Lisa Find Love

Back in the 1980s and '90s, D.A.R.E. was in almost every American school. But the drug prevention program was shown to have little success at keeping kids away from drugs. With the current opioid crisis, D.A.R.E. is poised for a comeback.

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“You are more than your thoughts, your body, or your feelings. You are a swirling vortex of limitless potential who is here to shake things up and create something new that the universe has never seen.” – Richard Bartlett

It’s always tough to look in the mirror and dislike what you see. Whether you’re unhappy with how you look because of unsightly and uncomfortable bloat, belly fat that just won’t go away no matter how much you exercise, flabby arms, cellulite on your legs, a nose that’s too long, wide or misshapen, Rosacea, acne, breasts too small or too large or any other emotional body issue or body image, you want a way to cope that works.

Most of all, you want to feel better about yourself in your own skin, not to mention feeling the confidence that others aren’t judging you for your looks.

I can relate. I’ve experienced many of these body issues and had my ups and downs in being able to effectively deal with them. Over the years, after much research, visiting many doctors, buying all manner of creams, lotions, devices, gym memberships, tried various diets, meditating, prayer and networking with others I trust, I’ve accumulated a few tips that have proven somewhat beneficial in coping with body image and other emotional body issues.

Maybe they can help you.

Recognize that there’s no instant fix.

While the notion of taking a pill, or getting a procedure done that will immediately and forever fix the body issue that’s causing you emotional pain is enticing, the truth is that there’s simply no such thing. Even plastic surgery to correct a perceived or real issue doesn’t get at the psychological damage that having lived with it for so long has already done. Besides, noses and breasts and such are external. No matter how much they’re altered, you’re still you underneath. If you fail to regard yourself highly, changing your physical appearance won’t make you happy, in and of itself. The same holds true for buying the latest hotly hyped cream or so-called miracle cure for aging skin, creating a more youthful appearance, regaining your strength, passion and boosting your cognitive abilities.

If you want to make changes to your physical appearance, realize why you feel the need to do so, understand what the process will entail, be willing to put in the time and effort to achieve the results you desire. There are no shortcuts.

If surgery will correct a facial or bodily defect or abnormality, consider having it.

Why suffer the anxiety and depression that can occur because of having been born with a defect or abnormality on the face or body? Research shows that young children between the ages of 8 and 10 are especially susceptible to such emotional distress, particularly from cleft palate, cleft lip and other facial anomalies. Indeed, researchers found that, compared with teens and older kids, the 8-to-10-year old kids were at highest risk for “psychosocial dysfunction.”

I wasn’t born with anything abnormal on my face. I do, however, know of children who did suffer from something other-than-normal on their body, such as a prominent strawberry mark in the middle of the back. I know the mother of that child had it surgically removed and prevented a lot of teasing and unkind looks from his peers.

The point is, if you have insurance to cover the type of surgery that will remove, correct or lessen the defect or abnormality, or are willing to pay for it for yourself or your loved one, opting to do so can make a difference in the quality of life for the person affected.

What about scars – from an accident, cancer or illness?

Here I have two experiences to relate. In the first, my mother had a double radical mastectomy and removal of lymph nodes under both arms after being diagnosed with cancer. This greatly affected her self-image of her body, caused her to shun contact with others, and drastically altered her otherwise cheerful attitude and outlook on life. After the incisions healed, and receiving visits from breast cancer outreach survivors to help her cope with her body changes after treatment, my mother opted to wear a breast form prosthesis. Then, recalling the support and encouragement she received from other breast cancer survivors, she became an outreach volunteer herself. I know that she would have had reconstructive surgery, if that had been available to her when she was told she needed the surgery. She was (she’s now deceased) a fighter, strong, determined, smart and loving.

