Skin Report (Acne and Keratosis Pilaris)

I spent part of my day at the dermatologist's office. Yes, I like to go there, because for once in my life I can feel positive about something personal. I used Accutane (isotretnoin) for many months to get rid of my prepubescent, pubescent, and adult acne. Although, it is all gone, I still take a smaller dose of the drug as maintenance. It keeps my skin smooth and soft, limits oil production, and increases collagen production.

BUT...As the saying goes, "The Lord giveth and taketh away."

It would seem that a possible side-effect of using the isotretnoin is an exacerbation of an inherited skin trait (thanks Dad), called keratosis pilaris. It was one of those minor things I noticed when I took my shirt off and saw my upper arms. My arms looked as if they had a rash of hard, reddish pustules. From what I can gleen about the skin condition, my skin reproduces skin cells at an accelerated rate (sort of sounds like cancer). Then, the new skin pushes the old skin up, which forms little mounds of dead, unshed skin.

It really wasn't a problem until it started to show up on my forearms. I have noticed in recent weeks (and months) that my forearms are developing the same pustules. The same can be said for other parts of my body, such as my chest, abdomen, and the backs of my thighs. People see my forearms, if I am not wearing a long-sleeved shirt. In short sleeves, it looks like I have a rash on my arms. I've been asked if I have poison ivy. To say the least, it's embarrassing.

Before I go any further, I need to disclose another skin condition that I have, called eczema. During my previous trip to the dermatologist, I had a nasty case of eczema on my left forearm. It was red, scaly and hateful. To ease my discomfort--and increase my sympathy factor--I told people, if they asked, that I was a burn survivor. Yes, it looked that bad! The dermatologist treated that with a combination of triamcinolone acetonide cream, with Cetaphil as a vehicle, Locoid Lipocream, and Clobex. My forearm, as far as the eczema goes looks brand new. No hyperpigmentation or scarring, just fresh, smooth skin.

Today, she thought it was possible that the triamcinolone acetonide (which is a topical steroid) could have caused the keratosis pilaris outbreaks on my forearms. So no more of that for my arms. I am now using a new skin care regimen consisting of a keratolytic emollient, Hylatopic Plus Cream, Uramaxin 45% Cream, and Locoid Lipocream. (As a side note: I found out that Hylatopic is sometimes used to treat the skin of cancer patients undergoing radiation treatment.)

And, yes, I'm still taking isotretnoin, like a boss!

Chatty Car

I suppose some people may think it is good for your car to tell you its problems. I agree...sort of.

It's fine to let me know that a problem may exist, but it doesn't have to tell me every time I tap the brake, or even start the ignition.

I have a Mercedes ML350. It likes to tell me that it needs the rear lights fixed, it needs the brakes fixed, and it wants me to check its oil level.

Okay?

Those are all things I'll get around to eventually (I hope). But, for example, each time you touch the brakes an annoying beep sound goes off and a reminder message goes up on the dashboard screen about the brakes! It doesn't matter if it has told me that 40 times in the last ten minutes; it's going to do it!

Come on! What happened to cars that just threw up a vague symbol on the dash and left you guessing?

Adderall at Betty Ford

I think the very definition of an addiction is a psychological and/or physiological inability to function without a chemical (i.e., drug).

So, if I cannot go to rehab for 90-days without my Adderall (amphetamine salts), then that may point to a larger problem. I sometimes suffer from attention deficit disorder, but that is hardly a reason for me to start taking Adderall.

With that said, there may come a day when I am sent to rehab for a few of my addictions, but I doubt that I can find a facility to accommodate my other addictions, while I'm attempting to kick-the-bucket on another one!

I wonder how my Betty Ford conversation would go?

"Hi. Yes, I'm calling about one of your dependency programs. I have a problem with alcohol. But here's the thing: If I can't double my dose of Xanax to get off of alcohol, then I can't use your facility's program. Oh, really? So, you're saying I can't take Xanax while in rehab. Hmm? That's strange, because it looks like to me you could use one drug problem to help you with another drug problem. Good-bye!"

