How Much Is Your Dead Body Worth?

Sometimes a question is asked that I did not even realize I wanted to know the answer to. And sometimes that question is also answered. That is the case with this documentary film aptly titled, "How Much Is Your Dead Body Worth?" The title really jumps off of the screen, right? You can view the whole documentary here at the awesome website Top Documentary Films. Yep, that's an easy bookmark if you didn't already know about that site. They have many documentary films you can stream for free right from their site.So I have a question for the makers of this documentary or the modern-day grave robbers that make all these millions of dollars on cadavers- if the body is fatter is it worth more? Do you guys pay by the pound? The reason I ask is because I know a lot of fat people. Also, in what sort of condition do you guys accept bodies? Do I have to kill people myself or do you have some sort of Saw III torture deaths planned out?
Through the magic of embedded video you can now view this entire documentary directly from The Nonpopulist.

KFC's Double Down: My Experience

The new Double Down sandwich from KFC has been getting a lot of attention (mostly negative) with its nationwide release this past Monday, April 12th. The sandwich is unique in that it is a sandwich with no bread, but instead 2 chicken breasts holding the contents of bacon, cheese, and a special sauce that I think is some sort of mayonnaise base. I have heard all of the negative comments people have made such as, "This is the reason America is fat." Well, no, this sandwich just became a reality so all of the overeating and lack of exercise before this point is technically what made America fat. I admit this sandwich will probably not help the obesity of America, but I still had to try it for the novelty. I did the same when I heard about the double mcgangbang sandwich from McDonald's which they don't advertise but should, and I wrote a post about that, so why not do the same with my Double Down experience?
Once I get my food from the drive-thru (which took a while) I open the box so that I may behold the behemoth. It looks big, and it should be big because the combo meal was $6.99. You have priced me out for the future already charging that much, KFC. On my way home I remember that when I tried the double mcgangbang (can't type that enough) I got a Sparks from the gas station. I remember I'm out of beer so that's a good enough excuse to stop and pick up a Sparks while I'm at it. Yay, now it's a tradition. If you've never had Sparks it's a malt liquor energy drink. I highly recommend them. You can learn more by going to a gas station and picking one up. On the way home I can't help but try one of the fries. I don't go to KFC all that much so I had no idea their fries were so good. They're more like potato wedges actually. When I get home and get ready to start eating I realize the Double Down doesn't look all that big. The flavor of the breading on the chicken is good, but I can do without the sauce on the sandwich. Midway through I am starting to feel my stomach fill up. No need for dinner tonight.

I have also drunk most of the Sparks at this point so I am starting to feel a little buzz and the carbonation bubbles are taking up precious room in my gullet. I finish the sandwich and fries and lean back and pray that this monster digests. Overall I give the sandwich a B-, but the experience an A-. People need to calm down about this sandwich. Most people that actually try one will not go back a second time. I won't. Health nuts need to calm down in general. I'm not saying we should all be fat tubs, but anyone can die in a car accident. Limiting your calorie intake and working out two hours a day for your whole life won't matter much then, will it?

The Double McGangBang Is an Epic Win

No, it's not a Ronald McDonald and Grimace sex tape link. It is an epic combination of items on McDonald's dollar menu that will take days, possibly weeks, off of your life. The Double McGangBang is a McDonald's McChicken Sandwich inside of a double cheeseburger. I was so fascinated when I first heard about it via this link from Gunaxin (although I think they got it from somewhere else but I'm not laboring through the internet link trail since I feel arteries hardening at this point) that I had to try it for myself. I, of course, have photo documentation.

Yes, I got a Sparks for lunch. Don't judge me! My initial thoughts are, "Whoa, this is huge. I'm going to have to squish it down to get it in my mouth (That's what she said.) Ah, damnit, there is mayonnaise on the chicken sandwich. I hate mayonnaise, or as I like to call it 'abortion juice,' so much that I forget some people actually like it and restaurants actually put it on sandwiches (not that McDonald's is a restaurant.) Anyway, the taste bouquet is masking the mayo taste well, but after the first two bites I am starting to feel full. I purposely have not eaten anything today and only had coffee and water to drink. This is not feeling good. On alternating bites I am liking the taste and then feeling disgusted with myself. Photo update:

At this point I am glad I did not get any fries, but I am definitely not going to eat the two apple pies I got just because they give you two for one dollar. I am done with the Sparks Red and I have a lump in my stomach. This must be the price all investigative journalists pay to get to the heart of the story. This story is going straight to my heart and hardening on the way. I feel gross. I regret NOTHING!

