7 deadly sins, con't.

A faithful reader--a rabbi, in fact--called last night to comment on Wednesday's post that involved the 7 deadly sins.
The rabbi then told me about this 1993 article
by Mary Gordon from the Times. This one's on anger. Her analysis of anger is intriguing, notably this sentence: "To live in anger is to forget that one was ever weak, to believe that what others call weakness is a sham, a feint that one exposes and removes, like the sanitizing immolation of a plague-ridden house."
What a great sentence.
What do you think about anger? A positive trait of expressing anger is that it does get expressed. It's not stuffed or denied. Yet does it scare you, as it does me? (Both in myself and in others, directed at me or those I love.) As Mary Gordon points out, anger can be addictive in its life-giving qualities. It's all-white heat. It reminds us we're alive. But, at what cost? Discuss.

Who knew?

Apparently a lot of people, including my up-on-his-celebrity-news husband. He shared this with me and Pork Chop on the way to lunch today:
PGA golfer Greg Norman and former tennis pro Chris Evert are a couple. "Well, raise my rent," said I. Pork Chop already knew, of course.
People magazine has the scoop here.
As a tennis player in my (much) younger days, including high school, "Chrissie" was always someone to look up to--not only with her tennis ability but her class on and off the court.
Maybe they don't call Norman the Great White Shark for nothing. (Then again, it takes two to tango--or serve and volley, as it were.)

Seven deadly sins

You know the list:
Lust, gluttony, avarice, sloth, wrath, envy and pride.
Forbes magazine recently ranked U.S. cities based on each of these.
Some of the findings may shock you. Or not.
A surprise to me: Salt Lake City, Utah, was found to be the most vain.

Mad housewife

Regular readers to this blog will note that we love the copy on the back of wine bottles. (It doesn't take much to entertain!) So imagine the hilarity that ensued after Dear Husband brought in Monday's find: Mad Housewife.
Here you go: "Somewhere near the cool shadows of the laundry room. Past the litter box and between the plastic yard toys. This is your time. Time to enjoy a moment to yourself. A moment without the madness. The dishes can wait. Dinner be damned."
Amen.

Um, what?

An op-ed piece by Charlotte Allen in Sunday's Washington Post has a few people--male and female, saying, "What?"
Here it is.
Don't know about you, but I was fortunate to grow up with parents who encouraged me to do whatever I pleased for a living--be that homemaker, journalist, scientist or garbage collector. The main message was: "Do what you enjoy doing and give it your all," without regard for how I might be restricted, for being female.
It was very freeing.
This essay does what I think is a dangerous thing, or two dangerous things: Painting people (male and female) into broad categories, and then expecting others to follow.
Here's a response from Hotair.com: "It’s the old ‘nature vs. nurture’ dilemma: how come there are no boys fainting at Obambi rallies? Is it genetics or culture? Don’t know the answer. My wife is a damned good doctor, but she has trouble telling ‘left’ from ‘right’. Fortunately, she is not a surgeon."
Thoughts?

'Compassion is an aphrodisiac'

Not sure about that but, I have taken a shine to this show.
Apparently, many a woman is turned on by this HBO character, Gabriel Byrne. The way he listens. The way he gestures with his hands. I think part of the allure is the tight shots on his face--and that of his patients. It creates an intimacy and an intensity that you wouldn't get if the camera were panned back.
Anyone else out there like this show? Care to weigh in?

Photo by HBO

'Weight' a minute

Happy Saturday.
This story from the Times questions the virtues of weight lifting for amateur athletes--those training for the Olympics, hard-core runners and the like. Most agree that weight lifting aids in endurance. But some aren't so sure weight training lives up to the hype.
What do you think?
Me? I always tell people if I had to fight for my life, I'd try to do it with my legs. Upper body? Weak, which I think is true for most women.