Peace

In 1958, Gerald Holtom, a British textile designer, created a symbol that today is known as the Peace sign. While we generalize it's use in modern times, it was originally intended to protest nuclear weapons in England. A group called the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War first used the peace sign on their banners during a 52 mile march from London to Aldermaston, a town known for atomic weapon research. In the 52 years since, that sign has been officially known as the CND logo. CND is the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Most folks call it a peace sign, but I've also heard it called a 'chicken's foot logo'. The idea came from Holtom's knowledge of semaphore signals, a visual method of communication using flags. The signal for the letter N is to hold the arms downward at the 4 and 8 o'clock positions. The signal for D is to hold one flag vertically overhead, and one flag downward, making a vertical line. These letters, for Nuclear Disarmament, are combined in a circle and the result is the international peace sign.

I think it is also interesting that the hand signal for 'Peace', where one holds up two fingers with the palm facing outward, was originally the 'V for Victory' sign used by Winston Churchhill during and after WWII. The idea of using a 'V' as a psychological rallying symbol originally came from Victor de Laveleye, the Belgian Minister of Justice in 1941. Laveleye, on the BBC, stated "the occupier, by seeing this sign, always the same, infinitely repeated, [would] understand that he is surrounded, encircled by an immense crowd of citizens eagerly awaiting his first moment of weakness, watching for his first failure." In modern times, this same sign has been modified, originally by the military, but in pop culture by Robert Deniro's character in 'Meet the Parents', where the two fingers point to one's eyes and then outward to mean 'I am watching you'. But somewhere along the way, back in the 1960's, hippies and counter-culture elements transformed the hand symbol to mean 'Peace'. It is a good mental stretch to think about how a war's victory sign comes to mean 'peace' worldwide.

A friend of mine has the following quote as her signature file: "Peace doesn't require two people; it requires only one. It has to be you. The problem begins and ends there." That is pretty thought provoking, I think. I searched and found that those are the words of Byron Katie, or properly Byron Kathleen Mitchell, a California woman who, in a time of despair, reached a point of enlightenment and ended up writing a book (The Works) about it. She claims that she doesn't belong to any religion or tradition, but from what I have seen of it, it is most similar to a Buddhist path, in my opinion. My thinking contrasts the two ideas: If peace means being submissive to a bully, and not striking back, then that certainly is different than the 'victory' message. Perhaps that is not a fair example of how things would begin and end with one person, but I believe that is the reality if one did nothing in the name of peace. I'm not sure where the line is. What would the Dalai Lama do? How much violence would he absorb before striking back? The answer just might surprise most people. While the Dalai Lama practices ahimsa, the avoidance of violence, he readily admits that it does not always work. He believes that war can bring positive outcomes and that ahimsa cannot conquer terrorism in the world. I believe it is reasonable to practice ahimsa, almost all martial arts are defensive and teach avoidance first, but it would be naive to think that peace can be achieved solely by non-violent techniques. Perhaps Roosevelt was right when he touted that one should walk softly and carry a big stick. Ronald Regan revised this idea in his era, but does military might really make peace, or just subversion where violence erupts at a later date? Many believe, rightfully so, that today's terrorism problems can be traced back to the policies of the Big Stick era.

Things just aren't black and white-they are not clear cut and you can't always know what method to use to bring lasting peace in the world, if it is possible at all. Perhaps Byron Katie's quote is better suited as a mental exercise, that we should find peace within ourselves. I suppose in the end, it's a personal thing and we each have to decide for ourselves how much responsibility to take in our own lives for our own peace.

Peace Out

Confucius and Lao Tse

A while back, my son asked me about religions, and I looked around the web and sent him a few links on various things. We in the West consider Buddhism as a religion, but it is more of a lifestyle than a religion, and in fact, someone can be a Christian AND a Buddhist, or a Muslim and a Buddhist, or an atheist and a Buddhist, etc.
Here in the South, there are a lot of misconceptions about religions other than Christianity. For that matter, there are a lot of misconceptions about Christianity. Most folks can't even list the types of Christians, and no, I don't mean denominations, I mean the three types of Christianity: Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant. So over the next month or so, I intend to write micro-primers on some of the world's religions. It will be in no particular order.

