Election Insanity

Hi my friends, I'm sorry it's been ridiculously long since I've put anything up here. The start of school is always disastrous for my free time.

Well, if you have any free time, check out these two sites...Put Your Party on Your Face and 7-Election.com Both are EXTREMELY unscientific polls about the upcoming presidential election. Watch out for the posts on the first site. There are some wacky folks out there. Don't get too caught up. It's probably better to do something more productive than read that nonsense.

Let me know what you think.

Well, it's happened again...

I've run out of time in all of my classes. I can't fit nearly anything of what I need to do into the ridiculously short amount of time that I have. 40 minutes??? Are they crazy??

I didn't get a chance to show my gov students the electoral college website, electoral-vote.com. And, I didn't get to review the Week In Pictures from the MSNBC site. Go, check em out.... don't worry... I'll be here when you get back.

Also (!!!!), I never got a chance to discuss with my little cherubs the Vanity Fair New Establishment List. I'd love to hear your observations about the list. Do you think they picked the correct person for #1? I wonder how it compares to earlier years.

OH!!! I almost forgot!!! The Rubin Museum of Art of the Himalayas is having a series of public performances of Bhutanese dancing. The last day of the performances is Sunday, September 21st. GO!!! It's going to be so cool. (And, if it isn't, at least you tried!!!)

Enjoy!!!

Mongolian Field Hockey

Enough said.

There's too much to say about the Olympics. WAY too much. So... here's a brief review...

1. Michael Phelps for President.

2. China has an approved list of cheers for spectators. Try to imagine what might happen if the US government tried to impose an approved list of cheers on Jets fans. (Having been a season ticket holder, I can speak from proud, grueling, foul-mouthed experience.) It wouldn't be pretty.

3. Iceland may win a gold medal in Handball. They've never won a gold medal before. Eric Weiner's book The Geography of Bliss argues that part of the reason why Icelanders are so happy is because everyone is mediocre. You can try anything and not have to worry about being bad at it. While Americans have to be the best(!), Icelanders can simply be. I wonder if this gold medal will mess that all up by raising the bar for them and making all the mediocre people feel bad.

4. Oh, I forgot, Michael Phelps isn't old enough. Dara Torres for President.

So Cool!!!!!

Yesterday afternoon, I spoke to Emily Dixon, a volunteer at Kiva. WOW!!!!! Kiva is developing a curriculum for high school students, and they want some of my ideas. Yeah!! I don't know if they'll use any of them, but if I can help in any way, I will be over the moon. So, I'm off to do that, then we McCabes will be at the beach for about two weeks. So, I may not post for a while. Sorry!!! (Yippee!!! Kiva!!! Yeah!!!)

More Top Tens

Top 10 Calorie Consumers

1. USA 3,744.1
2. Portugal 3,740.9
3. Greece 3,721.1
4. Austria 3,673.3
5. Italy 3,670.6
6. Israel 3,666.1
7. Ireland 3,656.4
8. France 3,653.9
9. Canada 3,589.3
10. Malta 3,586.9

World Average 2,804.4

This, again, comes from Russell Ash's The Top 10 of Everything 2007. He added this comment, one of very few commentaries posted in the book:

"The Calorie requirement of the average man is 2,700 and of a woman 2,500. Inactive people need less, while those engaged in heavy labor require more. The countries in the top 10, as well as many others, are consuming over 30 percent more than they need -- hence the rise of obesity and related medical problems. However, the Calorie consumption of over 10 of the poorest African nations falls below 2,000, with Eritrea's average of 1,512.8 standing at just 40 percent of the figure for the USA."

More to follow...

Scary Business

This next series of posts is inspired by what I saw in the stands at the Mets game.

We'll start with this series of Top 10 lists found in The Top 10 of Everything 2007 by Russell Ash:

Top 10 Countries for Global Sales of Fast Food

1. USA 148,612,900,000
2. Japan 13,875,100,000
3. Canada 12,709,900,000
4. UK 12,062,400,000
5. China 9,765,000,000
6. South Korea 9,249,100,000
7. Germany 7,367,900,000
8. Australia 5,685,300,000
9. Brazil 4,967,300,000
10. India 4,914,700,000

Top 10 Fast Food Companies for Global Sales

1. McDonalds $45,933,000,000
2. Yum! Brands (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut) 24,418,000,000
3. Burger King 11,100,000,000
4. Wendy's International 10,200,000,000
5. Doctor's Associates (Subway) 6,523,000,000
6. Darden Restaurants 4,655,000,000
7. Domino's Pizza 4,193,000,000
8. Brinker International 3,807,000,000
9. Applebee's International 3,593,000,000
10. Starbucks 3,450,000,000

My Mistake

Small World.

Dan Koeppel, the author of Banana; The Fate of the Fruit That Shaped the World contacted me to say, "I'm not sketchy! Really!"

It seems I made a mistake in last post about Bananas. Koeppel's book was published before Chapman's book, and the two apparently cover different ground. As I've said before, Koeppel's book looks great, and his website is delicious. Check it out.

Let's go Mets!!!

I've only been to Shea once this year, but what a day to go!! Holy cow! What a great game!!!

IT WAS AWESOME.

It may have been the best game ever. One to one through most of the game, complete pitcher's duel, Ryan Howard struck out twice, Aaron Heilman NOT losing the game for Perez, Reyes stealing, Delgado getting a hit in the bottom of the 8th, Billy Wagner closing it out with just a little drama, perfect weather, no drunk fans, a thousand kids in identical t-shirts from their day camps, quick game, BOTH of my kids scoring the game through 9 innings!!!!! WOW.

Oh, and I forgot... The Mets and the Phillies are vying for first place in the division! Bliss. Pure bliss. Great fielding, great pitching, perfect clutch hitting. What a day.

Bananas

Dan Koeppel may have written a great book about bananas, but he's a little late. Earlier in the year, Peter Chapman wrote "Bananas; How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World." (Koeppel seems to have swiped Chapman's title, and that makes Koeppel look a bit sketchy, but it may not have been his decision. Publishers sometimes determine the titles of books.)

