acta est fabula plaudite

The anti-saturated fat spin machine continues to roll along. Thursday morning, Good Morning America reported on a paper by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/WellnessNews/americas-favorite-movie-snacks-thumbs/story?id=9119503). The paper (found here: http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/nahpopcorn.pdf) focused on movie theater cuisine, primarily the theater staple of popcorn as well as snack foods.

in fine

The results are finally in and my official time from last weekend's 5K Run for Wellness was 26:04. Someone even managed to snap this photo of a staff member and me just before the finish line:

si vales bene est

This week's big medical news has been the change in recommendations for women getting mammograms (http://www.wtop.com/?nid=106&sid=1814506). I realize that being male means I am completely unqualified to discuss this subject. Therefore, I will do my best to refrain from opinion. Simply allow me to make two points:

quod me nutrit me destruit

Allow me to start with this premise: I have a problem with the fact that a person can buy a couple fast food cheeseburgers for under a dollar, but to get the same number of calories from vegetables costs several times more. I think that speak volumes of the problems in this country, and leads us to ask why is bad food so cheap and good food so expensive?

mala fide

Congratulations go to Bill Gates for placing himself squarely back on my hit list. Those who have known me at least for several years know that I used to think of Microsoft as the antichrist of technology. Then as I started trying to be healthier I realized that Microsoft was just small change compared to agribusiness. At that point I stopped caring about Microsoft. It was not that Microsoft got any better; rather I picked different battles.

non loqui sed facere

Last week I was riding home from work on the bus when I had the opportunity to overhear a conversation between a young man and young woman behind me. Amazingly, as dense as I am about such matters, it was obviously to me within the first couple of minutes that this young man was trying to pick up his seat mate. The reason for this post is the part of this exchange that made me cringe.

What I want to do is give my female readers a brief glimpse into the male mind, as scary as that might be.

virtus tentamine gaudet

For those of you who are in the area, there is still time to join me Sunday for the Run for Wellness at the Holton-Arms School (http://www.holton-arms.edu/page.cfm?p=1609). This will be my second attempt at a 5K. Wish me well.

sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas

Last week I wrote about the tainted beef episode. Here is what scares me: Over the last several years we have seen food safety as a whole crumbling before our eyes. Nearly everyone in this county has been affected by some food recall or has gotten sick because of poorly processed food. The FDA has for some time been pushing irradiation has a means to supposedly increase safety and has been expanding its use (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/health/policy/22spinach.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin).

vox clamantis in deserto

This weekend I was reminded of a George Carlin sketch that I think is appropriate for this year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnmMNdiCz_s&feature=player_embedded. Thank you Mike for sharing this.

cuiusvis hominis est errare, nullius nisi insipientis in errore perseverare

Late in October, the NY Daily News reported this article about the dangerous side effects of the flu vaccine: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2009/10/30/2009-10-30_sorry_bout_the_shot_public_school_nurses_give_swine_flu_vaccine_to_kids_without_.html. The point I want to make is the almost maniacal quest of public officials to vaccinate everyone. In this particular case the mistake seems innocent enough, as innocent as a medical accident can get. This is an example of too many people not paying attention while doing something that is arguably more dangerous than they would like to admit.

corpus vile

Anyone who was awake this past weekend knows that the U.S. House passed its version of the health care reform bill (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/07/AR2009110701504.html?referrer=emailarticle). The bill narrowly passed on a 220-215 vote, which included near unanimous opposition from Republican members. This is hardly what I would call bipartisan action. Only time will tell how this schism will play out in Congress.

nunc est bibendum

This morning's Washington Post included the article "Industry pushes chocolate milk in schools." The article describes the new "Raise Your Hand For Chocolate Milk" campaign, which is brought to us by the same people who asked us "Got milk?"

cui bono

Last week the Parent's Television Council requested CW Network affiliates to preempt the 9 November episode of Gossip Girl (http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/news/release/2009/1104.asp). I find myself asking: "Why?" Never forget that the CW Network and it affiliates are businesses with a bottom line goal to make their stockholders money. If that includes showing programming that might not meet the standards of some, then so be it. I am not passing judgement on the decision one way or another, rather, I am simply stating the facts.

tu quoque

Can someone please explain to me when did Jay Leno contract Brett Favre syndrome? http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=NTY3MzQyOQ==.

ubi dubium ibi libertas

The biggest lesson I want people to get out of this blog is this:

Think for yourself.
Question what you read and hear.
Decide for yourself whether or not what is going on is good for you, your family, and your community.
Be accountable for your actions.

alterum non laedere

Three days ago we were greeted with another example of the failings of the big agriculture industry, http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=NTY0MTE2OQ==. My heart goes out to those who were sickened or killed by this event.

What I wanted to say is that this is another reason I only trust my food when I can talk with the hard working people who raised it. In fact, I trust my local farmers enough that I would eat their products raw and I would not worry about catching any disease.

ex opere operantis

With all of this talk about government budgets and how to make ends meet, I had an epiphany: The government should not have jailed Bernie Madoff; it should have hired him to run Social Security. Think about it, that is all Social Security really is, a humongous ponzi scheme, one that is sanctioned by our federal government. First, it takes money from one group to pay another. Second, it is a house of cards ready to fall at any moment. And that is just one federal program that moves large sums of money around. What better manager could there be than an accomplished multi-billion dollar criminal? He would probably run the Treasury better than the current administration. At least Madoff paid taxes on his legitimate gains.

mens sana in corpore sano

I am glad to finally see some vindication for my pro-vitamin D stance: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE59S4JB20091029?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews. I have said before that vitamin D is far more important for our health than current medical wisdom would like to admit.