Monday, January 08, 2007

THE CENTER OF THE ARMPIT
So many quotes, so little time....



















"That whole store is full of fucking yoga clothes?!"


-- Incredulous, mildly overweight white guy wearing a backwards baseball cap, walking in front of the Windy City's Lululemon store. Overheard Saturday while locking the Brahmacycle in front of said store (pictured, above).



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"I'm the yoga person. I don't smoke. I just go to yoga drunk sometimes."


--Twenty-eight year old Satcey Bendet, the "lively titan" behind the design label Alice + Olivia. Quoted in today's New York Times' "A Night Out With" column, cleverly titled Yoga on the Rocks. Those damn designers -- no wonder they never listen in class.




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"Halfway through [famous yogi Rodney Yee's] class, however, [his future wife] walked out. She said she found him humorless and 'totally arrogant....'"

"A year after Ms. Saidman bolted from his class, a friend took her to another one Mr. Yee was teaching. This time she loved it. 'I thought he could teach me what I needed to learn,"' she said. "He went much more into subtleties like getting in touch with the corner of your eye or the center of the armpit....'"

"Three years ago Mr. Yee moved into her shingle-style house in East Hampton, NY, and rumors swirled around them and Yoga Shanti. Students quit, disillusioned. There was even an article about them in New York magazine, An Illicit Yoga Love Story. Ms. Saidman said, "For us to be together, it couldn't have been a harder path."


--From today's New York Times' "Vows" section, which is about the marriage between famous yogi Rodney Yee and former model / yoga studio owner Colleen Saidman. His three children look none-too pleased in the photo that accompanies the article; two marriages were ruined so that they might be together. Plus yoga teachers are not supposed to roger their students, since the dynamic is skewed from the start.



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"Bush's appointee to head the Office of Population is someone who thinks women are too immature to make fundamental decisions about their own bodies. This is not a total surprise. After all, in 2002, Bush appointed W. David Hager--who opposes contraception and advocates prayer as the only way to treat premenstrual syndrome--to head the Food and Drug Administration's reproductive health drugs committee.

"Bush also appointed Alma Golden--who opposes contraception and sex education--to oversee implementation of Title X, the nation's only federally funded family planning program. He issued rules in 2002 making a fetus eligible for federal health dollars while explicitly excluding the pregnant woman from coverage. And on his watch, abstinence is the only sex education we fund for public schools with our federal tax dollars."




--Chicago author Sarah Paretsky in today's Chicago Tribune, on George W. Bush's decision to appoint Eric Keroack to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Population Affairs. If the full article doesn't make you throw things, you are probably already dead. Or should be.

3 comments:

  1. 'Mericans don't want to get healthy.
    The want to continue to eat mega sized meals and rely on a 'pill' to take care of their health.
    I know dozens of people who take crap like lipitor that think it is a magic bullet, and no lifestyle change is needed.

    Deep dish pizza for everyone!!!!!!!!!

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  2. Anonymous3:56 AM

    oy. rodney and colleen.
    i had the misfortune of reading this before i had my morning coffee.
    one of my favorite quotes:
    A few weeks ago, while trying to define happiness, she said: “The only way to be happy is to be of service to another. At the airport, I helped this woman who was balancing all these kids and bags. That made me a lot happier than the cashmere sweater I bought that day.”

    maybe we shouldnt judge. whats a man to do when a woman touches your third eye in a hot tub?

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  3. Stirring up India

    Separatist rebels in Assam (India) have killed 57 people in the past couple of days. This has led to a serious security crackdown. The Hindustan Times reports there's a curfew in effect, but it seems that the separatist movement there - which has been around since 1979 - is once again in a festering stage.

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    Meantime, in West Bengal, there has been further violence in India - but it's not ab out separatism here. It is more about authorities trying to set up a Special Economic Zone and land acquisitions for a chemical hub. Seems the locals aren't thrilled with something akin to "eminent domain" - which although contentious in the USA hasn't resulted in this kind of violence. Five dead so far. British press reports are wondering about the safety of investing in the region.

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    These reports today give rise to an interesting phenomena - it's almost like India's stars have moved into an unfavorable position, or something. About the only good news might be that a Kashmir separatist leader has unveiled a unification plan for the region whose ownership is disputed by India and Pakistan. However, we don't expect such a plan would meet favor among the militant Islamic jihadists in that neighborhood, so we look for more news from India - say in about a week.

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