The Brita Filter Lie -- Fluoride Stays!

While doing some (more) research on drinking water and the so-called "filters" on the market, I came across a disturbing lie:

In their article titled "Water-Facts,"  the Water Industry.org" when referring to Brita filters, states that:

   "...The filters also eliminate fluoride, which may not be a benefit for children's teeth"

-From Staff Reports
Daily Californian
U. California-Berkeley

This, my friends is an enormous, flat-out lie... Or at its best "misinformation." It would appear that the "Water Industry dot org" didn't even do a search or you know, bother to ask Brita (and other filtering manufacturers) if this was even true before going and making the statement publicly, on their website. This concerns me. Enough that I'd write a blog post about it. Since there was no contact information for the site, I chose to post this. I hope to find a way to get in touch with these folks so that they can fix this great error. In the meantime, please only use trustworthy sources before you believe things, especially when it comes to something relating to your health (drinking water.) 

 (Brita themselves have even stated that fluoride (and pretty much everything else) is not removed with their filters! In fact, most of us already know that fluoride is in water unless its RO (reverse osmosis) or came from very few specific sources, but no filter (unless RO system) will remove fluoride!

P.S. Stay tuned for my upcoming review of the LifeStraw (a real filtering system that enables you to drink water from ponds, streams, lakes by using the "straw" which filters bacteria and protozoa. 

Come Out of the Dark -- Depression Awareness

In efforts to help promote depression awareness, Jonathan Rottenberg , Ph.D, (Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., PCD 4118G, Tampa, FL 33620-7200) has created the wonderful cause “Come out of the Dark.” 

The Come Out of the Dark campaign  works to help encourage those suffering from depression to, well, “come out of the dark!” It’s really a fantastic thing, so I wanted to share this with you guys. You can like Come Out of the Dark onFacebook. 

 I hope you guys will subscribeto their newsletter and spread the word to help "crush depression stigma" and the shame that often comes with being depressed. 

Jonathan also  has  a book out called “The Depths: The Evolutionary Origins of the Depression Epidemic,”which I hope to read myself soon. The Depths is a book by Jon Rottenberg, the man who began Come out of the Dark  which discusses our understanding (or misunderstanding) of depression. The book is available on Amazon.

Here is the description of The Depths : The Evolutionary Origins of the Depression Epidemic as it appears on Amazon: 

“Why are we losing the fight against depression? In this groundbreaking work, psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg explains that despite advances in pharmaceutical science, progress has been hampered by our fundamental misunderstanding of depression as a psychological or chemical defect. Instead, Rottenberg introduces a surprising alternative: that depression is a particularly severe outgrowth of our natural capacity for emotion; it is a low mood gone haywire. Drawing on recent developments in the science of mood—and his own harrowing depressive experience as a young adult—Rottenberg explains depression in evolutionary terms, showing how its dark pull arises from adaptations that evolved to help our ancestors ensure their survival. Weaving together experimental and epidemiological research, clinical observations, and the voices of people who have struggled with depression, The Depths offers a bold new account of why depression endures—and points the way toward new paths for treatment.

Now, I'll close by asking you guys if you've read the book yet? Or have you heard of Come Out of the Dark yet? What did you think of the book? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Michelle Knight for Times Woman of The Year Unfair?

Photo source: NewsNet5.com The three women -- after getting out of Ariel Castro's home

If you guys have been online much in the last couple of months, or even been out of the house, you're probably aware of Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro's ordeal. The man monster who kidnapped and held captive 3 women: Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry  a decade ago. He'd kept them in his house, chained up where he beat, raped and abused them. You guys know the story, I'm sure. If you haven't, you can read about it here (or anywhere else on the web.) 

All three women, thankfully, have finally been freed after a decade of being held hostage by this monster. As you can imagine, these are clearly very strong, amazing women. I mean, those words alone are understatements. Strong, amazing.. It's not even enough to describe them, women who went through a decade of torture. Anyways, though, I came across a petition tonight titled "Michelle Knight for Times Woman of The Year."

