Randomness

[genevieveryoko]

KFC was my favorite growing up too. my parents wouldn't let me go to mcdonald's or burger king but for some reason were always down to get KFC. now i live a block from popeye's, but it just doesn't do it for me - they put bacon in their gravy and i think it tastes weird.

ohhhhh god ya i hvent been to kfc in years either but i have a friend who used to work at one and id stop in now n then and get a 2pc and shed always load that shit up with extras , like 4 drumsticks and wedge fries , cherry coke . bada bing bada boom it was sooooo good . always walked out with my mouth all greasy and a full belly

cherry coke sounds perfect, think i'll go this sunday.

[syed]

Got the email a while back, but finally got the letter in the post for an offer to do an MA in History of Dress for 2012/13 Just need to get back to Uni this Autumn and finish my degree!

[HWith]

The last two pages kinda illustrate why so many americans are overweight...

[endersgame]

...and angry!

[Fade to Black]

had a kfc phase a month ago where i ate there for lunch practically every day because there was nothing else in the area that piqued my interest. only thing i like about KFC in HK is they offer the side dish of mushroom with rice in gravy. The chicken's not as good as over there.

[Faust]

Might be another case study of "too big to fail", but not all of Europe's economies are falling like dominos. I'm not going to make a sarcastic comment about the US economy, but I could if I would.

Germany for instance have decreased their debt, and private savings are "good" at the moment. That most likely equals low inflation and low rates at least in germany. I agree that the state of some of the EU economies are not good though.

What's so sarcastic about theetruscan's comment? He was merely stating a fact.

[sam_tem]

The last two pages kinda illustrate why so many americans are overweight...

also has a lot to do with the cost of food relative to incomes as food expenses make up a very small part of the average american's income and fatty foods are always cheaper and easier to get a hold of.

one thing that sucks about living in the hipper parts of town littered with rich folks is that there's always a lack of quality fried chicken places. fortunately the ghettos are never far away down here.

anyhow, america's about to turn into a 3rd world country at midnight tonight. can't believe the leaders of this country are so willing to inflict pain on the average citizens over ideological battles that have nothing to do with the budget. i read that the republicans are refusing to sign a budget that doesn't outlaw abortion or at least defund all money directed to women's low-cost health centers like planned parenthood because surprise surprise, that's where women have to go if they want abortions. abortion aside, the problem is planned parenthood is critical for low-income americans in receiving basic birth control. note these are also the folks that rail against "anchor babies" and are currently drastically cutting budgets for services like medicaid that these poor kids and mothers depend on.

[theetruscan]

Might be another case study of "too big to fail", but not all of Europe's economies are falling like dominos. I'm not going to make a sarcastic comment about the US economy, but I could if I would.

Germany for instance have decreased their debt, and private savings are "good" at the moment. That most likely equals low inflation and low rates at least in germany. I agree that the state of some of the EU economies are not good though.

What's so sarcastic about theetruscan's comment? He was merely stating a fact.

Yeah, though another friend made a good point. Sure, Germany's multi-year project of cannibalizing other european economies to spure their growth has lead to a lot of failures, but the US is about to have the entire government shut down because half of our government is full of crazy assholes with no understanding of their jobs, economics, or arithmetic. I can see how the latter would weaken a currency more than the former (note, the point was hers, but the snarky presentation is all mine).

[Faust]

I just wonder at what point the American people will actually start waking up. Ever?

And, by the way, somebody finally said it. In a TV show (The Wire), but I'll take it. "Americans are a stupid people by and large. We pretty much believe whatever we are told." Kudos to David Simon for having the balls to write a line like that.

[HWith]

My comment wasn't to be taken seriously, but now we're at it, you might be right. Still I think the general opinion towards fast food etc. is different in the U.S. compared to e.g. Denmark where I live. We're very conscious about health. The number of overweight people is increasing, but it is increasing at a slower rate than before, and campaigns to battle overweight in youth have been quite succesful. As a result we're one of the leanest Western populations and in a not so distant future we might even be able to do a turnaround in terms of overweight in this country.

To be fair, I'll add that Danmark is the most 'fair' country in terms of economical equality, and as it is a fact that poor people are usually more overweight, this fact of course helps in the statistics.

also has a lot to do with the cost of food relative to incomes as food expenses make up a very small part of the average american's income and fatty foods are always cheaper and easier to get a hold of.

one thing that sucks about living in the hipper parts of town littered with rich folks is that there's always a lack of quality fried chicken places. fortunately the ghettos are never far away down here.

[Shucks]

ok so maybe you danes have slimmed down but you still hit that beer and those cigarettes pretty hard. even your queen smokes like a chimney....

[theetruscan]

... abortion aside, the problem is planned parenthood is critical for low-income americans in receiving basic birth control. note these are also the folks that rail against "anchor babies" and are currently drastically cutting budgets for services like medicaid that these poor kids and mothers depend on.

It's not just birth control they provide. Planned Parenthood is the primary affordable provider of all reproductive health services, mammograms, cervical cancer screenings, and a slew of other services. All of these services are, of course, available elsewhere, but Planned Parenthood's income-dependent pricing makes them affordable for many people who would otherwise go without. The spectacularly violent opposition to abortion (for which funding does not come from the federal government anyway, even at planned parenthood) is essentially going to lead directly to more preventable deaths from cancer and the like. Whatever, crazy assholes don't care about death. </rant>

EDIT: Regarding food. It largely breaks down to pricing. Yes, there are cultural differences, and some crazy/stupid people. But, the majority of it is very simple. The foods that go into fast food and pre-packaged junk food are heavily subsidised. In a country like America, where such a large portion of the populace are living on so little, cost is effectively the only determinant. It's part of why we have obese children in inner cities suddenly showing up with scurvy and the like. Obviously, this is a generalization. There are people out there who think the drive for healthier eating and people is a liberal conspiracy, but these stupid fuckers are the minority. Much of our weight problem comes from a combination of ill-advised food subsidies and economic inequality. I'm poorly aggregating opinions from a swath of food writers, and can't cite them effectively right now, but for some of my sources look at Pollan's NYT Magazine article about corn subsidies, Roberts' book "The End of Food", <forgot his name's> The Fat Land, and a few others.

[cjbreed]

^^thats the craziest part. there is already a law against federal funding for abortions.

2nd craziest part - john boehner still pretending it is about spending. a concept that stupid people can easily rally behind since it is being misrepresented and misunderstood

Boehner spoke briefly Friday morning, saying, "There's only one reason that we don't have an agreement as yet, and that issue is spending"

oh and they also want to eliminate money the Environmental Protection Agency uses to regulate greenhouse gases and other pollutants. hmm. wonder why...

edit - re food check out food, inc. on ur netflix if u want the easy to digest version.

[syed]

It's not just birth control they provide. Planned Parenthood is the primary affordable provider of all reproductive health services, mammograms, cervical cancer screenings, and a slew of other services. All of these services are, of course, available elsewhere, but Planned Parenthood's income-dependent pricing makes them affordable for many people who would otherwise go without. The spectacularly violent opposition to abortion (for which funding does not come from the federal government anyway, even at planned parenthood) is essentially going to lead directly to more preventable deaths from cancer and the like.

Reminded me of this video...



I'm all for free speech, but damn. What do those types of protesters think they will actually achieve?

[thejarc]

I've just read the last couple of pages and it made me realize how fucked up America really is. I'm truly shocked. And I thought Germany had problems...

Gave me lots to think about.