- The rarest of rarities has happened to us, America. The
world’s FAT-test nation doesn’t often see obesity rates among any group
decline, but the
head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that obesity
rates among preschoolers are falling in many states for the first time in
decades. The declines are small among low-income preschoolers in 18 states and
the U.S. Virgin Islands from 2008 to 2011, but CDC director Thomas Frieden was
quick to seize upon them as a victory in the battle against the bulge. "This
is the first report to show many states with declining rates of obesity in our
youngest children after literally decades of rising rates,” Frieden said. The
figures he cited are part of the CDC's latest Vital Signs report, which includes
obesity rates from 40 states, the District of Columbia and two U.S.
territories. Ten states were excluded because some had changed how they
collected data. Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New Jersey, South Dakota and the
U.S. Virgin Islands posted the largest absolute decreases in prevalence of
obesity, with a drop of at least 1 percentage point. Three states that did
their part in building America’s next generation of fatties and saw their
childhood obesity rates rise were Colorado, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. For the
report, researchers analyzed weight and height data of about 11.6 million
children ages 2 to 4 in federally funded maternal- and child-nutrition
programs. "Although obesity remains epidemic, the tide has begun to turn
for some kids in some states," Frieden said. "While the changes are
small, for the first time in a generation they are going in the right
direction." Reducing obesity among preschoolers is important because children
in that demographic who are overweight or obese are five times more likely than
their normal-weight peers to be overweight or obese as adults………
- YES! There are days when dreams come true and transcendent
events happen that benefit and uplift people across a myriad of socioeconomic
groups and ethnicities. This could be one of those days, assuming a colossal
D-bag like Chris Brown is able to keep a promise. The not-so-secret misogynist claimed
in a recent Twitter post that his forthcoming new album, “X,” will be his last. The
album is set to drop on Aug. 19 and Brown assured his fans that his sixth
studio release will also be the final one they have to suffer through, er,
hear. “Don't
worry mainstream America.After this X album, it'll probably be my last album.”
What’s great about those bitter words is the fact that it’s not mainstream
America that hates Brown’s music. It is those who aren’t cool with abusing
women and those who hate crappy, mainstream R&B music that can’t stand what
Brown lays down in the studio. The list of mainstream pop collaborators on the
album attests to how much Brown is part of the musical mainstream he so despises
Nicki
Minaj, Ludacris, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna and Diplo. The one interesting aspect
of the project is that it features vocals from the late Aaliyah. Brown also
addressed the fact that the part of his life he is best known for is smacking
around then-girlfriend Rihanna. Being famous is amazing when it's for ur music
and talent. I'm tired of being famous for a mistake I made when i was 18. I'm
cool & over it!" he
tweeted. If he does retire from music, he can get busy doing more stupid
sh*t to piss off his Beverly Hills neighbors, sh*t like painting possibly
demonic artwork on the side of his mansion that scares children who live next
door…….
- Mustachioed Frenchmen walking down narrow, stone-paved
streets with nary a care in the world and a baguette in their man purse is one
of the most overused stereotypes of a country that has more to offer. The time
to change that stereotype has changed and there is proof in the fact that bread
consumption in France has declined to the point that Observatoire du Pain, the bakers’ and
millers’ lobby, started a nationwide campaign in June that champions bread as
promoting good health, good conversation and French civilization. These days,
the average Frenchman eats only half a baguette a day compared with almost a
whole baguette in 1970 and more than three in 1900. Women eat one-third as many
baguettes as men and younger people consume almost 30 percent less than a
decade ago. “Coucou, tu as pris le pain?” (“Hi there, have you picked up the
bread?”) is the campaign’s slogan and while it’s a cheap knockoff of the
American advertising campaign “Got Milk?” it’s nice to see bakers making the
effort. Their slogan has been plastered on billboards and inscribed on bread
bags in 130 cities around the country and their battle is ongoing. “Eating
habits are changing,” said Bernard Valluis, a co-president of the lobby. “People
are too busy or work too late to go to the bakery. Teenagers are skipping
breakfast. Now when you see the word ‘coucou,’ we want it to be a reflex for
consumers to say to themselves, ‘Ah, I have to buy bread today.' ” The campaign
even has a website that explains “France is a ‘civilization of bread’ and this
food is part of the traditional meal ‘à la française.'” Organizers are pushing
bread as healthy and useful in avoiding weight gain. “Its satiating effect
allows you to wait for the next meal,” the site claims. Bread does have a
cost-effective check mark in its favor, as its cost of just over a dollar a
loaf makes the basic baguette one of the country’s cheapest food staples. An
average of 10 billion baguettes are sold every year in France and a festival is
hold each spring to honor the feast of Saint Honoré (the patron saint of
bakers) so that the French can sample different breads, learn how bread is made
and even learn how to become a baker. So far, none of this has been enough to
prevent bread from losing its hold on the table to rivals such breakfast
cereals, pasta and rice…….