Kidnapper/Monster Ariel Castro

As soon as I saw this petition, I clicked on it & almost hit "sign." That is until I realized only one of the three women held captive were on the petition. Clearly, the petition is asking that we all make Michelle Knight Time's Woman of The Year, which upon first glancing at the petition, was an incredibly great idea. She is an incredible woman, but all three of them are. 

Maybe the author of the petition did this because only one woman can make Times Woman of The Year. I don't know. 

But before I hit sign, I backed out. I did not sign the petition because all of them are amazing. Each of the women deserve Times Woman of the Year, not just one of them. 

If it's true that only one woman can be allowed the title "Times Woman of the Year," then I think Times can break that rule this year and allow all three. It just did not seem fair or very ethical to me to single any of these women out and leave the rest. Perhaps a specific award recognizing all three would be more appropriate than only one of them being recognized in this Times Woman of the Year award. 

The petition mentions Michelle's strength and courage and awesome faith, but says nothing about the other two women. They too were held captive. Perhaps for a little less time than Michelle, but all were held captive and removed from their lives for 10 years, and more. 

Just my thoughts. What about you guys? Do you think they should all get the award or is this petition unfair to the other two women who were also kidnapped, abused and raped for a decade?

**If you click on that link for the petition, and glance up at the URL in your address bar, you'll notice that in the URL, it says "Michelle Berry." Michelle's last name is Knight, not Berry. Berry is the last-name of Amanda, one of the other women kidnapped. That's not a big deal, but something I noticed.

Help free Sara Kruzan!

Photo courtesy of Change.org

 As some of you may have seen, a lot of people are working hard to save Sara Kruzan, free her from being a prisoner--all for protecting herself. I recently joined the Faces For Sara group and want to ask you lovely readers to take a minute to get to know the situation and join! It's simple. You'll send your headshot/photo to FacesForSaraKruzan@gmail.com 

Our photos will be put in a book-style petition and delivered to Gov. Brown. This is a fantastic way to go about this. Sara will be able to see all of the faces of the people who are on her side and asking for her freedom!


You can also sign a petition to help free Sara by going here.

There are a few easy rules that are asked to be followed if you're going to participate. These are copied and pasted directly from Elizabeth Ohara.com. 

-
"1) Send 1 to 3 pictures of yourself that are clear, HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS (over 500k, preferably 1MB or higher). Also No photoshopped images or otherwise doctored images. [No exceptions on the image size]. If you do not have a computer or much internet access, please email me for my mailing address to snail mail me your picture.

2) Send a statement of a few words to a short sentence or two stating your feelings about Sara's case, desire for her release or condemning her imprisonment. You can send me a sentence of what you'd like me to quote along with sending your photo. Please do not photoshop the statement into the photo. Pictures with you looking into the camera are stronger for this project.

3) Group photos are absolutely not accepted without my direct permission. Each person must be individually photographed.
Got it?

Three Simple Rules: Large Photo, Something to quote & no group photos."

So all you have to do is send your photo, leave a brief sentence or two asking for her freedom. I left a few sentences saying something along the lines of trafficking and how her body should be her own, she's a woman, a human and not a sexual object... You can go with something simple like "Please free Sara! No human deserves this." Anything you'd like.

Email your photo and quote to the address provided above. You can also learn more about the project here.  Remember, you're free to join on Facebook to keep up to date! Also, join our group Anti-Pornography to keep up to date on how to take action for Sara as well as hundreds of other cases! 

Common questions about being a twin

Being a twin, my sister and I always get asked a million questions. Even people who have known us for years still ask us questions. The most common responses when people learn we're twins are "No, you are not. You can't be twins because you don't look alike." First I'm dying to point out, that is wrong. We do not look alike because we are fraternal twins, not identical. That almost always follows with "Well, what's your birthday and what is your sister's?" Well, we ARE twins so our birthdays are both on the same day (although twins can be born on different days say if one's born before midnight, but that's a different story.) I guess people think they will catch us in a lie when they ask the birthday question. Twins can actually be, believe it or not, polar opposites. Proof in our case.

