Good Hair... The issue becomes public.

Trailer for Chris Rock's new docu-movie "Good Hair."
Yaya De Costa, Terri Seymour and Beyonce display some of the varying hair textures and styles in the black community.

Behind the scenes of the "Good Hair" movie poster photo shoot.

I cannot express how excited I am to see Chris Rock's new docu-movie "Good Hair" (out this October). This is long overdue... like 200 years! When I first saw the trailer I was unsure about how this was going to pan out. Will the movie really explore the hair issues in our community or will it be nothing more than a superficial mockery that just scratches the surface? I watched the trailer several times and concluded that Chris Rock is just trying to add some humor to a somewhat sensitive subject. I am confident the movie will be equally entertaining and informative.

That said, are we as black women ready to face the questions that will undoubtedly come from those outside our race. Movie critics at the Sundance Film Festival, where the movie won an award, lamented on how they had "no idea" that black women went through so much to "look good." I personally do not want nosy commuters asking me if my hair is a weave on the rush hour train to work! Either way, this will undoubtedly be a milestone in our history. The movie has a lot of money behind it and will me watched by millions. I just hope it lives up to the hype. I equally hope Chris Rock interviews some natural sistas in an effort to dispel the myth that natural hair is hard to maintain. Visit http://www.goodhairmovie.net/ for more information.

Good Hair... The issue becomes public.

Trailer for Chris Rock's new docu-movie "Good Hair."
Yaya De Costa, Terri Seymour and Beyonce display some of the varying hair textures and styles in the black community.

Behind the scenes of the "Good Hair" movie poster photo shoot.

I cannot express how excited I am to see Chris Rock's new docu-movie "Good Hair" (out this October). This is long overdue... like 200 years! When I first saw the trailer I was unsure about how this was going to pan out. Will the movie really explore the hair issues in our community or will it be nothing more than a superficial mockery that just scratches the surface? I watched the trailer several times and concluded that Chris Rock is just trying to add some humor to a somewhat sensitive subject. I am confident the movie will be equally entertaining and informative.

That said, are we as black women ready to face the questions that will undoubtedly come from those outside our race. Movie critics at the Sundance Film Festival, where the movie won an award, lamented on how they had "no idea" that black women went through so much to "look good." I personally do not want nosy commuters asking me if my hair is a weave on the rush hour train to work! Either way, this will undoubtedly be a milestone in our history. The movie has a lot of money behind it and will me watched by millions. I just hope it lives up to the hype. I equally hope Chris Rock interviews some natural sistas in an effort to dispel the myth that natural hair is hard to maintain. Visit http://www.goodhairmovie.net/ for more information.

Kerry Washington Covers H Magazine

Be sure to catch Ms. Washington in the latest issue of "H" magazine. She's rocking a new look and hairstyle at this shoot and I must say she looks fab! You can read the full interview here, but below is a excerpt addressing her support for President Obama.

“I think it’s good that people are feeling so excited about our country right now and about our President because we are actually living in really tough times. And so I think this enthusiasm is really healthy because it’s going to allow us to all be a part of the solution — which has always been a part of his vision. I think he is an incredible leader. I think what he’s done just in the short time that he has been in office has been so inspiring. It’s pretty incredible. It makes me proud to be an American again.”

Milkin' it

There seems to be a lot of baby talk around me these days. I'm finally at the age (old) at which my friends are procreating with increasing frequency. (Judging by the profile pictures of my Facebook network, one would think that my friends are, on average, fourteen months old.) I never imagined that I would hear and talk so much about bellies, labour, breastfeeding, childcare, maternity leave, and much, much worse (and by "worse," I mean gorrier and more frightening). These discussions have been kept mostly between the girls, hence why I was a bit surprised to hear Zdenek say on Sunday that he, too, was lactating.

During the last two miles of our 10 miler on Sunday, Zdenek suddenly found some unusual reserve of energy and began to push the pace. I was still feeling the effects of the previous day's brick workout (or so I like to think), and so I told him to just go for it and meet me at the end. He took off more quickly than I had anticipated and I soon lost sight of him altogether. Later that evening, he told me that, while he felt good and was enjoying himself, he was actually lactating during those final two miles.

In fact, Zdenek meant to say that he was running at his lactate threshold pace, or the "running speed above which lactate (a by-product of glucose metabolism) begins to accumulate in your blood." He did not, I think, mean to imply that he was producing milk in any body part. After laughing at him (I mean, with him) for a good few minutes, we seriously pondered how one could properly convey that one was "running at LT pace." Lactating seems as good a word as any, really.

