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Dec. 21st, 2006 02:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alonewiththemoonI can't stop eating these Lebanese pastries that were sent to our office--they're just phyllo dough, butter, ground cashews and honey, but I am the greediest bear in the forest when it comes to honey, and I'm so rumbly in my tummy...
There was a very interesting article in the Boston Globe today about the discovery in mice and men that certain gut bacteria can have a strong effect on weight and obesity. More of the bacteria is found in the gut of overweight individuals, though they aren't sure yet if the bacteria causes a state of obesity or if a state of obesity causes excess bacterial growth. Either way, according to the article those individuals with more of this bacteria actually derived more calories from the same serving of food as individuals with a normal amount of bacteria, hence putting on more weight. Of course this makes me think of roly poly Ronan, who is eating no more than an adult ferret should eat in a day yet continues to be significantly overweight. Obviously ferrets are not mice or people, but we all share a lot of the same gut flora and fauna, and we know for a fact that other bacteria populations in his gut are abnormal. I suppose not enough is known about this bacteria (Firmicutes, it's called) to be able to act on the information even if we knew this was part of his problem, but it would be nice to have some rational explanation for something about that ferret.
Watched the movie (yes! another movie in two weeks!) Skins last night--it was a little overtly didactic at some points but I recommend it. It's about two brothers on the Pine Ridge Lakota Reservation, both Vietnam vets (or maybe just one, not sure) who have gone in very different directions in their lives. One's a drunk (but possibly a holy drunk) and one is a tribal police officer who has been marked by Iktome (actually, interesting to see that this movie is listed as a reference in the wikipedia article, it does show how belief is integrated into life very well). It's a good slice of life movie, and even the didactic bits are forgivable because the people delivering the lines--all Native American actors--obviously care about what they are saying in a way that you don't generally see in a film. Also, Graham Greene is a tremendous actor. He's probably best known for the role of Chief Kicking Bird in Dances with Wolves, but that's nothing compared to a lot of his other work, especially in Native productions. Knowing just a little bit about his personal life makes me think that this role must have been very close to his heart. It was also nice to see Tina Keeper again in a small role, who I loved in North of 60 (I suspect that will not be familiar to anyone who is not Canadian). Hey, according to IMDB she's a member of the Canadian Parliament now! Go her!
Side note: anything to do with Native Americans/First Nations inevitably makes me a bit sad about the way my grand academic career in anthropology turned out. Nothing I can do about that. But if I'm not out there teaching and researching, at least I can recommend things like this movie that are in my opinion good representations of some of the realities of Native American/First Nations life today to help keep their issues in the cultural mainstream... and my LJ may reach more people than some Ph.D thesis would have anyway...
There was a very interesting article in the Boston Globe today about the discovery in mice and men that certain gut bacteria can have a strong effect on weight and obesity. More of the bacteria is found in the gut of overweight individuals, though they aren't sure yet if the bacteria causes a state of obesity or if a state of obesity causes excess bacterial growth. Either way, according to the article those individuals with more of this bacteria actually derived more calories from the same serving of food as individuals with a normal amount of bacteria, hence putting on more weight. Of course this makes me think of roly poly Ronan, who is eating no more than an adult ferret should eat in a day yet continues to be significantly overweight. Obviously ferrets are not mice or people, but we all share a lot of the same gut flora and fauna, and we know for a fact that other bacteria populations in his gut are abnormal. I suppose not enough is known about this bacteria (Firmicutes, it's called) to be able to act on the information even if we knew this was part of his problem, but it would be nice to have some rational explanation for something about that ferret.
Watched the movie (yes! another movie in two weeks!) Skins last night--it was a little overtly didactic at some points but I recommend it. It's about two brothers on the Pine Ridge Lakota Reservation, both Vietnam vets (or maybe just one, not sure) who have gone in very different directions in their lives. One's a drunk (but possibly a holy drunk) and one is a tribal police officer who has been marked by Iktome (actually, interesting to see that this movie is listed as a reference in the wikipedia article, it does show how belief is integrated into life very well). It's a good slice of life movie, and even the didactic bits are forgivable because the people delivering the lines--all Native American actors--obviously care about what they are saying in a way that you don't generally see in a film. Also, Graham Greene is a tremendous actor. He's probably best known for the role of Chief Kicking Bird in Dances with Wolves, but that's nothing compared to a lot of his other work, especially in Native productions. Knowing just a little bit about his personal life makes me think that this role must have been very close to his heart. It was also nice to see Tina Keeper again in a small role, who I loved in North of 60 (I suspect that will not be familiar to anyone who is not Canadian). Hey, according to IMDB she's a member of the Canadian Parliament now! Go her!
Side note: anything to do with Native Americans/First Nations inevitably makes me a bit sad about the way my grand academic career in anthropology turned out. Nothing I can do about that. But if I'm not out there teaching and researching, at least I can recommend things like this movie that are in my opinion good representations of some of the realities of Native American/First Nations life today to help keep their issues in the cultural mainstream... and my LJ may reach more people than some Ph.D thesis would have anyway...
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Skins
Date: 2006-12-21 08:27 pm (UTC)