I LOVE THIS BOOK. It's phenomenal. It tells the history of the United Fruit Company, and, trust me, it's not pretty. There's a ton of intrigue -- the coup in Guatemala, nasty business in Honduras, Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, right-wing Colombian death squads -- and so much fun. The writing is brilliant and clear and you will want to drop everything to continue reading. (My children have learned how to cook dinner for themselves...just kidding.)

The one down side is that Chapman is so brilliant that he assumes that his readers know a great deal about American history. I do, so that's not a problem, but most Americans don't. If John Foster Dulles doesn't immediately ring a bell, you may miss a great deal of the import of this work. Read it anyway. You'll learn something.

Bored?

Then, check this out: Gigapan

"Why Didn't We Think of That?"

Today's New York Times has a great article about Kung Fu Panda, the animated movie 'starring' Jack Black. (Have you seen that? I liked it more than I thought I would. I really enjoyed the cognitive dissonance created by hearing Dustin Hoffman in the role of an animated Kung Fu master. He's come so far since The Graduate.)

Apparently, people in China were trying to boycott the movie since the American movie industry had co-opted and commercialized the panda, a Chinese national symbol.

The boycott failed. The movie is a hit.

In light of that success, people in China are now wondering why the Americans made a panda movie before the Chinese did. The lesson they are drawing from the movie is that "a movie like 'Kung Fu Panda' could have been produced only in an atmosphere of cultural and artistic freedom that China doesn't enjoy." If the government doesn't like your work, it doesn't get made. In addition, the government gives extremely specific instructions on what should be produced and how it should look.

Ugh.

For the millionth time, I will tell you... Be extremely thankful that you live here. Even our worst critics prefer to stay.

Whoops.

Apparently, we could be doing a much better job taking care of ourselves. The American Human Development report ranks the United States as the 12th wealthiest country in the world, but we only rank 42nd (!!!) in the world for life expectancy, despite spending more on health care per person than any other country.

The good news is that our life expectancy has increased four times since 1960, but the bad news is that we could be living a lot longer. The report cited obesity and the lack of health insurance for 47 million Americans as the "most significant factors in premature death." If we had the infant mortality rate of Sweden (figures Sweden would be in first-place), 20,000 fewer infants would die every year.

The report also tracked the differences between regions in the United States, and, sadly, Mississippi ranked at the bottom of the list of states. The people in the worst districts in the United States are 30 years behind the living standards achieved by people in the wealthiest regions. The good news is that the best region in the United States is the Northeast. We have more money, more education, and longer life-expectancy than people in any other region. (Whew!! At least, there's a silver lining!)

Why not go to both?

The new Batman movie is out today, so, after you see it, why not follow it up with a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan? They have a special exhibit on superheroes, paying close attention to the (er) fashion (?) associated with them.

After you stroll through that exhibit, have lunch on the roof among the Jeff Koons sculptures,and then check out the rooms dedicated to "Krishna: Mythology and Worship." But, you better hurry, the Krishna exhibit closes on July 28th.

There's also a special exhibit (open until August 10th) on Pop Art, featuring works by Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, James Rosenquist, Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselmann, Joe Brainard, Jim Dine, Richard Lindner, and Wayne Thiebaud.

Taj Mahal and the Skatalites are playing a free concert at Central Park Summerstage on the 27th. The Met in the morning, the Park all afternoon, stopping at the many different ice cream stands which abound in the park... Sounds like the perfect day, doesn't it? (Watch, it'll rain!)

National Aquatics Center

Have you seen this? How cool is that!!

From what I've read, the National Aquatics Center in Beijing is not only incredibly cool looking, it's also environmentally prudent. The bubbles are made of an extremely light material, reducing the need for steel in the frame. It's much less expensive than glass. Plus, it's probably easier to keep cool. The roof can collect rainwater and pool water and the venue can save 140,000 tons of recycled water every year.

Check it out from the inside: I hope NBC spends some time describing the building in between races. What is it, three weeks until the Olympics?

Eight Intriguing Burial Sites and Traditions

1. Burial of the Sardine; Spain. This comes at the end of Spain's Carnival celebration. One of the lighter burial ceremonies.

2. Bone House; Hallstatt, Austria. Due to a lack of space, the Austrians remove the skulls of the buried, paint them, and put them on show.

3. Hanging Coffins; Sagada, Luzon Island, Philippines. Also found in China and Indonesia, this practice entails putting the deceased in coffins and "burying" them in caves high in the cliffs.

4. Lemo Burial Site; Tana Toraja, Indonesia. Again, the dead are buried in cliffs, but the mouths of the cliffs are decorated with hundreds of dolls. (Creepy...)

5. Sky Burial; Tibet. For the Tibetan people, a sky burial was common practice. The deceased was left out in the open for hovering vultures as a gesture of charity. (Gee, thanks.)

6. Sunken Cemetery; Camiguin, Philippines. The city of Camiguin and its cemetery sits under the sea, after volcanic activity pushed it offshore. Its location underwater is marked by an enormous cross. This for the scuba-diving set.

7. Nazca Mummies; Nazca, Peru. Nazca mummies can be seen in the Atacama desert. "Propped up as if welcoming their visitors, they wear their hair long, thought to have once been a significant status symbol."

8. Rock Tombs; Myra, Turkey. 2,000 years old, the sides of mountains have dozens of tombs cut into them, making the rock wall look like the side of a castle.

I found this list on msnbc.com, although the article was produced by Reuters and it credits VirtualTourist.com as the true source. Reuters said that it does not "endorse" this list. What does that mean? Do they think there's a better list of burial tourism sites? Is there going to be an election in November to pick the best list?

But, my real question is, who would make their vacation plans revolve around burial sites??

Holy Cow!

Did you see this?????

Josh Hamilton hit a record 28 home runs during last night's Home Run Derby. Each one was more spectacular than the last. But what I loved was the story of the guy doing the pitching.

