Keep up with the whole country

This is a pretty sweet site if I must say so myself.
http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flash/

Breathing Knowledge of Michael Pollan

I'm super pumped the cosortium is beginning to gain some momentum again. (Though perhaps we should call it The Consortium of Derelicts.) I've been as lax as anyone else and so I must provide a perfuctory apology. I'm sorry.

To be honest, however, I think it not a necessarily bad thing we have hit barren blogging season. Most of us have been busy--law school assignments, graduate school applications, etc, ad nauseum--and sleep-deprived. Not to mention it is winter and who the hell has anything to really talk about when it's below freezing and all one wants to do is stay indoors (other than it's below freezing and all one wants to do is stay indoors). But with the spring showers and may(be) flowers, one thing can be sure: it is time for girls to come out of their winter hibernation and begin again to wear scantly-clad outfits. No, no, what I meant to say was: it is time for the members of the consortium to plow the blogged field, prepare the interweb's digibits to plant, and make ritualistic spring sacrifices in the form of purging our inboxes to the demi-god Bill Gates.

Actually the farming metaphor is a convenient tie into my first blog back. And that is: the genius of Michael Pollan. If you haven't heard of Pollan and you are in any way interested in your diet, well-being, or future health prospects, I'd recommend The Omnivore's Dilemma. Before you read any news article or diet book, begin with this one. It's a bear of a read (350+ pages), but it is presented in such a way that Pollan brings you on his themepark ride into the important questions of our foodstuff:

Where does my [fast-food] burger come from? In what ways am I connected to it ("it" used in the strictest sense), the animal and corn from which it came, and the land from which those came.
What does it mean to buy USDA "organic," free-range eggs (the answer surprised me)? Who regulates the newest "organic" title andin what ways does it live up (or live down) to its name?
Beyond simply diet, what are the ethical and political issues that stem from purchasing food from say a Food Lion, Whole Foods, or Farmer's Market?
What is the omnivore's dilemma as he defines it?

The writing is gripping and so the book flows fairly well. The topic, however, is eye-opening (at least to those of us whom have remained within Plato's cave).

The distinguished Berkley journalism professor just came out with a new book, In Defense of Food. Though I think it more the spark notes version of his previous bestseller, TOD, it is worth buying for that person in your life who just cannot stand reading books (non-fiction nonetheless). It incapsulates the main themes of TOD's attack and Upton Sinclair-esque expose of the industrial food economy (corn + soybean) and takes a fuller examination into why such a diet (the Western diet) is so terrible for the environment and our bodies. Simply put: Diabetes, Heart Disease, Obesity, and Cancers stem directly from the Western diet and the culture in which many of have grown up in. The good news is that, as the very first words reveal, we can change it (Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants).


For my own self, this was a wake up call. Have I sworn off red meat? No. Then have a I sworn off processed foods entirely? No. Have I even given up ALL fast food? No. This sounds like I didn't take anything valuable away from Pollan, but in fact I have. Even though I'll indulge in a Wendy's JBC every one in a while (jr. bacon cheeseburger for all you non-wendyophiles), I've cut those types of foodstuffs from my diet almost entirely. I've been chewing on greens of all shades, and orange, and blue, and purple a whole lot more than I ever have; meat has become a side dish rather than an whole dish; and I've avoided high fructose corn syrup like it's the plague. I've begun to buy local organics which is killing my pocket, but pleasing my stomach and even started researching farmer's markets in Pittsburgh (apparently, surpringly, some of the best on the east coast) beginning next month.

It feels good to blog again and even better to hear from you guys. Hopefully I'll see you soon.

Goodbye Lousiana....

So all of you have heard about my sinking state. Here is an illustration...

http://www.nola.com/speced/lastchance/multimedia/flash.ssf?flashlandloss1.swf

However, I have recently gotten a job that is trying to fix the problem. So for the next year I will be researching and writing about coastal restoration. Wish me luck in saving the world

F baseball. Violence is truly America's favorite pasttime.

Hollow Point Bullet Recall

Part of me is disgusted that I think this is so funny. The other part of me thinks that this is so funny. Does this make me a bad person?

Another Update

I also must exclaim, joder. It has been way to effing long. A ton has happened since I last made a legitimate post.

I got accepted to medical school. I got invited to study at ETSU in Johnson City, TN and at MUSC in Charleston, SC. Since I decided I wanted to study medicine, I've been interested in studying at MUSC. My dad and my grandad (dad's dad) both studied medicine there. However, as an out of state applicant, the chances of me being accepted were never good. Apparently I was one of few chosen from a pool of about 2,000 out of state applicants. I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it. Honestly, I had prepared myself for outright rejection. It was a really surreal experience when I found out I'd been accepted. I didn't know how to feel, and it's still sinking in. I'm getting more and more stoked about the whole thing. It's becoming more and more real to me each day. Woot. I'm starting medical school in August.

So, that's the big news. I'm going to be living in Charleston, SC for the next 4 years, which is pretty tight. I'll keep working in the lab until middle of July probably. I really want some time to visit peeps. I won't really have much money to speak of, so I probably won't be flying all over the country to visit people. But, it'd be tight if we were all able to meet up somewhere. I'd like to try to head over to DC at some point to visit peoples there. I feel like that's the place to be after Davidson (not so much for me). I hope y'all are all doing super well. Sous, I'm glad to hear things are good. Looks like you and your novia had a sweet time down in Nica. Beauxtreme, I hope law school isn't totally tearing you a new one. I hear it does that sometimes. But, you can't really complain. I mean, it was concentual. Fitz's Feelings, I miss you. I'm at summit right now, and you're totally not here to be my manservant. I hope you're being superbadass whereever you are at the moment.

You guys are hella awesome. I miss dickin' around with y'all. Life just isn't as rich without you in it.

Peace.

Update

Hey fellas -

Been a really long time since I posted. Joder. Here's the quick update... I've been working from my apartment in the city since for most of the new year, which has been pretty tight. Some days are busier than others... for example, yesterday I ended up watching Real Madrid vs Liverpool on ESPN2, it was pretty sick, while last week I had absolutely zero downtime. I'm preparing to lead a project in Toronto starting at the end of the month, so thats exciting. Anyone who wants to come to my cottage north of Toronto for a weekend, let me know, I'll be jetting north from Toronto on Thursdays or Fridays quite frequently until at least August. Itd be awesome to have a reunion, no?

Anyway, just got back from a 5-day vacation to Nicaragua with the ladyfriend, it was pretty awesome. We spent the first half of the trip in Granada, an old colonial city at the base of a volcano and on the shore of Lake Nicaragua, and the second half on the Pacific coast in a town called San Juan del Sur. We felt safe the entire time, met some really interesting people, and took some awesome pictures doing some awesome things. These awesome things I speak of include hiking around the crater of volcano and sailing down to near the Costa Rican coast on a nice sailboat drinking rum punch and getting some sun. Anyway, I posted a sampling of pics I took on my facebook profile, and attached is a link to the album of Erzsi's pictures. Enjoy.

https://cid-9f3044a981ec2653.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Nicaragua

Gotta get back to work. I miss you all. Stay in touch.

xoxoxoxo,

J

FLASH >>>>

LA POLITICIAN CONTINUE LONGSTANDING STELLAR REPUTATION

damnit! its one of those news stories that you read and chuckle, while the part of you that has a penchant for democratic ideals dies.

Augmented Reality!

http://ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid/#/augmented_reality

Follow the directions on the right side of the screen if you have a webcam....Unreal!