the purple yamster: more than just a synthesis between red and blue

2009-03-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, I'm an advocate of Supreme's work How to Hustle and Win: A Survival Guide for the Ghetto,Part One check out this excerpt for Part Two and let me know what you think. (and as always, if you enjoy what you're seeing, please share with others)

Here's an excerpt from Part Two:

If Einstein was Black

If Albert Einstein grew up Black, in the hood, he’d be probably turn out to be a crackhead and a deadbeat dad. If Thomas Edison grew up Black, in the ghetto, he’d probably be a crack dealer. And that would be it. Their life stories would never make it into your school textbooks, and the world would never even know they existed. Unless maybe they were arrested in some high profile case. You think I’m exaggerating? Let me elaborate.

Albert Einstein

Einstein didn’t even say his first words until he was four years old. He was quiet, but still a terrible student throughout his schooling years. He regularly cut class. In college, people called him “a slacker.”

He graduated college, which he called a "torturing duty," thanks to a friend who let him copy class notes. Upon his graduation, he commented:

For a dreamer like me, university studies were not always a blessing. If we are forced to constantly eat selected meals, we can permanently spoil our stomach and lose our appetite. Luckily, in my case, this intellectual depression, after the completion of my studies, lasted no more than a year.

Einstein’s daydreamin ass couldn’t stomach the rigmarole of the formal educational system, but he was passionate about pursuing studies in his own interests. He focused his attention intensely into things he was fascinated by, or which he wanted to understand. If he were alive today, he’d probably watch nothing but the Discovery Channel. Then again, he’d probably do a little more than just watching TV. But then again, probably none of that if he grew up in the hood.

He would have been diagnosed with autism, ADHD, and dyslexia (which he was), but he’d be pushed into a Special Ed. program, where he’d be ignored by teachers and harassed by other students until eventually dropping out of a high school he’d have no hope of finishing anyway. Then working some minimum dead-end wage job, while still yearning to understand a vast world that was totally, impossibly, out of his reach, Einstein would be a drug addict in no time.

Thomas Edison

On the other hand, Thomas Edison was the definition of a hyperactive child. He never stopped asking questions, couldn’t sit still, and had a hard time focusing on school work (he daydreamed too). As a result, the young Edison constantly disrupted classes. His teacher thought he was slow, that he “could not grasp anything,” and labeled him retarded! His mom, sensing a flaw in the formal system of education, decided to homeschool him. Since his parents had tons of books at home, he read what he was interested in and basically taught himself.

This course of instruction evolved into Edison’s passion for scientific inquiry. He became a tireless researcher, often working late nights, and sleeping on a bench in his laboratory. Totally obsessed with his work, he would sometimes forget to eat. His wandering mind actually helped to look at situations from many different perspectives, allowing him to find answers and explanations for some of the most challenging problems.

But in the ghetto today, a Thomas Edison (or better) is born every minute. And kids like him who can’t sit still, who want more than what their teacher can offer, who have endless questions…what happens to them? They get shot down and shut down. And their lives spiral out of control til they’re shot down or locked up. Edison would have been a clever-ass dope boy, I bet. He’d probably come up with ingenious new ways to cook, market, and conceal his product. He’d probably make a ton of money selling to ghetto Einsteins before being taken down. But besides as episode of BET’s American Gangster, you’d never hear about him.

If you read Part One, you know that (A) We ain’t stupid by far, and most of us have incredible untapped intellect (see “9 Signs We Ain’t Stupid”) and (B) Our people are constantly misdiagnosed with made-up mental illnesses (see “Mental Illnesses in the Black Community”). But we can reverse that. Let’s start looking for untapped talent in the young people around us. And let’s start showing them alternate routes to success. School won’t work for everybody. But those of us who can’t hack it in school don’t have to be failures all around. That little knucklehead down the block may be the best auto mechanic, painter, airplane pilot, landscaper, business owner, jeweler, sculptor, or plumber ever…they just need to be shown the way. If not, all our Einsteins and Edisons are going to waste.

Without guidance and opportunities, we’re all bound to fail.

Eat Sh*t

Derrick Simons was escorted into court by two armed guards. Simons was to stand trial for the murders of members of a skinhead gang. As the judge read the charges, Simons fidgeted around and appeared not to be listening. When the judge asked Simons if he understood the charges against him, Simons finally looked the judge in the eyes. He then reached into the back of his pants, retrieved a handful of brown goo, and promptly ate it. Smearing his face, he licked his hand clean of the leftovers.

Completely disgusted, the judge took a while to recover from the shock of seeing this happen. He declared Simons mentally incompetent and admitted him to a psychiatric prison. Simons only spent the next two years receiving therapy and medication for his obvious insanity, and was then released when he was deemed to be sane again.

If anyone ever figures out how Simons did it, they’ll never serve peanut butter in a prison again.

Sometimes, the smartest man in the room will seem to be the craziest.

What YOU will learn in Part 2:

• Why so many of us are hopeless and what we can do about it?
• How a 300-year-old plan is still being used against us?
• How certain common chemicals can affect our “sexuality?”
• The 18 words we use that keep us down?
• The true meanings behind American holidays?
• The 10 reasons we can't seem to come up?
• How slaves used music as a tool for liberation?
• The truth about the industry that Pimp C “almost” told?
• How Malcolm X escaped from prison?
• Why so much of what we’ve learned about Dr. King is untrue?
• The 13 ways we unconsciously destroy ourselves?
• What the AK-47 can teach us about perseverance?
• Why and how Bob Marley went to “war?”
• What Blacks and Hispanics have in common (and it’s not chicken)?
• Why Europeans sent “priests” into Africa first?
• Why men ain’t men anymore and what can be done about it?
• How to activate the untapped power of your mind?
• The 120 behaviors necessary for a successful life?
• How to transform the negatives around you for success?

Click here to pre-order the book.Also, you can pre-order on Amazon.com. Official Release date is April 22nd, 2009.

And if you haven't checked out, Part One click here or check out the website here or myspace.

It may sound Cheesy, but...

2009-01-23T08:08:00.000-08:00

I know I've been away for a minute, working, researching and what not. When I initially became vegetarian about five years ago, I intensely ate cheese (and lots of simple carbohydrates) within the first year or so. When I finally cut out cheese, I noticed how I didn't have phelgm in my throat making it easier to breathe and just feelin' lighter in my stomach. Also, being a fan of mac and cheese, I can still enjoy it with nutritional yeast, which I refer to as cheese powder.

After checkin' my righteous brother C'BS blog on Cheese I had post this, check this out:

An excerpt from Breaking the Food Seduction: The Hidden Reasons Behind Food Cravings – and 7 Steps to End Them Naturally by Neal Barnard, M.D.

Opiates on a Cracker: The Cheese Seduction

What do you think of when you think of cheese? Do you conjure up a picture of hot pizza with gooey mozzarella dribbling from each slice? Or do you think of a baguette and goat cheese? Brie and a glass of wine? Do most of your meals have some form of cheese or another included? If you answered yes, you are like a great many other people. And chances are, you've been struggling with your weight, too.

Cheese may get 70 percent of its calories from nothing but waist augmenting milkfat and have, pound for pound, more cholesterol than a steak, but it is also one of the foods health-conscious people have the most trouble leaving behind. Some people describe it as vividly as alcoholics remembering their last drink.

What is it about cheese?
That's what Jo, one of our research volunteers, asked. As a child, she didn't especially care for it. But she began eating the occasional grilled cheese sandwich in high school, and bit-by-bit, cheese crept onto her plate: pizza, salad sprinkles, cheesy lasagna, and sometimes slices straight out of the pack. She was especially fond of cheese melted over toast, heated in her toaster oven just to the point where it almost started to burn in spots. It was quick to make, it tasted good, and it filled her up.

