Food Rules – Pollan

Recently skimmed/read Michael Pollan’s book, Food Rules.

 I like:

“Don’t ingest foods made in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap.” (Chapter 18)

Change

I watched Olympic Figure skating briefly the other night and heard some commentary about the routines being adjusted based on trainer and athlete’s confidence.  I imagined how difficult it must be to rehearse over and over again and then after burning a routine into the muscles deciding – no – being advised – to make a change and then agreeing to it. 

 How difficult it must be to accept the change intellectually, to accept that something prior was not right and then to implement the change in something you had been practicing over and over again.  It is a process of unlearning or relearning. 

 How does one become open to such changes, and how does one get others to hear and consider alternate possibilities?

 I spent a part of my semester reading on just these subjects. Of course the books were more, “big picture” than this one topic. But don’t we have to start somewhere?  And, it seems to me, changes in a routine like that are monumental and life altering, to those involved.

Judith

An Impressive Day In Daytona – as seen on tv

My blog is not about racing but as a parent of a NASCAR fan, I have become one too. And as the races are experiences that take my attention and influence my perceptions of the world I see they may occasionally be recognized here.  So, onto today’s entry, my thoughts on the Daytona 500 for those who are probably not into it or maybe those who are.

 On Sunday (February 14^th) I noted it was the Lunar New Year, celebrated my many Asian cultures, but I don’t know all the specifics.  It was also Valentine’s day and, important to a few members of this house, the racing of the Daytona 500.

 The Daytona 500 was the media of importance for me on that day. It is the first race in the Sprint Cup season every year. And this year it felt different and a little unusual.  Everyone seemed in great spirits. (Sportscasters, drivers, and fans I saw on the TV)  There was a new energy of conversation about Danica Patrick’s showing the day before in a Nationwide race. 

 Danica

It turns out, I hadn’t known this, that Danica is going to stay out of the Sprint Cup races for a little while as she gets her feet wet with Stock Cars in the Nationwide races. I like that. She gets to earn her way in. And she is going to keep racing Indy cars too. I am going to have to pay attention to hear what she has to say about the differences in the types of racing. I know others have done it, but somehow her involvement in both is more intriguing to me.

 Could the participation of a capable female driver in NASCAR encourage the rest of the participants to feel stronger and more capable? Or is it just a competition thing? Personally, I think it is something they should feel proud of. Especially if she really competes.

 The Daytona

Harry Connick Jr. sang the National Anthem and kept fairly understated so that the focus was on the song not just his voice.  I have mixed feelings about the National Anthem that I will go into some other time, but I recognize that it is a song due respect. I appreciate it being treated well.  And he did.

 During the race there was need to patch the track which should have taken a half hour at most but ended up delaying the race by more than an hour and a half. But somehow that didn’t ruin things or annoy too many people. I have to admit to channel surfing a bit, but I kept coming back.   And I started to learn the new rules about the, Green/white/checker, restart when there are cautions at the tail end of the race. This was addressed so that the race has a fair chance of ending as a real race, not as a default win, by who got out of the pits in what order and had to hold there place on the track until the end.  As it turned out, the drivers and the officials got to test out that new rule due to a couple of wrecks on the track at the very end. It made it a much more significant win for Jamie McMurray.  I was very impressed.

 It was good to see the race be a race not just gliding around the track for no reason.

 Judith