The other experience I’ll relate concerns my own reconstructive surgery following recovery from a near-fatal car-train accident. I went through a total of 6 reconstructive surgeries to rid my face and neck of Frankenstein-like scars. Before the surgery, I hid in the corner whenever anyone came to the house. Forget entertaining. It was all I could do to mumble a quick hello and dart away. After the last surgery and healing, some scars remained. They’re still with me, although much faded and hardly noticeable. I laugh when I remember one of the follow-up visits I had with my plastic surgeon about a year after the last surgery. He looked at me intently before saying, “I did a great job on your nose.” I told him he didn’t do my nose. We both laughed. This incident reminded me that when I was a teen, I obsessed that my nose was too wide and wished I could have it changed.

Your belly fat isn’t who you are. Neither is bloat.

Two other common and emotionally troubling body issues are belly fat and bloat. Again, I’ve had to learn how to deal with both. I must say that I’ve had minor success with the former and better success with the latter. Increased exercise, walking vigorously every day, going on a fat-free (for the most part) diet, low carbohydrates, no sugar, lots of vegetables, fruit, meat, fish and poultry and drinking 8 full glasses of water daily help with the belly fat. Yet, it’s an ongoing challenge. The bloat I’ve mostly overcome with dietetic changes, chiefly eliminating dairy.

I know that psychiatrists and other mental health experts say that you are more than your external looks, and that includes whether you think or have been told that you are too fat, too thin, or too whatever. In other words, none of that is who you are. Your essence, what makes you, you, is internal. That’s what counts. Remember that.

By the way, I never went for breast augmentation, although some friends and others I know have. I got used to and learned to love the way I look – just the way I am.

I still work very hard to make positive changes in my life, to accentuate my best features and minimize others with makeup, concealing clothing, complimentary colors and so on. Love yourself. If I can do it, so can you.

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Footnotes for episode 18 of The Daily Zeitgeist which aired on 11.1.17.

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1. Luke Skywalker was almost a girl

A long time ago (January 1975, to be exact) a fledgling screenwriter named George Lucas was working on the second draft of an epic sci-fi space opera he called “Adventures of the Starkiller, Episode One: The Star Wars.”

Of the many, many problems (and one of little-known Star Wars facts) with this clunky script that would eventually become Star Wars: A New Hope, one that seemed easily fixed to Lucas was the serious lack of female characters. So, Lucas did something radical: rewrote his story’s main character, Luke Starkiller, as an 18-year-old girl. At least one concept drawing by artist Ralph McQuarrie exists of this short-lived gender swap, but a few months later, with Lucas’ next draft, Starkiller was a boy again.

Too bad…Star Wars could probably use a few more female voices. (Looking for a movie with a female lead? These movies celebrate strong women.)

RELATED: Hear from Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, and Alan Tudyk at the “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” premiere, presented by Disney and LucasFilms, at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre on Dec. 11, 2016

Courtesy: The Associated Press 360

 

2. Yoda was almost a monkey in a mask

Next time you complain about the goofy CG Yoda from the prequels, consider one of these Star Wars facts: the spiritual center of the Jedi order was almost a real-life monkey in a green mask carrying a cane.

Luckily, there was a monkey expert on set to throw a banana peel in this plan’s tracks. One of the crew who worked with apes in 2001: A Space Odyssey quickly pointed out, “Look, the monkey’s just going to pull off the mask over and over again. It’s never going to work.” The team soon enlisted Muppet master-crafter Jim Henson, who suggested casting Frank Oz (formerly the voice of Miss Piggy) to bring Yoda to life. Love Yoda’s quotes? These are some of our favorite movie quotes of all time.

Bonus Star Wars fact: According to the early “Starkiller” drafts of the movie, Lucas wanted to call Yoda “Buffy.”

3. Han Solo died in the original script

The original ending of Return of The Jedi has Luke assuming Darth Vader’s role as evil Galactic enforcer, and Han Solo dying in his heroic raid on the Death Star. Harrison Ford probably would have been fine with this. Ford was famously snippy about Lucas’ script (“George, you can type this ****, but you can’t say it.”) and in a 2010 interview he waved off his iconic character as “Ham Yoyo,” stating he was officially “done with him.” Time makes fools of us all.

