I’ve found the problem; we’re no longer virtuous

Ben Franklin wrote: "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."

• We cannot call ourselves virtuous if we're killing babies and sterilizing children with hormones and chemicals in the quest of a fantasy about sex.
• We cannot call ourselves virtuous if we destroy dreams of our citizens because they won't submit to socialist big-think and jabberwocky.
• We cannot call ourselves virtuous if we allow political reeducation camps to reside inside our colleges and universities.
• We cannot call ourselves virtuous while allowing all manner of data manipulation and cyber-spying to squash original thought.
• We cannot call ourselves virtuous while allowing regulations by unelected bureaucrats to take the place of our legislators examining the issues and voting our wishes.
• We cannot call ourselves virtuous if we do not encourage legal immigration to refresh and renew our national spirit and
• discourage illegal immigration which steals wealth from our workers attempting to get ahead.
• We cannot call ourselves virtuous if we do not seek truth, beauty and goodness in our art, public buildings, libraries, museums, entertainment, literature and finally, in our homes.

Veruschka and me

I saw Veruschka (popular model from 1960s, referred to as the most beautiful woman in the world) on a rerun of Dick Cavett last night. So today I looked her up. She's now 77, a few months older than I. Looks like the rest of us who were never models except she's still 6'4" and I'm still 5'5". I think the most recent photo was about 4 years old, but she didn't appear to have any botox or facial remodeling like Nancy Pelosi, nor was she wearing make-up. She says it's more important to be loving and have a lively mind.

Inexpensive and versatile—Epsom salt

I had no idea that Epsom Salt had its own association. Click on the "beauty" link or "health" link for some ideas. I wonder what they do for a Christmas party? http://www.epsomsaltcouncil.org/about/

Epsom salt is a pure mineral compound (magnesium sulfate) in crystal form that gently exfoliates skin and smooths rough patches. Regularly used by a growing number of models and actresses, it's a popular natural choice for beauty enhancement. Mix it with your favorite deep conditioner to add body to your hair or dissolve in a bath to replenish the body's magnesium levels. A relaxing soak in Epsom salt can help relieve stress and leave you feeling revived.

Doctors and researchers say that soaking in an Epsom salt bath is a safe, easy way to increase the body's levels of both magnesium and sulfate.

Article in Wall Street Journal

Bath soak. The Epsom Salt Council, a trade group of manufacturers, recommends a warm bath with 2 cups of Epsom salt for at least 12 minutes. Dr. Waring says the magnesium ions act as a pain reliever. An Epsom salt bath can also help fade bruises.

Splinter removal. Epsom salt increases osmotic pressure on the skin, which draws foreign bodies toward the surface, Dr. Waring says. Dissolve about 1 cup of Epsom salt in a tub of water and soak the affected area.

Bee stings. Osmotic pressure works here, too, to draw the stinger to the surface of the skin. Lift out using tweezers, then apply a compress of an Epsom salt-water solution to reduce swelling.

Sunburn. A cool bath with 2 cups of Epsom salt reduces pain and has mild anti-inflammatory properties.

Skin exfoliation. Blend Epsom salt with enough baby oil to create a paste. Gently rub it on your face for deep pore cleansing, or use it on heels, elbows and other rough areas. Rinse and pat dry

Almost makes me wish we had a bathtub.

Today’s torturous ultra-high heels remind me of Chinese custom that lasted over a thousand years

"The practice of binding feet was originally introduced about a thousand years ago, allegedly by a concubine of the emperor. Not only was the sight of women hobbling on tiny feet considered erotic, men would also get excited playing with bound feet, which were always hidden in embroidered silk shoes. Women could not remove the binding cloths even when they were adults, as their feet would start growing again. The binding could only be loosened temporarily at night in bed, when they would put on soft-soled shoes. Men rarely saw naked bound feet, which were usually covered in rotting flesh and stank when the bindings were removed.”  Jung Chang, Wild Swans: The Three Daughters of China

Beginning at an early age, the bones in a girl child’s feet were crushed as toes were bound and arches were destroyed.  She was in constant pain, but her bound feet were her greatest asset. I suppose corns, bunions, callouses and broken ankles plus being unable to walk or run  is less painful, but it still amazes me that women  still do this to appeal to men.

"I regret binding my feet," Zhou says. "I can't dance, I can't move properly. I regret it a lot. But at the time, if you didn't bind your feet, no one would marry you."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8966942

Are you beautiful?

You might be better paid than the Occupiers! Oh the horror! A new book whose author has been flogging this at least since the early 90s now has a book, Beauty Pays, and is making the rounds of talk shows and interviews.

Daniel Hamermesh says society generates premium pay for beauty and penalties for ugliness. Beautiful people earn $230,000 more in a lifetime than those with below average looks. They are happier, marry good-looking people, who are more likely to be highly educated.

He's been saying this for some time--in 1994, on "plainness": "The authors examine the impact of looks on earnings using interviewers' ratings of respondents' physical appearance. Plain people earn less than average-looking people, who earn less than the good-looking. The plainness penalty is 5 to 10 percent, slightly larger than the beauty premium. Effects for men are at least as great as for women. Unattractive women have lower labor-force participation rates and marry men with less human capital. Better-looking people sort into occupations where beauty may be more productive but the impact of individuals' looks is mostly independent of occupation, suggesting the existence of pure employer discrimination. Copyright 1994 by American Economic Association."

Beauty in the classroom is from 2003

Forbes review

How to straighten curly hair

Years ago I got "curly perms." I could wash, moisturize, scrunch and air dry (about 5 minutes), or wash, moisturize and blow dry (about 20-30 minutes) with a strong, round brush. The blow dry took a lot of wrist and hand effort, but resulted in a smooth hair-do with lots of body and a thick look. If I did nothing, I had a very bad hair day--total fuzz ball.

So I was a bit surprised to read today's under the fold, front page article by Corey Dade in the Wall Street Journal about the styling salons of blacks from Dominican Republic undercutting and out performing African American traditional methods. Yes, I know African women have extremely fine hair, much more so than white or Asian women, but straightening with a hair dryer and a strong hand and wrist using a roller brush sounds a lot more simple than applying chemical goop and spending hours at the salon. This video has no instruction, but you can see how it's done.

I asked the same question

when we were in Russia in 2006. Where did all these gorgeous Russian women come from? Now we know. It's market forces.