Clay Council is 71 years old, and first pitched batting practice to Hamilton during Little League. Every pitch was right down the middle, a little high, and fast enough to get out of the ballpark in a hurry.

According to WRAL.com, a radio station out of western North Carolina:

"Three weeks ago, Council got a call from the Texas Ranger with an invitation to pitch to Josh in Monday night's Home Run Derby in Yankee Stadium. "I want you to throw," Hamilton stated.

Council's reply, "I'm available!"

But first he wanted Josh to clear it with the Texas Rangers and Major League Baseball.

"At my age I didn't think the teams or major league would let you. I might have a stroke out there, a heart attack, fall dead," Council joked."

Everything turned out fine. Hamilton set a record with 28 home-runs in the first round. Council didn't die. And, more importantly, Hamilton spent another day sober.

My favorite moment might have been when that little kid asked for Hamilton's autograph in the middle of the first round. What a hoot.

Lessons in Love

In The New York Times, Ben Stein has a piece about the Economics of Love.

One highlight:

"Have a dog or many dogs or cats in your life. These are your anchors to windward and your unfailing source of love. Ben Franklin summed it up well. In times of stress, the three best things to have are an old dog, an old wife and ready money. How right he was."

This Can't Be Real, Can It?

There I am, reading the news, and I find a headline that looks interesting. It reads, "Microwave Ray Gun Controls Crowds with Noise." Not being a fan of excessive noise, I think, this sounds like an interesting concept -- make an environment inhospitable by blasting unpleasant sounds. Okay. This goes along with the time the American government tried to get Manuel Noriega out of his house by blasting rock music.

I start reading.

I immediately become horrified.

The article does not describe a sound outside that makes people unhappy and interested in running away. It's a sound inside their heads. The article begins, "A US company claims it is ready to build a microwave ray gun able to beam sounds directly into people's heads."

It continues, "The device – dubbed MEDUSA (Mob Excess Deterrent Using Silent Audio) – exploits the microwave audio effect, in which short microwave pulses rapidly heat tissue, causing a shockwave inside the skull that can be detected by the ears. A series of pulses can be transmitted to produce recognisable sounds."

Apparently, "The device is aimed for military or crowd-control applications, but may have other uses."

Gee, ya think?

Also, if a microwave pulse can "rapidly heat tissue" and cause a shockwave inside the skull, can't it also cause serious damage? James Lin of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Illinois in Chicago says, "You might see neural damage."

Huh.

This can't be real, can it?

Buzkashi

The national sport of Afghanistan.

Sepak Takraw

Otherwise known as Shaolin Soccer, Sepak Takraw is a sport that originated in Southeast Asia, although it may have had a Chinese precursor. It's a combination of volleyball and soccer, played with a net and a rattan ball.

In Bangkok, there's an ancient mural depicting a sepak takraw game between the Hindu god Hanuman and a troop of monkeys. Thailand hosts the World Championships every year, and this match is the Doubles match between Thailand and Laos from 2007. I like this video for the music and the super slo-mos. It's slow to start, you have to give it about a minute before it starts to get interesting. You may not believe what you see.

Tomorrow...buzkhazi.

Unfamiliar Territory

I'm off in unfamiliar territory -- British history. I just finished a book called The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale. It's great, you have to read it. The subtitle of the book is "A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective." It's essentially a murder mystery in the style of the classic "country house" crime -- a bunch of people are at a house in the middle of nowhere, someone is killed, and one of the people at the house is the culprit. The detective just has to figure out whose story doesn't wash. It's like the game Clue, only in a spooky British setting. It's a true story, did I mention that? Summerscale not only describes the crime but also includes a ton of literary references which show that Victorian England was fascinated with crimes and the detectives who solved them. She includes details of other crimes that happened at the same time. Grisly stuff. Very fun to read.

I've just started reading The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodward. Apparently, there was a brief time in the early 1700s when pirates had a sizable amount of territory in the Caribbean that they fashioned into an independent nation. Their rule was more egalitarian and democratic than the other Western civilizations represented in the area, and they became the heroes of sailors throughout the British empire. I've only just started the book, but it's very good.

I'm also working on The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. (It is so nice to be at the pool now that my kids can really swim!!!) So far, I've read the chapters on Holland, Switzerland, Bhutan, Qatar, and Iceland. The author is trying to figure out where people are the happiest, and why. So far, he's revealed that wealthy people are marginally happier than poor people, but wealth is defined as having more than $15,000/year. Healthy people are somewhat happier than sick people, but not always. Lottery winners -- after a few years -- are less happy than people who have become disabled. Culture matters when it comes to being happy. So does work (not so much leisure -- that doesn't make people happy if they have too much of it). Religion matters, sometimes. Feeling connected is the best way to be happy. You have to feel connected to your family, your friends, your country, your creative and productive capabilities, your purpose in life, your surroundings, your government, everything. Marriage makes people happy, but children are a wash as they provide joy but also unparalleled amounts of stress and anxiety.

I'm also reading (if you can believe it) a book on auditory hallucinations. It's by Daniel B. Smith and it's called Muses, Madmen and Prophets; Rethinking the History, Science and Meaning of Auditory Hallucinations. Smith's father heard voices all his life and kept it to himself, thinking it was a terrible secret. His grandfather, however, heard voices all HIS life, but thought they were pleasant company. ((I guess it depends what kind of voices they are.)) Smith's contention is that voices used to be understood to be messages from God. Now, they are a sign of a pathological condition that requires immediate pharmaceutical attention. Hmm.

Plus, I've just started Steve Coll's The Bin Ladens. It's very good. I just don't like how it ends.

Hunger For Freedom

There's a new way to look at South Africa's history... through food. Anna Trapido has written "Hunger for Freedom; The Story of Food in the Life of Nelson Mandela." The book is one part biography and one part cookbook. It includes the Madiba's favorite recipes as well as details about key diplomatic meetings that took place over meals.

