Sports For Chicks: Wimbledon Update Ladie's Finals

I set my alarm this morning so not to miss the Ladie's Final match on center court at Wimbledon.  Serena Williams did not disappoint as she won her 13th major title, catching Billie Jean King's record.

Williams beat Vera Zvonareva of Russia 6-3, 6-2.  Zvonareva was graciousl, yet disappointed, thanking her team who helped her get back in the game after several injuries/surgeries.  She even secured a seat in her box for her surgeon to attend the finals.

Rafal Nadal will face Tomas Berdych in the Men's Finals tomorrow morning.  I'll be setting my clock for that one too!

Sports For Chicks: Courts heat up at Wimbledon

Okay so things are crazy enough when Roger Federer doesn't make it to the semi- finals.  He was beaten in the quarter finals by Berdych, ranked twelfth in the world, from the Czech Republic.  Well, now that Berdych has also beat out Djokovic from Serbia, he will face my Rafa (you may know him as Rafael Nadal from Spain) in the finals on Sunday. This is going to be some crazy good tennis!

Can you imagine the hype going on in the Czech Republic this weekend?  Holy cats...this guy has a shot to beat the number one and two ranked, hottest tennis celebrities of the day all in one tournament.  I can't wait to see this match!  Typically, I am one to root for the underdog...but not this time.  I'm a true Rafa fan and will be cheering him on, especially after his rough season last year. 

As for the ladies...Serena Williams, in my opinion, is one of the most powerful women in sports.  She is just a mountain of strength, agility, speed, talent and personality...and she looks fashionable while she's at it!  She was wearing a bolero jacket over her tennis dress, which were both white, with red shorts underneath...she looked fabulous!  Who else dresses that well while competing?  Her sister, Venus, of course.

Serena will face Vera Zvonareva of Russia (ranked 21) in the finals tomorrow.

Sports For Chicks: Don't throw Vick back to the pound just yet

Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles is in the headlines again.  Depending on which reports you read, he is either in real trouble and headed back to the dog house, or quite honestly, he is in no trouble at all. I've read three articles about an incident that took place June 25th at a club in Virginia Beach where Vick was celebrating his 30th birthday, none of which are conclusive.

Turns out, shortly after Vick and his group had left the club, there was a shooting in the parking lot, injuring a man named Quanis Phillips.  Who is that?  Mr. Phillips is a co-defendant of Michael Vick in the dog fighting disaster that took place a few years ago.  Different articles are posting different twists.  Both say the shooting was the result of a minor altercation that took place during the birthday bash.

So what is the big deal?  Michael Vick is on probation.  As part of the conditions for probation, he is not to have contact with any other felons (Phillips), and further, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodall gave Vick a very tight margin of error when he let him back in the game.  Any association with former dog fighting pals is a sure ticket off the field.

So...back to the reports of the incident.  Quantis Phillips was indeed in the VIP section of the club where Vick's party took place.  Where reports differ, is one suggests Phillips was part of the party, the other suggests he was asked to leave as soon as he crashed the party.  This is a very big difference.

The most important piece of evidence here has got to be the list of invitees.  If Phillips is on the list, that it is a real shame.  If he is not on the list, this becomes a non-incident for Vick, or even a good thing since Vick's people would have asked Phillips to leave, and when he didn't, Vick left instead.

I, personally, was disgusted by Vick's behavior years ago and thought he got a just sentence as a consequence of the animal abuse he played such a huge part in.  It is also my opinion he paid his dues in jail, he is now a spokesperson for PETA trying to educate others on the errors of his ways, and he has humbly accepted whatever the NFL has offered him, without complaint.  I have an easier time supporting someone rehabilitated like Vick, then I do someone like Ben Roethlisberger who is STILL behaving criminally and getting away with it while raking in the big bucks.

Anyway, I hope Vick truly was trying to separate himself from Phillips at his party.  I hope Phillips was not an invited guest.  If he was, however, only Vick is to blame.  After all he has been through, lets hope he knew better.

Kudos to local chiropractor/patients for helping to feed the hungry

John Reed, Director of Operations at Food Gatherers in Ann Arbor, just sent a note of thanks to Saline Family Chiropractic for the food drive they held in their office last month. 

Turns out, Dr. Paquin and his staff collected a whopping 1133 pounds of food during the drive.  That makes a nice dent in the 16,000 pounds of food Food Gatherers distributes on a given day.

