When you hear the words, “It was a life changing experience,” hold on to your wallet and run as fast as you can. This phrase is usually associated with the latest crackpot offering of re-heated watered down pseudo-religious garbage commandeered from the eastern culture of moment. Remember, for example, Yoga is stretching, nothing more. It won’t change your life. In fact, some idiot had the bright idea of doing an experiment with a group of prisoners. They tested for aggression, split the prisoners into groups and taught one group a syrupy slop of yoga and meditation. After what they deemed an appropriate time, they re-tested their groups and the Yoga/meditation group showed increased aggression. That’ll teach ‘em to mix science with stupid.

I’ve noticed that the infamous “It was-a-life-changing-experience” is being mentioned in association with attending crafting classes. Most notable among these are those offered near Seattle by the Teesha Moore and clan. They are called Artfest and Artfiberfest. People pay a big chunk of change to go to these places and play with color and glue and paper and cloth. There’s nothing wrong with that. It seems like good clean fun but how is it life-changing? Getting shot in the head and losing half your brain is life-changing. Having both your legs blown off is life-changing. Having your child killed is life-changing. Winning the lottery is life-changing. Doing collage is not life-changing.

Methinks this is the latest pseudo-religious narcissism to invade the land. While Artfest and Artfiberfest are perhaps the best known gatherings of the self-absorbed but colorful changelings, these crafty cults are widespread. It’s a huge business. Do an experiment. Go to Flickr and search for Artfest and/or Artfiberfest. Then get ready to view the cult.

One of the most repulsive forms of worship among the cult of Artfest-ites is the personal “Art Journal.” It’s a real double whammy. You’ve got the gaga factor of ART with the ME factor of the journal. Together, it can be absolutely revolting. And, yes, the members of the cult are uploading videos of these on YouTube. Gird your loins. Here it comes:

Fom Netflix this week was Die Große Stille or Into Great Silence. It’s a documentary movie about the heartbreakingly beautiful Grande Chartreuse Monastery of the Carthusian Order. This is my favorite monkish order.  It’s a one of a kind inside look on the lives of the monks and it won many awards. At the end of the movie, the director comments before the credits about gaining access to the monastery to make the movie. He wrote the order and asked permission. They wrote back and said it was too soon. They said, maybe in 10 years. He heard back from them 16 years after his original request. This saint recommends this film. It’s very interesting. Here’s a clip showing an interview with a very old blind monk:

Here’s the U.S. trailer for the movie:

As you might expect, the comments you find about this movie are droolingly praise-full. A few years back I visited a forum for lay people interested in this order of monkishness. And, yes, it was a looney bin. One person in the forum had actually lived in a Carthusian monastery with the intention of becoming a member of the order. He left and is leading a life in the world. His first hand description of life inside the slammer is a little different from the portrait in this movie. To get the full flavor of Carthusian monastic life, you would need smell-O-vision. Personal hygiene was not practiced by many of the monks at the monastery where he lived. So, watch this movie but, as you watch, imagine the smells.

Are you horrified by how big people are getting? Being OCD in every bad way possible, I find myself watching men I pass and counting how many have jumbo breasts. I don’t remember any other time in my life when so many men were sporting boobs. I’m not talking about a little softness. I’m talking about full blown racks of boob. This is not a good thing and it’s probably a bad introduction to my topic of portion control.

When American companies first tried to market food to Japan, the Japanese didn’t want it. I remember the cookie story. Think about the last package of cookies you bought in a snack shop. It was probably a large package containing two jumbo cookies. This is what Americans seem to like. They want big. It can taste like buffalo butt road kill but if it’s big, we’ll buy it and eat it. When this same type of cookie was marketed in Japan, the Japanese wouldn’t buy it. After a bit of cultural education, the American company returned to the Japanese market with little cookies about the size of a half dollar. Bingo! They flew off the shelves. The Japanese concept of portion is very different from our own.

Many years after the cookie marketing success, our criminal fast food companies may have had their way with Japan’s concept of portion control. They are becoming super-sized. Japan has one of the best health care systems in the world and they are attacking the bulge. From the Wall Street Journal Health Blog:

Anyone with a weight-related medical concern and whose waist is bigger than the acceptable size –- a rigorous 33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women –- must lose weight, according to a new law. Otherwise, they face compulsory diet advice and follow-up visits for three to six months. For some perspective, the average male waist size in the U.S. is 39 inches, while American women average 36.5 inches.

I love this idea. I don’t think it could ever happen here but it’s needed much more here than it is in Japan.

I’ve found a simple way to benefit from the Japanese concept of proper meal portions. It’s Mr. Bento from Zojirushi. Mr. Bento is an insulated stainless steel jar lunch box containing perfectly portioned microwaveable plastic containers. If you follow the Amazon link, you’ll see it’s a bit pricey but you can get it for much less on Ebay. When I use this bento box system for my lunch, I’m able to effortlessly maintain control of my diet. The containers are the right size. Mr. Bento does not allow you to pack American size portions. It’s small, efficient and keeps food either hot or cold. It’s ideal for the bicycle commuter. It fits perfectly in a student back pack. My typical lunch in Mr. Bento is rice, Miso soup, and two containers with fresh raw fruit or vegetables. It works. It’s easy.

