THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood."
~~Bill Watterson

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"You look at your children, and you know that they're looking back at you, and they're saying, 'You're going to take care of me, aren't you?'
"That's our job, to keep them healthy and to keep them safe, and to let them dream as big as their dreams will take them."
~~President Barack Obama, 2/4/09

THE 11 BEST FOODS YOU AREN'T EATING

By TARA PARKER-POPE, The New York Times
(This post was originally published on June 30, 2008, and recently appeared on The New York Times’s list of most-viewed stories for 2009.)

Nutritionist and author Jonny Bowden has created several lists of healthful foods people should be eating but aren’t. But some of his favorites, like purslane, guava and goji berries, aren’t always available at regular grocery stores. I asked Dr. Bowden, author of “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth,” to update his list with some favorite foods that are easy to find but don’t always find their way into our shopping carts. Here’s his advice.

Beets: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters.
How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power.

Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes.
How to eat: Asian-style slaw or as a crunchy topping on burgers and sandwiches.

Swiss chard: A leafy green vegetable packed with carotenoids that protect aging eyes.
How to eat it: Chop and saute in olive oil.

Cinnamon: May help control blood sugar and cholesterol.
How to eat it: Sprinkle on coffee or oatmeal.

Pomegranate juice: Appears to lower blood pressure and loaded with antioxidants.
How to eat: Just drink it.

Dried plums: Okay, so they are really prunes, but they are packed with antioxidants.
How to eat: Wrapped in prosciutto and baked.

Pumpkin seeds: The most nutritious part of the pumpkin and packed with magnesium; high levels of the mineral are associated with lower risk for early death.
How to eat: Roasted as a snack, or sprinkled on salad.

Sardines: Dr. Bowden calls them “health food in a can.” They are high in omega-3’s, contain virtually no mercury and are loaded with calcium. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese as well as a full complement of B vitamins.
How to eat: Choose sardines packed in olive or sardine oil. Eat plain, mixed with salad, on toast, or mashed with dijon mustard and onions as a spread.
Zztopdog notes: Sorry; can't do this one!

Turmeric: The “superstar of spices,” it may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
How to eat: Mix with scrambled eggs or in any vegetable dish.

Frozen blueberries: Even though freezing can degrade some of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, frozen blueberries are available year-round and don’t spoil; associated with better memory in animal studies.
How to eat: Blended with yogurt or chocolate soy milk and sprinkled with crushed almonds.

Canned pumpkin: A low-calorie vegetable that is high in fiber and immune-stimulating vitamin A; fills you up on very few calories.
How to eat: Mix with a little butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.

You can find more details and recipes on the Men’s Health Web site, which published the original version of the list last year.

RELIEF FOR HAITI

From Alan Colms's Liberaland:

The American Red Cross has updates on relief efforts. You can text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross relief for Haiti.... Green960 has a list of additional help resources.

THE FROG AND THE SCORPION - A REVISED PARABLE

By Tom Tomorrow, from Salon.com:

SO GROWN UP

Emy lost her first tooth today, after wiggling it for about a week. She can't wait to see what the toothfairy brings!

GOOD-BYE TO NETFLIX NEW RELEASE RENTAL

Thanks to Chris at Cynical-C:

"Today is sad day for Netflix customers. The online video rental supplier has just announced an agreement with Warner Bros. that will forever alter your online rental experience. Now should you wish to rent a Warner Bros. flick you’ll have to wait out a 28-day holding period after the film’s initial DVD release date.

"Of course the partnership rooted in money-making greed — Warner Bros. wants you to buy the DVD instead of rent it —was to be expected. But the new deal is a first of its kind, and we could soon see several other studios follow in Warner Bros. footsteps.
"Both companies would like you to know that the deal also guarantees that Warner Bros. will add more direct-to-video and streaming titles to the Netflix collection."

Zztopdog notes: Of course this change would occur just two weeks after we joined Netflix.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"Winter is nature's way of saying, 'Up yours.' "
~~Robert Byrne

TWELVE BELOW

At 5:00 this morning, the temp was -12; that is not including wind chill. Zorro even came in fairly quickly. But by 11:00, when the temp had risen to 5, he wanted to stay outside. I let him stay out for about 5 minutes, and then, made him come in. He was not happy.

