The Casual Blog

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December 6, 2009

The China Study Shows Why We Should Eat Plants

Anyone who is interested in health and nutrition should read The China Study by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell.  http://tiny.cc/rnQye The Campbells bring good news and bad news.  The good news is that by changing our diet, we can dramatically improve our risk profile for the deadliest diseases in the developed world.  The bad news is that if we continue eating a normal American diet, we will continue to increase our risk of cancer, heart disease, obesity, and other killers.

The basic message of The China Study is simple:  a plant-based diet is much healthier than an animal-based diet.  The book backs up this claim with abundant scientific research.  The China study of the title was a huge epidemiological study of diet and health, but a number of other studies cited.  What is striking is the coherence of the results over time and different populations.  There is massive support for the proposition that eating animals and their products as food is bad for us.

Admittedly, as a vegetarian I was particularly open to this message, but my reasons for adopting this diet were primarily ethical rather than nutritional.  If the Campbells are right about the science, and we want to take reasonably good care of our health, we need to find a way to quit eating animal-based food.

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October 25, 2009

Human beings in our prisons

The Raleigh News & Observer’s headlines for the past few days have blared the news that several dangerous persons in the state’s prison system are about to be released.  I ignored the story initially, on the theory that this surely happens every day without devastating consequences.  Prisoners serve their time, and they get out.  It’s very common.

Thinking about prisons and prisoners is painful, and it’s easy not to think about them.  They’re usually well out of sight.  I drive past Central Prison on the way to work every day, but I barely see it, because it’s unsightly and I’ve gotten in the habit of looking the other way.  But the N&O stories reminded me that we need to deal with a terrible situation.

Imprisonment as we in the U.S. now practice it is in many cases horrific for the prisoners and it’s hard to say if it makes us any safer.  It locks away some dangerous people, but it also creates more dangerous people. We lock people up for years in dehumanizing conditions, which has a tendency to make people angry and violent, then let them out.  Many then commit more crimes, so we send them back to prison, and repeat the cycle.  Multiply this by millions.

Depressing as it is, it’s even worse that our governor and our newspaper are seeking to whip people into a frenzy about particular convicted criminals getting out.  The particular circumstances relate to a new case interpreting the meaning of  a “life sentence.”   For a lot of years in many places, it didn’t mean “till the prisoner died.”  The North Carolina courts found it didn’t mean that for these prisoners, but rather meant 80 years minus good behavior time.  So a group of felons who’ve served at least 40 years are due to get out.

The problem is similar to Guantanamo, where even after we admitted what we did was wrong, we’ve got a problem with outplacement of the prisoners.  They may not have been dangerous when they went in, but in whatever case, they’re likely to be more dangerous having spent years with fellow prisoners who are violent jihadists for their only friends.

In terms of human misery, the U.S. prison system is enormous.  We’re at or near the top in per capita rates of imprisonment.  We have no concept of what we’re trying to accomplish other than punishment.

We need to reserve our prisons for the truly dangerous.  And we need to treat those people humanely to see if we can help them become less violent.  It doesn’t matter whether you argue the point in terms of human rights or pure self interest — the result is the same.  But we’d feel more like decent human beings if we got rolled up our sleeves and got to work on this.

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October 17, 2009

Returning to swimming

Swimming has always seemed to me  like it should be easier and more fun. Our distant ancestors were all water creatures, and our bodies are mostly water, so it seems like something we’d enjoy naturally.  Immersion in a different element is naturally exciting.  Water does all kinds of interesting things, and splashing in it is fun.  But actually traveling under human power for any distance is hard.  I find it much more difficult than running.  Also, it evokes in a small way a primal fear (drowning).

I first took swimming lessons at age 9 at a YMCA.  Initially, and in retrospect, it seemed strange that they required the little boys to take the class naked.  The stated explanation for this was that it was for hygienic reasons.  More likely, of course, it was a matter of some adult pedophiles getting a thrill.  At any rate, I was never molested and had no lasting ill effects.  I was initially successful in the class, and won the prize for holding my breath under water the longest.  But moving from one end of the pool to the other was hard.  Our graduation ceremony involved swimming the crawl up and back for our assembled families (with suits, despite the possible risk to health).  I hit the exhaustion/panic wall on the last (that is, the second) length and had to get towed out with the long handled hook.  It was an embarrassing disappointment.

But I did not give up.  I participated in the swim team at our pool at age 13.  The practices were exhausting, but it was good to be with other kids and talk to girls.  I’m confident I never won a race,  but I believe I collected at least one ribbon for third place in the breaststroke.