Health Care Reform Passed. Are We Over or Under Reacting?

I've been trying not to take myself too seriously lately, at least with this blog. No one wants to read some self-important a-hole ranting about politics. That is not fun for anyone, really, and I realize that. The health care reform bill passing last night was an news item of note, however, and it needs commenting on. A few brief precursors:
I am neither a republican or democrat.  I do not claim either crappy party. Politicians are all full of crap, and if you believe any elected official has altruistic intentions then you are living in a fools paradise (not to be confused with a gangster's paradise, Michelle Pfeiffer!)
I think everyone in this country recognizes that health care in this country is messed up. It is too expensive and not everyone has reasonable access to care. But ask yourself, honestly ask yourself, why is this bill or any bill  so long? (over a 1,000 pages, but I could not find a hard number for the version that passed, some sources said over 2,000 pages) Why did the reform need to start off so big? Are there not any simple steps to take to get the ball rolling? Remember that whole thing about how some lawmakers did not get to read the bill? I wonder if they ever got around to it. Simplify stuff so I don't think you're trying to hide something deep in the pork fat folds. I wish I had the time and the drive to read the whole bill. Maybe I will one day.
I listened to CSPAN where people were calling in with opinions on the bill passing. A caller said, "Something is better than nothing." That is solid logic.The threat of this bill of unknown contents is better than leaving the current system intact? I can not be certain of that. And that is where I am at with the bill. We will not really know the long reaching effects of this reform since some of it will take until 2016 to be enacted.
Someone said something poignant on twitter last night that I thought was a great point. Tweeter @DukeBrady said "Repub's think #HCR costs too much. So does war but they never oppose that."
The bottom line is the positive and/or negative effects of this health care reform bill will take time to be seen. Politicians will be politicians and ignore it if it becomes a problem, but hey, maybe it will all work out.*crosses fingers*
This has been too serious to be internet cool so let me end with this. President Obama said last night everyone's voice has been heard. In all fairness, I do not think my voice has been heard. 
"(To no one in particular) Show me your titties!" Now my voice has been heard.
For a real take on the possible long-term effects of the health care reform bill that just passed and where the Obama presidency will go from here read this article by Ben Domenech from New Ledger.

Alzheimer's Will Ravage This Generation

There is good news and bad news. Which do you want first? Good news: According to this ABC News report by Kristina Fiore having a purpose or goals in life has been shown in studies to "stave off" Alzheimer's. Bad news: Nobody has any purpose in life. We mostly sit around on the internet or our smart phones and get dumb waiting for someone to entertain us. Hell, according to this post at the website insidefacebook.com, Mafia Wars has 6.5 million daily active users. Farmville has over 30 million daily active users. 30 million! Sounds like a bunch of self-motivated, goal-oriented people to me. What I am trying to say is there needs to be more Alzheimer's research because we are all going to have it by the time we turn sixty-five.
Am I the only one that thought people were saying old timer's when I was young? It does affect old people so you can see how I could make that mistake. Do some crossword puzzles like my grandmother does, people. And smoke, she smokes too. And eat oranges and Raisin Bran. Hey, you are the one who said you wanted to emulate my grandmother. O, you said impregnate? I think she is all dried up down there, and you are nasty, dude. Seriously nasty.

Smoke 'Em if You Got 'Em

I thought of a funny addition to the title of this article from USA Today. The original title for the article is, "Obama Still Struggling with Smoking." My humerous rewrite would be, "Obama Still Struggling with Smoking, Being President." Boom, roasted. But seriously, folks, I do not have a problem with your praise or criticism of the president as long as it has some factual, political basis. I encourage people to engage in our political discourse even though most facets of our political process are bull crap. So what if he wants to smoke? So what if he wants to quit? I am tired of smoking and smokeless tobacco being demeaned in our culture. Do we not have free will anymore? In many places one can not even light up in a bar to enjoy their smoking with alcohol. What kind of crap is that?
If you are going to criticize the president, why not do it for something substantive, such as trying to ram a version of health care reform to which there has been the largest grassroots opposition since the Vietnam War? Let him smoke in peace. You people are getting on his nerves, sheesh. This is like when people were criticizing the president for filling out a NCAA tournament bracket last year. Give the guy a break. Let him have a little fun. You only work forty hours a week at your job. He should not have to be on the clock all day either. He should get at least an hour lunch and two, fifteen minute smoke breaks.
Politics is not funny, is it?