Bottom line: Unless I can drink alcohol while I'm weaning off of my Xanax, or vice-versa, then I'm not going to rehab.

Sorry. Case closed.

North Korea

We've all heard a lot about this xenophobic little country that sits on the other side of the world. Its neighbor to the south has been threatened, along with the United States, with harsh militaristic tactics.

The threat of "nuclear" war is imminent, according to the propaganda machine of North Korea.

Kim Jong Un, the untested boy, who inherited his power from his father and grandfather, is trying to fill some really big (er...) shoes by picking a fight with the biggest bully on the block (i.e., the United States).

Here's what I think:

1. The Chinese aren't doing much to calm down the rhetoric spewing from the Korean Peninsula, which makes it harder to swallow for countries like the U.S., South Korea, and Japan.

2. The United States seems to be stirring in the pie, too, by sending in fighter jets to South Korea and beefing up its missile detection network in the Pacific. This only serves to encourage Kim.

3. If the United States is going to "up" the stakes, then it needs to make it a real life exercise. With the blessing--or disinterest of China--the United States needs to take care of business by either withdrawing its beefed up operations in the region; thereby, calling Kim's bluff. Or, simply carpet-bomb the little third world country back to the Chinese border, starting at the DMZ and pushing northward.

This would show them that the "boiled pumpkin" really does have teeth and knows how to use them. I know it is cruel for the innocent people who are stuck between a rock and China, but it really is the only way to give this little country a chance for any kind of new start in the international community.

I'm not advocating an occupation. It is more of a calling card: "Hi, we received your message and dropped by. If you want to see us again, just use our name on the television...or drop a note-in-a-bottle into the sea! See ya, Uncle Sam."

Easter

On this holiest of holy days, I want to reflect on probably something I have probably already said at some other time and/or some where else.

Facebook is a good place to keep in touch with people, but it is also a good place to be reminded of how foolish people can be. I am far from the most religious/spiritual person on the planet, but I don't take take out of my day (irony here) to tell people about it by plastering their Facebook walls with countless posts.

Whereas, Christmas has a since of joviality and the spirit of giving (and, yes, a virgin birth for good measure), Easter is simply a day to celebrate something that to me is quite absurd to me: execution, burial and resurrection.

So what's my point?

Were people executed by crucifixion? Yes.

Were people buried in caves/tombs? Sure.

Did someone come back from the dead after a crucifixion? Nope.

Yes, Easter is more about the eggs and bunny rabbits, for me. After all, Easter was originally a pagan celebration of fertility (duh, it's spring). I'll take my fertile little bunnies and life-giving chickens' eggs over the belief that some Jewish person chose to die for my sins, had to be buried for three days, and then brought back miraculously from the dead for all the world to marvel, even 2,000+ years later!

Pope Francis

During the second day of Conclave, the cardinals elected an Argentine as the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the first pope to be elected from Latin America.

Hugo Chavez Dead

Venezuela's vice president, Nicolas Maduro, has announced the death of the country's president, Hugo Chavez.

Now what will happen to the price of oil?

Benedict XVI Renounces Papacy

I suppose there is some consolation that one person can see that he or she is not fit for the job they have and do the right thing by stepping aside. It would seem that Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop of Rome, the Vicar of Christ, and fisherman of men, will stand down from his position as the head of the world's Roman Catholic Church on February 28.

His successor will be selected by 118 cardinals, or Princes of the Church. Of the 118, Benedict has appointed 67.

What do you call it? Resignation? Abdication?

According to his own words, the Pope is "renouncing" it. He's casting it off. His burden is lifted.

There be kings here!

Who knew that a king's final resting place could be under a parking lot?

It would seem that fate was true for English King Richard III, the last of the Plantagenet family to rule, who died in battle over 500 years ago.

This only proves that in the end we are nothing but bones wedged under someone else's dirt. It's still terribly interesting!

