7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 3)

#1 - I've decided to add a little distinction to my name by signing myself, "The Hanna". The Irish got away with it; why can't I? What do you think? A little over the top? Well, that's what happens when I get woken up after being in a deep sleep for several hours...things just get weirder and weirder and funnier and funnier. And random ideas like calling oneself "The Hanna" just seem brilliant. Truthfully, I could make a killing as a comedian if only I could arrange it so that I would tape immediately after being woken up having slept for a couple of hours. I wonder if that could be arranged? I wonder if I'm having this thought because I'm writing this at 4am after having been woken up?

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#2 - On a more serious note, is anyone else disturbed by the current news on the "Fairness Doctrine"? It truly amazes me that such a concept would even be open for discussion. Why would anyone would support a law which would essentially stamp out some the fundamentals doctrines this country was founded on? What is happening to this country? I don't care what party you belong to, who you voted for in the last five elections, or where you grew up. If you have any passion at all for the so-called democracy of this country, don't ignore this issue.

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#3 - Since I'm on the subject of politics, I will say it was interesting to read part of the interview filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of Speaker of the House, Congresswoman Nanci Pelosi did with Salon asking her about Alexandra's experiences following the McCain campaign for a documentary film.

Salon asked Pelosi the following question: "Did you go out there with the expectation that the polls were probably right and the candidate whose supporters you were interviewing was probably going to lose?"

Her answer was surprisingly refreshing: "Well, more than 58 million people voted for John McCain, and I know that everyone on the coasts is on an Obama honeymoon right now, and they seem to forget that more than 58 million people did not want Barack Obama to be their president. And when I was traveling over the summer and I would go to rallies and 20,000 people would be there, it's hard to say I knew Obama was going to win. They had some real enthusiasm at these events for the GOP ticket. So, I did not go out presupposing that Barack Obama was going to be president. I wasn't trying to make a point about, "Ooh, he's going to be president and here are the losers, let's go check out what they have to say.

"They had huge crowds, and I felt they were really underrepresented in the media. I didn’t feel like I saw these people on TV. And when I went out to talk to people, the first thing they would say to me was, "I can't believe you're talking to me." They were so flattered that I wanted to hear what they had to say because they'd say, "The media doesn't listen to us. You turn on the TV and all you see is Obama nation and you don't see us." They had some points. My liberal friends, I have to remind them that they have some really good points. No. 1, the media did not fairly represent them in this election. Obama was on the cover of every magazine all summer long. I understand Obama sold magazines. It's a business. But when you've got a presidential election and you have half of the country feeling really underrepresented, I think that's a real problem. And I think that's a bigger problem than Obama versus McCain.

"There was this guy in Fort Wayne, Ind., Fred Boise, who says, "The media paints us to be fanatics. They treat us like hicks and we just go to Wal-Mart and we're rednecks. And they don't come to get to know us, and they go on stereotypes." I think all of that is true. Of course there were a lot of clichés that I had to overcome when I got there. "Hi, I'm from New York and my last name is Pelosi," and obviously that was like funny to them in a weird way. Like, "What are you doing here?"

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#4 - I ran into an interesting post on a new blog I've been exploring this week that fits in nicely with my (what I'm afraid might become thematic) rant on marriage, feminism, etc. Go check out "The Big Dumb Husband" over at The Family Homestead

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#5 - On a totally different topic and because I apparently still have zombies on the brain and this cracked me up:

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#6 - On the subject of celiac disease:

I was reading The Gluten-Free Homemaker, a blog that I've recently come across and have found has some really good information on Celiac and living Gluten Free. Any ways, the writer of this blog posted an article called "How Gluten Affects Me Mentally" that I personally found very interesting.

She began by describing how when she gets glutinated (my term not hers), her mood is really affected. Immediately I began to read more closely because her description was, well, me, or at least what's been happening to me mood when I've had gluten. In short, I become a crabby, irritable brat (to put it nicely)--and this grumpiness is not just because of how I physically feel. I literally can feel the gluten affecting my mood. And even more weird is how, as everything gets processed out of my body, I can literally feel my mood getting better. It's distinctly noticeable and slightly unnerving at times!

Any ways, she had a medical explanation for why this happens to those with celiac or gluten intolerance. To quote:

"Intestinal permeability is part of the reaction that takes place when someone with celiac disease eats gluten. To put it simply, molecules that should be kept within the intestines are able to “leak” out into the bloodstream. Gluten is one of those molecules. When gluten is carried by the blood to the brain, it causes problems. Dr. Fasano explained that the gluten molecule is similar to endorphins which, along with other things, give us a sense of well-being. The gluten molecules will dock where endorphins are supposed to dock. In effect, gluten blocks endorphins and the positive feelings they can give us."

It's not an excuse for bad behavior on my part, but it is a relief to know that I'm not the only one who goes marginally Witchy upon the ingestion of gluten and that there's an actual reason for it.

And then I sent the article to my husband and he said he's going to start telling me to get my receptors cleaned. I'm not exactly sure how to respond to that!

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#7 - Why is that when I center my cute little asterisks line right above point #5, all of point #1 immediately also centers itself? Not point #4, #3, or #2. Just #1. And if I make point #1 be left centered, then the line right above #5 becomes left centered. Why are computers so irritatingly uncooperative?

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Signing off till next time,

The Hanna