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Written yesterday...
As I read the newspaper this morning, I found an article entitled Desktop Dining, it's tagline read, "It's Unsanitary, Unhealthy, Unfriendly & We All Do It." I knew I had to read this one. Overall, it was a good read. It touched on the antisocial vulgarity of the act and also the downright vomit inducing numbers of bacteria, germs and flora keeping company on one's desk, keyboard and telephone at any given moment. If, after reading such a thing, one can bring themselves to ingest anything more than a nicely chilled Evian at the desk, they are not only one I am in awe of, they are clearly one of the most revolting and base human beings walking erect (and I mean that in the most positive way possible).
I am one of those people who does not eat anywhere near a computer or a book. It's not because I'm not as busy as everyone else either. I refrain from doing so because frankly, I am quite uncoordinated and realize that the whole event would end disastrously should I have a moment of lunacy and attempt it. I also worked in my alma's library and saw books returned in conditions too nightmarish to recount here. And my father was a computer engineer... so right there, enough said.
But I digress. During lunch I broke open my latest copy of The New Yorker. In Books, Steven Shapin wrote an article entitled Eat & Run. This was also an enjoyable read. The U.S. obesity issue, weight in general, food obsession and fat aversion were covered at length in relation to a new book, The Hungry Years: Confessions of a Food Addict by William Leith.
Mr. Shapin makes the point that eating in the company of others has been on the decline and that solitary eating has contributed to current levels of obesity. The idea being that eating with others sets some parameters and people curb their natural tendency to be openly gluttonous. In effect, because the meal itself has a defined beginning and end one will adjust their consumption to approximate those in company. Of course, it's all relative. We do live in a society where the All-You-Can-Eat buffet is prevalent. Not only is one allowed to be openly gluttonous, it's become a point of advertising.
Don't think that I am against the All-You-Can-Eat establishments. Afterall, this is the United States and if a person wants to stuff themselves to capacity, stagger out and use the parking lot to re-enact the vomitoriums of Ancient Rome, who am I to say they shouldn't. Hell, it may even be a Constitutional right. (Kennedy asked Alito about that yesterday, didn't he?) What I am against is the act of eating in public and to a slightly lesser extent, in the company of others.
This isn't me being antisocial or neurotic. Really. If you ever have occasion and you've been caught on video actually eating, view it and you may never do so again. I have yet to have suffered the indignity, but I have observed others closely for years. In this time, I have determined and maintained that the act of eating is one that should be done in private, as much as possible. Put that on the list of "What Not To Do In Public" next to flossing. Would you sit around a table with friends and family and floss. No, of course not. Then why in the world would you sit around a table and attempt eating and conversation. Only one is classified as an art. They aren't to be done in tandem and the timing never works out perfectly. Ever notice that you lose the ability to chew and swallow efficiently when asked a question while you're eating? That's a hint to the unnaturalness of the activity merge. Don't screw with your CNS any more than you have too. It takes enough of a beating when you're out walking and talking on your mobile phone.
Now, with that said, I do go out to eat. Often. I prefer the privacy of a booth to a table and dim lighting to bright. I will flat out refuse a table in the center of an establishment. Believe me, not only do I wish to limit and if possible diminish the number of people who may see me ingest, I have no desire to see others display their version of mastication. The table is relatively quiet when the food arrives as Sweetie and me are believers in "Eat or Talk". We work well together, that way.
Let me also issue an indictment on the people who eat entire meals while walking down the street. WTF is that? Please, if such an urge strikes you and you can't stave it off, consider that if you lack a perfectly maintained Yogilates physique, you may become one of those sad, faceless creatures the media always captures for stories on the ever increasing waistline in the U.S. Have you noticed how they, more often than not have some item for consumption poised in their hands? I used to think they were shot headless to "protect the innocent". Sure. Right. Not! It's because you can't obtain a waiver with any decent reliability by walking up to them and saying, "Hey, we noticed that you're obese and we're doing this story about the latest article in JAMA. You know the one... it talks about how people like you are expected to die ten years earlier than your fit counterparts and that your health issues will push the cost of healthcare to more extreme heights for the rest of us. Anyway, we were wondering if we could feature you. Whadaya' say?"
I always wonder if any of the headless obese ever recognize themselves. And can you imagine how fucked up that would be? Not only are you fat, you've been used as an example of what not to be... on a national level. That's cringeworthy.
