When I lived in Southern California from 1982 to 1986, I took an afternoon course about restaurants at the local community college. I learned such useful tidbits as to avoid the “Chef’s Special” — usually some forgotten meat they’d found in the back of the freezer, scraped the mold off, cooked it well, hid it
You’ve probably heard plenty of talk about how our diet has changed over the years. Specifically, reliance on processed foods have given us a disposition towards obesity. I believe this, because I’ve been reading food labels and I always find some type of sugar somewhere in the ingredients of almost everything. Or am I being
Since, I’ve received no complaints (yet) on my last post — The Science of Sex — I’ve found something on this subject that I think is worth adding. In 2011, the state of Mississippi passed a law that placed restrictions on sex education, specifically there could be no instruction or demonstration on the application of
On the theory that everyone likes to talk about sex (and if that’s wrong, this is going to be really embarrassing), but the NPR show Radiolab has recently broadcast a series of six programs on sexuality under the apt umbrella title of “Gonads.” The series began with “The Primordial Journey” (June 20) on sex selection
There are many unusual stories about World War II; I’ve just stumbled across another one. In April 1940, Denmark fell under Nazi domination. It was a time a great frustration for the Danish people, and their options were limited since they were Germany’s neighbor. But while the adults did nothing but curse, there was one
We invented cities thousands of years ago, but they have become the focal points of our civilization in only the past 150 or so years. As cities get larger and more complex, how do the animals that normally live in those areas adapt? We’re just getting to the point where animals have had a chance
I’ve just learned of a city of 80,000 people that is safe, quiet and full of open space. What’s the secret? They banned cars. The city is Pontevedra in northwest Spain. Its transformation was the brainchild of its mayor since 1999, Miguel Anxo Fernández Lores: “Before I became mayor 14,000 cars passed along this street
Have you ever pushed a button and wondered if anything really happened? You may be onto something. There are 1000 “Walk” buttons at intersections in New York City, but only about 100 are actually functional. Pushing the “door close” button in an elevator probably doesn’t make the door close any faster. And if you’ve ever
One trend I’m following with great interest is the move toward a cashless society. This would certainly be a significant change with, as usual, many unintended consequences. For example, one of the most common replies to panhandling is “I don’t have change.” Today that might not be just an excuse. So is this cashless trend
There have been many heroes in the civil rights movement. Recently, I’ve learned of another. Percy Dale (P.D.) East was a white native of Mississippi who developed a refined sense of racial justice while being raised in sawmill camps in the southern part of the state by a blacksmith father and a mother who ran