Here are a few common questions I'll answer for those of you who are interested:

Do twins have the same style?
No. Not necessarily. While some twins may choose to dress alike, it's not always the case. My sister and I have never had similar styles. I should also state that in my opinion the style a set of twins develops can have a lot to do with how the parents chose to dress them. My mother never made us dress exactly alike. While we had similar interests like at 4 years old we both loved the lion king and both wore the lion king outfits, that was about the only things we done the same. Even our Lion King outfits were different. My point is, just because you're a twin does not mean you'll both have the same likes and dislikes.

While my style is a little flashy and I tend to express myself by dressing boldly and unique, my sister is the opposite. She wouldn't be caught dead in a sparkly pink dress. She's very particular and prefers to dress in jeans and some sort of shirt, rarely does she choose bold clothing. It works for her. Me on the other hand, I'd feel like I was suffocating if I never wore my bright colorful things.

Are twins born with the same feature such as hair and eye color?
Yes & No. If the twins are identical they will have the same hair and eye color and usually look, well, identical! Not all fraternal twins look alike, in fact some don't even look related. My sister and I usually get that we look nothing alike and rarely hear that we look alike. She was born with no hair and blue eyes while I was born with a lot of brunette hair and blue eyes. Her hair turned out blonde like my mother's while mine's always been brunette like my father's. As she got older her blonde got darker is more of a darker blonde. We have a similar build though. We're both the same height: short as hell and have some similar features, not many.

Is it true that one or both twins will struggle with jealousy?
No. Absolutely not. It can happen, but I've never known of a set of twins who've ever been jealous of the other. It actually seems to be more common with siblings of different ages more than with twins. My sister and I can't even recall a time of jealousy. But then again, we never felt we had to fight for independance. We've always had our very own sense of style and our very own personality and have never collided there. I admire her and think she's beautiful and her talents, gifts, personality and traits are fantastic, I have my own that are totally opposite mostly and while I admire her and what she has, my personality is totally different. She feels the same. We haven't ever had to worry with jealousy. We've always been so different and that's one reason. Our needs and wants are different it evens out.

Will twins have the same passions and end up with identical or similar career paths?
Another not neccesarily. Our talents are somewhat similar, but not much. Some twins do enjoy the same things and share passions, but we're opposite on this one too. However, my older sister and I do share quite a bit of likes and dislikes. As far as my twin and I, are talents and such are very different. She's creative and can draw better than anything I've ever seen, her handwriting also is beautiful. Me, I'm creative and I'm a writer, but the only thing I can draw is stick people. My handwriting is awful no matter how hard I try. I developed my passion for writing very young and she developed her one-of-a-kind creativity with many things like drawing very young. She's great with math and problem solving. Me, I can add & subtract, sometimes multiply, but that's about as far as it goes. I'm good with english and everything about it. I love to read (that's one thing my older sister and I share that my twin and I don't.) and my twin does not enjoy it so much.

I'm interested in things like psychology, learning anything and everything I can, helping people and I must admit I'm a bit of an activist and I stay involved. My twin doesn't enjoy or share my interests there at all.

I'm going to school for writing and hypnotherapy, she's interested in none of that. She's more of pro in kickin' somebody's ass. Lol.

Now there is one thing we both are gifted with, nail design. We both are highly knowledgable and serious about our nails. I work in nail design and she's creative enough to build a nail with her own hands. We're both very alike in that area. She can design the heck out of a finger or toe nail. Our style may look totally opposite, but our nails are almost always the same color, neon pink. Although today we just so happened to both be wearing purple on our fingers and the neon pink on the toes. Strange, but her's was a darker shade. Still, twins do have a strange connection whether they're with each other daily or not.

Do twins have the same friends and enemies?
Most often they don't. People don't always understand that twins truly are two different people. My sister & I haven't ever really shared the same friends. We have a friend we grew up with and still live near & speak to, but she wasn't as friendly as I am. Lol. She didn't feel she needed friends the way I did. I like having girlfrieds and chatting and doing all those things girl's do and she never really needed that sort of thing. Her friends are mostly men. We have always said she has a male's sense of humor so maybe that's why she connects better with men than women.

