I know it might seem a bit odd having the word “chunk” and “workout” in the same headline, but it will all makes sense in a couple of paragraphs. After I finished P90X (more than a year ago), I kind of fell into a funk. After running high on the fumes of my P90x completion, I fell into a lethargic anti-workout ethic. Not really sure where it come from, or how it happend. However, it happened, and I just stopped working out.

Fast forward several months later and I’m now back on the workout grind. Not necessarily P90x, but a hybrid of P90x and my own personal strength training workout routine. I’ve basically “Malikified” my workout with timings and specific locations, while managing small exercise routines that fit into my life schedule.

So what is chunking? In the psychology world chunking is a strategy used to improve your long-term memory. In short, if you group or list similar pieces of information together it will help you retain the information. Here is an example.

In the context of working out, I have now chunked my exercise routine. In the large scheme of my workout, I’ve broken down bits and pieces of my routine by location, body part, calisthenics, strength and time. I’ve broken up my location between my living room and the Planet Fitness Gym.

Here is what I do:

Planet Fitness in the Bronx

• Body Scultpting
• Machines and Free Weights
• Chest, Arms, Shoulders

My Living room in the Bronx

• Strength training (Pushups, Fitness Bands, Pull-ups, etc)
• Calisthenics
• Legs, Abs, Back

This simple chunking formula has allowed me to “see the forest through the trees” for my workout routine. Once you get the ball rolling it’s all down hill (of course in a good way). Over these last couple weeks, I feel I have the vision and the discipline to push myself a bit more.

Happy Chunking!

Yea you know the type. “Hey I’m a perfectionist”. Before I continue, I apologize to anyone who has said this to me. I didn’t know I was going to write a post on this and chances are you probably don’t fall into the “OCD perfectionist” category, but too many people do.

And whenever I hear that, I sometimes hear following:

• “Hey, I’m difficult and unbearable”
• “Hey, I like to adhere to fictitious standards that don’t exist” (only in my head). And I’m not talking about the “I want to be great at ___________”, I’m talking about “Hey I want to be great at ____________ which means lifting up the Empire State Building. Guess what? It’s not going to happen
• “Hey, look at me”
• “Hey, watch me hurt everyone’s feelings but use the “perfectionist” line as a cover to mask my detachment from the world

Now keep in mind that I didn’t say being a perfectionist is a problem, it’s being an imposing perfectionist that’s the issue. Without humility your “perfect world” can become a “narcissistic or arrogant” world. Maybe not to you, but how you are perceived by others.

Too many times I’ve watched the “perfectionist” live on an island of solitude while believing that their behavior is welcoming and refreshing. At times, being around a “hyper-perfectionist” can be an annoying and crass experience. Once again, I’m not talking about mastering something. In order for us to be masters at what we do, we have work hard and rethink our approaches. Being a critical thinker on your day-to-day challenges in life is expected.

Being a perfectionist is not all negative. There are actually some positive aspects to being a perfectionist.

Over they years I’ve also noticed that people want to be perfectionist or want “perfect” things in particular areas of their life. One of the most abused areas for “wanting something perfect” is relationships. Here are some of the reasons (and these reasons will lead you to nowhere):

• I work hard and play hard
• I’m handsome/beautiful and intelligent
• I have certain standards (they usually forget to ad “unrealistic” before the word standards
• Why should I settle? (uh…because human beings are imperfect creatures and it’s ridiculous to think that you are going to find someone that matches every part of your warped world view)

In this age of narcissism, we have watched some of our most well respected figures in society fall from from grace. We pounce at the opportunity to drag their character and life down into the gutter. As a society we have not only put people on these unrealistic “pedestals of perfection”, but we have also put our expectations on “pedestals of perfection”. We have created a world where there is no wiggle room for natural improvement and correction.

We hear and say the phrase “nobodies perfect”, but I wonder if we actually believe it.

• Discovery Health Perfectionist Test: Are you a Perfectionist?
• Race to Nowhere A Film by Viki Abeles
• NY Times | Portrait of the Dancer, Perfectionist and All By Bernard WeinRaub

If you want skip the P.A.W. back story, click HERE to go straight to the routine.

On Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 an idea popped in my head while doing a intense chest and back exercise routine. At the time I was doing a routine that was somewhat of a hybrid of my own stuff and P90x. As a student of P90x, one of the amazing things is you build this immense strength that allows you to be quite imaginative in regards to new ways that you can “push your body” for maximum intensity. I mean…even when I went to San Fran for business and I was doing a short workout routine in my hotel room and I found my mind wandering with thoughts like..”Hey, I wonder what would happen if I curled that chair at the desk”…”Hmmm..maybe I can dead-lift this king size bed and get a workout out of it”.

However, one of my favorite curl routines is strip set curls. You can practically “strip set” any exercise and it’s starting out with a heavier weight and working the weight down as you do each set. In the case of strip set curls, I could start with 25-30 pounds dumbbells and max out my reps with that. Then move on to 20 pounds and max out my reps with that. Then 15 pounds, max out, then 10 pounds. No breaks in between. As soon as you hit your last rep, you move down to the next weight. If you’ve never done a strip set routine you might be saying to yourself. “What? 10 pounds, anyone can do that”. Yes, under normal circumstances if you started with the lower weight, it would be quite effortless. But when you do a strip set routine and max out on every weight, by the time you reach the lowest weight your body is screaming from the burn, pain and muscle exhaustion.

“Pushups Around the World” or P.A.W. is a simple strip set pushup routine. Basically you start with several difficult pushup up moves in a decline position, then move down to several moves in the incline position, then move to several plank pushups, and finish off with knee pushups. I would not advise doing this routine in the beginning of a workout. Strip set should be done at the end of your workout routine. It’s what I like to call a “closure”. You close with something that you can push every last drop of energy into and then your done.

Equipment:

1. Two equal height chairs
2. Two yoga blocks
3. Pushup bars
4. A big ole object to place on the chair to get to a deep decline pushup. I used a small and sturdy suitcase but you can use whatever you have available. Just make sure it fits firmly on the chair and it’s sturdy.
5. Exercise mat (optional)

The P.A.W. Routine:


1. Deep decline diamond pushup
Grab your chair and place your firm object on the chair to get a deep decline. In the diagram to the left, the hand position is a standard shoulder length width. In my routine I start off with diamonds. Diamond pushup are pushing together your hands until your pointing and index fingers touch, including your thumbs. Once you put your hands together, it should look something like a spade (think deck of cards) or diamond. Your hands should be positioned right below your chest area.

2. Standard decline shoulder-length pushups (pushup bars)
Remove the big ole object and continue to max-out on declines with just your feet raised on the chair and using a set of pushup bars.

