Quote Of The Day...Free Speech

It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those unspeakable precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them.
Mark Twain

Forget the Diet and Eat on Your Own Terms

Diet is a strange word. The mere mention of the word strikes fear into the minds of many due to its negative meaning. Negative, you say? A diet to most people means discipline and dedication. We have enough pressure in our lives to commit ourselves to a daily grind of eating properly seven days a week, right? Well, you don't have to. Proper eating habits stem from making the right choices in what we decide to eat, as well as the portions throughout the day. Counting calories and weighing portions are temporary ways to lose weight but ultimately fail in what should be your goal: To be healthy on the inside and out...for life. Strict diets are destined to fail. Diets are designed to give people "instant" results in a world of consumers that demand an immediate cure for their food consumption problem. Consequently, a human being is wired for variety and spontaneity. Diets give you neither. When people eventually get bored with the diet, they resort back to the same old habits of overeating the wrong foods.

The key to eating well and being a healthy person is to change your behavior. Don't get intimidated with change. Change is growth and with growth we reach our goals and as a result, happiness. The great thing about my method is that you can do this in baby steps. Good health does not happen over night; what is important are the results you'll see after one week, one month and if you follow the program, the rest of your life. Here are the keys to changing your eating habits which in turn will change your life.

(1) CUT DOWN ON YOUR PORTIONS: Portion size of our meals affects calorie intake. Start week one by cutting down to 3/4 of your normal intake and work your way down in the ensuing weeks until you get to the point where you're satisfied yet not too full. You NEVER want to feel full after a meal; it means that you overate. With time your stomach will adjust to the portion size. Just be patient.

(2) CUT DOWN ON THE SWEETS AND JUNK FOOD: Ice cream, cake, cookies, chips, ummm. No need to stop eating any of these but if you tend to gorge on the sweets or chips, cutting down is imperative to your goals. I can't stress enough how fattening ice cream is. If you crave ice cream, have some but not your normal serving of the Ben and Jerry's pint. If you must have some, cut down to a 1/4 serving and replace your emptiness with a cookie or two. With these controlled portions, you will find yourself not wanting as much of whatever your sweet weakness is. What is important to remember is that you don't have to go without. You just need to control the tendency to gorge or have that piece of cake EVERY night while Seinfeld is on. If you are a chip addict, buy the small bag of chips. This will curb your need to attack that large bag of salt and vinegar chips. Economically, it's a little more expensive but remember, you you are saving by cutting down on your overall portions. Of utmost importance is whatever your weakness, it's better to small portion than to plan a gorge day and eat 2000 calories in one sitting. Gorge days are not reward days for you. This type of reward process will ruin your eating goals and allow you to regress to your old habits in time.

(3) FRUITS AND VEGETABLES - A WAY OF LIFE: Have some fruits and vegetables every day. If you don't have the patience to eat fruit, buy a bottle of fruit juice (the natural fruit kind) and a carton of orange juice, every week. Make sure to drink a glass every day, so if you did have dessert at least you know you had your glass of nutrition for the day. Vegetables, I know , can be time consuming to prepare...and boring to eat. Grocery stores offer a giant selection of prepared raw veggies that are ready to eat. Vegetables can taste bland to some, so if you must, use a dip, in SMALL portions. The vegetables should compliment your (small) T-Bone steak just fine.

That's it for now. I said baby steps and this is not too overwhelming. It's just a matter of you changing your habits. The first week will be difficult because you will have to conscientiously think of your game plan as you go. Give it time and it will come natural. The results will happen.

You will also notice that I did not mention exercise in this lifestyle change. Don't worry about that for now. You'll have enough on your plate (pardon the pun) with the food lifestyle change. Exercise is vital to health but the important goal at the moment is your eating habit and what you put in your body. The energy and positive outlook essential for the urge to do healthy activities will come. I will be discussing the exercise aspect in future articles. Remember the word PATIENCE. Nothing worth doing right happens with immediate results. You can and will succeed in time. Good luck and remember that you are not alone.

Quote Of The Day...

My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four, unless there are three other people.
Orson Welles

Quote Of The Day...

I'm only interested in heavy metal when it's me who's playing it. I suppose it's a bit like smelling your own farts.
John Entwistle

The 10 Best T.V. Shows Of All Time - Number 3 - St. Elsewhere

St.Elsewhere,the television drama,has been off the air for more than 20 years. In the time since, it has pretty much been off the minds of most people. What is forgotten is that St. Elsewhere, from 1982 until 1988, was the best show on television. Unfortunately, most people new the show existed but did not watch. What was the reason? Too dark? Too edgy? Too much reality? Too clever? Yes, yes, yes and yes. In the 1980's people were craving light entertainment in the yuppie driven, materialistic decade. Heavy dramas had there place but in moderation. Dramas like Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere were deemed too pretentious by audiences. The story lines were drawn out over weeks (sometimes months) and most of the audience did not have the patience nor the attention span to follow the series. Couple this with St. Elsewhere's ever changing time slot, it never had a chance to find a large audience. The 1980's were the era of comedies like Family Ties, Cheers, Newhart, The Cosby Show and...Alf. T.J Hooker became a hit and if you wanted drama there were the prime time soap operas like Dallas, Falcon Crest or Dynasty. If that was not enough entertainment, you could watch The Love Boat or Fantasy Island. WOW. Rarely do people speak of St. Elsewhere when asked about '80's television. Well, I never forgot.

