I am sucking on a piece of hard candy as I write.
Therefore, you are going to get a hard candy report. Every year at the
beginning of November, a local grocery store sells bulk Christmas hard
candy from bins. I love that kind of simple candy and bought a large
amount of it the other day. Hard candy has been popular since as far
back as the early 19th century. As a result of its popularity I think I
should receive absolution for eating so much of it. Some of the
earliest types of candies that were considered hard candies included
lemon flavored candy drops and peppermint candy drops. But hard candy
mixes now come in all kinds of flavors. That's why i pick out the
flavors I most like when scooping it from those big bins.
I like most hard candy but hate the French style cream center hard
candy. Putting cream inside a hard candy is like putting Melissa
McCarty inside of Beyonce's swim suit. Yuk! I also do not like spicy or sour hard candy. My favorites are the
sweetest flavors because...well..maybe I am sweet. Basically, hard
candy is sugar, almost complete sugar made from a sweet syrup, with
food coloring and flavors that are either natural oils or artificial.
Before you lecture me on "all that sugar", remember that you probably
eat hard candy when you have a cough or sore throat. Many medicines for
those conditions are enrobed inside a hard candy. Face it, you would
rather have your cough drops inside of sugar flavored hard candy than
instead being inside broccoli!
Did you know that hard candy is technically a glass, so much so that it
is sometimes used to make the “bottle” that gets broken over someone's
head in a fight scene. I'd rather suck on a hard candy than be hit over
the head with one. But you probably want to break a hard candy over my
head. I do think hard candy is a memory stimulus of sort at Christmas.
Grown people (I do consider myself "grown") still love eating hard
candy because it reminds them of their childhood hard candy Christmas
times.
I read that although people in the United States consume only 2%
of their calories from candy, they buy 600 million pounds of
candy every year for Halloween alone. That's six times the weight of
the Titanic. Even crazier, more than 30,000 people are employed by the
candy industry in America. For such large candy numbers, it's still
surprising Americans don't consume more candy. I hope my dentist won't
what I wrote here....
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Wasting Time
I was thinking the other day about what we call "wasting
time". YOu
know. When you were little your mom undoubtedly said, "You waste too
much time". Mom was right, but kids are supposed to waste time. It's
part of growing up that we move slowly as we experience new things or
process some of the old into what we finally accept as what that thing
is. That kids waste time is as natural as that person you know is
always late or always early. That's what they are and you won't change
them.
The problem for humans when they are older and allegedly mature is that time wasting is still seen as a sin. It is not. An employer complains about a worker wasting time, a husband says his wife wastes time shopping or the wife says the husband wastes time watching football on TV too much are common traditional examples of that. But time wasting methods change over time. The biggest time wasting of all today, everywhere in the world is using the cell phone constantly. Yet, many adults deny that is a time wasting episode because the are the biggest transgressors of it. I hate cell phones, but I never claim that anyone is wasting time using them.
If that's the way an individual enjoys life, so be it. Cell phone overuse isn't time wasting, it's just an addiction that can annoy others, but "time wasting", no. In pre technological days we couldn't waste time using our computers because they did not exist. But now, the technological God( or maybe the technological devil) has given us a big time waster so we a can search for nonsense when we should trim the hedges or mow the lawn.
Centuries ago people probably complained about other people wasting time riding their horses too much. Today they say the same thing about those who love their cars and drive them more than they need to. In other times reading was called time wasting. Today it is watching too much TV. In 1859 a lady who sewed clothing for hours each day was wasting time. Today that woman is said to waste time if she jogs every morning and goes to the gym for an hour or two four times a week. I don't think we should put a negative connotation on activities people like to do frequently. It's better to call them hobbies. When we do what we like it is good for us because ti distracts us from some of the unpleasantness of life.
I sometimes think that those people who complain about us wasting time, do so because they don't have time wasting activity for themselves. Perhaps they haven't found it, or maybe their temperament and personality is not to do something more often than society sees as normal. Maybe they are jealous at those who waste time and seem to be mellow and happy when doing it. We all have met people who are always scheduled, their time never allowing for anything than what is on the schedule. I feel sorry for them. Life is not a schedule to follow, and we are not required to account for what we do every minute of the day. But they won't ever understand that, so don't bother trying to explain it to them.
