Year: 2005

Killer Joe, the play

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We were blown away this weekend by the Raleigh Ensemble Players’ presentation of the off-broadway show “Killer Joe”. As a member of the audience, you’re practically injected into the living space of the trashy trailer that takes up 80% of the little theater, with three thin rows of chairs lining each side of it (we were on the “Pabst Blue Ribbon” side). It was like watching dysfunctional fireworks. My friend Ryan played the core role of Chris, down and out and looking for a way out. It was awesome to watch him nail the part.

SPOILER WARNING Continue reading “Killer Joe, the play” →

Soccer Season Finale

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Reiley’s soccer season has wrapped up with a bang! Of the three unbalanced teams in her league, hers was in the middle, with one team (Storm) having smaller girls and the other (Hurricanes) seeming to have collected 12-year-olds instead of U10 (“under 10”) players. So the big challenge was to hone our team skills so we could run circles around the “slow giants”. And the girls did it! Every single team member contributed to the 3-1 tournament win over the Hurricanes, with every one of them passing like the pro’s. And even our smallest players stood up and stopped the girls twice their size. Good job girls, you earned this one!

Camping at Lake Jordan

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We’ve been talking about going camping for a long time, and this month we decided to just do it! To make it easy, we went to Jordan Lake, a state park with hundreds of campsites and only a few minutes from home. We didn’t really have a lot of expectations; it turned out to be an amazing place. We consumed lungfulls of pollen and campfire smoke, swam in the ice-cold lake, played in the beautiful woods and sandy shores, and toasted up some vegan smores. The fun didn’t stop there, either – Sunny, Lily and Wesley kept us entertained all night long. :>

DEFINITELY worth a repeat, maybe next time with the whole Holly Springs gang…

Healthy Vegans

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Dr. Michael Klaper studies the vegan diet and its health benefits. One way he tracks the health of vegans is through a nice online survey. Non-vegans are the control so anyone can take it. In addition to the survey, he will also run comprehensive bloodwork and provide a phone consultation (from Hawaii! sweet!), but that costs big bucks, oh well.

My wife was distressed by some of the concerns related in the most recent summary of his research, especially regarding our kids, who’ve been vegan since birth ( other than breastmilk! :> ). Many of the concerns are old news for vegans (“take your B12”), but some are newer. Here’s a 10-second summary of Dr. Klaper’s “things for vegans to watch”:

  • B12
  • Vitamin D (D2, vegetarian)
  • Iodine (if not in your salt)
  • Calcium, magnesium, boron, Vitamin K (for bones)
  • Enough weight-bearing exercise (again for bones)
  • Iron (perhaps caused by not enough C)
  • Zinc
  • Omega-3 (two types: alpha-linolenic acid (the essential omega-3 fatty acid found primarily in flaxseeds, hempseeds, canola oil, walnuts, green vegetables), and EPA & DHA (mainly in fish, also in algae-derived DHA supplement)
  • Protein (specifically cysteine and methionine)

    To meet these concerns, Dr. Klaper recommends the following supplements:

  • iodine (150 mcg.)
  • zinc (15 mg.)
  • copper (1-2 mg.)
  • boron (2 mg.)
  • vitamin K (.5 mg.)
  • vitamin D2 (5 mcg.)
  • calcium/magnesium (1000 mg./800-1000 mg.)
  • 300 mg of algae-derived DHA in “vegi-cap”
  • 10 mcg. vitamin B12 daily, or 2000 mcg. vitamin B-12 weekly
  • sounds like vitamin C wouldn’t hurt either, to ensure iron absorption

    I’ve run into similar advice in other places. There are books on the subject as well. Of course, you can research specific vitamins until your fingers are numb – for example, it doesn’t seem that Vitamin K is usually a problem, or boron, or copper. But putting the “whole picture” together is tough. So Dr. Klaper’s efforts to do just that are greatly appreciated.

    Here are some products that come close to fitting Dr. Klaper’s suggestions (with their shortcomings noted):

  • Vegan multi-vitamin list by Jack Norris RD
  • VegLife vegan multi-vitamin for kids! no K, boron, little calcium/mag.
  • VegLife – same but for adults
  • Maxine multi-vitamin for women – only 10% calcium but looks good!
  • Maxine in capsule instead of tablet
  • Max For Men – same but for men – also in capsule
  • Dolphin Pals for kids – no k, boron, little copper, little calcium, no mag.
  • VeganLife vegan multi – no copper, boron, K
  • Viridian High Five – no copper, k, little calcium/mag.
  • Omega Vegetarian Liquid – vegetarian omega-3’s!
  • Solgar vegetarian DHA! (“Neuromins DHA”) (but in gelatin gelcap?? why??)

    So let’s go shopping! :>

    • Reiley’s U10 Soccer, Season Two

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    We are having a blast with soccer. It’s the second half of Reiley’s U10 season. Reiley and I (and Wrenny on occasion) have been braving the cold dark startup practices of the end of winter, and now we’re moving into warmer spring game time. There are three teams in the league again, which means lots of games – we have to play two every other weekend so all teams get a game EVERY weekend. We’ve worked on basics, passing, channels, big kicks… we may be ready to beat even the “slow giants”, the Hurricanes. If we can just keep all that energy focused!! Regardless, we plan on lots of fun. Stay tuned! :>

    9.5 I Heart Huckabees

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    Yeeeeeow! Jammed to the brim with great characters, this movie is about existentialist detectives exploring the lives of several intertwined friends/enemies/lovers/”coincidences”. Whether it’s crazy characters or the crazy philosophy that attempts to exlain it all, the pace and the fun never let up. Permagrin!