Still

Still got it, Hollywood!

source:MSN

Oscar Time

I forget the name of the book, but I do remember reading
years ago about what the Oscars preparations are like for
the chosen who have been invited. Chez les femmes, no one has one dress,
all picked out, but many. It is an ongoing negotiation, with the weather, one's bloat,
what other people are considering or have decided to wear, how the hair turns out
at the very last moment, and finally intutition. And, in this feverish context,
designers do send dresses to people, certainly to attractive young
actresses, who might do them the honour of wearing their creations,
because reputations are made for aspiring designers as well.

The Oscars is a collective show, for television. But there are before parties, and
after parties, photographers everywhere. Some women have been known to
actually eat something, but no one is going there on a full stomach. Yesterday's L.A.
Times did a piece on Wolfgang Puck who feeds the army of participants at the event.

So in the midst of all this joyful chaos, I am surprised at the StreepChanel
controversy. Surely the House of C has someone sur le terrain.

https://wolfgangpuck.com/

Pizza, Pizza

BuzzFeed UK has been having a little fun about Canada and pineapple
pizza. Even our PM has joined in to defend the dish, claiming it is okay.

Well, no, it isn't. Pineapple pizza is prison food: everything mashed together
on a single tray, meant to be  consumed hurriedly together. In point of
fact, the pizza comes first, the pineapple next. And that pineapple isn't a true
dish but a trou normand (literally a Normand hole). One should getting a bit of
pineapple with hard alcohol, to rest after the main course, and find a new appetite
for what is to come.

So what is this trou Normand. The notion here is that every alcohol
consumed at the beginning of the meal should be appétif, ie appetite giving.
The trou is a rest after that course. And what comes after is an entremets -
between star foods - (perhaps a flan, or an ice cream, or
even nuts), and finally dessert (dé_sert, to un_serve, the very last thing eaten).
This could be a grand cream-filled concoction, or cheese, depending on
what one has chosen beforehand. The drinks here are sweet and help digestion
.
How did we get confused in all this: probably, a mixing of culinary traditions.
French grand dinners were buffets, and the convive could decide how much,
indeed whether to consume this or that. English traditions are table-based with
servants. And the idea of food and wine pairings is, how could I put this, odd.

sources: French language Wikipedia (see service)
Ricardo, for the trou Normand

https://www.buzzfeed.com/laurenstrapagiel/pineapple-on-pizza-is-bad-dont-at-me?utm_term=.fdonjbd3O#.pyNAM1lOG

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Elle France shows a discreet version of the said pizza, no tomato and presumably

no garlic. Looks not too bad.

New Beta-Cs

Found a very exciting report about a protocol that regenerates
pancreatic beta-cells in experimental mice. And it holds for both
diabetic 2 (insulin resistance) and diabetic 1(destroyed beta cells) mice.
In consists of  monthly cycles of 5 days of near-fasting followed by 25
days of normal eating: the beta cells regenerate after the low-calorie
(one third of normal calorie intake) and refeeding resumes.

This appears very exciting, especially for those with D1. As always, though,
the mechanism that causes auto-immune destruction hasn't been identified.
Still...

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/health-diabetes/hope-for-millions-of-diabetics-as-condition-could-be-reversed-with-yo-yo-starvation-diet/ar-AAngABn?li=BBoPOOl

Slip-Dress

Sunday night is the Oscars, where one might expect a great
deal of extravagant dressing. But who can match the elegant simplicity
of this slip-dress, worn perfectly. From Washington:

Regressive

Ivanka Trump's plan for tax relief for child-care is being
labelled as expensive and regressive. What is at issue here.
Expensive, I don't know; this has to be measured against returns.
Regressive; there are ways atound this charge. Indeed, the whole
federal election detate in Canada which brought Justin Trudeau to power
is an exercise in handling the issue.

Going back: he promised to ease things for the middle-class. Let us read
in here, couples who work and pay taxes. A regressive tax hurts the poor more,
and a regressive benefit pays the riche more. If one taxes cigarettes, that extra .50
represents a greater share of disposable income for a poor individual. Should this
stop us from proceeding. If one allows deductions for child-care, nanny parents
may get more help. Is this, ipso facto, unacceptable. Helping  middle class couples
order their work lives could be something one wants to do for a whole range of
reasons. As an example, Britains anticipates some shortages in the workforce as
EU migrants leave the country. Would better child-care help.