3. Standard decline shoulder-length pushups
Maintain the same arm and hand position, but remove the pushup bars.

4. Standard incline pushup (yoga blocks)
Still using your chair, grab your second chair and place each yoga block on the inner left and right side of each chair. Place each hand firmly on each yoga block and go for it.

5. Standard incline pushup
Maintain same incline position, but now remove the yoga blocks.

6. Plank diamond pushup
Remove both chairs and go into a plank pushup with a diamond hand position.

7. Wide plank pushup (pushup bars)
Go into a wide length plank pushup with pushup bars. Keep your wrists facing forward, with your fingers wide apart. You can adjust how wide you want to go (try not to go too wide or you’ll tip over your pushup bars), but about two hand widths outside your shoulder should suffice.

8. Shoulder length plank pushup
Go into a shoulder length plank pushup without pushup bars.

9. Shoulder length knee pushup
At this point your arms should be on fire and you are probably begging for it to end. Try to end with a big finish on this one and push until you feel smoke coming off your arms and chest.

Conclusion:
Well that’s it. Keep in mind that you can mix and match hand/arm positions on any one of these moves from P.A.W. The above “closure” works for me, but you may want to throw in some one arm pushups, plange pushups, or even a “T-pushup” . The P.A.W. routine is pretty flexible, but as long as you maintain a “strip-set” pattern going from very difficult to easy, you should be good to go.

Props to my boy Elastic Dragon (TJ) for hooking me up with pushup graphics. Homey you did an amazing job.

First things first, shoutout to Allah (SWT) for keeping me in the right frame of mind thought out this process. Shoutouts to all my family and friends who kept pushing me thoughout P90x. Big shoutout to all my twittereez out there who picked up on my tweets and kept me pushing play while bringing it! Shouts out to @krprice , @SeattleWorksOut, @P90XXXer, @ashleygbowden, @Fittuck3, and many others.

Well, Today is day 90 and I’m feeling pretty dang good. All the blood, sweat, exhaustion and ripping of muscle has paid off tremendously. This is just a guess, but I’ve probably lost about 15 pounds. Should of weighed myself earlier but too be honest, I didn’t think I was going to get this far. So the first thing you are probably thinking to yourself is “Where are the before and afters?”. As I’ve said throughout these 90 days, because of religious reasons and modesty I can’t. But in a month I’m going to demonstrate the power of P90x and I’ll be posting a video of me doing 5+ free standing hand stand push-ups. I’m in training now and will be working on it for the next 30 days while continuing P90x for another 90 days.

I bought P90x almost 3 years ago and it remained on the shelf for 2 1/2 years. The first time I did P90x and did the fit test I failed miserably. In ignorance I tried to do P90x and just couldn’t do it. So what changed? Did I train for 2 1/2 years to build up the stamina to do P90x? No. Did I find some youth elixir that gave me the strength to do P90x two years later? NO. What happened is I got out of my head and got the courage to “Keep pushing play” even if I stumbled. My failure wasn’t physical it was mental. Once I got over that it was better days ahead. For those who are currently doing P90x you’ll notice through out the program there are these “sticky” motivational quips that keep you going. “Set it and forget it”, “Keep pushing play”. “Do your best and forget the rest”, and most importantly “Bring it”..

So how did I do during the 90 days? Well I might have missed a couple days here and there. Yeah, I might have missed a recovery drink here and there. Maybe I cheated on the food a bit. Maybe some days I didn’t push as hard as I should have, but what I didn’t do is stop pushing play, and beat myself about missing a couple steps here and there. I kept pushing, made the necessary corrections, and kept bringing it. That’s what it’s about. KIM, Keep it Moving. On my last week I sprained my ankle missing a step coming of the subway stop, but did that stop me? No, didn’t do any program that were heavy with the feet, did upper-body for the week and when my foot was back to normal, did my plyometrics at the end of the week. What ever missteps I made during the first 90 days I’ll correct them in the next 90 days. The lesson here is that you are human. This is not a PSA to screw up intentionally but just keep pushing no matter what weaknesses or short-comings may happen. There is always tomorrow.

P90x allowed me to push my body to the limits. I wasn’t aware my body could do the things it does today. Many times my wife would see me drenched in a puddle of sweat and wonder if I took a shower with my gym clothes on or is P90x really pushing my body to it’s limits. At this moment I don’t need anything else. My gym membership would be cancelled if it wasn’t costing me such a small amount every month ($10 bucks a month at Planet Fitness). You don’t really need a gym membership if you have the room space and time to do P90x.

So what’s next? Well I’m going to start another 90 days of P90x, but I’m going to change it up a bit. After 90 days you get a sense of what areas are your weaknesses and strengths. I’m going heavy on a couple areas to build a bit more mass, but I’m still going to stay focuses on the cardio. Nothing compares to Plyometrics. It’s the ultimate fat burner.

For those interested, below you’ll find a list of every tweet I did for the 90 days. For those days that are empty I either could not get up because I was too tired, was sick, it was my rest day or was just plain lazy. (trust me it happens)

I’m looking forward to the next 90 days and whenever you have doubts about this, just “Keep pushing play”, “Bring it”, and always make it “X-like”. Good luck!

• Official Site from Beachbody: P90x
• Hexagon Dumbbell sets
• MaxMat™ 1/4″ Extra Thick, Extra Long, and Extra Wide Yoga and Exercise Mat
  (84″ x 36″)
• Kulae Hot Yoga Hand Towel Ocean
  (I know it might seem a bit insane to spend about $18 bucks for one hand towel but this towel is insane. The amount of sweat that will be pouring off you, you’ll need it. You can suck up the Atlantic Ocean with this towel)
• Recovery Drink Reviews

P90x Diares

P90x – Day 1. First day for P90x workout. Hoping I don’t end up in the hospital.

P90x – Day 2. Great, I didn’t put myself in the hospital. I’m still alive. Ready for Day 3 tomorrow.

P90x – Day 3…ending with Side Tricep Rises..Is this guy insane? Every day this workout gets better and better.

P90x – Day 4.. Yoga X was okay. I got some good stretches but it was pretty dang boring. I will probably substitute Stretch X for Yoga X.

P90x – Day 5. Umm..Single Leg Wall Squats. This cd is by far my second favorite next to Chest and Arms. Can’t wait for tomorrow.

P90x – Day 6. Had to substitute my Plyometrics cd because my Henpo X cd didn’t work. Still had a phenomenal workout.

P90x – Day 8 . After only one week I’ve increased my strength. I need to get more weight. Amazing program.

P90x – Day 9. Still pushing hard. I’m about to go pick up some Reebok Push up Bars which apparently are the Bentley of static push up bars.