"Why I Raise My Children Without God"

I found an article (iReport) on CNN that I really enjoyed reading. It spoke to many of the same feelings I have, although not as a parent, about God. As a child, I believed in God not out of his ability to be rational or fair, or out of love, but out of fear of what would happen to me if I failed to do so. I was taught that God was behind every bush and corner, and we never knew when he would spring out and cast us into Hell for any minor transgression. Growing up led me to the realization that God is no different than the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, or Jack Frost. It's just that somewhere along the way, our ancestors forgot to inform us that God was a similar imaginary figure. God may not be such a terrible concept, if he wasn't so violent and full of malice. God teaches hate, and makes those who do hate bold. If only everyone could agree to simply love and accept each other unconditionally. I tell children that everyday: Simply accept each other as we are. (I think there may be a hymn about that.)

 

I did not write nor do I own the following material. It is available, as of the date of this blog's publishing, at: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-910282

 

 

God is a bad parent and role model.

If God is our father, then he is not a good parent. Good parents don’t allow their children to inflict harm on others. Good people don’t stand by and watch horrible acts committed against innocent men, women and children. They don’t condone violence and abuse. “He has given us free will,” you say? Our children have free will, but we still step in and guide them.

God is not logical.

How many times have you heard, “Why did God allow this to happen?” And this: “It’s not for us to understand.” Translate: We don’t understand, so we will not think about it or deal with the issue. Take for example the senseless tragedy in Newtown. Rather than address the problem of guns in America, we defer responsibility to God. He had a reason. He wanted more angels. Only he knows why. We write poems saying that we told God to leave our schools. Now he’s making us pay the price. If there is a good, all-knowing, all-powerful God who loves his children, does it make sense that he would allow murders, child abuse, wars, brutal beatings, torture and millions of heinous acts to be committed throughout the history of mankind? Doesn’t this go against everything Christ taught us in the New Testament?

The question we should be asking is this: “Why did we allow this to happen?” How can we fix this? No imaginary person is going to give us the answers or tell us why. Only we have the ability to be logical and to problem solve, and we should not abdicate these responsibilities to “God” just because a topic is tough or uncomfortable to address.

God is not fair.

If God is fair, then why does he answer the silly prayers of some while allowing other, serious requests, to go unanswered? I have known people who pray that they can find money to buy new furniture. (Answered.) I have known people who pray to God to help them win a soccer match. (Answered.) Why are the prayers of parents with dying children not answered?

If God is fair, then why are some babies born with heart defects, autism, missing limbs or conjoined to another baby? Clearly, all men are not created equally. Why is a good man beaten senseless on the street while an evil man finds great wealth taking advantage of others? This is not fair. A game maker who allows luck to rule mankind’s existence has not created a fair game.

God does not protect the innocent.

He does not keep our children safe. As a society, we stand up and speak for those who cannot. We protect our little ones as much as possible. When a child is kidnapped, we work together to find the child. We do not tolerate abuse and neglect. Why can’t God, with all his powers of omnipotence, protect the innocent?

God is not present.

He is not here. Telling our children to love a person they cannot see, smell, touch or hear does not make sense. It means that we teach children to love an image, an image that lives only in their imaginations. What we teach them, in effect, is to love an idea that we have created, one that is based in our fears and our hopes.

God Does Not Teach Children to Be Good

A child should make moral choices for the right reasons. Telling him that he must behave because God is watching means that his morality will be externally focused rather than internally structured. It’s like telling a child to behave or Santa won’t bring presents. When we take God out of the picture, we place responsibility of doing the right thing onto the shoulders of our children. No, they won’t go to heaven or rule their own planets when they die, but they can sleep better at night. They will make their family proud. They will feel better about who they are. They will be decent people.

God Teaches Narcissism

“God has a plan for you.” Telling kids there is a big guy in the sky who has a special path for them makes children narcissistic; it makes them think the world is at their disposal and that, no matter what happens, it doesn’t really matter because God is in control. That gives kids a sense of false security and creates selfishness. “No matter what I do, God loves me and forgives me. He knows my purpose. I am special.” The irony is that, while we tell this story to our kids, other children are abused and murdered, starved and neglected. All part of God’s plan, right?

