The 'Next' Michael Crichton novel

I just finished reading Next by Michael Crichton. I am a huge fan of his and have read all of his books. I have to say that at least for the first half of this one I was a bit disappointed. He introduced to many characters and I began to lose track of who was who. He was distinctly lacking in the science this time which seems to be an unfortunate trend. I think he is now thinking way too hard about the fact that almost al of his books get turned into movies. He is setting it up in his books to be movie-ready at the expense of the social information and science he is so well known for in books like Jurassic Park and Terminal Man. This book, called Next, is about the new world of genes and genetic manipulation. A very scary and amazing topic. It doesn't really have a main character or story-line which took some figuring out. I think it would have been beneficial to have known that before i started reading. About half way through things started getting a lot more interesting and it ended up being not a bad read. He certainly brought up a lot of thought-provoking topics and makes the reader realize how out of control the whole gene-patenting and exploitation could get. I think actually the some of what he describes is already happening. He starts the book off with this statement, "This book is fiction, except for the parts that aren't." Actually, he is very vocal in this book about his disdain for big corporations, those corporation's big wigs, and the evils of out of control advertising. I am surprised that there is not some kind of big counter attack from the big companies that use genetics and patent genes. They must know how popular he is. But I guess since he writes "fiction" he can get away with it.
So, anyway, I do recommend this book, but just realize that it might be a little slow going and a little lacking overall. I hope he doesn't continue to get away from the science in his books! Needless to say I won't be going to see the movie version when it is made because almost all of the movies from his books suck!

I hope everyone has a great New Year!

Diet For a New America

This post is about a book I just read called Diet For a New America by John Robbins (Also author of several other books including The Food Revolution and founder of EarthSave). It was actually written almost 20 years ago but is very relevant today. This book is laden with reasons to eliminate animal products from our diet. It is scary, shocking, revolting yet hopeful. I warn you that once you read it you can't go back. The information will be forever in your brain! So I have decided to stop eating meat and am trying to greatly cut back on my intake of dairy and eggs. I know many of you will be like, "why would you do that?" Well, I will just answer that briefly here:
1)the conditions that the livestock is kept in is far worse than any of us can imagine.
2) The livestock is kept in a state of fear and malnutrition and their bodies are pumped through with hormones, antibiotics and insecticides and then we eat that!!!
3) One giant feedlot of cows produce more poop than all the humans in LA and most of it cannot be used for anything because it is too full of poison or can only be disposed of by run-off.
4) More water and more land is used to produce beef and pork than for any other use in the US.
5) A diet high in animal protein and fat is the leading contributor to almost all degenerative disease and by not consuming it you can eliminate or reduce the likelihood of getting: cancer, heart disease, diabetes, MS, arthritis, strokes, obesity, and many others.
6) The main cause of osteoporosis is not lack of calcium but rather too much protein which strips the calcium from the body.
7) Women who consume a diet high in animal protein and fat have contaminated breast milk and a much higher chance of getting breast, ovarian, and cervical cancer as well as having miscarriages and birth defects.
8) Men you have that kind of diet have more of a chance of getting prostate cancer, having low sperm count and transmitting poisons and contaminants through their sperm to their child causing birth defects.
9) Meat is very hard to digest because our instestines are very different from a carnivore's. The meat products have to be in our bodies for a long time because our intestines are so long and consequently it starts to putrefy in the body causing, idegestion, constipation, colon cancer and many other ailments. We are not meant to eat meat all that often and until recently we didn't.
10) Eating vegetables and other plants give the body all the nutrients and vitamins it needs to be healthy, full of energy and generally feel good.
11) Animal diets cause acne while a plant based diet promotes good skin condition.
12) Being a vegetarian is cheaper than being a meat eater.
13) Meat eaters have a shorter life expectancy than non-meat eaters
14) Avoiding animal products promotes better health which means less trips to the doctor, less money on treatments, not having to be dependent on drugs and less dealings with insurance companies.
15) If we used the grain that we feed to our livestock to feed ourselves we would have plenty of food for everyone, not have to clear land for cow grazing, save unbelievable amounts of water, lessen the amount of toxins in our bodies and on our planet, eliminate the greenhouse gases cows produce, be healthier and and have healthier children, feel better about ourselves, and stop putting animals through the horrendous torture that giant factory farms use every day to put a steak or a hamburger on your plate.

I never really though I would ever want to become a vegetarian or vegan but after researching it a bit and trying it out now for several weeks I fail to see anything good about eating meat and I only wish I had found out earlier what I am finding out now. I hope that at least some of you choose to read Diet For a New America and find out for yourself what we are doing to ourselves!

PS-I have added links on the sidebar for my husband Damien's blog and my friend John Peddie's blog.

Now this is COLD!!!!

Even though I am (or should be anyway) used to the cold weather, this weekend was shocking! WE drove up to Chicago where it was even colder than Indy. I think it was in the mid teens on Saturday and Sunday evenings. Damien couldn't believe that any human would choose to live in conditions like this! I have to agree with him to a certain extent. Luckily his mom sent him a box of warm things, just in time!
So, we went to Chicago so that I could take level 4 (the beginners level) of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. It is the Japanese government test that shows the official ability of non-native speakers. I think I did fine. I studied a lot this summer and fall and was prepared for all the parts except the listening part. I couldn't find anything online about that section. But I only need 60% to pass so I am not worried. Now I need to start studying for level 3!!
We stayed with my friends Heather and Jeremy Young while in Chicago and we went for the afternoon to visit the Field Museum of Natural History (although we were too late to get tickets to the King Tut exhibit! Curses!) We were all very amused by a middle aged couple who looked pretty well-to -do but obviously know nothing beyond their little world. They looked at the sign that talked about how graves were always being robbed and she said, "Wow! Why would they steal from a grave?" Her husband then proceeded to lean over and hang onto the side of a 4000-year old stone sarcophagus and said,"Hey honey, here is one of those boxes they put him in."Then she came upon one of the museum's many mummies and she looked at it in amazement and disgust and said, "Is that a REAL mummy? You mean this museum has all these bodies here?" Her husband seemed less than interested in the whole affair and grunted some incoherent answer. They hardly stood around to read anything else and then wandered off in either a state of boredom or disgust!
After that we went to a Japanese teppanyaki place called Ron of Japan which was very fun and had great food. Heather and Jeremy had bought a karaoke machine the night before so that we really try to recreate our time visiting together in Japan. It was fun to sit in their state-of-the-art "cinema" room and sign till our voices were gone.
The next day, after my test, we went to a yakiniku (Korean BBQ) restaurant that felt the closest to a Japanese izakaya as we had seen in the states. It was totally delicious and fun. It was a long cold ride home but a fun weekend was had by all.