Oh, I just realized something. It is late and I should prepare dinner. I should stop wasting my time here!
The problem for humans when they are older and allegedly mature is that time wasting is still seen as a sin. It is not. An employer complains about a worker wasting time, a husband says his wife wastes time shopping or the wife says the husband wastes time watching football on TV too much are common traditional examples of that. But time wasting methods change over time. The biggest time wasting of all today, everywhere in the world is using the cell phone constantly. Yet, many adults deny that is a time wasting episode because the are the biggest transgressors of it. I hate cell phones, but I never claim that anyone is wasting time using them.
If that's the way an individual enjoys life, so be it. Cell phone overuse isn't time wasting, it's just an addiction that can annoy others, but "time wasting", no. In pre technological days we couldn't waste time using our computers because they did not exist. But now, the technological God( or maybe the technological devil) has given us a big time waster so we a can search for nonsense when we should trim the hedges or mow the lawn.
Centuries ago people probably complained about other people wasting time riding their horses too much. Today they say the same thing about those who love their cars and drive them more than they need to. In other times reading was called time wasting. Today it is watching too much TV. In 1859 a lady who sewed clothing for hours each day was wasting time. Today that woman is said to waste time if she jogs every morning and goes to the gym for an hour or two four times a week. I don't think we should put a negative connotation on activities people like to do frequently. It's better to call them hobbies. When we do what we like it is good for us because ti distracts us from some of the unpleasantness of life.
I sometimes think that those people who complain about us wasting time, do so because they don't have time wasting activity for themselves. Perhaps they haven't found it, or maybe their temperament and personality is not to do something more often than society sees as normal. Maybe they are jealous at those who waste time and seem to be mellow and happy when doing it. We all have met people who are always scheduled, their time never allowing for anything than what is on the schedule. I feel sorry for them. Life is not a schedule to follow, and we are not required to account for what we do every minute of the day. But they won't ever understand that, so don't bother trying to explain it to them.
Oh, I just realized something. It is late and I should prepare dinner. I should stop wasting my time here!
Monday, November 6, 2017
Too Many Light Bulbs
I rarely illuminate you when I rant about one thing or
another. But
today is a guaranteed illuminating rant. I am going to write about
light, that kind of illuminating. It's my contention that today we have
too much light in the world. The old Edison light bulbs (the old
reliable filament incandescent light bulbs, the bulbs with the little
wires inside) were enough for me. It was practical, reliable and not
too intrusive. Now we have a multitude of light bulbs, more glaring and
light politically correct because they are supposed to be good for the
environment. Being cheaper to use it means a proliferation of light
everywhere. That is not good for our eyes or our sanity.
Look at Tokyo at night. It's a world of garish un necessary light, lights on every building that scream and irritate with excess. I think in Tokyo that lovers probably have florescent light glaring when they make love. The under control of the light they love and hat consumes them. In old movies police officers used to question the bad guys by shining a light in their eyes continuously. The bad guy couldn't take it and always confessed the crime he committed. That should tell us too much light exposes too much of our thoughts.
Who wants light 24 hours a day. Darkness let's us escape the world in a special way. I can't understand why some people like to sleep with the lights on. Science says it's a bad idea that it causes us to sleep less. Maybe they like to look at those goofy spiral light bulbs that are sold as "energy efficient". Whenever I try one of those spiral bulbs that are supposed to last up to 10 times as long as my old faithful Edison bulb, it turns out to be a lie. They die more quickly and the law says you can't toss them in the garbage when they do because of mercury inside.
I hate having to take those bulbs to a recycling center. Light bulbs can make life more difficult in other ways too. Some of those little LED bulbs that are in light fixtures are so difficult to change one needs to have an electrician do it. Incandescent bulbs, halogen bulbs, fluorescent bulbs, LEDs, CFLs....it's too much light for me. Cities are lighted 24 hours a day. At night I have to have a blackout shade to keep out the light from outside that will keep me awake.
ll those lights are pain and a distraction. Our minds can't focus because of all the light. I think the old fashioned candlelight may be the best light ever invented. If you want to do deep thinking, turn off all the lights and ignite a candle in the room. But then, nobody today seems to want to think deeply. It might interfere with their cell phone addiction.
