Weekly roundup ~ at the end of July

International Friendship Day is celebrated on July 30.

I have this small poster of Snoopy lending an ear,

because he's a good friend, of course!

(It's across the room from me, but it's late, so I found the image online.)

Sunday Salon

The Peter Principle ~ by Dr. Laurence J. Peter, 1969, humor, xviii +170 pages

Why is incompetence so maddeningly rampant and so vexingly triumphant?  This book answers that question.  The authors say that everyone in a hierarchy — from the office intern to the CEO, from the low-level civil servant to the president of a nation — will always rise to his or her level of incompetence.

This book explains why incompetence is at the root of everything we endeavor to do:  why utopian plans never generate utopias, why governments condone anarchy, why schools bestow ignorance, why courts dispense injustice, why prosperity causes unhappiness.

This book is older than my blog, which means I read it so long ago that I have never mentioned it here.  I'm sure it will get a high rating when I re-read it, since I remember it from over half a century ago.

Monday Musing

Maybe I've been overthinking this, but few or no comments on things I post during the week with comments only on Sunday seem to indicate that most people read only my Sunday Salon posts.  I've decided to dump a whole week's worth of books and thinking into a weekly post.  This is it, folks, so enjoy!  (Or not.)

TWOsday

My TWO things for TWOsday are at the top, where I've shown TWO Snoopy posters for International Friendship Day today.  See what a good friend he is to Woodstock?

Wednesday Words                       and/or                       Wednesday Workout

I was reading THIS article when I happened across "gonzo journalism," which I've never run across before.  So I looked it up and learned on Wikipedia that it's "a style of journalism that is written without claims of objectivity, often including the reporter as part of the story using a first-person narrative."  The article is about a 24-year-old guy in the Netherlands who is "a cognitively fit and healthy young man [who] has chosen to live on the dementia ward at Verpleeghuis Groenelaan (Green Lanes Nursing Home), ultimately just to see what it’s like."  He has written a bestseller in the Netherlands and says, "I don’t have dementia.  But by living with people with dementia for three years, I know a lot about life in an institute, and I listen to people.  In fact, listening to people is the main thing I do."

I wrote about this "exercise block" this past week, promising myself that I would start attending exercise classes regularly here at the Crown Center.  The next class meets tomorrow, and I plan to be there. 

Thursday Thoughts

Why would the app on my iPhone tell me that the nearest Walgreens is over 11 miles away, when there's literally one across the street from my apartment building?  Google maps says it is 15 minutes away via highway, but I walk to my store and back in less time than that.  I saw it and took photographs of it from my former window.  See?

Long, long ago, I read this online and just came across it again.  Hmm, it's too small (and faint) to read.  Here's what it says:

ATTORNEY:  Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?

WITNESS:  No.

ATTORNEY:  Did you check for breathing?

WITNESS:  No.

ATTORNEY:  So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?

WITNESS:  No.

ATTORNEY:  How can you be so sure, Doctor?

WITNESS:  Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.

ATTORNEY:  But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?

WITNESS:  Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.

Book Beginnings on Fridays

The DASH Diet Mediterranean Solution ~ by Marla Heller, 2018, health, 264 pages

Beginning

The DASH diet (based on the research, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) and the Mediterranean diet have both been acclaimed as the best of the best in the world.  Both became famous for their amazing impact on heart health.  Both help reduce inflammation and are associated with lower rates of heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, certain types of cancer, and a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Now for the funny part:  I remembered having four DASH Diet books on my shelves before my recent move, but one day I noticed there were only three of them now.  I turned to put down whatever was in my hands and then went to the shelves to gather those three while looking for the fourth book.  But when I got across the room to the bookshelves, there were all FOUR of them together.  I probably blinked, like "what just happened?"  Then I realized there were THREE on a nearby shelf.  Yes, the four together all have my name in them, but the other three do NOT.  My logical conclusion is that those other three must have been my friend Donna's, and her sister gave me those copies to share with someone.  Maybe I was supposed to donate them to the Crown Center library.  I did discover on this blog (HERE) that Donna commented on this book in 2018:  "I will give it a try."

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Caturday

Clawdia's special day is the last day of every week, though she would say that every day should be Caturday.  She is almost settled into our new apartment.

So is this it for the week?

Maybe, but perhaps I'll add special posts.

Something may come up unexpectedly, something I cannot wait until next Sunday to post. If so, I will post it and mention it in my next weekly roundup.  Otherwise, let's just see how this compilation works out.

Thursday Thirteen ~ DASHing

1.  My brother posted one of those "I'm going to see how many read this whole post" things on Facebook about diabetes devastating our family and how taking Metformin "may encourage the onset of dementia."

