Katie Goes...

When I originally started this program (PhD Weightloss), I was going to put it online, but I just couldn't bring myself to put it out there right away: 1.  What if I fail (again!)? 2.  What if the hater-trolls come out? 3.  What if I actually don't believe in the program and feel like a fraud. There's probably more, but it doesn't matter, because here's the surprise part:  I actually started this program 8 weeks ago!!!!!!!  What's funny is that one of the reason's I could never seem to stick to anything is I had this crazy Montage Fantasy where somehow I would only have to: 1.  Have a great idea. 2.  Have a great soundtrack. 3.  Really, really want to just be thin and healthy and somehow- POOF- I would be at the end of the movie, having learned all the lessons and be a size 6 with self-effacing modesty and a great wardrobe, with only three or four 2-minute sessions at the gym (looking very determined of course). So, I'm going to stack ...

I've been so lucky to travel before I met my family and we will travel again, but for now, I'm on a journey inward.  The backstory seems so huge and ponderous and I want to explain, but, to quote "The Princess Bride: 'There is no time, lemme sum up!'" The last three years have been crazy stressful and I've sabotaged multiple jobs and gotten sick and been working through deep grief at not being able to have kids.  Last August my husband and I met two children who we've been fostering and hopefully next month we will be able to adopt them.  I will get in to that later, because the layers on that one are six onions deep. My friend Rowan started working at a place called "PhD Weightloss" and even though I feel like I've been to this rodeo, I knew I needed to do something.  The moment I made the commitment was after leaving the kids' therapy appointment and my husband took the kids home; I drove past Krispy Kreme... Eating three doug...

This journey of 1558 miles starts with a single step... out the door, to the car: Asheville to Standing Rock, North Dakota. This is not practical and there are so many unknowns.  Perfect!  The last five years has been a roller coaster down into certain parts of my own personal hell, and up to the most amazing experience of my adult life: marriage.  I didn't realise how going into partnership really challenges me to find out who I am in this new context.  Fast forward to three weeks ago when that still little voice said, "could I really?" I mean, we have a house, kittens, work... but the little voice kept prodding, "go!" Nashville the first night, then Lawrence, Kansas; then Hot Springs, South Dakota; finally, to Standing Rock, North Dakota.

Watch "Beyond Coal", and the next episode is in Asheville:  Asheville Beyond Coal | Beyond Coal Thank you, Sierra Club, for the following information: Mining our Mountains In Appalachia, mining companies literally blow the tops off mountains to reach thin seams of coal. They then dump millions of tons of rubble and toxic waste into the streams and valleys below the mining sites. This destructive practice, known as mountaintop-removal mining, has damaged or destroyed nearly 2,000 miles of streams  and threatens to destroy 1.4 million acres of mountaintops and forests by 2020. The mining poisons drinking water, destroys beautiful, biodiverse forests and wildlife habitat, increases the risk of flooding, and wipes out entire communities. Who Gets Hurt Mountaintop-removal mining pollutes waterways and allows toxic heavy metals such as cadmium, selenium, and arsenic to leach into local water supplies that Appalachia's people rely on. But the danger isn't limited to dri...

How interesting to delve back into the world of acting and film.  As a kid I only wanted to be an actress or a C-5 pilot (my Mom was in the Air Force).   It feels like at least three lifetimes have happened from then to now.  Being forty and still unsure of what I want to "be" when I grow up is halfway between embarrassing, and, well, still exciting.  I'll be working with the New York Studio for Stage and Screen, as their development and social media manager! They are an incredibly talented group with an impressive array of professional instructors.  Ha.  Now this sounds like a commercial.  I'm just excited to be around people who love what they do and do it to the best of their abilities. Go Asheville for welcoming a professional acting conservatory!!  Here's the website, and a demo reel.  Enjoy! http://www.ashevilleactingclasses.com/ The New York Studio for Stage and Screen(NYS3) Commercial Highlight Reel

The theme for my birthday was "halfway to 80", so, naturally, a totally awesome '80s party (in a cool basement) ensued...it really was fantastic.  The music was perfect, the champagne was plentiful, and the pool table and firepit were hot all night!  All of the stress leading up to this "over the hill" moment dissolved like a bag of pop rocks and 1am found me outside with two of my best friends, toasting to love and gratitude, with a light snow falling in the background.    I am incredibly blessed and grateful for amazing friends and family. Thank you for a rockin' 40.  I think it was Carl Jung who said, "everything before 40 is just research"...excellent, let's get to it then! (cue Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me"...)  