Confucianism

Confucianism began about 500 BC. K'ung Fu Tzu, better known in the West as Confucius, was born in 551 BC in China. Siddhartha the Buddha had just died, Darius was King of Persia, and all those famous Greeks like Pythagorus and Herodotus were doing an awful lot of thinking back in Greece. Confucius traveled China advising rulers and teaching. He dealt with individual morality and ethics, as well as the proper exercise of political power. He was the original supporter of what we call 'family values'. He emphasized: LI: ritual, propriety, and etiquette HSIAO: love among family members YI: righteousness XIN: honesty and trustworthiness JEN: benevolence towards others, which is the highest virtue and CHUNG: loyalty to the state, etc.

Confucianism is primarily an ethical system with rituals at important times during life, such as birth, reaching maturity, marriage, and death.

For more information, you can read Analects of Confucius
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=Q65fgetAJM&isbn=0486284840&itm=1

Or read the Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius

Taoism

Taoism was founded by Lao-Tse, who lived at the same time as Confucius. Taoism began as a combination of psychology and philosophy. Lao-Tse tried to end feudal warfare and other conflicts of his day. His writings, the Tao-te-Ching (which means Classic of the Way and Virtue), describe the nature of life, the way to peace and how a ruler should lead his life. Nine hundred years later, in 440 CE, Taoism was adopted as a state religion.

Tao, roughly translated as path or the way, is a force which flows through all life and is the first cause of everything. The goal of everyone is to become one with the Tao. Tai Chi, a technique of exercise using slow deliberate movements, is used to balance the flow of energy or "chi" within the body. People should develop virtue and seek compassion, moderation and humility. One should plan all action in advance and achieve goals through minimal action. Yin (dark side) and Yang (light side) symbolize pairs of opposites which are seen through the universe, such as good and evil, light and dark, male and female. The impact of human civilization upsets the balance of Yin and Yang in nature. Taoists believe that people are by nature, good, and that one should be kind to others simply because such treatment will probably be reciprocated. In my opinion, I'd bet that George Lucas borrowed heavily from Taoist ideas when he wrote about the Force.

Over the years, other philosophies and ideologies have merged or become part of Taoism, things such as ancestor worship, qigong, feng shui, various martial arts styles, and even what the west calls Chinese medicine has all melded to some degree with Taoist thought.

There are Ten Precepts of Taoism which are of note:

1. Do not kill but always be mindful of the host of living beings.
2. Do not be lascivious or think depraved thoughts.
3. Do not steal or receive unrighteous wealth.
4. Do not cheat or misrepresent good and evil.
5. Do not get intoxicated but always think of pure conduct.
6. Maintain harmony with ancestors, family and never disregard kin.
7. If I witness a good deed, I will support that with joy and delight.
8. If I see someone unfortunate, I will help him recover with dignity .
9. When someone harms me, I will not harbor thoughts of revenge.
10. As long as all beings have not attained the Tao, I will not expect to do so myself.

You can learn more here:
http://english.siutao.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism

Taoism and Confucianism are often seen as being closely related. Lao-Tse may have been Confucius' teacher, and Tse's book may have evolved from idea's expressed by Confucius. These two men who lived 2500 years ago have been greatly influential in Chinese history and culture, and increasingly in Western culture and thinking.

Survival of the Sickest, Part III, Vitamin D and Race

This will be my last post about this very thought provoking book, but first, I want to tell you about sunlight and Vitamin D as this health information is important and it might be the missing puzzle piece you need to solve your own health issues. This probably should be two blog entries for brevity-Vitamin D and Genetic Race, but I figure if you intend to read it, you will, if you aren't interested, you won't.

