Do you have any strange phobias? Here's mine.
Hey Everyone,
This week I found myself repeating the phrase “I’m not getting sick” over and over, only to find that the actual repetition made my voice hurt, resulting in a sore throat. In this new world we live in, getting sick is not something to ignore anymore, because even a simple throat clear in the grocery causes people to step back like you’re a leper in The Year of Our Lord AD 30 when lepers were basically outcasts from society told to “do their own research” on how to overcome their disease.
Alas, I think I’m going to be fine, because we’re not only entering flu season, we are also entering the Holiday Season. That means I get to talk about the real reason for the season…
Food.
This week’s article is about a very big fear of mine that has stuck with me (and my arteries) for the last (redacted age) years. I’ll get into that in a second.
But first, The News.
Hot Takes
Week 44 of 2021
The climate is doing okay I guess. The world’s biggest photo opp took place in Glasgow earlier this week, consisting of a choir of world leaders preaching to each other about how bad Earth is getting. Private jet setting Presidents and delegates spent time making promises and snapping a few Instagram pics (except the “filters” are just the natural smog in the air from carbon emissions at this point). Anyway, Big Science says we are doing things but not enough of them.
I didn’t vote but some people did. People all over the country are wearing their “I would have voted” sticker except in a handful of states where there actually was an election on Tuesday. This includes gubernatorial races in Virginia which went red and New Jersey which stayed blue. There were a few mayoral and state legislator elections which seemed to favor Republicans enough that Biden took notice. The prevailing messaging was that voters want leaders to ease COVID 19 restrictions, rid schools of Critical Race Theory (whatever that is) and also as Biden acknowledged “do something”.
Felonious Congressman? In south Florida, Republican congressional candidate Jason Mariner won his party’s nomination, despite being a felon. People surprised that one could hold office after committing a felony are reminded that our previous President held office for four years.
I think Hollywood is is gonna need a tetanus shot due to “Rust”. The latest news regarding the accidental killing of Halyna Hutchins, while filming “Rust” a movie about an accidental killing, is that the staff may have been infected with a real life bad guy. The Armorer said she’s sure she loaded the gun with dummy rounds. Her attorney’s are suggesting that someone may have sabotaged the set with a live rounds in with the blanks.
For you “I’m not an anti-vaxxer but…” types. Two thirds of us will be either vaccinated or picketing by January 4th with Biden’s deadline now in place (which covers roughly 2/3rds of the US workforce). An unofficial spokesperson for unvaccinated voters said “we were going to get vaccinated, but then you told us we had to.” Governors like Indiana’s Eric Holcomb say “I think we should get vaxed but still, we’ll see you in court.”
Anyway, that’s the news. Now for a very viscous version of The Gist.
Cold butter makes me... uncomfortable
The Gist
Since we’re entering the Holidays, I started thinking about food. I’m also coming to terms with the fact that I am what’s called polysaturated-unctuous hypothermiaphobic (that is, I have a fear of cold butter).
This week’s article is about how the boogieman became fat when fat became the boogieman. Read about why I am afraid of cold butter, some observation about fat-free foods in the 90s, and finally, how I overcame my fear of fat.