- Movies inspire many people. Some are so moved by what they
see on the big screen that they make big changes in their life. Others see a
cartoon movie with their children and decide that now would be a great time to
devote years and thousands of dollars to constructing a real-life replica of
something that previously existed only inside a movie studio’s computer. Bakersfield,
Calif. farmer Michael McMaster is one such man and he has finally achieved his
longstanding goal of building a real-life, working replica of the titular robot
in the popular Pixar film “Wall-E.” He’s a full-time citrus farmer, but somehow
found time to do hours and hours of research, collect the necessary materials and
build his own Wall-E. "Seven years of gathering information data, still
pictures, and posters and things like that. It's a hundred percent scratch
made, so it took a long time," McMaster said. "I am actually citrus
farmer by trade. My family purchased this property back in 1919, and so I farm
for a living.” He admitted that his robot receives much more attention than his
citrus crop – and with good reason. His Wall-E robot is able move around, talk
and dance. That brings quite a few eyeballs to his property. "It is kind
of unusual thing to see an R2D2 or a Wall-E robot in the middle of an orange
grove,” McMaster explained. He has taken the robot all over California, almost
as if it were a member of his family. "Most recently we had him up in San
Francisco. We went to Walt Disney Family Museum,” McMaster said. He pointed out
that women love the robot as well, but he does not plan to open up his farm so
that visitors – of the lady persuasion and otherwise – can see Wall-E in his
natural habitat……….
- Vince Young will get another shot after all. The former
Texas Longhorns star was last seen in Buffalo in May 2012, where he toiled
briefly with the Bills before they released him prior to the end of training
camp. Prior to that, he posted a
30-17 record as a starter with the Titans from 2006-10, then went to the Philadelphia
Eagles in 2011 as a backup and made three starts (going 1-2). He hasn’t been
heard from in football circles since and for the third overall pick in the 2006
NFL draft, that would be an undignified way to end a short NFL career. Young’s
next “last” shot will come in the race to win the Green Bay Packers' backup
quarterback position. Aaron Rodgers is the starter and arguably the best
quarterback in the NFL, so there is no chance Young will unseat him. When it
comes to the backup spot, Young said he's up to the challenge. "[It's] no
challenge," he said. "I've been through pretty much everything you
can think of. I'm just happy, enjoying this and just happy to be here and being
here with some special, special guys." He will now have less than a month
to show whether he can still be a productive NFL quarterback and believes his
age and experience will benefit him in that respect. "Back in the day, I
was a young Vince," he added. "Now I'm more mature and definitely
learned from things that happened in the past. I'm married now, [a] grown man,
30 years old, kind of like the old head in this locker room." He spent the
past year out of football working and training in Austin, Tex. and said he
relished the chance to be back home for a while. However, 15 months out of
football never led Young to believe that his career was over. To keep himself
from falling completely off the radar, he showed up at the Longhorns' on-campus
pro day earlier this year. Over the next month, Young must prove his hard work
was enough to beat out Graham Harrell and B.J. Coleman to be Rodgers' backup……….
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