Now as for enemies, anyone who's done her in a bad way I am not fond of and make no effort to befriend them. I just don't do that with either of my sisters. My older sister is similar to me in this way, but my twin does not always feel the same. She doesn't mind being friends with someone who's wronged a sister which is fine, but we don't share that feeling.

We're very different. I'd say I'm more sensitive of a person than she is. We are both shy in some ways, but I'm more likely to be the shoulder to cry on, the dependable person who's thinking of the way to make things better for everyone. I've always been that person. I'm very empathetic and a lot of time I let it get out of control. Now she is the last person you can expect to feel sorry for you. Lol. She says "Suck it up. Stop slinging snot." (She cackled when I told her I quoted her here.) Lol & I'm like "aww! You poor thing! I am so sorry. Let me take care of it for you." Lol.

Also, she's far more confrontational than I am. I don't deal well with confrontation unless it's absolutely neccessary. She on the other hand will be quick to kick you ass with a cheshire cat smile grin across her face the entire time. With that said, she's also strong like a man. She's small and you'd never believe she could do damage, but she's a hard one to handle. She doesn't allow herself to be ran over the way I sometimes do.

Don't complain unless you're doing something to change the problem!

  I have a little topic to discuss with my lovies today. Obviously I've had a lot of freak upsets and all going on & it's just been too weird! By the way, I'm glad to announce that I've finally fixed my hair crisis! Remember my recent photos and how I had to apologize for the yucky hair I had going on? Well, I'm no longer the yucky, bad dye-job hair girl! I spent all evening correcting my crappy, grown out highlights all while doing a treatment to remove the rest of my hair! All at the same time! Whew, hair is seriously high maintenance! I want all hairs gone except for the ones on my head and I'm working over time to make this happen!

  Well, my hair was totally not what this post was intended for. I actually wanted to say...

  DO NOT COMPLAIN UNLESS YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING TO CHANGE THE THING YOU ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT!

  I cannot stand when people complain "women's health care sucks," "I hate that my partner looks at porn," "I hate that myself and my children are forced to see obscene images and porn just while trying to pay for gas," etc.

  Here's my advice: Start a freakin petition or send a letter out to change women's healthcare. MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Then dump your crappy, low-life, good-for-nothing-careless-immature, disrespectful porn loving piece-a-shi* partner. Go in that gas station and say "I am sorry, but I refuse to shop here until this is either taken down or put somewhere out of view for those of us who choose NOT to be forced to view obscene vulgar images. Put them somewhere that the ones who choose to look can look, but not where we're forced to view it." If you're scared, send it in a letter/email. If you're still scared, do it anonymously. & if you're still scared, you need to get up and be bold! Stand up for what you believe in (or don't.) and don't sit back whining and complaining until you DO SOMETHING about it.

  I hear so many people complaining daily about the things they could change! You can spend 14 seconds to sign a petition. Join a free organization to save those seals you love! Wear the t-shirt to support it and spread the word. Hell, send out fliers if it'll please you! I've been signing petitions and starting them for the things I feel needs changed for years and seriously guys, do you know what a simple petition can do? It would blow your mind!

  I am a member of My Care 2. It's a place where you can easily create and sign petitions on anything. You only need signatures, not money. You can even share your petition or cause you care about and promote it easily and end up getting sponsored!

  Because of this Care2 site and loving people, women who were being abused and beaten and thrown in prison over seas have actually been freed! Do you know how big that is? How could anyone NOT get involved?

  Even better, each time you sign a petition or participate in many ways on that site, you earn points. You can spend those easily earned points on things like feeding a cat for a day, buying mosquito nets for those in africa, feed the needy, etc! You only have to click and your points buy this stuff and you do no work! Now there's really no excuse for complaining and not doing something.