Here’s one of the hits I received recently from my set Pub Med alerts. It’s a dandy from Cambridge:

Beyond eugenics: the forgotten scandal of hybridizing humans and apes.

This paper examines the available evidence on one of the most radical ideas in the history of eugenics and utopianism. In the mid-1920s, the zoology professor Ilia Ivanov submitted to the Soviet government a project for hybridizing humans and apes by means of artificial insemination. He received substantial financing and organized expeditions to Africa to catch apes for his experiments. His project caused an international sensation. The American Association for the Advancement of Atheism announced its fund-raising campaign to support Ivanov’s project but gave it a scandalously racist interpretation. Ivanov’s own motivation remained unclear, as did the motivation of those in the Bolshevik government who supported Ivanov until his arrest in 1930. This paper discusses three hypothetical reasons for Ivanov’s adventure: first, hybridization between humans and apes, should it be successful, would support the atheist propaganda of the Bolsheviks; second, regardless of the success of hybridization, Ivanov would catch and bring to Russia apes, which were necessary for the rejuvenation programs that were fashionable among the Bolshevik elite; and third, hybridization, should it be successful, would pave the way to the New Socialist Man whose ‘construction by scientific means’ was the official purpose of the Bolsheviks. Ivanov’s ideas were arguably important for the American proponent of reform eugenics, Herman Muller, and for the Soviet anthropologist Boris Porshnev.

I hadn’t heard about this little project before. It scores a 10 on the creepy quotient. I fail to see how it would support an atheist viewpoint. It seems to me that it only supports the viewpoint that all totalitarian governments are evil.

The post I made about Padre Pio, the soon to be sainted fraud, is almost as popular as the Mash Cone. For all the pitiful Pio followers, I wanted to make a plug for a great book by Joe Nickell. It’s called “Looking for a Miracle” and it’s available from Amazon. Nickell is a great writer and his books are a pleasure to read. Besides, who doesn’t want to learn how to make their own weeping madonna statue?

But, without and ad for British Airways. I’m not a true opera fan but this is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever created. Also, while you watch, think about this: What would the child of Joan Sutherland and Jay Leno look like?

Joan Sutherland is a Saint.

It’s confession time. I’m a sunglass-aholic. Ever since my first pair of glacier glasses in 1968 in Tucson, I’ve loved mirrored shades. My eyes have always been sensitive to light. The bright sun in Tucson drove me to my first pair of mirrored shades and then it became a habit. I also like to take good care of my eyes and I’ve always bought rather expensive glasses to try and ensure quality. These days, with the universal access to information, you can discover whether those extra bucks are actually buying better quality or just a fancy name. I’ve found that in sunglasses, it’s often just a fancy name. My latest sunglass find is available on Amazon. These glasses are fantastic for wear in bright sunshine and the price is unreal. I have all three pairs and I am three times as cool as I was before I bought them. Take a look at these beauties!

I’m still listening t0 Sarah Brightman with an occasional counter-balance from Tracy Chapman. I found a couple of videos of Sarah Brightman on the Martha Stewart show from the early part of this year when she was promoting Symphony. I think they’re hilarious because Sarah is being her very professional gracious public self and Martha is being her dominatrix self. Have a look:

I’ve noticed people seem to love or hate Sarah Brightman. I really love her work. I think she’s best with a light classical show tune. When she sings out in her mid range, it’s quite spectacular. Some of her albums seem a little over-produced and I do wish that I could sing along when I listen to her in the car but my voice will never reach that high. That’s the intro.

Since I’ve been in this mood lately while listening to her new album, Symphony, I found a video where you can see her without the elaborate theatrical make-up that is something of a trademark for her. It’s very unusual to see someone like Sarah Brightman without her make-up. Have a look:

She seems to be a very very smart and extremely hard working person. Even if you are not a fan of her music, you have to concede that. I don’t know how she has the energy to maintain her grueling tour schedule. It’s amazing. I have noticed that she’s starting to receive writing credits for some of the music. That’s good because that’s the kind of money that keeps on coming year after year.

Of course you can never know a celebrity by watching their work but you can’t help imagining what they’re like. I imagine Sarah Brightman to be a smart woman who knows her market and, in private, a very fun loving and caring friend. I’ll never know if I’m right and that’s what’s great about entertainers. You can imagine them to be whatever you want. I think I can be sure of one thing: Coffee is Sarah Brightman’s best friend.

The new album, Symphony, is superb. Do Sarah a favor and actually go to a store and buy it. It’s like a gift to charity. I think she probably helps to support an army of people.

Asbestos does not cause cancer by its inherent chemical nature. It causes cancer because of its shape. The tiny needles of mineral initiate an inflammatory reaction that tears you up from the inside out.

Once upon a time, I was at a nanotech symposium and I raised my hand and asked if nanotubes might not act like asbestos if inhaled. I got a thousand faces staring at me as if my clothes had just vaporized. Well, guess what? From the BBC:

Carbon nanotubes, the poster child of the burgeoning nanotechnology industry, could trigger diseases similar to those caused by asbestos, a study suggests.

Specific lengths of the tiny fibres were found to cause “asbestos-like” inflammation and lesions in mice.

Check out the full article. As always, industry is dancing and yammering sweet nothings like a drunken gold fish in a bowl of solidifying Jello.