Lee H Vincent

Bowen Walk (Taken with Instagram at Kilarney Lake)

kateoplis:

coketalk:

Senator Janet Howell, Baddass Bitch of the Day

To protest a bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion, Virginia State Sen. Janet Howell (D-Fairfax) on Monday attached an amendment that would require men to have a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test before obtaining a prescription for erectile dysfunction medication.

“We need some gender equity here,” she told HuffPost. “The Virginia senate is about to pass a bill that will require a woman to have totally unnecessary medical procedure at their cost and inconvenience. If we’re going to do that to women, why not do that to men?”

Stupendous. 

Beilliant

Amazing. 

superamit:

Many of you have asked, so here’s what’s going on with me.

WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE

• 8/1979: Born. Grew up in CT, built a killer eraser collection, fell in love with computers.
• Left college to start a company. Fell hard. Fled to India for 3 months.
• Started 2nd company. Learned to be an adult. Fell in love with NYC.
• Moved to SF, discovered burritos & some of my fave people on Earth.
• 9/2011: Got diagnosed with Leukemia!
• Cried. Went through 3 cycles of chemo. Hurt. Thought hard about what I want out of life. Grew up a second time.

TODAY

… After over 100 drives organized by friends, family, and strangers, celebrity call-outs, a bazillion reblogs (7000+!), tweets, and Facebook posts, press, fundraising and international drives organized by tireless friends, and a couple painful false starts, I’ve got a 10/10 matched donor!

You all literally helped save my life. (And the lives of many others.)

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Tomorrow, I’ll be admitted to Dana Farber in Boston for 4-5 weeks.

First I’ll get a second Hickman line to allow direct access to my heart (for meds and for nutrients if I’m not able to eat). Over the next week, the docs blast my body with a stiff chemo cocktail to try and eradicate all traces of cancer cells. In the process, the immune system I was born with, and my body’s ability to make blood, are destroyed.

Next Friday, I get my donor’s stem cells by IV. I start on immunosuppressants to prevent my body from rejecting them (I’ll be on them for 12-18 months). For these weeks I’ve no immune system, so I’m severely vulnerable to viruses and bacteria. My hospital room and hallway become my world.

Meanwhile, the stem cells make their way to my bone marrow and, with some luck, start producing platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells. At this point, my blood type changes to the blood type of my donor. And my blood will now have my donor’s DNA, not my own.

This is science fiction stuff. I can hardly believe it’s even possible, and there’s lots of chances for things to go wrong. It’s frightening.

AFTER THE TRANSPLANT

Recovery to a new state of “normal” takes about a year, but there’s a few storm clouds hovering:

• My immune system is new, like a baby’s. I’m prone to getting sick.
• Just as with any organ transplant, there’s a chance of rejection. Except in this case, it’s my blood that’s the foreign body, and it touches every organ. They call it graft-vs-host-disease and it can cause health issues and organ complications for the rest of my life.
• Successful transplant or not, Leukemia can relapse. Stubborn mofo.

Overall, 75% of AML transplant patients survive year one, 50% make it through year five. My odds are a little better since I’m young.

THE GREAT NEWS

I’ve got a long road ahead. But I’ve got a donor & amazing family & friends. A few months ago I didn’t have many options. Today I have a plan.

I am alive. I start tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Thank you.

#viewfromwork (Taken with Instagram at Coast Plaza Hotel & Suites)

Looking north east from the west end (Taken with instagram)

Cools shot via: all-thats-interesting:

stfuparents:

With baby name lists circulating all over the internet this week as we draw near to the end of 2011 (Best Baby Names! Popular Baby Names! Trendy Baby Names! etc.), I thought it would be fun to take another look at the names people are giving their kids these days. But more than that, to consider the obsession some parents have with choosing the perfect yoonique name and ensuring that their child be THE ONLY ONE with that yoonique name (be it the spelling, pronunciation or the name itself). Taking into account the fact that we now have seven billion people on this planet, I’m guessing that would be nearly impossible. But God love ‘em for trying. 

My first round-up of baby name trends is over on Mommyish, and I highly recommend checking it out for some Grade A WTF. But before you do, read through the submissions below that I set aside just for the blog. And remember, I’m not telling anyone what to name or not name their kid. I’m also not suggesting that parents haven’t been giving their children yoonique names for many years. I’m simply pointing out the parenting trends as I see them for entertainment purposes. Now let’s begin!

1. The Folksy Name

I secretly hope A. has a brood of children all named after instruments and has a secret ploy to make them all play in a band together, Jackson 5 style. They will each play the instrument they were named after, and it will be glorious. Banjo, Tambourine, Electric Guitar, Bass and Drum Solo will surely make beautiful music together - like the Hanson brothers but better! (As if that’s even possible.)

2. The “Commonly Yoonique” Name

We all know the name Makayla/Macayla/Mackayluh/Ma’Kayla has taken off in recent years, and to me it’s an interesting case study. It’s gotten so popular so quickly that some parents don’t know what to do with themselves. They want to use the name, but they don’t want it to seem common. So they’re adding apostrophes and dashes and extra letters and all kinds of other fancy stuff. If only it was possible to bedazzle a name. Maybe with asterisks? 

Read More

Vowels Control Your Brain : Krulwich Wonders... : NPR

Very interesting.

First pic!