Unfortunately, St. Elsewhere was created in the wrong decade. If this was a series created in the mid '90's when reality and television were melding together, the series would have been remembered differently. Of course, critics loved St.Elsewhere. It won numerous Emmys for acting, writing and directing. Unfortunately, critics could not convince the masses that this was a show worth watching. Those who did follow the show religiously know what the critics new. That we were being exposed to a television classic that ages gracefully and does not seem dated, even today. I never forgot.

I never forgot Dr. Donald Westphall's (Ed Flanders) compassion and care towards patients and staff alike. Even though his personal life was in constant turmoil, Westphall's dedication to his profession and love for St. Eligius gave him strength and hope. When Westphall decides he's had enough of the corporate St. Eligius, he resigns on his own terms with his own personal touch; by mooning Dr. Gideon and telling him to "kiss his ***". Ironically, and sadly, the character that hoped and believed in a better world did not carry over into Flanders' personal life. Flanders would take his own life in 1995 after a battle with depression and personal conflict.

I never forgot Dr. Mark Craig, the brutish hot tempered heart surgeon that put fear in the hearts of interns and nurses at St. Eligius. Underneath the rough exterior of this brilliant surgeon lay an insecure yet caring man who secretly yearned for the ability to show compassion towards his patients. Craig and Westphall were polar opposites. When the two characters interacted, it created television magic.

I never forgot Dr. Victor Ehrlich (Ed Begley Jr.) and his impulse to blurt out whatever stupidity was on his mind. The "father/son" interactions between him and Dr. Craig was comedic and heartwarming all at once. Dr. Craig bellowing "EHRLICH! For the love of Mike!" became a regular feature of the show. What the characters represent is a role reversal for Craig; him becoming his own father, with all his perfectionism and sarcasm directed at his son and Ehrlich becoming the young Dr. Craig with all his perceived deficiencies and never living up to his fathers high expectations.

I never forgot when Doctors Westphall, Craig and Auschlander (Norman Lloyd) walked into Cheers (yes, the television Cheers) for a beer and were served by the abrasive Carla. This was one of the first times two television shows crossed over into one show.

I never forgot the "Time Heals" episodes where the story of St. Eligius and its main characters go back in time to the humble beginnings of the hospital. The story centers around Father Joseph McCabe and his dream of opening a hospital for the less privileged. We see a young rebellious Donald Westphall being disciplined and mentored by McCabe, who ultimately paves the way for Westphall's passion to help others. The use of black and white in these flashback episodes adds authenticity to the period (1930's) and genuine feel that the viewer is part of the memory.

I never forgot the controversial subject matter the producers dealt with. St. Elsewhere was the first series to have a character acquire AIDS ( Dr. Caldwell) and to expose the disease as not just homosexual related. Rape, drug addiction and prejudice were all subjects written in the story lines at a time when such topics were not commonly written into scripts.

Finally, I never forgot the final episode of St. Elsewhere. In the final surreal scene of the series, we see Donald Westphall arriving home from a long day work (on the construction site!?). Westphall asks "dad", Daniel Auschlander how his autistic son Tommy has been. Auschlander explains that the boy occupies all his time by staring into a snow globe of St. Eligius. "What does he think about?", asks Westphall, thinking out loud. The viewer is then shown a close up of the snow globe, symbolizing that the events of St. Eligius were all deep in Tommies imagination. Many fans were disappointed by this ending. Many felt that there was no closure to it. Whatever the fans main criticism was, give credit to the producers for ending the series the way every episode was conceived: To keep us wondering what will happen next...and wanting more!

The Artie Lange Show Featuring Howard Stern!

This morning(December 2nd) Artie Lange, of the Howard Stern Show, called in sick...again. Artie calling in sick has become about as regular as a Sarah Palin interview gaff(You Tube: Sarah Palin-Turkey). If Artie was legitimately sick, I sympathize with the guy. Maybe he is suffering from exhaustion after the book signing tour and the interviewing juggernaut that goes with a best selling novel. Maybe he is finding it difficult to juggle the radio show, a stand up comedy act and withdrawing from drugs. Or, worst case scenario, back on the drugs and/or booze. What made Artie's absence stand out this time was the simple fact that for the first time in a while, The Howard Stern Show was better with less.



For the longest period, I felt that listening to Howard had become like listening to a radio show by committee. Howard, with the aide of Artie and Robin Quivers has become a shadow of his former radio personality. For years Stern had suffered through countless interruptions brought on by the opinionated Robin. While Howard has always valued Robin's contribution to the show, you could hear by his tone that talking over "The King Of All Media" during his radio time was frustrating him. Howard being Howard, bit his tongue and carried on like a professional. When the show had just Howard and Robin as the main voice, listening was bearable because the content was always unique...and yes there was Jackie Martling, writing jokes and laughing inappropriately at some tragic news story. Oh yes, and he didn't speak unless spoken to.


Today's show made me miss Jackie. No, he didn't tell great stories or seem particularily interesting. I miss his laugh and the fact that on The Howard Stern Show, less is more. There is one voice too many on the show and that loud voice is Artie. Artie has become the center of attention on this top rated show. Not by natural circumstances but by way of Artie selling himself in all his narcissistic ways. Artie's favourite subject is Artie. Whatever the topic of the moment, the conversation seems to always come back around to an Artie story or in relation to how he was involved. For example, Howard would be talking about his bachelor party and Artie chimes in with a good five minutes on himself and how it was difficult to see other people drinking at the party. WHAAAH! His habit of interrupting the show with his long winded,self promoting diatribe has ruined the flow of what once was a great radio show. Enough Artie! It's time to start listening to what Howard, the star of the show, has to say. None of these obnoxious, loud attempts at being funny are working for you any more. It's time for Howard to realize (and I think he does) that the show is much better without Artie. Sometimes...less is more!