P90x – Day 10. The great thing about P90x is it’s never boring. Up your weight & goals and it’s like working out for the first time. Bang!

P90x – Day 11. Did Stretch X for the first time and it was great. I have a new respect for the power of stretching. Legs and back tomorrow.

P90x – Day 12. I never thought after all these years (10+ years) of doing pull-ups that I could increase my pull-up strength Wow! 24HGW!

P90x – Day 13. Did Kenpo X for the first time. Starts off slow but my body was was broken as things picked up. Ab Ripper X tomorrow.

P90x – Day 14. Did Ab Ripper X for the first time and I realize my core is made out of mash potatoes. I’ll have to push hard to get better.

P90x – Day 15. Used my pushup bars for the first time and gave me the leverage to push hard and get those extra critical reps in.I’m amped!

P90x – Day 16. I have to blend my recovery drink in the closet so I don’t wake up the baby. I run an extension cord from the kitchen.

P90x – Day 17. One of my favorite moves for shoulder n arms is static arm curls and side tri rises. Killer!

P90x – Day 18. Did Yoga X from end to end for the first time. I actually enjoyed it this time. It is by far the hardest DVD from P90x

P90x – Day 19. Today is my rest day but I’m going to hit legs and back hard tomorrow.

P90x – Day 20. What a great workout. Nothing like pushing hard after a break. Two words. Recovery Drink.

P90x – Day 21. Had a great stretch routine with Stretch X this morning and the timing is perfect considering I did leg and back yesterday.

P90x – Day 22. I was a bit sluggish in the beginning of the workout, but pushed hard toward the end. Back and Chest is my favorite

P90x – Day 23. Plyometrics is like playing full court basketball on a court the size of a football field with lead sneakers and a steel ball

P90x – Day 24. Strength continues to go up. I can’t believe it how fast this is happening. I can’t get enough of static arm curls.

P90x – Day 25. Torso Twist, Crane, and Half Moon are just a few of the most insane positions that your body will ever go through.

P90x – Day 26. Got through single leg wall squats for the first time. Toe Roll Iso-Lunges busted me down.

P90x – Day 27. Kenpo X. I might add some light hand and leg weights to this. I’m going to contact the Beach Body folks on this one.

Day 28. Today is my rest day. Got my crazy exercise bands yesterday for my pull-ups tomorrow so I’m siked about getting more reps.

P90x – Day 29. I did not think I could do something that was more difficult than Yoga X. Core Synergistics sent me into another dimension.

P90x – Day 30. I’m 1/3 of the way through the program. I can’t believe it’s been a month. I’ve lost about 10 pounds and building nuff mass.

P90x – Day 31. Nothing like a good X Stretch in the morning. Tomorrow, Core Synergistics. Banana Roll should be called the Human Pain Roll.

P90x – Day 32. Once I can get through an entire session of plank to chaturanga runs then I know I’ve reached the zenith of P90x. Very tough.

P90x – Day 34. Today is my rest day, but Yoga X tomorrow.

P90x – Day 36. Last week was my rest week, and now these next 3 weeks is all about mass. It’s time to get busy, Flex Wheeler style.

P90x – Day 37. Jump knee tucks straight into Mary Katherine Lunges. Whew!. Get to finally try out my new pull-up bands tomorrow. Bang!

P90x – Day 38. Great workout today. Many people are astonished at how much weight I’ve lost. @P90x works. Bring it, son. What What! Nah mean

P90x – Day 39. Had my best workout yet with Yoga X. I can’t believe I was hatin’ on #Yoga when I first started this. Malik = Humbled.

P90x – Day 40. Rest day today and to be honest my arms so sore from yesterday that I would barely get through back and legs today.

P90x – Day 41. Today I had my best workout yet for legs and back. I was finally able to get through single leg wall squats. Bring it!

P90x – Day 43. Another phenomenal day. My friend is about to get started with the #P90x. Remember those last 3 reps are the ones that count.

P90x – Day 44. Just when you think you can’t push anymore,#P90x brings the best out of you.One of my favs tomorrow Biceps and Back.Bring it!

P90x – Day 45. I can’t believe it, but I’m halfway through the #P90x program. Had a great bicep/back busting workout today. Bring it!

P90x – Day 47. Had a rough start this morning, but was able to push through. Ab Ripper X time!

P90x – Day 49. You know..Ab Ripper X is one of the most painful ab workouts out there. Pain = Good.

P90x – Day 50. What an amazing workout this morning. My best yet for for chest, shoulders, triceps. My favorite next to back.

P90x – Day 51. #P90x tip. After you’ve reached your last 3 pushups (normal) [THE BURN], go on your knees and max out your reps [CRAZY BURN]

P90x – Day 52. I luv me sum strip set curls..burn baby burn. Still wondering if #P90x works? Yes, it does. What are u waiting for? Bring it!

P90x – Day 54. Been sick over the last couple days. Lots to make up. No P90x in the morning is like not having the sun to wake you up.

P90x – Day 55. After missing 2 days of #P90x(sick), then working out today..I feel relief like the tin man getting oiled for the first time

P90x – Day 57. Misplaced my P90x dvds cleaning up the house yesterday,but did an arm blasting 1 hr alternative #P90x like push-up routine.

P90x – Day 58. Forgot how mind blowing Core Synergistics is. I feel like I jump into a pool. Bring it!

P90x – Day 60. I can’t believe it. 30 more days to completion.

P90x – Day 62. Now that I’m reaching the end of my recovery week, looking forward to phase 3.

P90x – Day 63. Superman, Banana Roll, Plank to Chaturang Runs, Sphinx Push-up, Walking Push-up oh my. I dare you to try it! Yeah you.

P90x – Day 64. Nothing better than finishing up with Dive Bomber pushups. Yes!

P90x – Day 66. It’s amazing what a recover week (last week) can do to the body. Where did all this new found strength come from?

P90x – Day 67. Great workout this morning. Drenched and bringing it X-Like.

P90x Day 69. During my cool down I was think of a the cream of asparagus soup I made a couple days ago. ”

P90x – Day 70. 20 more day left. The count down begins.

P90x – Day 71. Two words: Bring it! (Ab Ripper X)

P90x – Day 72. By far one of my favorites. Chest and Back. More Dive Bomber Pushups please. Jeah!

P90x – Day 74. Took a break yesterday because my neck was strained but I’m back on track. Plyo + Ab Ripper X . “Drink your water people!”.