  The reason I even had the idea to post this is because for one, I've tried getting so many of the daily complainers in my area to sign a petition for whatever they're complaining about. Heck, I've even went and found the petition for them and sent them the link! No signature. If you won't do something (even something tiny) about the things that bother you, then it must not bother you too badly & the way I see it, in most situations you don't have the right to even complain unless you make at least one tiny effort to fix or change the thing you're complaining about. I can promise you I will never and have never complained about something more than one time & not done something to change it. I've sent letters out (with my actual, real name signed) and just yesterday I stepped it up.

  The BF & I took the oldest whom is still a child to Pac Sun in the mall & guess what? He came across a stack of T-shirts with actual images of disgusting, obscene, and just totally degrading crap littered all over them. I was so freakin' shocked I gasped as did he when he saw it. I immediately got pretty fiery that they would sell anything like that in a shop for teens. We were right beside the counter where a couple of customers were at & I said "Let's go! We are leaving NOW. I will not shop in a place that has obscene images on T-shirts for kids!" I'm sure I was heard and we high tailed it right out of there. I've shopped at that store since I was in high school and only recently they started this vulgar stuff. The shop is mostly for teens and I just can't understand why they would sell something like that.

  Thankfully, L who is only 13, was more than proud that I said that out loud. He was actually proud! He said "Oh my God, that shirt was disgusting!" That's pretty bad when a 13 year old says that. He's a good kid, but he's still a 13 year old who like most, thinks cussing is hilarious and even the occasional light, dirty joke he'll laugh at. But he knows limits. He has boundaries which he's allowed to set for himself on many things. & most importantly he has MORALS. I couldn't have been more proud that he's grown to be such a caring, kind hearted person who has morals. I must've done something right. He's actually really getting into the whole activist thing and fully supports female rights & respect for women. I love that I've passed that on. When he told me he'd joined the female rights petition and org (all on his own while being away for a couple of weeks) I could've cried!

  Anyways, my point is: I fixed my awful hair, I've managed to be somewhat a good role model after all, and you shouldn't complain unless you're doing something to change what's bugging you.

  Like I mentioned, My Care 2 is a great place to start! You may not be a die-hard activist, but I'm more than sure most people would find something they truly care enough about to sign a petition on it. I hope you do!

  Also my lovies, are you already a member of any sort of organization or do you sign petitions? I want to know you're ideas and where you're involved. I'm always looking for new ways to get involved and would love your feedback on the causes that you are passionate about. What have you guys done to make a difference?
 *I'm only asking to learn new ways to get involved myself.*

 

Crossing the line - what is & is not acceptable to say to someone in a serious relationship

CAN MEN AND WOMEN BE FRIENDS WHILE ONE IS IN A SERIOUS RELATIONSHIP/MARRIAGE?

 -WHAT IS AND IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO SAY TO SOMEONE WHO IS ALREADY IN A RELATIONSHIP? -


  The question everyone asks these days is "can a man and woman remain friends and only friends without one or the other wanting more? What do you guys think? Can they?

  Once upon a time, when I was young and felt that my male friends were more important than what they really were, I would've said sure, men and women can be friends and only friends. I knew better.

  As most of my precious readers know, I've been in a serious relationship for what will be 5 years this month! (Woo-hoo!)

  When we first started seeing each other, I had a lot of male friends. Throughout my entire life I have never had a male friend that did not express some kind of interest in me, even if it was only sexual.

  I no longer have male friends. After we started getting serious, my male friends (except for one who had expressed feelings in the past, when I was single but we moved past it and remained friends.) refused to respect me and my relationships. One male friend who I'd went to church with my entire life ended up proposing to me a couple of years ago out of the blue. He never showed much interest in me like that before. He had said I was pretty, but nothing more.

  That wasn't the only male church friend I'd grown up with who did this. There was another one who was a great friend until I became serious with my current BF. Then, he started crossing the line little by little. Finally, one day when I was extremely ill and unable to leave the bed, in and out of the hospital, etc. Him and his mother who I think of as my angel for helping me through my hospital times when the only other person who was there was my BF & dad. Anyways, her son  who I'd grown up with, close friends, went to church with sent me a text message that asked when I planned on leaving my current partner. He said he was tired of waiting on me and was angry! I didn't even know I had him waiting. We'd never talked about being together.

