The Rather Odd Blog

The Great Fat Conspiracy

2010-08-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

It's not often that RatherOdd decide to do some serious commentary on social issues, but this is one that get's me going and come from the heart (you'll find out how ironic tat statement is in a minute!)

So what's this all about? Surely there can't be a conspiracy to make us all fat? Why? Who'd do such a thing? What do they stand to stand to gain from it?

The answer for the most part is... MONEY.

There are many private sectors who stand to gain from the growing tide of obesity, many reasons the governments of the world pay lip service to health issues yet, behind closed doors, are prepared to allow themselves to benefit from the 'fat trade'.

So let's start with my declaration of having vested interests. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am fat, technically obese. Not 'a little overweight', 'rotund', 'of a cheerful disposition' or any of the other euphemisms that political correctness seeks to use to nullify the true meaning of being overweight. These are all part of the complicity of the state (I'll explain later).

So why am I fat? Let's start with the obvious answer, "I eat too much." Err... NO! I eat 3 meals per day, have 1 healthy snack mid morning and consume no more than 3 units of alcohol per day and NEVER eat fast food. So what next? "It's genetic..." Possibly, there is certainly evidence for a genetic predisposition to carrying excess weight and having an inability to effectively metabolise fat. Ultimately though, this is trumped by the third explanation which is so blindingly obvious that when I say ot you will probably go "well, duh!"... The third explanation is "I eat the wrong things..." YES! So, I consume less than 2500 calories per day, get my 5-a-day portions, keep within my recommended alcohol guide lines yet still I am overweight. How does that work?

The answer is this. To much of my calorie intake comes from FAT. It's not something that the government will put on any widely available public health information, it's not even something that the supermarkets will tell you on the packet, but any good nutritionist will tell you that the percentage of calories that you derive from fatty sources is VITAL to maintaining or reaching a healthy weight. So when I add up my calories in a day, I'm fine... add up the fat content in those calories and I'm way over my RDA.

Everyday bought foods contain HUGE amounts of fat and the retailers try to hide it in many cases. Worse still, in other cases, they promote fatty foods or actively price them more keenly than their healthier alternatives. I'm not talking about 'junk' foods either. I'm talking about prepared meals, basic ingredients and items that we eat every day.

So how does it work? How do they get away with this? The answer is WE DONT NOTICE, or if we do, we don't comprehend what we are looking at. I will now give some examples of what I mean. I'm not naming brands or retailers - I don't plan on getting sued by anyone anytime soon, All I'll say is look for yourself next time you're shopping.

1) Scam one, declaring fat per portion on an unfeasible small portion size.

Example; A UK supermarket is selling a 250g pot of pasta salad in it's sandwich bay as a lunch time item, clearly marketed with the intention of you buying and eating the whole thing in one go. The pot is not resealable and it is even sold with a spork to eat it with.

On the label it states; fat content 30g per 1/2 pot. Hang on, PER HALF POT, the lettering is so small that you could easily miss that part. Yet I'm about to eat the WHOLE pot for lunch. What I though was 30g (1/3 RDA) is actually 60g (2/3 RDA)!

2) Scam two, higher fat = lower price

Example 1; Supermarket standard mince, £2 per pack and 18% fat (not overly healthy), Value mince £1 per pack for the same weight but now 28% fat (OUCH!) and it's not like you're going to grill it and get the fat out, that fat is coming right out into your saucepan!

Example 2; Supermarket own brand garlic bread, regularly on promotion at £1 per pack or similar promotions. By comparison, healthy garlic bread (50% lower fat content) not promoted once in the last 6 months, priced at £1.49.

So poorer people are automatically penalised and those with money often choose to buy cheaper to save money.

There are many other ways to get us to by fatty foods but these are the main ones to look out for and steer clear of.

So why do they do it? Easy, MONEY. Fat is cheaper to buy than it's alternatives. Fat has a longer storage life than than it's alternatives. The human body has the potential to be addicted to fat. Supermarkets can play on this. you buy fatty foods because they are cheap or because you don't realise you are doing so. you get addicted and then you buy some more.

The government get more money from taxing the profits of the manufacturers and retailers involved in the fat trade than they have to put into the NHS to deal with the problems of obesity. So everyone makes money out of the growing obesity problem ate every level, so there is nobody capable of challenging the system en-masse. Challenges can be made though, choosing a diet regime that counts points based on fat content and calories combined can have proven results, using your own eyes and intelligence to steer clear of the traps placed in front of you can also work. But these require will power. That little thing where you say "I will not..." but you are trying to fight with you will is an addiction. Try getting a heroin addict to go 'cold turkey' on will power alone, or an alcoholic to dry out on pure will power. IT DOES NOT WORK! (ok, there are a few exceptions to this I'm sure but as a rule of thumb...)

There have long been drugs on file that can prevent fat from being absorbed into the body, can promote fat burning to assist weight loss or help in other ways. Look at the patent books for patents from the worlds major drug companies and they are littered with drugs that are patented for these purposes. Next, check a little further and you will see that more than enough of these are licensed and approved for medical use for the purposes of weight control. But they are not available, you cannot get them on prescription, you cannot buy them if you want to go private. In fact, the miracle that is modern medicine, would rather cut people open to fit gastric bands or just cut the lumps of fat off!

I'm not seeking to provide answers here - you can provide your own. If you've got as far as reading all of this, you probably have your own thoughts on the subject. If you don't agree with what I'm saying - that's cool. All I ask is that you just LOOK when you go round the supermarket. Those foods on the isle ends, on promotion. Are they healthy foods? How much fat is in them. Judge for yourself. Read the nutrition information on what you're eating. And check the portion size that they're calculating it on. I guarantee that a 'portion' as they see it, will be far less than you were about to consume!

