Are popular burgers "Happy Meals"? Fat chance!!

It's almost an insulting and cruel joke to name greasy fries, sugar-rich drinks, and high fat & sodium/white flour burgers as a happy meal, but it makes McDonald's happy anyway. Don't mean to beat up on poor ol' Mac coz they are not in the health field, and are giving the public what the public continues to want. It's up to us as individuals to make healthy choices and eat well. But all fast food consumers would benefit from more knowledge of what they are eating.

Obviously there are 1000s of junk food diners and the sky's the limit on invented menu offerings. However, the more we question what's in the product, the more informed we are. Note: am not using the word "food" here, as it's hard to imagine that a lot of this stuff qualifies for that label. Case in point: MacDonald's Happy Meal. This headline was attention-getting last week: "McDonald's Happy Meal resists mold for six months!"

Now I am not an nutrition expert, but doesn't real food get moldy, shrivel, and rot? Even plastics exposed changes its colors. But take a look at this photo comparison of a happy meal on day 1 and at 6 months, left on a shelf. There is hardly any difference. McDonald's Happy Meal resists decomposition for six months

So this is only one meal from one place, and just what the blazes is in that? Can it be of any benefit to your body? Perhaps if you are sodium, sugar, or fat deprived, then yes.

It's recommended that adults get no more than 1500 mg of sodium a day. If you really are not getting enough salt in your diet, then try this salt blast - the infamous
Double Down burger from KFC, with its 1740 mg of sodium, 540 calories, and 30 grams of fat. I bet that will never ever rot.


Even if there were any living organisms in it, they probably all perished from cardiac problems. This double-trouble burger is pretty much the same as many other fast food offering in terms of fat and calories, but the sodium level makes your heart stop a while.

Too bad that products like this are so popular, and ultimately create unhappy experiences at the hospital. But it does not have to be, it's a free choice world, and it's a matter of which ones we make.

Rescued miners get a Chile reception

So not all news stories are doom and gloom. Out of the depths of the heart of darkness are 33 alive miners from a collapsed cavern 2000 feet below the sod. Looking like a NASA mini spacecraft, a narrow capsule/cage was lowered to the potential final grave site, and right now, is still in the process of bringing up more thankful survivors. The 28 inch wide rescue hole itself must have created a hyper-claustrophobic experience as there was no room for arm movement, just totally at the mercy of technology and rock stability.

Since August when it became known, after 17 days of hopelessness, there was a clanging sound from below, the world has watched the "real" movie, episode by episode. The future movies outcome is now being watched and written. Of course, the atmosphere at the rescue site is jubilant, and there are positive comments, thankfulness, and good feelings all around. While it is highlighting human potential as thoughtful, loving, driven to help, being creative with an engineering challenge, and multi-partner cooperation, it will again, sadly, and later, highlight the working conditions that miners face.

There is constantly a high risk, it's dirty, an inherent prison cell, and physically demanding. These guys are exceptionally lucky to survive a mine collapse. 1000s simply are never rescued, and it's a another reminder for mining companies to build in more safety, and escape options for the workers who risk their lives to makes the companies grow.

For now, people around the world should feel more hopeful about the good will in humans, and the successful efforts that coming together can produce. In addition, not like we need another reminder, but it just makes it more pronounced, how simply being alive, is a prize in itself. As the main characters in the future books, interviews, movie(s), and endorsements they will be in demand for some time, after their re-entry to normal life. From being in a deep dark pit, their futures really never looked brighter.

Happy 70th John Lennon

How many of us know exactly where we were, and what we were doing when we "heard the news today, (sigh) oh boy," about a musical man who made the grade. To say the least, the news was rather sad. It was incomprehensible! The dream was over, no more Lennon, and no more Lennon-McCartney, which was more likely to happen in future years, than in the '70s.

In 1980, Lennon was following up on songs he had been working at from at least 1979, and went to Bermuda to record the album Double Fantasy. He had really liked McCartney's song, "Coming Up", and commented that "I just can't get it out of my head." later in Dec. the world would hear Lennon and Ono's new collection and their double offering of some beautiful new music.

Today, John Lennon would have turned 70, and we can only imagine what could have been in the last 30 years. Thankfully, he left a musical legacy, creative brilliance, a voice that could send a shiver up your spine, catchy classic melodies, originality, memorable riffs, thoughtful, haunting, poetic, and sometimes just perplexing words, but always inventiveness and with feeling.

At the height of Beatlemania, the group could hardly hear themselves play and sing, over the cacophony of teenage screams. This is one fine recording where Lennon's amazing vocal stretch was so strong, and emotive, and it seemed to make the girls just scream more. Still, he comes through loud and clear. This is a version of Dizzy Miss Lizzy recorded at the Hollywood Bowl in either 1964 or '65. The group was energetic, tight and driven to play well and entertain. It's a great example of Lennon's distinctive and astounding voice. Harrison's lead riff playing just ignites the frenzy, and the bass and drums are in perfect sync. The pace is frenetic and this audio cleanly captures what all the excitement was about.

St. John's 2010 Run for the Cure

The 2010 annual Run for the Cure has raised a record $414,500, as of Oct. 3. There were 1000's participating yesterday, and with the help of sun and blue skies, the crowd were a very enthusiastic group of breast cancer survivors, relatives, friends and supporters. Across the country an estimated 170,000 people walked, jogged, strolled to raise about $33 million.

Below are some scenes from yesterday's 2010 Run for the Cure.


Kathy Dunderdale, Minister Responsible for the Status of Women, sounded the starting horn for the crowd.