These are the most iconic movies set in each state.

4. The Emperor was married to King Kong

Well, in a manner of speaking. When Emperor Palpatine first appears as a hologram in The Empire Strikes Back, the person under the black mantle and facial prosthetics is not Ian McDiarmid, who played Palpatine on screen in Return of The Jedi. It’s not a man at all: the first Emperor we see is actually Elaine Baker, then-wife of Star Wars makeup designer Rick Baker. As Gizmodo points out, Rick Baker once donned the monkey suit in the 1976 King Kong remake, so we can technically say that Emperor Palpatine and King Kong were legally wed. (Just try not to imagine their children.)

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5. The opening text crawl took 3 hours to shoot

The famous floating text that opens A New Hope may have been one of the greatest special effects achievements in the film. As Mental Floss points out, the text was filmed practically “by carefully placing 2-foot-wide die cut yellow letters over a 6-foot-long black paper background with a camera making a slow pass over them to mimic the crawl.” What’s now a default option on filmmaking software took LucasArts three hours to capture.

Bonus Star Wars fact: That “revolutionary” text effect? Flash Gordon did it first.

 

6. The trash in the Death Star garbage compactor scene was REAL

Apparently, the smell was so bad that Mark Hamill burst a blood vessel from trying to hold his breath, and the camera angle had to be adjusted for the rest of the scene so as not to show his injury. As for Peter Mayhew’s yak-hair Chewbacca suit? It reeked for the rest of production.

Bonus Star Wars fact: At the start of A New Hope, Chewbacca is 200 years old.

 

7. It took four men to portray one Vader

How do you capture a presence as big as Darth Vader? Cast four men. The on-screen body of Vader is six-foot-five bodybuilder David Prowse; his stunt double for action scenes is professional fencer Bob Anderson; the voice of Vader is the great James Earl Jones; and the de-helmeted face of Vader in Return of The Jedi is Sebastian Shaw.

Love sci-fi movies? Make sure to check out our list of the best time traveling movies you should definitely see.

8. “I am your father” was the best-kept secret in film

Get a load of one of these Star Wars facts: Lucas kept the twist ending of Empire so well guarded, he even wrote fake text in the script to throw the actors off. During filming, David Prowse (whose voice was later dubbed by James Earl Jones reciting the actual line) yelled to Mark Hamill: “Obi-Wan killed your father!” The cast and crew thought this was the real line—only Hamill, who had been told the truth about Vader moments before filming the scene, knew otherwise. If the secret leaked, it would all come back to Luke.

Bonus Star Wars fact: Of course, if you spoke Dutch or German, you’d already know by A New Hope that Darth Vader literally translates to “Darth Father.”

 

9. It took seven men to portray one Jabba the Hutt

Named by some as the most expensive puppet in the world, the $500,000 Jabba the Hutt model required seven people to bring to life: “Three puppeteers were inside: one controlled the right arm and jaw, another handled the left hand and jaw, tongue, and head movements, and both of them moved the body; a third person was in the tail. Outside, there were one or two people on radio controllers for the eyes, someone under the stage to blow cigar smoke up a tube, and another working bellows for the lungs.”

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Here are some more facts about the most expensive movie props and memorabilia out there.

10. Well, it just took one man to portray R2D2 and an Ewok

In less expensive news (but another one of these rare Star Wars facts), Kenny Baker, the man destined to live inside R2D2, also donned the bear suit to play an Ewok in Return of The Jedi. He plays Paploo—the enterprising Ewok who steals an imperial speeder bike.

Bonus Star Wars fact: The word “Ewok” is never mentioned once in the original trilogy (though they do get a credit at the end.)

 

11. The Ewok’s anthem has a classic rock connection

The final victory song sung by the Ewoks at the end of Jedi was written by the same dude who wrote “Africa”: Joseph Williams, lead singer of Toto and son of legendary composer John Williams. I guess it rains down in Eeeendoooooore…

Bonus Star Wars fact: In other surprising composition news, the new Cantina music featured in The Force Awakens was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda—the creator and star of current Broadway smash hit Hamilton.