Not only did SFC ask their patients to contribute, but with the help of other area businesses, they provided incentive to donate with drawings for prizes.  The big prize was a 42" Panasonic Plasma TV!  Businesses who supported the effort were Max & Erma's, Mac's Acadian Seafood, Macaroni Grill, Nature's Garden Center, Maplewood Lanes and Prickly Pear.

I don't know about you, but I like to spend my money at businesses I know are giving back to the community, and fighting to beat hunger is one cause I will promote every time!

Big kudos to Saline Family Chiropractic and all those who participated in a very successful food drive.  Thanks to all of you, we can continue to keep families fed, one meal at a time. 

For more information on how you can keep Feeding America, visit Food Gatherers and Saline Area Social Services.

Limbaugh shouldn't joke about hungry kids-What Got To Me Today

Okay, for the most part I don't blog here much about politics.  I might write about something that is the result of politics...but that is about it.  This, of course, isn't because I'm not passionate about all things political (I'm actually a bit of a political junkie) but I don't push it here because you guys don't come here to hear me rant about that stuff.  I should probably start another blog about my lefty views, but that is a whole other project.

All that being said, means I don't ever talk about Rush Limbaugh.   This is why:  in full disclosure, I loathe him. Eww...I don't even like to see his photo here on my pretty blog! I go out of my way not to give him any extra press.  So why this time?  I just can't sit here and let this one go.  On June 16th, he aired a show that was lower than his usual sluggy self. 

As I say often, you guys know I write a lot about hunger in our neighborhoods, cities and U.S.  I write about ways to help fight it, about the people who are champions at helping fight it, and about hunger awareness.  Here in our small city, there are about 100 families with kids who use Social Services for food, and that's not counting the ones who sneak off to the larger food banks hoping no one will notice.  Hunger is a huge epidemic in this country, and more and more it is families with children.  Summer time is worse, because kids who usually rely on free and discount school breakfasts and lunches don't get them when school is out.  Well, Mr. Limbaugh has an opinion about this issue and I don't like it. 

Limbaugh laughs up a new segment he wants to start about how to help kids find food, because if the parents "just can sit around and let their kids starve", somebody's got to help these poor kids out right?  Rush jokes that they should try their refrigerator?  Or this thing in a house called a kitchen?  Then of course, they could watch a video about the proper ways to dumpster dive to find something nutritious, even though they might have to compete "with homeless people there".

Okay...my head is exploding!

I know parents who don't eat so that their kids can.  I know of refrigerators in "things called kitchens" that are incessantly empty. I know that food banks can't keep enough food on the shelves and soup kitchens are standing room only.  I can't believe anyone would make jokes about hungry people in our country.  It is cruel and irresponsible and practiacally un-American! 

Rush Limbaugh has got to be one of the most clueless people on this planet.  He lives in a world where he is never hungry (obviously), he is surrounded by cronies so the opposition can't hurt him, he has so much money he could feed millions.  If he spent half the money he spends on ego feeding and oxycoten, perhaps he could help wipout hunger entirely...he could at least set all the food banks in this country up for a year or two.

I wonder what Rush would do if he suddenly had no access to food?  You think he'd go near a dumpster?  I doubt it.

Seattle teacher clueless and cruel is What Got To Me Today!

When I was about thirteen, I remember not being allowed into a home while wearing my winter coat, because it smelled like smoke.  True, I lived with a smoking parent (didn't we all back then?), and the house in question was a non-smoking house (I totally get it because as an adult, my house is a non-smoking house and I can't stand the smell of smoke either). I was met, however, by the homeowner, with an "ewww...you're going to have to stay out in the garage until you get that coat off, I don't want it in my house."  Well, I was totally mortified and embarrassed, which is probably why I still remember it today. 

Now, take that mortification and multiply it by 1000.  This has got to be how it felt for an eight year old girl in Seattle when her teacher kicked her out of the classroom because the scent of her hair (from a hair product) made the teacher ill.  It is reported the teacher also told the girl she was allergic to her hair, even though she wasn't allergic to her own dog's hair, before kicking her out.  She said  the hair made her feel faint and like she was going to vomit.  This happened openly in front of the little girl's classmates.  Add to it that the little girl is bi-racial, the only ethnic student in the advanced placement class, and that she was outcast first to the hallway, and then to a lower level class because of the way her hair (product) smelled. 