AND THE SNOW KEEPS COMING

I realize that weather is relative. The Midwest does not get the quantity of snow that, say, Colorado does. The snow is still coming down here. I plowed a couple of passes on the driveway before hitting a chunk of ice. A long piece of metal shot out of the front of the blower, and that was the end of plowing today. I shoveled the rest by hand (thank goodness is was dry, fluffy snow).
Sorry, snow-lovers.I'm sick of snow already!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Ah, the Midwest.... We finally get a day that is actually warmer than 3 degrees, and it comes with a winter storm warning:

From Weather.com:
"... WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO MIDNIGHT CST THURSDAY NIGHT...

* SNOW WILL MOVE INTO EASTERN IOWA STARTING AROUND MID AFTERNOON... AND OVERSPREAD THE ENTIRE AREA BY TONIGHT AND CONTINUE INTO THURSDAY. THE SNOW IS EXPECTED TO END FROM WEST TO EAST THURSDAY EVENING.
* WIDESPREAD SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 8 INCHES ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA... WITH MOST OF THIS FALLING TONIGHT THROUGH MIDDAY THURSDAY."

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better [person].
~~Benjamin Franklin

WINTER MORNING POEM

By Ogden Nash:

"Winter is the king of showmen
Turning tree stumps into snow men
And houses into birthday cakes
And spreading sugar over lakes
Smooth and clean and frosty white
The world looks good enough to bite
That's the season to be young
Catching snowflakes on your tongue
Snow is snowy when it's snowing
I'm sorry it's slushy when it's going"

THE IMAGINATION OF TERRY GILLIAM

By Andy Kubis, from The Bob Edwards Show blog:

"I bet that every American middle school has at least one kid who knows the lumberjack song by heart, or the Dead Parrot sketch, or can do John Cleese’s Silly Walks…my nephew could do the silly walk before he could talk. For Monty Python’s entire 40-year history, there has been a new generation of fans waiting in the wings. In fact, there’s an entire Monty Python channel on You Tube.

"Terry Gilliam was the sole non-Brit in the comedy troupe, and was mostly responsible for the cartoons. That giant foot that crushes the show’s title at the end of the opening credits (see above)… it was his idea. It is the foot of Cupid, cut from a reproduction of the Bronzino masterpiece. That foot — and Gilliam’s style in general — are the visual trademarks of Monty Python. One of my favorite of Gilliam’s cartoons is suicidal leaves, worth the :59 seconds of your time.
"Terry Gilliam’s imagination has to be getting better with time. His movies — Time Bandits, Brazil, The Fisher King, and now The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus — prove it. This newest is Gilliam’s first original script since Brazil. It is a fantastical morality tale set in the present-day. The film stars Christopher Plummer as the title character, musician Tom Waits as the devil, and Heath Ledger as a mysterious stranger. It was Ledger’s last film; he died while the movie was being made. Gilliam decided to have three other actors (Johnny Depp, Jude Law & Colin Farrell) fill in, sharing the role. You can watch a trailer at this link.
"Gilliam has said that he doesn’t care if people leave the theater loving his films or hating them… he just wants a reaction. That he often succeeds in getting one is made clear by the frequently retold story of a woman who saw The Fisher King and walked home afterwards. .. 20 blocks in the wrong direction."

SOCIAL MEDIA EXPLAINED

Alexis Ohanian, one of the founders of Reddit, talks not about Reddit per se, but how social media create memes and why the process is important. Thanks to TYWKIWDBE.

MERRY CHISTMAS/HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Whatever your philosophical bent, we wish you and yours a delightful, heartwarming holiday.

Zztopdog and Family


Artwork by Jim Shore

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"The worst thing in the world is to try to sleep, and not to."
~~F. Scott Fitzgerald

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"Be gentle with yourself. If you will not be your own unconditional friend, who will be? If you are always playing an opponent and you are also opposing yourself, you are going to be outnumbered."
~~Dan Millman

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"Perhaps I am a bear, or some hibernating animal underneath, for the instinct to be half asleep all winter is so strong in me."
~~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

BLIZZARD WARNING

And we're not talking about DQ! Five to eight inches of snow expected overnight, with 40 to 50 mile per hour winds!
A good night to stay home.