Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Fat 101

If you visit or live in America for any length of time, you quickly come to realize that Americans are profoundly concerned about fat. By "fat" I do not refer to the four Swedens of blubber America collectively carries around on its butt, but rather the fat that we ingest. This is prominently shown on food labels and as a public service, I will explain what these food labels mean.
First of all, so anxious are Americans about the fat that they ingest that you can see the words "Non-Fat" prominently labeled on 100% fruit jams, berries, and other unlikely products. These labels must be ignored as they have no bearing on our discussion today.
Many products do contain fat, however, and it is essential to know which of these fats you are buying, as some are good for you and others will stop your heart, probably in the check-out line at the supermarket. Supermarket personnel are notoriously unresponsive to handling medical emergencies, continuing to place food into the freezers while a customer beside them collapses on the floor and has a seizure. Eventually the customer also gets put into the freezer when the worker gets to the bottom of the pile.
The vocabulary is where we start, and we don't want to get hung up on technical jargon but rather make everything easy to understand for the layman.
There are two kinds of fat that we eat: you have your saturated fats and your unsaturated fats. There are also trans-fats. Wait, that makes three types of fat. OK, so we have three types of fats.
First let's look at the saturated fats. The reason they are called "saturated" is because they are so full of fat it oozes from every pore. These fats are the ones with serious (maybe even fatal) thigh friction issues. Putting them in an easy-to-grasp term, such as global populations, if saturated fats were people, these would be the Americans of the fat world. They waddle around in your system, sitting down out of breath whenever they get the chance, but worst of all get caught in the turnstiles and doorways of your arteries and veins. This really plugs things up and important things like oxygen cannot make it to your brain. We have all seen terrible examples of this phenomenon; Dick Cheney springs to mind.
The unsaturated fats are lean fats. I know this sounds like an oxymoron, but compared to the saturated fats, they are. Using our global population example above, the unsaturated fats would be your Asians and other thinner populations. The unsaturated fats have less fat oozing from their pores, because – duh – they have not reached the saturation point yet.
It would be convenient if we could wrap this explanation up right here, but unfortunately the real world is just not that simple. Ask former Prime Minister Kan. I am sure he can give you an earful about that! But I digress.
The world of unsaturated fats is divided into the monounsaturated and the polyunsaturated. Mammals have a lot of the latter while reptiles have a lot of the former. As you will remember from your elementary school English classes, "mono" means "one" as in monogamy, or monotheistic. These fats have only one fat in them. Like reptiles, they are very lean indeed. "Poly", as you will also recall, means "more than one" as in polyandry, or polytheistic. These fats have more than one fat in them but not so many as to be "saturated". These fats also have more fun.
Finally, we must talk about the trans-fats. These fats are the middle men in the bipolar world of saturated and unsaturated fats. For that reason, nobody likes them. In America, labels are very proud to claim 0% trans-fats on everything from cookies to automobiles. Even restaurant menus are exclaiming how they are completely free of anything even CLOSELY resembling a trans-fat. So never mind that there might be 6000 calories in the dinner you just ordered; you can rest assured that none of the vicious trans-fats will attack your heart.
I hope this explanation of the fatty world has been helpful. Next week we might take on the daunting task of explaining the difference between "good cholesterol" and "bad cholesterol" so long as the steak I am barbecuing tonight does not kill me before then.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Five Ways Not to be Dead (advice for seniors)

As we age and watch our bodies and minds decay, we cannot help but think about the end of our existence. What will it be like? Will we fly into the light like in the movies or simply have the switch flicked off?
Unknowable stuff. And depressing to even contemplate.
But we DON'T need others around us thinking, "How old is Jimmy, anyway? Shouldn't he shuffle off to his reward?"
What you really want to avoid is people thinking you are dead when you are not.
Apparently this happens all the time; guy has a sneezing fit and collapses and then wakes up in the morgue! The family all says, "We thought he was dead!"
Yeah... right.
They were LOOKING for the opportunity to declare the guy dead. I can see it clearly.

