Planning to gorge yourself this Thanksgiving? Don't flatter yourself, amateur.
As Americans stuff themselves with turkey on Thursday, professional eaters will take center stage in a nationally televised competition, gobbling 20-pound birds in eight minutes.
While some shudder at the sight of contestants racing to devour food at a time when a third of Americans are obese, competitors just shrug.
"Doing it once in a while isn't bad for you, when you do it responsibly," champion eater Tim Janus said.
Others have had their fill of such events.
This fall, the University of Iowa canceled its annual corn-eating contest, held the week of the Iowa-Iowa State football game. Many saw the contest as a fun nod to the state's hallmark crop, but Phillip Jones, Iowa's vice president of student services, viewed it as an act of gluttony.
"It was something I thought was reasonable based on the data and stories I've seen about obesity and the proportion of people who are overweight," Jones said. "I don't know ... if it is dangerous, but it was a symbolic gesture to get people to address changes in our lifestyle."
Last year, organizers of the World Pie Eating Championship in Wigan, England, gave in to pressure from health advocates and cut back on contestants' consumption.
Competitors converged on the northwestern English town for 15 years to see who could eat the most meat pies in three minutes. But organizers changed the rules in 2006, presenting the award to the person who could eat a single meat pie in the fastest time. They also added a vegetarian category.
In the U.S., the International Federation of Competitive Eating organizes about 80 eating contests a year, including The Turkey Bowl, scheduled to air Thursday on cable's Spike TV.
The group's chairman, George Shea, said competitive eaters are athletes who train for their sport, working to improve jaw strength and increasing their stomach capacity.
"This is an entertainment product that has its roots in fairs and festivals and not a celebration of excess," Shea said. "It's a comedic thing -- a combination of Coney Island hucksterism and sports commentary."
Janus said criticism of his sport demonstrates that people misunderstand the nation's obesity problem.
"Most of us are pretty thin and in pretty good shape. To say we're bad examples is misleading," the 5-foot-10, 165-pound Janus said.
A 30-year-old stock trader from New York City, he competes in about 30 contests a year and holds records in several categories, including tamales (71 in 12 minutes) and cannoli (28 in 6 minutes).
Dr. Lee Kaplan, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Center in Boston, said concerns over the link between the contests and obesity aren't well founded.
"I think these competitions are somewhat caricatures of eating behavior ... and don't have much relevance to the obesity problem," he said.
Brian Wansink, a food science and psychology professor at Cornell University, compared competitive eaters to other extreme athletes.
"It's the same sort of person who, let's say, would train really hard and compete really hard in a marathon," said Wansink, author of "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think."
"It has the same level of competitiveness and compulsiveness," he said. "One we label crazy and one we label as noble, but in reality it's the same sort of process that drives both these people."
Shea said there's no reason to be embarrassed about such events.
"Seeing these guys go at a 20 pound turkey is like poetry," he said. "It's like a dance."
Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts
Monday, December 3, 2007
How Thais Prevent Vote Buying
From solemn Buddhist prayers and "black magic" rituals to stiffer fines and longer jail terms, Thailand is going to extraordinary lengths to ensure a clean election this month.
Few analysts believe it will make any difference in the Southeast Asia nation with a long history of patronage and rampant vote buying.
But Kasem Wattanatham, election chief in the northeast province of Buriram, hopes supernatural forces will prevail where more worldly efforts to fight vote fraud do not.
Kasem called in a 90-year-old faith healer to lead 200 officials and police in a "black magic" ceremony where they swore not to breach election laws.
"We are all Buddhist. We all believe in supernatural powers," he said before the faith healer led the group in prayers inviting spirits and gods to hear their oath.
"I will show no bias toward any party or politicians. If I show any bias then I deserve any karma that may come to myself and family," the group chanted.
"If I perform my duties righteously, then may my family and I (will) be happy and prosperous."
Academics estimate up to 20 billion baht ($600 million) will be spent on handouts, gifts and bribes to voters in the December 23 election held more than a year after the bloodless coup that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The coup leaders who promised to clean up Thai politics after ousting the former billionaire telecoms tycoon have made eradicating vote buying a top priority.
