Omnivore order...

---

Well what a surprise...not. "Red meat is not a health risk. New study slams years of shoddy research"...[LINK] both parts of that title deserve looking at, the shoddy research becoming more and more of a problem in every field of science. 

 "KEY TAKEAWAYS" 

• Studies have been linking red meat consumption to health problems like heart disease, stroke, and cancer for years, but these invariably suffer from methodological limitations. 
• In an unprecedented effort, health scientists at the University of Washington scrutinized decades of research on red meat consumption and its links to various health outcomes, introducing a new way to assess health risks in the process. 
• They only found weak evidence that unprocessed red meat consumption is linked to colorectal cancer, breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, and ischemic heart disease, and no link at all between eating red meat and stroke."

More HERE with both sides of the argument ("Red meat causes heart disease. Except when it doesn’t?" link pre-pandemic) from the same Big Think.

More here, very good 'both-sided' article and comments: No Chris (Carmichael, Founder & Head Coach of CTS) we won't: Will We Ever Stop Arguing About Red Meat? [LINK]

Ows opines: eat what you fucking like, just don't overdo it, and do some exercise (walk). 

Off-putting or onomatophobia...

---

I think just off-putting really, some words just indicate - or at least give the perception of - lack of flavour! Self-explanatory graphic below; I mean 'vegan' means cardboard, right? Just joking! I mean THIS hottie is a vegan but I'm guessing she isn't the average :-)



[Edited: 'dead' image/video removed]  

Edited: Chart is HERE (vegan, fat-free, diet etc being the words that the USA finds most unappealing LOL.)     

You will find more infographics at Statista

Off-putting or onomatophobia...

---

I think just off-putting really, some words just indicate - or at least give the perception of - lack of flavour! Self-explanatory graphic below; I mean 'vegan' means cardboard, right? Just joking! I mean THIS hottie is a vegan but I'm guessing she isn't the average :-)

[Edited: 'dead' image/video removed]  

Edited: Chart is HERE (vegan, fat-free, diet etc being the words that the USA finds most unappealing LOL.)     

You will find more infographics at Statista

Off-putting or onomatophobia...

---

I think just off-putting really, some words just indicate - or at least give the perception of - lack of flavour! Self-explanatory graphic below; I mean 'vegan' means cardboard, right? Just joking! I mean THIS hottie is a vegan but I'm guessing she isn't the average :-)

 (You will find more infographics at Statista)

Omisoka osechi...

---

May your special box be bountiful...and beautiful. I like the cut of the Japanese jib: they traditionally (or did) spend the year end with, as one might expect, activities considered important for the year-end: a clean start, house cleaning and tidying, repaying debts (ha!), "purification" (such as driving out evil spirits and bad luck) [Wiki], and personal hygiene/bathing. This chimes exactly with what me and my OCD like to do. That and light a candle. Clean, clear, rest, relax, welcome. best wishes for 2018; totally off topic a couple of quotes from the mighty Albert to end the year:  "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."... ..."Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." Or an even better quote from Muse: "Don't Waste your Time or Time Will Waste You." It will anyway but don't let it be for nothing!

Omisoka osechi...

---

May your special box be bountiful...and beautiful. I like the cut of the Japanese jib: they traditionally (or did) spend the year end with, as one might expect, activities considered important for the year-end: a clean start, house cleaning and tidying, repaying debts (ha!), "purification" (such as driving out evil spirits and bad luck) [Wiki], and personal hygiene/bathing. This chimes exactly with what me and my OCD like to do. That and light a candle. Clean, clear, rest, relax, welcome. best wishes for 2018; totally off topic a couple of quotes from the mighty Albert to end the year:  "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."... ..."Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." Or an even better quote from Muse: "Don't Waste your Time or Time Will Waste You." It will anyway but don't let it be for nothing!

Owning Oliver's overpriced offerings...

---

Well said JD WETHERSP00N (Twitter PARODY!) who has responded to Jamie Oliver (or more specifically Oliver's 'Italian' range CEO Simon Blagden said: "As every restaurant owner knows, this is a tough market and, post-Brexit, the pressures and unknowns have made it even harder" [BBC]. Of course had they not blamed Brexit I doubt the BBC would have been interested.