I was struck by one tidbit that appeared in the press releases surrounding the book... sour milk.

One of the things that Mandela wanted while he was in jail was sour milk. Apparently, that's the preferred taste of milk for people in some African communities.

After he was released from prison, Mandela was staying with a white friend in South Africa, and he put the milk outside over night to "ripen." The friend's servants wondered why their employer was making "their milk." They didn't realize that Mandela was a guest in the house.

Then, What, Exactly, Are They?

A High Court judge in England has ruled that Pringles are, in fact, not potato chips.

I'm not kidding.

What adds to the weirdness is that this is exactly what the producers of Pringles were hoping the judge would decide.

Turns out, if Pringles were potato chips, they would be subject to a 17.5% tax, Britain's value-added tax. The producers of Pringles were hoping to avoid this tax because it would make their product more expensive and, therefore, less attractive to the British consumers. The Pringles lawyers (and I can't believe someone got paid a ton of money to do this) argued that since Pringles had a "mouth melt" taste, "regular color" and "uniform shape" that is "not found in nature," they could not be taxed.

The real key to their argument, however, was that Pringles are less than 42% potato. (What, exactly, is the other 58%???)

They actually make Pringles from a batter. (Ew.) This, technically, makes Pringles mini-mini-mini-deep-fried-cakes.

Excuse the pun, but what really has me fried about this is the profound lack of logic in the British tax code. Why do they tax potatoes but not cake? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Is the tax applied in inverse proportion to the nutritional value of the food item? Isn't that somewhat problematic? Are they trying to make their people fat?

But this is their game...

Ping-Pong.

((Or, should I say Table Tennis?))

This will be the game to watch as it will carry some pretty heavy political overtones. Apparently, Taiwan has a chance to challenge mainland China at its own game. That would be huge!

Do you remember learning about how Taiwan broke from China during the Civil War, and how mainland China wants Taiwan back? Could you imagine trying to retain your independence by staring down China?????

By the time the two nations face each other across the Ping-Pong table, they will have already weathered the controversy surrounding the name of Taiwan. Apparently, Taiwan would like to be called Zhonghua Taipei, while the Chinese officials would prefer to call them Zhongguo Taipei. The difference translates roughly to the difference between "The Republic of Taipei," and "China's Taipei." There's going to be all manner of funny business regarding what the announcers call the athletes, trash-talking between the athletes, and how they are introduced during the opening ceremonies. Apparently, if the Taiwanese get their way, they will march near the athletes of Tanzania. If the Chinese get their way, the Taiwanese will march with the Central African Republic.

Such drama.

Let the games begin.

It is our game...*

You HAVE to read this article in the New York Times about the Chinese Olympic baseball team. Some highlights...

1. China automatically gets a baseball team in the Olympics because it is the host country.

2. Baseball isn't hugely popular in China, perhaps because Chairman Mao banned it because it was too Western.

3. The Chinese government won't pay for coaches because the team isn't going to win.

4. Major League Baseball decided to pay for coaches of the Chinese Olympic team because they'd like to get 1.3 billion Chinese fans for baseball.

5. Baseball will no longer be an Olympic sport after 2008, unless the International Olympic Committee reinstates it.

6. The baseball stadium built for the 2008 games will be torn down after the games. (What a waste!!!)

7. The Chinese coach, Jim Lefebvre, a former MLB manager, once played the role of a cannibal on Gilligan's Island.

8. Lefebvre said it took him a long time to explain to his players that they couldn't smile after striking out.

And it gets better and better after that. Wow.

*The title is from a quote at the end of Bull Durham. The line is "Walt Whitman once said, "'I see great things in baseball. It's our game, the American game. It will repair our losses and be a blessing to us.'" I don't know if that's an actual Whitman quote, but it's a good one.

As Promised...

...I have a bunch of stuff to post about sports & games.

First off, did you see the article about the unruly mah-jongg enthusiasts in Osaka, Japan? Mah-jongg is a tile game which can either be played on your computer like solitaire or against another person. It turns out that the prefectural government in Japan constructed a facility for playing mah-jongg (like the chess tables in some parks in NYC) and then handed over the key to the facility to some guy who said he'd take care of it. Well, he has. He has turned the facility into a private club for his friends and he doesn't let anyone else in. The people of Osaka would like to use the park they paid to create, but the man now says he gave the key to a friend, and he'll try to get it back. Soon. Very soon.

Secondly, there was an article in ABC News about how the US government gave $500,000 to a program that intends to solve gang violence through the promotion of golf. Think about that for a moment. Let it seep through your brain. Picture what that would look like. Now, try to answer some questions...

1) Where are the kids going to play?
2) How would they be received by the other patrons of the courses they visited?
3) Is there a game more impossible to learn?
4) Why would you give troubled kids golf clubs with which they could beat each other?
5) If, and this is a BIG IF, you got a kid hooked on golf so much that he was willing to forgo his gang-violence-related-lifestyle...how would he pay to join a country club, travel there, get his own set of clubs, travel to tournaments, etc.??? Wouldn't you just be setting him (or her) up for more disappointment??

If you go to the website, you'll see there's more to the story, but I don't want to get into that here. (Short story: politics. Big surprise.)

Third, there was a little article in the New York Times about a case involving "spin rage." Turns out, two men were in a spin class and one was a grunter. During class he grunted at each breath and repeatedly shouted things like "you go girl." (To whom, exactly, I don't know.) Another man asked the instructor twice to get the grunter to be quiet. The grunter refused. Finally, the other man gets fed up, goes up to the grunter, and flips his bike over, knocking the man to the ground.

The grunter spent the next two weeks in the hospital, and the city of New York charged the other man with assault. A jury found him not guilty. It just so happens that New Yorkers, known around the world as some of the rudest people on earth, have standards for behavior in public. Unnecessary grunting will not be tolerated. (Especially, "you go girl"!!!) Another reason for the acquittal may have been that the grunter was really not that pleasant of an individual. Even the prosecutor trying his case described told the jury that he was " probably not someone 'you would want to hang out with regularly.'"

