Paul Newman

I loved both your movies and your delicious food products, which helped countless people dine and and simultaneously donate to charity. *side note: I'm actually not being sarcastic, loved this guy and his salad dressing.

American eating trends

This picture sums up a lot of things so well.

In addition to a crippling oil addiction, the way (and amount, dear lord) Americans eat is just another one of our many faults as a society that may come back to bite us as worldwide inflation creeps up. Check out this interesting graphic from the NYTimes about how the way Americans eat has changed over the years (big shock - we eat more!). Thanks to Zaki for the link.

Also, here is another graphic for the fattest states in 2007. (Way to go Colorado!)

Calorie count legislation

As I'm sure you probably know, New York and California legislators are pushing restaurants to publish calorie counts. While I think it is important to have this freedom of information, particularly in chain restaurants and fast food joints, I am wholly against the idea of calorie counts on all menus, hell maybe even all chains (see link below). Maybe give patrons the option. I just don't think I need to know what that delicious piece of meat topped with sizzling butter or the pastry shelf at Tartine is doing to my waistline -- I'm already racked with guilt for my ability to afford such gluttonous luxuries, does one really need to bring health into it? In my opinion, the answer is a definite "no" - taste like that is too good to corrupt. In this case, ignorance really is bliss.

This sounds trippy and fascinating.

"Miracle fruit" apparently rewires your taste buds, making sweet sour, bitter sweet, and so forth, because of a component called miraculin. Interesting...