I have Asperger’s syndrome. My eldest daughter is an Aspy as well. We are lucky she got accurately diagnosed. When Bubbles was three, her preschool teacher told us, “Look, I think there is a problem. I think she is on the spectrum. Let’s get her tested.” The local school system tested Bubbles, for free and… Read more A Girl With Asperger’s Syndrome
On the last post, a commenter asked how non-artificial sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit sugars affect the body. After a little research I found that stevia seems to be just fine, because unlike artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, it has no effects on blood sugar levels. Monk fruit, the actual fruit appears to be… Read more Ah, Honey
The one thing that almost all anthropologists are united in is the whole-sale despising of cultural imperialism. Even if you are unfamiliar with the definition I’m sure you’ve run into it. Sometimes it is the blatant mockery of different cultures, but most of the time it is the unspoken subtext in Western opinions about Others.… Read more Mind Not Blown
Doctors and scientists are, like everyone on earth, a product of their culture and upbringing. There is no such thing as “objectivity”. It is a fantasy constructed by the delusion that facts are immutable. Well, absolute facts do exist, but the interpretation of them is always skewed because they are only viewed through the prism… Read more Kell and McLeod can happen together, actually.
There’s never a billionaire with a love of Tudor history will to give an author $10 million dollars around when you need him/her. Also, I am having trouble locating 10 million people willing to send me one dollar each. Or even the more modest 5 million people willing to send me two bucks. This makes… Read more I Need a Sponsor
I stumbled upon the concept of Melungeons many years ago when I read Kentucky author Jesse Stuart’s renowned work Daughter of the Legend. In the book, the hero falls in love with a Melungeon heroine, and endures all the prejudice from former friends that comes with following his heart. Melungeons are/were a group of people… Read more Getting My Melungeon On
Authoritative knowledge. I know I have mentioned it before, but it is a very big concept in medical anthropology and thus bears repeating. Basically, cultures imbue some people/groups with the “authority” to decided what “knowledge” is real. These systems of knowledge may even be in competition with one another. An example of this is the… Read more Old Wife’s Tales
The best thing about being an author is that other people will read your writing and some of those people will really like your work and give you a four or even five star review, which will make your heart do the Snoopy Dance of Much Happiness. You will think those people are wonderful and… Read more The Lone Star State of Mind
I love The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. When Peter Jackson made the LOTR film trilogy, my husband and I were rabid with excitement. We bought the extended cut DVDs when they came out and we still watch even the extras about how they made the model city of Gondor like hungry wolves.… Read more I am SUCH a geek