Last month, in a ceremony organized by election officials at Bangkok's most sacred Buddhist temple, representatives from 11 political parties took an oath pledging to refrain from vote buying.
Few analysts believe it will make any difference in the Southeast Asia nation with a long history of patronage and rampant vote buying.
But Kasem Wattanatham, election chief in the northeast province of Buriram, hopes supernatural forces will prevail where more worldly efforts to fight vote fraud do not.
Kasem called in a 90-year-old faith healer to lead 200 officials and police in a "black magic" ceremony where they swore not to breach election laws.
"We are all Buddhist. We all believe in supernatural powers," he said before the faith healer led the group in prayers inviting spirits and gods to hear their oath.
"I will show no bias toward any party or politicians. If I show any bias then I deserve any karma that may come to myself and family," the group chanted.
"If I perform my duties righteously, then may my family and I (will) be happy and prosperous."
Academics estimate up to 20 billion baht ($600 million) will be spent on handouts, gifts and bribes to voters in the December 23 election held more than a year after the bloodless coup that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The coup leaders who promised to clean up Thai politics after ousting the former billionaire telecoms tycoon have made eradicating vote buying a top priority.
Last month, in a ceremony organized by election officials at Bangkok's most sacred Buddhist temple, representatives from 11 political parties took an oath pledging to refrain from vote buying.
Voting, Siberian Style
For some Siberian voters, election day began with a dip in an ice-cold river.
"Cold water invigorates. We are making our choice with a healthy body and healthy mind," Alexander Zelyenetsky, leader of the "Polar Bears" swimming club in the Siberian region of Altai, said after emerging through a hole in the ice of a local river.
His choice, like that of many others in Russia, is Vladimir Putin. The 55-year-old president is by far Russia's most popular politician after presiding over eight years of an economic boom.
Pollsters say Putin's United Russia party -- which also boasts a polar bear as its logo -- will win an overwhelming victory in Sunday's parliamentary election.
Lyudmila Pistsova, a 28-year-old accountant in the Altai regional capital Barnaul, also cast her vote for the party that has put Putin top of its list of candidates.
"It seems like the only party that can really help our region," she said.
The ballot is seen as a referendum on Putin, who aims to retain influence after stepping down as president in early 2008 and says a strong mandate from voters will give him that right.
Voters in Altai, a region nested between the Kazakh steppe and the mountains after which it is named, arrived early. They ate cheap pastries sold at polling stations and enjoyed a 10 percent discount offered by tailors and cobblers nearby.
"Cold water invigorates. We are making our choice with a healthy body and healthy mind," Alexander Zelyenetsky, leader of the "Polar Bears" swimming club in the Siberian region of Altai, said after emerging through a hole in the ice of a local river.
His choice, like that of many others in Russia, is Vladimir Putin. The 55-year-old president is by far Russia's most popular politician after presiding over eight years of an economic boom.
Pollsters say Putin's United Russia party -- which also boasts a polar bear as its logo -- will win an overwhelming victory in Sunday's parliamentary election.
Lyudmila Pistsova, a 28-year-old accountant in the Altai regional capital Barnaul, also cast her vote for the party that has put Putin top of its list of candidates.
"It seems like the only party that can really help our region," she said.
The ballot is seen as a referendum on Putin, who aims to retain influence after stepping down as president in early 2008 and says a strong mandate from voters will give him that right.
Voters in Altai, a region nested between the Kazakh steppe and the mountains after which it is named, arrived early. They ate cheap pastries sold at polling stations and enjoyed a 10 percent discount offered by tailors and cobblers nearby.
98 Year Old Geisha
Pictures of Kokin graced newspapers across Japan after her 98th birthday this year.
But Kokin wasn't too thrilled with the festivities focused on her age, for she is a geisha, elegant entertainers of traditional music and dance usually feted for their grace and pretty looks.
"I was given a red blanket and cushion, but I've put them away somewhere," Kokin told Reuters in an interview, referring to the gifts traditionally given to the elderly.
"It was mortifying," added Kokin, her small frame wrapped in an olive-green kimono with a pink sash and her hair styled.
Her hands wrinkled and her hearing faltering, Kokin nonetheless takes pride in being Japan's oldest practicing geisha, preserving a tradition which is fast losing its popularity in the modern age of hostess clubs and karaoke.
