The ICI Experience:

I think this poem is quite good. It is reprinted with permission of the author, who also has a book out, Call for Soulwork (CFS, get it?), and a website by the same name. But first - something caused me to take my desktop computer down yesterday, which I've been meaning to do for months now in order to move the hard drive and make more space on the desk. Soon after I got it all unplugged and moved to the floor I realized what an incredible mess the cords were, and that I was going to have to take the rest of the office down (Mom's computer, the printer, various devices that enable us to surf the net at the speed of sound and to network our computers) in order to put my hard drive where I want it. No, too late to put it back the way it was. I unplugged everything and tried to put the cords where they will need to be, right before I had the revelation about what it's going to take to put it right. Now it will be just as much work to put it back as it will to go ahead ...

Apparently the NY Times CAN review it's own controversial article and decide it was indeed fair. At least they put this one on the OPINION page! The Doctors Are In. The Jury Is Out. by Clark Hoyt, NYT Public Editor and Readers' Representative "The public editor serves as the readers' representative. His opinions and conclusions are his own. His column appears at least twice monthly in this section." More drivel from the NYT. At least this one isn't (very) sarcastic. He's supposed to be the "readers' representative," huh? I'd be willing to bet that the readers he has heard from about the original NY Times article on Fibromyalgia were of the opinion that the article was pretty far away from being a "balanced presentation." So what readers is he representing, anyway? He quotes one reader and pulls the same stunt Berenson did by placing quotes around one word of Lynn Mantelleana's statement; thereby questioning the credibil...

I have the report of my sleep study and I've had the appointment with the rheumy who ordered it. Finally. I'm going to put it all online soon. I think you will find it very interesting. You just have to laugh about it sometimes: What do you get if you cross an insomniac agnostic with someone who has dyslexia? A person who stays up at night wondering if there is a dog. Made me laugh. I found Shara Rendell-Smock's website, Go To Health! (Because Life's Too Short...), because she used the same book I'm using , No More Sleepless Nights , by Dr. Peter Hauri of the Mayo Clinic. This book and the companion Workbook seem to be the Bible of sleep for the layperson. I got them both, used and in excellent condition from Barnes and Noble for $5.88 each, including postage. Shara goes through all the common facets of sleep hygiene, and she put the Sleep Log from the first edition of the book online. I plan to do an updated Sleep Log, and will post it as soon as I...

I am flattered and honored to be included with such talented and creative people as are in the 'Blog Roll 100' Chronic Illness Blogs. Thank you, Diane!

I've been called to action by my church . If I was able to go to the Interfaith Peace Witness in Washington D.C. on March 7, I would. In leiu of that I will stop enabling the war with my own silence. “A time comes when silence is betrayal, and that time has come for us.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Olive Branch Interfaith Video Posted February 13th, 2008 by stan I speak out now for these Principals of the Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Project: Our principles Posted January 25th, 2008 by OBIPP 1. End the U.S. war and occupation of Iraq and support peace with Iran. 2. Support our troops. 3. Support an Iraqi-led peace process. 4. Say NO to torture. 5. Say YES to justice.

Yay Amy! From the Newsweek intro: HEALTH TRIUMPHS A Healing Blog A shocking diagnosis of type 1 diabetes transformed my life. But, using the Internet, I turned it into a business—and formed a new community of friends. By Amy Tenderich | Newsweek Web Exclusive Jan 25, 2008 | Updated: 3:58 p.m. ET Jan 25, 2008

Spirituality and Practice is offering an e-course that looks really good, "Practicing Spirituality during Illness," from March 24 - May 2, 2008. Subscribers to the course will receive an email on each of the 40 days of the course: ...each with a passage from the wisdom of writers who have contributed greatly to a spiritual understanding of illness, teachers such as Rachel Naomi Remen, Ram Dass, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Kat Duff, and Mary C. Earle. Each email will also suggest a simple way you can incorporate the lesson into your daily life. Subscribers will also have access to a private Practice Circle, which is bound to be an important part of this experience. In this user-friendly online forum, you will be able to interact with people from all over the world, sharing your own healing stories, the lessons of your illnesses, and the blessings of caregiving. We'll also compare notes on what we've learned from the daily practices in the course, thus grounding the content in...

I just finished the book... and now I find out it's going to be a television series starring these three lovely ladies. Yes, that is Brooke Sheilds. "SERIES PREMIERE tomorrow, Thursday February 7th 10/9c - "Pilot" - Movie Exec Wendy Healy, Editor-in-Chief Nico Reilly, and Fashion Designer Victory Ford are modern New York career women supporting each other through triumphs and tears that are all part of making it in the Big Apple." See the video clip at the end of this post. I think the book was great chick lit. I'm looking forward to the series. WARNING: THIS MIGHT BE A SPOILER (I.E. IT MIGHT SPOIL PART OF THE BOOK FOR YOU) From the book: "Men are just frightened little people with penises attached." This from Wendy, in her pep talk to Nico when Nico was having second thoughts about the wisdom of getting her boss, Mike, fired. The boss cried, then he called Nico a bitch and Viktor's (Mike's boss') "little hand maiden."Nic...

I know I said last week that I would let this NYT article thing go, but I can't. It's just not time yet. I will lighten up, though. This post has only good things that I've come across in my research of what's being written about "The Article." All you peeps who have some other CI than Fibromyalgia, I hope you'll bear with me here. I mean, try to imagine what it would be like if an institution like the NYT were writing these kinds of things about your illness... First up is Daily Strength. I think I'm really going to use this site. I've already made some friends in the FM group (one of whom is getting a letter writing campaign started on The Article - more to come on that), and they have this Goal Setting thing that you can use to track your progress toward achieving that goal. Your friends on the site can send encouragement your way, and you can even send email to others telling them of your goal, or put a link to it on your blog like this...