Sunlight, specifically UVB rays, prompts the body to manufacture Vit D from the cholesterol in the blood. If we have low cholesterol and don't get enough sun, we may become Vit D deficient. Sunlight also, in the balance of things, destroys folic acid, or folates in the body. If our cholesterol is low, cell membranes won't be repaired and the brains' messages to the immune system get lost and we are not protected against cancer and disease. Cholesterol is important in the production of estrogen and progesterone as well as Vitamin D. The UVB rays in sunlight are strongest when the sun is directly overhead and to get enough Vit D, we need 15-20 minutes a day of sun over 40% of our bodies, which is nearly impossible to do year around. Additionally, we are advised to avoid the high noon sun, and to wear sunscreen to prohibit UVB rays from hitting our skin. In winter, our cholesterol levels rise because the sun does not get high enough or stay high enough long enough to convert cholesterol to Vit D. Vit D also plays a part in our metabolism. Almost 60% of diabetics are deficient in Vit D, as are the obese. It is unknown whether the afflictions cause the deficiency or visa versa, but there is a relationship.

We all know that skin color varies by the amount of melanin it contains. Darker skin protects against sunburn, but it also reduces the amount of UVB that reaches the skin and that can lead to a Vit D deficiency, high cholesterol levels, and low folic acid levels. Melanocytes make melanin, and pituitary hormones control how much is made based on information that arrives at the pituitary via the optic nerve. When you go out in the sun, the eye measures the strength of the rays and sends a message to the pituitary glad to produce hormones that boost melanin production, so the cells make massive amounts of melanin to protect the skin from harmful rays. HOWEVER, guess what happens if you, like everyone does, wears sunglasses. Yup, you trick the pituitary gland into thinking that the sun is not as bright or harmful, and therefore the gland does not send the chemical signal for the melanocytes to make melanin. The end result is a sunburn, maybe even skin cancer. Secondary result is a depletion of folic acid in the body. Dark skinned peoples may not always be Vit D deficient due to the evolution of a protein called Apolipoprotein E, which pumps extra cholesterol from the liver into the blood so that sunlight can more effectively convert the cholesterol into Vitamin D. That might explain why some African Americans suffer more from heart disease resultant from high cholesterol levels. Similarly, the protein is also found in light skinned peoples that originate in the far north-like me. They don't have melanin in their skin to block UVB, but they live so far north that their UVB exposure is minimized. It might be that neither of these groups of people would need cholesterol lowering drugs like statins for life. Perhaps, just perhaps, a daily dose of UVB would be of more benefit. I'd choose the tanning bed, or move closer to the equator. Fortifying milk with Vit D doesn't really work for people of my ancestry. http://tinyurl.com/nk9mjc

For more information about Vitamin D, where you can find it and how much exposure you will have at certain locations and times, read this:

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp

More and more, science is learning about the importance of this vitamin in immune response, cancer prevention, and general well being. Have your levels monitored the next time you have bloodwork drawn by the lab. Chances are, you will be deficient.


Of course, the point of Moalem's book is that one generation's evolutionary adaptive solution is another generation's disease producing nightmare, as high levels of cholesterol in the blood lead to heart disease and high levels of sugar in the blood leads to diabetes. The problem becomes exaggerated when populations are removed from the area where the adaption took place. In my case, I no longer live north of the Arctic circle like my Sami ancestors, so my body is not really adapted to the increased amount of sun at this latitude. I burn because I don't have enough melanin to protect me.

I hate the word 'race'. Race is a label that humans use to create separation and distance where there may be none. Race is defined based on visual observations, not genetics, because when you look at genetics, the house of race cards come tumbling down. There are populations of dark skinned North Africans who are genetically closer to fair skinned Europeans than other dark-skinned Africans. Race is a convention, and when it comes to evolution and adaptions, it doesn't always match the ethnic markers seen in certain populations. Dr. Moalem shares the case of Cohanim Jews who claim to be descendants of Moses' brother Aaron. DNA was collected from Cohanites from all corners of the globe. Their appearance was a spectrum of color, in skin and hair and eyes, yet they all shared very rare and distinct Y chromosome markers that date back to the time of Aaron 3180 years ago. It takes less than 10000 years for skin color to change in a population, and again, race is just a temporary convention-a way to group people, that should never be set in concrete because at best it points to a snapshot in time. Everyday, groups of people are adapting to their environment. People are getting influenza, sunburn, etc. For other people, their environments are climate and light controlled, or perhaps they are on supplements or medications that have changed their body functions. I feel that my ancestors left Africa early and headed towards modern day Iran. Interactions with the Mongul and Persians drove them northward into Russia, into Siberia. Eventually my ancestors were pushed westward to the Baltic and Arctic. Less sun exposure during those centuries slowed the melanin production, except for the melanocyte that controls freckles, that one went awry, I think.