These movies have the most rockin’ soundtracks.

12. Other notable noises: bears, walruses, and all the cell doors on Alcatraz

Kids should thank sound designer Ben Burtt for some of the most memorable noises of their childhood. Want to know how he did it? The sound of Darth Vader’s breathing was recorded by putting a microphone inside a scuba tank regulator; Chewbacca’s signature Wookie gargle is a combination of bear, walrus, lion, and badger sounds. The sound of Vader’s pod door closing in Empire is reportedly the sound of a whole block of Alcatraz cell doors slamming shut.

 

13. George Lucas lost a $40 million bet to Steven Spielberg

Another one of these little-known Star Wars facts? In the late ‘70s, Lucas was working on A New Hope at the same time his buddy Steven Spielberg was working on Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Visiting the Close Encounters set one day, Lucas reportedly fell into a panic, Spielberg says:

“He said, ‘Oh my God, your movie is going to be so much more successful than Star Wars! This is gonna be the biggest hit of all time. I can’t believe this set.’ He said, ‘All right, I’ll tell you what. I’ll trade some points with you. I’ll give you 2.5 percent of Star Wars if you give me 2.5 percent of Close Encounters.’ So I said, ‘Sure, I’ll gamble with that.’”

Gamble is right. Star Wars made $775 million at the global box office compared with Close Encounters’ $304 million. Adjusted for inflation, TIME reports, “Spielberg’s edge could come out to as much as $40 million.”

The kicker? Lucas actually made good on his bet. (Doesn’t hurt when you’re a billionaire.)

May the Force be with you.

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What gets rid of dandruff?

Dandruff may be the result of a dry scalp, or a skin condition called seborrheic dermatitis. It could also be caused by eczema, psoriasis, or, very commonly, an overgrowth of a yeastlike fungus called malassezia. (Here are 5 more surprising causes of dandruff.) Drugstore dandruff remedies might include shampoos with zinc pyrithione, which targets fungus and bacteria; ketoconazole, which also fights fungus; coal tar and selenium sulfide, which slow the growth and die-off of skin cells on your scalp; and salicylic acid, which loosens flakes so they can be washed away. For some trusted dandruff remedies, read on.

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When you’re leaving for an international trip, a passport is the single most important thing to double check you remembered. After all, it’s your one ticket to get out of the country—and get back in. Passports are powerful, but not all are created equal.

Depending on what passport you own (including the rarest passport in the world), you’ll need a visa to get into different countries. For instance, a U.S. passport is all you need to get into Peru. If you decide to head to Brazil while you’re there, though, you’ll need to apply for a visa. But a Peruvian passport would let you cross the border into Brazil without a visa.

Naturally, some passports will get you into more countries visa-free than others. Global financial advisory firm Arton Capital ranked every country’s passport from most to least powerful, based on how many countries it would give access to without a visa. The Passport Index updates in real time when new visa rules come out, and you can even explore passports by country or by color. (Find out what your passport color really means.)

Currently, Singapore reigns as the most powerful passport in the world. It gets their owners into 159 countries without a visa. In second place is Germany, which gives access to 158 countries. But none will cross a border if you’re part of this weird rule that considers some valid passports expired.

The United States, which has 154 visa-free countries on its list, doesn’t come in until the sixth group. It’s tied with Malaysia, Ireland, and Canada.

Count yourself lucky if you don’t rely on an Afghanistan passport—that document is the least powerful, only letting citizens into 22 countries without a visa. After that comes Pakistan and Iraq, both with 26 visa-free options.

Visa or not, make sure you avoid these airport mistakes that could ruin your vacation.

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Be nice to nerds

According to Bill Gates, you should probably be nice to nerds and take their nerdy quotes seriously. “Chances are you’ll end up working for one.” (Here’s the one crucial skill you need to be successful, according to Gates.)

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