Posts tagged death
Stanford conventional v. organic study a pile of crap.
Sep 27th
The question, really, is how could such a stellar research institution as Stanford U. publish such a pile of crap? Analyzing 237 existing studies and determining that organic fruits and vegetables are no more nutritious than conventional (read: industrial agriculture). Actually the study seems more a hack job to pay a favor to Big Ag donors, although the researchers made a point early that internal funds were used to fund the work. Does that raise your suspicions a bit?
In the first place, they were almost certainly wrong. A number of recent studies have indicated organic produce has 10-30% more nutrients than conventional.
If they were trying to contribute to the body of knowledge, why not look into the environmental costs of industrial agriculture, such as pesticides in the water and air, the medical costs of workers exposed to such toxins.
Why ignore a whole other level of heath benefits of phytochemicals which are much more prevalent in organic produce because industrial agriculture intensive application of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and heavy watering have depleted the soil of nutrients need to produce phytochemicals.
How important are they?
Phytonutrients are nutrients derived from plant material that have been shown to be necessary for sustaining human life. Phytochemicals are non-nutritive plant chemicals that contain protective, disease-preventing, compounds. Their role in plants is to protect plants from disease, injuries, insects, drought, excessive heat, ultraviolet rays, and poisons or pollutants in the air or soil. They form part of the plants immune system.
Although phytochemicals are not yet classified as nutrients, substances necessary for sustaining life, they have been identified as containing properties for aiding in disease prevention. Phytochemicals are associated with the prevention and/or treatment of at least four of the leading causes of death in Western countries – cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension. They are involved in many processes including ones that help prevent cell damage, prevent cancer cell replication, and decrease cholesterol levels.
So—pretty damn important. But apparently not to the Stanford researchers.
But Big Ag got it’s headline, and that’s what’s important.
“Ideas and Images” to begin with National Gallery of Art lecturer David Gariff
Sep 18th
Gariff will be discussing a pair of them, Botticelli and Klimt, when he kicks off Flagler College’s “Ideas and Images” series on Sept. 24-25.
“I’m looking forward to my visit to Flagler College and to meeting with the students, faculty and staff,” said Gariff, who also teaches art history as an adjunct professor at The Catholic University of America. “My hope is that through my long experiences as both a university professor and museum educator, I can contribute something meaningful to the ‘Ideas and Images’ program.”
Gariff will be speaking on lecture topics that he says reflect two periods of Western art history in which he is particularly interested: the Italian Renaissance and late 19th-century European art.
On Sept. 24, Gariff will tackle “Sandro Botticelli (1446-1510): An Anniversary Lecture,” marking the 500th anniversary of the Italian painter’s death. Gariff says the artist’s refined and sensual paintings are among the greatest achievements of Florentine painting in the 15th century.
Gariff’s lectures will continue on Sept. 25 with an anniversary of a different kind, this one the birth of Austrian painter Gustav Klimt as he speaks on “Gustav Klimt and the Vienna Secession.” Gariff says the lecture will explore Klimt’s art and career against the richness and intellectual ferment of Viennese life and culture.
And though the two painters were born more than 400 years apart, Gariff says the environment in which the two existed were very similar.
“Both 15th century Florence and fin-de-siècle Vienna are cities and periods characterized by important artistic, intellectual and cultural achievements in all the arts,” said Gariff. “Collaborations and cross-fertilizations among the artists and thinkers in these periods were particularly rich and meaningful.”
In addition to being the senior lecturer at the National Gallery of Art, Gariff has taught art history at the University of Wisconsin, Cleveland State University, Trinity University and the University of Maryland, College Park, where he received his Ph.D. He was a graduate fellow in Italy at the University of Florence and the University of Pisa, and a Fulbright and Kress Foundation fellow at the Institute for the History of Lombard Art in Milan.
Gariff’s presentations will take place on Sept. 24-25 at 7 p.m. in the Flagler Room at Flagler College, 74 King St.
“Ideas and Images: Visiting Scholars and Artists Program” will feature an international composition of artists and authors, introducing a fresh and creative component to the greater St. Augustine community.
Each event is free and open to the public. Call (904) 819-6282 or visit www.flagler.edu/our-community for more information.
Source: Flagler College
Premium Rush – Movie Trailer
Sep 16th
Dodging speeding cars, crazed cabbies, open doors, and eight million cranky pedestrians is all in a day’s work for Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the best of New York’s agile and aggressive bicycle messengers. It takes a special breed to ride the fixie – super lightweight, single-gear bikes with no brakes and riders who are equal part skilled cyclists and suicidal nutcases who risk becoming a smear on the pavement every time they head into traffic. But a guy who’s used to putting his life on the line is about to get more than even he is used to when a routine delivery turns into a life or death chase through the streets of Manhattan. When Wilee picks up his last envelope of the day on a premium rush run, he discovers this package is different. This time, someone is actually trying to kill him.