Why do people hate(hāt) vegans(ˈvejən,ˈvēgən)?

It has left the beige(bāZH)-tinted(tint) margins(ˈmärjən) and become social media’s most glamorous(ˈglamərəs) look. But why does veganism(ˈvēɡənizəm) still provoke(prəˈvōk) so much anger(ˈaNGgər)?

By George(jôrj) Reynolds(ˈrenəldz)

From the hunger(ˈhəNGgər) strike(strīk) to the edible(ˈedəbəl) projectile(-ˌtīl,prəˈjektl), history offers abundant(əˈbəndənt) examples of food being used for political(pəˈlidək(ə)l) ends. Even so, the crowd of vegans who gathered(ˈgaT͟Hər) in central London earlier this year are unlikely to forget the moment when Gatis(gədəs) Lagzdins skinned and ate a raw squirrel(ˈskwər(ə)l).

Along with his co-conspirator(kənˈspirədər) Deonisy(dē’änəzē) Khlebnikov, Lagzdins performed his stunt(stənt) at the weekly Soho Vegan Market on Rupert(ˈro͞opərt) Street. He would subsequently demonstrate at VegFest(vej) in Brighton (although this time his snack(snak) of choice was a raw pig’s head) as part of a self-proclaimed(prō-,prəˈklām) “carnivore(ˈkärnəˌvôr) tour(to͝or)” intended to highlight the evils(ˈēvəl) of a plant(plant)-based diet. At the London event, he wore(wôr) a black vest(vest) emblazoned(emˈblāzn) with the slogan(ˈslōgən): “Veganism = Malnutrition(ˌmalno͞oˈtriSHən).”

The war on vegans started small. There were flashpoints, some outrageous(outˈrājəs) enough to receive(rəˈsēv) press coverage(ˈkəv(ə)rij). There was the episode(ˈepəˌsōd) in which William Sitwell, then editor of Waitrose magazine, resigned after a freelance writer leaked an email exchange in which he joked about “killing vegans one by one”. (Sitwell has since apologised(əˈpäləˌjīz).) There was the PR nightmare faced by Natwest bank when a customer calling to apply for a loan(lōn) was told by an employee that “all vegans should be punched in the face”. When animal rights protesters(prəˈtes-,ˈprōˌtestər) stormed(stôrm) into a Brighton(ˈbrītn) Pizza(ˈpētsə) Express(ikˈspres) in September this year, one diner(ˈdīnər) did exactly that.

A charge commonly laid against vegans is that they relish(ˈreliSH) their status as victims(ˈviktəm), but research suggests they have earned it. In 2015, a study conducted by Cara C MacInnis and Gordon Hodson and published in the journal Group Processes & Intergroup Relations observed that vegetarians(ˌvejəˈterēən) and vegans in western society – and vegans in particular – experience discrimination(disˌkriməˈnāSHən) and bias(ˈbīəs) on a par(par,pär) with other minorities(məˈnôrədē).

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https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/oct/25/why-do-people-hate-vegans

Screen Time

By 王渊源John

I have no idea how to help our four-year-old (and, in the future, our four-month-old) develop a healthy relationship with technology. On the one hand, I feel that screens are an addiction(əˈdikSHən) for me, and I want him to not be as controlled by devices as I sometimes feel. On the other hand, I know that I have gained so much from the connection that my devices provide, and I also want my kids to be fluent(ˈflo͞oənt) in the tools of their generation.

Despite my love of technology, and my conviction(kənˈvikSHən) that my smartphone enhances(inˈhans, enˈhans) my life, I don’t think I have a healthy relationship with it. The first time I realized this was when a friend stopped talking during a meal when I was looking up something related(rəˈlādəd) to our conversation(ˌkänvərˈsāSHən) on my phone. I also check my phone first thing in the morning, when Apple’s ScreenTime feature came out I was ashamed(əˈSHāmd) by the number of hours I use my phone and the number of times I open it, and, most significantly(səɡˈnifəkəntlē), I find myself checking for updates when I am spending time with family and friends.

