"Hey, mom, Baskin Robbins has dollar scoops on Tuesday! Milt's mom will take us!" #2 Son was so excited.

"Sure, go ahead," I told him as he showed me his $2.

"Wow," Bigger Girl commented. "It really is cheaper to eat badly and get fat, isn't it?"

The number of calories consumed by the average person living in the US increased by almost 1,000 between 1960 and 2000. Almost 90% of that increase was in calories from sugar, processed white flour, and cheap processed oils. Those are also the cheapest foods per calorie.

This doesn't even address the experiment that showed, for rats at least, that it is easier to become addicted to white sugar than to cocaine.

I make sure my kids eat fruits and veggies and whole grains and and and ...

Not every parent does.

Does our society stand a chance?


Today is

Georgia Independence Restoration Day

Grey Day

Independence Day, Guyana

National Blueberry Cheesecake Day

National Death Busters Day

National Heroes Day, Turks and Caicos Islands

National Senior Health and Fitness Day

Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianole Day, Hawai'i

Sally Ride Day

Scripps National Spelling Bee, today and tomorrow

St. Augustine of Canterbury's Day (patron of England)

St. Leonard's Day

St. Philip Neri's Day (patron of Rome)

St. Quadratus' Day


Anniversaries Today:

Boston University is founded by the Massachusetts legislature, 1869


Birthdays Today:

Helena Bonham Carter, 1966
Lenny Kravitz, 1964
Sally Ride, 1951
Pam Grier, 1949
Philip Michael Thomas, 1949
Hank Williams, Jr., 1949
Stevie Nicks, 1948
Brent Musburger, 1939
Miles Davis, 1926
James Arness, 1923
Peggy Lee, 1920
Jay Silverheels, 1919
Frankie Manning, 1914
Peter Cushing, 1913
Robert Morley, 1908
John Wayne, 1907
Dorothea Lange, 1895
Al Jolson, 1886


Today in History:

Armenian rebels battle the Sassanid empire and win the right to openly practice Christianity, 451
An earthquake strikes Kamakura, Japan, killing about 30,000, 1293
Geneva expels John Calvin and his followers from the city, 1538
Alse Young becomes the first person executed as a witch in the American colonies, 1647
Lewis and Clark first see the Rocky Mountains, 1805
The Indian Removal Act is passed by the U.S. Congress, 1830
Dred Scott is emancipated by the Blow family, his original owners, 1857
The impeachment trial of U.S. President Andrew Johnson ends with Johnson being found not guilty by one vote, 1868
Nicholas II becomes Tsar of Russia, 1894
Charles Dow publishes the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 1896
The first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made, 1908
The world's longest-lasting tornado, lasting for over 7 hours and traveling 293 miles, strikes Mattoon, Illinois, 1917
British Guiana gains independence, becoming Guyana, 1966
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake strikes Japan, triggering a tsunami that kills at least 104 people, injures thousands. Many people go missing and thousands of buildings are destroyed, 1983
The European Community adopts the European flag, 1986
Sherpa Lakpa Gelu climbs Mount Everest in 10 hours 56 minutes, 2003
The May 2006 Java earthquake kills over 5,700 people, leaves 200,000 homeless, 2006