Look at Tokyo at night. It's a world of garish un necessary light, lights on every building that scream and irritate with excess. I think in Tokyo that lovers probably have florescent light glaring when they make love. The under control of the light they love and hat consumes them. In old movies police officers used to question the bad guys by shining a light in their eyes continuously. The bad guy couldn't take it and always confessed the crime he committed. That should tell us too much light exposes too much of our thoughts.
Who wants light 24 hours a day. Darkness let's us escape the world in a special way. I can't understand why some people like to sleep with the lights on. Science says it's a bad idea that it causes us to sleep less. Maybe they like to look at those goofy spiral light bulbs that are sold as "energy efficient". Whenever I try one of those spiral bulbs that are supposed to last up to 10 times as long as my old faithful Edison bulb, it turns out to be a lie. They die more quickly and the law says you can't toss them in the garbage when they do because of mercury inside.
I hate having to take those bulbs to a recycling center. Light bulbs can make life more difficult in other ways too. Some of those little LED bulbs that are in light fixtures are so difficult to change one needs to have an electrician do it. Incandescent bulbs, halogen bulbs, fluorescent bulbs, LEDs, CFLs....it's too much light for me. Cities are lighted 24 hours a day. At night I have to have a blackout shade to keep out the light from outside that will keep me awake.
ll those lights are pain and a distraction. Our minds can't focus because of all the light. I think the old fashioned candlelight may be the best light ever invented. If you want to do deep thinking, turn off all the lights and ignite a candle in the room. But then, nobody today seems to want to think deeply. It might interfere with their cell phone addiction.
Sunday, November 5, 2017
Fast Food Still Sprinting
I am noticing a change in so called "fast food".
Given I rarely eat it,
except for a few favorites, my opinion may not be worth the onions on
your next burger. Still, I think that fast food is better tasting but
more expensive than ever. In fact, when looking at a fast food burger
or chicken menu the high end items that the places push toward
customers, seem to be in the range of a high end restaurant's similar
offering. And it's indisputable that cooking a meal at home is far more
economical than eating out. Yet, many people today are either too lazy
or too time limited to cook regularly at home.
Forget nutritional value here. I care nothing about "healthy food" when it tastes bland or dull...and most of it does. My motto is "Health food makes me sick". When we compare taste and economical value of home food (normal home food, not that awful quinoa with bran pudding" kind of mess the food police want to mandate for us) eating out, particularly fast food is expensive now. But the taste issue is better in most fast food places. Meat, for example, is now more often real beef, lamb pork or chicken with nothing added to it (those soy extenders). The condiments are better, the options range from nutty healthy to greasy tasty and it's still served quickly to the customer.
But fast food places are creating more and more high priced options. That may sell with the fast food addicted customer, but the lower income customer (a big portion of the fast food industry business) is not going to respond to that. For the lower income person the alternative to junk food is not grass fed beef and greens from a trendy farmers’ market, or any of that overpriced health food mess sold at grocery stores, but anything other than junk food. That would include staples like rice, grains, pasta, beans, fresh vegetables, canned vegetables, frozen vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, bread, peanut butter, a thousand other things cooked at home. It's a great alternative, but that crowd is uneducated about it or unwilling to spend time cooking at home.
For many people besides the lower income group, cooking is defined as work, and fast food is both a pleasure and a crutch for them. Most people just shrug and say, "Let me enjoy what I want to eat, and stop telling me what to do. Eating out is something we all can do, rich or poor."
Forget nutritional value here. I care nothing about "healthy food" when it tastes bland or dull...and most of it does. My motto is "Health food makes me sick". When we compare taste and economical value of home food (normal home food, not that awful quinoa with bran pudding" kind of mess the food police want to mandate for us) eating out, particularly fast food is expensive now. But the taste issue is better in most fast food places. Meat, for example, is now more often real beef, lamb pork or chicken with nothing added to it (those soy extenders). The condiments are better, the options range from nutty healthy to greasy tasty and it's still served quickly to the customer.