When we raise kids without God, we tell them the truth—we are no more special than the next creature. We are just a very, very small part of a big, big machine–whether that machine is nature or society–the influence we have is minuscule. The realization of our insignificance gives us a true sense of humbleness.

I understand why people need God. I understand why people need heaven. It is terrifying to think that we are all alone in this universe, that one day we—along with the children we love so much—will cease to exist. The idea of God and an afterlife gives many of us structure, community and hope.

I do not want religion to go away. I only want religion to be kept at home or in church where it belongs. It’s a personal effect, like a toothbrush or a pair of shoes. It’s not something to be used or worn by strangers. I want my children to be free not to believe and to know that our schools and our government will make decisions based on what is logical, just and fair—not on what they believe an imaginary God wants.

Barack Obama takes his second (third) oath of office

In what was a very low key event, held in the Blue Room of the White House, Barack Obama officially began his second term as president of the United States shortly before noon today.

This time they did not "flubbed" the oath of office.

The ceremony with all the "pomp and ceremony" begins tomorrow, since today is Sunday.

Trillion Dollar Coin

The recent uproar over the "trillion dollar coin" has brought up some economic questions for me, as a person and teacher.

My students have asked me in the past how come we can't just print more money and let people have it to spend how they see fit. It sounds like a stupid idea, on the surface, but it would seem that our government might be willing to do it.

My go to response is that money has to have a guarantee of its worth. I suppose since we know longer use a gold standard, it is merely the word of the Federal Reserve that the money is good for whatever its face-value may be.

In essence, I suppose a platinum trillion dollar coin is a solution...from a child's perspective. If the government can do that, why not simply strike a $17,000,000,000,000 coin and pay off the national debt with a brand new surplus in the Treasury?

We really can have our cake and eat it too!

Kim Kardashian

You know, thinking back on 2012, we've had a lot of ups and downs. We weathered a presidential election, fiscal cliffs, the Mayan calendar apocalypse and revived the gun debate, but I really believe the most historic moment of this year happened today. It's fitting that such an event occurred on the very last day of 2012: the announcement that Kim Kardashian is having a baby!

When future historians write about this year, they'll glaze over the other 365 days (it was a leap year, after all) for this one super magical moment. America is blessed with such great news. Everything else just seems awkwardly superficial!

Happy 2013!

Newtown Tragedy vs. NRA $$

As the memories of the children who died last Friday in the horrific Connecticut elementary school shooting begin to fade from national attention, the media is settings its sights on the legacy of the killer and the fate of semi-automatic weapons.

Much like the fabled second coming of Jesus Christ, we await "major news" from the NRA. I will wait starry-eyed, with goose flesh the size of Bordeaux grapes, and baited-breath for the glorious revelations of the NRA! (I am surely green with envy as I write.)

I'm positive that many politicians will be checking their re-election coffers twice this holiday season to see just how much extra treasure the NRA has put in their stocking.

After all, it's not guns that kill en masse; it's deranged lunatics with semi-automatic weapons who do.

I feel like the NRA may be working on a plan to resurrect Charlton Heston for a new pro-gun ad campaign.

Dollar Bill

I have some free advice for the United States Treasury, since they will undoubtedly spend millions of dollars of taxpayer money to figure out the answer to a decades old question: How can we get Americans to stop using dollar bills and adopt the use of a dollar coin?

The answer is simple: stop printing dollar bills!

Wow! I feel so, so smart for having thought of that. If the populace has no alternative other than to use the dollar coin, then the dollar bill can finally retire.

And, yes, in this case, billions of dollars can be saved if we switch from our dependence on paper to metal.

Afternoon Delight

Last night my mom and I were having a conversation about people in general. Mom made a comment about how "crazy" people are in the world. I thought on what she said for a few seconds, before I realized that while she was making her observation she was giving a haircut to a dog.

It gave me a good tickle!