Her weight began to be a problem in her late teens and, as the years went by, things gradually escalated. When she arrived at our office our dietitian gave her a scale and asked her a scale and asked her to weigh and record everything she ate. A week later she returned with her list, which read like a cheese advertisement: She had a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch, with 18 grams of fat, and stopped at Pizza Hut for dinner, where two pizza slices packed in another 20 grams. She also had a late-evening snack of Brie and crackers, with another 15 fat grams. That was 53 fat grams from cheese alone in a single day.

But, as seeing the problem was not the same as solving it. As she contemplated life without cheese, she made a list of all the things she might let go first. Her boyfriend, her stereo, her car – she could live without them if she had to. Ditto for French fries, bread, fruits, and vegetables. Chocolate was a tough one, but the truth is, even it did not deliever the satisfaction she got from cheese.

Is Cheese a Drug?

Cheese's attraction is not mainly due to taste or smell, at least not at first. After all, no one ever marketed a perfume, air freshener, or incense that smelled of old socks. Like beer or cigarettes, cheese's taste can even be a bit off-putting at first. Its real lure may be hidden in its mother lode of opiates – dozens of them – whose effects have been surprising scientists in recent years. The smell and taste are secondary. Scientist speculate that, in the same way that people come to associate that taste of an alcoholic drink with the pleasant relaxation that soon follows, we associate the taste of cheese with what really counts, which is what is happening in our brains.

In 1981, Eli Hazum and his colleagues at Wellcome Research Laboratories in Research Triangle Park, N.C., reported a remarkable discovery. Analyzing samples of cow's milk, they found traces of a chemical test are another. Finally they arrived at the conclusion that, in fact, it is morphine. There is not a lot of it. But indeed morphine has been found in both cow's milk and human milk.

Morphine, of course, is an opiate and is highly addictive. So how did it get into milk? At first the researchers theorized that it must have come from the cows' diets. After all, morphine used in hospitals comes from poppies and is also produced naturally by a few other plants that the cows might have been eating. But it turns out that cows actually produce it within their bodies, just as poppies do. Traces of morphine, along with codeine and other opiates, are apparently produced in cows' livers and can end up in their milk.

But that was only the beginning, as other researchers soon found. Cow's milk – or the milk of any other species, for that matter – contains a protein, called casein, that breaks apart during digestion to release a whole host of opiates, called casomorphins. A cup of cow's milk contains about six grams of casein. Skim milk contains contains a bit more, and casein is concentrated in the production of cheese.

A one-ounce slice of cheese holds about 5 grams of casein, and each one of those grams holds millions of individual casein molecules. If you examined one of these molecules under a powerful microscope, it would look like a chain of beads (the "beads" are amino acids – simple building blocks that combine to make up all the proteins in your body). When you drink a glass of milk or eat a slice of cheese, stomach acid and intestinal bacteria snip the casein molecular chains into casomorphins of various lengths. One of them, a short string made up of just five amino acids, has about one-tenth the pain-killing potency of morphine.

What are they doing there? It appears that the opiates from mother's milk produce a calming effect on the infant and, in fact, may be responsible for a good measure of the mother-infant bond. No, it's not all lullabies and cooing. Psychological bonds always have a physical underpinning. Like it or not, mother's milk has a druglike effect on the baby's brain that ensures that the baby will bond with Mom and continue to nurse and get the nutrients all the babies need. Like heroin or codeine, casomorphins slow intestinal movements and have a decided antidiarrheal effect. The opiate effect may be why adults often find that cheese can be constipating, just as opiate painkillers are.

*Cow's milk is actually quite different from human milk. Cow's milk is loaded with casin, which gives milk curds their white color, and very low in whey, the protein that remains in the watery portion after milk curdles. Human breast milk is the opposite: low in casein and high in whey.

**The opiates in milk may be responsible for calming effect of nursing in infants – and perhaps for the addictive qualities of cheese.

It is an open question to what extent dairy opiates can enter an adult's bloodstream. Until the 1990s, researchers thought that these protein fragments were too large to pass through the intestinal wall into the blood, except in infants, whose immature digestive tracts are not very selective about what passes through. They theorized that milk opiates mainly acted within the digestive tract and that they signaled comfort or relief to the brain indirectly, through the hormones traveling from the intestinal tract to the brain.

But French researchers fed skim milk and yogurt to volunteers and found that, sure enough, at least some casein fragments do pass into the bloodstream. They rearch their peak about forty minutes after eating. Other researchers found that, if a breastfeeding woman includes dairy products in her diet, cow proteins actually pass from her digestive tract into her bloodstream and then into her own breast milk in large enough amounts to irritate her baby's stomach, causing colic.

Other fascinating – and disturbing – findings have emerged. Human milk contains casein, too, albeit less than in a cow's milk and in a slightly different form. In studies of women who had recently given birth, Swedish researchers found that opiates from breast milk sometimes pass from the breast into a woman's own bloodstream and then into the brain. Some women with very high levels of these opiates in their blood – opiates that came originally from the casein in their own breast milk – have developed postpartum psychosis. It had long been suspected that this syndrome of confusion, hallucinations, and delusions (symptoms that go beyond the mood changes of postpartum depression, a more common disorder) is not simply due to the stresses of childbirth, the arrival of maternal responsibilities, or the loss of youthful innocence. The fact is, something is poisoning the brain. The Swedish researchers suggested that the "something" might be an opiate released from casein in mother's milk. The point is, casein is as much a drug as a nutrient, and it is a primary ingredient in all milk products, but especially in cheese.

Cheese contains far more casein than is found in milk from either cows or humans. And it holds other druglike compounds as well. It contains an amphetamine-like chemical PEA, phenylethylamine, that we looked at earlier, which is also found in chocolate and sausage. And there are many hormones and other compounds in cheese and other diary products whose functions are not yet understood. Researchers are gradually tearing them apart and trying to understand their biological effects, including their contribution to the cheese craving that is so common.
*
*One recent review identified the following hormones and related natural chemicals in cow's milk: prolactin, somatostatin, melatonin, oxytocin, growth hormone, leuteinizing hormone-releasing hormone, thyrotropin-releasing hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, vasoactive intestinal peptide, calcitonin, parathyroid hormone, corticosteroids, estrogens, progesterone, insulin, epidermal growth factor, insulin-like growth factor, erythropoietin, bombesin, neurotensin, motilin, and cholecystokinin.

Is It Good to Break a Dairy Habit?

Let's say you're stuck on cheese. The question is, does it really matter? The answer is a resounding yes. To see why, you don't have to go much further than the bathroom scale. Our volunteer, Jo, decided that, in the interests of science, she could set aside cheese for a limited time. And, of all the diet changes she made, this single step had, by far the biggest effect on the tally of fat grams she kept. And it also made a big difference in her weight. Even without excercising or limiting her calorie intake or meal size, she saw the pounds melt away slowly but surely – on average, about a pound per week, week after week after week.

Here is your payoff when you break the seduction:

Trimming the Pounds and Cutting Your Cholesterol

The whole point of the cheese-making process is to concentrate fat and protein (that is casein), while squeezing out water and lactose sugar. Not surprisingly, a typical 2-ounce serving has at least 15 grams of fat and about 2000 calories – before it even touches your sandwich. When you set the cheese aside you've spared yourself all that fat and all those calories.

Unfortunately, Americans are going in the opposite direction. Dairy industry figures show that annual cheese consumption in the U.S. doubled from fifteen pounds per person in 1975 to thirty pounds in 1999, as I mentioned earlier. That works out to 14,4000 milligrams of cholesterol and 4.5 kilos of fat – that's ten pounds of dairy fat from cheese alone – for every single person in America. If just one of those pounds of fat lingered on your waistline, adding an extra pound to your weight year after year, you could explain nearly the entire weight problem the country is experiencing – that is, the average American is now gaining about 1.5 pounds per year, and our collective cheese fetish may be a big part of the explanation. If you're looking for a simply way to trim your waistline, breaking a love affair with cheese can help enormously.