But fast food places are creating more and more high priced options. That may sell with the fast food addicted customer, but the lower income customer (a big portion of the fast food industry business) is not going to respond to that. For the lower income person the alternative to junk food is not grass fed beef and greens from a trendy farmers’ market, or any of that overpriced health food mess sold at grocery stores, but anything other than junk food. That would include staples like rice, grains, pasta, beans, fresh vegetables, canned vegetables, frozen vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, bread, peanut butter, a thousand other things cooked at home. It's a great alternative, but that crowd is uneducated about it or unwilling to spend time cooking at home.
For many people besides the lower income group, cooking is defined as work, and fast food is both a pleasure and a crutch for them. Most people just shrug and say, "Let me enjoy what I want to eat, and stop telling me what to do. Eating out is something we all can do, rich or poor."
Friday, November 3, 2017
Giving Up The Old For The New
What we do in life changes constantly. In this age of new
technology
every day we abandon the old and accept the new, sometimes without ever
giving it thought, constantly and happily. I remember when I was a kid
and board games were the rage for everyone, young and old. People
played them to relax, but now board games are gone and computer game
have replaced them. Oddly, I loved board games but have never liked or
played computer games. But I am the exception in most things, not just
in adapting to change. I confess to being a little to slow to give up
the familiar and even slower to adapt to the new. However, eventually
we all adapt and accept a great number of new things.
In this age we accept the new and throw out the old if the new is more convenient for us. Never mind whether it is better for us. An example of this is how people abandoned reading for TV when TV first became standard. I doubt anyone would claim that watching TV is better for exercising the brain than is reading a book. But it is easier. We dumb down to a lower level because of that. perhaps it is human nature at work. Sometimes quality is improved by the new. Medicine and transportation are two examples. I don't think you can find anyone who would rather ride a horse to a destination than fly by jet. We don't have to evaluate the change from horse to jet because it is obvious that the former is not as good for us as the latter.
When we don't have an obvious advantage between old and new we have a tendency to just accept the new. It is sometimes to our detriment to do so. An example of embracing the new and ousting the old when we lose more than we gain is plastic. How many times do we buy a product made of plastic, formerly made of metal or some other material, and find it breaks soon after purchase. That toddler's plastic tricycle is not nearly as comfortable, durable or as safe for the child as the old, heavy metal tricycles. but manufacturers don't give us a choice between the old metal and the new plastic bike. The older version today is far more costly, if we can even find it to buy. So we accept the plastic tricycle without much thought about it.
As a result, there are a lot of things we used to do and enjoy that we don't do anymore. In my own life here are a few. I no longer... print photos (I miss that and love having a picture in hand rather than on line); write letters by hand, spend a couple of hours reading a newspaper (newspapers are so small and have so little information I now read one if less than 30 minutes); wash my car in my driveway by myself, use an encyclopedia that is not digital, book by visiting a travel agent (It was fun and made the trip seem more personal than booking on line); fix broken things (It's cheaper to buy another one); play a record on a photograph (It sounded better that way); see aTV show that foes not involve vulgar language or crude behavior, or some form of negativity; notice the silence (machines make our lives filled with constant noise); open a door for a lady (It's considered chauvinistic to do it); smile and say hello to strangers (Some will be offended if I do); accept fault and blame (Today we are told it's always someone else's fault); wait three weeks for a package to be delivered; buy anything electric without worrying about my "carbon footprint"; waiting excitedly for the weekly sport event on TV (there are games on live non stop now, ruining all excitement about a "big game"); conversation that is not peppered with news of trivial celebrity nonsense....
Life is changed by technology, which changes even manners and opinions of the day. It's a lot more complicated to be alive today, and I am not sure that is better for us.
In this age we accept the new and throw out the old if the new is more convenient for us. Never mind whether it is better for us. An example of this is how people abandoned reading for TV when TV first became standard. I doubt anyone would claim that watching TV is better for exercising the brain than is reading a book. But it is easier. We dumb down to a lower level because of that. perhaps it is human nature at work. Sometimes quality is improved by the new. Medicine and transportation are two examples. I don't think you can find anyone who would rather ride a horse to a destination than fly by jet. We don't have to evaluate the change from horse to jet because it is obvious that the former is not as good for us as the latter.