Humans have been walking around for a million years, and we have been essentially the same for the last 100,000 years. Natural disasters and diseases have reduced our numbers, but evolution marches on and each human adapts to his environment. It is a dynamic process, not a static one. During the last 500 years, since Columbus 'discovered' America, the world has gotten smaller in the sense that there is more trade, more cultural exchange, and more interbreeding between peoples from different areas of the globe. In fact, there has been far more gene mixing than people realize. Discrimination based on what we refer to as race is simply idiotic. It makes about as much sense as discriminating based on where someone was born. Of course, there will always be people who discriminate because they have to find a way to make themselves more important than others.

Seriously, we are who we are, and that is a changing organism. When it comes to genetic predispositions and markers, it is not enough just to have a marker, but how many times that marker is present is also important. For example a gene call CYP2D6 affects drug metabolism. People who have only a few of these genes are slow metabolizers (maybe 10% of Caucasians) and it is even rarer in Asians (1%), however, Ethiopians often have as many as 13 copies of the gene, meaning that they metabolize drugs very quickly. Only 1% of Caucasians fall into that category. We can't just look at someone and say this person will metabolize drugs quickly based on their skin color. You NEED that gene study, and even with that, you still can't make assumptions, because the individual might have moved away from the location in which the original mutation occurred. An African living in NYC instead of equatorial Africa will probably have too much cholesterol in his blood and still be Vit D deficient. The CYP2D6 gene probably came into being because of polluted environments. The more toxins in an environment, that faster the body needs to process them through.

In the 20th century, there has been a correlation between sunspot peaks and flu epidemics. 6/9 sunspot peaks occurred in tandem with massive flu outbreaks. The worst outbreaks of the century, killing millions in 1918 and 1919, which followed the sunspot peak in 1917. Epidemics are thought to be causes by antigenic drift, when a mutation occurs in the DNA of a virus or a antigenic shift, when a virus acquires new genes from a related strain. It the virus changes or mutates a lot, our bodies will find it dissimilar to previous viruses and we will not have immunity to it, leading to pandemic conditions. These mutations, while not proven, could be a result of increased radiation from the sun.

There is a gene, CCR5-Delta 32, that blocks HIV from entering cells. One copy hampers the virus' ability to replicate, and if a person has more than one copy of this gene, it is like an immunity to HIV. It is estimated that 5-10% of Caucasians are immune, but sadly, Africans are not. It is unknown why this particular gene came into being, what the adaptive stimulus was.

Mitochondria might have originated as a bacteria that our cells married and integrated. Many viruses and bacteria not only shape our adaptive process, but we may be a result of integration of those microbes. Viruses that we may have incorporated into our DNA and that co-evolved with us are called "persisting viruses". If you think about this stuff long enough, it will creep you out to the point that you will start writing sci-fi horror books!

Survival of the Sickest, Part II-Diabetes

More about Survival of the Sickest...

The Younger Dryas period of extreme cold, coming just at the end of our last ice age, began in less than 10 years and ended in less than 3 years. That is what is called sudden onset of climate change. This was proven using ice cores and other methods. The present 'stable' climate of the last 11000 years is the exception in our climate history, not the rule. Change happens quickly, so how did humans adapt in such a short period of time? If human evolution takes millions of years, how has our species survived series after series of sudden climate change when grasslands turned into glaciers in a matter of a few years. The answer could be simple: Diabetes mellitis.

In diabetes, the body excretes water and dumps sugar into the blood, exactly the response seen in nature by plants and animals who are attempting to survive the cold. Grapes do it, Frogs do it, and humans do it. Almost everyone has the urge to pee when they have to go out in the cold. That's the body's way of reducing water, because water freezes and destroys cells. Less water, less ice crystals. Also, sugar lowers the freezing point of blood. Saline also lowers the freezing point.