SCENARIO
Husband: Something in the air today, don't you think? I have been sneezing all day! What IS that? Pollen?
Wife: I don't notice anything....
Husband: Yeah... sneezing a lot is all... what's on the tube this evening anyway? . . . . . AH CHOOOOO!!!
(falls down and lies there for a little while)
Wife: QUICK! KIDS! Your father is finally dead. We need to load him on the truck and take him to the morgue.
[at the morgue]
Coroner: What have we got here?
Wife: My husband (sniffle sniffle)... he passed away just an hour ago. And I thought he would outlive me! (cries ostentatiously)
Coroner: Let's have a look. Say... you don't have anything to drink with you, do you?
Wife: Drink? Um.... I do have this bottle of vodka... unopened. You want some of this? It was... his... (cries again).
Coroner: Whoa! Stoli! My fave. Yes, thank you. OK. I need to do some tests here. Y'all stand back, OK? (opens bottle and swigs several times directly from the bottle)
Hmm... he definitely looks deceased. What did you say happened?
Wife: He had a kind of fit and fell over.
Coroner: OK. Good enough. I will say it was a heart attack. May I keep the bottle?
Wife: Oh sure. I don't drink.
Husband wakes up the next morning with hypothermia in the morgue.

We seniors need to be on our guard just in case people around us might think that we have passed our "best by" date.
So – once again, as a public service – I would like to give back to the community and provide helpful hints to seniors as to how not to have this happen to them.
Obviously, the basic principle is to not appear to be dead. This is often not as easy as it seems; we take naps, we fade off in our chairs in the evening. It's easy to see how grandpa might not seem to be breathing sometimes. So we need to take precautions.
1. The Favorite Chair Scenario
Clearly drifting off in your favorite chair in the evening is an open invitation for those around you to say, "Hey! He looks dead to me! Let's truck him over to the dump!" So you need to take precautions. I am recommending handcuffs. They are cheap and they will affix you to your chair so that the pesky relatives cannot easily schlep you to the dump.
2. The Afternoon Nap Scenario
Napping is a vulnerable time for us seniors. Some of us bellow and snort with sleep noises, but others are silent and – worse – stretched out in "abnormal" positions that suggest "DEAD DEAD DEAD!!" to the relatives. You need to take precautions against this. First, look around at the place where you nap. Imagine your sleeping form there; does it look deceased? You need to change it. Hold a book and sit halfway upright in bed with open eyes painted on your eyelids, for example. This will convince people that you are reading. Record your snoring friends and play the sounds when you are sleeping. This will also make your relatives stop at the door and wait for other opportunities.
3. The Narcolepsy or Sneezing Collapse Scenario
We seniors are frail and suffer from a lot of disabilities. The drugs we take alone would be enough to turn most young people into pillars of salt. Suddenly things happen to us and it is easy for those around us to "mistake" this for death.
Charming Kids: "Mom! Mom! What's wrong with Grandpa! He sneezed or something and now he is not moving!!"
Mom: He's dead! Help me carry him to the truck.
You need to think about this in advance. Wear a bracelet that says in several languages (this could – and often does – happen while traveling abroad), "I AM NOT DEAD!"
4. The "Dying" While Traveling Scenario
Many relatives will take you on an arduous trip. We seniors are vulnerable to this as we don't like to admit we cannot do the things we used to do; we pretend we are as strong as ever.
Wife: Honey? Does the thin air here at Everest Base Camp bother you?
Husband: (struggling to revive his cardiopulmonary system) GAR! GESSHHH! I.... am.... fine..... no.... problem.
Often it is more than a senior can take right away and he faints. Naturally this is looked at as an opportunity.
Wife: OMG! Harry! Are you OK?!! HARRY!! SPEAK TO ME!!! GUIDE!! HEY! Harry has fainted or something... help me!
Guide: The monks in the Jokhang Monastery would often fast for days.... what?
Wife: My husband... he has fainted.
Guide: You want coffee?
Wife: No... he is sick, ill.
Guide: I bring breakfast. You wait here.
Wife: No! I need a doctor. An ambulance!!! Hurry PLEASE!
Guide: We have, we have! I bring special perfumes for you! My cousin! He make the very best! You wait here. [Guide runs off to get cousin].
Of course, the next stop is the crematorium.
5. Don't Get Cremated Scenario
Being mistaken for dead is bad enough, but then what often happens is, rather than letting you sleep it off in the morgue, they rush out and cremate you. Now is THAT a drag or what? There is no recovery from that, so it is imperative that you prevent this from happening. There are some steps you can take. First, say you are Jewish. This makes cremation difficult. Another thing is to wear a bracelet that says you have a plutonium implant in your body. Cremation of radioactive materials is illegal in most places. These steps will allow for enough time for you to wake up in the morgue.
You: WTF?! Where AM I.
Morgue Attendant: (turning pale) 你死了!(You are dead!)
You: It's freaking cold in here. Can I get some coffee or something? What is this hotel anyway?
MA: 我必须去。(I have to go.) [runs out]

