I was just offered a publishing contract for my novel, Plethora.
I'm excited. All that hard work paid off!
Details pending.
(I still await word from another publisher about a different book.)
25 August 2008
21 August 2008
15 August 2008
Remains to be seen
Today, there is supposed to be this big announcement about the Bigfoot carcass allegedly found in the woods in Atlanta area. The men who have him in a freezer say they say two other Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) dragging the body through the woods. They procured the thing and dragged it out themselves. They are quoted with some big talk, like how everyone will be sorry if they are skeptical. I'm anxious and curious to know the truth. But I don't believe it for a minute. Remains to be seen. (literally).
13 August 2008
What I'm up to...
I'm moving to Boulder, CO at the end of the year. Have three friends moving there at the same time, too. That's convenient. I'm really looking forward to it.
Meantime, i'm going through everything and getting rid of as much as possible. Too much to pack and move this time.
Also working diligently on one of my current books: "Supernatural Hypocrisy: The Cognitive Dissonance of a God Cosmology." Probably my hardest project so far, but i felt I had to do this for me and maybe for anyone else out there who struggles with such things.
Also waiting to hear from two publishers about two of my books. Wish me luck.
10 August 2008
Told you it's about the Oceans.
In a previous post, i lamented the way we hyperfocus on space exploration when the oceans on our own planet offer humanity so much. Here's some more evidence i was right.
Cancer-inhibiting Compound Found Under The Sea
ScienceDaily (Aug. 10, 2008) — University of Florida College of Pharmacy researchers have discovered a marine compound off the coast of Key Largo that inhibits cancer cell growth in laboratory tests, a finding they hope will fuel the development of new drugs to better battle the disease.
The UF-patented compound, largazole, is derived from cyanobacteria that grow on coral reefs. Researchers, who described results from early studies today (Aug. 7) at an international natural products scientific meeting in Athens, Greece, say it is one of the most promising they've found since the college's marine natural products laboratory was established three years ago.
An initial set of papers in the Journal of the American Chemical Society also has garnered the attention of other scientists, and the lab is racing to complete additional research. The molecule's natural chemical structure and ability to inhibit cancer cell growth were first described in the journal in February and the laboratory synthesis and description of the molecular basis for its anticancer activity appeared July 2.
"It's exciting because we've found a compound in nature that may one day surpass a currently marketed drug or could become the structural template for rationally designed drugs with improved selectivity," said Hendrik Luesch, Ph.D., an assistant professor in UF's department of medicinal chemistry and the study's principal investigator.
Largazole, discovered and named by Luesch for its Florida location and structural features, seeks out a family of enzymes called histone deacetylase, or HDAC. Overactivity of certain HDACs has been associated with several cancers such as prostate and colon tumors, and inhibiting HDACs can activate tumor-suppressor genes that have been silenced in these cancers.
Although scientists have been probing the depths of the ocean for marine products since the early 1960s, many pharmaceutical companies lost interest before researchers could deliver useful compounds because natural products were considered too costly and time-consuming to research and develop.
Many common medications, from pain relievers to cholesterol-reducing statins, stem from natural products that grow on the earth, but there is literally an ocean of compounds yet to be discovered in our seas. Only 14 marine natural products developed are in clinical trials today, Luesch said, and one drug recently approved in Europe is the first-ever marine-derived anticancer agent.
"Marine study is in its infancy," said William Fenical, Ph.D., a distinguished professor of oceanography and pharmaceutical sciences at the University of California, San Diego. "The ocean is a genetically distinct environment and the single, most diverse source of new molecules to be discovered."
The history of pharmacy traces its roots back thousands of years to plants growing on Earth's continents, used by ancient civilizations for medicinal purposes, Fenical added. Yet only in the past 30 years have scientists begun to explore the organisms in Earth's oceans, he said. Fewer than 30 labs exist worldwide and research dollars have only become available in the past 15 years.
HDACs are already targeted by a drug approved for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma manufactured by the global pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. Inc. However, UF's compound does not inhibit all HDACs equally, meaning a largazole-based drug might result in improved therapies and fewer side effects, Luesch said.
Since 2006, Luesch and his team of researchers have screened cyanobacteria provided by collaborator Valerie Paul, Ph.D., head scientist at the Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce. They check the samples for toxic activity against cancer cells and last year encountered one exceptionally potent extract — the one that ultimately yielded largazole.
