Archive for October, 2009

Stop and Shop’s Intuition

Those of you who have been following my blog will have read an earlier anecdote in this category, (Green Bionics), about the lowly plastic carrier bag.

A few days ago, I received an email from Stop and Shop supermarket chain, which offered me a free reusable canvas shopping bag for simply logging into my online account. I was taken aback because I had thought about contacting Stop and Shop in regards to handing out free bags to their loyal customers. My aim was to encourage more people to use these bags instead of the environmentally un-friendly plastic ones.

It seems that this promotion is being run in conjunction with Cancer Awareness and the bags are pink with the ribbon logo. So this action by Stop and Shop, in my mind has a double effect and I have to give them props for that.

Check out the cool bag and then check out your local supermarket and make certain that they are doing their bit towards making our environment cleaner.

Thor’s Day October 8

1793 – John Hancock dies. Besides signing the Declaration of Independence, Hancock was also known for being one of the top ten wealthiest people in the Thirteen Colonies.

1941 – Jessie Jackson turns 68 years old, he was born the same day Germany captured Mariupol.

1956 – Don Larson of the New York Yankees pitched the first perfect game in World Series history against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

2009 – The Draconids Meteor Shower peaks at midnight until dawn, you can read some more meteor shower information visit Meteor Mark’s MeteorBlog.com

Remember every week on Thursdays or Thor’s Day we release an anecdote for everyone. Your comments and questions are welcome. If you have any suggestions for next week’s Thor’s Day posts or a personal anecdote story please use the contact us page and we’ll try to post your submission next week!

The Director or the Criminal

Roman Polanski is most famous as a director for truly classic films such as, “The Pianist”, “Rosemary’s Baby” and “Chinatown”.

His name has been all over the news lately, due to his recent arrest for a charge leveled against him thirty years ago. Arrested for raping a thirteen-year-old girl he had been photographing, he pled guilty. He made a deal with the judge and was supposed to be given probation, however the prosecutor at the time reneged on the deal and sought a prison term.

For years he has lived in France as a fugitive. Due to international laws, allowing French citizens immunity from American justice and vice versa, any extradition requests were denied. So he has lived a relatively happy and carefree life since then.

For many, the fact that he his technically a criminal, hasn’t deterred from his greatness as a director. And the fact that he has suffered horrific incidents in his past has made him an empathetic figure. In 1969, the Charles Manson family of cult worshipers murdered his then pregnant wife, Sharon Tate. His mother was a victim of the Holocaust, killed in Auschwitz in World War II. They say that it has been thirty years and that we should let sleeping dogs lie. He has witnessed enough suffering in this life.

For others he is still a child abuser who has escaped paying for his crime for much too long. This camp of people believes that the victim’s rights were abused as the girl maintained that the sex was not consensual. In my view he should be held accountable for his acts as he was a competent adult at the time of the offense and well aware of what he was doing.

So where do we go with this story? What do you think should be done? Should he face a trial or should we all look the other way and move on?

Warm Autumn’s Day

As summer draws to an end, we hold our breaths in anticipation of the colder months looming on the horizon. So it was a refreshing surprise to have a last hurrah from the waning season, this week. Tuesday was a most glorious day and perfect for a picnic.

So after much contemplation about where to have lunch, we decided to just take a picnic down to the docks and enjoy this gift of a day. We prepared our sandwiches and a little salad and off we went.

On our brief walk down to the pier, we stopped at a local corner shop to get some drinks. The familiar cashier behind the till greeted us with the usual, “nice to see you”. We mentioned our little romantic plan and how old-fashioned but quaint it was. A customer in the queue behind us quipped that picnics never go out of style and the more the merrier. We smiled and nodded in agreement, as we went on our way towards the river.

The weather was still beautiful when we arrived at the dock’s edge and a cool breeze kept the temperature at the perfect level. As we walked down to a spot to have our repast we were greeted by smiles and an occasional “hellos”. It seems as if this warm day had brought out the cooler and more laid back attitude in everyone.

It’s small moments like these that enrich our lives and therefore deserves a prominent position on the list of stuff we like to do.

Tempted by Tofu

I thought I’d chat about my vegetarianism this week – and no it’s not a disease, although it does sound a little bit like one! I’ve been a vegetarian for two thirds of my life and so it is basically all I know. I barely remember what meat tastes like anymore.

Being a vegetarian has been difficult, especially when I first moved to America. There used to be hardly any restaurants that catered to us and those that did had very limited selections. Nowadays more places offer vegetarian options but I’ve found that the range of available menu choices is still very short.

Luckily for me, my other half loves to cook just as much or perhaps, even more so than I do. Just the other day I managed to coerce him into eating a tofu sesame ginger stir-fry. Later that same week he made a Chinese rice stir-fry with tofu and mixed veggies. It was delicious!

I have never been a vegetarian that tries to force my views onto anyone else. My partner loves his meat. I believe that it is an individual choice. It can take a lot of commitment and you will be challenged when it comes to finding food to eat at restaurants but I believe that it’s a healthier way of life. Many doctors believe that eating a meat-free diet or one that is low in red meat can contribute to a life free from certain serious illnesses.

Am I happy with my choice? Yes it has been worth it and I am convinced that I am healthier as a result. Would I ever go back to eating meat? I doubt it. I was never a big meat-eater to begin with and I don’t enjoy the taste as much.

I’m sure that we will revisit this topic in the future because it is broad and has a lot of intriguing facts. In the meantime let me know what you think of vegetarianism and would you ever be inclined to step over into the “dark side” of food choices.

Touch Your Toes

This weeks article is a little more frivolous than the previous ones in this category. I have always been able to touch my toes. I know that this sounds a bit silly but there are people out there who have never been able to do this.

There are several reasons why they may not be able to perform this rudimentary task: -

1) Inflexibility
2) Body size
3) Shorter Arms – with long legs
4) Longer legs – with short arms

My other half suffers from number one and has great difficulty with stretching and generally being flexible. In my view maintaining a decent level of flexibility can assist in muscle strength and bone health. By gently stretching your limbs and core structure, you will be able to keep up your body’s level of strength.

Yoga is a great way to start stretching those muscles and gain greater body mobility. As we get older our body’s tendency to tighten up is something we have to work hard to prevent. Getting a good jump on this possibly age- related symptom is something we should take to heart and try to work on every day.

So start touching your toes and keep those limbs long and loose.