 Of course the BF got the text and flipped, caused a huge fight. I ended the friendship. If he couldn't respect me anymore than that, he was no friend.

  Besides that, I'm fine with no male friends. I don't want to be taken afvantage of like I used to be. I don't want to have men forcing themselves on me anymore. It got old, so I ditched them all.

  Well, I usually make it clear to most men in my life that I'm in a happy MONOGAMOUS relationship and I don't put up with crossing the line and disrespecting me. It doesn't work.

  The other night an old male friend started contacting me, he's got a live-in-girlfriend. Well, he crossed the line. I completely blew him off. He crossed the line again. I made myself clear.

  If you have a "crush" on someone who is in a relationship (happy or not) you do not cross that line! If you feel you must express your dying love for them, then maybe do so subtly and suggest that you would like to be more than friends one day should anything happen and this person become available. Then, you leave it at that.

  Almost in every situation, the person does not actually plan to leave just because you suddenly come along with an erection for them. They may eventually start giving in and telling you what you want to hear i.e. they aren't happy. But that's usually only because of the pressure being put on the person.

  If you want to remain in the person's life, I suggest being their friend should be good enough at least until they are available and decide they want to start a new relationship. Do not EVER pressure a girl into leaving. It'll only make her go the opposite direction.

  It's just so tacky and disrespectful to cross that line and nothing is tackier than doing it over and over. If you give her a nice compliment or just have to express your feelings, do it one time and leave it at that. If she decides to initiate anything, then let her do so on her terms only and definitely never engage in anything while she's still in the relationship whether she initiates it or not. Suggest she break it off with the other man first.

  Sometimes you're just going to have to settle for friendship or nothing at all, because chances are, if she's in a happy relationship (with struggles or not) you'll end up losing her friendship all together if you continue to cross the line. Is friendship not ever good enough? It's better than being cut out of their life forever right?

  Texting or calling someone who's in a relationship (especially when you are too!) more than once or twice a day is crossing the line.

  Texting things like "Good morning beautiful" or "Goodnight, dream about me." IS crossing the line.

  Texting things like "Send me a dirty pic." is beyond crossing the line and believe me, if the woman is anything like me, you'll regret that shit real quick.

  I believe you know when you cross the line. If you have to ask if her "will your boyfriend be mad if I say..." or "Is your boyfriend around?" then it IS crossing the line.

  I'm not saying you can't comliment a girl who's not single. Today, my BF and I went to a friend's really nice house and he had a few men that I've been around for years over. When I got out one of the men said "Who's that pretty little thang with you?" and the other said "Kendra, you're hair looks nice today." Which one do you think made me feel good? The hair comment!

  When he told me my hair looked nice it made my day! As for the married bastard that said "who's that pretty little thang?" I didn't gain jack crap from that compliment. The hair comment was sweet and meaningful. Not that saying a girl is pretty is wrong, but there's a tasteful way to do  it. Now, if it's a dirty comment that involves the word sexy, I think it can come off as rude to say to someone in a relationship.

 The reason I posted about this is because of recent happenings. It just makes me so angry that men just don't get it. I don't know why they have to cross that line. I'd really like to keep them as friends, but they make it impossible. There's no way I'm going to text someone who's texted me constantly for 3 days and questioning where I've been & why I was there so late when he has a girlfriend and I have a partner of my own. I mean, if you're unhappy in your relationship, I'm always glad to give help and I did that already, but I'm not willing to give myself. It took everything I had today not to say "Well, maybe your relationship would be interesting and fun if you weren't so busy texting me while your girlfriend sits home waitnig on you to just look in her direction."

 So far, the only male friends I have are the ones that are friends with both me and my partner and a couple of them are really amazing people. Just please people, do not keep crossing the line!

  When you cross the line once and she doesn't respond, take the hint. Don't make her cuss you out just to get you to stop.

  Does any of my lovelies out there agree? Do you think there is a line that should not be crossed, at least no more than twice?