To conduct further biological testing on the compound, Luesch and his team have been collaborating with Jiyong Hong, an assistant professor in the department of chemistry at Duke University, to replicate its natural structure and its actions in the laboratory.
Luesch said that within the next few months he plans to study whether largazole reduces or prevents tumor growth in mice.
Luesch has several other antitumor natural products from Atlantic and Pacific cyanobacteria in the pipeline.
"We have only scratched the surface of the chemical diversity in the ocean," Luesch said. "The opportunities for marine drug discovery are spectacular."
Cancer-inhibiting Compound Found Under The Sea
ScienceDaily (Aug. 10, 2008) — University of Florida College of Pharmacy researchers have discovered a marine compound off the coast of Key Largo that inhibits cancer cell growth in laboratory tests, a finding they hope will fuel the development of new drugs to better battle the disease.
The UF-patented compound, largazole, is derived from cyanobacteria that grow on coral reefs. Researchers, who described results from early studies today (Aug. 7) at an international natural products scientific meeting in Athens, Greece, say it is one of the most promising they've found since the college's marine natural products laboratory was established three years ago.
An initial set of papers in the Journal of the American Chemical Society also has garnered the attention of other scientists, and the lab is racing to complete additional research. The molecule's natural chemical structure and ability to inhibit cancer cell growth were first described in the journal in February and the laboratory synthesis and description of the molecular basis for its anticancer activity appeared July 2.
"It's exciting because we've found a compound in nature that may one day surpass a currently marketed drug or could become the structural template for rationally designed drugs with improved selectivity," said Hendrik Luesch, Ph.D., an assistant professor in UF's department of medicinal chemistry and the study's principal investigator.
Largazole, discovered and named by Luesch for its Florida location and structural features, seeks out a family of enzymes called histone deacetylase, or HDAC. Overactivity of certain HDACs has been associated with several cancers such as prostate and colon tumors, and inhibiting HDACs can activate tumor-suppressor genes that have been silenced in these cancers.
Although scientists have been probing the depths of the ocean for marine products since the early 1960s, many pharmaceutical companies lost interest before researchers could deliver useful compounds because natural products were considered too costly and time-consuming to research and develop.
Many common medications, from pain relievers to cholesterol-reducing statins, stem from natural products that grow on the earth, but there is literally an ocean of compounds yet to be discovered in our seas. Only 14 marine natural products developed are in clinical trials today, Luesch said, and one drug recently approved in Europe is the first-ever marine-derived anticancer agent.
"Marine study is in its infancy," said William Fenical, Ph.D., a distinguished professor of oceanography and pharmaceutical sciences at the University of California, San Diego. "The ocean is a genetically distinct environment and the single, most diverse source of new molecules to be discovered."
The history of pharmacy traces its roots back thousands of years to plants growing on Earth's continents, used by ancient civilizations for medicinal purposes, Fenical added. Yet only in the past 30 years have scientists begun to explore the organisms in Earth's oceans, he said. Fewer than 30 labs exist worldwide and research dollars have only become available in the past 15 years.
HDACs are already targeted by a drug approved for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma manufactured by the global pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. Inc. However, UF's compound does not inhibit all HDACs equally, meaning a largazole-based drug might result in improved therapies and fewer side effects, Luesch said.
Since 2006, Luesch and his team of researchers have screened cyanobacteria provided by collaborator Valerie Paul, Ph.D., head scientist at the Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce. They check the samples for toxic activity against cancer cells and last year encountered one exceptionally potent extract — the one that ultimately yielded largazole.
To conduct further biological testing on the compound, Luesch and his team have been collaborating with Jiyong Hong, an assistant professor in the department of chemistry at Duke University, to replicate its natural structure and its actions in the laboratory.
Luesch said that within the next few months he plans to study whether largazole reduces or prevents tumor growth in mice.
Luesch has several other antitumor natural products from Atlantic and Pacific cyanobacteria in the pipeline.
"We have only scratched the surface of the chemical diversity in the ocean," Luesch said. "The opportunities for marine drug discovery are spectacular."
09 August 2008
06 August 2008
Love Archetype
I had five dreams about her again last night. I wasn't thinking about her when i went to sleep, nor the whole day before. But again, i dream about her. too often. And it's always the same. She is in some way being nice to me. The dreams always feel so good. So why am i complaining? well, because it's a dream and not real. I never did get that closure with her. She never was nice to me.
