Why Every Individual Counts
On this very special day celebrating our nation’s birthday, I want to write about why every individual counts. There are nearly 320 million of us in this country – that’s a lot of people – enough to have made me think from time to time that what I do or don’t do really doesn’t matter. After all, I’m just one person – does it really matter if I eat a piece of grilled chicken, a slice of bacon, an ice cream cone or not think about the food chain in this country? Yes, it does and here’s why. Read more 
Slipstream Organic Granola
When a cyclist (who owns Slipstream Cycling) from Fort Madison, Iowa teamed up with a pastry chef from Boulder, Colorado, the collaboration resulted in the creation of Slipstream Organic Granola: four delicious varieties of granola that primarily rely on organic wildflower honey as a sweetener.
Mixed by hand and made in small batches, Slipstream Granola is chock full of oats, nuts (hazelnuts and almonds), and seeds (sunflower and sesame) – which makes for a scrumptious, crunchy granola low in sugar (3 – 6 grams of sugar per serving) and high in wholesomeness. Read more
What Consumers Should Know About Corn
There are more than 45,000 items in the average American supermarket and more than a quarter of them contain corn.
How can that be? Because corn is cheap, as in r-e-a-l-l-y cheap. 7 cents a pound, on average. But corn production is not measured by the pound. Instead, corn is grown, priced, measured, and traded by the bushel, which holds about 56 pounds of kernels. At $4 per bushel (the current market rate from farmer to buyer), that’s 7 cents a pound. Read more
The Ultimate Oxford Shirt
The Oxford shirt has been around for decades – maybe longer – and is one of those wardrobe pieces that never goes out of style but finding a well made, stylish, and great fitting Oxford shirt made of 100% cotton at a reasonable price is a challenge. If you happen to be a woman with a long torso and arms, then the search is even tougher.
My husband swears by Brooks Brothers but he’s a guy shopping for men’s shirts (and the company’s women’s shirts are too short in the torso for long-waisted women). I’m a gal looking for women’s shirts and swear by Abercrombie & Fitch and specifically, the men’s Oxford Shirt with the Muscle Fit (as opposed to the Classic Fit) meaning the shirt is cut slimmer and fits closer to the body. Meant for a man, but fitting for a woman (sounds like that 1970’s commercial for Secret deodorant that went something like “strong enough for a man but made for a woman.” Read more
Günter Grass: 1927-2015
Günter Grass, the German novelist, poet, playwright, artist, and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature died yesterday at the age of 87. Last month, a story was posted about Gunter Grass and one of his most controversial poems: What Must Be Said, which is reprinted below:
Grass is best known for his novels including The Tin Drum (1959), Cat and Mouse (1963), Dog Years (1965), and his memoirs: Peeling the Onion (2007), The Box (2010), and Grimm’s Words: A Declaration of Love (2010) but he is also known as the author of the controversial poem What Must Be Said (2012) – which reveals the hypocrisy of the German military when they decided to sell and deliver a submarine that could be used to launch nuclear warheads against Iran. Read more
The St. James Nautical Breton Shirt
What is more French than La Mariniére?
Saint-James, France – a small town in the Normandy region of France established by William the Conquerer in the 11th century – is where the iconic St. James Nautical Breton Shirt has been manufactured for more than 140 years.
Originally developed as a sweater for the sailors in the French navy who hailed from Brittany (hence the name “Breton”), the original La Mariniére (“the French sailor shirt”) had three distinguishing features: a boat neck, long sleeves, and navy stripes that were perfectly aligned from front to back (making it easier to see sailors who fell overboard) – and 21 of them (reported to signify Napoleon’s naval fleet victories over the British). Read more
The Highjacking of Vogue Magazine
The most coveted annual issue of Vogue is out this week. Known as the September Issue, the thickest edition of the year has been a guide to Fall fashion – a season that signifies the beginning of a new year for most women – for decades. This is the issue where women learn about trends in hemlines, style, rise, cut, color and fabric – all displayed on models wearing outrageously expensive fashions that will give a hint to what will be on the hangers in Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Target, and Zara – at a significantly lower price point. Read more
Blackfish
I used to be one of those mothers who took her kids to SeaWorld but I won’t be a grandmother who takes her grandchildren to SeaWorld, the Miami Seaquarium, or any park that holds orca whales in captivity. Years ago, I would watch the seal, dolphin, and whale shows at the SeaWorld in Orlando, laughing at the big tail splash and the human-like learned behaviors but never gave a thought to what the lives of those animals were really like, especially the orca whales. The audience sees crystal blue water, healthy looking animals, and trainers who appear to love them, so not much thought is given to what life is like for a 20-foot 12,000 pound animal who is meant to swim a hundred miles a day in vast open waters but, instead swims in a tank day after day, year after year. Read more
Paddock Post 