The point here is that regressive is a red-flag word, to better analyse
the situation, to see if there are provisions for everyone. But being clear on
goals and timelines is the bottom line.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ivanka-trump-pushing-her-500-070000617.html

Going Great

Interesting B

Was suffering from breakfast fatigue this morning, so made an unusual breakfast:

cantaloupe, grapes, fruit salad, with strawberry yogurt and cooked brown rice. Looked odd, but definitely interesting.

Brownies

Below, three quite different brownie recipes. the first proposes a straight swap

of black beans instead of flour. The result is a brownie that meets the minimum

fiber requirement for a 'grain' portion.

The second recipe is quite a construct. There is no white sugar but there is flour,

and sweet potato, ground almonds, avocado, apple sauce, maple syrup. A portion

is reasonable and nutrition packed. A vegan 'treat'.

This one is the recipe dear to our hearts, contains eggs and is served

with caramel sauce. Just cut the whole thing into six portions! A calorie bomb!!

What to make of all this. I wouldn't attempt all three alone;  maybe with a

friend(s), for a comparison test. Hanging tough till spring.

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On the fiber question, soluble fiber absorbs water and forms a sludge ( in the stomach)

which slows down digestion. Water is removed in the large intestine, and insoluble fiber

forms bulk.

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/bean-fiber-7280.html

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Fine Particles

Looking back at the episode of stagnating pollution experienced in Paris in January,
one notices that the fight against European pollution episodes, and that against climate
change are different battles. Climatic patterns of periods without wind might well
be attributed to a changing climate; but other than that...

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source: Le Monde

Solar Storage

Interesting to see what factory life is really like in China
(although there is no mention of health care). Became fascinated with
the solar powered gadgets being discussed at the very end. The
power gets stored in a battery!?

V_Day

Up at 6:15 am on the 14th and the moon was visible. A winter moment!

Read that Parisians restaurants make hot chocolate by melting expensive pieces

of chocolate in milk, so I decided to try it with a Hershey bar (3 pieces).

The milk should be heated on medium - not high -  to avoid burns. Quite delicious!!

Below, mixed in with black coffee, and a Spartan breakfast. Less punch, but still nice.

Fake

There is currently a great hue and cry aout so-called 'fake news'
as well as destabilizing news accounts picked up from Russian media.
Who, one might think, are working from a news paradigm different from the
one we are used to. For instance, E. Macron, a centrist candidate for the
French Presidential election, tells of many hacks to his campaign
'from the Russian border'. It might be well time to try to disentangle oneself
from all this.

Fake news entered Facebook well into the Presidential campaign. In effect,
human editors for the news feed were systematically excluding everything
conservative as inappropriate. After complaints that Facebook was too central
to the Web to not be neutral, the editing was given over to an algorithm.
Enter fake news; an algorithm cannot make any judgements about plausibility.
A lot of damaging information started to appear about the Democratic candidate,
from unknown sources.

There is a tradition of tabloid news in the English-language press, but one soon
knows how to approach it. A photograph shows Michelle Obama frowning at
her husband from the week's photos. The headline screams: Obama Divorce in the
Works. The photo was real; the headline is myth, emotional news, a juicy read
from the supermarket. No real harm done.

Macron is being currently accused of having slept at the Embassy while on a trip.
Nothing earthshaking, to my mind, but in the current context, and with respect
to  the sensibilities of French politics, damaging to him.

For the record, Canadian politicians are accused of this kind of thing all the time:
taking a plane, going on a vacation. A committee makes a judgement, they pay
back where appropriate, with an apology. Things get back to normal. But that is Canada.

http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/presidentielle-2017/20170213.OBS5233/en-marche-hacke-macron-diffame-comme-par-hasard-ca-vient-des-frontieres-russes.html

Windy

I need to get out more, and hang out with actual people. So I
will be going out today but later, when the strength of the wind
gusts has died down. Because I realized in the night (as howling wind
between buildings woke me up)  that it was the combination of ice and
wind gusts that was making life difficult for me. I've walked on ice all
my life, but sidewalk surfing is a little much.

Too Cold

There ae days when not leaving the house is definitely on the table.

When it is this cold:

And it is this icy:

Boston and New York are living through a massive snow storm. We are higher up

in the artic air dip. Too cold to snow...

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Took out the garbage, as a test run. The cold is actually quite tolerable. The
sidewalks are full of sand, and although there are icy strips on inclines, they are
visible.

Might try a run for red grapes, going on special today, later this morning. This
isn't just me; the streets are empty.

                                                       *   *   *

Did it; I'm such a beast!