When you've broken the cheese seduction, you've not only freed yourself from a lot of fat, you've stepped away from the worst kind of fat. Most of the fat in cheese in is saturated, the kind that tends to increase your cholesterol level and raise your risk of artery blockages and heart problems.

In case you're getting fat and cholesterol mixed up, they are actually two entirely different things. Fat is what you find under chicken skin or marbled through a piece of beef. It also what makes milk thick and cheese smooth. Cholesterol, however, comes in tiny particles packed into the cell membranes of all animal tissues. In meat, most cholesterol is actually in the lean portion. Cheese has cholesterol, too, in hefty amounts. There are about 50-60 milligrams of cholesterol in a 2-ounce serving of cheddar or mozzarella. Ounce for ounce, that's as much as you'll find in steak or ground beef. So, when you find other ways to top a sandwich or prepare a casserole, you'll do your body a huge favor.

**Cheese consumption in the U.S. doubled from fifteen pounds per person per year in 1975 to thirty pounds in 1999. That works out to 14,400 milligrams of cholesterol and 4.5 kilos of fat for every single person in America.

Help for Arthritis and Headaches

If you have arthritis or migraines, side-stepping cheese and other dairy products might be just the prescription you need. In 1985, a British medical journal reported a case of an eight-year-old girl with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis whose cause was a mystery until she stopped eating dairy products. The condition cleared up completely. But even a small amount of milk was enough to trigger her symptoms. At the time, cases of arthritis caused by foods were thought to be rare. But systematic studies have shown that anywhere from 20 to 60 percent of typical rheumatoid arthritis cases are linked to diet, and dairy products appear to be the most common trigger.* The problem in this case is not dairy fat – and it is not necessarily an allergy in the usual sense of the word.

The symptoms are apparently a reaction to dairy proteins, so the payoff comes from avoiding both nonfat and full-fat versions
Skipping dairy proteins can help migraines, too. Cheese is a notorious migraine trigger. And some people are allergic to dairy products, which can mean digestive problems, worsening asthma, or other symptoms. If you thought you had to put up with pain or other symptoms, breaking the cheese seduction might bring you a very pleasant surprise.

*Other common arthritis triggers identified in research studies include corn, meats, wheat, eggs, citrus fruits, potatoes, tomatoes, nuts and coffee. For more details, see Barnard ND, Foods that Fight Pain.

Preventing Prostate Cancer

Researchers have set about trying to see what might reduce the risk of various forms of cancer, and it turns out that, in addition to increasing vegetables and fruits and pumping up the fiber in their diets, men can take another good step by avoiding dairy products. Although this finding was unexpected and is obviously surprising, at least sixteen studies have shown it to be true. Among them are two recent and very large Harvard studies that showed that men who generally avoid dairy products have about a 30 percent reduction in their risk of prostate cancer, compared to those who consume them often.

The reason, apparently, is that dairy consumption increases the amount of a substance in the blood called insulin-like growth factor-I (ICG-I), which is an aggressive promoter of cancer cell growth. Recent studies have linked high IGF-I levels not only to prostate cancer, but also to breast cancer.

A second explanation relates to vitamin D. This vitamin is actually a hormone that helps your body absorb calcium from the digestive tract and also has the job of protecting the prostate against cancer. Vitamin D is normally produced by sunlight hitting the skin, and it can also come from the diet. However, these forms of the vitamin are inactive precursors. In order to function, they must pass to the liver and kidneys to be activated by a slight change in their molecular structure.

And this is where dairy products become a problem. As their calcium floods into the bloodstream, it apparently signals the body that, since there is plenty of calcium in the system already, the body does not need to activate vitamin D to try to absorb any more. The result is a substantial drop in the amount of activated vitamin D in the blood. With less vitamin D in the blood, the risk of prostate cancer climbs. Of course, milk often contains some added vitamin D, but it is in the inactive precursor form, and dairy consumption actually suppresses vitamin D activation in the body. In addition, diets rich in animal fat, whether from dairy products or other sources, tend to increase the body's production of testosterone, which is linked to prostate cancer risk.

Cutting Sodium

Cheese is loaded with sodium that comes from the cow's milk it is made from and the additional salt used in the cheese-making process. Two ounces of cheddar cheese contains about 350 milligrams of sodium. Two ounces of Velveeta have more than 800 milligrams, and a cup of low-fat cottage cheese has more than 900 milligrams. Sodium's effect on blood pressure is well known, but more troubling is its role in osteoporosis. Sodium encourages the passage of calcium through the kidneys where it is then lost in the urine. When you set cheese aside, you skip one of the biggest sources of sodium in the diet.

Calcium? Yes, But…

What about the calcium in cheese? Well, you do need a certain amount of calcium for building bones, and calcium has other functions in the body, too. But you do not need dairy products for calcium, as has been amply demonstrated in Japan, China, parts of Africa, and elsewhere where they are not traditionally used. Bone development is perfectly normal, and bone breaks caused by osteoporosis – the thinning of the bones with age – actually much rarer than in the U.S. and Europe. The fact is, there is plenty of calcium in green vegetables, beans, fortified juices and many other foods.

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University found that, in girls in their peak bone-building years – ages twelve to eighteen – getting extra calcium made no difference at all in bone growth. It is a bit like dumping extra bricks at a construction site, hoping that they will become part of the building. They won't. What did make a difference in bone growth, by the way, was exercise. Exercising teens had clearly better bone development than their more sedentary classmates.

Similiarly, Harvard researchers found that, in a twelve-year study of nearly 78,000 women, dairy calcium didn't help bone strength at all. Those who got the most calcium from dairy sources actually had nearly double the hip fracture rates, compared to those who got little or no dairy calcium. Advertisers have tried to capitalize on the myth that dairy products – or calcium in general – prevents bone breaks, but scientific studies have clearly shown that greatly increasing your intake of calcium – from dairy products or any other food – does little or nothing for the bones.

Other factors do make an important difference, however. Exercise is key. And vitamin D – from sunlight or vitamin supplements – also helps keeps bones' inner collagen matrix. And it is important to understand that osteoporosis is not a condition of inadequate calcium intake, for the most part. Rather, it is a condition of overly rapid calcium loss. It is accelerated by sodium (salt) and animal protein in the diet, smoking, and other factors. But adding extra calcium, either from dairy products or supplements, is largely ineffective at preventing or slowing it.

So, you can feel good about breaking the cheese seduction. You'll say good-bye to a lot of fat and calories, and you'll do your body many other favors in the bargain.

The Dairy Pushers

If cheese and other dairy products present so many health problems, why have they profited from a healthy image for so long? First of all, government programs promoting dairy use began in the early 1900s, long before researchers had taken a serious look at their health effects. Today, hundreds of millions of dollars are pumped yearly into advertising campaigns designed to maintain dairy's image.

In the United States, the dairy industry is intertwined with the federal government in a peculiar relationship. Milk producers and processors pay a portion of their sales revenues into a fund. The Secretary of Agriculture appoints the thirty-six member Dairy Board and the twenty-member Fluid Milk Board to spend this two-hundred million dollar kitty, commissioning advertising campaigns, fast-food promotions, and other schemes through an organization called Dairy Management, Inc.

The USDA Report to Congress on the Dairy Promotion Programs for the year 2000 described how the government and industry worked with Wendy's, Pizza Hut, Shoney's Denny's, and Bennigan's fast-food chains to make sure that cheese prominently displayed in menu items. It details the USDA/dairy industry program to launch Wendy's Cheddar Lover's Bacon Cheeseburger, which singlehandedly pushed 2.25 million pounds of cheese during the promotion period – that works out to 380 tons of fat and 1.2 tons of pure cholesterol in the cheese alone. And, yes, this was an officially sanctioned U.S. government program designed for no purpose other than to push Americans to fatten the industry's wallet.