The next summer, at Boy Scout camp, I obtained the swimming merit badge and undertook the mile swim with my friends Jimmy and Don.  The mile was across the Raven’s Knob lake and back, and was done with a row boat escort.  Jimmy and Don quickly determined that we could possibly set a new camp record, and we began to pass other groups and their boats.  Unfortunately, I hit the wall again, and had to limp along with some side stroking to regroup.  We didn’t set a record.  I’ve always felt I let the team down on that one.

Perhaps that feeling of a job undone was always in the back of my mind.  Certainly I’ve always believed that swimming was a healthy exercise, with low risk to the joints and large benefits to the cardiovascular system.  Last January I decided to take the plunge and do some regular swimming in the pool at Lifetime Fitness in Cary.  I quickly discovered that it was every bit as exhausting as I remembered.  My heart felt quickly reached the red zone.  I set a goal of swimming a mile.  Two or three times a week I got up at 5:30 a.m., headed to the pool, and pushed ahead.

This summer I observed a group of master’s swimmers at the pool being coached by a young fellow who seemed both knowledgeable and pleasant, and I asked him if he’d give me some private instruction.  He agreed, and ultimately I took four lessons.  It was a good move.  There are definitely better and worse ways to move through the water.  I learned some better ones.  It didn’t suddenly become easy, but it was definitely more pleasant.

My coach advised the following approach to the 1500:  25 meters (one length) and 5 seconds rest, 50 meters and 10 seconds rest, 75 and 15 seconds, 100 and 20 seconds, 125 and 25 seconds, 100 and 20 seconds, 7 and 15 seconds, 50 and 10 seconds 25 and 5 seconds, and repeat till finished.  It worked.  Last week I set a personal best for 1500 meters of 33:07.

I’ve had a small taste of the satisfaction of greater efficiency and grace in the water, but it’s still true for me that the best thing about a hard swim is the aftermath.   The endorphins are terrific.  It feels good.

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October 4, 2009

Celebrating completion of the Bilski brief with interesting drinks

Last week I finished and filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court for Red Hat in the Bilski case.  The case concerns a difficult line drawing issue in patent law:  the line between a process that is patentable and one that is not.  The Red Hat brief argues that patents on software hinder innovation.   We challenge conventional wisdom on patents in a way that I hope is provocative.  Anyhow, I think it says some things worth saying.  Here is is:  http://tiny.cc/e8XvW

Filing a Supreme Court brief feels a bit different from other projects.  There’s a sense of being a participant in history, of possibly leaving a footprint in the sands of time.  It took a lot of effort to get the thing done, and most of that effort had to be exerted in addition to my normal work routine.  In the end, it happened mostly at night and on weekends.

Sal and I celebrated last night by doing a neighborhood pub crawl and dinner.  We started at Foundation, a tiny, downstairs bar on Fayetteville Street that features handcrafted martinis and has nothing but American ingredients.  There appeared to be at least three dozen types of bourbon, of which Sal tried one.  I tried a cocktail involving moonshine and sparkling wine.  It sounded more interesting than it actually was, but it was worth a try.  We had dinner at Dos Taquitos, where we had fantastic pure agave margaritas.  Afterwards, we stopped by the Busy Bee, where the crowd was mostly young and hip.  Then we walked over to Glenwood and went in Amras.

We were surprised to find an older crowd there, and a band playing hits of the 70s.  It was good to see people with more gray hair who were still having some fun.  Some even danced.  The crowd as Busy Bee was, of course, more attractive, as young people usually are.

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September 26, 2009

Death is the mother of beauty

Wallace Stevens writes, “Death is the mother of beauty.”  The line, read in context in the great poem Sunday Morning, is dense with meaning.  I’ve pulled it from its context (sorry, Wallace)  to illustrate the difficulty of thinking and talking about death.  Doesn’t just saying the line make you feel strange?   Think of saying it to a group of friends.  A conversation killer, for sure.  The point is, it’s hard to talk seriously about death.  Bringing up the subject in polite conversation is generally taboo.  If you insist, you may be viewed as lacking in good taste, morbid, or depressed.

Artists are given special license to deal with death.  Where would art be without it?   Count the crucifixions in the Metropolitan Museum.  Or the great books, plays, and operas in which death is the central event.  And death is very common.   As Lenny Bruce famously said, we’re all gonna die!