Despite being ruled(ro͞ol) by technology, I still wish I were better at it. I check my phone all the time, but I often fall behind on messages, and I feel very “non-native(ˈnādiv)” to social media. I wish I checked my phone less, but I also wish I connected more online. I have the same wish for my children: I don’t want them to be controlled by their devices, but I want them to be masters of the online world.

As far as “screen time policies(ˈpäləsē)”, I bounce back and forth(fôrTH) between wanting no screen time for my small kids and wanting to have a completely open policy. An open policy would be to just let them jump in without limits and let them figure it out. If they play Minecraft(kraft) all day today, they’ll probably want to do something else tomorrow. For right now, we’ve settled(ˈsedl) somewhere in the middle. We haven’t had a TV at home for many years, and we started letting our son watch some shows and movies when he was two. We also started letting him play around on phones and tablets(ˈtablət). As of now, if he asks to play with the tablet or watch a show, we sometimes say yes, generally limiting it to 20-30 minutes a day.

As I write this, I’m realizing that the obvious(ˈäbvēəs) answer is to model the behavior that I hope to see in our sons. This is almost certainly way more important than any rules that we have.

I think I’ll start with not checking my phone in the morning and evening at home, or in the car taking my son to and from school (I’m not driving!). Reading on a Kindle is okay. We’ll see how it goes.

http://en.yjohny.com/2019/09/05/screen-time/

Review of “The Shining(ˈSHīniNG)”

By Roger Ebert

Stanley(ˈstanlē) Kubrick’s(ˈko͝obrik) cold and frightening(ˈfrītn) “The Shining” challenges us to decide: Who is the reliable(rəˈlīəb(ə)l) observer(əbˈzərvər)? Whose idea of events can we trust? In the opening scene at a job interview, the characters seem reliable enough, although the dialogue has a formality(fôrˈmalədē) that echoes(ˈekō) the small talk on the space station in “2001.” We meet Jack Torrance(ˈtär-,ˈtôrəns) (Jack Nicholson(ˈnikəlsən)), a man who plans to live for the winter in solitude(ˈsäləˌt(y)o͞od) and isolation(ˌīsəˈlāSHən) with his wife and son. He will be the caretaker(ˈke(ə)rˌtākər) of the snowbound(ˈsnōˌbound) Overlook Hotel. His employer(əmˈploiər) warns that a former caretaker murdered(ˈmərdər) his wife and two daughters(ˈdä-,ˈdôtər), and committed suicide(ˈso͞oiˌsīd), but Jack reassures(ˌrēəˈSHo͝or) him: “You can rest assured(əˈSHo͝ord), Mr. Ullman(ō), that’s not gonna(ˈgônə,ˈgənə) happen with me. And as far as my wife is concerned(kənˈsərnd), I’m sure she’ll be absolutely fascinated(ˈfasəˌnāt) when I tell her about it. She’s a confirmed(kənˈfərmd) ghost(gōst) story and horror(ˈhär-,ˈhôrər) film addict(əˈdiktəd).”

Do people talk this way about real tragedies(ˈtrajədē)? Will his wife be absolutely fascinated? Does he ever tell her about it? Jack, wife Wendy (Shelley(ˈSHelē) Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd(loid)) move into the vast hotel just as workers are shutting it down for the winter; the chef(SHef), Dick(dik) Hallorann (Scatman Crothers) gives them a tour(to͝or), with emphasis(ˈemfəsəs) on the food storage locker (“You folks can eat up here a whole year and never have the same menu twice”). Then they’re alone, and a routine(ro͞oˈtēn) begins: Jack sits at a typewriter in the great hall, pounding relentlessly(rəˈlentləslē) at his typewriter, while Wendy and Danny put together a version of everyday life that includes breakfast cereal(ˈsi(ə)rēəl), toys and a lot of TV. There is no sense that the three function together as a loving family.