In 1996, cheese was not a required ingredient in Subway sandwiches. So Dairy Management, Inc., signed a contract with Subway, committing $58,000 to help the restaurant chain promote cheese and include it as a required ingredient in two new sandwiches, the Chicken Cordon Blue and Honey Pepper Melt, anticipating the sale of an extra 70,000 pounds of cheese.

Dairy Management, Inc., also worked with Pizza Hut to promote the "Ultimate Cheese Pizza" – with an entire pound of cheese per pizza – selling five million pounds of it during a six-week promotion in 2000. Burger King jumped in, aiming to push cheese in its chicken and beef sandwiches, and the industry has worked out financial relationships with many other restaurant and grocery chains.

The dairy industry weighs heavily on nutrition policies in the United States. The eleven-person panel that drew up the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2000 – the blueprint for all federal nutrition programs – included six members with financial ties to the dairy, meat, and egg industries. In addition, the panel kept most its records from public view during its deliberations. Because we believed that this closed-door process violated federal law, my organization, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, sued the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services in federal court. The court agreed with us and ruled that the panel erred in not opening its workings to public scrutiny.

Dairy industry market analysts are well aware that some people get hooked on cheese. In fact, they have separated cheese buyers into cheese "cravers" and cheese "enhancers." "Cravers" don't stand on ceremony. They eat it straight out of the package or off the block. For them, life without cheese is basically not worth living. Cheese "enhancers" use cheese as an ingredient, sprinkling it on pizza or using it in recipes.

At a "Cheese Forum" held December 5, 2000, Dick Cooper, the Vice President of Cheese Marketing for Dairy Management, Inc., showed slide after slide documenting the escalating cheese consumption in the U.S., and proudly credited the industry's marketing schemes. One slide asked the question, "What do we want our marketing program to do?" and then gave the answer: "trigger the cheese craving." He then detailed industry's plans for pushing cheese in grocery chains, food services, and fast-food restaurants. He concluded with a cartoon of a playground slide with a large spider web woven to trap children as they reached the bottom. The caption had one spider saying to another, "If we pull this off, we'll eat like kings."

The Bottom Line

∙ Many people get hooked on cheese. Like other dairy products, cheese contains casein, a protein that breaks apart during digestion to form opiates, called casomorphins. What makes cheese different – and presumably more addicting – is that it has much more casein than is found in milk, ice cream, butter, or other dairy products.

∙ It is hard to find a more fattening food. Typical cheeses derive about 70 percent of their calories from fat, mostly artery-clogging saturated fat and, ounce for ounce, have more cholesterol than a steak.

∙ If you were hoping for some redeeming health benefits, the fact is, large, well-conducted research studies have shown that cheese and other dairy products do not build strong bones, nor do they slow osteoporosis.

∙ Government-sponsored programs aim to keep you hooked. They have worked with Wendy's, Pizza Hut, Subway, and other restaurant chains to add more and more cheese to menu items, intentionally trying to "trigger the cheese craving." They have managed to boost America's annual cheese consumption from fifteen pounds per person in 1975 thirty pounds in 1999.

How to Hustle and Win: A Survival Guide for the Ghetto

2008-10-17T09:26:00.001-07:00

Speakin’ of makin’ moves, I also push the Hustle and Win book here in Northern California – SF and mostly Oakland to be exact (and even got folks in Stockon pushin’ it). Just to let y’all know, it’s available at Marcus Books in SF and Oakland as well as Verse in Downtown Oakland. Of course, it’s available from me. Just to let folks know who support the book, the brother Supreme is dropping a documentary with this Hustle and Win book – I’m definitely contributing my two cents because I’ve seen the impact it has with the young people I work with on the daily.

Here’s what Supreme’s gotta say:

Want to be in a documentary?
Get featured in the upcoming How to Hustle and Win DVD!

It's gonna be big. The first 3,000 copies of the book sold in less than 3 months. That's WITHOUT Borders and Barnes and Noble, but they'll be on board soon as well. Not to mention that How to Hustle and Win is going international. We'll be printing overseas and shipping to Europe, Canada, and possibly Africa! Envision the big picture.

We've already got DVD distributors waiting to get their hands on the DVD and mixtape. The mixtape CD for the book is nearly done, so its a bit late to submit music for THAT project (thanks to all who did), BUT we've got lots of open space on the upcoming documentary.

The How to Hustle and Win DVD will present the content of the book visually, luring in the supporters who would've never otherwise picked up a book to read. But the DVD is gonna be a mind-blowin experience in and of itself.

Many of the segments will be featured on local cable stations (if you have the connects in YOUR area, let us know), while others may be too much for TV. In between the segments, we'll have brief reader testimonials. If you want your feedback featured on the DVD, here's all you have to do:
1.) Record a short clip of you talking about the book. Doesn't matter where. Doesn't matter how you say it. Anything goes.
2.) Send us a Myspace message, asking for our email address.
3.) Either email it to us, or if the file is too large, use sendspace to send it to us.

If we like it, we'll edit it and include in the final product. If not, we may still feature it on the website (MAJOR update coming soon) or YouTube.

Aspiring musicians, if you've got a song based on the content of the book (like my profile song for example), send it our way as well. We may be able to use it in the DVD's soundtrack. We'll give full credit and hopefully increase your exposure.

Finally, for all you hustlers out there without a hustle. How to Hustle and Win remains a lucrative source of income. We wholesale to ANYONE. You won't have a hard time pushing this product. How to Hustle and Win is literary crack. It sells itself.

Peace
Supreme Understanding,
CEO, Supreme Design, LLC.
For more information, please check out: www.HustleAndWin.com or myspace.com/hustlewin

Ise Lyfe

2008-10-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

Yo, the Yamster has been makin’ moves, right now I’m workin’ as Outreach Coordinator with spoken word emcee theatre – all around artist, period, Ise Lyfe. So if you’re interested in booking him, let me know and I can shoot you more information to book him at your local college, university or organization.

Email me at sincerejustice at gmail dot com for more information.

myspace.com/iselyfe
iselyfenation.com

I'm on a Date again and again and again...

2008-10-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

The only reason I drop into Whole Foods is to grab some dates – it doesn’t matter whether they’re deglet noor or medjool, I’ll rock ‘em either way. The other day, Garth at Whole Foods hooked me up gave me a “sample” – a small box of dates. I need a date tree –hahah just like my Pops needs a banana tree. Oh yeah, I love rockin’ the dates with seeds, spittin’ em out like wack emcees.

Watts Up with Racism among the Chinese community?

2008-10-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

Watts Up with Racism among the Chinese community?

After finishing Dr. John Henrik Clarke’s book on Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust, I’ve been hookin’ it up with 1421: The Year China Discovered America by Gavin Menzies. As y’know my field of interests lie in not the black or white, but the variation of grey CONNECTIONS/RELATIONSHIPS that exist between cultures. So hold up….

Purple Yamster Storytime Exclusive: As a kid, I would often watch public television specifically Channel 28 KCET; there was a special on the Watts Towers. Damn, the Towers intrigued me, tall metal structures that reach the sky, so I told me Pops that I wanted to visit the Towers. He told me, “Nah, we can’t go there, we’ll get robbed [by black people].” In the Chinese language, there is a term used for all non-Chinese peoples, but specifically for black people, it’s called “black ghost. ” So growing up, I had this and still see this type of racism play out between my physical family and relatives.