When you are faced with abrupt cold, you shiver. The body robs the muscles of stored sugars and the friction generates heat, then capillaries restrict blood flow to the extremities, reserving the blood for the body core. Certain ethnic groups who live near the poles, like the Inuit and the Sami, have adapted and developed what is called a Hunters response, meaning that every few minutes, the capillaries dilate and allow the blood to flow to the extremities to prevent frostbite and damage, then restrict themselves again. These groups of people have adapted so that their capillary response is much quicker than those peoples who live in more temperate zones. Those who hail from more equatorial zones lack the response entirely. Polar peoples also have a larger quantity of brown fat cells, cells that don't store fat, but burn it to generate heat. The combination of these small adaptions could allow a human to hunt and forage longer in the cold, a skill that might allow survival to reproductive age.

Maybe, just maybe, those who are genetically predisposed to diabetes are those descended from places where there was a sudden advance of the ice sheets in the Younger Dryas period 13000 years ago? Diabetes may have helped certain groups survive the last ice age. There is definitely a cold link to the disease. More diabetes is diagnosed in the colder months-between November and February in the northern hemisphere. Children with Type I are usually diagnosed when the temps drop in the Fall of the year.

Adaption is a two way street. Natural selection chooses a technique that will allow the organism to survive an immediate threat, BUT, the adaption may weaken the organism in other areas. For example, peacock feathers make him more attractive to females, but also make him more obvious to predators.

Survival of the Sickest: Part I

My daughter Kate has similar tastes in books as I do. We like non-fiction, but it needs an edge so it is not too dry of a read. This time, Kate has loaned me a 2007 book by Dr. Sharon Moalem, called Survival of the Sickest. It is a good read, but then again, I like things like this-hypotheses that make sense, have some scientific evidence to support them, but are not totally proven or accepted as fact. To me, this is the fun of science-it is the big 'What If' that allows you to wonder about coincidences and explore connections between seemingly odd things. I believe that there are no coincidences in life, and I believe that all things are connected.

"DNA isn't destiny, it's history", writes Moalem, and that quote reminds me of a conversation I had a while back with my friend James, who is oft irritated by those who use genetic predisposition as an excuse for continuing unhealthy behaviors and lifestyles. Moalem's quote is important to remember. We have to study history so as not to repeat it, but just because history tends to repeat itself doesn't mean that the future is locked in. When it comes to disease, there are so many variables and triggers that it is possible to be predisposed to a disease and have a high probability of contracting it, but never actually contracting it because one lived a life avoiding the potential or known genetic triggers, like smoking or eating a diet low in fiber, etc. Later in the book, when discussing epigenetics, Moalem writes "DNA is destiny--until you get out the old methyl Magic Marker and start rewriting it." You see, it is actually possible to change your DNA by your actions. What you do can initiate certain genes, formerly thought of as junk DNA, now thought of as jumping genes, to fasttrack mutations and speed up evolution. So yeah, Lamarckian was correct after all and the concept of jumping genes, while not fully understood, can explain things like why a small percentage of Australian Shepherds are now being born with naturally docked tails, and why some lizards are born with larger bodies and tails if the mother smells a certain snake while she is pregnant, versus a small bodied lizard if no danger is sensed. Scariest of all, is that my smoking habit may have switched on cancer genes for my daughter AND granddaughter, even if they never smoke. Get this: since I smoked when I was pregnant with my daughter, and she was born with every egg she will have, essentially, my cells passed epigenetic signals to my granddaughter while she was still an egg in my daughter's ovary, while my daughter was still a fetus inside of me. This stuff is wild, and it goes to show that Heinlein was right and the universe is not just stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.

At any rate, the book is about history, genetics, and human evolution, and it is fascinating. He starts off by talking about the disease called hemochromatosis then moves on to diabetes, then blood lipids. I took notes because I am increasing suffering from CRS, a middle age affliction known colloquially as Can't Remember Sh*t. I won't spoil the entire book, but in this post, I do want to talk about his first talking point-the relationship between iron and disease and how that may have helped mankind survive.