So yesterday, while running a very fast (for us) five miles, I asked, through shortened breaths, "You lactating yet?" "Yeah," he panted. "Me, too," I replied. Maybe some day that word will take on a different meaning (for me, at least; hopefully not for Zdenek), but for now, we are happy to be lactating together in our own, unique way.

25 New York minutes

Yesterday was a bit of a bummer. It was the hottest and stickiest day New York City has seen this summer, work went less than ideally, my next-door neighbor has bed bugs, and my entire evening was overshadowed by a dull, but definitely present, headache. As one friend, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, exclaimed, "Why does anyone live in this city?" But when asked where he'd rather live, he replied, "Nowhere. That's the problem!" It seems that every New Yorker, no matter how long they live here, has a love-hate relationship with what is simultaneously the greatest city in the world and the one most likely to cause you to die an early, stress-related death.

It was therefore with some trepidation that I headed back out on my bike this morning. The sticky air remained and my legs did not feel entirely refreshed from Day 35's rest, but at least the headache was gone and I hadn't spotted any bed bugs during the night. About one mile in, rounding the tight corner on the southeast bend of the Park (where I have seen at least one cyclist hauled away in an ambulance this year), I heard the whirr of a large pack of cyclists approaching from behind. I moved to the far side to let them pass. As they sped by me in a flurry of blue jerseys, Zdenek commanded, "Get on their wheels!" And so I did.

What happened next was a very challenging, but very rewarding, 10 miles. Zdenek and I rode smack in the middle of this peloton -- around the corners, up the hills, down the descents. It was somewhat nerve-wracking -- all those wheels spinning in such close proximity to one another -- but even more exhilarating. There was only one climb on which my husband sped away (leaving me to feel like poor Kloden on this year's Stage 17), but after a glance over his shoulder and no doubt a feeling of pity, he slowed down and then returned me to the peloton like the good domestique that he is. When we clocked our first loop in the fastest time I have ever posted (by a long shot!), the expression on my face was one of both surprise and thrill. Drafting off one husband is an advantage, but riding in a pack of talented riders is a treat. My little red Giant did not go unnoticed, either: one fellow cyclist rode up beside me to ask if my awesome paint job was customized, because he had never seen anything like it.

When we finally parted ways with our impromptu peloton and continued on our own for an easier 10 miles, I was relieved to see clearly the road in front of me and to not concentrate so hard on avoiding a fatal bump of tires (or worse). This sport may never make a racer out of me. But for 25 minutes this morning, I was thankful to live in New York City. Things may move very quickly here, but it's sometimes possible to keep up.

What Say We... Yay or Nay?!

Singer Solange Knowles Promote Samantha Thavasa & Disney Collection at Tokyo Disneyland Hotel on August 10, 2009 in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan.

The internet has been buzzing with the news/photos of Solange's new hair cut. Why did she chop all her hair off? Has she gone crazy? Did she do it because she's going bald underneath all that weave?! Sometimes there's no conspiracy. Nor no explanation needed. Here's a novel idea: maybe she just wanted a change. Either way, Solange has stepped out of her sister's shadow and displays the character and poise of a woman coming into her own. I say Yay to the hairstyle and, of course, the outfit. The jury is still out on the shoes...

Aileron Bellcrank Installation

Here is a view of the pilot's side installation of the aileron push tube, bracket and bell crank for a cut down keel installation. The instructions were a little confusion, but I found a picture of an installation and it helped a lot. When you see it laid out like this it is pretty simple. Make sure you trial fit everything in place before you permanently mount anything. Clamp everything in place as you go so that it doesn't shift. If one part changes, the relationship of everything else changes.

Clamp the bracket in place first, centering the torque tube in the hole in the wing root. Then, set up a 90 degree approach angle with the push tube to the bell crank. Fabricate the strap to hold the push tube and trial mount it. Then attach the pull tube to the strap and trial fit again. If you are a little off on the 90 degree approach angle, you can adjust it by moving the bracket a little fore and aft, the strap fore and aft, or even the bracket inboard and outboard.

Moving each a little will allow you to get it just so. Once you do, start drilling and mounting permanently.

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Here is the copilot's side. I got 2 1/2 inches up and down travel at the trailing edge of each aileron. I also got a lot of skinned knuckles. This is one of those deals where you have to reach up and around corners through lots of sharp and pointy stuff. Again, this will teach you patience (and refresh your repertoire of profanity).