So back to connections and relationships, I was building with a so called Afrikan sister the other day and she told me at her Chinese Holistic Medicine institute, other Afrikan sisters have been having issues from the Chinese staff saying that they are giving them a hard time being intimidating and what not. Anyways, long story short, being that I’m solution oriented, I can’t wait to check this book out: Race and Racism in the Chinas: Chinese Racial Attitudes toward Africans and African-Americans by M. Dujon Johnson, so I can figure what's up, know what's the root of these conflicts.

http://science.jrank.org/pages/10955/Race-Racism-in-Asia-Race-Racism-in-China.html

Conferences and Asian Political Prisoners

2008-10-10T00:08:00.000-07:00

So during the past weeks, I’ve been going to conferences left and right: Critical Resistance 10: Strategizing to Abolish the Prison Industrial Complex (for me, it was just learning more about this wicked system), ESPINOS (Escuelas Si! Pintas No! – similar work, but specifically for so called at risk youth) and Words Beats Life Conference, which was an array of Hip Hop non-profits, youth agencies, etc. that came together to collaborate via Hip Hop and social change.

First of all, if you don’t know about the Watts Prophets, you need check for this brother, who did the keynote, Amde Hamilton of the Watts Prophets at www.wattsprophets.com.

Secondly, one of the workshops I attended at CR10 was on Asian Political Prisoners. Around the time I picked up Live from Death Row by Mumia Abu Jamal was the same time I picked up Prison Writings: My Life is a Sun Dance by Leonard Peltier – I’ve always wondered about Asian and Pacific Islander Political Prisoners if they existed and if so, it what capacity. Will we be on the next Hip Hop song like Mumia is? (See KRS ONE) Often, voices from Asian Political Prisoners like Eddy Zheng, who was tried as an adult for committing a home invasion robbery and kidnapping are the voices I do not hear about period.

http://www.eddyzheng.com/
http://eddyzheng.blogspot.com/

So check this out Eddy and the Asian Prisoner Support Committee put together this book: Other: an Asian & Pacific Islander Prisoners’ Anthology – it’s well written, organized and visually stunning. Contributions go to support prisoners’.

http://www.myspace.com/asianprisoners

High Powered Tonics for the Purple YamsterFamily

2008-10-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

So ever since, I read up on my brother C'BS article on the Original Man's tonics, I've been hittin' 'em every a day. (See here: http://originalthoughtmag.com/mag/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=178&Itemid=178)

Aside from my exercise routine daily, I make sure I take a hit of Ginseng, Shou Wu Chih and Baji Chiew. The only thing I do different is I rock the Ginseng in a powder form with Goji Berries. (At your local Chinese emporium, you can actually ask them to grind the ginseng up for you) The science behind that is I don't waste any part of the ginseng because 1) ginseng is expensive and 2) the Purple Yamster is plain resourceful, using every square inch.

Yo, the Purple Yamster recommends you rock all three tonics because the energy level is just off the charts. There's something about the chemistry with those three together. Also, I'm going to drop some science on this other tonic within the week, so be on the look out.

My recommendation is to hit your local Chinatown for the tonics, ginseng and goji berries. Usually, in California, costs for the 'Chih are around $2-3/a bottle and the 'Chiew runs about $6 for a small bottle and $12-14/a large bottle. Definitely go support your Original People in a Chinatown near you. On the real, Chinatown is the place where I get most of my grocery shopping needs done because I can't afford Whole Foods and plus, I get to interact with my Original Family.

For more information check out:

http://altmedicine.about.com/od/completeazindex/a/goji.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shou_Wu_Chih

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfberry

Thinking about Fast Food?

2008-09-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

Think again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IGtDPG4UfI

Google via text message AND more..

2008-09-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my man Khalil made Knowledge Born that you can Google via text message.
Google text definitely gets the Purple Yamster seal of approval for usefulness.

Try it out.

Text a search inquiry to 46645 and see what happens.

Check this out as well:

can ya ear me?

2008-09-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

Peace,

So the Purple Yamster had to go to the otologist this past friday because the left ear was just stank and shit, i hardly could hear - all clogged up, that's what exactly it was. talking to the otologist, he asked me if i used q tips and i told him yes. he made knowledge born that the same manufacturer of q tips also makes liquid for ear infections. not that you can't use cotton swabs - you can use them - just for the outer portion of the ear and just in case y'all didn't know the ear naturally cleans itself - say what?! yeah, peep this joint: FindArticles - Now ear this
Vegetarian Times, Sept, 1998, by Martha Schindler

during my brief appointment with the doc, he basically vacuumed my ear and had a tool like this: http://flickr.com/photos/67964595@N00/103582814/ (arkworld also breaks down her experience with the tool in her asian household) scraping all the gold nuggets stuck inside my ear mine. i was mad disappointed because i felt like i could have had that same treatment at home minus the vaccum and the $100 payment. anyways, after my visit, my ole dad was speaking about how in vietnam (yes, there is a chinese presence in vietnam) at the barbers shop, the barbers would, for an extra fee would clean out ya ears.

when i got back to the rest, i had to investigate; i made some observations and came to the conclusion that even the manufacturer of cotton swabs ain't really tootin' its horn for ear waxage control, but for the many the other uses ...everything but ears...see for yourself below:

on a more positive note, the yamster needs to collab with these folks: http://purpleyamcafe.com/ - which came first the purple yamster or the purple yam cafe? the world will never know, it's like the amount of licks it takes to get to the center of the tootsie pop. :)

Purple Yamster Recipe # 1: Three Phase Process with Eggplants, Tomatoes, and Grains

2008-09-09T00:36:00.000-07:00

Purple Yamster Recipe # 1

Part of my whole get down as a Purple Yamster means I’m mad thrifty and creative with what I got – I utilized the resources I have to the best of my ability into bringing a new world of flavors into existence. Seeing that there was an eggplant more wrinkly than my grandma laying around the house, I decided to rock Phase One: an eggplant dish AND Phase Two: a tomatoey dish adding that with some brown rice on top of a tortilla to create Phase Three: Taste Time.

What You Need:

Minced Garlic

Peanut Oil

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Curry Powder

1 Eggplant

2 Red/ Orange Bell Peppers

Brown Rice

Tortilla

2 Tomatoes

A Squirt of Sriracha Hot Sauce (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sriracha)

Spoonful Peanut Butter

Basil

Phase One: Simple Eggplant with Bell Peppers

Ingredients

1 Eggplant

Minced Garlic

Peanut Oil

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Curry Powder

Soy Sauce

Red/ Orange Bell Peppers

1. Wash and chop up eggplant and bell peppers. Throw some rice in the rice cooker.

2. Place in bowl – Marinate with olive oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Make sure you fold the eggplants around making sure they cover every square inch. Soak for 15 minutes or so. (Purple Yamster Insight: The reasoning behind that eggplants take a minute to soak up flavors and plus, I ain’t want to dry ass eggplants)

3. Warm up the pan, add peanut oil and minced garlic for brief second – let it brown a bit.

4. Add eggplant and grab a top and place it on top of the pan to speed the cooking process and soften up the eggplant. Let sit on low flame for 15 minutes or until you’ve reached the tenderness you desired.

5. Once you’re almost satisfied with eggplant’s tenderness, add bell peppers, let them sit for a few more minutes. (PY Insight: I purposely leave the

6. Turn off stove and let it sit to cook. Also, add curry on top and fold in. (PY Insight: Part of the reason, I fold it in is because I understand that curry burns very easily)

7. Clean that dirty pan off and get ready for Phase Two of this dish.

Phase Two: Tomato Mild Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

Tomatoes

Peanut Oil

Minced Garlic

Sriracha Hot Sauce (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sriracha)

Peanut Butter

Basil

Chop up tomatoes, garlic.
Warm up pan, pour a tiny bit of peanut oil and garlic, let it simmer and brown the garlic just a bit.
Place tomatoes in the pan and let it make that shhhhh sound on a low flame.
Add Sriracha Sauce and stir it up like Bob Marley a bit mixing up the tomotoes with the Sriracha Sauce. (PY Insight: I know the sauce has got some preservatives, y’know the way the Purple Yamster gets down is to use and utilize (use it well) what I got)
Let it simmer for a bit more.
Add peanut butter and fold it in. (PY Insight: I usually utilize miso and nutritional yeast, but I want to remix things up and throw in the peanut butter)
Pour into bowl and add finely chopped basil into the tomatoey heaven.

