Unconditional love is not a thing. Nor should it be.
Sunday, February 27, 2022
Monday, February 21, 2022
Salt, Sugar, Fat
The development of Kraft Lunchables (and the addition of Capri Sun) is heavily covered by the author.
Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants
Hooked Us is about the processed food industry in America. About
the gargantuan businesses behind the way we eat; about the marketing of their
products; about the food scientists they employ to find the perfect combination
of ingredients to keep us coming back for more; and about the collision of
capitalism and health. The author spends most of his time describing the way
things are, and explaining how and why they got that way. It’s not intended to
bring shame to snackers and sugary cereal lovers. It’s meant to illuminate what
went into all of those brightly colored items on the grocery store shelves.
Friday, February 18, 2022
Monday, February 14, 2022
Dear Winning Athletes:
We all hear you praise God after the game. You're at a loss for words―except, "God is good". You seem to think that your world and God's world are one and the same. You're in your rightful place at the center of the universe; all is right because you won. Does your opponent not have the same God? Why are you more deserving than he? Is your faith stronger than his? Is there no God in Detroit and Jacksonville?
"The first step toward wisdom is the realization that the laws of the universe [God, in this case] don't care about you."
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Like>Love
If "like" is logical and "love" is illogical, maybe we should give more weight to the former.
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Tribe
"Self-determination theory…holds that human beings need three basic things in order to be content: they need to feel competent at what they do; they need to feel authentic in their lives; and they need to feel connected to others."
Sebastian Junger's Tribe is about the engrained
human need to belong. To be part of a group; to share experiences and feelings;
to be pulling in the same direction; to be one. More than anything, it’s why members
of the military feel lost and disillusioned upon returning to civilian life. It’s
why every retiring athlete says he’ll miss the camaraderie, “the guys in the locker
room”. It’s why people thrive in start-ups and small businesses but lose their focus
in the larger “machine”. Our society is not set up for sharing and communal living,
it’s set up for competition, scarcity, and property. We are constantly bombarded
with our differences―crime, income inequality, politics―while routinely ignoring
the things that make us the same. Why do we feel good when we donate our time
to help the less fortunate? Why do we get angry when we feel people don’t pull their
own weight and cheat the system? Why do so many people living in close quarters in poverty-stricken places
say they’re happy when the richest country in the world is full of loneliness, depression,
and anxiety? Because that’s the way we’ve evolved; it’s part of what it means
to be human. We all have a need for connection; we need to be part of a tribe.