the cutting room floor. The director said she'd rather have too much b-roll than not enough.

Anyhoo, it was a fun morning. But I gotta tell ya, I would NOT want to do this (be an actor or a video spokesperson) for a living. It's a fussy business.

Where There's Smoke, There's Ire

There was a letter in last week's Verona News, the weekly freebie that gets delivered to all township residents, defending people's right to smoke in public places. This, of course, was written in response to pending legislation to make smoking illegal in public places in New Jersey, as it is in New York.

The letter went on to say that "smokers have rights" and before you know it, the health police will be going after people who eat fatty foods. Uh, not quite the same thing there. Yes, it's true, tobacco IS a legal substance and people who smoke cigarettes generally don't rob or kill people to feed their habit. (Although, with what it costs for a pack of butts these days, that may soon change.) Yes, in New Jersey, people still have a right to smoke to their heart's content in public places.

And, I'll even take it a step further and admit that, as of yet, there is no strong scientific evidence that proves that exposure to second-hand smoke causes disease. Yes, it's true that if you have a pre-existing lung disease or asthma, the smoke will probably aggravate your condition. But CAUSE disease? Bring on the proof.

That being said, I think most people, smokers included, will agree that second-hand smoke is just plain disgusting. It gets into your hair, your clothes and no one, except another chain smoker perhaps, enjoys kissing a smoker. My brother smokes and even he agrees that the smoke is gross. If we are out in a restaurant, he always steps outside or goes into the bar area to light up. If he's at home or in someone else's home, he steps outside. Yes, he is one of the few considerate smokers. "Few" being the operative word here.

So, using the convoluted logic of the smokers, why is that in New Jersey, smokers have rights but those of us who do not smoke, well, we can go pound sand. What about MY right to breathe clean air? What about MY right to go home, after a night dining out or dancing, without smelling like a friggin' ashtray? And, what about the rights of people who make their living working at bars, restaurants, and clubs in NJ? What about their right to work in a smoke-free environment?

New York, and other U.S. and European cities who have followed suit, have the right idea. When the anti-smoking law was first implemented, everyone whined that it would hurt business but that has not been the case. If anything, people who normally wouldn't go out to a club or restaurant because of the smoke, now go in droves.

We're not saying that smokers can't smoke. Light up all you want, that's your business. But when you're blowing smoke in MY face, that's where your rights end. If the majority of smokers had been considerate in the first place, like my brother, then we wouldn't need to consider such a law.