Save the Cafe Bar!

I was under the impression that small, smoky cafes were a permanent fixture of French culture, impermeable to change and exempt from economic hardships that might befall the rest of the country. Unfortunately, the NY Times recently reported that quite the opposite is occurring, in the article Across France, Cafe Owners Are Suffering. How very foolish of me.

However, there are old school Frenchmen that refuse to accept the changes.

“We need the cafe to have an equilibrium between the village and the world outside,” Mr. Perrey said. “Without the cafe, you lose the conviviality. You lose your mates. Business agreements are made behind the zinc” of the bar.

“We have to be very careful,” Mr. Perrey continued. “If we standardize everything in France, and we study everything, and forbid everything, we destroy respect for our culture. We need to preserve the cafe bar. What is a village but a cafe, a school, a pharmacy, a bakery and a city hall?”

I think you could easily substitute "intentional community" for "village" in the last sentence. Eh, BFC?

Nightmare!

I've been avoiding articles about the economy because they are scary. Then I accidentally read this, and I cried myself to sleep.

Thomas Friedman is a great writer and has published several popular books. Therefore, I believe him when he says,

I go into restaurants these days, look around at the tables often still crowded with young people, and I have this urge to go from table to table and say: “You don’t know me, but I have to tell you that you shouldn’t be here. You should be saving your money. You should be home eating tuna fish. This financial crisis is so far from over. We are just at the end of the beginning. Please, wrap up that steak in a doggy bag and go home.”

Ah! Really?! God help us.

Point-Counterpoint: Pee-Recycling

Last week NASA announced that included in the space shuttle Endeavor that launched November 14, is a new gadget! What's so special about this addition, you ask? Why, it's the first time that astronauts will be able to recycle their own pee (and other things) in order to drink it! Yay!

Wired Science covered the break through pretty thoroughly here. My favorite thing is the explanation of the distillation and recycling process:

The machine will use a distillation process that compensates for the absence of gravity to remove impurities from urine. Then the water will be combined with fluid from showers, shaving, tooth brushing and hand washing, as well as perspiration and water vapor that collects inside the astronauts' space suits.

Hahahahahaha Perspiration?? You'll be drinking a urine/sweat cocktail! Delicious.

In all honesty, I would like to taste that water. And if you think about it, this process has some big implications for future water preservation and recycling. Because let's face it--after we get done fighting over all the world's oil reserves, we're going to be throwing down over our fresh water reserves. In 2050, water will totally be the new oil. You can quote me on that.

Tribute to the BFC Ghost of Christmas' Past

Christmas party. Sophomore year.

A tiny tree (or large bush) in a giant pot sits on the window seat complete with a sign that advises, "No peeing on the Christmas tree."

The tree sparkles with a dazzling array of ornaments, representing the glittering personalities of each BFC member.

Underneath, a rack of Busch Lite for all! (With trays of sandwiches next to it on the window seat?)


Playing in the background (loudly), is the soundtrack to "How Ho Ho Ho Can You Go?" including the insufferable Blink 182 and the formerly incarcerated R. Kelly remixing "Ignition". Intermittently, the BFC Sex Mix chimes in and the crowd can be heard caroling enthusiastically, "Why don't you have some dirty hot sex with me?" a la Pepper.

Laura brought it home on the high note.

Or maybe she's doing something else here.

Then a series of delightful games were played!

Blonde won the first.


Blonde also won the next game.

Simone came in a close second, but was unprepared for the impact of the argyle sock/brown leather shoe combo.

The photographic documentation ends there, but the blurry memories and warm, fuzzy feelings will live on into eternity.


I love thee, BFC.

Deep Thoughts in the BPL

So I feel like I haven't been sufficiently excited about Obama becoming President-elect. Don't get me wrong, I was definitely pulling for him the whole time and I watched and read more than my fair share of election coverage. I'm relieved the Dem's prevailed... I just haven't been dancing naked in the streets or anything.