Phase Three: Serving Instructions

Grab a bowl add phase one and two as well as brown rice together.
Add more or less of the Phase Two depending on the consistency you desire. Personally, the consistency of a pasty like texture – not too saucy is the way I serve it.
Heat them tortillas of choice (on a pan, over a flame, etc. – just heat ‘em)
Add Phase One + Phase Two to make Phase Three onto the tortilla.
Enjoy AND Get your munch on.

Let me know if y’all got some suggestions for names or better ingredients/cooking methods for the recipe as I’m always open to ideas. Shoutouts to my roommate, G, who works at People's Grocery for hookin’ it up with the produce for making this dish possible. If you don’t know about PG, check them out here: http://www.peoplesgrocery.org/

In case you didn't know - Love Your People Day is...

2008-09-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

More Than Just Fiyawata

2008-09-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

More than Just Fiyawata

Written by Brother Sincere Justice

“We’re entrepreneurs because we work closer and closer to having our own industries to flourish and we like to teach that.” – Ambessa

Fiyawata is a unique blend of Hip Hop, residing in Oakland, California consists of Ambessa the Articulate and Zakiya Harris. Fiyawata, coined by Ambessa means a “balance of extremes” whose main message behind their music is “spiritual elevation and justice in every sense of the word.” Ambessa, originally from Brooklyn, New York and Zakiya, originally from East Oakland, met each other in the East Coast of the United States, only to move back to Oakland, CA in 2000. Recently, they released a mixtape entitled, “This is a Journey Into Sound, Vol.1,” which featured the likes of Kirby Dominant and DJ True Justice. In August 2008, they will be droppin’ a full length album named, “This is a Journey Into Sound.” To call them Hip Hop would be limit them, yet Hip Hop is the foundation in which they create their music in, although, their sound is clearly influenced by soul, rock, dub, ambient and other eclectic influences.

Fiyawata is a labor of love in every sense of the word. They’ve been on the grind for 8 years, going on 9 years now and part of their secret of their recipe is that they’ve got love for the music like no other. Zakiya explains, “At the end of the day, it really is the love for the music that keeps us together” and Ambessa further explains that his love for the music is the simply fuel of “a dope beat and satisfaction.” It sounds simple, huh, but the plot thickens. Actually, Zakiya was attending law school and dropped to pursue her dreams as a musician. Zakiya says this all the time making it known plainly that “I didn’t choose music, music chose me” as she had carried various 9-5s, yet always found herself gravitating back towards music. In fact, the love really does keep their music together, as Ambessa and Zakiya are raising the young queen, Alissade together.

Like many musicians in the Bay Area community, Ambessa and Zakiya found themselves working within various arts education programs in the non profit world, even explaining how Oakland is home to an overabundance of Hip Hop Non Profit Organizations. Zakiya critically explains how many of these same non profit agencies like many youth-oriented record labels are there to help youth make music and entrepreneurs, yet actually perpetuate the same kind of illusions of making it in the music industry by “keep[ing] the game twisted for young folks.” Many of these labels hold their hands by taking and “hooking them up” with distribution, guest appearances by well known artists, rather than having the youth really learn the process of being successful in the music industry. As Zakiya realistically states that, “no one will do it for you” as an independent artist and youth have to hustle for success.

In the Summer of 2006, Zakiya helped organize Grind and Glory, which was a basically a Bay Area American Idol emcee competition that garnered much success and recognition. Tired of working with non profit organizations and recognizing that they were the talent behind the many non profit organizations they worked for in addition to having the entrepreneurial passion necessary to try something different, they decided they had to take a different path. Stepping it up further, Ambessa and Zakiya wrote their first grant to the city of San Francisco and received $100,000 under Destined Nation Media, their events marketing and record label agency to create Grind For the Green, a four part eco music festival for youth and produced by Bay Area youth. Basically, G4G is a youth oriented music festival that works to hone and further develop the skills of youth via networking opportunities, musical performance, beat production, entrepreneurial skills and possibly even be selected to get their chance to perform in the 1st Bay Area Solar Powered Music Concert alongside a nationally known musical artist. Recently, at San Francisco State University, during their music conference segment of G4G, they featured Hip Hop emcee, Talib Kweli as their keynote speaker.

When Original Thought Magazine, asked Fiyawata about their definition and vision of community, Ambessa replied “self sustainability.” Ambessa and Zakiya are living examples of success raised in the hood, yet rose above their conditions and circumstances through countless hours of hard work and dedication. As Zakiya expresses the frustration of having your music, business and personal life collide, sometimes, “it’s so much about business and there is not enough [time] for intimacy” for themselves and their young daughter, 2 year old Alissade. Their daughter represents the a microcosm of the communities they work with as clearly explain, “it’s not about so much what you say, but your actions as all eyes are focusd on you.” Zakiya further remarks that “I can’t teach royalty, if I’m not royalty,” which is important to raising her daughter and raising their community up. In their vision of the community, Ambessa remarked how “ultimately what we fight for and struggle for in these neighborhoods is self governance because this is the Hood, this is where resources don’t come, because these are the redline districts where governments don’t send money to; this is the talent, the labor force – the critical mass that makes it around the world, [making] industries successful.” The movement has only begun. In the coming years, Ambessa and Zakiya hope to take their movement globally by reaching out to “humanitarian struggles” all over the world, especially Africa. Clearly, there is no doubt that Destined Nation Media, Fiyawata, and Grind for the Green are all about taking care of their family, their community and ultimately the world.

For more information on Fiyawata, Grind for the Green they can be reached at destinednationmedia@gmail.com or myspace.com/fiyawatacrew.

grindandglorythemovie.com
grindforthegreen.com
fiyawataonline.com

Originally from OriginalThoughtMag.com July 2008 - register NOW to peep more articles like this!

Acrylamide and the 10 Worst Foods

2008-09-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

Peace,

Growing up in a Chinese household, my Old Earth (Mom) would always tell me to avoid fried food, but of course, I’d always ignore her and eat it anyways because salt, sugar, fat translated to yummy AND also would mean I’d have to drink some type of herbal tea to balance on the “fire” element within my body. Within the science of Chinese medicine/health, there is five elements – wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. In fact, the five elements are a good part of Chinese culture, even my Chinese name had to be drawn up, thought about and see if it fit the balance of the five elements. Sounds mathematical? That’s because it is.

Here’s an excerpt taken from The Taoist Secrets of Long Life and Good Health: A Complete Programme to Rejuvenate Mind, Body and Spirit By Charles Chan

Fried Food

In Spring 2002, Swedish Scientists discovered acrylamide, a carcinogenic substance, which made headlines. Several other European countries also corroborated Sweden’s discovery. Acrylamide forms from raw ingredients during traditional cooking methods such as frying or baking, the longer the cooking at high temperatures, the more acrylamide will be formed. Acrylamide causes cancer in test animals, which strongly suggests that acrylamide can also cause cancer in humans. Eating fried food is a double jeopardy to your health. It is wise to avoid eating high-fat food anyways and now you have got yet another compelling reason to pass on the fatty potato chips and other ‘goodies’.

More info on Acrylamide here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylamide

Oh yeah, check out this White Girl talking about the 10 Wrong, I mean WORST Foods to eat:

(Thanks, Freedom.)

