Good News = Good Living

Say the word "Triathlon" and most people get an image of the grueling Ironman Triathlon; 2.4 mile open water swim, 112 miles on the bike, and a 26.2 mile run.  There are shorter, more manageable lengths of this three sports in one competition.

Julie Hersh surprised me the first time she read her work. This woman, who looked a lot like Jackie Kennedy Onassis, had written a riveting account of her depression and attempted suicide.

When I was in high school, I tried out for the volleyball team. I wasn't any good and never got to play. It didn't look that difficult, but clearly there was more to the game than I expected. It certainly requires more athletic ability than I possess.

My brother Greg is past fifty years old now. I'm older than he, but I'm not telling by how much. Greg remembers 'the yellow plate incident' like it was yesterday. You will want the plate, too, when you hear the story. It happened at one of our big Sunday lunches when we were children. Mom set the table with Melmac, the hot consumer dinnerware item of the 1950's.

New to DVD is Adam, the story of a young man living with Asperger's Syndrome, which is basically a high functioning form of autism. After his father dies, Adam, played by the very handsome Hugh Dancy, must learn to make new relationships in order to function in the world.

Snowboarding is the fastest growing winter sport, and the most recent to come into popularity. Experts differ as to who invented the first snowboard. People have been using all kinds of objects to slide down mountains, from standard sleds and tire inner tubes to lunch trays and plastic bags.

Tai chi is one of the most beautiful sports. The graceful arm positions and slow steps are mesmerizing to watch. Sometimes called "meditation in motion," it combines the movements of yoga and the mindfulness of meditation.

Imagine you are living on a park bench....... you've dropped out of college. You had the lowest scores in the history of your high school.....you have no incentive and no money.

The idea of spinning, or indoor cycling, was invented in the 1980s by athlete Jonathan Goldman, who later trademarked the activity. The exercise is pretty self-explanatory: you pedal your heart out on a stationary bike. Even though you aren’t physically going anywhere, you can at least be confident that you are making progress in improving your physique.

The notion of a hardwired brain can be a handy excuse. The brain can be blamed for a lot that would otherwise be seen as lack of initiative. Well, watch out fellow procrastinators, Norman Doidge is in town to set the record straight. Actually he was in town last week, and I was lucky enough to get a ticket to hear him at the University of Texas - Dallas Center for Brain Health's annual lecture series called The Brain: An Owner's Guide.

Do you have the perfect gift in mind for your Valentine?  Looking for something beyond red roses and chocolate?  Take a peek at what the Girlz have planned for their significant others.