so in love.

*sigh* my heart is thumping, i am head over heels. black lips, will you be mine? listen, but just remember--they're mine.

*toot toot*

High IQ link to being vegetarian

Intelligent children are more likely to become vegetarians later in life, a study says.
A Southampton University team found those who were vegetarian by 30 had recorded five IQ points more on average at the age of 10.
Researchers said it could explain why people with higher IQ were healthier as a vegetarian diet was linked to lower heart disease and obesity rates.
The study of 8,179 was reported in the British Medical Journal.
Twenty years after the IQ tests were carried out in 1970, 366 of the participants said they were vegetarian - although more than 100 reported eating either fish or chicken.
Men who were vegetarian had an IQ score of 106, compared with 101 for non-vegetarians; while female vegetarians averaged 104, compared with 99 for non-vegetarians.
There was no difference in IQ score between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarian but who reported eating fish or chicken.
Researchers said the findings were partly related to better education and higher occupational social class, but it remained statistically significant after adjusting for these factors.
Vegetarians were more likely to be female, to be of higher occupational social class and to have higher academic or vocational qualifications than non-vegetarians.
However, these differences were not reflected in their annual income, which was similar to that of non-vegetarians.
Lead researcher Catharine Gale said: "The finding that children with greater intelligence are more likely to report being vegetarian as adults, together with the evidence on the potential benefits of a vegetarian diet on heart health, may help to explain why higher IQ in childhood or adolescence is linked with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease in adult life."

Intelligence
However, she added the link may be merely an example of many other lifestyle preferences that might be expected to vary with intelligence, such as choice of newspaper, but which may or may not have implications for health.
Liz O'Neill, of the Vegetarian Society, said: "We've always known that vegetarianism is an intelligent, compassionate choice benefiting animals, people and the environment.
"Now we've got the scientific evidence to prove it. Maybe that explains why many meat-reducers are keen to call themselves vegetarians when even they must know that vegetarians don't eat chicken, turkey or fish."
But Dr Frankie Phillips, of the British Dietetic Association, said: "It is like the chicken and the egg. Do people become vegetarian because they have a very high IQ or is it just that they tend to be more aware of health issues?"

good things.

i saw this today, and it made me think of this, and because of that, i happened to run into this. makes yr heart beat a little fast, eh?

cats and dogs.

we drove very slowly because the rain was coming down so hard that it obliterated any view of the road that we had. alfred stuck his tongue out the window to catch a few drops, but quickly backed away, lest be hit by more angry drops. i had just left quite an impression on the alternative youth of hendersonville, having walked out from the overstimulating gourmet produce store to my car in the middle of it, effectively soaking every inch of myself (later appreciating the sight in the rearview mirror). it felt like we were in the southwest desert-- having prayed for months, the water finally came. maybe alfred did a little rain dance outside in the dark when no one was looking. this is what i remember summer to be, the groaning hot days and bacon-sizzling concrete washed away in the blink of an eye in an uncontrollable wave from the heavens. having been inspired by nigella lawson this morning, here i sit on the porch, crusty bread in hand, large almost over-ripe tomato gushing onto a string of crudely-pulled apart cheese. ice tea to my left, alfred at my feet, nature as my show.
this is the life.

i wish i may i wish i might

i have become a person with a penchant for fake turkey sandwiches.

i leave npr on all day without turning it off and fall asleep to the jazz show, except for thursday nights when they play this god awful dentist office stuff.

i lay my clothes across the top of the banister for the lack of furniture in my room and because i can't be bothered walking into the next room to the armchair and the closet (besides the fact that it is full of windows and i don't want to be improper with the neighbors).

i cry in my sleep.

i receive New York magazine every week and complete as much of the crossword as i can until my roommate takes over and we get 97 percent of the way through.

i continue to compulsively buy books in any shape or form (some things never change).

i sit on the front porch, preferably in the dark, in my rocking chair, listening to the locusts or the rain.

i drink a lot of tea in various flavors and forms. coffee has been reserved for emergencies.

i want to learn Spanish. classes start next week.

i have actually allowed myself to enjoy hiking by myself.

i am writing again, little by little, inch by inch.

For Lunar Nerds.

Monday night (8/27) will have two, yes two, full moons in the sky. Mars will be so close to the earth that it will be visible to the naked eye and due to the full moon, it will look like there are two. So grab your drink and a blanket and camp out!

Photo Op

A couple of weekends ago, my roommate and I attended the Hendersonville Co-op potluck. I made Maija's Guiness Cake, which is always a big hit. There were probably more desserts on the table than anything else. We met quite a few cool people there and I ate my fair share's worth of organic watermelon and lemonade. It's been like 98 degrees here for the past few weeks straight and the grass is brown and crunchy. All of the leaves are falling off of the trees and all of my plants have died except for the rosemary. It's so hot that walking Alfred outside in the middle of the day is pretty difficult. On the other hand, I've probably gotten more of a tan this summer than I have in ages.

Happiness is...

Alfred in a car.

Little Britain

Prepare for $.99 Tikka Masala! Tesco is coming to the States!

Pure Genius.

Point and Shoot.

I was rustling through an overly full cabinet the other day and came across a Minolta Rokkor Automatic from some forgotten age, looking as though it had been never used, but now seriously outdated. I scooped it up lovingly, changed the batteries, loaded some film, and started shooting. He's been sitting in my lap in the car for the past five days straight, capturing moments of interest and pure stupidity, and some silly bumper stickers to boot. I don't know how the pictures will turn out, am still searching for some place that will develop real b&w, but it has been fun.

He travels quite well.

In other obsessions, I recently purchased a Charles Vess book with a collection of his work on ballads. I didn't know who he was until I came across the following poster last August, hanging in a window in Asheville. I was told that in the illustration world, Mr. Vess is quite well known.

I still think it's one of the most beautiful things I've seen.

He's speaking at the bookstore in September, and if i can help it, I will be there, rapt with attention. http://www.greenmanpress.com/

Where's our shirt?

This post was going to originally complain about the lack of originality of my alma mater

(after seeing the above slideshow in the NY Times).

However, there is no friggin' disputing the beauty of the pink sparkly shorts. That and the fact that they have contracted the comfiest shirt maker in the world.

In the world I say!