"His language was Mathematics"

2008-08-26T07:16:00.000-07:00

Peace,

Part of the reason why I decided to officially launch this blog this month is because in the beginning of August, Nigeria and Ghana hold an annual yam festival as yams are a common food amongst African countries. Although, it ain't early in the month, Purple Yamster was still born, a few weeks late cause PY was chillin' in the womb. All that to say, everything has a type of logic or mathematics behind it, whether you know it or not. Yesterday, I had peeped this article on mathematics - there's a stunning visual (below) explaining behind everyday objects in our city environments.

Algebra - it's everywhere

Jill Tucker, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, August 25, 2008

Algebra.

The very word can twist the stomachs of otherwise well-adjusted adults, dredging up memories of nonsensical X's and Y's and a lifelong loathing of math.

For many, the math course was the educational equivalent of castor oil, forced down the throats of teenagers who questioned when they would ever encounter that train leaving Boston at 60 mph.

In July, the state Board of Education decided every eighth-grader must have a healthy dose of algebra - a decision critics attacked as failing to recognize the lack of qualified math teachers and the high failure rate for the middle school students already taking it.

Supporters, however, argued algebra improves critical thinking, is the gateway to college and puts all kids, regardless of income or ethnicity, on the path to a good career.

Lost in the debate was, well, algebra.

"I doubt if the politicians promoting this have any idea what they're promoting," said Keith Devlin, Stanford University researcher and mathematics professor, as well as the "Math Guy" on National Public Radio. "Few people know what algebra is."

Algebra, says Devlin, is a language, a very precise language written in symbols, and it's everywhere: in nearly all electronic devices, every statistic and each Internet search engine - and, indeed, in every train leaving Boston.

"You can store information using it. You can communicate information using it," Devlin said. "Google has made billions capitalizing on algebra."

Yet our schools don't always do a very good job teaching it, Devlin said. Instead of showing students the possibilities and beauty algebra offers, they ultimately steer frustrated and bored students away from math and the 21st century careers that use it - the opposite of the intended result.

'We're turning kids off'

"Most of us who become mathematicians do so not because of our education but in spite of it," Devlin said. "We're turning kids off a subject that is useful and incredibly interesting and beautiful if taught correctly."

Too often, algebra is taught as a set of rules and procedures - the equivalent of teaching a foreign language through vocabulary lists and repetitive conjugation of verbs, the students never understanding they could use the information to order a meal in Madrid or make a friend in China.

In short, the teacher matters. A lot. Just ask Alameda artist Alana Dill.

"I first took algebra in eighth grade from a bilious, creepy teacher who called all the girls 'hon' and all the boys 'son,' " said Dill, 46, in an e-mail. "He talked like Foghorn Leghorn. I learned nothing."

Devlin would like to see "mathematicians in residence" - in the tradition of artists in residence - at middle schools and high schools. They could visit schools, he suggested, and show students the cool side of math - like how an iPod uses algebra to play music.

"At any age, we will take the drudgery as long as we see a reason to do it," Devlin said.

Algebra, by the dictionary's definition, is essentially abstract arithmetic, letters and symbols representing relationships between groups, sets, matrices or fields. It's a way to find a piece to a puzzle using the pieces you already have in place.

It comes in very handy for engineers, financial analysts and sociologists, not to mention World of Warcraft video game players, some of whom use algebraic formulas to decide which weapon is more effective under certain circumstances - perhaps another hook to lure unsuspecting teens into seeing the useful side of algebra.

"It takes the arithmetic you've learned and lets you answer questions, not just 5 + 4 = what. It lets you (change the unknown) to 5 + what = 20," said Brett Wingeier, a biomedical engineer working on brain implants to treat epilepsy.

While that example is simple enough, algebra requires a mental leap from the solid ground of arithmetic into a shifting world of shapes and symbols.

Among the first folks to use algebraic ideas were the Babylonians, who created math puzzles - a 1600 B.C. sudoku, if you will.

Those ancient civilizations did algebra because it was fun.

Former UC Santa Cruz mathematician Paul Lockhart believes today's schools have killed the fun part.

"In fact, if I had to design a mechanism for the express purpose of destroying a child's natural curiosity and love of pattern-making, I couldn't possibly do as good a job as is currently being done," he wrote in a 2002 essay that traveled the digital world. "I simply wouldn't have the imagination to come up with the kind of senseless, soul-crushing ideas that constitute contemporary mathematics education."

In schools, math is something students are supposed to be afraid of, something that's supposed to be hard, Lockhart said in a telephone interview from the East Coast, where he now teaches at a private school in Brooklyn.

From art to artillery

Algebra is actually an art, a beautiful leap of the imagination that schools have turned into a field artillery manual, the mathematician said.

Lockhart favors self-discovery in math, letting students explore the hows and the whys themselves, unraveling problems like a fun puzzle rather than learning and solving equations for no apparent reason.

But his vision doesn't always translate well to the high-stakes realm of standardized testing, which quite literally requires students to solve for X on the eighth-grade exam. That can create a conundrum for time-strapped teachers who must teach the straightforward math skills needed for the state's multiple-choice test.

"I believe everybody can learn algebra," said San Francisco schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia. "I'm just not sure everyone can teach algebra so that the kids understand it and make it fun."

Garcia has some experience with this. While he personally didn't like algebra as a kid, he aggressively enrolled eighth-graders in algebra when he was the superintendent in Clark County, Nevada. He acknowledges that many students failed it, but they were failing basic math anyway.

A local decision

But he disagreed with California's mandate, saying it should be a local decision based on resources, including the number of qualified teachers.

The Santa Cruz-based Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning slapped a strongly worded warning label on the state's new algebra requirement, saying the state doesn't have nearly enough qualified teachers to do the job.

"Scant attention has been paid to this critical issue, and California's approach to math instruction still doesn't add up," according to the center's July report on the issue.

About a third of those teaching Algebra I in state middle schools do not have a credential in math, the center found.

That will get worse with the new requirement, said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell.

"My fear is it's going to turn kids off and contribute to the dropout rate," warned O'Connell, who recently estimated that it will cost $3.1 billion to train and recruit teachers while boosting student proficiency in pre-algebra and arithmetic before the requirement goes into effect in 2011.

Many teachers say the middle-schoolers won't be ready, either. Understanding algebra requires not only a solid foundation of arithmetic (fractions, division and decimals, for example), but also the maturity to focus on abstract concepts.

"Our plea is, 'Algebra when ready,' " said Hank Kepner president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. "We would not want to put an age level on it."

Recently retired high school algebra teacher David Goldman called the state board's decision "farcical."

"Some kids are not ready for algebra in the eighth grade," said Goldman, who taught at Redwood High School in Larkspur. "We've seen over the years if you try to accelerate that, it just doesn't work. ... At Redwood we saw a lot of kids that came in and then had to repeat it again in the ninth grade."

Teach it over two years

He supports possibly starting algebra in eighth grade, but slowing it down to a two-year course for some.

Last year, 42 percent of the 250,000 eighth-graders - about half the class - who took algebra scored as proficient or above on the state test.

Business leader Jim Lanich, who applauds the state board's decision, said schools should get students up to speed in the academic standards at each grade level.

Algebra is eighth-grade math, said Lanich, president of California Business for Education Excellence. It's the job of teachers and state schools to get them there - without spending $3.1 billion on top of the $50 billion the state already spends on its schools.

"The kids are leaving fourth grade now that will be required systemwide to take the eighth-grade Algebra 1 test," he said. "We have three years to get them to grade level."

Laptop computer. The computer is just an implementation in electrical circuits of a special form of algebra (called Boolean algebra) invented in the 19th century. Ordinary algebra is used to design and manufacture computers, and is at the heart of how to program them.