Born Kayo Kaburaki on September 24, 1909, Kokin became an apprentice geisha as a young teenager in Tokyo and almost quit not long into her career at the time of World War Two.
"When I became a geisha, the war intensified. I thought of quitting and marrying someone, but he was sent to Sumatra.
"He never came back."
Since then she has worked hard, training in music and dance during the day and livening up dinner parties at night.
Contrary to perceptions that geishas are prostitutes, they are entertainers trained in classical arts who also pamper the elite by pouring sake and engaging in witty conversation.
Long ago, she recalls, geishas were the object of constant affection among men with the aesthetic ideal of "iki", which included playfulness, who hired the entertainers by the time it took for an incense stick to burn out.
"I would be cooling myself on a bench in the summer with nothing to do, and someone would ask me if I was free and offer to pay for one incense stick.
"People would ask for me, even if it was just for an hour."
But Kokin wasn't too thrilled with the festivities focused on her age, for she is a geisha, elegant entertainers of traditional music and dance usually feted for their grace and pretty looks.
"I was given a red blanket and cushion, but I've put them away somewhere," Kokin told Reuters in an interview, referring to the gifts traditionally given to the elderly.
"It was mortifying," added Kokin, her small frame wrapped in an olive-green kimono with a pink sash and her hair styled.
Her hands wrinkled and her hearing faltering, Kokin nonetheless takes pride in being Japan's oldest practicing geisha, preserving a tradition which is fast losing its popularity in the modern age of hostess clubs and karaoke.
Born Kayo Kaburaki on September 24, 1909, Kokin became an apprentice geisha as a young teenager in Tokyo and almost quit not long into her career at the time of World War Two.
"When I became a geisha, the war intensified. I thought of quitting and marrying someone, but he was sent to Sumatra.
"He never came back."
Since then she has worked hard, training in music and dance during the day and livening up dinner parties at night.
Contrary to perceptions that geishas are prostitutes, they are entertainers trained in classical arts who also pamper the elite by pouring sake and engaging in witty conversation.
Long ago, she recalls, geishas were the object of constant affection among men with the aesthetic ideal of "iki", which included playfulness, who hired the entertainers by the time it took for an incense stick to burn out.
"I would be cooling myself on a bench in the summer with nothing to do, and someone would ask me if I was free and offer to pay for one incense stick.
"People would ask for me, even if it was just for an hour."
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Giant Truffle Auction Goes for $330,000
A Macau casino mogul bid a record $330,00 at auction Saturday to win a giant white truffle dug up in Tuscany, organizers said.
Billionaire Stanley Ho made the winning bid for the 3.3 pound truffle during an auction staged simultaneously in Florence, London and at Ho's Grand Lisboa hotel in Macau, said auction organizer Giselle Oberti.
The price bested the previous record for a truffle of $212,000, she said.
The unusually heavy truffle was dug up last week by truffle hunter Cristiano Savini, his father Luciano and dog Rocco in Palaia, a town about 25 miles from Pisa. The Savinis said Rocco started sniffing "like crazy" when he zeroed in on the fungus.
Guinness World Records lists a 2.86 pound white truffle found in Croatia in 1999 as the biggest.
Truffles usually weigh from 1 to 2.8 ounces apiece. Slivers of white truffles, with their strong aroma, are prized in Italy to flavor pasta sauces and rice dishes.
Proceeds from the auction were to go to an Italian organization that helps sufferers of genetic diseases, a group that helps street children in London and Catholic charities in Macau.
Calls to Ho weren't immediately returned late Saturday.
Billionaire Stanley Ho made the winning bid for the 3.3 pound truffle during an auction staged simultaneously in Florence, London and at Ho's Grand Lisboa hotel in Macau, said auction organizer Giselle Oberti.
The price bested the previous record for a truffle of $212,000, she said.
The unusually heavy truffle was dug up last week by truffle hunter Cristiano Savini, his father Luciano and dog Rocco in Palaia, a town about 25 miles from Pisa. The Savinis said Rocco started sniffing "like crazy" when he zeroed in on the fungus.
