Mainstream Meadia & Food Blogging

A new feature article at BlogSoop that I spent far too long writing:

An ecclesiastical history of the food web, the media’s response to online restaurant criticism, and why Mario Batali is an idiot.

Sunflower Seed Butter

Photo Courtesy of Roboppy

According to research, sunflower seeds may help lower high blood pressure. Spanish researchers tested a fatless sunflower seed meal in an experiment that mimicked the body's digestive process. The seed meal released bioactive peptides that inhibited the production of an enzyme that contributes to high blood pressure. The researchers believe that whole sunflower seeds could have the same effect.

Some Local Music

East Homicide Harlem / Don't Stop

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Bloomberg Wins Points with Reasonable Citizens

Michael Bloomberg changed his party affiliation from Republican to unaffiliated yesterday.

I've always had the utmost respect for the man. His fiscal policy is sound and responsible. He seems like an all around reasonable and intelligent person.

I hope he runs for President; he has continually denied that he will.

Crocs??

What's up with these shoes? I know they're comfortable, but they look ridiculous. Every time I see someone wearing a pair I want to ask if they've given up on life.

Irresponsible HIV Statistic?

A few days ago I posted a statistic on the HIV infection rates among heterosexuals. The post got picked up on Sphere as a featured blog reaction to article on AOL: Man With HIV Gets Life Term for Sex. Several hundred people wandered over for a read.

There's a reason that statistic isn't broadly disseminated - it might actually strengthen one's proclivity for having unprotected sex. Does our society have a responsibility to protect us from accurate, yet potentially damaging information?

Here's another HIV statistic to consider (from National Geographic):

Appealing to Vanity: The Dangers of Tanning

What's more frightening - contracting Melanoma or looking old before your time?

The incidence of skin disorders associated with ultraviolet light increases with age and develops over several decades. One Australian study found moderate to severe photodamage in 72% of men and 47% of women under 30 years of age.

Melanoma - the most lethal form of skin cancer - will strike nearly 60,000 Americans this year and kill about 8,100. This type of data has been around for decades, as have informative governmental campaigns.

But what's the best way to get the message across? It may have less to do with thinly veiled cancer threats and more to do with appearance.

A 2006 study published in Basic and Applied Social Psychology, used “appearance-based interventions” on 244 Southern California beach patrons ranging in age from 18 to 67 at the very start of summer. Researchers started showing college students images of people with heavy wrinkling and age spots, then followed up with Polaroids of their own sun-damaged skin, captured with a ultraviolet camera, which reveals age spots and uneven pigmentation not yet visible to the naked eye.

Interviews three months later showed the message got through - the participants were protecting their skin from the sun.

A newer study Health Psychology involving 133 UCSD students shows “in your face” intervention actually resulted in sun-smart behavior for a full year.

The Spread of HIV

Chart from TDAXP

According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, men almost never get HIV from women. A healthy man who has unprotected sex with a non drug-using woman has a one in 5 million chance of getting HIV. If he wears a condom, the odds drop to one in 50 million. And though it's easier for men to infect women, the odds that an HIV-positive man will transmit the virus to a woman through sex are less than one in 1,000.

Discuss...

Sporkk

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Income and Portion Size

"A survey conducted by Decision Analysts is Dallas last year of more than 4,000 consumers found that 57 percent of adults preceive restaurant portions as too generous; only 20 percent regarded portions as too small. The study also found that the higher the respondent's income, the more likely the person would view portions as too large."

- Michael Bauer

New York City Murder Rates

When I said I felt "as safe as ever", I meant it.

Witnessing an act of violence, whether on television or in person, should
not factor into one's presumption of security, or lack thereof.

Fatal Shooting at 1774 Lexington Avenue

10pm.

After getting off at the 110th St. stop of the Uptown six train, I was greeted by a scene of onlookers and police - the crowd was small as it was raining.

As if in an episode of cops, I witnessed a limp body (one of his legs was hanging off the stretcher) pulled out of a red brick apartment building and placed on the street. In the next few minutes CPR was administered, frantically. I've taken CPR classes in the past, one of the things instructors instill is just how much external pressure is needed to pump blood.

After a few minutes, the individual was placed in an ambulance and whisked away.

There were at least 15 cops mulling around the street. The crowd dispersed and I walked a block and a half home and went to sleep, feeling as safe as ever.