I like fancy panties but don’t wanna be hosed.

“Why show off?” Festivity is a terrific aspect of civilization. Unless the younger sibling’s college fund is spent to support inexplicable things like ice sculptures. And especially when many marriages today have shorter shelf lives than fresh fruit.

Yes. I’ve also tiled a bathroom, wall papered rooms, used duct-tape to tape a camping van’s wiring back together when it died and we were stranded on a fire road far behind Mammouth Lakes, re-finished floors, hand-painted a running border at a ceiling line to pull together a room motif, etc etc. I like to figure things out and to be handy. I always believe I can figure anything out and won’t give up until I do.

Ha…Great message of boldness to grab the brass rings, (underscored by swiping the apple) but also color, lighting, design and casting. That’s a commercial that deserves an award.

“Mensch” is the word. Within the year someone brilliant will write a “God, Country and Notre Dame” type book like Father Ted Hesburgh’s. Tim Russert’s story is much bigger but similar. Who else has been as enthusiastic, passionate, idealistic, clear and devoid of cynicism in a cynical business and era. Who else grew up so resolutely blue-collar with a father who worked two shifts as a garbage collector and yet become one of the 100 most influential people on the planet. How many could be the longest standing anchor of the longest running show and incisively match wits with Americas leaders while the Boss’s Thunder Road is running through his veins. One of a kind. He’ll stand with, and also a bit apart from the Edward R. Murrows, because he remained one of us. And now he’s with his hero RFK, neither will ever to be forgotten, due to their excellence and humanity. And I hope the outpouring of admiration and respect has been some comfort for his loved ones. And they need to name that road for him by the stadium.

Last night I watched a brilliant Ted.com talk on the duality of the brain—by a brain scientist drives who shows an actual brain and duality of the two hemispheres. http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/229 Years ago I figured out, and she confirms, that while the entire universe is right brained, in fact Uni-verse means one song, Cosmos means one united unified whole; humanity institutionalized the out-of-balance left-brained functioning that is destroying us. 1) Therefore, I’d wish this duality to be instantly reconciled so that planet would live off the energy of the sun, instead fight wars for fossilized death things. Everything would be green and flourishing again, birth rates would plummet, we’d cease raising livestock for food, wars would end, and the right brain world would make education, arts, and true fairness primary. Like the Minoans, only better with ATM cards and organic spring mix. 2) With all of humanity turned into Deepak Chopra/quantum physic/universal lifeforce energy forms—everyone could channel their own miracles—so I don’t need to wish for others-they can wish for themselves. 3) I’d lockbox one wish in case another Dark Lord Sauron-Cheney emerged from Middle-Earth Cracks of Doom for another War for the Ring.

People should do as they wish without going into debt. For me, Trump-style nuptials are de trop. My first wedding was immediate family and my parents surprised us by buying us a very charming house as a wedding present. My second husband wanted the lavish event. We compromised on a June ceremony and dinner for 100 guests catered by a Beverly Hills firm and in my parent’s park-like garden. We had the LA Chamber Music Orchestra for music as people arrived and for the ceremony, and a dance band after. I had the simplest Vera Wang style dress possible, had the train cut off, no head gear. Even though I hadn’t wanted it, was quite fun, great memories. The wedding trip was pretty luxe. I was engaged a third time. But after we finished building our lake resort dream house, I couldn’t go through with it. I pulled the engagement ring off my finger and gave it to my youngest sister when she whined, “Why do you always get everything.” And called him and said, keep the house. It was a fun two year, but no thanks. No more husbands for me. I like being single.

Something I learned today that didn’t know about Tim Russert and which explains a lot of his drive, and thrill over the current election, was that Robert F. Kennedy was his hero, and his friend, a retired White House correspondent and USA columnist who now teaches politics and journalism at American and Georgetown Universities in Washington, D.C. said today, the memory of RFK’s death could always bring tears to his eyes: “I remember 18-year-old Tim Russert sitting alone in his backyard on a hot June Saturday afternoon in 1968, head down and silent. On the TV, the funeral train carrying Bobby Kennedy’s body was slowly making its way from New York to Washington. His hero was gone. And he was grieving.” He said that Tim suffered a setback in Bobby’s death, but that ” ….he never lost his optimism, his idealism, his belief that you can make things better and his love for politics…. Besides his family, that is his legacy.” As someone who saw this election through the lens of RFK’s values and beliefs can understand why Tim Russert pushed himself so ardently and believed so much that we were at a turning point. RFK was also my hero, in fact I’ve had his photo and quotes on my blog this month to mark the 40th anniversary of his death. Knowing this about Tim just makes me want to work all the harder for the Obama campaign…

Valerie, 1) It’s their blog. 2) It’s not about them, but what coincides with most of the public’s interests. 3) The entire nation is in shock and mourning about the untimely death of one of its greatest journalists, a great father, and a great human being. 4) There is no ball and chain attached from you to any of the threads. If you aren’t interested, don’t read. 5) The comments here are by posters, not the Founders. 6) Joan Juliet Buck is a fantastically interesting, talented and accomplished journalist who most of us admire for being the editor-in-chief of French Vogue, an editor for British Vogue, and also for The Observer, and a contributing editor to Vanity Fair since for two decades. That is an outstanding, quality career by anyone’s standards. Perhaps delve into why you are so resentful of women of excellence instead of being more interested in learning from them.