Hemochromatosis is a disease where the body locks up and stores iron. Yes, iron is a good thing, but too much iron can cause organ damage. The body has chelators, proteins which lock up iron, and they are very important in the immune response. Egg white, albumin, is full of chelators, as is breast milk. Bacteria multiply unimpeded in iron rich environments, so if you can bind up iron, as chelators do, you can starve bacteria and allow the immune system's other defenses to work.

Bubonic plague affects lymphatic system, causing glands to swell and even rupture through the skin...survival rate is 33% Airborne plague has a survival rate of 10% Those that survived the plague probably had hemochromatosis, a disease where chelating agents lock up iron in the body making it inaccessible to bacteria or were anemic. Today, the hemochromatosis mutation is seen in those whose ancestors came from Western Europe. The downside is that the disease can eventually kill people by the organ damage the iron causes, but because the body's iron is locked away, bacteria starve. The same type of effects are seen in populations that are anemic, like Somali nomads who were exposed to TB, malaria, brucellosis and other diseases, yet did not become sick. In the old days, bloodletting may have helped those with hemochromatosis. It would reduce the iron load. In modern times,people with this disease often give blood more than others. It literally, physically, makes them feel good.

This idea about iron and bacteria requires more study by me. Moalem mentioned what he called the Geritol Solution to Global warming. There was an experiment in 1995 near the Galapagos Islands where massive quantities of iron were dumped into the clear blue(basically barren) ocean. The result was that there was an increased phytoplankton growth and the ocean turned green with life. The plankton and bacteria feasted on the iron, and in doing so, sucked carbon dioxide right out of the atmosphere. I'd like to read more about this, but it sure makes me like the idea of ships as artificial reefs a lot more than I did at one time.

I'll make a few more blog entries on this book, but as a teaser, here's a couple of things you might find interesting:

ACHOO syndrome: Autosomal dominant Compelling Heliopthalmic Outburst syndrome is uncontrollable sneezing when someone is exposed to light after being in the dark...response is a leftover immune response from the days when people lived in caves, and upon emerging into the sunlight, cleared their nasal passages of molds, microbes, etc. that they might have picked up in the cave.

Most adults are lactose intolerance because after a child is weaned, their bodies no longer produce the enzyme that breaks down lactose. People who are descended from tribal or farming communities where animal milk is regularly consumed perhaps have a mutation that allowed continued lactase production after weaning, and therefore would not be lactose intolerant.

Vacation Post #2: Souvenirs

While on vacation, I tried to find some Carolina Gold rice, but interestingly, places were sold out. My quest for rice led me to a roadside tourist trap called the Carolina Cider Company, where I bought a book, my only souvenir from vacation. It is Putting Up: A Year-Round Guide to Canning in the Southern Tradition, by Stephen Palmer Dowdney. It is a pretty nice companion to the Ball Blue Book, and it has great seasonal recipes like Jerusalem artichoke relish and a green tomato soup. Southern recipes have a mystique to them, at least in my opinion they do, because many seem to be associated with a person’s name, like Aunt Frances’ Bread and Butter Pickles or Aunt Sue’s Dilly Beans, and there is always that secret ingredient or technique that only they know about. I’m hoping that I can recreate some of these recipes and form my own family tradition-Grandma Bev’s Blueberry Marmelade, for example. I’ll post the recipes here as I try them. If you don't live near Yemassee, SC, you can order the book from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Putting-Up-Seasonal-Southern-Tradition/dp/1423602803
Realize that this book advocates traditional canning methods, and uses the hot water bath canner to can food after the food has been acidified by adding citric acid. This is counter to the advice that the USDA advises for canning low acid foods, just so you know.

Mother Earth

Happy Earth Day!

I recall the first one, back in 1970. I was the generation that first called attention to the health of our planet. Up until that point, no one thought anything about pollution or it's genetic legacy. 'Give a hoot, don't pollute' was popular, as was Iron Eyes Cody's teardrop. I was in an enrichment group-a forerunner of today's gifted programs, and we designed and created a nature trail on school grounds, with labeled plants and such. We also made a "high tech" audiovisual presentation about pollution using slides choreographed to music. Compared to how it could be done today, it was rather cheesy, but the research that went into the presentation was eye opening, and I believe it shaped who I am today. It certainly directed my focus to science. Later in the year, we made another audiovisual presentation, again with slides and displays and models, about Skylab and space stations in general. There were only about 6 of us in that 'class', and we had a blast. Good memories.

