i just sent out a thank you email to all of you who generously donated towards my airfare for getting to colorado next month. i was teary-eyed sending it out. it’s pretty amazing that i can ask for help and just 48 hours later, you help me achieve my goal. for those of you who didn’t have a chance to donate, don’t worry. although paychecks are starting to trickle in, my book advance hasn’t come through yet.
so i started watching this video below, which has a lot more kayaking footage than the other first descents promo video. check out the gnarly waves! wow.
my goodness i love you people. in less than a week, you helped me raise $500 and now i can go to colorado! i could not be more thrilled to be headed to kayaking camp. i’ve rafted a number of rivers in the US – the highlight being the middle fork of the salmon river in idaho – and i’ve even hit the source of the nile in uganda. but as much lake and ocean kayaking as i’ve done, i’ve never had the opportunity to do high-level whitewater river kayaking. i am so excited! first descents is an amazing organization, and the trip could not sound more appealing. massage therapist on site? free yoga classes? hiking in the rockies? i am so in.
thank you all so much for your support. it means so much to me to be able to make this trip, and i am touched by the overwhelming response. special thanks to janet and grant wacker for closing the gap last night.
i’ve posted this video before but it’s worth another look. first descents is an amazing program and i am so honored to be a part of it! thank you all again.
i usually do just fine with these pre-test fasting days. but maybe it’s the heat, or the fact that i worked last night, but i could really use a chewy new york bagel covered in lox or whitefish salad. ok i have to stop talking about food.
i’ll be out and about today with my data belt. and you thought fanny packs looked dumb! i’ll take lots of pictures for everyone.
y’all know i loves the karaoke… almost as much as i like being on the news! ok that was totally awesome.
i’ll be at bar nine in hell’s kitchen tonight with bunnie england and the new originals to sing some rock and/or roll. you really should come. bring earplugs.
i’ve put in an early request for the song below – it seems awfully timely.
for those of you who didn’t get a chance to watch WCBS evening news last night – or DVRed it and discovered today that you taped the end of an episode of the good wife instead – here’s the news piece featuring me! and there’s even a shot of groinstrong! my blog was on tv! is it weird to tweet about a youtube video that features your blog? there are just so many social media vehicles involved there. you can read the full article here or scroll down beyond the video.
special thanks to dr. phillips for highlighting this important story and to ashley engelman at the american cancer society for helping me get connected to CBS. the ACS is amazing, as so many of you already know – you should give them money!
update: the audio sync seems to be a little off in this video. any video experts know how to combat that issue?
NY May Soon Ban Tanning Beds For Kids Under 18
Empire State Would Become First In U.S. To Adopt Such Legislation; Experts: Move Should’ve Been Done Long Ago
Study: 1 Tanning Bed Session Can Raise Melanoma Chance 75 Percent
Melanoma is the most deadly skin cancer and it’s on the rise among young people.
Soon, New York State may take some serious measures to protect kids from one of the causes.
Two years ago at the age of 28, Jonah Eller-Isaacs was diagnosed with melanoma. Just last month he was declared “in remission.”
“I’ve had five surgeries, three different kinds of chemotherapy, two rounds of radiation, and, I think, 17 tumor sites, both internal and external,” Eller-Isaacs said. “I consider myself very lucky after all of the surgeries and treatments to have all of my limbs, and no brain damage.”
Eller-Isaacs said many are surprised he had skin cancer so young. But he’s not alone. The illness is striking young people in record numbers.
“We’re starting to see melanoma is in teenagers now, which we’ve never saw before,” said Dr. Arnold Baskies, president-elect of the American Cancer Society.
Now, new legislation may help protect them. New York may soon become the first state to impose a complete ban on tanning beds for everyone under the age of 18.
The evidence linking them to cancer is now overwhelming. Baskies, a surgical oncologist, said the ban couldn’t come soon enough for our kids.
“Fifteen to 30 minutes of exposure in a tanning bed gives you the same sun exposure of a full day,” Dr. Baskies said.
According to a recent study, just a single session on a tanning bed can raise your risk of getting melanoma by 75 percent and many teens go for sessions three or even four times a week.
“Teens can be so appearance-obsessed that when there is something available that makes you look cool, like having a tan, that it’s very unfortunate that the access is so easy,” Eller-Isaacs said.
“Ultraviolet rays are a cancer-causing agent. They’re classified in the same class as asbestos or tobacco smoke,” American Cancer Society spokesperson Ashley Engelman said.
Bills are pending in the Senate and Assembly codes committees and a decision could be made by the end of the month.
“There’s so many products for sunless tanning you don’t even need the risk for tanning beds,” added Julia Silver of Manhattan.
Eller-Isaacs has launched a blog to educate young people about the risks of skin cancer. He said he supports the legislation wholeheartedly.
“The fact that the tanning beds and tanning salons are so lightly regulated, it’s a crime,” he said.
It’s a crime that may soon no longer happen in New York.
Statewide, an estimated 4,000 people will be diagnosed with melanoma this year.
hi everybody (hi dr. nick!) – so it turns out i have a parasite called blastocystis, which might be causing the symptoms i’m trying to manage. but a lot of people (and animals) carry blastocystis around without any trouble. so today i’m getting a dual endoscopy to take a look at my insides and see what’s going on. i’m a little nervous about this one, since the symptoms have been markedly similar to when they found tumors in my stomach and intestines last year. but we’ll just have to wait and see.
don’t worry, i’ll post through my aenesthetic haze and it will be funny. though probably not as funny as this:
news this week out of Rush University in chicago, where they’re currently involved in a phase III trial of OncoVEX, a drug showing promising results in managing advanced melanoma. the vaccine was initially designed to treat herpes – one of the testers accidentally placed the vaccine in a petri dish full of melanoma tumor cells and was amazed to see that the cells had perished. WGN has a video report:
thanks, new york times, for shattering my dreams. as usual.
sorry… i know this band sort of sucks. but i love this song and i couldn’t find any footage of zappa himself except this rough clip which doesn’t even seem to be synced at all.
to my fellow new yorkers – and, i would guess, as well, to the residents of the eastern seaboard in general – it’s another wicked april scorcher today. i hope you’re all being good to your body and WEARING SUNSCREEN. seriously, skipping the sunscreen is soft suicide.
i hope you’ve all read the sunscreen speech by chicago tribune columnist mary schmich - it is not, as the internet tried to claim for many years, written by kurt vonnegut – although vonnegut’s not writing this speech makes him no less awesome. as we head into commencement season, i can’t imagine a better collection of advice to any green graduates out there. it is about so much more than sunscreen… and yet it is entirely about sunscreen. enjoy.
Ladies and gentlemen of the class of ’97:
Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. Scientists have proven the long-term benefits of sunscreen, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they’ve faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts. Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don’t waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long and, in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or celebrate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else’s.
Enjoy your body. Don’t be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents. You never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They’re your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders. Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you’ll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair or by the time you’re 40 it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it is worth.
