Obesity

I have some observations to this problem that the media just doesn't seem willing to report on. If you look back to the seventies and even early eighties people were not that fat or obese, they pretty much ate the same, maybe were more active but I dispute that. No, everyone went about their business and we all lived good. I can remember the first time I ate KFC in Toronto, couldn't get enough of it. And I did not get fat. Hell when I was a teenager going to the local burger joint it was nothing for me to eat 4 or 5 burgers and have some fries with it, still I didn't get fat. Neither did many of the people I knew.
Then the science kicked in, they figured out how to fatten up cattle faster, they drugged up the chickens and put them on the same force feed diet. They started feeding these animals food they would never eat in the wild, and these animals packed on the fat making the industry way more profits. It was right about then that you noticed the obesity. Even the vegetables were being "reprogrammed" to grow faster with less nutrition. The super markets figured out if they sold you veggies for less then you could grow them they would get you in their stores. This in turn put tremendous pressure on the growers to make these foods cheaper to ship, I mean it took a grass roots campaign targeting Taco Bell and others to increase the price of tomatoes a few pennies just so the pickers could make enough to feed themselves.
So here we are where this has become even more prolific with even more corners cut and animals coming to market fatter and quicker then ever. Is this picture I'm painting becoming clear yet? Hell I'm a vegetarian and do not eat bad food and still I gain weight. I to have to live on the produce they sell when winter is here. Go ahead and be blinded by the excuses that are being made, like it's somehow OUR fault we are obese, this is what has happened, and that is why we are fat, period!
7 billion, eating up the burgers, and counting

Rich Sports Stars

When I look at the state of things I can't help but wonder what our economy would be like if these pro's only made a modest living, you know some million dollar contracts but mostly just above average incomes. By adding greed to the already intense competitive aspect of top athletes the numbers are nothing short of stupid. And when someone tries to tell me that these people stimulate the economy I gag. If there was anything that fuelled inflation it was the values of sports contracts.
Now they are all competing for scarce resources of many people who are starting to keep their kids out of these sports for fear of concussions. Football I think is going to die a very painful death. The NFL will be sued out of existence in the near future, but hockey? This sport is doomed, it will only take one bad incident and lawsuit to shut them down. At the grass roots the rules are being modified to protect young players and these rules will stymy the game. But really, making ice in an ever increasing warm climate is doomed for sure. Many cities cannot continue to subsidize the rich with tax incentives for arenas. How ironic that the scoreboards in hockey arenas are so hot they melt the ice!
Not unlike our politicians there is less and less honour in sports, it has all come down to the money, not what is right. Is it right to try to wreck someones career for the sake of winning. To purposely injure someone really makes me puke, literally! I have not watched a full game of hockey this year, football as well has fallen off my viewing habits. The worst is the crying baseball players, pitchers throwing a ball at someones head and calling it "okay, part of the game". Speaking of baseball, how is it okay to hit a defenceless catcher at home plate full force? It is the only play the allows this kind of barbaric contact.
Sorry if I have offended you sports fiends out there, but it is no longer cool anymore and I for one think this will be different in the near future.
7 billion, trying to be more responsible, and counting

Sustainability

I see this word a lot of late. I think of it myself on many occasions. It's right up there with utopia and living the dream. Wouldn't it be nice to have a life that is sustainable with no pressure to grow. 

When I stop to think about it, this is a pipe dream. How can we not grow, not move forward or try new things. Being sustainable is like stopping time in many ways, but in the end you always come up just a bit short. Like growing a garden. There is always something you need to get or source to get it done. No matter how hard you try to keep from using outside suppliers something always comes up. 

It's like the dreamers that think Atlantis was a paradise. Well it was, but only in their dreams, time keeps moving on and so do we. Sustainability, thats the start line, what comes is anyones guess.

Go ahead, smoke some

If there is one truth to using "weed madness" is that no one has ever been hurt, had a fight, or done anything to start a war. This simple but effective medication is better then almost all the current drugs used to treat depression or depressed people. The only real side affect is becoming hungry. Even that is a good thing if you are going through chemotherapy as it helps with getting a meal in when that is the last thing these people want.
Yet it still is not "legal" and still it backs up our court systems with cases of people that have been busted for it's use. Even in the treatment for alcoholism there is no better drug. I know many of recovering addicts that would not have got there without the help of weed.
It boggles my mind that things like this still happen in a world that is as connected as we are. All I know for sure is that people like to "share joints" with others. It is the best remedy to hostilities there is, yet it's use is still barred by many countries. Seems we like hostilities more then love and friendship.
7 billion, smoking a big one and getting along, and advancing.

Trying to be clean

As a race, we pretty much do anything and everything to keep ourselves clean. Invent washing machines, hire maids and butlers, install many shower and tubs for bathing. You get my point, but how is it that we are so dirty?
It would seem that anything we touch becomes hazardous. Or we "over do it" and ruin it for the rest! I believe this is the reason we will fall from grace. It's a paradox that plays out everywhere in the world. It's not hard to believe the doom sayers, our "bad habits" will sink us for sure if we ALL don't get our acts together.
Then comes first, the internet. There are over 6 billion connected devices today, a number that will quickly rise moving forward. And then there is Google Glass. If everyone is potentially being videoed then the big problems should be easier to fix. It doesn't have to be big brother watching, it will be EVERYONE watching. This could be a much softer way of correcting habits. I'm hopeful.
7 billion, watching over each other's shoulder, and counting.