This has nothing to do with Brexit, it's because his food is no better than ours but four times the price! https://t.co/8KnCZMhw2v

— JD WETHERSP00N (@WetherspoonsUK) 6 January 2017

Hi @jamieoliver these restaurants you are closing because of 'Brexit' we will take them because we know how to run a successful business!? 👍

— JD WETHERSP00N (@WetherspoonsUK) 6 January 2017

Trouble is, it just reflects exactly what Jamie Oliver's company did in 2015 and 2014, clearly a company strategy, open up several 'new idea' restaurants to fanfare, suck up the mugs money for a year or so then close the least profitable and start with the next idea (quite a few in the pipeline I imagine, 'Barbecoa' on the rise...to be whittled down in a year or two for the next whizz).



The main point is, that it is NOTHING to do with Brexit so stop fucking lying.



"WTF, Jamie Oliver?", to quote the Spanish response to him massacring paella last year.

Hat-tip: Order-Order

Owning Oliver's overpriced offerings...

---

Well said JD WETHERSP00N (Twitter PARODY!) who has responded to Jamie Oliver (or more specifically Oliver's 'Italian' range CEO Simon Blagden said: "As every restaurant owner knows, this is a tough market and, post-Brexit, the pressures and unknowns have made it even harder" [BBC]. Of course had they not blamed Brexit I doubt the BBC would have been interested.

This has nothing to do with Brexit, it's because his food is no better than ours but four times the price! https://t.co/8KnCZMhw2v

— JD WETHERSP00N (@WetherspoonsUK) 6 January 2017

Hi @jamieoliver these restaurants you are closing because of 'Brexit' we will take them because we know how to run a successful business!? 👍

— JD WETHERSP00N (@WetherspoonsUK) 6 January 2017

Trouble is, it just reflects exactly what Jamie Oliver's company did in 2015 and 2014, clearly a company strategy, open up several 'new idea' restaurants to fanfare, suck up the mugs money for a year or so then close the least profitable and start with the next idea (quite a few in the pipeline I imagine, 'Barbecoa' on the rise...to be whittled down in a year or two for the next whizz).

The main point is, that it is NOTHING to do with Brexit so stop fucking lying.

"WTF, Jamie Oliver?", to quote the Spanish response to him massacring paella last year. Hat-tip: Order-Order

Owner operator obituary...

---

Earlier this week Michael 'Jim' Delligatti died. How many know that name? Well, what he did played a big part in my life. Jim and his family are the owner operators of various Pittsburgh-area McDonald's restaurants. However, this franchisee created the Big Mac, McDonald's 'signature' hamburger. He was 98 and came up with the idea for the Big Mac in 1965; introduced it to his own restaurants in 1967 (against McDonald's wishes) and went national in 1968 (they saw the light).

""It wasn’t like discovering the lightbulb," Delligatti told John F Love, the author of McDonald’s: Behind the Arches (1986). "The bulb was already there. All I did was screw it in the socket.""

Not only am I a McDonald's fan, the Golden Arches being a constant in my much traveled life since the early 70s and in the UK from 1974 (yep, since it started). I have tasted their meals in over 40 countries (intentionally testing, and also referring to the Economist's Big Mac Index [Patty-purchasing parity] since its inception). I am also a McDonald's-slagger slaughterer (I mow down the pretentious twits that claim they don't know what it is or have never had one or won't let their children near the place...details on request :-) ).

Owner operator obituary...

---

Earlier this week Michael 'Jim' Delligatti died. How many know that name? Well, what he did played a big part in my life. Jim and his family are the owner operators of various Pittsburgh-area McDonald's restaurants. However, this franchisee created the Big Mac, McDonald's 'signature' hamburger. He was 98 and came up with the idea for the Big Mac in 1965; introduced it to his own restaurants in 1967 (against McDonald's wishes) and went national in 1968 (they saw the light).

""It wasn’t like discovering the lightbulb," Delligatti told John F Love, the author of McDonald’s: Behind the Arches (1986). "The bulb was already there. All I did was screw it in the socket.""

Not only am I a McDonald's fan, the Golden Arches being a constant in my much traveled life since the early 70s and in the UK from 1974 (yep, since it started). I have tasted their meals in over 40 countries (intentionally testing, and also referring to the Economist's Big Mac Index [Patty-purchasing parity] since its inception). I am also a McDonald's-slagger slaughterer (I mow down the pretentious twits that claim they don't know what it is or have never had one or won't let their children near the place...details on request :-) ).

Open offerings...

