Into the Belly of the Beast

A TernLittle did I know that when I was asked to get some whole wheat French bread on the way home, that it would lead me into the belly of the Beast. But I promise to leave no tern unstoned in my search for blogging excellence, so I share with you the experience.

As I approached the Beast, I noticed a man on a motorcycle. As any good citizen would, he wore a proper helmet. I would even say a friendly helmet. On it was a skeletal hand with one finger raised in salute. I salute you too, random citizen of Babylon.

I had to park a long way away from the Beast. I wish I could say I was using the trick I learned in diet class of parking far away from the store for the exercise, but it was just that the Beast was busy. It must have been someone's birthday or something. Outside the Beast was a women dressed in red who said hi to everyone who entered. She even had a bucket on a tripod for cigarette butts. I do not smoke so I just smiled.

In the store was popcorn in metal tins. It seemed a strange way to buy popcorn, but since there were Disney Princesses on them, how could I say no? It is for the children. (Yes I was correct, the popcorn was a big hit at my house.) 

After finding the wheat bread, I decided that we had peppers at home that needed stuffing. I paid a premium for the low fat type of ground meat, as the fat will be absorbed into the pepper as it cooks. I know that the fat is artificially added to the ground meat in order to reduce the quality and make more money, but I am sure that Babylon has my best interest in mind. My health is important to them!

I went down the "beer" isle. I use the quotation marks since you cannot call the alcoholized water the Beast sells beer. I bought Asti Spumante for New Year's Day. This is a big day in any Russian household so I need to be ready.

It seemed that everyone and his brother was in line to check out. I had less than 20 items so I could go to the slightly faster lane. As I left I saw a different woman in a blue vest at the exit. What a boring job I thought. But on reconsideration, with Obama as president, this might be a premier job in our near future. I smiled at her, she smiled at me and said, "Thanks for shopping at Walmart."

Country and Comedy Classics

My favorite record album when I was a kid was Songs of the West That the Children Love Best. Even though I was a cowboy for a time, this never translated into a desire to listen to country music. Although I do have an affection (although my kids considered it an “affliction,” if I made them listen to it) for Blue Grass music. 

So when I came across this clip from an old Johnny Cash Show where Marty Robbins sings a medley of his classics, I thought that some might enjoy it. Here it is. 

But in my own whimsical way, I thought you might also like Steve Martin's “cover” of Marty Robbins most famous song, El Paso. 

This naturally leads to Steve Martin’s first TV special. Here is part 1. 

There are a lot of questionable things on YouTube, but with discretion, YouTube can be a part of leaving Babylon the Great’s entertainment industry as a consumer of advertising. You would be surprised at the large variety of videos there. Netflix can also be a part of this. Yes, that might mean waiting for 6 months for your favorite series, but that really should not be a problem. Personally I prefer to watch a whole season over a few weeks, especially when the series has a story arc. 

Do Not Watch The Ads. They are affecting you. 

That is a central point to leaving Babylon the Great.  

Another Brick in the Wall

What Babylon wants most is to have you a part of the system. While we might wish not to be a part of the system, in fact this is not practicable unless you do a Ted Kazinsky and live in a shack in the woods. No I am not advocating anyone become a crazed lunatic. 

But, and you knew that had to be a but, the issue is an important one, even if a certain percentage of those that understand the issue wear aluminum foil hats. 

I am advocating that you leave Babylon metaphorically. Even this is hard to do. 

There are many techniques I have mentioned for the past two years I have been blogging. Let me list some of them. 

Babylon at its worst. Pay cash. By doing this you opt out of a portion of the system. Of course, I will on occasion use a credit card, especially when I purchase things on line—also buying gas. I am seriously thinking about limiting my online purchases to things that are not available locally. 

Cancel cable television. The main issue for me is consumerism, so I want to avoid the ads. They really affect you more than you think. Why can I sing this? “Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.” My younger readers may not know this, but anyone who watched network TV in the 70’s will. I must admit I forgot the pickles and had to google it, but still I remembered an old ad I have not seen in at least 30 years. 

The ads do affect you. 

If you decide to continue with cable, be sure to get a DVR and fast forward all the commercials. When I watched football, this was particularly helpful. I would watch the game starting an hour late and fast forward through the boring stuff and commercials and finish the game about the same time as the game finished in real life. I gained one hour of life!  