Okay...let me take a deep breath here because I am so outraged by this that if I don't, my hands will shake too much for me to type.

What in the h*** is this woman doing in a classroom if she can't even realize the negative and hurtful impact her words and actions are going to have on this little girl?  According to the father, who is African-American, he has been encouraging his daughter to not give in to peer pressure to straighten her hair like her white classmates.  He writes on his blog, "I want her to know she's beautiful".  So, in compromise, the girl wears a hair lotion (Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Moisturizing Hair Lotion) to keep her hair in a natural state.

I understand that some people have real physical reactions to chemicals and perfumes.  That isn't the issue.

The issue is how the teacher treated the little girl.
The issue is how the teacher never contacted the parents. 
The issue is how the school didn't return the parent's call, or deal at all with the situation, when the girl told her parent's what had happened.

So, if the situation continued to be ignored, the little girl would no longer be allowed into the advanced placement class.

Well, needless to say, due to the failed response of the school, the matter has escalated.  The parent's do not wish to send the girl to school in the current environment.  The NAACP has stepped in, and the school has turned to it's lawyers.  By what I've read so far, there has been no action to the teacher, and no apology to the little girl or her family.

If the teacher would have made her concerns known to the parents, it is very likely they may have changed products to alleviate the problem, in a way that was sensitive to the girl's self-esteem.  The teacher had a real opportunity here to create a supportive environment, and even turn it into a teaching moment.  Instead, this young girl will never forget how she was singled out, insulted, embarrassed in front of her peers, her hair compared to that of a dog, and demoted to a lesser level of learning.

I remember a smoky winter coat from 23 years ago.  You cannot tell me this 8 year old little girl will forget.

A non-spoiler review: Sex and the City

Don't worry, this isn't going to be the kind of review that ruins it for you if you haven't seen it yet.  This is actually going to be pretty quick and to the point.  For those who have seen it, it is a sequel.  With the exception of the Harry Potter series, when is a sequel ever better than the first film? But to fans of Kerry, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte, we don't need an oscar.  We just want to see how our girls are doing.

Well, they are aging, which is evident (except for Charlotte--naturally age defying), but we don't care because we are all getting older too.  Women audiences are always complaining there aren't enough roles for over-40 women in Hollywood, so this is just one more case where older women are gorgeous, smart and sophisticated.

I want to elaborate on the "smart" part. This film may have been a fluff film, for entertainment purposes only, but don't you be fooled, especially with Sarah Jessica Parker at the helm.  Here is the list of political points made in the film.  Kudos ladies, kudos!

• gay marriage and how it is only legal in five states
• the transition of straight men from less accepting to more accepting of gay men
• surrogacy/pregnancy surrogate
• difficulties of motherhood
• recognition of how hard it is for mothers who cannot afford nannies or outside help
• women's rights or lack thereof in the middle east
• women's sexual freedoms
• discrimination against women in American boardrooms
• variations of infidelity
• individualized marriages, which rules work for whom?
• aging, gracefully or not?
• independent married women

Then of course, on the gorgeous candystore of fashion side of things...we were not disappointed.  The shoes, the clothes, the make-up, the accessories and jewelry...dripping and sparkling and a downright golden goo-fest...which we LOVE!

And yes please, bring on the hunks..Big (my personal fave), Aiden, Smyth, even Harry and Steve if you are into the adorable type make their appearances...and a new one, Ricard...a steamy Aussie who showed himself (actually more of himself than any of the others!)  throughout the second half of the film...it is rated R, after all.

What the critics say is true...there is a lot less sex and a lot less City.  The two things missing that I found noticeable and a bit of a bummer were the absence of the theme music anywhere in the film.  It opened to Alicia Keys instead of the piano we all love--so much it's my ringtone!  The other thing missing, which my husband James pointed out (yes, my husband who has watched and enjoyed the series with me since the beginning...yeah, he's awesome) was Kerry's writing.  Not once do we see her words typed across the screen.  We see her old apartment, we see the laptop on the desk...not seeing her typing away is like seeing Peyton Manning on the sidelines, just watching the ball.  (Did I really throw an NFL comparison into the story?  Yep, I like sparkle and football).

Anyway, it was nice to see the girls and where they are in their lives.  It was fun to laugh at the witty writing that is signature Sex and the City.  It was terrific to get lost in the fashoin and glitz and it was an awesome excuse to have a date night with my hubby.

If you've been a follower, it's worth it to see it.