P90x – Day 75. Is there any reason why anyone still has a gym membership?….psst #P90x. Crunch, Ballys, NYSportsclubs are featherweights.

p90X – Day 76. There are two things that get me amped to keep pushing. #P90x and #bartendaz http://bit.ly/c6KJ0I

P90x – Day 77. Although this is my rest day, I did get to do some abs and practiced my free-standing push-up project.

P90x – Day 78. Was able to do plyo clap pushup for almost 10 reps. Goodbye ole regular clap pushup

P90x – Day 80. 10 more days till victory!

P90x – Day 82. Struggling today, but I’m still pushing play. Legs, Back and Ab Ripper X. Never give up!

P90x – Day 86. Now I’m in the stretch…finish line around the corner.

P90x – Day 88. Feeling gooooood today. I can smell the finish line. Dive bomber pushups does the body good.

I wasn’t going to write about P90x on WIHTJ until day 90, but since it’s day 45 for me today and so many people have been asking me about P90x I figure I’d just give a short and brief explanation on some of the ground rules of this workout regiment. First things first, P90x is an extreme home fitness training system. It’s unbelievable tough, but will give you unbelievable results if you have roughly 1 hour and 20 minutes a day for 90 days. I started 45 days ago and have already lost 10 pounds. Being that I’ve passed the 30 day mark I’m now in the somewhat muscle mass building phase where the first phase (30 days) was fat shredding. You have to lose the weight first before you start building muscle.

So the cost is quite moderate (relative to most gym memberships), you can go to amazon and get the package for about $150 bucks (including s/h and taxes). There are about 12 DVDS which are the following:

1. Chest and Back
2. Plyometrics
3. Shoulders and Arms
4. Yoga X
5. Legs and Back
6. Kenpo X
7. X Stretch
8. Core Synergistics
9. Chest, Shoulders and Triceps
10. Back and Biceps
11. Cardio X
12. Ab Ripper X

P90x is the most intense workout I have ever done. It pushes you to the edge, and creates a regiment that allows your body to maximize it’s fullest potential. What is great is it’s a perfect balance of high intense gut wrenching cardio and muscle blasting/building techniques. There are tons of strength training exercises. If you want to go heavy and build more mass, you can do that, but if you are looking for a more lean cut you can do that to. It’s engineered for that. It has a diet plan but it’s extremely healthy and hearty.

So what do you need

1. P90x ($150.00)
2. Pull up Chin up bar ($30.00)
3. Hexagon Dumbbells (This will run you about $150-200 bucks because you need 4-5 sets of dumbbells [I'll explain shortly])
4. Extra Long Extra Wide Yoga Mat ($25)
5. Recovery Drink ($40 a month)
6. Protein bars ($30 a month)
7. Exercise Bands ($40)
8. Towel
9. Water
10. A Chair

So the first thing you might be saying to yourself is “The hell with this, it’s too expensive. All this dang equipment and food costs”. The first thing you have to say to yourself is, Is it too expensive (you can’t afford it), or it’s too expensive (I didn’t think it would be that much and I only wanted to pay X amount of dollars because I thought it would cost around x dollars). Some of this equipment you might already have but I’ve been working out for over 10 years so most of this stuff I have, except for the extra wide extra long yoga mat and a set of 25 pound dumbbells. Most of these are one time costs except for the monthly costs. Another question you should ask yourself is, how much is your health worth? $200? $300? $400? Can you really put a price on health?

So let’s talk about dumbbells for a moment. the $150-200 bucks is assuming that you don’t have any dumbbells at home. I use 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 paired dumbbells for my workout. Depending on your strength and how fit you are you might need a lower or higher range. A general rule is whatever weight you can curl (standing dumbbell curl) comfortably four about 8-12 reps, get 4 pairs down and one pair up, so if you can curl 25 pounds comfortably you would get 5, 10, 15, 20, and one 30 pound set dumbbells. This is a general rule and can change based on your level of strength.

To be honest I don’t follow the program to a “T”, but I do 95% of the dietary guidelines. I might have missed a protein bar here or there, and I don’t use any recovery drinks because I was getting huge migraines from the recovery drink (Endurox R4), so I just use a whey protein with a glutamine/amino acid supplement for my recovery drink.

The biggest value to P90x is it encourages a healthy lifestyle change. I was pretty healthy before but now I’m taking it to another level. I feel so amped and pumped every day. Make sure that you heed to all the warnings because this is a serious workout. Make sure you do the P90X fitness test, and take your time. I stumbled a lot in the beginning because the program is very difficult, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get through it and be successful. I have two words for you. BRING IT!

• Official Site from Beachbody: P90x
• Hexagon Dumbbell sets
• MaxMat™ 1/4″ Extra Thick, Extra Long, and Extra Wide Yoga and Exercise Mat
  (84″ x 36″)
• Kulae Hot Yoga Hand Towel Ocean
  (I know it might seem a bit insane to spend about $18 bucks for one hand towel but this towel is insane. The amount of sweat that will be pouring off you, you’ll need it. You can suck up the Atlantic Ocean with this towel)
• Recovery Drink Reviews

In less than 1 billionth of a second after signing into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, by Barak Obama on March 23rd, 2010 every political pundit and economist gave their two cents on what the impact is going to be on the economy and health care in America. I have heard such ludicrous responses that that healthcare will be “Armageddon” to Healthcare reform will fix all our problems. I wonder if a truck of DeLorean time machines were hijacked because apparently every single person knows the intricate details of how this bill will impact this country in the near and long term future. I mean, all I hear is speculation after speculation on what is going to happen and the reality is we don’t have the exact details of the outcome, good, bad or indifferent. We can assume, but that’s just about it. I would ask the “crystal ballerz” to tune down their flux capacitor‎s because your noise is inhibiting the process of people assessing the merits of the bill in an objective fashion.

It reminds me of all the real estate bubble speculators and past Dow Jones average will go up by ________ [insert unrealistic speculative number here] thousand predictors, that had every piece of data, including data from the Tooth Fairy and Santa Clause to let them know that they were right. I realize that most people suffer from Historic Economic Amnesia or in this case IFAA, “Incorrect Future Assessment Amnesia“. So being that we have a 24/7 news cycle and data goes in and out the “Internetis-sphere Data-verse” and just about anything that anyone says about healthcare a month from now, will be crowded out with new information, I’m going to list below all the articles I’ve seen that are for, against, and middle of the road opinions on new healthcare reform. The page is a work in progress (meaning I’ll be constantly updating it as I get new articles) but you can always refer to it years later to see if the speculators were right or wrong. If you have articles that you’d like to see posted just comment on this post and I’ll add them. It doesn’t matter if the opinion is in support or against the bill, or even in the middle.

Lets keep the health care reform speculators honest!

