Marlene Dotterer's Blog, page 34

Food Politics » FDA’s food label proposals: comments on Vitamin D

The floor is open for debate. Personally, I think the first two points say it all:

“Vitamin” D is not a vitamin; it is a hormone synthesized by the action of sunlight on skin. For this reason alone, it does not belong on the food label. (and may I add: it doesn’t belong in food, either! – Marlene_
Vitamin D fortification must be understood as a form of hormone replacement therapy. As such, it raises questions about efficacy, dose, and side effects that should be asked about all such therapies.

F...

To The Gates of Dreaming: Using Guided Meditation to Help Young Children Sleep

Here’s a post that might interest some of the parents around here, or my childbirth students. I may try some of these things on myself!

In my classes, I use a rainbow technique for relaxation, but I think I like this version better. In class, I just have the couples visualize the colors, as if on a movie screen. The technique used here seems much softer and dreamlike…

You feel yourself floating on a red cloud, a beautiful red cloud. Red surrounding you, red all around. Touching red, feeling red...

Smashwords: Is Kindle Unlimited Bad for Authors?

Normally, I’m all for subscription services, but I’m unimpressed with Kindle Unlimited for a couple of reasons.

As a reader, it doesn’t impress me because a great many of the books I want to read won’t be available. That’s the fault of big publishers, who won’t put their books in the program. As a writer, I am NOT going to sign a contract to sell my books exclusively with Amazon. I want my books in as many venues as possible.

Hmmm… I wonder if Amazon is demanding that the big publishers sell ex...

10 habits you should pick up from your grandmother | MNN – Mother Nature Network

Listen to your grandmother…

10 habits you should pick up from your grandmother | MNN – Mother Nature Network.

A Cooking Post: Odds and Ends, or Cooking with Depression

Let me hasten to assure you that I’m notreallydepressed. At least not today. Yesterday though…

I’ve been struggling for the last few weeks with side effects to some of my medicine. We (my doctor and I) had agreed I should try a higher dose on one of them, as my symptoms were showing up more often. So I added an extra pill and never really thought about it again. It was only 10 more milligrams.

Then things started getting weird. Loud ear ringing. Dizziness. Loss of balance. Sleep worse than usua...

Hope in a Book: Michael Pollan’s Foreword to ‘Grass, Soil, Hope: A Journey through Carbon Country,’ by Courtney White

I’m going to read this.

Hope in a Book: Michael Pollan’s Foreword to ‘Grass, Soil, Hope: A Journey through Carbon Country,’ by Courtney White.

Hikes, Detours, and the Tree of Life

I think I am at my almost-ultimate-happiest when I’m on a hike. Not even sore feet or scrambling hands-and-knees over rocks, or cold rain can dent my contentment. Heck, I’ll even hike in the desert – I’ve done it recently.

All of this is sort of funny, considering that I’m not the most athletic of people. And I should point out that my hikesarelimited to a level of “moderate” or lower. I’m not going up any tall mountains soon.

So we’ve got this hike coming up on Saturday, billed as a “moonlight...

Book Review and General Discussion About the End of the World

It’s rare for me to review a book beyond a basic star rating on Goodreads, but I wanted to review this book here for y’all. NOT because it’s such a great book (trust me, it’s not), but because it does present an idea worth discussing. The book isOne Second AfterbyWilliam R. Forstchen.

I don’t know where or how I found this book. Usually I make a private note to myself on Goodreads if a book is by an author I haven’t read before. But I have no notes for this one, so it will remain a mystery.

Thi...

Supreme Court Rules on Hobby Lobby Case: Corporations (Somehow) Have Religion Beliefs

Religion in America can now legally discriminate against women. This is no different from the religious discrimination found in Muslim countries. This is a bad, bad ruling from the Supreme Court that sets up a very dangerous precedent.

Religious freedom is supposed to allow people to practice the religion of their choice for themselves. It was never intended to allow people to force their practices on others. Yes, I understand that women who work for Hobby Lobby can just get a prescription and...

You’ve Probably Forgotten About Me

Can’t blame you a bit if you have. I’ve basically just vanished from the interwebs, and for no particular reason. Sure, I’ve been busy, but not much busier than usual. And sure, I’m suffering from a protracted and much lamented case of writer’s block. And for some reason, I haven’t come across many posts or articles that prod me to share and reblog them with you. Still, no excuse. I have been around, posting the occasional comment on Facebook and responding to the posts of others. But I reall...