Yassir Arafat

Yes, it's a story worthy of the Комитет государственной безопасности​ (KGB), Geheime Staatspolizei (Gestapo), and/or (let's do one more) Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (Stasi)...or maybe, too, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)...okay that was two more.

But now I digress!

The remains of former PLO leader, Yassir Arafat, are being exhumed as I type this missive in hopes to quash, or sustain, the suspicions of his wife that he was clandestinely poisoned by the המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים‎--MOSSAD--or Israeli intelligence agency.

Arafat met his demise in a Paris military hospital in 2004 of unknown circumstances. Since his death, clues have surfaced that point to the possibility that he had been poisoned by polonium, which had been used as a method of assassination by the (defunct?) KGB on one of their former jabber-jawed agents in the United Kingdom. After all, they found evidence of the isotope on the former PLO leader's clothing.

Okay, maybe that part is hearsay and construed partly from my own wild imagination, but the truth remains that there exists a veil of a less than natural demise.

I think it is a ploy to rebury him in Jerusalem, since he was denied that courtesy by the Israeli government, citing, "Jerusalem is the burial place of Jewish kings, not of Arab terrorists."

That's harsh!

Personally, I'd like to see what he was keeping under that thing he wore on his head. I guess there are reasons I'm not invited to every exhumation!

Election 2012

Just before Elections 2014 & 2016 get started, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on Election 2012. More than a billion dollars was spent on a single day's outcome. Certainly Election Day is a big deal, as we elect representatives on the national, state, and local levels; however, I am left feeling unimpressed by so-called Big Money's attempt to sell Mitt Romney.

It's no surprise that I voted for Barack Obama, even though my state went for Romney. I would do it again. I believe that our ideas, needs, wants, and hopes are bigger than the 47%, the 1%, or any other minority group. I am more than a Democrat, a Kentuckian, a believer that we can all do better than what we are doing now; I am an American.

I once heard that America's best days are always ahead of it. I believe that statement. How could our ancestors have seen our today from their yesterday? How could they have envisioned a nation such as ours from the deepest depths of the Civil War, two World Wars, Great Depression, Cold War, and so much more adversity?

We are more than our fears, our prejudices, our insecurities. Yes, we are the authors of our own stories. Each story is combined with a neighbor's story, and another's, and so it goes. We are a nation that perseveres. The next rainbow will always be the brightest. Tomorrow's dawn the sweetest, because we live within it.

We can dream, we can hope, we can conquer. No matter what we are told those three principles hold true, from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high, and everyone in-between. We have been to the stars. We have seen what we can accomplish.

We know there is more!

Poor Mitt

Dear Mittens,

Go fuck yourself.

Sincerely,

Day One

iPhone 5

It's not quite Hurricane Sandy material, but I had a little drama with my iPhone friend(s).

Last Christmas, I bought myself (because I give the best presents) an iPhone 4s. On a recent road trip, I dropped it onto the blacktop of a convenient store parking lot. The screen went crack and it was quite unattractive. So, I call up my Verizon rep, and she talks me into upgrading to the new iPhone 5. Let's face it, the insurance plan you buy is worthless. They tried to get me to pay a $169 deductible, or pay $199 for a brand new phone. Hmmm...let me think.

Well, you get the picture of what happened. I had to wait, though, to get the sucker delivered to me. I guess those workers in China are slow. Yesterday it shows up, and I have to program this thing. It wasn't as easy as the iPhone 4s. There was a lot of talk of SIM cards, then the phone talked about SIM failure and an invalid SIM. I stressed about it all night long.

Today, I started driving toward the big city, because I'm sort of out in the boonies. It turns out that it just needed a better connection to Verizon's network. It started working...abracadabra!

The iPhone 5 is cuter, lighter, and a bit more friendly toward my large hands. Other than that, it is pretty much identical to the iPhone 4s. I'm sure there are some techies out there who would argue that point with me, but for a run of the mill operator, it's the same!

But, look on the bright side, no more cracks to look through to see my stuff! (: