| Prior Date | Back to Archive Index | Next Date |
|
WIT & WISDOM - January 11, 1999 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations. - George Bernard Shaw [1] ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: T H I N K A B O U T I T - Author Unknown We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast. We get too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values, talked too much, loved too seldom and "lied" too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; added years to life, not life to years. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; done larger things, not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; split the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less; plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but lower morals; more food but less appeasement; more acquaintances, fewer friends; more effort, less success. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; become long on quantity, but short on quality. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of more leisure and less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are the days of two incomes, but more divorce; fancier houses, but broken homes. These are the days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the storeroom. . . . and yet the choice is ours. [2] ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: DO YOU RECOGNIZE THESE WELL KNOWN ADAGES? Part 1 of 2 1. All articles that coruscate with resplendence are not truly auriferous. 2. Sorting on the part of mendicants must be interdicted. 3. Male cadavers are incapable of rendering any testimony. 4. Neophite's serendipity. 5. A revolving lithic conglomerate accumulates no congeries of small, green, biophytic plant. 6. Members of an avian species of identical plumage tend to congregate. 7. Pulchritude possesses solely cutaneous profundity. 8. Freedom from incrustations of grime is contiguous to rectitude. 9. Where there are visible vapors having their provenance in ignited carbonaceous materials, there is conflagration. ANSWERS: 1. All that Glitters is not Gold. 2. Beggars cannot be choosers. 3. Dead men tell no tales. 4. Beginner's luck. 5. A Rolling Stone gathers no Moss. 6. Birds of a feather flock together. 7. Beauty is only skin-deep. 8. Cleanliness is next to Godliness. 9. Where there is smoke, there will be fire. (Part 2 on 1-18-99) [3] ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: "What's all this talk about computers crashing in the year 2000. My state of the art (sic) PC has been crashing regularly since 1996!" [4] ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: MORE ON CALCIUM: I'd like to respond to the calcium trivia information (W&W 1-8). The first sentence is accurate. However, the remaining information could be misleading. A reader may come to the mistaken conclusion that s/he must consume a 1000 mg of calcium through milk, etc., each day. It needs to be recognized that an average American eats approximately 500 mg of calcium without consuming any of these high-calcium foods and beverages that are listed. Therefore, most Americans will reach their 1000 mg calcium goal by adding only one half of the amounts of these high-calcium items each day to their normal diet. This clarification should help readers see how attainable adequate calcium intake really is. Here's a bit more of calcium trivia: people who eat less of meat and other high-protein foods than the average American will need less calcium to keep their bones strong since they will loose less calcium through the urine. Larry Roberts, R.D. [5] Feedback from a reader: You quote Consumer Reports about the availability of calcium in certain foods. Unfortunately, their information is misleading. The only source of "useful" calcium in the list you quote are collard greens, and those need not be cooked. The problem is bioavailability. In order for calcium to be metabolized and used for bone building and other essential processes, it must be present with magnesium, boron, several other minerals, and quite a few metabolic enzymes. These essential associated nutrients are not present in dairy products or any food that has been processed or synthetic vitamin supplements. The body's attempts to metabolize isolated calcium causes these required associated minerals and enzymes to be taken from existing resources. The net result is an actual decrease in bone mass and partially metabolized calcium ending up as bone spurs or arthritic deposits in joints. The only real source of bioavailable calcium is dark green leafy (fresh) vegetables. - Craig Boardman, Alternative Health Resources, http://alternate-health.cde.com ~~~~~~~ CONTRIBUTORS: [1] ("This and That" [2] ( Earl Clough, Fran Gourdet) [3] (Chalapathi Rao Poduri via Original Joke of the Day [4] (Marlan Knittle) [5] (Larry Roberts) [6] (Craig Boardman) |