When we don't have an obvious advantage between old and new we have a tendency to just accept the new. It is sometimes to our detriment to do so. An example of embracing the new and ousting the old when we lose more than we gain is plastic. How many times do we buy a product made of plastic, formerly made of metal or some other material, and find it breaks soon after purchase. That toddler's plastic tricycle is not nearly as comfortable, durable or as safe for the child as the old, heavy metal tricycles. but manufacturers don't give us a choice between the old metal and the new plastic bike. The older version today is far more costly, if we can even find it to buy. So we accept the plastic tricycle without much thought about it.
As a result, there are a lot of things we used to do and enjoy that we don't do anymore. In my own life here are a few. I no longer... print photos (I miss that and love having a picture in hand rather than on line); write letters by hand, spend a couple of hours reading a newspaper (newspapers are so small and have so little information I now read one if less than 30 minutes); wash my car in my driveway by myself, use an encyclopedia that is not digital, book by visiting a travel agent (It was fun and made the trip seem more personal than booking on line); fix broken things (It's cheaper to buy another one); play a record on a photograph (It sounded better that way); see aTV show that foes not involve vulgar language or crude behavior, or some form of negativity; notice the silence (machines make our lives filled with constant noise); open a door for a lady (It's considered chauvinistic to do it); smile and say hello to strangers (Some will be offended if I do); accept fault and blame (Today we are told it's always someone else's fault); wait three weeks for a package to be delivered; buy anything electric without worrying about my "carbon footprint"; waiting excitedly for the weekly sport event on TV (there are games on live non stop now, ruining all excitement about a "big game"); conversation that is not peppered with news of trivial celebrity nonsense....
Life is changed by technology, which changes even manners and opinions of the day. It's a lot more complicated to be alive today, and I am not sure that is better for us.
Thursday, November 2, 2017
The End Of The Cemetery
When I saw the title of a newspaper article, 'Are
Cemeteries Dying Out', I had to read it. Whoever composed that one has
a sense of humor, and as we know, having a sense of humor about death
is probably the best approach to it. The article posited the idea that
cemeteries, once 'the dearest place on earth' to loved ones of the
parted, are now becoming as forgotten as the pay telephone. I have a
mausoleum space waiting, so this will not impact me. But few people
today visit grave sites and people tend to be more mobile today.
Families often live far apart, making it difficult to tend to a family
grave site.
In addition, a traditional burial and years of maintenance of a grave are costly. When I last visited the family Mausoleum in New Orleans, I remember chatting with a worker there who helped me find the family crypt location. He told me that after more than 40 years working there that he sees fewer visits and fewer resources put into the tombs. Cremation is winning the burial battle today. More than one out of two people in Germany these days opt for cremation and an urn burial.
That's an incredible change in an old world society that just a few years ago had religious bans against cremation emitted from the Catholic Church that stated that cremation was a mortal sin. Now the church approves and assists in cremation. In several European countries as well as the United States, families can take home the cremated remains of their loved ones. Hmmm Putting ornery Uncle Harold in a vase is kind of appealing. Scattering ashes of the deceased has become so common that some people actually have cremation shattering parties.
What's happening to some cemetery owners is bankruptcy. They can not fill their unused burial grounds anymore, and the economics of the business requires continued new occupancy. Funeral services are much more restrained affairs or are near death in many countries. It does make sense that burials in cemeteries would follow that lead.
When you add in the nutty global warming advocates who claim ecological damage from cemeteries, the fact that tradition has been lost to trendiness in so many aspects of life (and death), visiting the family tomb might soon be replaced more often with glancing at the cremation urn on the fireplace. Perhaps redoing the cemetery to make it less like a Dracula movie venue and more an interactive place for people to feel joy rather than sadness, could be the survival tactic for cemeteries. But don't bet your life on it!
In addition, a traditional burial and years of maintenance of a grave are costly. When I last visited the family Mausoleum in New Orleans, I remember chatting with a worker there who helped me find the family crypt location. He told me that after more than 40 years working there that he sees fewer visits and fewer resources put into the tombs. Cremation is winning the burial battle today. More than one out of two people in Germany these days opt for cremation and an urn burial.
That's an incredible change in an old world society that just a few years ago had religious bans against cremation emitted from the Catholic Church that stated that cremation was a mortal sin. Now the church approves and assists in cremation. In several European countries as well as the United States, families can take home the cremated remains of their loved ones. Hmmm Putting ornery Uncle Harold in a vase is kind of appealing. Scattering ashes of the deceased has become so common that some people actually have cremation shattering parties.