It's complicated also by the fact that in all these dreams, the "nice:" gets mixed in with the romantic, and she is kissing me, hugging me. I don't think we've ever actually made love in any of these dreams, but there is always the strong suggestion that's where it's going.Ten years is a long time for someone to remain buried in your subconscious, only to be resurrected in nocturnal worlds. I'm not still in love with her. I'm not even the same person i was then. I don't want her back. I want that feeling. And she's the only one I had the feeling with. The only one i was so deeply in love with. And so she remains an icon...an archetype in my brain.
I made the mistake a couple of months ago of seeing those old memories in video and photographs and text. And that's when it started. And so I dream of her. And when i wake, i don't want to wake. I want to go back to sleep and dream of her again. Her touching me, smiling, laughing, kissing me, and being nice.
18 July 2008
Global Warming hoax?
It's so easy for us to swallow information we are fed by a media machine. I have been greatly concerned--like most people--about the climate change and global warming information we have been given. I watched this video, and now, I know I'll have to investigate on my own. I'm not so sure that CO2 has anything to do with it, nor do the actions of humans, as we have been told by people like Al Gore. I was shocked by the information on this video.
Watch it at this link and decide for yourself.
21 June 2008
"Can't. Have a Bone in my Shoulder."
One witty remark that I have always loved is about an excuse not to do something: "I can't. I have a bone in my leg."
I still find that wisecrack hysterical.
My jocularity is tempered somewhat by the fact that I really do have a bone that keeps me from
doing everything I want to do--at least, not without pain. I have a new bone spur in my left shoulder. I also have one in my right shoulder, but it did its acting up a few years ago, and now seems relatively well-behaved.The problem with bone spurs is that they are mutants. They are growths of bone, usually near a joint, that cannot really be "cured." Most people wind up getting a surgery to shave them down. But they usually grow back, so I am loathe to go that route. My specific bone spurs seem to like to impinge on ligaments and nerves. The right shoulder bone spur impinged on and off for two years and even stayed painful and debilitating for 8 solid months during that time. Then it somehow let go, and seems okay now.
But just when I thought it was safe to lift my arm--Bam! I get one in my left shoulder, too. Same location, on the joint. Now, reaching to the nightstand, reaching for a plate in the cabinet, throwing my new kitten off me, and onto the bed--that's like having an ice pick plunged into me for about 30 solid seconds. Any movement, really, that requires me to lift my arm, especially to extend it in a lifted position, is cause for muffled screaming.
I know I'm not angelic enough to be growing wings...as much fun as that would be. So, I guess it's a good thing that I'm not a pro tennis player. Or a traffic cop. Or a left-handed hitch hiker. See? I am perfectly capable of looking on the bright side.
12 June 2008
Lee Iacocca, Speaking *MY* Mind
Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from it's death throes? He is now 82 years old and has a new book. Here are some excerpts:
"Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.'
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the damned 'Titanic.' I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the 'America' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis ! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership - crisis being the first.)
Leadership is forged in times of crisis. Leaders are made - not born. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11 , 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes.
A Hell of a Mess! So here's where we stand.
We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving.
We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.
We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy.
Our schools are in trouble!
Our borders are like sieves.
The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask, ' Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?
We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina.
Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again.
Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time. Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more importantly, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress:
'We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.'
What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on the News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope; I believe in America. In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: the 'Great Depression', 'World War II', the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,' the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.
If I've learned one thing it's this:
'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book.'
It's a call to 'Action' for people who, like me, believe in America. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'
Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and care about. It's our country, folks and it's our future.
OUR FUTURE IS AT STAKE!
"Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'Stay the course.'
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the damned 'Titanic.' I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the 'America' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis ! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership - crisis being the first.)
Leadership is forged in times of crisis. Leaders are made - not born. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11 , 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes.
A Hell of a Mess! So here's where we stand.
We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving.
We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country.
We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.
Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy.
Our schools are in trouble!
Our borders are like sieves.
The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask, ' Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?
We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina.
Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again.
Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time. Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more importantly, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress:
'We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.'
What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on the News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope; I believe in America. In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: the 'Great Depression', 'World War II', the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,' the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.
If I've learned one thing it's this:
'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book.'
It's a call to 'Action' for people who, like me, believe in America. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'
Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and care about. It's our country, folks and it's our future.
OUR FUTURE IS AT STAKE!