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https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-shining-1980

The trouble with chocolate(ˈCHäk(ə)lət)

A decade after Mars(märz) and other chocolate makers vowed(vou) to stop rampant(ˈrampənt) deforestation(dēˌfôrəˈstāSHən, dēˌfärəˈstāSHən), the problem has gotten(ˈɡätn) worse

By Steven Mufson(məf)

Mars Inc(incorporated. inˈkôrpəˌrādəd), maker of M&M’s, Milky(ˈmilkē) Way and other stalwarts(ˈstôlwərt) of the nation’s Halloween(ˌhaləˈwēn) candy bag, vowed in 2009 to switch entirely(enˈtīrlē) to sustainable(səˈstānəbəl) cocoa(ˈkōkō) to combat(ˈkämˌbat) deforestation, a major contributor to climate(ˈklīmit) change.

But as the United States stocks up for trick-or-treating, Mars and other global chocolate makers are far from meeting that ambitious(amˈbiSHəs) goal. Over the past decade, deforestation has accelerated(əkˈseləˌrāt) in West Africa(ˈafrəkə), the source of two-thirds of the world’s cocoa. By one estimate(ˈestəˌmāt), the loss(läs,lôs) of tropical(ˈträpəkəl) rainforests(ˈrānˌfôrəst) last year sped up more in Ghana(ˈgänə) and Ivory(ˈīv(ə)rē) Coast(kōst) than anywhere else in the world.

“Anytime someone bites(bīt) on a chocolate bar in the United States, a tree is being cut down,” said Eric Agnero, an environmental activist(ˈaktivəst) in Abidjan(ˌabəˈjän), the economic capital of Ivory Coast. “If we continue like that, in two, three, four years there will be no more forests.”

Worldwide, the pace(pās,ˈpäˌCHā,ˈpāˌsē) of deforestation is alarming(əˈlärmiNG). In 2017, 40 football fields of tropical forests were lost every minute, spurred(spər) by growing demand not only for cocoa, but also for palm(pä(l)m) oil, soybeans(ˈsoiˌbēn), timber(ˈtimbər), beef(bēf) and rubber(ˈrəbər), according to Global Forest Watch, a nonprofit(ˈnänˈpräfitV) organization with online data and tools for gathering and monitoring forests.

Recent wildfires(ˈwīldˌfīr) have focused attention on the Amazon(-zən,ˈaməˌzän) rainforest in Brazil(brəˈzil), but West Africa is another major trouble spot. Ivory Coast has lost 80 percent of its forests over the past 50 years. And in Ghana, trees have been chopped down across an area the size of New Jersey(ˈjərzē), according to an estimate by the minister(ˈminəstər) of lands and natural resources.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/national/climate-environment/mars-chocolate-deforestation-climate-change-west-africa/

What If You Have Many Different Interests and Cannot Commit to Any of Them?

By Steve Pavlina

If you’re attracted(əˈtrakt) to many different pursuits(pərˈso͞ot) and can’t commit to any single one of them for your career, college(ˈkälij) major(ˈmājər), or income source, then good for you! Leonardo da Vinci(liōˌnardō də ˈvinCHē) was in the same boat(bōt). He’s considered by many to be the greatest genius of all time.

The notion(ˈnōSHən) that you have to commit to a single trade for life (or even for a decade or two) makes sense if you want to live like an industrial(inˈdəstrēəl) worker drone(drōn). But then you’re just filling the role of a cog(käg) in a giant machine, perfectly disposable(disˈpōzəbəl) and easily replaced by similar(ˈsimələr) cogs.

Let me guess… the people telling you (maybe even yelling at you) to pick one thing and commit to it are also on the drone path themselves, right? Do you honestly want their results? Or would you like something better?

It’s perfectly okay to reject the drone path, you know. Lots of people do, and they’re much happier for it. But they aren’t the same people that will tell you, “Pick one thing and stick(stik) to it, or you’ll(yo͞ol) never amount to anything.” Instead they’ll(T͟Hāl) probably say, “The more interests you pursue, the smarter you’ll become.”