Against the new bill

1. Lew Rockwell on Healthcare with Judge Napolitano
   http://peterschiffchannel.blogspot.com/2010/03/lew-rockwell-healthcare-judge.html
2. Healthcare Intervention: The Bigger Picture by Doug French
   http://mises.org/daily/4213
3. YouTube: Peter Schiff healthcare bill is insanity makes America a fascist country and bankrupt it
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0seaAV2oSh8
4. Wishful Thinking on Health Care by Sheldon Richman
   http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/tgif/wishful-thinking/
5. Health care reform too costly for critic by John R. Graham
   http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/27/BA801CLCMG.DTL
6. Concord Coalition Reacts To Health Care Bill Passage: Cost Control Vigilance is Now Crucial
   http://www.concordcoalition.org/press-releases/2010/0322/concord-coalition-reacts-health-care-bill-passage-cost-control-vigilance-no
7. Obamacare Dystopia by Mark Steyn
   http://article.nationalreview.com/429537/obamacare-dystopia/mark-steyn
8. Pricing Out Private Insurance by By John E. Calfee
   http://www.aei.org/article/101841

For the new bill

1. Obama Finally Toughens Up – About Time!
   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-dalby/obama-finally-toughens-up_b_515333.html
2. You did it. We did it. Real health care reform for America! by Move on.org
   http://pol.moveon.org/wedidit/
3. Sanders’ Healthcare Revolution by KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL
   http://www.concordcoalition.org/press-releases/2010/0322/concord-coalition-reacts-health-care-bill-passage-cost-control-vigilance-no
4. Health-care overhaul begins now By Ezra Klein
   http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/26/AR2010032605600.html?sub=AR
5. NPR: Rep. Lee: Health Bill Not Perfect, But A Good Start
   http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124731511

• A new chapter begins on health care by Bill Adair
  http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2010/mar/24/new-chapter-begins-health-care/
• Health Care Summit Squabbles by FactCheck.org
  http://factcheck.org/2010/02/health-care-summit-squabbles/
• Healthcare Costs and U.S. Competitivene by Toni Johnson
  http://www.cfr.org/publication/13325/healthcare_costs_and_us_competitiveness.html
• Health Reform by Kaiser Family
  http://healthreform.kff.org/
• Health Care and Insurance Law Amendments by Project Vote Smart
  http://votesmart.org/issue_keyvote_detail.php?cs_id=29181

One thing I realized about the usefulness of any product is if you bring it home and you immediately start using it, you clearly have made a smart purchase. The first set of awesome products we reviewed had a more “baby product’ feel to it. These set of products have more of a “fitness” feel to it. As I stated on I got Purple on the Brain, my wife and I are getting serious about our health and now the time has come. So lets “carry on”, shall we?

Garlic Crusher/Press

There is something very magical about this press. Very similar to the apple corer/slicer, you say to yourself, “Something so simple can’t possible do what it says it does?”. Well it does and very well. Not only does this thing make mincing garlic a no brainer, but it peels the thin skin off the garlic too. No matter how many times I press I want to find more garlic to press. Sometimes I don’t want to take out the food processor and this makes for a quick chopping of garlic in less than 3 seconds. Like many products that have been around for ages, many companies have added ergonomic accents (rubber handles, hand shaped metal, etc) to make mincing garlic even more effortless. Press, crunch, your done!

2-in-1 Lemon and Lime Squeezer

My wife and I use a lot of lemons in our cooking and one of the most annoying tasks is squeezing lemons for lemon juice. Many times your getting sprayed in the face by rogue spurts of lemon spritzes and by the time you’re done squeezing, you feel like you’ve been peppered sprayed in the face. Not anymore. This tight little tool allows you to squeeze every single drop of lemon or lime with no rogue splatters from the squeeze. It has holes right in the bottom of the metal squeeze cup so juice comes out nice and neat. It’s a bit on the pricey side for a kitchen gadget of it’s size (Retails 19.99), but it’s worth it. Your eyes don’t have to sting anymore.

P90X

Welcome to the “mother of all workouts”. I bought P90x about 2 years ago and I was so out of shape that I failed the initial fitness test. Of course I tried to do the program at the time and ended up imploding my body. So I took a hiatus from P90x and now I’m back on the program. I have not had anything that has pushed me so hard as P90x. It’s a complete end to end exercise program that can slim you down or build mass. Coupled with a proper diet, you don’t really need to do anything else. I’ve been doing the program for almost 2 weeks and my endurance, strength, and stretching are up on all levels. If you are really interested in a true exercise challenge, this is it.

Extra Large/wide Yoga Mat

I bought this because my current yoga mat did not accommodate the space needed for P90x. I can do big moves and still stay on the mat. It’s wide, long, and is thicker than most mats so when I land on it, my feet don’t make a sound. I have hard wood floors so this mat is critical for my high intensity workout. Even if you don’t plan to buy P90x or some other intense workout regiment (i.e. Insanity) it will give you the needed space if you are tall or you just want ample space for your Tittibhasana pose (Firefly).

Over the Sink Grippboard Cutting board with Pop up Strainer

Yet another product that has transformed our kitchen. It’s like adding another counter-top to your kitchen. One of the most annoying tasks is washing and cutting vegetables/fruit. Usually I have to take out the strainer, then take out the cutting board while watching the water drip off of the veggies or fruit flooding the entire counter-top and sometimes rolling off the counter top then onto the floor. There are so many benefits to this “frankenstein” strainer/cutting board I don’t know where to start. First thing it’s rubber no-slip ergonomic handles/edges make it easier to grab and place right over your kitchen sink. It will fit most standard sized kitchen sinks. Obviously you get this nice big cutting board space (almost 1 3/4 ‘ feet of space). The icing on the cake is this nice rubber collapseable pop-up strainer that you can use to wash your fruits and veggies. Keep in mind that you can remove the strainer too. Sometimes I’ll use it as a temporary garbage collector. Like when I’m cutting strawberries and I can cut the cap/stems and dump them in the strainer. When I’m done, I just remove the strainer, flip it upside-down and dump the stuff in the garbage. This nifty tool will add a certain level of “Mickey deez” efficiency to your food preparation time.

Munchkin Powdered Baby Formula Dispenser

If you’ve ever tried pouring powdered baby formula from a plastic bag or the scooper that comes with the container in an opening of a baby bottle which is a little bit bigger than a quarter while inside a moving vehicle or subway, you’ll look like you rolled around in flour for about 15 minutes. The Munchkin Powdered Baby Formula Dispenser not only allows you to have some dignity while not looking like you’ve hung out with Tony Montana for 5 hours, but it allows you to safely get all the baby formula into the bottle. It has 3 separate compartments which allows you to carry the exact amount you need for each feeding. This has truly been a great buy.