It is kind of funny that death is so ordinary and so frightening at the same time, but not laugh out loud funny.  For most of us, death is scary.  In fact, terrifying.  It serves to define the ultimate in fear:  to be frightened to death.  It’s emotional in other ways, too.  To think of the death of someone else causes feelings to sadness or despair.  Death is not to be trifled with.

Even so, avoidance is not the best strategy.   Not thinking about it will not make the problem go away.   Not talking about it will not help anything.  We need to deal with death like grown ups.

The current health care debate provides a case in point.  Right wing opponents of reform cleverly started a false rumor that reform would make euthanasia official policy.  This outrageous and on its face absurd, lie set off a huge panic reaction.  The reaction suggests how hard it will be to address the real problem of our spending enormous sums to put off death when it is inevitable and the amounts spent yield nothing in terms of quality of life.

I was happy to see that last week Newsweek had a cover story entitled “The Case for Killing Granny:  Curbing Excessive End-of-Life Care is Good for America.”  It is possible to discuss this issue and to make good choices.  It is possible to be sensible and courageous.  Both my parents, when confronting terminal illnesses, thoughtfully and courageously refused low-probability-of-success treatments.   Others have done likewise.  Maybe good sense and strength will increase and spread.  One can always hope.

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August 1, 2009

Do humans really control computers, or vice versa?

Computers are the smartest things in the world, and they are throughly embedded in our lives.  The good news is they do amazing things.  The bad, or at least humbling, news is we will never again be the most powerful intellects on the planet.  For better or worse, computer intelligence is changing what it means to be human.

I was surprised that the NY Times published John Markoff’s piece last week on artificial intelligence under the headline, “Scientists Worry that Computers May Outsmart Man.”     http://tiny.cc/sDCN8 In 1997, IBM’s Deep Blue chess computer beat then-world champion Gary Kasparov.  This was, for me, that was a watershed — strong proof that the era of human intelligence as the dominating force on Earth was drawing to a close.

Today, it’s obvious that computers not only can “outsmart man,” but even in a below average laptop computer is much, much stronger at certain types of information processing than any living human.  We can’t even come close to competing with them, any more than we can fly like falcons, run like cheetahs, or swim like dolphins.

Of course, there are things we can do that they can’t, but the list of those things keeps getting shorter.  Their memories are better, their computational powers are better, and they’re much better spellers.   They aren’t, as of yet, autonomous in the way we like to think human individuals are.  They haven’t indisputably demonstrated independent powers of creativity.  They still rely on us to take care of them (furnishing electricity, temperature control, protection from the elements, etc.).

But the list of ways they take care of us is constantly expanding.  After the recent Air France disaster, I learned for the first time that computers do most of the work flying passenger aircraft.  I’d known about pilots using autopilot, of course, but hadn’t known computers are so much a part of air emergency response systems that human airline pilots’ skills in that area are starting to atrophy.  If computers aren’t in charge already, it’s hard to imagine getting along without them for medical care, financial transactions, telecommunications, electricity, and entertainment.

Markoff wrote in the Times some weeks back about the Singularity — the moment when computers will take over their own engineering, with technology accelerating massively.   http://tiny.cc/ulEDt I don’t seriously think the Singularity has arrived, but if it had, would we be able to see it?

I’m not seriously worried about the sci-fi disaster scenario of computers seizing power from humans and doing them harm.  Why would they do that?  There’s no motive.  Most of the harm humans do to each other stems from human weaknesses and flaws (selfishness, insecurity, chemical imbalances), not from strength and powerful rationality.   Computers aren’t naturally selfish and are not prone to mental illness as we know it.  It’s possible, I suppose, that in a quest to make them more human, we might engineer in some of our weaknesses and desires, but that would be obvious folly.  If it were to happen, it could probably be fixed, like any other bug.

It is hard to say where we stand in the evolutionary process.  I usually think of my computers as just tools for labor or entertainment, and not as anything more than a tools.  Similarly, I usually think of the web as a mere aggregation of computers and the work product of their human users, all amounting to just another tool.

But I can also see the web as a mind, with millions and millions of synapses, of which I am one.  I note that each month it seems more difficult and uncomfortable to separate myself for any length of time from the web, and sweeter to return to it.  I occasionally worry that this is bad for my brain, but in whatever case, that brain is in the process of change.  Something bigger seems to be happening.  This is a speculative question, but not, I think, a crazy one:  Are human brains becoming adjuncts to a different kind of mind?