2.  He told us to copy and paste for friends to read, but I wrote that "instead of just posting this information and moving on past it, I'm going to share with you how I got OFF of Metformin, little brother.   I love you enough to share what worked for me."

3.  Here's how my story unfolded.  My doctor in Chattanooga suggested the Mediterranean Diet and, when I moved to St. Louis, my doctor here suggested the DASH Diet, I have followed each of these diets.

4.  Here's basically what I'm still doing:  Since having quadruple bypass surgery in February 2009, I have chosen healthy foods over processed foods and have lost 67 pounds slowly and carefully and safely over eleven-plus years.  Now I'm down from 224 pounds to 157 and still losing at an easy pace, by choice, by watching my intake.  I eat lots of colorful fruits and vegetables, rather than processed foods.  The less processed, the better.

5.  I have bought three DASH Diet books by Marla Heller, a registered dietician.  These have been very helpful to change my eating habits.

• The DASH Diet Mediterranean Solution is at the top, promising "the best eating plan to control your weight and improve your health for life."
• The DASH Diet Weight Loss Solution, on the right, says on the cover:  "2 weeks to drop pounds, boost metabolism, and get healthy."  It has two stages, starting with a two week "jump start" to reset your metabolish.
• The DASH Diet Younger You (below) promises on the cover that you can "shed twenty years — and pounds — in just ten weeks."

6.  Here's the link to these three books by Marla Heller that I've purchased.  I think it's enough to just get the blue book at the top, which combines the Mediterranean Diet and the DASH Diet into what Heller calls the MedDASH Diet for short.

7.  A key point is to think of "diet" as every-thing you choose to eat, and I told Jim (my brother), "Your library probably has a copy, if you don't want to buy it, or I'll have Amazon send you a copy, if you want it."

8.  I also told him there are Facebook pages for people to encourage each other to stick with the program, and I'm in two of them.

9.  If you are interested in the Facebook groups, the most important one for me is the MedDASH group, using the blue book at the top.

10.  I'm also in the  DASH Diet Weight Loss Solution on Facebook, which uses the gold book.  I joined it before the MedDash book was published, then added that one when the MedDASH book came out.

11.  There are other books by Marla Heller that I didn't buy, including The DASH Diet Action Plan and The Everyday DASH Diet Cookbook, if you want to explore all of them.  You don't need a separate cookbook, however, because she makes meal suggestions in each of the books.

12.   Did someone ask what DASH means?  DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.

13.  Ask me questions in the comments, and I'll try to explain better.

The only rule for Thursday Thirteen is to write about 13 things.  For more information and to sign up, click on New Thursday 13.

Planning, in case of quarantine

What food (NOT toilet paper) would you stock up on in case you need to be quarantined?  I came across an excellent article by Marla Heller, author of the DASH Diet books on my shelves.  Before you say, I don't need to diet," let me share a quote:

"A diet is a food pattern.  An eating style.  It doesn't just refer to a weight-loss plan" (p. 4 of The DASH DIET Mediterranean Solution, 2018).

Marla shares the food supplies she herself has bought by categories:

• Freezer
• On the counter
• Refrigerator
• Pantry, including staples

I'm happy to say that I have a pretty good selection of these on hand myself, though I didn't think of nuts.  I love cashews, so maybe later I'll run across the street to Walgreen's and buy a package or two.  Tell me what you think of her article Quarantine!  Does it give you any ideas of food you may need to get?

Med-DASH Diet

The DASH Diet Mediterranean Solution: The Best Eating Plan to Control Your Weight and Improve Your Health for Life ~ by Marla Heller, 2018, health

The DASH diet has been a staple of the dieting world, recommended by doctors and nutritionists, and #1 on the US News and World Report's best diet list for 8 years in a row.  But popular tastes and medical guidelines have evolved, and The DASH Diet Mediterranean Solution presents a new approach to the time-tested diet program that highlights the benefits of whole foods.  Marla Heller, who has an MS degree and is a Registered Dietician, has overhauled the DASH plan to reflect the latest, cutting-edge research on hypertension, diabetes, depression, and other health issues that impact millions of Americans.  Meal planning gets a new focus on unprocessed foods (less sugar-free jello and more fresh fruits), with new seafood options and even a whole section examining vegan and vegetarian choices.  She has included four weeks of menus along with lots of strategies and research for a new approach to health the DASH diet way.

This book was published on Monday, so I don't yet have a copy.  But I have already joined the new Mediterranean DASH Diet group on Facebook.  The Med-DASH check-off form was added today on the official page of DASH Diet forms.  Does anybody want to join me so we can work on this healthy way of life together?