Dark Matter, MOND, and Pizza

Just about every Wednesday we go to Pizza Garden for Pizza Buffet and Salad….it’s one of our few eat-out times.

Tonight our conversation starter:  Dark Matter and the MOND (Modified Newtonian Dynamic) theory — I had read a brief article on it last night and wanted to know what my husband thought — he’s a bit more into sciencey things than I am!    My husband had not heard of the MOND theory so we actually ended up talking more about Dark Matter and a bit about Dark Energy, which evolved into a short conversation on string theory.

(Here is the link to the article on the MOND Theory:

http://science.time.com/2013/02/26/cosmic-fuggedaboudit-dark-matter-may-not-exist-at-all/?hpt=hp_c2 )

Yes, we have conversations like this often…sometimes during dinner, sometimes after, sometimes while driving from one place to another….we also discuss other types of science and medical breakthroughs in the news, as well as politics, politicians, lack of turn signal usage, and thousands of other big and small topics!

One of the most memorable conversations involved about 10 of us discussing the difference between a sweet potato and a yam during a Christmas dinner!  Hilarity ensued and still brings giggles when anyone says, “What’s the difference between a yam and a sweet potato,,,,I forgot!”

Any other families discuss “intellectual” and/or off the wall type topics at family gatherings…any funny/favorite stories you want to share?

Acceptance Without Judgement

I was reading an article on a belly dance website and one of the paragraphs really got to me, below is part of my reply to the author, Leyla Najma, on her article (http://leyla-najma.net/mirror-cracked/):

quote: ” One thing I know for sure, the belly dancer on stage is not always the same woman back in the dressing room looking at herself in the mirror. Dance allows us to put up a façade that allows no secrets to escape because once a dancer is up on stage the entertainer in them takes over. The safety net is the performance, the in the moment pull of the audience, lights and music that helps to keep the entertainer on top of her game.”

YES! It is our alter-ego, our core being, the “self” we WANT to be that comes out when we dance! We feel beautiful, confident, and know that we can do this! But then there is the real world that kicks back in when you are off the stage, the costume and makeup are off. Should we always walk around with our stage make-up and dance costume on? How can we take those feelings and move them to our everyday clothes, jobs, and activities?

After many years of inward looking, I have come to the conclusion that parents and society can really negatively effect how you view yourself and it can be very hard (if not impossible) to overcome some of it, because it is everywhere…the older you are when you realize that society (family, friends, lovers) was WRONG about the things said and done to you, the harder it is to change your internal thinking and believe that you are worthy of being loved and cherished.

I tried very hard NOT to criticize my children for their weight or their looks when they were younger, I wanted them to feel loved, cherished, worthy and have the self-confidence and self-esteem that I did not have (and still do not in some areas). I did this because I was mildy bullied growing up and I wanted better for the next generation — especially for the daughter. My Dad’s wife told me when daughter was about 14, “She is very pretty and could be a model if she lost some weight.” WTF?!??? Talk about “buying in” to the skeleton as beautiful model meme!

Why can’t we just be beautiful because we are? Why does one become “more beautiful” or trustworthy or valuable, the thinner (or for men, muscular) we are?

Acceptance without judgement…yes it is hard because we were (usually) not raised with this mindset…all the more reason for those of us who are aware, to be better about not judging on looks, but judging on behavior and attitude. (I even wrote a short blog post on this topic last year, https://ccinamon.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/peoplearepeople/).

Thanks Leyla for another thought provoking article, and allowing me to link back to you!