BY ELIZABETH FIEND They burn a pony, not a man. The vibe is chill, not hot. I was trying to describe the difference between Burning Man, which by now every one knows about, and Playa del Fuego, which is still pretty much a secret, to my Burning Man campmates last year, who would be coming to PDF for the first time.) PDF is the mid-Atlantic regional “burn” – one of the many regional off-shoots of Burning Man. Playa del Fuego is nothing and everything like Burning Man. Held in not-so remote Odessa, Delaware, PDF is a four-day campout with a […]
JUNK SCIENCE: Are We Having Fun Yet?
BY ELIZABETH FIEND LIVING EDITOR A special mom/editrix asked me to look into the frenzy surrounding the recall of thousands of toys due to the use of lead paint. She probably was interested in learning exactly how dangerous these toys are to her young tot. She probably didn’t expect that the question would send me into an anti-capitalist seizure. Which it did. What I’ve learned is that you really can’t separate these “accidents” — the lead paint in toys, the tainted pet food, the contaminated toothpaste — from corporate greed and the people’s losing battle against neoliberalism. Unsure what neoliberalism […]
YEAR OF THE RAT: Mattel CEO Is Sorry, So Sorry
On Monday, Elizabeth Fiend will school you on why Polly Pocket might have something to do with why Sally Can’t Read. But in the meantime — say, while you’re dismantling the Chinese crib of death — cogitate on which of the Mattel CEO’s three (so far) apologies for the lead-paint debacle you believe. Your choices are: * The one from a few weeks back aimed at U.S. consumers who really need to get started on the Christmas shopping * The one proffered Friday to Chinese officials * The one he says he really meant The state-run New China News Agency […]
JUNK SCIENCE: Animals, Vegetables & Minerals
BY ELIZABETH FIEND LIVING EDITOR Upon returning from my vacation I was greeted by my two charming 20-something house sitters. They did a great job holding down the fort and loving my big orange cat, Hurricane. They bashfully asked me if it would be OK if they left the remainder of their CSA Farm Share in my fridge. Like many people, seems they?re trying hard to eat right but are at a loss as to how to actually pull it off. Can you image asking ME if it would be OK to unload a bunch of organic fruit and vegetables? […]
JUNK SCIENCE: I Am Omega Man
BY ELIZABETH FIEND LIVING EDITOR Never even heard of vitamin F, have you? Well, that’s why I’m here. Vitamin F is more commonly known as a group of three EFAs, or essential fatty acids. If you’ve ever heard the phrase fish is brain food, EFAs are the reason why that’s true. There are three essential fatty acids we require for optimum health. Omega-3, -6 and -9. These fatty acids are required by our bodies to maintain healthy brain, cell and blood function as well as healthy immune, digestive and nervous systems. The “essential” means that this is a nutrient our […]
JUNK SCIENCE: The Revolution Will Be Televised
TONIGHT, Aug. 6th, ON CABLE TV, Philadelphia BiG TeA PaRtY’s Chew on This, written and hosted by Elizabeth Fiend part of DUTV’s Special Indy Movie Presentations Time: 8:53 pm, EST (15 min.) Comcast channel 54 or 62 Chew on This (15 min.) Part game show, part food show and all parts fun, this video is a feast of eye candy and an earful of information, full of Philly food facts and fun fur hats. BiG TeA PaRtY creates their own quiz show by playing the games Dicey Dinner and Tic Tac Tofu. Even Ben Franklin, one of America’s greatest thinkers […]
JUNK SCIENCE: Made In The Shade
BY ELIZABETH FIEND LIVING EDITOR In 1978, the FDA established a labeling system for sun block that measures how well the product protects the skin from the ultraviolet B rays of the sun. This is the Skin Protection Factor, or SPF rating. UVB rays cause sun burn, skin wrinkling and cancer. The FDA said they’d get right back to us and establish a rating system for the other deadly rays, ultraviolet A, which penetrate the skin even deeper and also cause cancer and skin aging. Twenty-nine years later, we are still waiting. Yes, shocking but true, the SPF rating only […]
JUNK SCIENCE: Hey Swinger
ELIZABETH FIEND LIVING EDITOR It’s pitch dark out. I’m so far away from anything. There are absolutely no lights, except for the sparkles of a billion tiny pinpoints of light that I create each time I move. I’m floating in phosphorescent, bathwater-warm water, alone, off shore of a tiny island in the Caribbean Ocean far, far from the mainland somewhere between the border of Columbia and Panama. The island is postage-stamp size. It’s owned by a semi-autonomous tribe of Central American Indians called the Kuna. There are only a dozen people on the island. When I float to shore there […]
TV: Miss Fiend Is Ready For Primetime
TONIGHT ON CABLE TV! BiG TeA PaRtY’s Chew on This, written and hosted by Phawker Living Editor Elizabeth Fiend Monday, July 9th 8:53 PM Comcast channel 54 or 62
THESE ARE YOUR RIGHTS!
Dear FBI or Whom It May Concern, The above missive was submitted to us whole by our Living Editor Elizabeth Fiend, an admitted anarchist. For what it’s worth, we agree with almost all of what is said above, except for the fact that ‘dissent’ is misspelled and that always sends the wrong message. But barring that, we are willing to accept whatever consequences you are dishing out these days to people exercising their First Amendment rights. Thanks in advance, Jonathan Valania EDITOR-IN-CHIEF THE CLASH: Know Your Rights
JUNK SCIENCE: Think Globally, Eat Locally
BY ELIZABETH FIEND LIVING EDITOR This is a special season of wondrous fruits and the freshest of vegetables. It only comes once a year and lasts only a few short but tasty months. Right now, this very minute, is the time to jump on board and get with the program of buying your produce from neighborhood farmers markets.There are basically three types of places that grow our produce: big agribusiness factory-type farms, organic farms and recently, a growing movement of small local farms. It used to be a no brainier that if you wanted the best, most healthful food, and […]
JUNK SCIENCE: The Bottle And The Damage Done
[artwork by Alex Binnie] BY ELIZABETH FIEND LIVING EDITOR Booze — it’s intoxicating, complicated stuff. Light drinking can extend your life, heavy drinking will end it prematurely. Consuming a small amount of alcohol prevents platelets in the blood from sticking together and forming clots, thus preventing heart attack and certain types of stroke. (Aspirin helps prevent blood clots in a similar way.) But anything more than one drink a day for women and up to two a day for men is a bummer for your health. Drinking more can cause stroke and heart disease, and also messes up your liver […]
JUNK SCIENCE: Is That An Overworked Pancreas In Your Pocket Or Are You Just Hypoglycemia?
BY ELIZABETH FIEND LIVING EDITOR The Glycemic Index could save your life — literally. It could make living with diabetes easier. Or prevent diabetes in the first place. It can reduce your risk of heart disease. It will lower your cholesterol. It will make you thinner. It might even get you laid. The Glycemic Index is a scientific measurement of how rapidly foods release their sugars into your blood. It’s an invaluable, easy-to-use tool for maintaining or getting to a proper weight. Forget diets. Get jiggy wit’ the GI instead. Research on the Glycemic Index originally began as a way […]