Schwin Spinner® FIT Bike

My wife Sarah is a spinner fanatic. She actually taught spinner classes in Saudi Arabia and from what she tells me, people hated her spinner passion. Not hate in a “I hate your guts, I wish I could smack you with a rusty screw driver” type of way, but hate as in “Oh no, Sarah is going to push us to the edge until our legs separate from our body and start running away from the spinner class”. I think I noticed a subtle change in personality when my wife talks about spinning. Her eyes light up with spin wheels of excitement. Kind of the same way I’m about P90x. You would think I was a spokesperson for Beach Body. However we just ordered the bike and it’s on the way. Sarah has been looking for an efficient way to get her fitness level up and rather than going to the gym (which is almost impossible with a child at home), we decided to bring the gym to the house.

Ottoman (not the empire)

My wife and I have three ottomans in the living room. It’s really a nice and stylish way of dealing with a space problem. One of the great things about ottomans are they come in a thousand different textures, styles, and sizes. With some proper digging, you can find the right style for the right price. I’m pretty sure we’ll be on our 4th ottoman purchase down the road. We’ll probably be looking for a ottoman to store our Saud’s toys and books.

Here is a bit of history about the ottoman: Traditionally, it is believed that the ottoman takes its roots from the divan, which is essentially a long, backless seat or padded bench with cushions to lean against. In fact, in some parts of world, the terms “divan” and “ottoman” are still interchangeable. The divan style of furniture was popularly used in the Middle Eastern council chambers of the government agency called Diwan, from which it got its name. The ottoman, at least as we know it today, is not believed to have been invented by Ottoman Turks, but was called so in deference to its exotic roots. In point of fact, the ottoman most resembles the Moroccan (North African) pouf, which is a thick cushion used as a seat. (word for word I copied all of this from here.

Multi-position pull up chin up bar

If there is one piece of exercise equipment that should be the center of your day-to-day workout, it’s the a door pull-up bar. The now popular Iron Gym Chin Up Pull Up bar has become quite popular but before the Iron Gym there was a long hot water pipe in the basement of my mother’s house that I wrapped with old t-shirts for each hand which I used to do pull-ups on when I was in high school. Also known as “Da Pipe” among my brothers, this was literally the first “Iron Gym” for me. The pipe cut across the entire length of the basement. It was very stable. One of the issues with “Da Pipe” is the circumference of the pipe was thick so you had to knock out your reps before your hand started slipping. I wrapped it with t-shirts for gripping and to protect my hands from the heat. Nowadays you have tons of different manufactures improving on the door pull up chin up bar. It’s perfect for strength training and is the ultimate upper body workout. Just about every muscle is used to do a pull up. Unlike pull up bars in the early days, you don’t need any screws. You just have to check the width of your door to make sure the pull-up bar of choice fits. In addition to this, I would chose a multi positioned pull up bar (in the picture). If you compare the Iron Gym to the Iron Gym Extreme you’ll see what I’m talking about. More positions equal more parts of the back you can work out.

Reebok Push Up Bars

I just got these push up bars last week and for years I’ve shied away from push up bars because..well…I thought they were short-cuts to doing real push ups. I said to myself “Nothing will be better than using your own hands to the floor, this is the real way”. Then the first time I used a push up bar I realize that it’s a lot more difficult to do push ups with a push up bar, not to mention you can get way lower because your hands are raised about 4 inches from the ground. The Reebok Push Up bars have 3 levels and this really spongey grip so you stay focused on the push up and not the discomfort in your hands or wrist. The position of the push up bar makes doing a push more natural and for those push up enthusiasts, know that your wrist can go through a pounding over the years. This is yet another P90x accessory but I use them even when I’m not doing P90x. What is also nice about these bars are they are sturdy and they don’t tip over if you want to go wide. There are a multitude of companies that manufacture push up bars but Reebok has clearly done their research and know what works.

Honorable mentions

Lawry’s Seasoning Salt

I’ve have been using this “secret” seasoning for years to spruce up the flavor of many my dishes. Mostly I use it as part of a collection of other seasonings to pre-season my lamb, beef, or chicken the day before I cook the meat. Other than some weird chemical called Tricalcium Phosphate (prevents caking) most of the ingredients of Lawry’s are stuff you already have in your spice cupboard. I want to send a shout out to Lawrence Frank and Theodore Van de Kamp for being so creative and imaginative with your spices. If you your interested in the history you can go here and if your that big of a seasoning salt fanatic you can join the fan group on Facebook then not have any more friends after they find out you are part of the Lawry’s Seasoning Salt Fan group. Amazingly they have over 600 members.

One thing that is really fascinating about juicing is the beautiful array of colors that come out of the juicer. It’s almost like having access to your own personal “vegetable rainbow” right inside of your house. No rain required for this rainbow. Since our trip to the New York Botanical Gardens, my wife and I are really getting back in the swing of things in regards to our health . I’m not exactly sure if somehow we were subliminally hit with some under the subconscious brain-wave signal by the NYBG, in a “Manchurian Candidate” type of way, but we have just been nuts for getting our diet and body correct. I mean, really correct.

We just signed up for a new gym membership at Planet Fitness (Sorry Bally’s but we are cancelling our membership). This past weekend we watched Food, Inc, which is probably the most compelling documentary on understanding the politics and business of food production I have ever seen. I would suggest everyone watch this film. Okay so what does this have to do with having purple on the brain? We just started juicing again and yesterday we had a tomato, apple and beet drink. Keep in mind that I really hate beets, but in juice form with apples, I love it. One thing I noticed is the rich beet purple that seems to overtake most drinks regardless of other vegetables or fruits that are added. Hence I had purple on the brain. Not to mention there have been studies through biochemical evidence that uridine monophosphate (UMP) found in beets, apparently increases brain synapse activity. Right now we have the JackLaLanne Power Juicer, but there is a bit of pulp and it is a bit damp. I’m not sure how much this thing is going to hold up because the beets really put stress on the blade and motor. I have my eyes on the Breville Juice Fountain Elite Juicer 800JEXL. Inshallah I’lll get that next year. It’s the Bentley of juicers. More extraction and less pulp, not to mention dry pulp.

Our new juicing regiment comes with a diet full of fruits and vegetables. Not like we weren’t doing this before but we are really getting serious about this. So here is our short “healthy thinking” to-do list:

1. Juice at least two times a day
2. Exercise daily for about 30 minutes to an hour (minimum)
3. Have fruits and vegetable with every meal
4. Sweets and fried foods are on the weekends. (and maybe sneak one treat during the week)
5. Keep our mind and thoughts clean. Be careful of what type of information we take in, especially information that falls into the category of tel-LIE-vision, or HIS-story. All information is not created equal nor is the content trivial or innocent.