For the next six months I'm going to do something amazing every day.  It might be having a salad for dinner, or going to the gym...or happy hour at Mai Tais.  (Depends on the day) I approach forty like an eating disorder, which will be easier to deal with in hindsight, but here I am now.  Geneen Roth wrote a wonderful and heartbreaking book called, "When Food is Love" and I read it through tear-blurred eyes, the first time, when I was about 13.  One chapter, in particular, has stayed with me- the part about the little girl and M&Ms: A mother brought her overweight daughter to Ms. Roth, frantically overwrought that her daughter kept gaining wait and she was so young.  Ms. Roth asked the little girl what was her favourite treat, "M&Ms!!!" she cried.  The mother was instructed to get a pillow case and fill it with the chocolate candy and have her daughter carry it around with her wherever she went.  The mother did as instructed and the daught...

"The time is now, the walrus said, to talk of many things..." Well, in 6 months, I turn forty.  Yeah, yeah, I know, it's just a number.  Regardless, I started taking a Social Psychology class and there was an "about me" portion to fill out on our profile.  I know I'm coming up to a time that is a huge right of passage, and it might take 10 years to get through it...but I feel it. Here is what I wrote: As a social entrepreneur, I look at a problem as an artist views a blank canvas, and my mediums are storytelling, art therapy, music, theatre, spoken word, and film. I have engaged in community activism all over the world, but the experience closest to my heart is when I produced and directed the musical HAIR. The event was preceded by a host of local events, workshops and panel discussions that created dialogue on race, sex, drugs, war, and the environment. Among those who were engaged in this production were the Asheville chapter of the Veterans for ...

I love this woman; I love this blog.  I appreciate the comments and am so happy there is a conversation.    Now everyone get out your copy of The Beauty Myth and then watch "Killing Us Softly". http://bellejarblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/dove-does-not-give-a-shit-about-whether-or-not-you-feel-beautiful/comment-page-2/#comment-5637

Since January 7, I have been teaching 5th and 6th grade Language Arts at a Catholic School in Hawai'i.    After a brief rent-compelled stint at Macy*s, I called the Catholic school around the corner to see if they needed a substitute teacher; lo and behold, they needed a full-time replacement for the spring semester.  Even though I've done this before, I still went in with big ideas.  My sails were full to bursting on my ship of academic creativity and I had a full-fledged fantasy in place of bestowing the magic of at least 15 of my favourite novels from middle school, linking verbs, and of course, vocabulary.  I love words, the subtle nuance and power of erudite discourse, and I was ready to shower my new students with all the love and wonder language and grammar can bestow.   *This is where heartbreaking reality of fifty-six 10-12 year-olds with no discipline nor skills comes crashing down and I venture to cover it up with self-deprecating and cyni...

Brian and I were honoured to meet the leaders of this dynamic movement.  Peter from the Brisbane Tent Embassy was a joy to talk to and so warm and generous.  This clip here does not do his eloquence justice.  And Dootch, what a generous and sweet man.  We met his son and grandchildren who were so inspiring. This space of academic brilliance and tenacity,  wisdom and story, and opportunities for going through misunderstanding- this beautiful place; waiting for the dark times to be acknowledged - and grieved.  Maybe together we can heal.  But my whitefella brothers and sisters...we HAVE TO move out of the way- all the way out- and honour the space, time, breathing room and trust the First People to create what they need for their own lives, liberties and pursuits of happiness.  Maybe then "us vs. them" will have a chance to become "we". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60mmgJlpKqE&feature=related *This video was shot by Jeremy Geia from N...

It began with a smoking ceremony, and then the wind followed by rain, but what happened on this day is one of the most inspirational creations of this lifetime... Act of Sovereign Union between First Nations and Peoples in Australia Whereas  in the course of human events and history there are times when it becomes absolutely necessary for one Nation or People to dissolve the political and legal bonds which have connected them with another; Whereas  we now call upon the powers of the Creators of the DREAMING to enforce the natural authority that establishes a decent respect of humankind. It is required that we should declare the causes which impel us to the separation from our oppressor and to now declare our unity under our DREAMING and songlines, as we have since time immemorial; Whereas  we hold the Law of the Dreaming, as evidence of authority that all people are born equal, and that they were granted by the Creator certain sovereign inalienable rights;...

We've just left Uluru and are in Newcastle, the very first convict settlement in Australia.  This is the first place the language of the people was lost. Tomorrow we go to Wollongong for the National Unity Government conference and the Sovereignty Meet-up at Sandon Point Tent Embassy...Stay tuned. Until then, please feel free to pass this on, it's a letter from Uncle Bob Randall of Mutijulu Community: Dear friends, family, and global brothers and sisters, Please watch this video of my brother, Djiniyini of Elcho Island, Arnhem Land.  http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=vrEWMHTvexY We need the help of the world!  Jenny Macklin, as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs of the current Australian government is trying to destroy the Aboriginal people and our culture by continued implementation of a tragically damaging policy known as "The Intervention."  We have been against it from day one because it is based on falsehood and lies. So many of our peop...