---

Venezuela the best in the world? YES! And I agree: when we're talking about the best breakfast: HERE (but last year!) Adam Lapetina (at Thrillist: "obsessed with everything that’s worth caring about in food, drink, and travel") gave the thumbs-up to Venezuela's arepa; certainly hasn't got the best photo on that blog but I can confirm it's a great way to start the day - of course like all good breakfasts it doesn't have to be limited to the first meal either. My favourite arepa (that link has better photos!) was always 'domino' (black beans and cheese - the image, left) and in the case of this list 'la arepa dominó ' (hehe). Don't worry about the beans, an arepa can be filled with pretty much anything you fancy. Unfortunately the flour they use to make these arepas is one of the staple foods that continues to be in short supply; shortages that are blamed on smuggling, 'unscrupulous businessmen', economic war by the evil empire, aliens (probably) but anybody rather than the clowns in charge.



Interestingly, in the Thrillist best-breakfast list England, Scotland and Ireland all come in the top 5 albeit with variations on the same theme; all equally good too IMHO.

Open offerings...

---

Venezuela the best in the world? YES! And I agree: when we're talking about the best breakfast: HERE (but last year!) Adam Lapetina (at Thrillist: "obsessed with everything that’s worth caring about in food, drink, and travel") gave the thumbs-up to Venezuela's arepa; certainly hasn't got the best photo on that blog but I can confirm it's a great way to start the day - of course like all good breakfasts it doesn't have to be limited to the first meal either. My favourite arepa (that link has better photos!) was always 'domino' (black beans and cheese - the image, left) and in the case of this list 'la arepa dominó ' (hehe). Don't worry about the beans, an arepa can be filled with pretty much anything you fancy. Unfortunately the flour they use to make these arepas is one of the staple foods that continues to be in short supply; shortages that are blamed on smuggling, 'unscrupulous businessmen', economic war by the evil empire, aliens (probably) but anybody rather than the clowns in charge.

Interestingly, in the Thrillist best-breakfast list England, Scotland and Ireland all come in the top 5 albeit with variations on the same theme; all equally good too IMHO.

Okinawan option...

---

Hmmm...are the best ways of promoting World Vegan Month really making meat look so tasty? maybe. 'Sexy vegan' Shayna Weisz says:

"Purging our diets of meat, eggs and dairy products will help to safeguard our health, reduce our carbon footprint and save the lives of many animals every year"

Naturally I disagree entirely. An alternative would be eat less, exercise more and slow down (chill!) [research pdf].

Okinawan option...

---

Hmmm...are the best ways of promoting World Vegan Month really making meat look so tasty? maybe. 'Sexy vegan' Shayna Weisz says:

"Purging our diets of meat, eggs and dairy products will help to safeguard our health, reduce our carbon footprint and save the lives of many animals every year"

Naturally I disagree entirely. An alternative would be eat less, exercise more and slow down (chill!) [research pdf].

Ows opines V...

---

[Edited 11:30 pm] "No folk music or incest?" asks Paul, a fair question when looking at the results of an online survey by Ask Jeeves to which I'd add 'no Maypole/ Morris dancing and no watching Big Brother?'; the survey asked Brits to name things they had tried once and wouldn't be trying again. All I can say is looking at the lists for Food & Drink, Places and Hobbies you have to wonder who they were asking! The Top Ten for food and drink were as follows: 1. Tripe, 2. Marmite, 3. Whisky, 4. Liver, 5. Gin, 6. Cigarettes, 7. Octopus, 8. Rabbit, 9. Real Ale and 10. Irn Bru. My comments to that Top Ten are below; the rest in the comments over at One Page In A Library of Millions [Link]

1. Tripe: depends how its cooked and served e.g. Mondongo and Trippa alla Fiorentina...mmmmm


2. Marmite: what's not to like? 


3. Whisky: got drunk at an Aunt's wedding in the 70s; now even the smell turns my guts. 


4. Liver: wonderful stuff, see Marmite (fried liver and onion...mmmmmmm)


5. Gin: if well mixed (i.e. sufficiently diluted) can be just about drinkable.


6. Cigarettes: never tempted, peer pressure was never a weakness. 


7. Octopus: see tripe (personal favourite Pulpo Gallego/Pulpo a la Gallega)


8. Rabbit: see Marmite (who cannot like rabbit stew, who are these people!)


9. Real Ale: ah, the answer, clearly lily-livered pansy-arsed lager drinking pussies were asked. 


10. Irn Bru: good pop, 'Frescolita' in Venezuela.

Ows opines V...

