Nostalgia and Grapefruit Dangers

From the time I was a young boy, I have loved citrus. Oranges, tangerines, lemons, tangelos,  limes, and grapefruits. Especially grapefruits and oranges. They all remind me of time spent in Florida during my childhood. My father worked for a citrus company on the West Coast of Florida for a short while in the mid-1970's. I remember the smell of oranges on his skin & clothes when he came home from work. I am one who can't seem to escape nostalgia, especially now that my father has been gone for almost three decades. Every-time we visit Florida now, I have to try to find one of those road-side orange and grapefruit stores. Citrus groves are common along the Indian River area where we often visit, and it is a pleasant thing for me to spend time checking out the citrus. I have family who live in Florida that had grapefruit trees in their back yard. I was so envious.  

Now I am a fat, middle-aged man, as a result of having fallen into the bad American lifestyle of being too sedentary (desk jockey?), and eating too many unhealthy foods and too few great foods. I find myself excusing the fast food or convenience foods as a necessary evil that goes along with the work life I have (yes, I did acknowledge that is a excuse). I take medication for the things that are typical with over-fed Americans. Many of the medications have unpleasant side-effects. Furthermore, consuming grapefruit or grapefruit juice with some of these medications can be very bad for you. Consumed in enough quantity, it can even kill you. There's a paradox in this, I think. What is normally considered a healthy food is deadly when you're taking meds to counteract a diet of bad foods.

Of course, the ideal thing to do is to become healthier--eat better, exercise, lose weight, get the blood pressure and triglycerides down, and eliminate the need for the meds altogether. At least that's been my New Year's Resolution for the last several years. Perhaps in 2013 I will stick to it.


http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/11/27/researchers-warn-mixing-grapefruit-with-drugs-can-kill-you/

Movember: Don't dis the 'stache'

Article from the UK's Guardian: Disability in film: is cinema finally moving with the times?

Interesting article in the Guardian about the changing portrayal of people with disabilities.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2012/nov/12/disability-in-film-untouchable

Tim Hawkins: Cletus Take the Reel

Just had to share for all my redneck friends out there....I LOVE it!

CNS Article, "No Thanks for Thanksgiving"

I came across this article today. Mr. Robert Jensen, a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin, says that Thanksgiving is a white supremacists holiday. He proclaims that we should reflect on our original "sin." Jensen comments that Thanksgiving would be better spent if it (and its 'self-indulgent feasting') were replaced "with a National Day of Atonement accompanied by a self-reflective collective fasting."  He later claims that our nation's history makes us the same as Nazi Germany. 

I never cease to be amazed by some members of academia with such obvious leftist bias. And to think that parents have saved their entire careers to send their children off to universities, only to be 'taught' such nonsense. To make wide-sweeping generalizations and promote moral equivalencies such as America is the same as Nazi Germany is not only intellectually dishonest but is reprehensible and disgusting. It also angers me. As some you may know, I make no apologies for my patriotism and undying gratefulness to live in this great land of opportunity we call the United States of America. Call me a naive' traditionalist or whatever other epitaphs that can be pejoratively assigned. I really don't care.

And, yes, I did actually read Mr. Jensen's original article. I wonder if Mr. Jensen has ever read Paul Johnson's book, "A History of the American People." Doubtful, as it would not fit nicely into his presumptive world-view that the globe would be better off without America.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."

                                                                                                             ~Ronald Reagan

Wordless Wednesday: Scenes From Small Town Indiana

"How To Ensure Your Nonprofit's Facebook Fans See All Your Posts," Article from Nonprofit Tech 2.0: A Social Media Guide for Nonprofits

Great article for non-profit social media managers. The reality is that it's becoming increasingly more difficult for nonprofits/not-for-profits to maintain their reach, especially on limited resources and budgets. Change seems to happen rapidly, and it is critical to keep up with these changes. Furthermore, it's important to not put all your eggs in one social media basket...we've got to use more than just Facebook.


http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/how-to-ensure-your-nonprofits-facebook-fans-see-all-your-posts/

Miami Herald article: Prejudice in the heart of Florida

I just read Daniel Shoer Roth's opinion piece in the Miami Herald, "Prejudice in the heart of Florida." It's sobering and heart-wrenching.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/14/v-fullstory/3097536/apartheid-in-the-heart-of-florida.html