Just a thought or three...
As I read the newspaper this morning, I found an article entitled Desktop Dining, it's tagline read, "It's Unsanitary, Unhealthy, Unfriendly & We All Do It." I knew I had to read this one. Overall, it was a good read. It touched on the antisocial vulgarity of the act and also the downright vomit inducing numbers of bacteria, germs and flora keeping company on one's desk, keyboard and telephone at any given moment. If, after reading such a thing, one can bring themselves to ingest anything more than a nicely chilled Evian at the desk, they are not only one I am in awe of, they are clearly one of the most revolting and base human beings walking erect (and I mean that in the most positive way possible).
I am one of those people who does not eat anywhere near a computer or a book. It's not because I'm not as busy as everyone else either. I refrain from doing so because frankly, I am quite uncoordinated and realize that the whole event would end disastrously should I have a moment of lunacy and attempt it. I also worked in my alma's library and saw books returned in conditions too nightmarish to recount here. And my father was a computer engineer... so right there, enough said.
But I digress. During lunch I broke open my latest copy of The New Yorker. In Books, Steven Shapin wrote an article entitled Eat & Run. This was also an enjoyable read. The U.S. obesity issue, weight in general, food obsession and fat aversion were covered at length in relation to a new book, The Hungry Years: Confessions of a Food Addict by William Leith.
Mr. Shapin makes the point that eating in the company of others has been on the decline and that solitary eating has contributed to current levels of obesity. The idea being that eating with others sets some parameters and people curb their natural tendency to be openly gluttonous. In effect, because the meal itself has a defined beginning and end one will adjust their consumption to approximate those in company. Of course, it's all relative. We do live in a society where the All-You-Can-Eat buffet is prevalent. Not only is one allowed to be openly gluttonous, it's become a point of advertising.
Don't think that I am against the All-You-Can-Eat establishments. Afterall, this is the United States and if a person wants to stuff themselves to capacity, stagger out and use the parking lot to re-enact the vomitoriums of Ancient Rome, who am I to say they shouldn't. Hell, it may even be a Constitutional right. (Kennedy asked Alito about that yesterday, didn't he?) What I am against is the act of eating in public and to a slightly lesser extent, in the company of others.
This isn't me being antisocial or neurotic. Really. If you ever have occasion and you've been caught on video actually eating, view it and you may never do so again. I have yet to have suffered the indignity, but I have observed others closely for years. In this time, I have determined and maintained that the act of eating is one that should be done in private, as much as possible. Put that on the list of "What Not To Do In Public" next to flossing. Would you sit around a table with friends and family and floss. No, of course not. Then why in the world would you sit around a table and attempt eating and conversation. Only one is classified as an art. They aren't to be done in tandem and the timing never works out perfectly. Ever notice that you lose the ability to chew and swallow efficiently when asked a question while you're eating? That's a hint to the unnaturalness of the activity merge. Don't screw with your CNS any more than you have too. It takes enough of a beating when you're out walking and talking on your mobile phone.
Now, with that said, I do go out to eat. Often. I prefer the privacy of a booth to a table and dim lighting to bright. I will flat out refuse a table in the center of an establishment. Believe me, not only do I wish to limit and if possible diminish the number of people who may see me ingest, I have no desire to see others display their version of mastication. The table is relatively quiet when the food arrives as Sweetie and me are believers in "Eat or Talk". We work well together, that way.
Let me also issue an indictment on the people who eat entire meals while walking down the street. WTF is that? Please, if such an urge strikes you and you can't stave it off, consider that if you lack a perfectly maintained Yogilates physique, you may become one of those sad, faceless creatures the media always captures for stories on the ever increasing waistline in the U.S. Have you noticed how they, more often than not have some item for consumption poised in their hands? I used to think they were shot headless to "protect the innocent". Sure. Right. Not! It's because you can't obtain a waiver with any decent reliability by walking up to them and saying, "Hey, we noticed that you're obese and we're doing this story about the latest article in JAMA. You know the one... it talks about how people like you are expected to die ten years earlier than your fit counterparts and that your health issues will push the cost of healthcare to more extreme heights for the rest of us. Anyway, we were wondering if we could feature you. Whadaya' say?"
I always wonder if any of the headless obese ever recognize themselves. And can you imagine how fucked up that would be? Not only are you fat, you've been used as an example of what not to be... on a national level. That's cringeworthy.
Just a thought or three...
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