Dish TV has an interesting DVR that automatically removes the commercials. Get it. 

Have a game night. I must admit I have not done this consistently. Currently we are playing Russian Bingo a few times a week. 

I am sure you can think of many ways to “leave Babylon” in your own life. It is worth doing. 

Of course, one of the major areas you need to leave, to leave Babylon, is the education system. This Pink Floyd video succinctly illustrates that system. 

Yes, Babylon, Leave those kids alone. 

The Corporation

Remember that the fact I post this does not mean I agree with it. I think we can place a lot of our problems on corporations where ownership and control are vested in different people. I do not agree with the solutions that these producers would suggest, but I do agree with them on the problem.

They’re Magically Delicious

The idea behind this commercial is to relive one’s youth through cereal consumption. Do we really care that now it is “whole” wheat? It is still a huge sugar load that will eventually zap your energy when your blood sugar level crashes. The reason that so many dietitians advocate many meals a day, or substantial snacks, is that eating products like this lead to sugar highs and crashes. You need a snack at 11 and 3 to keep up your sugar level in the blood. But if you have meals higher in protein and fat, the meal stays with you. 

Experiment on yourself. Have a high cereal/carbohydrate breakfast and see how hungry you feel at 11. Then the next day have a higher fat breakfast like eggs with meat and see how you feel at 11. Most people will be less hungry. 

Why do the cereal companies want you to eat their product? Obviously they make money. 

Cereal	Per Box	Per Ounce
Quaker Oatmeal	2.19	12.2
Grape-Nuts	3.49	14.5
Pop-Tarts	2.19	15.6
Raisin Bran	3.43	17.2
Quaker Natural	5.29	18.0
Quaker Crunchy Corn Bran	2.99	18.7
Corn Flakes	3.39	18.8
Wheaties	3.99	22.2
Shredded Wheat	3.69	24.6
Cocoa Puffs	3.69	24.6
Froot Loops	3.69	24.6
Cheerios	3.79	25.3
Frosted Flakes	3.79	25.3
Corn Pops	4.07	27.1
Kix	4.99	27.7
Rice Krispies	3.79	28.1
Cinnamon Toast Crunch	4.25	30.4
Special K	3.79	31.6

http://www.amyx.org/wazfag/cereal.htm

Here is what the author of this chart had to say about boxed cereal costs:

Normally one would not eat these colors. How do the prices of cereal compare to other foods, like meat?  Well, whole chicken, at $1.29 per pound, is 8.1 cents per ounce; chuck roast, bone in, is 12.4 (both cheaper than Raisin Bran); New York steak is 40.6 cents per ounce; and top round (London broil) is 24.3.  I suppose we might expect a higher quality cut of meat to be more expensive than breakfast cereal, but it could come as a shock to learn that for the same price you pay for Cocoa Puffs or Froot Loops, you could be eating London broil.  Either that, or you can’t compare Raisin Bran and roast beef.

While these figures are from 1999, I doubt that the relative comparison has changed much. 

Try a little experiment the next time you go to the grocery store. Take a calculator, or use your phone and take the price of the boxed cereal and divide by the ounces—then multiple by 16. That is the price per pound. Then go to the meat department and compare. 

I did this in the mountain community where I live. The Lucky Charms cost $6.66 a pound. Hmm. 

The most expensive cuts of meat were 8 to 12 dollars per pound. Perfectly fine sirloin was $4.99, and you could get 2 pounds of chicken for $6. Or one could get 2 1/2 dozen eggs instead of one pound of that cereal. Lucky Charms were not a good value. 

No, this post is not about health, although I will tag it as health. I will also tag it as what this post is really about—propaganda. 

Whenever you see an ad, for anything, they are trying to persuade you to buy a product. Advertising is expensive. Only brands with high profit margins are going to be advertised by the manufacturer. (Of course there are ads by retailers that advertise a product at a cheap price to get you into the store. You can do well if you take an ad, buy those items in the ad that you need, and then leave the store. The store will lose money. Do this to every store and then shop for those items not on sale that you still need.)

Quit watching ad-supported entertainment as much as you can. It is not free, it costs you more than paying for your entertainment. You may think you are not being influenced, but you are. This is a part of leaving Babylon the Great. 

I will talk about propaganda this week. Tomorrow I will have an old video from the 50’s that talks about propaganda.