Guinness World Records lists a 2.86 pound white truffle found in Croatia in 1999 as the biggest.
Truffles usually weigh from 1 to 2.8 ounces apiece. Slivers of white truffles, with their strong aroma, are prized in Italy to flavor pasta sauces and rice dishes.
Proceeds from the auction were to go to an Italian organization that helps sufferers of genetic diseases, a group that helps street children in London and Catholic charities in Macau.
Calls to Ho weren't immediately returned late Saturday.
Get Jailed for Tight Clothing This Winter
Iranian police will crack down on women in Tehran flouting Islamic dress codes with winter fashions deemed immodest, such as tight trousers tucked into long boots, an officer was quoted as saying on Saturday.
"Considering the start of the cold season and its special way of dressing, police will start early next week a drive against women who wear improper dress," Tehran police chief Ahmad Reza Radan was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.
"Tight trousers tucked inside long boots while wearing short overcoats are against Islamic codes," the police chief said.
"Wearing a hat or cap instead of scarves is also against Islamic dress codes."
Police officials were not immediately available for comment. The Iranian week begins on Saturday.
Police regularly clamp down on skimpier clothing and looser headscarves in the summer. Usually this is for just a few weeks but this year the campaign has run into the autumn.
There has not recently been a move against winter fashion.
Enforcement of Islamic dress codes that require women to cover their hair and disguise the shape of their body with loose overcoats has become progressively sterner since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005.
Women found dressing inappropriately may be warned or, particularly for repeat offenders, can be taken to a police station and fined. Police this year have also cracked down on men sporting what are considered "Western" spiked haircuts.
"Considering the start of the cold season and its special way of dressing, police will start early next week a drive against women who wear improper dress," Tehran police chief Ahmad Reza Radan was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.
"Tight trousers tucked inside long boots while wearing short overcoats are against Islamic codes," the police chief said.
"Wearing a hat or cap instead of scarves is also against Islamic dress codes."
Police officials were not immediately available for comment. The Iranian week begins on Saturday.
Police regularly clamp down on skimpier clothing and looser headscarves in the summer. Usually this is for just a few weeks but this year the campaign has run into the autumn.
There has not recently been a move against winter fashion.
Enforcement of Islamic dress codes that require women to cover their hair and disguise the shape of their body with loose overcoats has become progressively sterner since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005.
Women found dressing inappropriately may be warned or, particularly for repeat offenders, can be taken to a police station and fined. Police this year have also cracked down on men sporting what are considered "Western" spiked haircuts.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Watch Out for What You Might Get for Christmas
The International Rhino Foundation has come up with a unique gift for under the Christmas tree that stands out from most of the other charity gifts on other -- rhino poop.
From Friday, the foundation will start an auction on eBay for four separate pieces of rhino dung, representing the four species of rhino living in zoos across the United States -- the White Rhino, Black Rhino, Sumatran Rhino and Indian Rhino.
The only rhino species not represented is the Javan Rhino which is so rare with only 60-75 of this species still around that obtaining dung was not possible.
"Everyone knows about rhinos, but not everyone knows that they are disappearing from the earth," said International Rhino Foundation Executive Director Dr. Susie Ellis in a statement.
"It might sound silly, but the money raised by the rhino poop auction will benefit conservation programs, raise awareness, and help us to save rhinos."
The top bid is expected for the poop from the Sumatran Rhino, which is the rarest of the four on offer with only 275 of them estimated to be remaining. The opening bid? $500.
From Friday, the foundation will start an auction on eBay for four separate pieces of rhino dung, representing the four species of rhino living in zoos across the United States -- the White Rhino, Black Rhino, Sumatran Rhino and Indian Rhino.
The only rhino species not represented is the Javan Rhino which is so rare with only 60-75 of this species still around that obtaining dung was not possible.
"Everyone knows about rhinos, but not everyone knows that they are disappearing from the earth," said International Rhino Foundation Executive Director Dr. Susie Ellis in a statement.
"It might sound silly, but the money raised by the rhino poop auction will benefit conservation programs, raise awareness, and help us to save rhinos."
The top bid is expected for the poop from the Sumatran Rhino, which is the rarest of the four on offer with only 275 of them estimated to be remaining. The opening bid? $500.
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