---

[Edited 11:30 pm] "No folk music or incest?" asks Paul, a fair question when looking at the results of an online survey by Ask Jeeves to which I'd add 'no Maypole/ Morris dancing and no watching Big Brother?'; the survey asked Brits to name things they had tried once and wouldn't be trying again. All I can say is looking at the lists for Food & Drink, Places and Hobbies you have to wonder who they were asking! The Top Ten for food and drink were as follows: 1. Tripe, 2. Marmite, 3. Whisky, 4. Liver, 5. Gin, 6. Cigarettes, 7. Octopus, 8. Rabbit, 9. Real Ale and 10. Irn Bru. My comments to that Top Ten are below; the rest in the comments over at One Page In A Library of Millions [Link]

1. Tripe: depends how its cooked and served e.g. Mondongo and Trippa alla Fiorentina...mmmmm
2. Marmite: what's not to like? 
3. Whisky: got drunk at an Aunt's wedding in the 70s; now even the smell turns my guts. 
4. Liver: wonderful stuff, see Marmite (fried liver and onion...mmmmmmm)
5. Gin: if well mixed (i.e. sufficiently diluted) can be just about drinkable.
6. Cigarettes: never tempted, peer pressure was never a weakness. 
7. Octopus: see tripe (personal favourite Pulpo Gallego/Pulpo a la Gallega)
8. Rabbit: see Marmite (who cannot like rabbit stew, who are these people!)
9. Real Ale: ah, the answer, clearly lily-livered pansy-arsed lager drinking pussies were asked. 
10. Irn Bru: good pop, 'Frescolita' in Venezuela.

Orange offal...

---

Meatgate trundles on and Dutch meat companies will be quaking in their shoes this weekend as 'Food standards officials in Ireland have asked their Dutch counterparts to investigate 'several companies' in connection with the [horse meat in beef-burger] scandal'. The guilty companies that supplied the extra ingredient as filler are thought to be from The Netherlands. They'll be all-a-shiver at the fear of the maximum €1,050 fine that could await them [DT] . Tesco have said they will get to the bottom of the scandal but I doubt that because the bottom (or rump) is worth a whole lot more than the body parts that will be making up the burger-filler (see what I did there?). The fact that this has probably been going on for years just makes the comments by stupid wankers (final part of video from 55 seconds) at  trying to blame Coalition cuts as just more fuckwittery. That said, the scandal has moved on to more worrying aspects that is sure to upset many more people than the cross-species meat contamination; aspects that can and should be controlled by us. Update: Tops marks to Anna - not for the oddly disturbing shortened-horse video-clip at the top of her post, nor for the very sensible (but unspoken) question of  whether anybody was inquiring what the other 71% in Tesco’s Value Added Burgers was - but for the wonderful "It’s not just Tesco’s either, there’s My Lidl Pony…"

Orange offal...

---

Meatgate trundles on and Dutch meat companies will be quaking in their shoes this weekend as 'Food standards officials in Ireland have asked their Dutch counterparts to investigate 'several companies' in connection with the [horse meat in beef-burger] scandal'. The guilty companies that supplied the extra ingredient as filler are thought to be from The Netherlands. They'll be all-a-shiver at the fear of the maximum €1,050 fine that could await them [DT] . Tesco have said they will get to the bottom of the scandal but I doubt that because the bottom (or rump) is worth a whole lot more than the body parts that will be making up the burger-filler (see what I did there?). The fact that this has probably been going on for years just makes the comments by stupid wankers (final part of video from 55 seconds) at  trying to blame Coalition cuts as just more fuckwittery. That said, the scandal has moved on to more worrying aspects that is sure to upset many more people than the cross-species meat contamination; aspects that can and should be controlled by us. Update: Tops marks to Anna - not for the oddly disturbing shortened-horse video-clip at the top of her post, nor for the very sensible (but unspoken) question of  whether anybody was inquiring what the other 71% in Tesco’s Value Added Burgers was - but for the wonderful "It’s not just Tesco’s either, there’s My Lidl Pony…"

Oleic obeisance...

---

Thanks to Captain Ranty's Friday Funnies for reminding me about Lard; clearly the reason for my youthful looks...ahem...you know it makes sense. And a few years ago we came to know that it is certainly healthier than it had been made out to be and that our ancestors were onto a good thing. Lard has a high content of  mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs; these help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL, the "bad") and may even raise HDL (the "good") avoiding the "ugly" (LOL). Wiki has a good list of natural sources of MUFAs (click at right on that page to show list). 

Oleic obeisance...

---

Thanks to Captain Ranty's Friday Funnies for reminding me about Lard; clearly the reason for my youthful looks...ahem...you know it makes sense. And a few years ago we came to know that it is certainly healthier than it had been made out to be and that our ancestors were onto a good thing. Lard has a high content of  mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs; these help reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL, the "bad") and may even raise HDL (the "good") avoiding the "ugly" (LOL). Wiki has a good list of natural sources of MUFAs (click at right on that page to show list).