Then this morning I was chillin in the Boston Public Library and as I was passing through the research library section, I noticed the Public Papers of the Presidents collection. I was browsing through FDR, JFK, and the Reagan years, when after a bit I got to the present days and realized something. In a couple years they're going to be adding the volumes of Public Papers from Obama's presidency. Yes, this is obvious. But it was a really profound realization for me. This is really going to happen!

A skinny African-American man is going to be our president. Awesome!

Name Voyager

This handy little device tracks the prevalence of names since the 1880s!

Generally useless, but freakin fantastic!

OBAMA!

Kicking ass and taking names. That's what presidents do.

Via Let's Sexy Fighting

Why 'ello, 'ello!

Pip Dawkins is a 19th century street urchin. And he has his own election blog!

Basically I love this too much.

Pip on ballots:

Why I 'ear they're even given people their very own ballots this year! What I'd give to 'old one of them, even just for a moment. Probably printed on silk, they are. Printed on silk and flavored like the sweetest licorice you ever did taste, I bet.

Pip on pencils:

Mr. Greystone, the master of the 'ouse, 'as gone and entrusted to me my very own pencil, what to write down anything I wish. At first, I thought it was me birthday! I've never 'ad so much as a farthing in all my life and now look at me: a pencil owner. Why I must look like the King 'imself!

Pip on names (and fathers):

Why I didn't see me name writt'n out 'til I was near 10 years old and they discharged me from the orphanage with nothing but an empty tin can and me dirty ole breetches! Still the happiest day of my life, that. Was the day I found out I had a last name. And a father.

Get ready for some public fitness ridicule

Dammit! Just when I finally feel comfortable going to the gym on a semi-regular basis and doing a full (cardio, weights, stretching) workout, here comes the New York Times to completely blow up my spot! (It's possible that is not the proper usage) Shit, Gretchen Reynolds! Why you gotta be wastin' my flava? (That is definitely the proper usage)

Last week, NYT published Stretching: The Truth, which enumerates the various reasons why static (aka, NORMAL) stretching is bad for you, and how warming up and practicing dynamic (aka, crazy prancing around) stretching is much, much better.

The old presumption that holding a stretch for 20 to 30 seconds — known as static stretching — primes muscles for a workout is dead wrong. It actually weakens them. In a recent study conducted at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, athletes generated less force from their leg muscles after static stretching than they did after not stretching at all. Other studies have found that this stretching decreases muscle strength by as much as 30 percent.

Ok fine. Static stretching at the beginning of a workout is detrimental. I get it. Actually wait--I don't do that anyway! Warming up is overrat--

A well-designed warm-up starts by increasing body heat and blood flow. Warm muscles and dilated blood vessels pull oxygen from the bloodstream more efficiently and use stored muscle fuel more effectively. They also withstand loads better. One significant if gruesome study found that the leg-muscle tissue of laboratory rabbits could be stretched farther before ripping if it had been electronically stimulated — that is, warmed up.

Time out. What did you just say about rabbits?

Stretching muscles while moving, on the other hand, a technique known as dynamic stretching or dynamic warm-ups, increases power, flexibility and range of motion.

Don't change the subject! What was that thing with the rabbits?

Athletes who need to move rapidly in different directions, like soccer, tennis or basketball players, should do dynamic stretches that involve many parts of the body. “Spider-Man” is a particularly good drill: drop onto all fours and crawl the width of the court, as if you were climbing a wall.

Oh sweet Jesus. There is no way I'm doing the "Spider-Man" around the Boston YMCA.

Meanwhile, Creepy Older Man and Excessively Sweaty Guy are all up in my grill, and College Student Distracted by Ipod knocks me over mid-Spidey. Yikes.

To sum up: Dynamic stretching, while undoubtedly beneficial to performance, is potentially awkward and embarrassing for the average gym goer.

Furthermore: Pre-workout stretching has never been my issue. I'm annoyed that this article is supposedly telling "The Truth" about stretching, yet it never addresses the post-workout, or cool down, period. Is static stretching ok then? Is it ever ok?!

Personally, I prefer to do a little yoga after a good workout, but often space/time/other people in the stretching area prevent me from doing it. I suppose I can't blame the Times for that.