24 May 2008
Shopping for Banishment
My friend Georgie said, "I thought about you in HEB the other night -- shopping with you. Made myself giggle."
"Oh I'm sure we'd get kicked out of a store."
"Just a little kick."
"No, banished."
"
Why?"
"Because I tend to steal other people's shopping carts, after they've filled them up and then I argue with them--that they haven't paid for it yet, it's not theirs, and I like it, so I'm taking it."
She's laughing.
"But I haven't done that in a long time," I added.
"I'm gonna have to wear some Depends," Georgie said.
"Yeah! Maybe I'll steal a cart with those in it...although, I don't usually terrorize old people, or the incontinent."
"Stop! I almost choked--"
Now I'm laughing at her.
She started name-calling: "REtard." And then, provided a visual: "Cottage cheese curds sweeping down my wind pipe..."
"Well you've got to get your calcium somehow."
"Oh I'm sure we'd get kicked out of a store."
"Just a little kick."
"No, banished."
"
Why?""Because I tend to steal other people's shopping carts, after they've filled them up and then I argue with them--that they haven't paid for it yet, it's not theirs, and I like it, so I'm taking it."
She's laughing.
"But I haven't done that in a long time," I added.
"I'm gonna have to wear some Depends," Georgie said.
"Yeah! Maybe I'll steal a cart with those in it...although, I don't usually terrorize old people, or the incontinent."
"Stop! I almost choked--"
Now I'm laughing at her.
She started name-calling: "REtard." And then, provided a visual: "Cottage cheese curds sweeping down my wind pipe..."
"Well you've got to get your calcium somehow."
The Bitch & Stumble
Myself and two friends are all fired up about getting our bodies back in shape. We're realizing, that just as all the sages warned, we aren't getting any younger. (dammit). I'm also going organic and making all my personal care and household products, but that's another blog...
Anyway, so the three of us are doing the
6x30 routine on a Gazelle. That was the invention of my friend, Justi, who began to work out on the Gazelle six times per day for 30 minutes, and has seen fantastic results. Now, not everyone works at home and can do this, but it just so happens that me and Georgie have that kind of access all day, just like Justi does. So we're doing it too, because Justi has lost 12 pounds in 7 days. And she feels wonderful, and is also hiking all over the place. She just told me she's going to do a 4.7 mile run event, and she's all jacked up about it...
She said, "I wish you could do it too."
"I don't know about a run. Do they have a 'Bitch and Stumble' event?
(laughter)
"...or a '200 Yard Whine.' Now THAT, I can do," I said.
She showed me the website about the event and enthused: "Doesn't that look like fun?"
"Um, no."
"You wouldn't like to do that?"
"Only if we were invaded by a foreign army who hated gay people," I said, "and I were being chased by Muslim Nazi's."
Laughter. "Oh, and in that case, it would be fun."
"No," I said. "in that case, it would be necessary."
Always game for exploring the labyrinths of the human psyche, she countered, "What if someone gave you a thousand dollars, just to finish the course?"
I thought for a moment. "I'd do it then, yeah."
"So you are motivated by money."
"Yeah, I can see how that's a stark contrast to everyone else in the world."
Anyway, so the three of us are doing the
6x30 routine on a Gazelle. That was the invention of my friend, Justi, who began to work out on the Gazelle six times per day for 30 minutes, and has seen fantastic results. Now, not everyone works at home and can do this, but it just so happens that me and Georgie have that kind of access all day, just like Justi does. So we're doing it too, because Justi has lost 12 pounds in 7 days. And she feels wonderful, and is also hiking all over the place. She just told me she's going to do a 4.7 mile run event, and she's all jacked up about it...She said, "I wish you could do it too."
"I don't know about a run. Do they have a 'Bitch and Stumble' event?
(laughter)
"...or a '200 Yard Whine.' Now THAT, I can do," I said.She showed me the website about the event and enthused: "Doesn't that look like fun?"
"Um, no."
"You wouldn't like to do that?"
"Only if we were invaded by a foreign army who hated gay people," I said, "and I were being chased by Muslim Nazi's."
Laughter. "Oh, and in that case, it would be fun."
"No," I said. "in that case, it would be necessary."
Always game for exploring the labyrinths of the human psyche, she countered, "What if someone gave you a thousand dollars, just to finish the course?"
I thought for a moment. "I'd do it then, yeah."
"So you are motivated by money."
"Yeah, I can see how that's a stark contrast to everyone else in the world."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)