So, there you are.

More later.

Ew.

We talked a lot about how air pollution in China might affect the Olympics, but we didn't talk too much about the pollution in the water.

You probably assumed (as I did) that the Olympic athletes would be bringing their own drinking water, but they can't bring enough for sailing. It turns out that there's too much algae in the water and the sailing events won't be able to go on unless there's a massive clean-up effort. So, students and others are volunteering to shovel the algae out of the water and cart it away to be fed to pigs and other animals. The New York Times reports that although human and agricultural waste often produces "red tides" of algae blooms, this green algae is most likely the result of increased rainfall and warmer than average temperatures.

Whew!!

Our last loan was finally raised!! Abavi, pictured here, didn't raise all of her loan until yesterday. I was getting worried! I guess she got lost in the 500+ loans. But, she made it.

I still don't know what happens if a loan is not raised. I'll look into it.

We loaned our money on June 10th, and some people got their money that night, so we should start to get repayments next week. You can check the lender page for progress reports, too, if you'd like.

Locavores

If you're at all tuned in to the discussion of global warming, you will know that one of the issues being bandied about is the amount of greenhouse gases produced by the transportation of food.

Think Fiji Water.

If you drink water from the faucet in your kitchen, almost no greenhouse gases are involved. (There's a tiny bit of energy involved in either the washing of the cup that you use or the creation of the paper cup that you throw out later.)

However, if opt for a bottle of Fiji Water instead, then you have an entirely different situation. Your water is encased in a bottle made from petroleum products. The water has been shipped from the other side of the planet through the burning of a ridiculous amount of fuel. And, the bottle will almost never decompose, although you could recycle it. But, recycling means a big truck comes to your house, burning fuel, and carries the bottle to a recycling plant where even more energy is harnessed to convert your bottle back into something usable.

So, tons of people promote the idea of being a "locavore," someone who eats and drinks what she can find locally. Local foods use less fuel to transport them to your house, reducing your carbon footprint.

The New York Times has a great column called Freakonomics, and one of its authors devoted some time to this issue. It turns out, there may be another side to this story. It might be better (and more efficient) to allow food to be grown throughout the world and shipped over long distances.

Think apple juice. Yes, you could probably plant apple trees in your backyard and make your own apple juice. But, how much would the tree cost? How much would an apple press cost? How much time would it take you to create the juice? How much juice would you have when you were done? How much money would you waste in the process? Wouldn't it be better to buy apple juice at the grocery store, and give all the money you could have spent to an organization promoting awareness of climate change, if that was your concern?

Plus, there's the taste thing. Your own apple juice might be really sour. (Have you ever tried Fiji Water? It's remarkably good for something that's not supposed to have any taste.)

Most decisions regarding climate change boil down to a cost-benefit analysis. What is the cost of your decision? How much benefit will you enjoy from your decision? If the water tastes great, that's a benefit to you, but if it contributes to the warming of the planet, then it may turn out to cost you. (Think WALL-E.) The ideal choice is one which has the least cost and the greatest benefit. If your tap water tastes like metal pipes, it may be undrinkable. Your alternative should be something which produces good water without creating an unreasonable amount of waste. Brita water filters are an option. You get the idea.

On a random note, I heard on NPR yesterday that American SUVs consume more gasoline than all of India. Wow.

Yes, We Have No Bananas

Oooh, this looks like a good one.

Hi again! I'm back from my travels. And, here's the first of many posts on food. I read an op-ed piece in the New York Times last month about bananas. It was written by Dan Koeppel, who was just presenting the basics idea of his book. It looks really good. I might add it to the list for next fall.

Anyway, the op-ed piece talks about how Americans eat more bananas than apples and oranges combined, that we don't eat the same bananas that our grandparents ate, and that there was a worldwide banana fungus that wiped out the previous type of banana, leaving us with the less tasty banana we know today. (????) And, the author's website includes a picture of the Banana Hall of Fame. Such fun.

Did you see how Ingrid Betancourt was finally rescued from her six-year-long imprisonment in the Colombian jungle? That's good news!

Be Good...

...till I get back. I'm away until July 1st. I'm cooking up two series of posts -- one on food and the other on sports, so if you see anything interesting, let me know. Send me a link to the article. You can use either kmccabe@mtlakes.org or ktlmccabe@optonline.net.

I hope you're having fun!! See you soon!!

--Mrs. McCabe

Summertime!!

Summer- time, and the livin' is easy.

I hope you all enjoyed your last day of school!!

Esperanza, pictured here, is still paying us back, but her besitos are almost exactly like the kisses cookies I made for you this year. Here's the recipe:

4 egg whites
Beat to stiff peaks
Gradually add 1 1/4 Cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 12-ounce bag of chocolate chips

Drop by teaspoonful on brown paper bags that cover cookie sheet.

Bake at 325 for 15-18 minutes. Watch carefully!!

Those are the exact directions from my family recipe. My mom says the recipe came from a neighbor back in the late 60s. I'm sure you could update the directions somehow, but these work for me.

Oh, one other thing... I included on the CD a song from Orchestra Baobob. They are a band from Senegal, and they'll be playing next Wednesday night at Rockefeller Park in lower Manhattan. The details are at River to River Festival. I've seen some of their live stuff, and it's incredible. The studio CD doesn't quite capture the real sound. If you go, have a great time! Maybe I'll see you there!

Happy Birthday, Nelson Mandela!!

Since I'm on the mailing list for Vusi Mahlasela, I got this email today announcing a concert for Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday. It should be something to watch. Tons of people are scheduled to perform, and I'm sure more will sign on by June 27th. I'll have to see if it's televised around here. If not, it's probably going to be online.

Census Maps

On the Brian Lehrer show on NPR today, one of the segments was about the census maps of New York City. Scroll down his website to get to the spot where you can click on the slideshow and find several different maps with information about the city. The map on the right shows the dominant ancestry identified by the people in different regions of the city. Pretty cool, huh?