What's happening to some cemetery owners is bankruptcy. They can not fill their unused burial grounds anymore, and the economics of the business requires continued new occupancy. Funeral services are much more restrained affairs or are near death in many countries. It does make sense that burials in cemeteries would follow that lead.
When you add in the nutty global warming advocates who claim ecological damage from cemeteries, the fact that tradition has been lost to trendiness in so many aspects of life (and death), visiting the family tomb might soon be replaced more often with glancing at the cremation urn on the fireplace. Perhaps redoing the cemetery to make it less like a Dracula movie venue and more an interactive place for people to feel joy rather than sadness, could be the survival tactic for cemeteries. But don't bet your life on it!
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
LGBT M onth
Did you know
that October was LGBT month? I didn't either
until seeing a
commercial about it on my local TV news station. Everything and
everybody today has a day, week or month set aside to recognize it.
Good for the LGBT crowd they have theirs. What is surprising about it
though, is that just a decade or so ago, such a thing was never
mentioned in public, much less celebrated as it is today. That there is
now a month honoring what the majority of the world thought was
deviancy. This shows how fast social mores and folkways change in
society. I suspect the internet is a key in that, given it has
revolutionized the speed and ease of transferring information.
Since I am not a L, G, B, or even a T (I suspect my letter has more to do with insanity than with a sex role), I was curious enough after hearing about the month that I investigated it. I Googled the subject and immediate found an interesting site about the subject, https://lgbthistorymonth.com/ It seems that is the official LGBT month site. It has a list of what it calls "31 icons of 2017" to celebrate their achievements. I only recognized the names of eight of them. It seemed a bit odd that the site would have to "celebrate" the achievements of LGBT people. Is that not a a way of separating them form others who are straight? Is that not lowering expectations a little?
The site says that "LGBT History Month celebrates the achievements of 31 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender icons. Each day in October, a new LGBT Icon is featured with a video, bio, bibliography, download able images and other resources." The idea I gleaned from reading more is that the LGBT wants to have its history studied like straight history is. Hmmm I wonder if there is a Hitler or Ghengis Khan in the LGBT past, and if so, would that character be studied objectively too. Anyway, a link at the site shows you how to promote LGBT people and events if you are inclined to do so.
I found quite a few other links to LGBT month, and if you Google the subject you'll find them as well. The history of the celebration is that in 1994, a coalition of education based organizations in the United States designated October as LGBT History Month. In 1995, a resolution passed by the General Assembly of the National Education Association included LGBT History Month within a list of commemorative months.
I wish them well. Every person deserves to choose the identity with which he she or whatever is comfortable. Happy LGBT month.
Since I am not a L, G, B, or even a T (I suspect my letter has more to do with insanity than with a sex role), I was curious enough after hearing about the month that I investigated it. I Googled the subject and immediate found an interesting site about the subject, https://lgbthistorymonth.com/ It seems that is the official LGBT month site. It has a list of what it calls "31 icons of 2017" to celebrate their achievements. I only recognized the names of eight of them. It seemed a bit odd that the site would have to "celebrate" the achievements of LGBT people. Is that not a a way of separating them form others who are straight? Is that not lowering expectations a little?
The site says that "LGBT History Month celebrates the achievements of 31 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender icons. Each day in October, a new LGBT Icon is featured with a video, bio, bibliography, download able images and other resources." The idea I gleaned from reading more is that the LGBT wants to have its history studied like straight history is. Hmmm I wonder if there is a Hitler or Ghengis Khan in the LGBT past, and if so, would that character be studied objectively too. Anyway, a link at the site shows you how to promote LGBT people and events if you are inclined to do so.
I found quite a few other links to LGBT month, and if you Google the subject you'll find them as well. The history of the celebration is that in 1994, a coalition of education based organizations in the United States designated October as LGBT History Month. In 1995, a resolution passed by the General Assembly of the National Education Association included LGBT History Month within a list of commemorative months.
I wish them well. Every person deserves to choose the identity with which he she or whatever is comfortable. Happy LGBT month.
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