There’s no rule(ro͞ol) that says you must commit to being a drone

I don’t want to commit to any one thing for life. I don’t even like committing to just one thing for a month. I have too many interests. If I picked just one thing and let all the rest go, I wouldn’t be happy. I’d just feel trapped(trap). So I chose to reject that option. I can see that it isn’t right for me. Hmmm… for some reason the people that said I should specialize(ˈspeSHəˌlīz) got a lot quieter(ˈkwīət) when my eclectic(əˈklektik) interests started paying off financially.

Presently(ˈprez(ə)ntlē) I enjoy writing, blogging, speaking, podcasting, online business, studying self-improvement, philosophy(fəˈläsəfē), humor(ˈ(h)yo͞omər), disc golf, psychic(ˈsīkik) development, etc. Why should I pick just one? Am I a blogger, an author, a speaker, a personal development expert, an Internet entrepreneur(-ˈnər,ˌäntrəprəˈno͝or)? So I have a chaotic(kāˈädik) resume(riˈzo͞om). Who cares?

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https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2008/07/what-if-you-have-many-different-interests-and-cannot-commit-to-any-of-them/

I’m angry(ˈaNGgrē) and impatient(imˈpāSHənt) all the time: Has social media changed me forever?

By Allison(ˈeləsən) Hall(hôl)

It’s 2 a.m. and I’m lying on a hospital cot(kät). The hall is crowded with patients waiting for attention(əˈtenCHən). I’m one of the lucky ones. I got here early enough to claim my own space. I’m hooked up to a heart monitor(ˈmänədər). I’ve already had two electrocardiograms(iˌlektrōˈkärdēəˌgram). I’ve swallowed(ˈswälō) down clot-busting drugs and Aspirin(əˈspī(ə)riNG). A nurse(nərs) has injected a blood thinner(ˈTHinər) into my stomach(ˈstəmək). I’ve had nitroglycerine(ˌnītrōˈɡlisərən) sprayed(sprā) under my tongue(təNG). I have an IV in my arm ready, just in case.

A nurse walks by and declares(diˈkler) that tonight the emergency(əˈmərjənsē) department is a “train wreck(rek).”

Every time my monitor beeps(bēp), my heart rate(rāt) skyrockets(ˈskīˌräkit). What could the beeping mean? I’m shaking(SHāk), trying to remember my yoga(ˈyōgə) breathing. My nurse assures(əˈSHo͝or) me she’s watching me like a hawk(hôk), but I haven’t seen her for hours. Stress consumes me. How in the world did I get here?

I have always been a patient person. I don’t fly off the handle, I tend to rationalize(ˈraSHnəˌlīz,ˈraSHənlˌīz) situations and approach conflict(ˈkänˌflikt) with an informed calmness(ˈkämnəs, ˈkälmnəs). But lately, this is not the case. I’m angry. I can’t stand to wait, to be inconvenienced(ˌinkənˈvēnyəns). I have turned into someone I don’t recognize.

My muscles(ˈməsəl) tense(tens) up when I look at my Twitter feed. My teeth clench(klenCH) when I look at Facebook. As a writer, I’ve been told to show, not tell and, right now, I’m overwhelmed in the telling. The multitude(ˈməltəˌt(y)o͞od) of voices telling me things that I really don’t want or need to know. I crave(krāv) approval(əˈpro͞ovəl), the need for others to know what I’m doing and like it. I feel let down when I don’t get enough of this virtual(ˈvərCHo͞oəl) attention.

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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-im-angry-and-impatient-all-the-time-has-social-media-changed-me/

The mood-altering(ˈôltər) power of the Moon

The idea that the lunar(ˈlo͞onər) cycle can influence people’s behaviour(bəˈhāvyər) dates back thousands of years, but has been largely dismissed by modern medicine(ˈmedəsən). But new research suggests there may be some truth to these ancient(ˈānCHənt) theories(ˈTHi(ə)rē,ˈTHēərē).