Gianna—“On the plus side, I have lost 25 lbs.!” had to laugh at that one….good luck with the dinner!

Serotonin imbalance is an imbalance in nutrition. 85% of serotonin comes from good nutrition and if lacking (as if lacking other nutrients) will binge….http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/mental_health/depression.htm Point goes back to good nutrition (which is impossible to have on the Fast Food/junk food/high calorie/empty nutrition diet of most Americans) which supports overall good health and good habits. Hence the importance of good nutritional understanding and the acknowledgeable ‘bible’ is Prescription for Nutritional healing. It costs $17. If diets are complete in nutrition will overeat because body is starved for the nutrients needs—not the fatty, empty foods and impossible to eat right if don’t understand good nutrition and what it does. If believe in food as nutrition/the best medicine will not have weight problems. Zeroing in on just one body chemical like serotonin is not good nutrition. Collete Dowling is not a nutritionist. Most people’s lives would be greatly enhanced by having one and in the absence of that, thoroughly reading “Prescription for Nutritional Healing” the #1 bible of good nutrition. http://books.google.com/books?id=2s_q2y_J3rwC&dq=prescription+for+nutrio…

Collete Dowling also wrote “Cinderella Syndrome” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNPEiH0ZLOM And the “Frailty Myth” http://www.amazon.com/Frailty-Myth-Redefining-Physical-Potential/dp/0375… As Tony Robbins says we are a ‘therapy culture’ and the alarming rise in our obesity rates in the last two decades precisely correlates with the rise of ‘therapy culture’ and our becoming a “Fast Food Nation.” (and I have two sisters who are psychologists, one a school psychologist the other an ordained minister who was pastor of a large church and I once was Director of Academic Operations of a College of Health and Human Services, (ie psychology, sociology, nursing, gerontology, physical therapy, kinesiology, etc etc…and recruited from a large field of candidates, also because one responsibility was managing a major building project underway) There is no question of physical/chemical basis for behaviors and that’s why it is always advised to get check ups when there are problems. But I agree with Tony Robbins….the idea of better living through chemicals seems to be the pervasive cultural default, instead of healthier living and education. ie eat poorly so don’t get the nutrition that is needed like all the B vitamins, then depressed, then take a pill for depression. America’s extremely high obesity rates are a symptom of the widespread pattern of unhealthy approaches, and lack of quality nutritional education….which any overweight person should immerse themselves in immediately….with a nutritional bible like “Prescription for Nutritional Healing”. I hope that if/when Obama is president he revives The Presidents Council of Youth Fitness. And if interested, people would greatly improve their own health as well as health of the planet by becoming vegetarians: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-1-Way-To-Save-The-Planet-And-Become-Health…

Star- The questions was what we would advise Anne Marie etc. It isn’t about the surface ‘stuff’ excuses, justifications, symptom, results, emotionalizing but what is the underlying belief system that supports her unhealthy habitual pattern. It’s about awareness and reeducation. I went to Ted.com to see if there was an explanation of belief systems (Ted.com takes the very best thinkers/doers on any topic and they give a core 18 min. speech.) I found Tony Robbins. Have been to his seminars. Here’s his explanation of why people do what they do. Anyone is free to disbelieve it. Since Ted.com brings together the smartest and most effective people in the world—-I’m interested in their thoughts. http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/96 People can talk about something until Bin Laden decides to become a ballerina….the fact is that everything changes from changing the underlying belief. I wondered if obesity patterns would reflect largely track with ‘red state’ ‘blue state’ beliefs (which also correlate with education and per capita income—these are patterns that all go together) and wasn’t surprised to find a CNN map that depicts patterns of obesity state-be-state over last 20 years. A serious health problem in the US. Scroll down a bit, and then can see how winds up with today. The result of “Fast Food Nation”, factory farms, sugar filled drinks, etc and the acceptance of unhealthy eating as a cultural staple. http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/fit.nation/obesity.map/

Another excellent collection of video tributes for those who missed them Wolf Blitzer, Larry King, Bob Schiffer, etc http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/14/blitzer.russert/

wOw’s Peggy Noonan…..excellent comments with Keith Olbermann: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU5XcZJEbQM