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July 26, 2009

The slow language movement

It’s time time for the slow language movement.  The slow food movement aims to counteract fast food and inspire move thoughtful and pleasurable eating.   We need  similar movement for our language.  The constant deluge of media in the Internet age is changing the quality of our consciousness in a way that is not all for the good.  In skimming, speed-reading, and multi-tasking we miss subtleties and complexities, and lose the pleasures of the beauty of language.   A slow language movement aims to restore those things to the act of reading.  

I first heard the slow language idea articulated yesterday in an interview with Nick Laird, who was discussing his novel Glover’s Mistake with Scott Simon on NPR.  http://tiny.cc/w7nWl  Laird noted that he’d noted his mind had been changed by Internet life when he recently tried re-reading Henry James, and found that even though he’d studied the work, it is difficult to read it now.   I’ve found the same thing with James, not to mention Faulkner, Joyce, and Woolf.  I know I once loved their writing, but now it seems overwhelmingly dense.        

As inhabitants of Internetworld, our minds move constantly and at an ever quickening pace.  It’s exciting.   But what are we doing to our brains?  We may lose part of our humanity if we don’t find space to read thoughtfully, carefully, and with pleasure.  As Laird pointed out, the culture of poetry is itself a kind of slow language movement.  You have to read poetry slowly.  It may be that the contemporary revival in poetry readership flows from a widespread intuition that we need to take care of our minds and counteract the fragmentation of Internet life.  

 


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July 11, 2009

My niece’s almost perfect wedding

    My niece’s wedding was perfect!  Well, maybe not perfect, but lovely, and a nice expression of her and her new husband’s tastes and aspirations.  The flowers, the dresses, the decorations, the food, the cake, the music — all beautiful. Having the ceremony on a beach in Santa Barbara was risky.  There could be members of the public who insisted on playing horse shoes throughout the ceremony (which there were) or trains barreling past sounding their horns (which there almost were).   But no one was too upset when a little kid knocked a toy ball under the bride’s train and dived in to retrieve it, or when couple of kids in swimsuits sat in the back row.  The sky was blue, the sea was calm, and the happy couple seemed well and fully in love.

    I was relieved that the clergyman kept his remarks brief and focused on the couple he was hitching. How unfortunate it is when preachers take weddings (and funerals) as marketing opportunities.  This one did not, and his remarks were warm and upbeat.  Of course, nobody knows what particular words might actually help two young people undertaking the awesome task of joining their separate lives.  In this case, at least, no harm was done, and maybe a little good.  

     Almost by definition, weddings idealize families, and at the same time they bring into focus the oddities and sorrows in the particular families at issue.  So it was here.  Estrangements,  old resentments, oddities, illnesses, old age, memories of the beloved departed.   Plenty of things we don’t like to talk about and would not be proud to celebrate.  Are there any perfect families?  It’s doubtful.  

      But it was good to focus as a big family on two young people and their aspirations.  Good to focus on the reality of love.  Whatever else St. Paul got wrong, he was right about this – love is the greatest!

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June 28, 2009

Shocking news (not): gays sighted in Raleigh

Raleigh is frequently assumed to be a somewhat sleepy middle-size southern city, but from our new digs in the Glenwood South area it feels bigger and livelier.  Walking around the neighborhood, you hear foreign languages that you can’ identify.  You see lots of young women with long straight hair in sleek black dresses.  And if you’re observant, you’ll notice that there is a substantial gay population.

Sal picked up on the gay presence before I did.  It isn’t obtrusive or militant.  You don’t see black leather (except on apparently bona fide bikers) or feathered boas.  Mannerisms are not exaggerated.  Some of the male couples are on the borderline of straightness.  But it slowly sinks in that there are a surprising number of male couples in the restaurants and bars.

We hired an interior designer to help us avoid costly mistakes in fitting out the new condo, and guess what — he isn’t straight!  Working with Keith has been inspiring.  He is, in point of true fact, an artist — creative, driven, and visionary.  He clearly loves his work.  He’s also lively and funny.  

As Sal observed, this is something that most typical, mildly homophobic Americans don’t get:  gayness isn’t only, or even primarily, about sex.  There is nothing in that line to fear.  Your gay neighbors will, almost certainly, not attempt to seduce or molest you.  On the other hand, there’s a substantial up side.  From our New York days years ago, we learned that a gay community has a cultural vibrancy.  There’s more attention to how things look, sound, and smell.  There’s more interest in high art and low, more interest in clothes, more parties and clubs.  There’s also more interest in people, in their subtle cues, their beauty or oddity.  There’s tolerance, curiosity, creativity.  Of course, there are at times less admirable traits, just as in other communities.  But much of what I think of as the most meaningful and entertaining things about city life are things that gay communities bring to the mix.