By Linda Geddes

The 35-year-old man sitting in David(ˈdāvid) Avery’s(ā) psychiatric(ˌsīkēˈatrik) clinic(ˈklinik) was an engineer: “He liked to solve problems,” Avery recalls. And the problem perplexing(pərˈpleksiNG) him when he was admitted to the Seattle(sēˈadl) psychiatric ward where Avery worked in 2005 were his moods, which swung violently(ˈvī(ə)ləntlē) from one extreme(ikˈstrēm) to another – sometimes involving suicidal(ˌso͞oiˈsīdl) fantasies(ˈfantəsē) or seeing and hearing things that weren’t there. The man’s sleep pattern was similarly(ˈsim(ə)lərlē) erratic(əˈradik), veering(vi(ə)r) from near total insomnia(inˈsämnēə) to getting 12 hours per night.

Being a problem-solver, the man had been keeping meticulous(məˈtikyələs) records of these patterns, trying to make sense of it all. Avery closely studied these records and scratched(skraCH) his head: “It was the rhythmicity(ˌriT͟Hˈmisədē) of it that intrigued(inˈtrēɡ) me,” he says. To him, it looked very much like the patient’s mood and sleep patterns were tracking rise(rīz) and fall of the Earth’s oceans, which are driven(ˈdrivən) by the gravitational(ˌɡravəˈtāSH(ə)nəl) pull of the moon.

“There seemed to be high tides(tīd) occurring during the night when the sleep duration(d(y)o͝orˈāSHən) was short,” says Avery. He initially(iˈniSHəlē) dismissed his hunch(hənCH) as lunacy(ˈlo͞onəsē). Even if the man’s mood cycles were in synch(siNGk) with the Moon, he had no mechanism(ˈmekəˌnizəm) to explain it, nor any ideas about what to do about it. The patient was prescribed(prəˈskrīb) drugs and light therapy(ˈTHerəpē) to stabilise(ˈstābəˌlīz) his mood and sleep, and eventually discharged. Avery slipped the man’s notes into the proverbial(prəˈvərbēəl) file drawer(ˈdrô(ə)r) and closed it.

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https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190731-is-the-moon-impacting-your-mood-and-wellbeing

Kiwanuka(kiwä’nukə): one of the greatest albums(ˈalbəm) of the decade

The soulful singer’s third LP is timeless and contemporary(kənˈtempəˌrerē) at the same time, with shades(SHād) of everything from What’s Going On to Screamadelica(skrēm)

By Dave(ā) Simpson(ˈsimpsən)

Michael(ˈmīk(ə)l) Kiwanuka’s first two albums established(əˈstabliSHt) him as a folksy(ˈfōksē) symphonic(simˈfänik) soul man akin(əˈkin) to Bill Withers(ˈwiT͟Hərz) and Terry(ˈterē) Callier, and set the bar pretty high. This one knocks(näk) it skyward(ˈskīwərd). Together with producer-to-the-stars Danger Mouse and London hip-hop producer Inflo, the British-Ugandan(yo͞oˈɡandən) 32-year-old has broadened(ˈbrôdn) his territory(ˈterəˌtôrē) to stretch from Donny Hathaway(ˈhaTHəwā)-style melancholy(ˈmelənˌkälē) soul through to Rolling Stones-y gospel(ˈgäspəl) rock, psychedelic(ˌsīkəˈdelik) soul and breakbeat(ˈbrākˌbēt). There are strings and harps(härp), samples of civil(ˈsivəl) rights campaigners(kamˈpānər), Hendrix(ˈhendriks)-type frazzled(ˈfrazəl) guitars(ɡəˈtär) and Burt Bacharach(ˈbakərak, ˈbäkəˌräk)-type orchestrations(ˌôrkəˈstrāSHən). The dreamlike, revelatory(riˈvel-,ˈrevələˌtôrē) quality is reminiscent(ˌreməˈnisənt) of Marvin Gaye’s(ɡā) What’s Going On and Primal(ˈprīməl) Scream’s(skrēm) Screamadelica.

