Thursday, July 7, 2011

Assorted Mad Science

ABC News ran a story today on obesity rates in the US.  And, y’know, I knew it was bad, but I didn’t realize it was this bad.  Apparently, Colorado is the leanest state in the nation, but even then, it’s 20% obesity rate would’ve made it the fattest state in the nation a mere fifteen years ago.  Meanwhile, a full 34% of the population of the State of Mississippi is not just fat, it’s obese.  With all of that comes a massive increase in heart disease and diabetes nationwide as well as a host of other health problems in addition to the simple ugliness that I think most Americans see when they look at obese folks.  And personally, I’d think that it’d be that that’d get most folks off their fat asses and into some kind of diet or exercise program.  I mean, who the Hell wants to look fat?

We could probably argue about the causes of obesity, but I personally believe it’s most caused by diet and dietary laziness.  Look, it’s a serious pain in the ass to eat a consistently healthy diet, and it’s more expensive, too.  And I don’t expect that folks are gonna adopt my new and improved diet in record numbers any time soon, but I do think they’d get something out of making an effort to prepare their own foods and eat a big green salad with every meal.  And that’d cut their expenses, too. 

For me, personally, I’ve quit eating pretty much anything that’s processed or made with processed ingredients—for example, anything containing “enriched” flour or any food that’s no longer its natural, God-given color (like white rice)—but I think you can get by with just trying to stay away from obvious crap.  But I guess that people just can’t do it.  They like their Twinkies and their soda and their fast food, and they don’t give a crap if it’s gonna kill them or not.

I find that sad, but I don’t know what else to do about it besides writing about it here.

***

I think it’s weird that people are surprised or somehow outraged that “Captain America: The First Avenger” will be titled merely “The First Avenger” in Russia, South Korea, and a few other overseas markets.  How else were these guys supposed to market the movie overseas?  Frankly, I doubt that French or Italian audiences have much of a taste for a “Captain America” movie, either, but I can well imagine them wanted to watch some Nazis getting their asses kicked.  That’s just good marketing.

***

I noticed that Elizabeth Smart is ABC News’s new go-to girl for personal abduction stories.  Is it wrong to point out that she looks hot now?

***

Finally, here’s the obligatory video of today’s stage of the Tour.  I was rooting for Thor Hushovd, but sadly, he didn’t quite get there.  Eh... at least he’s still in yellow.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your blog seems to be the one place where there's nothing about Casey Anthony listed, that's refreshing.

Danno E. Cabeza said...

Thanks. My personal opinion is that it's a little hard to comment on the verdict without having heard the evidence.

Anonymous said...

Well, as much as I'd like to say there's a "special place in Hell" for those who hurt children; its probably right next to the "special place in Hell" for people who judge others - so I'm trying (really hard) not to judge.