Nonpopulist's Browsings of the Day

 

Quality link collection if I do say so myself. I meant to burn off some of these last week, but here they are now. Deal with it. If you are that mad about it then leave an angry comment. I will honestly take any comment I can get. I know people read this because I see the page views, but there are too many chickens with too little to add out there. That probably did not help, did it?

The phrase, "That's what she said," has been overused for several months, but somehow it is still funny to me. Sometimes I do not think things are funny until they are run into the ground, though. That is a me problem.[Huffington Post]

Roger Ebert interviews Leonardo DiCaprio.This is a great interview. Even though Shutter Island did well at the box office a lot of people are saying was not good. Good thing that does not affect me. I will see it because of the good will Scorcese and DiCaprio have built up over time and decide for myself. That is the nonpopulist thing to do. [Rogerebert.com]

Just like Grandma used to make. This seems like good news for bacon. Do I have your attention now? Interesting article by Harry Kreisler of Alternet. [Alternet]

U.S. troops being handicapped during Afghan offensive. After watching Generation Kill and knowing all the mistakes that have been made in Iraq and Afghanistan I understand it, but it is still very difficult for the soldiers. [MSNBC]

Liam being Liam. Liam Gallagher of Oasis fame (American translation- the guy who sang Wonderwall) made a twat of himself at the Brit Awards. What's new? I am an unapologetic Oasis fan even though I am an American. I definitely side with Noel in the breakup of the band. [The Telegraph]

Wow. Just read this. A college professor had his students dress up in a Muslim-style veil for a day. [Alternet]

Danny Glover dancing with predators. Nothing to see here. [FilmDrunk]

A touching passage of prose. Read it if you like quality. [Kelly Oxford]

Tom Morello or Rage Against the Machine is still raging against the machine- thank goodness. [OC Weekly]

Talk About 'On the Grid'

CNN did a Fox News impression today releasing a story titled, "The Government Has Your Baby's DNA." Whew, does that not just send shivers down your spine? Brrrr... I was already aware of the baby testing part of this story since I heard an interview a few years ago with former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly in which he talked about infant testing for genetic diseases. Kelly is an advocate for increased testing as a result of his personal experience losing his son to Krabbe disease. On his website dedicated to the issue he has a state-by-state map showing the number of diseases for which each state tests at birth. The testing is obviously not the problem. I know I want my children tested when they (3) are born. The issue is the government keeping the samples indefinitely. That is some X-Files shit right there. Orwell imagined it, and now our government does it. This is not some conspiracy theory that you can look at and laugh that people actually believe "that crap." If I may paraphrase a line or two from one of my favorite movies, No Country for Old Men, "It is the dismal tide. It is not the one thing." A bunch of "isolated incidents" that keep stacking up are not as isolated. I know I am paranoid, but maybe you are not paranoid enough. I realize this was not funny, and I am going to attempt to quit taking myself so seriously.

Nonpopulist's Browsings of the Week

A shortened post this week, the blizzard 2010 is wreaking havoc on my internet. Currently wreaking havoc on my heart- Zooey Deschanel. Her character from season 2 of Weeds where she plays a crazy girl really stirred my pot if you know what I mean. It got me aroused. I was not sure if you were getting it.

From New York Magazine an interview with Nick Offerman (of Parks & Recreation) and Megan Mullally. Parks & Rec is one of the few reasons I turn the channel to NBC anymore. [New York Magazine]

Dan Le Betard of the Miami Herald wrote an interesting piece recently about tagging along with Bryant McKinnie for a night. He was the NFL Pro-Bowler from the Vikings who got kicked off of the team this year. [Miami Herald]

7 Obama quotes. And people made fun of President Bush. [Campaign for Liberty]

Stephen Colbert's poster for the 2010 Olympics. I do not watch the Colbert Report very much anymore, but he can be counted on for funny things such as this. [SB Nation]

An interesting discussion of fighting styles for fitness and self-defense over at The Art of Manliness.