Cell phone. A cell phone is a particular kind of computer. An important feature of cell phones is that your phone receives all the signals sent to every cell phone in the region, but only responds to signals sent to your phone. This is achieved by using signal coding systems built on algebra.

Parking cop. Today's parking enforcement officers may carry equipment connecting them directly to a central vehicle database that registers your parking fine before you get back to the car and see the ticket on the windshield. Without algebra, such a system could not exist.

Hybrid car. Modern cars often come equipped with GPS, a highly sophisticated system that is designed using enormous amounts of mathematics that builds on algebra.

Delivery truck. Large retail chains use mathematical methods to determine the routing and scheduling of their delivery trucks; algebra is fundamental to those methods.

Stoplight. These days, stoplights are centrally controlled by computers, so there is even algebra involved in turning the light from red to green.

IPod. This is a math device in your hand. The iPod stores music using sophisticated mathematics built on algebra. And the iPod shuffle mechanism uses regular school algebra to order your songs randomly.

"Stand firm in your refusal to remain conscious during algebra. In real life, I assure you, there is no such thing as algebra." Fran Lebowitz

"Algebra ... the intensive study of the last three letters of the alphabet."

Source unknown

"The fact is that there is nothing as dreamy and poetic, nothing as radical, subversive and psychedelic, as mathematics." Paul Lockhart, mathematician

"I don't know anybody who uses algebra. But I'm not hanging out with architects and engineers." Carlos Garcia, San Francisco Unified School District superintendent

"Algebra was my three best years of high school." State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, joking

"Algebra is the gateway to critical thinking, pivotal for success in science, engineering and technology." Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in a July letter to state school board President Theodore Mitchell

In school "I was more interested in solving the mystery of the Maidenform bra than I was in alge-bra, but the teachers got through to me." Chandler White, 62, insurance claims adjuster, San Francisco

"Algebra definitely set me on a path to study the humanities . ... Literature and philosophy hold many complex concepts that lead to better critical thinking." John Koetzner, 53, community college instructor, Healdsburg

"At the risk of perpetuating the stereotype of librarians ... I'd be glad to state, on the record, that algebra is uniquely useless in life, and that the only good number is a call number." Nadine Walas, 39, librarian, Pacific Heights

"I am 77 years old, a retired priest of the Episcopal Church. I nearly died trying to do algebra in 1946."

Robert Warren Cromey, San Francisco

"What is always to be hoped is that the instructor will reach the kids' natural curiosity. Math is actually fun, and it is easy."

Camden McConnell, 66, senior structural engineer, Oakland

Solve for X

Here are some sample questions from the state's Algebra I standardized test:

1 Two airplanes left the same airport traveling in opposite directions. If one airplane averages 400 miles per hour and the other airplane averages 250 miles per hour, in how many hours will the distance between the two planes be 1,625 miles?

A. 2.5

B. 4

C. 5

D. 10.8

2 What is the solution for this equation?

|2x-3| = 5

A. x = -4 or x = 4

B. x = -4 or x = 3

C. x = -1 or x = 4

D. x = -1 or x = 3

3 What are the solutions for the quadratic equation x² + 6x = 16?

A. -2, -8

B. -2, 8

C. 2, -8

D. 2,8

4 Which quadratic function, when graphed, has x-intercepts of 4 and -3?

A. y=(x-3)(x+4)

B. y=(x+3)(2x-8)

C. y=(3x-1)(4x+1)

D. y=(3x+1)(8x-2)

Answers: 1-A; 2-C; 3-C; 4-B

Source: California Department of Education

Once upon a time ... For more than 4,000 years, people have been using algebra to understand time and the heavens, and to build civilizations. Ever-more-complex technology is the result.

ca. 2000 B.C.

Ancient Babylonians first use algebra in building and astronomy. They construct an accurate calendar and are able to predict eclipses of the sun and moon. They discover what later becomes known as the Pythagorean theorem, and apparently form a knotted rope into a 3,4,5 right triangle to measure out right angles when constructing buildings.

800 B.C.-A.D. 200

The Greeks, Indians and Chinese all independently develop elementary algebra, apparently viewing it more as an intellectual pursuit than something with practical application. Like the Babylonians, however, they do use it in building and astronomy.

A.D. 200-700

The Indians develop the subject further, along with the decimal number system we use today.

1202

Leonardo of Pisa writes a book, "Liber abaci," describing how the algebraic methods developed in India can be used in business, commerce and trade, for buying and selling, distributing profits, exchanging currencies and the like.

ca. 1600

Galileo and others show how to use algebra to understand the world we live in. This is the birth of modern science, and soon thereafter of technology.

It all starts with the basics

From then on, there is a steadily increasing use of algebra - or, more precisely, the sophisticated systems that build on it (calculus, scheduling, inventory control, network theory) to design technologies and create greater efficiencies in business and commerce.

For almost all the applications from the 17th century onward, the mathematics used is more advanced than algebra. But the work builds directly on the algebra learned in school - and, to an outsider, even looks much the same as school algebra, with x's and y's, equations and the like.

Just as the child who learns to pick out "Three Blind Mice" on a piano with one finger can build on that to become a great pianist, so too a child who learns algebra can go on and master more complicated, algebra-based math to do all kinds of cool things. In both cases, it's just a matter of learning how to do more complicated versions of the same thing.

Everyone has to start as a beginner. School algebra is the "Three Blind Mice" of modern science and technology and of many business techniques.

In real life Experts in science, computers, sports - even marijuana - use algebra in everyday work

Brett Wingeier, San Francisco, 34

Biomedical engineer working on brain implants for epilepsy

Uses algebra and geometry to calculate the size of the hole to put in a skull to accommodate an electrode.

Patrick Paulitz, Orangevale, 43

Computer programmer

Converts blocks to megabytes, calculates percent increase or decrease in disk space usage.

Chris Conrad, El Cerrito, 55

Court-qualified cannabis expert

Calculates area, mass, bulk, weights, yields and dosages and compares against police findings.

Marcia Benjamin, San Leandro, 51

Swim coach

Calculates a swimmer's lap pace to swim, for example, a 200-meter freestyle race in 2:28.

Jim Hahn, San Jose, 47

Corporate trainer, quilter

Resizes quilt patterns.

E-mail Jill Tucker at jtucker@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/25/MNJU126FNT.DTL

the Birth of the Purple Yamster

2008-08-24T18:44:00.001-07:00

Origin

It all started one day, Moms brought home these grayish, yellowish, dry and yes, ugly yams. Like an alchemist, she would turn hideous into beauty steaming them to delightful perfection. After peeling its soft and somber skin, I sunk my teeth into purple yam heaven. Ever since, Purple Yams has been one of my favorite vegetables. In fact, Purple Yams have now taken on a greater significance – the birth of the Purple Yamster representing the dynamic, creative, original, intriguing, positive, healthy, artistic, sustainable, proactive as well as the ever changing, evolving, and growing definition of “I Yam what I Yam.”

What is a Purple Yamster?

purple yamster n. - 1) one who practices and advocates eating closer to the origin

2) one who drops original poetics via voice, music, brush, pen or other tool of a cultural worker

3) one who bridges the red and blue together to form a unit anew; the mad synthesizer scientist

4) an original author on innovative thinker and doer who are pushing the limits of their craft

5) anything that garners the response of “that’s Purple Yamster fresh”

Vision

To document the journey of being vegetarian/raw food as well as share experiences of nostalgia as well as the brand new
Utilize blog to generate articles related to that of Original People in particular in the Chinese Diaspora as well as Original People worldwide (e.g. Chinese psychology, Chinese presence in Mexico, etc.)
Showcase interviews of extraordinary and innovative cultural workers
Give shine to the interesting and intriguing in the every day life of Purple Yamsters local and worldwide – say word!