Plus, there's a program this summer in the city where the government is going to shut down major streets and only allow pedestrian and bike traffic. On August 9th, 16th, and 23rd, from 7am to 1pm, the government will close a route from the Brooklyn Bridge to 72nd and 5th Avenue. How cool is that?? How much fun would it be to ride your bike down the middle of Park Avenue??

Also, there's a bunch of free stuff to do in the city. Check out the website for the River to River festival. Highlights include Terence Blanchard playing Castle Clinton on August 7th. Wow!!

Germans in Namibia

Today's New York Times has an article about the German influence in Namibia. The article is in the travel section, and the author has basically recreated the major steps in Namibian colonial history. One quote from the article states that "millions of carats" of diamonds were mined during the German colonization of Namibia. I wonder if the Namibians were paid a fair price for those gems.

It turns out that the Germans didn't have Namibia for very long -- they lost the colony to the British rulers of South Africa, but the Germans who went to Namibia have been pretty determined to keep their heritage alive. That makes for some touchy moments, though, as the Germans killed 80,000 Herero men, women, and children in Hamakari in 1904 by surrounding them and firing on them with machine guns.

((The Germans, apparently, consider their actions to be no worse than the British actions in other parts of the world. However, critics point to the Hamakari massacre as a precursor to the Holocaust. That might make for an interesting lesson next year -- which European power was the worst colonial ruler in Africa? My money is on King Leopold. What do you think?))

Olympics Mascots

The BBC Magazine has a piece about Olympic mascots which includes an opportunity for you to create your own suggestion for the 2012 Olympics in England. There's also a review of the worst Olympic mascots in recent memory as well as an explanation of why the Olympics even has a mascot (here's a hint: $$$).

The mascots for the Beijing Olympics, pictured above, are Beibei the fish, Jingjing the panda, Huanhuan the Olympic flame, Yingying the antelope, and Nini the swallow. You knew that, right?

World's Religions

My dad sent me this flash movie about the world's religions. I'm curious to see what you think of it. It basically shows a video timeline of the spread of the world's religions, along with some of the key battles between them. My father's comment what that it doesn't show fighting either within Christianity or within Islam. My comment is that it's overly simplistic, leaving out any number of religious traditions. But, I guess it is just a map of the "organized religions." So... what do you think?

I also went to the website mapsofwar.com. There are some other flash movies there, about the spread of democracy and imperialism in the Middle East, for example, and which American political party was in charge during which American engagements overseas. I learned a few things that were surprising. There was a 19th century expedition to Korea? Wha??

Enjoy!

Neutering Nunu

Today, driving into work, I heard some excellent stories on National Public Radio. There was the grim news about A.Q. Khan's sale of Pakistani nuclear secrets, and sobering details about NATO efforts in Afghanistan and the once-in-500-years flooding in the Midwest, but there was also a story from correspondents in Baghdad who decided that they had to neuter the stray dog they had adopted. Apparently, this contradicts history, tradition, and culture in Iraq. The Iraqi vet who performed the procedure offered to get him a "girlfriend" instead, and the Iraqi translators told the Americans that Nunu would be shamed by the members of the dog community. They claimed that having a large family is a blessing and a right which cannot be denied, even to dogs.

Oooo! And you know what else? India has seen a new development in its television programming! Until last year, the television channels have been run by the state, but now that the airwaves have been freed, political satire has started. One of the commentators said that India has a long tradition of intrigue and melodrama, but not really one of comedy. Not, at least, until now.

And, do you have any idea what a cocoa plant looks like? I didn't. NPR has an audio slideshow about chocolate which will completely astound you. Never in a million years would you imagine that chocolate starts out the way it does. Thank goodness somebody decided to taste this bizarre looking plant. I never would have. Yuk.

Spend some time at npr.org. Take the daily news quiz. It's fun. Trust me.

If You're Bored...

...you could go to the Newark Museum. They have an exhibit on now called Embodying the Sacred in Yoruba Art. The exhibit runs until August 24th (my birthday!), so you have time to see it if you decide to spend today studying. (That's probably a better idea than museum-hopping.)

It looks really cool.

The museum is super easy to get to and has a great collection of stuff to explore. If you go, enjoy it, and let me know how it is!

No More Metabo

Japan, in an attempt to improve the health of its citizens, has embarked on a campaign of measuring the waistlines of people between the ages of 40 and 75. If people are over the recommended limit, they are given six months to improve their numbers, and, if they don't improve, they, their companies, and their local governments will be subject to fines.

Wow.

The recommended waistline size is determined by the government of Japan. The International Diabetic Federation, accommodating the larger frames of most Americans, set the ideal American waistline at 40 inches for men and 34.6 inches for women.

Apparently, the idea is to prevent metabolic syndrome (hence the nickname "metabo"), which is caused by a combination of abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol.

Read the article. It's wild.

Why Americans Should Not Be Allowed to Travel

Actual stories provided by travel agents:

I had someone ask for an aisle seats so that his or her hair wouldn’t get messed up by being near the window.
A client called in inquiring about a package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, “Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii?”

I got a call from a woman who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information when she interrupted me with “I’m not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts. “Without trying to make her look like the stupid one, I calmly explained, “Capecod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa.” Her response … click.

A man called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that is not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, “Don’t lie to me. I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state.”

I got a call from a man who asked, “Is it possible to see England from Canada?” I said, “No.” He said “But they look so close on the map.”

Another man called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had a 1-hour lay over in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, “I heard Dallas was a big airport, and I need a car to drive between the gates to save time.”

A nice lady just called. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:20am and got into Chicago at 8:33am. I tried to explain that Michigan was an hour ahead of llinois, but she could not understand the concept of time zones. Finally I told her the plane went very fast, and she bought that!

