What if male superheros posed like their female counterparts?
Well... I'd probably watch more cartoons ;)
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Friday, June 21, 2013
Well, That Doesn't Make a Whole Lot of Sense: Second Edition
And now, eight things we eat in the US that are illegal elsewhere for the known effects they have on humans. The title is a bit of a misnomer since they're ingredients that are in many foods, so it isn't just eight items to avoid. Damn. That woulda' been easy! (Note: this list is likely not exhaustive.)
One of the most poignant lines in Eating Animals is when Jonathon Safran Foer says that when we grocery shop, we all "farm by proxy".
That is, you (along with all of the other consumers in that grocery store and in grocery stores everywhere) tell the government, farmers, and all of the middle people along the food supply chain, what you will and will not accept as food that you want to consume and feed the people you love. You tell them what you consider acceptable treatment of huge swaths of our environment, millions of animals, and thousands of people who work on these farms or in these manufacturing plants. Thinking about your choice as impacting the world on such a large scale gets a little (lot) daunting, but it's true.
We can't always get to the point of wanting to buy the organic strawberries instead of the normal ones with the difference in environmental effects far away, the difference in health benefits marginal, and the difference in price point staring us in the face. But what we can, and should, do is hold our government to protecting us from chemicals and additives that 1) are not even necessary and 2) other countries have extensively studied and decided to ban.
C'mon US FDA, you can do better than this.
One of the most poignant lines in Eating Animals is when Jonathon Safran Foer says that when we grocery shop, we all "farm by proxy".
That is, you (along with all of the other consumers in that grocery store and in grocery stores everywhere) tell the government, farmers, and all of the middle people along the food supply chain, what you will and will not accept as food that you want to consume and feed the people you love. You tell them what you consider acceptable treatment of huge swaths of our environment, millions of animals, and thousands of people who work on these farms or in these manufacturing plants. Thinking about your choice as impacting the world on such a large scale gets a little (lot) daunting, but it's true.
We can't always get to the point of wanting to buy the organic strawberries instead of the normal ones with the difference in environmental effects far away, the difference in health benefits marginal, and the difference in price point staring us in the face. But what we can, and should, do is hold our government to protecting us from chemicals and additives that 1) are not even necessary and 2) other countries have extensively studied and decided to ban.
C'mon US FDA, you can do better than this.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Lucky Smacks
Sometimes, life smacks you over the head and reminds you how lucky you are. It has been a month (and change) of relentless "lucky smacks" for my family. The visual of a giant hand (the Life Hand, duh!) coming down from the sky to lucky smack me, only for me to look up and thank it for lucky smacking me has me silently laughing at my desk. Seriously, just think about that for a second.
Okay, moving on. Obviously, there have definitely been some difficult days, as there usually are, but somehow they seem to fade into the background of all the awesomeness.
Since May 1...
1. Grandma turned 90. How cute is she?!
2. My parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. How cute are they?!
3. My brother and I got our Masters of Science and Public Health, respectively.
4. One cousin graduated from law school just in time to study for the bar - good luck Ry!
5. Three cousins finished high school and are onto big adventures!
6. One cousin got married.
7. Another cousin and his wife welcomed their first daughter.
What lucky smacks have you had recently? Seriously, try to pick out a few... it's good for you.
Okay, moving on. Obviously, there have definitely been some difficult days, as there usually are, but somehow they seem to fade into the background of all the awesomeness.
Since May 1...
1. Grandma turned 90. How cute is she?!
4. One cousin graduated from law school just in time to study for the bar - good luck Ry!
5. Three cousins finished high school and are onto big adventures!
6. One cousin got married.
7. Another cousin and his wife welcomed their first daughter.
What lucky smacks have you had recently? Seriously, try to pick out a few... it's good for you.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
To Swim, or Not to Swim? That is not the question...
On Saturday, I woke up at 5:25am (after a considerable bit of accidental "Snooze"ing) to race into Boston with Ben and volunteer at the Charles River Swimming Club Annual One Mile Swim in the Charles.
Yes, I do mean the Charles River.
First, I helped mark their arms and hands with waterproof, permanent markers, so we could identify swimmers to the lifeguards on the dock and in nearby kayaks and boats if they were having trouble. Then, a few of us donned life jackets and jumped into kayaks to ensure the safe passage of swimmers around the buoys.
Between watching for straggling swimmers and unaware boats, I took in how beautiful the river is in the morning. It's peaceful, since most of the city is still sleeping or enjoying a cup of coffee in their pajamas at 8am on a Saturday morning. The water sparkles, small waves causing the sunlight to twinkle and dance on the ripples made by small gusts of wind and one hundred eager, rubber capped swimmers. The city views are unique and somehow manage to be simultaneously homey and magnificent with the Charles in the foreground.
Both before and after the race, I heard people on either side of the "To Swim or Not to Swim?" debate. Exhilarated swimmers said it was beautiful; experienced boaters were skeptical.
The point isn't whether or not you'd swim in it - it's that this is our small piece of the environment which has been rather mistreated throughout history. Lots of different sorts of waste were purposely dumped into the river in the past, and it's slowly improved in recent years.
Swimming in the Charles, whether or not you personally would do it, represents a few things - trust in the chemical standards that our government agencies have set for classification of water as boatable, swimmable, drinkable and so on; a personal investment in continuously improving our local environments and public spaces; and of course, a love for that not so dirty water.
Yes, I do mean the Charles River.
First, I helped mark their arms and hands with waterproof, permanent markers, so we could identify swimmers to the lifeguards on the dock and in nearby kayaks and boats if they were having trouble. Then, a few of us donned life jackets and jumped into kayaks to ensure the safe passage of swimmers around the buoys.
Between watching for straggling swimmers and unaware boats, I took in how beautiful the river is in the morning. It's peaceful, since most of the city is still sleeping or enjoying a cup of coffee in their pajamas at 8am on a Saturday morning. The water sparkles, small waves causing the sunlight to twinkle and dance on the ripples made by small gusts of wind and one hundred eager, rubber capped swimmers. The city views are unique and somehow manage to be simultaneously homey and magnificent with the Charles in the foreground.
Both before and after the race, I heard people on either side of the "To Swim or Not to Swim?" debate. Exhilarated swimmers said it was beautiful; experienced boaters were skeptical.
The point isn't whether or not you'd swim in it - it's that this is our small piece of the environment which has been rather mistreated throughout history. Lots of different sorts of waste were purposely dumped into the river in the past, and it's slowly improved in recent years.
Swimming in the Charles, whether or not you personally would do it, represents a few things - trust in the chemical standards that our government agencies have set for classification of water as boatable, swimmable, drinkable and so on; a personal investment in continuously improving our local environments and public spaces; and of course, a love for that not so dirty water.
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