There are other things to do as well of course: eat healthy food, don't smoke, moderate your drinking (yeah...right), and so on, but the five tips above will ensure that in that emergency moment you can keep your relatives from deciding you are deceased and guarantee that you live another day!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Guess That Thing answers

How to Score
90 ~ 100% correct
You should consult your mental health professional.
70 ~ 89% correct
You could get a job in a Japanese marketing company
50 ~ 69% correct
Definitely been in Japan too long
26 ~ 49%
Fairly normal if you live in Japan; a little odd if you don't
0 ~ 25%
Random guessing would get you 25%.

1. Freed
a. sugarless gum
b. car*
c. flea & tick medicine for cats
d. dish washing liquid

2. Latte
a. canned coffee drink
b. body soap
c. skin cream
d. car*

3. Hi-Soft
a. cigarettes
b. light bulb
c. condom
d. caramels*

4. UFO
a. car
b. earphones
c. cup noodle*
d. dish washing liquid

5. Blendy Stick
a. manual transmission Blendy (car name)
b. instant coffee in stick form*
c. stick cookie
d. condom

6. LEE
a. jeans
b. hair growth shampoo
c. laundry detergent
d. curry*

7. Pakyni (don't ask me to pronounce it)
a. curry
b. car
c. stick cookie*
d. body soap

8. Pucca
a. wool mittens
b. anti-diarrhea medicine
c. cookies*
d. car

9. Cratz
a. cheese crackers*
b. car
c. bath soap
d. deodorant

10. O'Zack
a. potato chips*
b. dish washing liquid
c. beer
d. minty body lotion

11. *Zest
a. car*
b. shampoo
c. high vitamin C drink
d. laundry detergent

12. Glamorous Butterfly
a. condom*
b. car
c. chocolate candy
d. dish washing liquid

13. Hot Cap
a. canned alcoholic drink
b. pepper sauce
c. condom*
d. chemical hand warmer

14. Every
a. chocolate drink
b. car*
c. cigarettes
d. men's shampoo

15. Body Shot
a. coffee drink*
b. condom
c. body soap
d. hair treatment

16. Crunky Ball Nude
a. condom
b. chocolate ball-type candy*
c. dish washing liquid
d. shampoo

17. Silky Black
a. black condom
b. hair-tint rinse (black)
c. dark chocolate
d. black coffee drink*

Monday, August 8, 2011

Guess That Thing!