Within the next week or so, we should get our 50 Paulownia trees to plant in the front pasture. It is the beginning of a silvopasture project where the trees provide income, products, and shade or screening. As they grow, animals can graze beneath them. I'm not looking forward to digging 50 holes, but at least the holes don't need to be large. The trees will only be a foot tall or so.

Today was supposed to be a day of gardening and playing in the dirt, the earthy Earth. However, my friend Ava called me this morning and invited me to go with her to the county library's annual book sale. I love going, but I always forget it so I usually miss the event. This year, we were there when the doors opened! It wasn't exactly the way I had my Earth Day planned out, but it was great!

For $11, I got the following items:
2 music CD's-classical music by Handel and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Christmas music (it is beautiful!)
3 videos-The Lion King, Overboard(I love that movie!) and Dead Poets Society
Weight Watchers 15 minute cookbook (for Katie)
Plant Science: Growth Development and Utilization of Cultivated plants
From Outhouse to Whitehouse to Treehouse, by Sam Isaac Edwards, a local author whom I've met. He lives in a treehouse in town and his house has been featured on Extreme Homes and several other shows.
Rodale's Naturally Great Foods Cookbook
Culinary Arts Institute Scandinavian Cookbook
Euell Gibbon's Stalking the Wild Asparagus (!!!)
DeWitt and Rosland's The Pepper Garden
Creekmore's Making Gifts from Oddments and Outdoor Materials
Sorosky's Cookery for Entertaining
Mara Rogers Cooking in Cast Iron: Yesterday's Flavors for Today's Kitchen

Can you believe it? All of that for $11!!! I'm a book bandit! Maybe I should have eaten breakfast as most of the stuff is food related! I was exceptionally happy to find Euell's book. It is from 1962 and still has the paper jacket. The 1977 Rodale's book seems to have simple but nutritious and classic recipes that I can make from garden produce. The Scandinavian cookbook has a recipe for Glögg that sounds like a lost family recipe-not that I personally would be drinking it, but those kind of things should be passed on as family tradition. The Cast Iron cookbook seems to have some unique recipes, too. I'm looking forward to reading the Plant Science book. Sadly, the only botany study I had in school was during Biology 102 or something like that. I've never had any kind of botanical or horticultural training, so I am quite excited to be taking this via homeschool (bet you thought it was just for kids, HA!)

As an Earth Day bonus, we stopped at Ava's on the way back and she gave me some verbena (Purple, homestead type) a cutting of anise hyssop, some creek irises, and a nearly dead Scotch Moss that needs ICU treatment. Woohoo! Books and plants to boot!

Good Science Book

I'm reading a book called _That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles: 62 All-New Commentaries on the Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life_ by Dr. Joe Schwarcz. I'm not a doctor of anything, and I have no clout, but if I did, this would be the type of book I would write. I believe that most people simply don't have a good handle on science, and it doesn't matter whether it is physics, biology, or chemistry. I think most people were more interested in the chemistry they had with their lab partner, than actual chemistry. It's a shame because science is so useful. A little scientific knowledge helps solve problems. At any rate, Schwarcz takes the approach that I would take, and makes science interdisciplinary and interesting. The book is part history, part comedy (captures the attention and the imagination of the uninitiated-great for teens)and of course, real science. It is an easy read. He blasts myths and misconceptions in an interesting and humorous way. In the process, the reader is educated and entertained. The book is really a collection of short essays on various topics so even people with ADD will find this book easy to read.

The book serves as a guide to general health, too. From celiac disease to alcoholism to anti-oxidants to Pellagra, it's all there. You can learn fun trivia to amaze your friends...Who invented the process of carbonation for soft drinks? The answer is Jacob Schweppe. Think of him the next time you sip on some ginger ale. Here's a good one for the under 15 crowd: What animal's vomit do humans regularly and heartily consume? The answer is bees. Honey is the regurgitation of bees.