Unusually, in these streaming-led times, Kiwanuka is a contemplative(kənˈtemplədiv) song cycle intended to be listened to in one extended sitting, which he says is “a reaction against this fast-paced, throwaway, machine-led world”. It sounds timeless and contemporary; the instrumental(ˌinstrəˈmentl) interludes(ˈintərˌlo͞od) and the stylistic(stīˈlistik) and tempo(ˈtempō) shifts all hang together because of his warm, sincere(sinˈsi(ə)r) vocals(ˈvōkəl) and fantastic songwriting. At the core is Kiwanuka’s inner battle between anxiety, self-doubt, spirituality(ˌspiriCHo͞oˈalədē) and wisdom(ˈwizdəm), which is then set against racism(ˈrāˌsizəm) and rueful(ˈro͞ofəl) glances(glans) at the state of the world. Thus, killer opener You Ain’t(ānt) the Problem is both an encouraging(enˈkərijiNG) nudge(nəj) to himself and a sharp put-down of attitudes(ˈadəˌt(y)o͞od) towards immigration(ˌiməˈɡrāSH(ə)n): “If you don’t belong, you’re not the problem.”

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https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/nov/01/michael-kiwanuka-kiwanuka-review-one-of-the-greatest-albums-of-the-decade

Google Claims(klām) a Quantum(ˈkwäntəm) Breakthrough(ˈbrākˌTHro͞o) That Could Change Computing

By Cade(ā) Metz

Google said on Wednesday that it had achieved a long-sought(sôt) breakthrough called “quantum supremacy(so͞o-,səˈpreməsē),” which could allow new kinds of computers to do calculations(ˌkalkyəˈlāSHən) at speeds that are inconceivable(ˌinkənˈsēvəbəl) with today’s technology.

The Silicon(-kən,ˈsiləˌkän) Valley(ˈvalē) giant’s(ˈjīənt) research lab in Santa(ˈsan(t)ə) Barbara, Calif., reached a milestone(ˈmīlˌstōn) that scientists had been working toward since the 1980s: Its quantum computer performed a task that isn’t possible with traditional computers, according to a paper published in the science journal Nature.

A quantum machine could one day drive big advances in areas(ˈe(ə)rēə) like artificial(ˌärdəˈfiSHəl) intelligence and make even the most powerful supercomputers look like toys. The Google device did in 3 minutes 20 seconds a mathematical(ˌmaTH(ə)ˈmadək(ə)l) calculation that supercomputers could not complete in under 10,000 years, the company said in its paper.

Scientists likened(ˈlīkən) Google’s announcement(əˈnounsmənt) to the Wright(rīt) brothers’ first plane(plān) flight(flīt) in 1903 — proof that something is really possible even though it may be years before it can fulfill its potential.

“The original(əˈrijənl) Wright flyer(ˈflīər) was not a useful airplane,” said Scott(skät) Aaronson, a computer scientist at the University of Texas(ˈteksəs) at Austin(ˈôstən) who reviewed Google’s paper before publication. “But it was designed to prove a point. And it proved the point.”

Still, some researchers cautioned(ˈkôSHən) against getting too excited(ikˈsīdəd) about Google’s achievement since so much more work needs to be done before quantum computers can migrate(ˈmīˌgrāt) out of the research lab. Right now, a single quantum machine costs millions of dollars to build.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/23/technology/quantum-computing-google.html

Travel without social praise(prāz)

By Derek Sivers

I met a couple who were thinking of quitting(kwit) their jobs and travelling the world for a year. They asked my thoughts.

I suggested they should only do it if they don’t bring a camera(ˈkam(ə)rə), and don’t tell anyone but their family and few dear friends. No sharing on social media.

Why? Because we often live for others, without even realizing it. We are trying to impress an invisible(inˈvizəbəl) crowd. We like the social reward of saying, “We’re travelling the world!” We imagine how friends and strangers would react to this big news.

We go places we think would be impressive to other people. We take photos that will make our life look wonderful when we share them. We want that praise — that social reward.

Do we really want to do this thing, for its own sake(sāk,ˈsäkē)? Or do we just want the praise?

One way to find out is to see how appealing(əˈpēliNG) it would be to do it with no photos, and no sharing. Like the first person to run a marathon(ˈmarəˌTHän) without talking about it.