Coasting Along the Highways and Byways of Sub-Mediocrity

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Coasting along the highways and byways of sub-mediocrity, our fellow human travelers we sometimes call friends, mates, tools or that guy, suck the living bejesus out of the rare individual found these days who prefers truth to lies, clean clothes to the aged variety, and the tasteful and eloquent to the ugly, demented and deranged.

Whatever age you find yourself to be presently, one of the magical mystical secrets that the gods keep from us is that you will continually be disappointed in your brethren, no matter whether they be a goddess of erotica, dumbbell beefcake or anything in between, until you draw your last breath.  Why?  Because the model ‘human’ is stupendously flawed yet thinks it’s flawless.  

Fear not!  ‘Science’ has found the answer to the modern day dilemma for both the downcast and deranged and the troubles they find with living.  Just quit breathing…because of climate change, don’t you know!

A group of “woke” scientists has claimed that human breathing is contributing to “climate change.”

According to the Daily Mail, scientists are now warning that people are causing “climate change” by merely breathing.

The new study was led by Dr. Nicholas Cowan, an atmospheric physicist at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Edinburgh.

The study claims the gases in air exhaled from human lungs are fueling global warming.

Methane and nitrous oxide in the air we exhale make up to 0.1 percent of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, scientists say.

And that’s not even accounting for the gas we release from burps and farts.

So-called “emissions” also come from our skin without us noticing, “woke” science warns.

“Exhaled human breath can contain small, elevated concentrations of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), both of which contribute to global warming,” Dr. Cowan and his team warn.

“We would urge caution in the assumption that emissions from humans are negligible.”

How humans are supposed to err on the side of “caution” when it comes to breathing wasn’t clear, however. – via slaynews.com

But what, pray tell, if I want to continue living amongst the loathsome, the liars, the hypocrites, self-absorbed and clueless?  What can I do to save Mother Earth?

How ’bout just eating the way the clueless want you to eat?

They say you are what you eat, but be careful not to gobble up garbage science. It’s so important to be able to look at research with a critical eye to understand whether there might be hidden incentives behind a particular outcome. If something looks fishy, it probably is.

Take, for example, a new study published in JAMA just two weeks ago that made headlines around the world, showing the health benefits of a vegan diet vs. an omnivorous diet. On the surface, the study seemed to have controlled for important variables such as genetics by enrolling 22 sets of adult twins (who by definition share the same DNA).

One twin was instructed to follow a vegan diet while the other followed an omnivorous whole-food diet. The study found that at the end of eight weeks, the twins who ate the vegan diet had lower LDL cholesterol, lower insulin, and lower body weight. Thus, the researchers concluded a plant-based diet is better for the heart and for overall health and longevity.

But what the headlines left out is that the vegans consumed far fewer calories (hence the weight loss), less protein, and less vitamin B12 (which is essential for good health). They also reported less dietary satisfaction, which would indicate that the diet is likely not sustainable in the long run.

Most importantly, the lead researcher, Stanford University professor Christopher Gardner, may have serious conflicts of interest. Science journalist Nina Teicholz explains:

Gardner, who says he’s been “mostly” vegan for some 40-plus years, happens now to be the director of the Stanford Plant-Based Diet Initiative (PBDI), which was launched in 2021 with a 5-year grant by the meat-replacement company, Beyond Meat.

Funding the twin study itself was the eponymous foundation of Kyle Vogt, a member of the “vegan-mafia,” as some in the media have dubbed it, a group of Silicon Valley tycoons who invest in vegan-focused companies. Vogt spent north of a million dollars on the 2019 “Game Changers” movie, promoting a vegan lifestyle by documenting the accomplishments of vegan athletes; he also funded a Netflix docuseries on the Stanford twin trial, called “You Are What You Eat,” with a release date of Jan 1 (preview here; perfect timing for diet season!).

Beyond Meat was beyond excited to announce the results of the study, which is a pretty good indication the conclusions may be a bit suspect. The company’s press release let the cat out of the bag when it disclosed the contents of the meals provided to the participants for the first four weeks of the study: “each twin followed one of two diets: a healthy vegan diet (including lots of Beyond Meat!) OR a healthy omnivore diet (including eggs, chicken, fish and dairy).”

We humbly leave you, dear reader, with this fine example of vegan sausage, without comment of course.

(via Notes from the Edge of Civilization; December 17th, 2023 – collapselife.substack.com)

Rachmaninoff – Prelude in c#minor on a mystery, very grand piano…

I will tell you the story of this remarcable instrument nobody knows anything about anymore, or even wants to remember that it existed. I reveal the full story of this instrument in the follow up video(s). But for now just enjoy… To be continued…  Valentina Lisitsa, December 18th, 2023

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O Come, all ye faithful – arr. David Willcocks – King’s College Cambridge 2009