I had thought at first I would write cleverly about how the political systems of Japan and the US – each completely dysfunctional in its own culture – might be profitably exchanged. You know... the Japanese system of incompetent and weak-willed idiots could go to the US Congress and the incompetent and strong-willed boneheads in the US Congress could go to Japan. Each group – out of its everyday culture and milieu – would be able to take advantage of cultural differences and bring about a speedy and brilliant success.
Alas, it is painful to realize that simply exchanging morons will not help matters at all. In fact, taking them away from the security of their own political and domestic culture would only increase the amount of drool the janitors would have to mop up.
SOOooooo.... instead, since one of my early blogs a year ago was a "Guess That Thing" quiz of Japanese items with English names, I thought now would be a good time to make another one, a sort of anniversary quiz. It might even elevate our minds a bit, away from thinking about politics!
All the items below have the names just as you see them here; they are written in Roman letters, not Japanese. I will provide the answers next week.

1. Freed
a. sugarless gum
b. car
c. flea & tick medicine for cats
d. dish washing liquid

2. Latte
a. canned coffee drink
b. body soap
c. skin cream
d. car

3. Hi-Soft
a. cigarettes
b. light bulb
c. condom
d. caramels

4. UFO
a. car
b. earphones
c. cup noodle
d. dish washing liquid

5. Blendy Stick
a. manual transmission Blendy (car name)
b. instant coffee in stick form
c. stick cookie
d. condom

6. LEE
a. jeans
b. hair growth shampoo
c. laundry detergent
d. curry

7. Pakyni (don't ask me to pronounce it)
a. curry
b. car
c. stick cookie
d. body soap

8. Pucca
a. wool mittens
b. anti-diarrhea medicine
c. cookies
d. car

9. Cratz
a. cheese crackers
b. car
c. bath soap
d. deodorant

10. O'Zack
a. potato chips
b. dish washing liquid
c. beer
d. minty body lotion

11. Zest
a. car
b. shampoo
c. high vitamin C drink
d. laundry detergent

12. Glamorous Butterfly
a. condom
b. car
c. chocolate candy
d. dish washing liquid

13. Hot Cap
a. canned alcoholic drink
b. pepper sauce
c. condom
d. chemical hand warmer

14. Every
a. chocolate drink
b. car
c. cigarettes
d. men's shampoo

15. Body Shot
a. coffee drink
b. condom
c. body soap
d. hair treatment

16. Crunky Ball Nude
a. condom
b. chocolate ball-type candy
c. dish washing liquid
d. shampoo

17. Silky Black
a. black condom
b. hair-tint rinse (black)
c. dark chocolate
d. black coffee drink

Monday, August 1, 2011

Conversations in Thin Air

Remember the days when traveling by air was full of romance and excitement? Movies of the day showed strangers meeting on a commercial airliner and even falling in love! Flight attendants were glamorous and passengers were not only well behaved but even dressed up for the occasion. Nowadays things are different... very different.

Conversation 1
29B Aisle (to 29A Window): Excuse me, Ma'am, could you close your window shade, please?
29A: Why?
29B: It's very bright in my eyes.
29A: Close your eyes; that's what eyelids are for.
29B: Er... I don't want to sleep; I just want it a little less bright.
29A: What do you think they PUT windows in airplanes for anyway? It's so we can look out and see stuff!
29B: But it's so bright....
29A: You should send your sorry ass by UPS. Those planes don't have ANY windows!!
29B: . . . . . . .

So much for romance.

Conversation 2

Menu choices: Beef Chop Suey (looks like it has already been eaten once) and Chicken Cacciatore (looks OK)

Flight attendant (at row 28): Would you care for beef or chicken?
28A: Chicken please.
28B: Chicken please.
Flight attendant: Beef or chicken?
29A: Chicken
29B: I'll have the chicken, please.
Flight Attendant: Beef or chicken?
30A: Chicken please.
30B: Chicken.
Flight Attendant: Helen, do you have any more chicken on that side?
Helen: Nope, I'm out.
Flight Attendant (to me): Wanna eat?
31B: um.... no, I guess not....

So much for excitement.
I have been traveling around a lot this past week, so can't come up with much more than this. Thanks for reading.