This article tells the real story of Jenny Macklin the, minister for Aboriginal Affairs, and her "stronger futures" legislation that could DECIMATE a culture.  This has to be protested. Martin Luther King said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"...well, this is it.  This injustice is going to kill more Indigenous people and make government workers and mining companies richer.  Is this the heart of darkness in Congo or the Amazon?  No, it's the 3rd world Northern Territory communities under the thumb of a racist, assimilationist government in "1st world" Australia: http://www.arena.org.au/2012/04/protector-macklin’s-intervention/

Response to the Prime Minister Julia Gillard's announcement of  a Second Intervention in the Northern Territory The Government and the people of Australia are only able to achieve true reconciliation with Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory if the environment for negotiation is changed and justice, that was so brutally removed by the Intervention, is restored. Only through respectful dialogue and working together can we call Australia a nation based on the principles of democracy. Future negotiations will rely upon: The Aboriginal people in the 73 prescribed communities of the Northern Territory do not welcome any further consultation with the Government until it acknowledges the failures of the current Intervention. The Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory will only endorse a new initiative by the Government to improve the lives of Aboriginal people if the Government first establishes a diplomatic and respectful dialogue, negotiation and relationshi...

Join me in supporting the First People of Australia as they take on the legitimacy of the Australian Government: Learn more at:  http://nationalunitygovernment.org/ Open letter to the PM from Sovereign Union spokesperson In an 'open letter' to Australia's prime Minister Julie Gillard, Michael Anderson rquests an answer as to whether the 1967 referendum to amend section 127 of the Constitution was valid. He calls upon the Commonwealth government to provide the written evidentiary proof that the States did in fact refer this matter of Aboriginal Affairs to the Commonwealth, as required under Section 105A of the Australian Constitution and asks, 'if so, were any conditions applied for the referral'. Michael Anderson states that if due process was not followed properly the Commonwealth government has committed a major fraud against the Australian public. Open letter to PM Julia Gillard            ...

We packed up the Troupie and were off before Mother Sun reached her highest point, the day promised to be a scorcher.  After an hour we left the main road heading towards Alice Springs, though without Uncle Bob as a guide, we surely would have missed the slight break in the grass and the almost invisible red road snaking off through the scrub brush.  We came to a copse of unusual variation and we spotted wild emu and two kangaroo, though I doubt the different trees were out of the ordinary to these native inhabitants.  Our modern beast was entering a surface world largely untouched by time, but a landscape immersed in tragedy. As the road became rougher and the washouts forced us through untrodden Bush we would alternately slow to a crawl through the spinifex or go almost gangbusters through the soft sand.  If you stop in the soft sand, you stay stopped.  After a most harrowing moment where the truck stalled on a jagged ravine inches from a 6 foot drop we ...

Brian just sent this letter to the Prime Minister of Australia and cc'd the White House: Prime Minister, My name is Brian Loftin. I am a US citizen.  On a recent visit to beautiful Australia, and specifically to Uluru, Mutitjulu, and Alice Springs I saw things that made me question the place of your country in the pantheon of "Great Nations," namely, the way your government is treating the Aboriginal People.  As an American, my complaints about the treatment of indigenous peoples are admittedly a bit like the crow calling the raven black, but we now live in the 21st century--not the 19th. Before my trip I acquainted myself with your policy of "Strong Futures" as well as much material relating to the past and current situations of the First People--including the virtual holocaust of the Stolen Generations. Seeing what is happening now in the wretchedly poor communities I listed above, seeing how the white people live comfortably nearby, seeing no equality in e...

I have so much to say that I don't even know how to begin.  Should I start with the overwhelming amount of work to do that keeps getting interrupted by other things to do?  Or the devastating government legislation and their "stronger futures" that will only have the effect of decimating a culture?  The local land council's ignoring of protocol and lack of communication with the people they are supposed to represent?  And the huge amounts of money thrown to "Aboriginal affairs" which really goes to white "administrators" and their travel, housing, new car, stipend...because you've got to pay those people extra for working in such a remote and hostile environment?  Wow, it is really  hard to not be cynical. O.K., then let me balance that with the brightness of the Milky Way last night and it's sharp, glittering band of starlight, or the wedge-tail eagle we saw on the way back from Alice Springs surrounded by a sunset of fuschia and orange....

After 36 hours of traveling (three planes and lots of layovers) we have arrived at Uluru.  The tiny Ayers Rock airport was the last vestige of air conditioning before stepping out into the 98 degree heat.  The stillness of the landscape is juxtaposed with a palpable vitality and living history, and our first stop from the airport was Anangu homelands of Uncle Bob Randall and his family.  Driving along the red track Uncle Bob was telling us the hopes and dreams for his family's land.  "The marker starts here, and then goes for as far as your eye can see." We then arrive at the spot where I learned how to cook a kangaroo tail three years ago, and now they've added to toilets and a little shelter for Grandmother Barbara to use when she comes out to teach.  Johnny, Uncle Bob's son, has been clearing  insidious non-native grass and the place looks amazing.  This is the spot where hopefully more groups will have the chance to experience the Anangu stori...