Cover to Cover: House Bill 3200

Someone had the desire and patience to read the entire health care reform bill from which we are currently too distracted to remember how callously this legislation is getting shoved down out throat. Better yet the person who read it is a Constitutional law instructor. Michael Connelly read it and here is a link to an article about the bill from Campaign for Liberty. Big surprise, he found parts of the bill unconstitutional. I better sit down. I am feeling faint. This section is enough to confirm my anger:
The law does provide for rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and other classes of citizens are involved, free health care for illegal immigrants, free abortion services, and probably forced participation in abortions by members of the medical profession.

"The Bill will also eventually force private insurance companies out of business and put everyone into a government run system. All decisions about personal health care will ultimately be made by federal bureaucrats and most of them will not be health care professionals. Hospital admissions, payments to physicians, and allocations of necessary medical devices will be strictly controlled."

That is only the beginning in Connelly's mind. He views as a means of grabbing power and limiting rights. To him the legislation is an egregious violation of no fewer than five of the ten rights in the Bill of Rights. This is scary stuff. This guy actually read the whole bill so I view him as the country's foremost authority on it. What kills me is people are so ready to believe that anything the government or Congress does in the name of health care reform is going to be a magic cure-all. These people do not care about us. They are not interested in making health care affordable or the process equitable for all people. They are only concerned about controlling another aspect of our lives and therefore tightening their grip on us, the people. There is not much time to contact out legislators to let them know that it means their jobs if this thing passes. Anyone who votes in favor of this bill must be voted out of office.

Nonpopulist Year-In-Review: 2009

What? A Christmas Eve post? Yahoo! did an excellent video recapping 2009, and it inspired me to do a cheap imitation. The first post of the Nonpopulist Year-In-Review on politics can be found here. This review segment is on the summer of 2009 which will forever be known as the summer of celebrity deaths. We saw the gamut of figures pass away from sports to political figures to pop culture icons. Walter Cronkite, Farrah Fawcett, Patrick Swayze, Steve McNair, Robert McNamara, Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon, David Caradine, Billy Mays, John Hughes, Les Paul, and Robert Novak all met their end this summer. Some theorize that we will see more periods like this and at an even greater rate since our society now basically microwaves celebrities and eats them like popcorn. Most of that list are well established public figures with the exception of Billy Mays, and I doubt we will all be affected and stop working to watch the funeral of the person that sang "Chocolate Rain" on Youtube.
Here is that cool video Yahoo! did after the jump...

Nonpopulist's Browsings of the Day/Week

Snoop Dogg rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Read that again. He was on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien the other night, and he declared that "the stock was at an all-time high" the day he was there. That is not true, of course, but Conan declared it a sign that the recession is over. That is the best sign I have seen so far. Video below. It is not that impressive other than providing visual evidence. Conan also demoed the Snoop TomTom GPS system when Snoop was on. In a related story I have not wanted a GPS because I thought it would make me weak and too dependent on technology... until NOW.



11 Dangerous Ingredients You Should Avoid at All Costs by Sarah Irani [Alternet.org]

Sage Francis has one of the better online presences as far as musicians go. Well, him and John Mayer are about tied. Sage always surprises me and gives me new reasons to appreciate him. He is doing a middle-of-the-night video chat he calls "Nocturnal Admissions" that I will stay up for one night. Also he and I share many of the same feelings about police officers and how oppressive they are. He keeps track of many examples on the forums on his website. [Strange Famous Records]

Kissing Suzy Kolber is a great website with incessantly creative humor writers. They focus on the NFL and always have something funny on their site. This season they have been doing a series featuring Rex Ryan... pure genius. [Kissing Suzy Kolber]

"Pelosi Backs Off of the Public Option." Wait, they still have not backed off of the whole health care reform bill? They have to realize it will be political suicide if they do not. [Huffington Post]

What We Eat

I enjoy Alternet.org for, you guessed it, alternative news. A story by Brad Reed called The 6 Weirdest, Scariest Processed Foods, caught my eye the other day. I struggle with eating right as many Americans do. Excuse me for wanting my food to taste good. This story by Reed puts a different spin on the struggle to eat right by scaring the shit out of you. He lists spray-can easy cheese number one. I love easy cheese, and although I rarely pick it up at the grocery I may do so even less now that the veil has been pulled back a little on how it is made. The filling in Oreos is also listed, and from the story we learn that not only is that tasty white filling made basically of crisco, but that a lawsuit against Oreos introduced the term trans fats to the public. Way to break new ground and spoil my favorite food to eat with milk, bastards. With new information being revealed about the food we put in our bodies through documentaries such as Food, Inc. and this story by Brad Reed, we need to look hard at ourselves and our obese gullets to decide if eating whatever we want is worth the pain it may cause in the short and long term. I would never eat avocado-free guacamole, though.