A woman called and asked, “Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know who’s luggage belongs to who?” I said, “No, why do you ask?” She replied, “Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said FAT, and I’m overweight, is there any connection?” After putting her on hold for a minute while I “looked into it” (I was actually laughing) I came back and explained the city code for Fresno is FAT, and that the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.

I just got off the phone with a man who asked, “How do I know which plane to get on?” I asked him what exactly he meant, which he replied, “I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these darn planes have numbers on them.”
A woman called and said, “I need to fly to Pepsi-cola on one of those computer planes.” I asked if she meant to fly to Pensacola on a commuter plane. She said, “Yeah, whatever.”

A businessman called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him he needed a visa. “Oh no I don’t, I’ve been to China many times and never had to have one of those.” I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, “Look, I’ve been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express.”

A woman called to make reservations, “I want to go from Chicago to Hippopotamus, New York” The agent was at a loss for words. Finally, the agent: “Are you sure that’s the name of the town?” “Yes, what flights do you have?” replied the customer. After some searching, the agent came back with, “I’m sorry, ma’am, I’ve looked up every airport code in the country and can’t find a Hippopotamus anywhere.” The customer retorted, “Oh don’t be silly. Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!” The agent scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, “You don’t mean Buffalo, do you?” “That’s it! I knew it was a big animal!”

The Bodies Exhibit

On the final exam review sheet, there is a line which reads "Civil Rights Violations" under the East Asia/China heading.

In class we talked about the limited right to vote in China, as well as the curbs on freedom of expression, speech, religion, etc. We also talked about the way in which China uses the death penalty more than any other nation and that many killings in China are "extrajudicial," meaning they take place outside of the justice system. I mentioned the Bodies exhibit, and how the company which created this exhibit cannot guarantee that the bodies in the exhibit belong to people who willingly gave up their bodies for the purposes of the exhibit.

According to the New York Times, visitors to the Bodies exhibit will now see a warning which reads "Warning: The body parts you are about to see may have come from Chinese prisoners who were tortured and executed."

The State of New York asked Premier Exhibitions, the company which creates the Bodies exhibits, to produce "documentation demonstrating the cause of death and origins of the cadavers and body parts it displays as well as proof that the decedent consented to the use of his or her remains in such a manner." Premier Exhibitions could not produce the documentation. The State of New York could not provide any evidence which clearly showed that the bodies were tortured, so the two parties agreed to a compromise. The Bodies Exhibit could stay in New York, but they would have to post the warning.

Today's Papers

The Canadian government has issued a formal apology to the "aboriginal" children who were forced to attend residential schools. Those schools, run by Christian churches, tried to convert the children from their traditional beliefs, and, according to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, were "had been based on the assumption that "'aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal'".

Sound familiar? Maybe like the Belgian Congo Schoolbooks we read?

Hmm...

And, in news which should remind you of Aung Sun Suu Kyi (the woman detained in Myanmar for -- can you believe it? -- having the audacity of winning the popular vote in a presidential election), the government in Zimbabwe has detained members of the opposition party. They detained the opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, several times yesterday before releasing him. The second in command has been arrested and no one but his jailers knows where he is. And, according to Tsvangirai's spokesman, over 66 members of the opposition party have been killed by the government.

This morning, the SuperBadGuy in charge of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, has said that he is doing all he can to keep the veterans of the war for independence from attacking the opposition. He said they're poised to attack. Somehow, that doesn't sound all that nice. To me, it sounds more like a call to arms. But, maybe I'm wrong. I hope I am.

Ooh - and in Egypt, leaders have blocked a 92 year-old man from getting married. Turns out, his bride to be was 17. Ew. Score one for the Egyptian government. They put in place a law which states that there can be no more than 25 years age difference between the bride and groom. This is an attempt to stop old men from taking brides from desperately poor families. Again, good news from Egypt.

Fishawack-i-ness

This Saturday, Chatham will have its Fishawack festival. The name Fishawack is, supposedly, the Lenni Lenape name for the Passaic River, which they crossed on their way from their winter homes in the North to their summer homes at the shore.

Fishawack is sort of like a Founder's Day, with a street fair and a 5K run. The symbol of the run is a Native American man, pictured here. I tend to wonder about this. Is this a celebration of kicking the Indians off their land? And, if so, isn't that just a more honest way of saying "Founder's Day?" Or, is it meant to be inclusive? As in, we celebrate the spirit of the Native Americans who used to live here, proudly wearing their image on our shirts and hats?

What do you think?

Amandla!

Amandla!

Awethu!

You guys sang really well this week! Nice going!

Some of you wanted to know where to find out more about the Toyi-Toyi. I googled it and found a bunch of stuff on it, including YouTube videos of it. The wildest thing I found is that the SuperBadGuy in charge of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, has banned the Toyi Toyi, because people were using it as a form of protest. No one in Zimbabwe can dance the Toyi-Toyi, even if they're inside their own homes!

Can you imagine?

Equal Pay for Unequal Work

Do you remember when we were watching For Love or Country, and we saw the one scene where Sandoval and the old man are in the graveyard, laughing about how funny it was that the old man was a surgeon? Do you remember how I didn't really take any time to explain why they were laughing? Well, here's the answer -- finally!

Cuba has, up until now, followed a policy which states that everyone gets paid the exact same amount, regardless of what they do. So, a person who works at a job which involves very little stress & effort & education makes the same amount as someone whose work involves life and death decisions, long hours, and years of training and education. The theory is that everyone would work at a job they loved. No one would work at a job just for the money. Also, everyone is equal, no matter what their intelligence, work ethic, or creativity.

I suppose it didn't work out so well.

According to the BBC, the salary for every person in Cuba is $20/month. (Wow, that's low!! No wonder it's so cheap to go there on vacation.) According to the new rules, there will now be increased salary amounts for managers and workers who meet performance goals.

The Cuban government just recently allowed people to buy personal computers (fat chance as no one has any money). I wonder what they'll think of allowing next....

Wah?

According to the BBC, if the past 15 years, over 4,000 children in China have been named "Olympic Games." Apparently, it's not uncommon to name children after political slogans like "Defend China."