• Farm Forward
  Farm Forward implements innovative strategies to promote conscientious food choices, reduce farm animal suffering, and advance sustainable agriculture.
  http://www.farmforward.com
• Save a Cow, Eat a Vegetarian? Let’s All Agree: Factory Farming is the Real Evil, Not Vegans
  http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/cow-factory-farming-evil.html
• Breville Juice Fountain Elite 800JEXL
  http://www.brevilleusa.com/juicing/die-cast-juice-fountain-elite.html
• The Big Book of Juices and Smoothies: 365 Natural Blends for Health and Vitality Every Day
  http://www.amazon.com/Big-Book-Juices-Smoothies/dp/184483266X/ref=pd_sim_b_6

I meant to write this blog post about a month ago, and I’m still bringing the final touches on the last installment of Economics Made Simple, The Case for NO Interest. However there are other pressing issues that have just as much to do with economics and that is you own personal health. If you want to jump straight to the Banana Coconut Porridge recipe AKA Banana Morning Surprise, click here. (this will take you straight to the recipe). I came up with the porridge recipe after a bit of frustration with the powdered banana cinnamon porridge mix I used to buy from the local Jamaican store that just took way too long to make and required continuous mixing throughout the entire 20 minute cook time. Even then the mix would be lumpy, uneven, and if you didn’t add the right amount of sugar, the porridge would taste awful.

About a month ago a co-worker of mine provided me with a really great set of Raw food restaurants in NYC and recipe books. The Raw Food links and information are below. As some of you know, I used to be be a vegetarian…well actually a “Fishetarian“. Last year I went back to meat, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want a healthy diet. What I’m looking for is balance. A healthy amount of fruits and vegetables with a bit of meat. Last week me and the family went to The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. This is a really fascinating place. Just beautiful trees, vegetation, streams, and food markets that really put you at peace. I was so overwhelmed that we decided to get a yearly membership. On $120.00 a year. That’s $10 bucks a month!

I found a very fascinating book at the NYBG bookstore called What to Eat by Marion Nestle. Here’s a simple explanation straight from the book:

Marion Nestle’s What to Eat is a new guide for a new era in American food and nutrition the-the one book that tells you everything you need to know about food, with clarity, insight, wit, and wisdom.

A good friend of mine on FB posted, you are what you eat. So simple, so true, and often ignored. I would even go a step further and say you are what you think. We often ignore our mental health, while staying squarely focused on the physical.

So in the last couple weeks, I have felt a need to re-focus my efforts on taking a more aggressive approach to my own personal health. I just recently bought World’s Most Hardest Exercises and I’m looking to step my exercise game up. With all the talk about health-care, clearly there is a need for Preventive Behaviorism Healthcare (PBHC). What is PBHC? Being proactive about your health before you get some debilitating illness or sickness etc. It has been estimated that up 25% of every dollar spent on healthcare is related to personal neglect. Even if the number was 10%, that would still be too much. Just think of the efficiencies that can happen by just eating right and exercising. I know, it’s easier said than done, and there are whole host of political, regulatory reform, misinformation on eating habit, food education, class issues, that need to be addressed to bring about proper health care reform, but change starts with us. Not the just the government and private healthcare firms.

Is it any surprise to anyone that the most obese country in the world is suffering from a healthcare crisis? Is it any surprise to anyone that we know the top realty t.v. shows but don’t know what our local politician’s position is for true healthcare reform? Is any surprise to anyone that gossip blogs, nonsensical videos on YouTube, and other lude forms of entertainment get more traffic than intelligent discussions on ideas for healthcare reform on the likes of fora.tv, cpan.org, catoinstitute.org, etc but yet we still wonder why the government and private companies take advantage of our laziness? Is it any surprise to anyone that the number one way (if you haven’t already been inflicted with some debilitating disease) to “healthcare reform” is a low-fat diet, exercise, no smoking (of anything), no abusing your brain with illegal drugs, low sugar, low salt and clean living so you can stay out of the hospital in the first place?

Most times when people say “health care”, they immediately think of taking care of some physical ailment. But what about our mental health? Do we ever think about the types of things that we watch on television and how that impacts our social behavior? Do we ever think about our spiritual health? Do we ever think about how healthy we are in regards to controlling our desires? Do we ever think about how healthy we are in regards to respecting the people around us? How healthy is our sense of compassion for others who are less fortunate? How healthy is our sense of purpose in this world? How healthy is our general knowledge regarding pressing matters around the world? How healthy is our ability to have insight, intellect, and humility?

Healthcare Reform is more than just what the government or private healthcare firms have in store for us once the bill gets passed (Already passed in the House), but is truly about accountability towards our own personal health and helping the people around us.

Banana Coconut Porridge AKA Banana Morning Surprise
(1 serving)

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Ready In: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• Instant Cream of Wheat (1 serving size)
  I actually use the instant Cream of Wheat so this is the only synthetic part but you can use regular Cream of Wheat if you like (takes more time)
• *1 Banana
• *2-3 good shakes of Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of Coconut Milk
• 1 Tablespoon of Wheatgerm (Kretschmer Honey Crunch Wheat Germ preferred)
• * 1 good shake of Nutmeg
• 2/3 Cups of Organic Mlik
• (optional) Handful of Blueberries or Strawberries
• (optional) chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Create the Cream of Wheat with the 2/3 Cup of Millk
2. Drop the banana(s) in the hot Cream of Wheat and blend till merged (Best to use a hand blender)
3. Add in Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Wheatgerm, and Coconut Milk while blender is on (as needed)
4. Drop in blueberries or strawberries.
5. Enjoy!

* If you want a stronger or sweeter banana taste you can add two bananas for each serving. As much or as little cinnamon as you like. Depends on your preference.

Obviously the chocolate chips somewhat moves it out of the “healthy” category but it’s nice to have every now and then. (probably can use organic cocoa for this) it melts real nice in the hot cereal

• Raw Food Made Easy For 1 or 2 People by Jennifer Cornbleet
• Raw: The Uncook Book: New Vegetarian Food for Life Juliano Brotman and Erika Lenkert
  
• Raw for Thirty: Raw food documentary about the people with diabetes
  http://www.rawfor30days.com/index_coast.html

Part I: The Politics of Food Production and Consumption

This blog post will be apart of a three part series called “What’s Eating Malik? (a spin off of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape) where I will delve into a set of very important topics that have been troubling me lately. Here are the topics:

• Part I: The Politics of Food Production and Consumption (food and capitalism)
• Part II: What is the true cost of music? (education or entertainment)
• Part III: Why are our relationships so disastrous? (the human cost of ignorance)

So here goes Part I….there are 3 pieces of media/journalism that have truly transformed my awareness of the environment and my food eating habits. Animal slaughter videos from Peta.org, The Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore, and The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan.