It's all planted

At last, some time to reflect as we got the garden in. Still waiting for our first rain, we get nothing but snow right into April but not a lick of rain, we need some soon. But today's topic is about facial recognition.

Is this the end of feeling alone? With a pair of Google Glasses will everyone know everyone? And will this bring peace to us in some way? 

As soon as we all signed up for Face Book we gave away our privacy. But this is a good thing I think. Being accountable is what the world needs in a big way so with the aid of this tech "getting away with it" should be a thing of the past. If people stop thinking about getting away with bad deeds will we start thinking about doing good deeds? Lots of questions moving forward, one can hope good things will be the result. I'm going with half full on this one.

It's only Rock and Roll

For the first time ever I watched the rock and roll hall of fame inductees televised production. Now being a Saturday night and nothing on the other 100 channels I thought I'd give it a look. Personally I as a rule do not like awards shows. Something about people patting themselves on the back that gets to me. But this was very different.
First, all inductees that were still alive got up and performed live, along with some very notable backup musicians. And no one told me it was on HBO with no commercials! Another reason I hate awards shows. No this was a very credible performance by some great rock and rollers. Liked it so much I watched it again as it came back on right after it finished. But the egos, man they get in and still complain that it took too long. Then on Monday those that are not in the hall were bellyaching like Kiss and such. But really, everyone who made music 20 plus years ago deserve to be in. Question is, who can still perform and do the people who run this thing like them.
In the end, it was in my opinion a good show. Credit to the performers that were there and eventually everyone will get in. Even the rappers! haha

The future

Wait, predictions are made on New Years Day not in the middle of May. Well the future is coming full blast and the changes are occurring at breakneck speed.
Major companies are still running with their heads in the sand, but that is the way of the capitalistic world. Keep on growing and reducing costs, no matter what. Well the public is getting savvy to this and cutting back is what many families are doing. Things like getting their hair done, eating out, driving less, growing a garden. It seems everyone is starting to be more accountable to the environment as well as themselves. There is so much superficial about how we live, combine that with instant knowledge from the internet and what you got is many deciding not to live in the status quo.
I find myself wondering if the DVR has had anything to do with this. I know myself that I watch very few commercials now, anything I watch is recorded in order to avoid them. Ad to that all the entertainment found online at U-Tube and Netflix and you have a generation growing up not influenced by ads. The only place you can't escape ads is on live sporting events. But even that is being challenged, as the head injuries mount many a parent has stopped putting their kids in sports where this can happen. For me this year has been one where I have not watched a complete game of hockey. Every time I see a player give someone a cheap head shot I lose interest and change the channel. And pro football has become an offence only kind of league. But I think the writing is on the wall for these two sports. Soccer is another, "heading the ball" is creating many undiagnosed concussions. I find myself watching more golf of late, not much chance of seeing "dirty shots" taken at other players. But even golf is not good, all that water and pesticides to keep the grass looking like it does can not be a good thing.
No change is happening at a rapid rate. It is coming not from any one movement, but from ALL the movements. It's scary but exciting at the same time. Can't wait to see what happens.
7 billion, fed up and wanting change, and counting.

Cleaning up

One of the most "ironic things" we do is figuring out how to avoid chores we don't like to do. Somehow doing the jobs is the glamorous part but when it comes time to "tidy up" everyone disappears  or has more pressing obligations. Men are notorious at avoiding the dishes after a meal, or taking out the garbage.
This weekend we planted our garden and I found myself going in circles trying to keep up with everyone as they did the "glamorous jobs" like transplanting to the beds and putting in the seeds. In the end I was of coarse laughing about it and yes, a lot of work got done with everyones help. But man, I spent a full day just tiding up from the effort. It's like we scheme and invent ways to avoid this part of living from the moment we are born.
I watched a show on the maids and butlers of the British Monarch recently. It was BIG NEWS that prince Harry cleaned a toilet on his own, and polished his own boots! This was news! Watch at 6 as a royal cleans a toilet! haha.
7 billion, avoiding cleanup, and counting

Digging In

At last, some good weather to get the garden ready. The cold hung on too long and now we need to work quickly to get it all planted. While doing this, building up our garden, I constantly ask myself what it's worth?
Do the supper markets deflate produce prices in order to keep you from growing your own food? If so it must work because not enough of us think about growing our food. Yet just a hundred years ago that is ALL you thought about. It's like we look for anything else to do but grow food.
What you miss is the "earth connection" that comes with gardening. And the tranquil peace that comes with "digging in".
It has sunk in for me just how important it is to grow plants. Try it and feel the "connection" for yourself.
7 billion, digging in and counting.