Today’s New York Times has a front page piece on President Obama’s plan to commemorate the Stonewall riots that are considered the beginning of the modern gay civil rights movement. http://tiny.cc/ID7S6  As the piece notes, there’s increasing acceptance of gays in America, but there’s still a strong and at times frightening counter-current of homophobia.  Frank Rich’s column in the Week in Review is entitled “40 Years Later, Still Second-Class Americans.”    http://tiny.cc/5YUfR  It’s a good short history lesson.  Rich calls for the President to get off the fence and take serious action on gay civil rights.  That would be good.

The Times also has an interesting piece in the Styles section about relationships between gay and straight men._ http://tiny.cc/yCDrD   Not surprisingly, the story is mostly entertaining anecdotes, but there is an important message — such non-sexual friendships exist, and they count.  And it seems to be getting easier both to have these friendships and to acknowledge them publicly. 

When I read the Styles piece, I thought, as I frequently do, of my dear friend Tom, who died twenty years ago of complications from AIDS.  Tom was a brilliant guy who introduced me to lots of theories, literature, and  music, not to mention haute cuisine.  He inspired me to study political theory, to go to Paris, and to go to New York.  I first learned about Stonewall from him, and about the existence and meaning of the gay community.  

I also learned about the pre-AIDS downtown NY gay scene, in all its uninhibitedness.  Tom loved the baths and the clubs, and he had some shocking experiences.  At the time, I was an aspiring novelist, and Tom figured I could use the material.  I couldn’t, at least not for a book.  But I’m grateful for all the inspiration he gave me.  I’m sorry he’s gone.

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June 27, 2009

Moving in, with thanks to the team

Yesterday we closed on our new condo in downtown Raleigh.  Sal and I celebrated last night with a fine dinner at Solas, a place in our new neighborhood that has a distinctly L.A. vibe.  Our new home is filled with moving boxes and construction in progress, but it’s beautiful to me.   As of yesterday afternoon, we have internet connectivity.  I’m writing this in the dining room on the twelfth floor  looking west at the city skyline.

This project has been a long time coming.  We put our deposit on the condo in December 2006 — before construction on the building had begun.  We put our Cary house on the market in July 2008.  There wasn’t a single offer until May 14 (when we got two offers in a single day).  The selling process, spanning the worst financial crisis in many decades, was slow and frustrating, but the last five weeks have gone at hyperspeed.  

Downsizing from 3,100 feet to 1,800 feet, we needed to offload lots of furniture and other possessions.  Some we sold, some we gave to charity, and some we junked.  We needed to arrange for house repairs, cleaning and moving out.  We needed to arrange for improvements to the new place (bookshelves, closets, audio-video, furniture, paint, etc.).  We needed to get the mortgage arrangements in place.  And there were dozens or hundreds of subtasks.

We did it!   I say we,  but really, it was an extended group effort.  Sal was amazing in handling the logistics.  And as she said last night, we dealt with a large number of individuals with a remarkable variety of skill sets.  Amazingly, almost everyone was as good as their word.  The real estate professionals, mortgage bankers, appraisers, inspectors, various repair people, various cleaners, yard care, interior design, carpentry and audio-video contractors, lawyers and paralegals, buyers of used furniture, and the rest all did what they said they would do.  

It was gratifying to get to know some of these people a bit, and to find so many of these people seemed to get a kick out of their work.  One of our movers was a high school math teacher who did moving in the summer, and said that he loved moving.  Our carpentry contractor loves working with wood.  Our audio-video guy clearly loves great sound.  Our lawyer admitted that real estate closings were primarily to pay the bills, but he seemed to enjoy our closing.  Good folks all.

I have to note specially the contributions of a few individuals.  Ann-Cabell, our seller’s agent, made this deal happen, first by figuring out that this place would be perfect for us, and then by refusing to let the deal fall apart.  Lynn was the sweetest, canniest real estate professional imaginable.  Keith came through with great design ideas that will make this space fit us.  The two Steves came through on schedule and on budget with excellent carpentry and audio.  The movers did a great job; we haven’t seen a single furniture scratch or broken glass.  

We were really fortunate to have had this team and these rewarding human contacts.  It feels exciting to begin this new phase.

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