I just recently finished reading the Omnivore’s Dilemma which delves into the history of how fruits, vegetables have been produced, how animals are currently slaughtered and the politics behind food production. While reading this book I took down over 2 dozen interesting “factoids”. I won’t delve into ever single one, but I’ll throw out a couple.

How Super sizing was created, pg 105, 106

Kroc remained skeptical, so Wallerstein went looking for proof. He began staking out McDonald’s outlets in and around Chicago, observing how people ate. He saw customers noisily draining their sodas, and digging infinitesimal bits of salt and burnt spud out of their little bags of French fries. After Wallerstein presented his findings, Kroc released and approved supersized portions, and the dramatic spike in sales confirmed the marketer’s hunch. Deep cultural taboos against gluttony—one of the seven deadly sins, after all—had been holding us back. Wallerstein’s dubious achievement was to devise the dietary equivalent of a papal dispensation: Supersize it! He had discovered the secret to expanding the (supposedly) fixed human stomach

The taboo of “going back for seconds” was transformed into putting the second serving in one purchase. Super-sizing has been around for the last 20 years, and it has clearly shown its contributing impact on the growing waistline of America.

Marketing and shifting food eating patterns, pg 301, 302

The success of food marketers in exploiting shifting eating patterns and nutritional fashions has a steep cost. Getting us to change how we eat over and over again tens to undermine the various social structures that surround and steady our eating, institutions like the family dinner, for example, or taboos on snacking between meals and eating alone. In their relentless pursuit of new markets, food companies (with some crucial help from the microwave oven, which made “cooking” something even small children could do) have broken Mom’s hold over the American menu by marketing to every conceivable demographic—and especially to children.

A vice president of marketing at General Mills once painted for me a picture of the state of the American family dinner, courtesy of video cameras that the company’s consulting anthropologists paid families to let them install in the ceiling above the kitchen and dining room tables. Mom, perhaps feeling sentimental about the dinners of her childhood, still prepares a dish and a salad that she usually winds up eating by herself. Meanwhile, the kids, and Dad, too, if he’s around, each fix something different for themselves, because Dad’s on a low-carb diet, the teenager’s become a vegetarian, and the eight-year old is on a strict ration of pizza that the shrink says it’s best to indulge (lest she develop eating disorders later on in life). So over the course of a half hour or so each family member roams into the kitchen, removes a singe-portion entrée from the freezer, and zaps it in the microwave. (Many of these entrees have been helpfully designed to be safely cooked by an eight year-old.) After the sound of the beep each diner brings his microwaveable dish to the dining room table, where he or she may or may not cross paths with another family member at the table for a few minutes. Families who eat this way are among the 47 percent of Americans who report to pollsters that they still sit down to a family meal every night.

Another world changing figure is Fritz Haber. Donned as the “Father of Chemical Warfare” this man is responsible for food production (fertilizer, Haber-Bosch process) and the creation of the chemical Zyclon-B, the gas used in Hitler’s concentration camp. The Haber-Bosch process was a milestone in industrial chemistry, because it divorced the production of nitrogen products, such as fertilizer, explosives and chemical feedstocks, from natural deposits, especially sodium nitrate (caliche), of which Chile was a major (and almost only) producer. The sudden availability of cheap nitrogenous fertilizer is credited with averting a Malthusian catastrophe, or population crisis. (Wiki)

So what does Fritz Haber’s fixing nitrogen and how super-sizing was created have to do with each other? Well..actually…nothing. There just two pieces of random information but what is more important, is understanding how our food is created and why we eat the way we do. How many of you know the organic “pasture rule” by the USDA basically states that as long as an animal “has access to a pasture”, a farmer has the right to label their product organic. This doesn’t necessarily mean that I have to give an animal access to a pasture. The USDA has yet to provide the specific minimum grazing standards. Obviously this would give non-organic producing farms a huge loophole in getting the organic label, hence putting pressure on certified organic food producers. That’s like me owning an apartment and stating to my residents that we have “running water” but when you go to the apartment I have a bucket of water outside of your door.

The government gives huge subsidies to non-organic producing farmers which is why organic food tends to be more expensive. The food in the supermarket is riddled with pesticides, our meat pumped with hormones, not to mention the further synthetic nature of how or food is created. As a nation, we eat way too much meat, fried food, sugary foods, very little fruits and vegetables. By just changing our food habits we could change the environment dramatically, our health, and, yes our carbon footprint. If you want to know how, read the book.

1. Seek out reputable organic farmers in your area. The more food you buy from them, the less money your local supermarket will make, hence driving down the price that the small farmer will charge. That will put more pressure on the supermarkets to buy more certified organic fruits and vegetables. You don’t have to start with everything. Just start with one or a couple food items like tomatoes or bananas. Trust me, when the supermarket realizes that no one is buying their fruit and vegetables, they will catch on. Obviously this applies if you can afford it, but it’s not as expensive as you think. Here is a great website: Local Harvest; http://www.localharvest.org/ which allows you to search local farmers by zipcode.
2. Frequent the Organic Gardening website, http://www.organicgardening.com or subscribe to their magazine. They have a lot of information that will show you how to grow your own food garden.
3. >Grow your own food. This is already happening in many major cities. Check out this site: http://www.urbanfarming.org/ and contact them for more information. Or check out this site: http://www.verdant.net/food.htm I’m actually considering creating a hydroponics food and vegetable garden with a couple of friends. I’m researching the costs.

I really hate using this term, but “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, and neither will our dependence on infected food. A little bit here and there, will eventually become a movement and we can send a message to the USDA, supermarkets, and our family that we are serious about our health and organic food can become the norm, instead of the exception. For the record I’m not against capitalism, but I’m against division of labor practices that undermine the health of the public. There must be accountability and responsibility in how our food is produced.

1. The Cultural Contradictions Of Capitalism: 20th Anniversary Edition by Daniel Bell
2. Animal Liberation by Peter Singer
3. Rozin, Paul. “The Selection of Foods by Rats, Humans, and Other Animals.” In Advances in the Study of Behavior, edited by J. S. Rosenblatt, R. A. Hinde, E. Shaw, and C. Beer. Vol. 6. New York: Academic Press, 1976. Description of specific hungers.
4. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
5. Citizen-Activist’s Anti-Consumerism Website http://www.verdant.net/
6. Locally Grown food delivery service in San Fran http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/dining/22local.html
7. Future of Food: http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/380.html