greatest human being ever

Ok, when you read the title of this installment, what name came to your mind? Plato? Moses? Jesus? Or, perhaps, more recent people, such as…Lincoln? Ghandi? Mother Teresa? Pres. Obama?

Well, any might have been a decent choice. (Except Mother Teresa. She was a sadist taking money from well-intentioned people – including myself! - to build schools to teach others how to enjoy watching poor people suffer and die. But, I digress.) Well, any of them would be the wrong choice. The greatest human being who ever lived has to be Norman Borlaug.

You’ve never heard of him? Neither had I until I watched ‘Penn & Teller: Bullshit!’. In the eleventh episode of their first season, Penn & Teller make the case that Norman Borlaug is the greatest human being of all time, because this Nobel Peace Prize, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Congressional Gold Medal, National Medal of Science recipient is responsible for saving the lives of a billion people. That’s right, a BILLION!

Receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota (Minnesota! Woo hoo!), Dr. Borlaug went on to use his knowledge and scientific acumen to develop food grains that would grow better in harsh conditions and produce more food to feed the impoverished peoples throughout the world. Not only did he genetically engineer the plants to increase production, but he also made it so the plants would produce more nutritious food.

He’s not without detractors, but their criticism is unwarranted. From what I understand, most of the criticism comes from people who think bio-engineering food is evil and dangerous. Their ignorance leads them to believe that we should only eat organic, locally grown food. The fact that these detractors all have full stomachs and, probably, wouldn’t volunteer to being included in the one third of the world’s population that would have to die in order to go totally organic, should be kept in mind whenever you hear them protest “frankenfood”.

Dr. Norman Borlaug, who died this past Saturday, September 12^th, was a giant and we should have a world-wide holiday in his honor.

9/11/09

Eight years. No attacks on American soil.

Thank you!

nostalgia attack! paul mccartney & wings' 'my love'

Memory is a funny thing. It’s also very tricky. It’s fluid and malleable. Memories can be implanted or modified. Memory is a funny thing.

Take, for instance, a memory I hold to this day surrounding Paul McCartney & Wings’ number one hit song, ‘My Love’. The song was written by Paul about his wife Linda (to whom, if she hadn’t died, Paul would still be happily married) and released in March 1973. At the time, I was 9 years-old.

Although the song was commercially successful, from what I gather, it wasn’t highly thought of critically. It is a fairly light and sugary song by Paul and it might have been the negative critical reaction to ‘My Love’ that inspired Paul to write ‘Silly Love Songs’. Well, be that as it may, I still like the song.

But, I started talking about memory, didn’t I. Here’s what I mean. I have a distinct memory from the summer of 1973 or 1974 involving this song.

I come from a family with four kids: an older brother and sister, then me, and a younger brother. And when we were old enough for the responsibility of chores, we got ‘em. We didn’t have a dishwasher (but, according to my dad, we had four of them.). So, each of us kids would get one week each month in which we had to do the dishes.

We were allowed to listen to the radio, as long as it wasn’t too loud, while we did our chore. We all listened to some Top 40 AM radio station in those days. What I remember is doing the dishes one summer evening, listening to the radio, and on came the song ‘My Love’.

That’s it. It’s weird how something so mundane sticks with you, isn’t it? To this day, whenever I hear that song I think of that moment; standing at the kitchen sink, gazing out the window, washing dishes and listening to Paul McCartney & Wings.

Memory is a funny thing.

I’ve included the video clip for the song.

Aaaaahhh, the 70s. Don’t you just dig Paul’s mullet? Maybe ‘My Love’ is a silly love song, but what’s wrong with that?

hey, would you like to buy a monkey?

In 1965, you could buy a live spider monkey for only $18.95 through the mail. Was that a good idea? I know the ad states that a spider monkey can make "an adorable pet and companion", but a monkey? As always you shouldn't believe everything you see in advertising.

The ad guarantees a live delivery. Along with the monkey you'll get a free cage, a free leather collar and leash, a free monkey toy and monkey care instructions. I have my doubts as to how good those instructions are, because the ad tells us that spider monkeys eat the same food we do, even lollipops! A staple of any primate's diet.

I wonder how many kids scraped up the $18.95 and purchased a "darling live pet monkey" through this ad in the back of a comic book. Without informing Mom and Dad. Must have been a pleasant surprise.

And live seahorses! A buck apiece! What a bargain!