Saturday, March 28, 2015

CYBERSCARES....

Okay, we more or less know what's in the clouds floating above us. At any moment it's capable of stopping what we take for granted -- computers, laptops, cellphones, sensors, machines, also planes, trains, autos, and MRIs, DVRs, and yes -- weapons.

Do we need to be paranoid, frightened about this?
YES.

Hacker groups often use the face in that picture -- the Guy Fawkes mask. Fawkes was part of an attempt to blow up the House of Lords in London in 1605; the use of his mask -- moustache and pointed beard -- became widespread after its use in the 2006 film, "V for Vendetta."

We've seen in hot box office films, that bad guys can muck up financial systems, start a global panic, wreck the power grid, open dams, and maybe infect important things like our food supply. Maybe one of these days a plane will be hijacked without anyone boarding it, and someday some kook might take control of our nuclear arsenal.


Okay, the recent attack on Sony was actually more mundane than the attacks on Target and Home Depot, but I saw some worrisome numbers. According to the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (yes, there's already a bunch of guys on a committee), in the past five years, the number of invasions of US. Military or Fed Government computers has jumped more than 30 percent -- from 26,000 to 46,000.

What happened with Sony has already inspired some international efforts, like what has been done since 1945 to prevent a nuclear attack.

Goody-goody?

Hmm.

I think it's one more bad-baddy thing we gotta do something about -- immediately -- right away -- quick -- before tomorrow is a month of yesterdays.

Right now, we've got to keep our eyes, ears, and intuition educated, and alert for ideas, practical suggestions, startup-plans, state and government lawmaking activities. And constantly, carefully, use the Internet to keep us up-to-date on anything we can do to defeat hackers.



Wednesday, March 25, 2015

WHAT ABOUT WRINKLE REMEDIES?


How many times have you heard about wrinkles -- frown lines, dark circles, what you have to buy, to use, to do in order to look better, younger -- all those things you must do for hair, lips, legs, hands, feet, fingernails, toes, eyelashes, and cellulite.

Are they lies? Um ... uh ... well, they are ads. which are presentations of proven facts that will convince to you buy the product.

Do they work? Well, if you buttered your wrinkles, you might see improvement. You'd see improvement if you iced them, or covered them with makeup. If you did specific exercises for the area you want to improve they'd look better -- better if you are in a frame of mind to see "better." not worse.

And yes, the more you see -- the more you study -- the more passionately concerned you are, to maintain, to improve, to fix what looks older than yesterday.

A long short time ago, the day before my thirtieth birthday, I bought "Second Debut," a moisturizer that was hugely touted on TV -- green bottle for "normal" average skin, pink bottle for "mature" dry skin. I bought two pink bottles from Macy's.

Staving off "after thirty" -- doomful words that advertisements, friends, relatives, even doctors murmur, I used Second Debut every morning and evening for -- gee, how long? -- at least a year. A dancer friend  whose dad was a dermatologist, gave me a tube of Retinol  2.5, (stronger than what drugstores sell). I used it very sparingly -- I didn't have wrinkles but sometimes a frown line appeared on my forehead.

I still have a squeezed-out tube 2.5 Retinol, and an almost empty bottle of "Second Debut." I still look ... well ... I look um... not young, but my face and general shape are more than adequately okay.

Okay, here's the nitty-gritty: I ignore compliments or advice from friends. I ignore all "look younger" latest products, and aphorisms. I wear makeup only when I make videos, or attend my husband's show. I remove it with a few daubs of inexpensive Johnson & Johnson baby oil.

Remember the tooth fairy? One of her sisters resides in my house.

With her help, I pay attention to what I eat. I stay in shape by doing all my chores using my body as much as possible, the way I did when I was thirty -- bending, lifting, reaching, climbing, hurrying, standing tall. The fact is, most of the other doomful things -- dark circles, bags, cellulite, wrinkles, hair loss, and other un-prettifying things that come with growing older -- have more or less happened to me.

Boo-hoo, YAY! My eyes don't see as sharply as they used to. Therefore, when I  see a wrinkle, I race to another mirror, where I kind of chat, with the wrinkle fairy.

Comforting me with nice, gently truthful words that always make me feel better because it's reality -- that conversation is my wrinkle remedy.

If you're fretting, seeing all the things about yourself that are falling apart, close your eyes and think back to the days when you believed in Santa and the Tooth Fairy, and you can summon your own help-you fairy. It can be a he, she, or any kind of IT -- it's there, still in your house; it still lives in your mind. It will make you feel nicely, more than adequately okay. 

Sunday, March 22, 2015

(VIDEO) JOHN CULLUM ON MIKE NICHOLS



John and Emily remember their friend Mike -- a spur of the moment adventure they had with him, in Vancouver.

John chuckles about Nichols' despair after he directed John in "Importance of Being Ernest."