It was unpleasant and dangerous; a lot of ice had comedown from
elevated lawns and it congealed on top of the sanded sidewalks. Not going out again
unless and until conditions change!!

Spending

source: Le Figaro

The numbers are out on how much French women are spending
on clothes and - to the surprise of many - young women (13-24) in 2016
actually spent less than in previous years. What could account for this.
Rising costs for shoes and smartphones!?

In point of fact, many suspect the presence of low-end merchandisers.
One in particular stands out, with terribly cute clothes at a very low
price. This is Primark, and Irish brand. They are present in the UK,
France and Europe, and the US, but not in Canada. Little advertising
(upload your look) and ethically sourced...

https://www.primark.com/fr/homepage

The Salad

Made cottage cheese salad for dinner, with my Bibb lettuce and spinach.

Also has julienne fries with avocado, and a piece of sourdough toast.

A nice meal; and a unique one because I will never have this particular

coming together of foods again.

Lettuce

It is winter for many long months, and although iceberg lettuce
is always available, its price might vary greatly. In summer, it is .99$CAN;
last Christmas it was 3.99$. Currently, it is 1.99$. Under these circumstances,
and because one tends to eat differently in winter, one learns to buys lettuce
and other greens in a different fashion as well.

Hydroponics - I believe, initially developed for the US Space Program -
grows lettuce in water and nutrients rather than soil. The result, a Boston lettuce
with a subtle taste, is available here all year because it is grown just north
of Montreal. Two heads of lettuce are offered at a stable price of 3.00$.

They come in a plastic container, with instructions to rinse and serve, and will last
a long time without wilting. A few leaves a day will keep me happy as
I sprinkle these with lemon, on chili, in a sandwich, even on soup.

My current stash of baby spinach, from the US. Marked to last till Feb 15, 2017.

One does learn to survive.

Injury P

My arm is pretty much healed: I can write,
cut veggies, put on nail polish. The shoulder is still painful,
and there is  discolouration ( which my camera corrects out!?).
There is still bruising, and a liter of milk is heavy. Lifting
my arm to comb my hair is difficult and painful, and my deltoid aches.
Things are a bit better every day, so I am hanging in.

Big storm expected this week. I might try to soldier-walk a bit today...

Proportional Rep

So our Prime Minister is currently lambasted as a
pants-on-fire liar for annoucing he would not be pursuing
reform of the electoral system toward proportionality.
He even went so far as to say he personnaly preferred
the first-past-the-post approach. Indeed, I feel the same way
and answered the consultation survey of the population in that
direction. But in all honesty, there are other elements to
be considered.

Regional parties - and the Bloc Québecois is one - currently
find themselves deprived of governing experience, no matter
how solid or well appreciated their representatives might be.
Surely a discouraging experience. And Mrs May and the Green party,
affiliated with a world-wide ecology mouvement, remains a
largely silent presence in the House. Is this reasonable?

Granted these actors would need to make concessions as well in joining
a coalition, some measure of proportionality in the voting system might help.
There is experience with proportionality in Europe. For France, it led to
unstable government. But for Germany, it is in force today. From the play of
numbers alone, one would expect - at the level of ideas - more seats for
the extremes at the Left or Right. But also - at the level of regional expression -
cleaner government.

There is room for discussion yet, and I might add, experimentation.
Because any liveable change would have to be gradual.

http://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/15/why-is-the-french-democracy-not-using-proportional-representation-for-election-o

http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/09/economist-explains-3

Fiber

The health recommendation with respect to dietary fiber
comes down to : 5 fruit and veg per day, and 6 servings grains. The
adult who meets this requirement need not worry about soluble (assimilated) versus
non-soluble(not assimilated) fiber. Yet, it is still an interesting issue.

Soluble fiber is broken down in the large intestine. Digestion in the small intestine
is the work of enzymes (proteins), and is called chemical digestion. There are no
enzymes in the large intestine; rather it is gut bacteria who feed on soluble
fiber to reproduce themselves. In turn, they release biotin to the body.

The presence of fiber in the small intestine moves things along so that residual
poisons do not stay in the body too long. Fiber in the large intestine - whose mechanical
job is compacting waste into feces - helps maintain an optimal Ph level.

Although one might find various lists for soluble and insoluble fiber - with some foods
appearing in one list then the other - in point of fact, foods tend to contain both
at the same time.

Biotin is a B vitamin essential to metabolism. Biotin defiency is rare, but those
who might run low are active children, and athletes. Formerly known as Vitamine H,
it was recognized as the hair and skin vitamin; it stops hair from thining out!

source: Wikipedia