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You are here: Home / Archives for current events

Choosing Peace

August 9, 2017 By Scott "Q" Marcus

I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Yes, I was young, and not totally aware of the implications at hand; still I recall my parents’ fear and anxiety as they sat transfixed, watching President Kennedy on our grainy black and white television. Images of empty grocery shelves come to my mind; whether I actually saw them first hand, or am remembering from documentaries I’ve seen over the years, I admit I can’t be sure. That of which I am positive is remembering the collective sense of relief as the emergency subsided.

As then-secretary of state, Dean Rusk said, “We’re eyeball to eyeball and I think the other fellow just blinked.”

In most locations, this column shows up on or near the weekend. However, I obviously write it earlier in the week. At the time I’m writing this, the current news cycle has many saying we are as close to the precipice of nuclear war as we have been at any time since those terrifying days in October 1962. We are hoping someone blinks as I don’t think any of us have the desire (nor the need), to be poised at the cliff’s edge once again 55 years later.

Nonetheless, here we stand.

I have a dilemma. My beliefs say that the more we focus on something, the more likely we are to make it real. I’ve seen it happen repeatedly in my own life. Does that infer that my fear of a military exchange is made more probable by my thoughts? Am I contributing to the problem? Obviously, it’s not a choice for which I wish, but with the level of trepidation as high as it is, it’s impossible to banish the notion completely.

To that end, maybe it would be of value to picture a softer outcome.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Baby Boomers, Conflict Management, Current Events Tagged With: affirmations, conflict, current events, News, politics

The Obesity Paradox

November 10, 2015 By Scott "Q" Marcus

It takes all kinds.

People can (and will) believe just about anything they put their feelings to. From the criminally tragic, such as Holocaust Deniers, to the hopeful yet silly – that Elvis Presley is still alive and living in Ottawa running a nightclub, there is no shortage of conspiracy theories or reality-free propositions available for one to latch onto.

Consider the “obesity paradox.”

investigation-arrow

In a nutshell, the concept promotes the notion that being at one’s ideal weight is unnecessary. Actually, it goes beyond that and says that — based on studies — people who are classified as overweight (or even moderately obese) seem to have better health and mortality outcomes than “normal” or “thin” folks.

The concept is controversial (ya think?) but its foundation lies in the hypothesis that extra pounds might actually help defend one’s health, especially when it comes to certain chronic conditions like diabetes, kidney disease, and high blood pressure. The “paradox” was first floated in 2003, where researchers were puzzled by the fact that heavier patients suffering from heart failure seemed to do better than their thinner counterparts. So, two plus two became five and it was deduced that having extra weight might actually be good for you.

There’s an old adage about data: “Figures don’t lie; liars figure.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Diet, Health, Newspaper Column, Weight Loss Tagged With: current events, health risks of obesity, journal of medicine, nutrition science, obesity, risks of obesity, study

Did Congress Declare Pizza a Vegetable?

November 25, 2011 By Scott "Q" Marcus

A “meme” is a basically a “thought virus.”

Meme transmitting ideas
In the same fashion that influenza infects one person, replicates itself and then spreads to another, eventually infecting large numbers of a population; memes follow the same process through the consciousness of our culture, affecting (or “infecting” if you wish) the way we react or behave. Unlike an “urban legend,” which is a widespread false story wrongly accepted as fact; or a “fad,” which is a behavior that explodes in popularity and quickly dies; a meme is more akin to a belief or a concept that affect our view of society — and therefore how we react to it.

As illustration, a recent diet meme was “carbs are bad, protein is good.” This spread so quickly and deeply to the point that some honestly believed that scarfing down a one pound bacon cheeseburger — providing you avoided the bun — was a healthy method of dropping weight. This misguided all-protein diet meme spawned several variations of fad diets. Currently, although the meme might remain, those diets are mostly debunked.

Today’s column had its impetus because I was (once again) irritated with an action by our “leaders.” In this instance, the meme currently winding its way through conventional wisdom is that Congress has defined pizza as a vegetable. The underlying logic (if indeed it can be classified as such) was that since a certain amount of tomato paste equates to a “vegetable,” and whereas there is more than said amount on pizzas; they too would therefore be classified as vegetables.

I imagined children being told by their parents, “If you don’t eat your pizza, you won’t get any dessert,” or seeing the old food pyramid returning with “pesto-chicken pizza” or “double pepperoni” on par with carrots and lettuce. (We can only wish.)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Diet, Newspaper Column, Rant Tagged With: carrots, chicken pizza, congress, conventional wisdom, current events, double pepperoni, fad diets, food pyramid, influenza, lettuce, pizzas, protein diet, tomato paste, urban legend

We Relate to Feelings, not Words

October 1, 2010 By Scott "Q" Marcus

Rahm Emanuel is not known to be a softie. Quite the contrary, he’s known to be a hard charging bully at times.Today, he stepped down from this position as Barack Obama’s White House Chief of Staff to run for mayor for the city of Chicago. I watched President Obama heap praise on his long-time friend and then Emanuel took the platform. Rahm Emanuel farewell to Obama Of course, he thanked the president for the opportunities and he praised Obama’s leadership. However, what got to me was when he began speaking about his family, starting with his parents. The usual, tough-as-nails veneer quickly faded and his inner feelings emerged, surprisingly openly. He choked up and even started to cry.

I’m a political junkie; I breathe the stuff. I’ve followed him since he worked with Bill Clinton and I’ve never been a big fan of Mr. Emanuel. He and I would probably not get along too well. However, in those few moments, I found myself feeling surprisingly close to this man. I even teared up somewhat myself (of course, my wife would say I do that anyway).

It was amazing to me that the decade of mistrust and animosity I have felt towards this man could fade in an instant.

It’s NOT about the words

There’s an important reminder here. If you want to connect with people, if you need support, if you’d like to get more done; be real. Let the emotions out. People don’t relate to our words, they connect with our feelings. Yet, too often, we’re embarrassed or ashamed about how we feel.

I’m a speaker. I believe in the power of words; but the true power of communication comes from the emotions that reside underneath them.

Filed Under: Beliefs, Communicating, Current Events, Relationships, Video Tagged With: animosity, barack obama, bully, current events, emotions, inner feelings, News, politics, rahm emanuel, true power

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