Wasn't It Made Clear That Americans Do Not Want HR 3200 Passed?

My least favorite quote from this story [AP via Yahoo.com] about the health care reform bill (HR3200) passing the Senate Finance Committee is, "When history calls, history calls." That out of touch quote was uttered by Maine Republican Olympia Snowe. That makes no sense. You are not penning the Declaration of Independence. What has just left your committee and is now headed to an eventual floor vote is another modicum push in a long trail of pork-barrel politics and seizing of any and all control the federal government can get over the populace of America. You need to pump the brakes because never in my memory do I remember such vehement opposition to a particular piece of legislation. That does not mean people want it. That means they do not want it. I knew people in Congress were not all the mental equivalents of Einstein, but I think people with an extra chromosome can determine the majority of Americans do not want HR 3200 passed. If this bill does get passed, it then becomes the mission of every voting American to not only vote, but to campaign against each Congressman and Senator that votes in favor of this version of the healthcare reform bill. It's personal to me, bitches. Oh, and we need term limits for both houses of Congress.

Things No One Else Is Talking About: Cloves Banned

WHAT THE FUCK? Are you kidding me? Why am I just now hearing about this?
Cloves are now banned in the US. [Kansas City Star]
Again the government is trying to tell us that we are too stupid to make our own life decisions. Well government, you're too stupid to not build up trillions of dollars in debt through mismanagement, overspending, and in general bad decisions.
I'll take my chances making my own decisions. The ban is not only on cloves, but all fruit and candy-flavored cigarettes and maybe even some flavored cigarillos. This seems like a small infringement because most people rarely buy cloves or other items affected by this ban, but the principle and the surprising backer of this legislation are what worry me. The principal of taking away/ infringing on our freedoms simply can not be tolerated any longer. Each freedom we are made to give up is another step toward living in shackles. One of the most shocking aspects of this story is Altria (Philip Morris) backed not only this piece of legislation, but the government's efforts to put tobacco regulation under FDA control entirely. I understand their short-term benefit. They plan next to push regulations against menthol cigarettes which will piss off a significant portion of the US population. Altria is attempting to gain the market share it has loss to menthol producers, namely Lorillard, who makes Newports. If menthols are banned Lorillard would almost certainly go out of business since 98% of their market is Newports, leaving Altria, who makes Marlboros, to sell non-menthol cigarettes with no menthol competition. That scenario would be a huge boon to Altria and RJ Renyolds, but the trend would continue toward banning all cigarettes, not just cloves and menthols. They are basically giving themselves cancer.
One day cloves will be the beginning of one of those poems that goes... First they came for _____ and we said nothing. Next they came for the __________ and we said nothing. Last they came for __________ and no one was left to defend it.

Work of 'Journalism' States 2/3 of Americans Will Get Swine Flu Vaccination

YEEAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!

I have held the contention for many years that polls conducted by the media or any group that chooses a micro percentage of a population and from those results extrapolates a macro projection are not scientific. My theory holds for political polls as well as any other such as this one being conducted attempting to learn how many Americans will get a vaccination for swine flu if/when it becomes available. 60% is a high number in my opinion. Every year I hear about how the regular flu vaccine that gets circulated ends up being the wrong strain. What freaking good does that do? I had my first and last flu shot when I was in high school. After the shot made my arm sore for a month during basketball season, and after I still got sick anyway I realized how pointless it was. I also don't put it past the government to be involved in some how influencing or suggesting what they would like the results to be so that people will see a large number of other Americans are getting the vaccine so they might as well also. Influencing mob mentality is an art and a science, yet it seems so easy to execute on the American people. Excuse me for having tin foil on my head, but you all can have your damn flu shots. I'll get ready in other ways for a pandemic- buying more ammo and trying to be as self-sufficient as possible.