Who knew?

Bastard Tongues

I just finished a phenomenal book. Pure brain candy. It's Derek Bickerton's Bastard Tongues. I'm sorry about the language of the title, but it was his choice, not mine.

The book is about Creole languages -- the somewhat mixed languages that people speak in places where different peoples have come together to form a new cultures. This book is incredible.

Bickerton, a professor emeritus at the University of Hawaii, studied the Creole languages of the Caribbean, Latin America, Hawaii, and the Indian Ocean, and tried to figure out why they're so similar. That may sound boring, but Bickerton learned about all of those languages by living among the people of those islands. This is his life story, so it's more like an adventure piece than a textbook. Plus, the man can write really well.

Go to the library, get the book. Trust me.

Obama on the Nile

Today's New York Times has an opinion piece by Thomas Friedman which looks at the Obama nomination from the perspective of Egypt. You could read it by clicking here. Or, you could just read the way Friedman sums up the way that America is like no other place in the world.

He wrote: "Could a Copt become president of Egypt? Not a chance. Could a Shiite become the leader of Saudi Arabia? Not in a hundred years. A Bahai president of Iran? In your dreams. Here, the past always buries the future, not the other way around.

These Egyptian officials were particularly excited about Obama’s nomination because it might mean that being labeled a “pro-American” reformer is no longer an insult here, as it has been in recent years. As one U.S. diplomat put it to me: Obama’s demeanor suggests to foreigners that he would not only listen to what they have to say but might even take it into account. They anticipate that a U.S. president who spent part of his life looking at America from the outside in — as John McCain did while a P.O.W. in Vietnam — will be much more attuned to global trends.

...Yes, all of this Obama-mania is excessive and will inevitably be punctured should he win the presidency and start making tough calls or big mistakes. For now, though, what it reveals is how much many foreigners, after all the acrimony of the Bush years, still hunger for the “idea of America” — this open, optimistic, and, indeed, revolutionary, place so radically different from their own societies.

In his history of 19th-century America, “What Hath God Wrought,” Daniel Walker Howe quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson as telling a meeting of the Mercantile Library Association in 1844 that “America is the country of the future. It is a country of beginnings, of projects, of vast designs and expectations.”

That’s the America that got swallowed by the war on terrorism. And it’s the America that many people want back. I have no idea whether Obama will win in November. Whether he does or doesn’t, though, the mere fact of his nomination has done something very important. We’ve surprised ourselves and surprised the world and, in so doing, reminded everyone that we are still a country of new beginnings."

I tell you -- probably not as much as I should -- that you have won the world's lottery. You live here. Think how many billions of people wish that they did.

Just a little something to be grateful for as you sweat over finals. ;-)

More Kiva, Yeah!!!

So, we added 20 more loans to our Kiva portfolio today!! Three of the loans have already been completely funded: Bertha Azucena Avalos Arteaga, the woman who runs the general store in Peru; the En Prak Group, the people who make mats in Cambodia; and, Azizi Adededzi (pictured here), the man who runs a hardware store in Togo. (Do you remember where these countries are?? ;-b)

If you want, you can check on our other loans at our lender page. You don't need to sign in to see the loans. Thanks for your help today! I think we picked some great people! Now, all that's left to do is wish them luck with their businesses & wait til our money comes back in so we can relend!

Kiva!!!

Our Kenyan entrepreneur, Patricia Wanjiku, has made another payment!! This is extraordinary news, since she was missing for a long spell after the unrest in Kenya. She seems to still be struggling, as her normal repayment rate was $47.00/month, but this month, she was only able to pay $9.09. The nine cents stops me cold. Look at that. This is a woman who is trying to do her best, down to the last, and I mean the very last, penny. I do hope she continues to recover from the recent troubles.

As for why we don't just let her keep the money, I would, but I don't think that's the goal. I think the point of Kiva is to give everyone the opportunity to improve their lives through their own work. Plus, I don't know that Kiva entrepreneurs are the people at the very bottom of the economic ladder. They don't need charity, they need financing. There's a difference.

Anyway, my thoughts are with Patricia. I do hope she's okay.

South Korean Beef Protests

South Korea decided to resume the importation of American beef products, and, apparently, some of the people of South Korea were not so happy about it. Check out where they had this protest... Hm.....

I don't quite know why these people are upset by the American beef. I found a website which posted people's opinions about why the protests were happening. You can find it here. I can't make heads or tails of the comments, but I think the protest is an expression of how frustrated the people in Korea are with their government. Apparently, the government made a deal with the American government to allow the importation of beef, and the Koreans weren't happy with it. Hence the protest, in front of the McDonalds...

Today's Papers

This picture was on the BBC's Africa page. It's a Kenyan newspaper proclaiming victory for their "Super Power Son." I love it. Kenya has just come through an electoral nightmare, where open political debate turned into murder, arson, and chaos. (Think of our Kiva woman who disappeared.) Now, a man with a Kenyan father is one of two people who could be president of the United States. That's something.

The New York Times has two opinion pieces about the Democratic nominees. Gail Collins wrote a piece about Hillary Clinton that I think you would like, and I teared up reading the Bob Herbert piece about Obama. (Being the goofball that I am...) You have to get to the end to read "So a victory lap is in order. Not for Senator Obama (he still has a way to go), but for all those in every station in life who ever refused to submit quietly to hatred and oppression. They led us to a better place."

There's also a review of Dr. John's new album that's really more of an essay on New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina.

And, there's an article on the BBC about a woman who overdosed on licorice. Who knew?

Oh, and if you ever wondered if elevators could be something besides squares & rectangles, you could read the Atlantic article about Frank Lloyd Wright's building in Oklahoma, where he made the elevators into hexagons. Pretty neat (although you'll have to find the magazine for that, they haven't posted the article online yet -- sorry!).

And You Thought I Was Weird....

This is my cousin Joey!

He's a free-gan. Click on the title to find out what that is.

We're all very proud.