Religion – If you believe in magic who is to say that your magic is better than the next guy’s. How do you decide you are tuned to the right station. Especially if the next guy’s magic god tells him that that His Word is better than yours and more, you need to die because of your belief. Both come from god, both delivered to believers in god. Who are we, mere humans, to question god’s word, wherever it originates and however much it sickens us. It’s god’s word, isn’t? Read more…

Fracking is very bad for the planet, gives us water that ignites, sink holes that appear from nowhere, cows and sheep with two heads, independence from, and the consequent freedom to condemn and change, despotic governments that had previously held us to ransom, pollution and  desecration of the environment. Whoever said it’s complicated is a genius of understatement. Good luck with that one. Read more…

 

I love bread. But in the interest of journalistic integrity, I recently tried cutting carbs for the first time, since I often write about low-carb diets and have been curious about the benefits. I found it challenging to stay below even a moderate limit of daily carbohydrates on my carb-cycling plan. In the process, though, I learned some simple food hacks for cutting carbs without going full keto, like eating more full-fat yogurt, nut butter, and quinoa, and sipping seltzer and kombucha. Read more…

In the productivity guru and influencer world, how people “do” their mornings is often a focus. To start your day right, you should eat this way and not that way. To be more productive, do this, not that. Commonly recommended morning practices ― like exercising or journaling ― can be helpful and healthy. “But if we get too rigid about certain rituals in our day, that’s when they can become more toxic,” said Han Ren, a licensed psychologist, speaker and educator based in Austin. Read more...