If you DO see what I'm saying. The answer is not easy, we all need to eat, we all need to shop at supermarkets. We can avoid the scams far as we can see them but the real change has to come in society.

Being fat is not healthy, it is not desirable, very few of us would actively choose to be overweight, yet we are deceived into eating more fat than we need to, bribed into buying unhealthy foods and the state stands back, complicit in the drive to make more and more money from what we eat, at the expense of all our health.

jailrecordings

Everybody Draw Muhammad Day 2010

2010-05-20T13:43:00.001-07:00

So it's everybody draw muhammad day. I bet all the mussies are hating this. SO, just to add to it all and get in on the act, at RatherOdd.org we've created out own likeness of muhammad. and now we're going to share it with you all...

You can see a larger version and download the full size image at:

www.ratherodd.org/Site/muhammad.html

In response to the Digital Economy Bill

2010-03-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

Frankly - Fuck The Digital Economy Bill

This is a wasted piece of legislation and it is doomed to fail from stage one. Let my explain my point of view;

1) The music that I download without paying is rarely available in shops. It is either while labels that are themselves a copyright breach! or in most other cases, they are pressings that have been deleted from the record company back catalogue so I couldn't buy them even if I wanted to.

2) The music that I download that does not fall into one of the two categories above, I would not pay for anyway, it is merely the fact that I do not have to pay an extortionate price that means that it represents a value that I would be interested in downloading.

3) The record industry is the driver in this bill, claiming that the are loosing £200m a year (cited by BBC panorama, broadcast 15/03/10) yet let's look at this...

Can you buy 12 vinyl records if you're a club DJ? Can you buy a CD single if you're a domestic buyer? Answer; NO! You can't because the music industry has decided that you can't. They are not making the product for you to buy in the first place.

The current selling price for CD albums is well out of kilter with previous selling prices and they do not currently represent good value for money;

In 1988 you could buy an album on vinyl and expect to pay £6.99 (production cost £2 approx. / profit margin 71% ) yet now we are expected to pay an average price of £9.99 (production cost 50p (!) / profit margin 95%). So record companies are being more greedy in their retail selling prices. Online prices are also excessive, 79p per track on itunes for an electronic download, of which the record industry receives 50p without incurring physical production costs for any type of media. That means that the average release on itunes delivers a higher revenue stream than selling a CD in the shops - and even that is over priced!

SO that's my basic rant over and done with, but there are other reasons why it will fail...

4) All it takes is a VPN or other cloaking method and there will be absolutely no way of tracking an IP address through that.

5) By the figures offered by current research, 61% of UK households use some form of illegal download system. Are you really going to cut all of them off and prosecute all of them? You will never even scratch the surface.

6) Ok, so you've figured out a bill to track those torrenting stuff, now what about those using forums and file download sites. They move so quickly that they'll never catch them all, and even the, how do you track the IP of people visiting a site that is out of your jurisdiction?

7) Lastly. I am a musician, a semi professional one at that. I have no problem with people downloading my music. In fact I offer it for free download on a number of different sites. I do not feel that those who download it are taking any money off me, they could still buy a CD version if they like it that much, and if they don't like it enough to buy a CD then they aren't going to buy one to find out what the songs sound like in the first place.

BOTTOM LINE - WHY SHOULD THE MUSIC INDUSTRY BE ENTITLED TO SUCH PROTECTION WHEN IT DOES NOT HELP ITSELF AND ALL IT TURNS OUT IS GENERIC PULP, UNWORTHY OF MY MONEY?

It happens to us all from time to time...

2010-01-11T13:49:00.000-08:00

... you know how it is, you never wanted it in the first place. Most of the time you can't explain where it came from yet there it is. And it has inherent comedy value... It is, of course DIARRHEA !!

So make the most of it and laugh at yourself... Just remember - there are some things best kept clear of until the worst is past...

Nice!!

Return to the Odd Blog...

2009-11-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

Its been a while since I've done anything much. I've kinda let this all slip a bit so here's me making amends (a bit). Whilst recently, time has not always been my own, I now return with this offering...

It's allegedly a man gurning, personally I think its more like an example of chronic constipation. In either case, the guys a freak! Enjoy. More coming soon.

A return to the fore

2009-08-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've been absent a while due to moving house and all the crap thats gone with it. Currys being absolutely shit with their home delivery service. The managed to SMASH my new washing machine, then nobody bothered to tell me, they just failed to turn up and deliver. I then got passed from pillar to post trying to get it sorted out and only then did I get a resolution because I threatened to take them apart legally.

Next up, BT fuck up my broadband connection. I ordered it on line as soon as I had a phone number sorted out, I has a confirmed delivery date of the 28th July, and nothing happened. No broadband, no router pack, nothing. So I phone up BT and they claim to have absolutely no record of my order what so ever. So I have to place my order all over again, do not pass go, do not collect £200, DO NOT GET BROADBAND UNTIL 6th August!!

So I've been back in the dark ages here until last night when my broadband finally came on. It's quick - 6.5 Meg. so I'll now be a regular visitor to the BBC & C4 online repositories for a few videos now and again.

But now that I am moved, sorted and back on line, it's time to get some updates going on with the main web site. I have a file of old material that I found on an old HD when I was backing up my Mac the other day and over the next few days I;ll start to upload some absolute gems.

Keep it odd people!

What we all want to say...

2009-06-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

I love spam marketing. It's so bloody pointless. So it's time for a few rather odd responses...

COMPARETHEMARKET.COM SAY

James, you could save up to £332 on your car insurance‏

From:	comparethemarket.com (comparethemarket@comparethemarket.emv5.com)
Sent:	02 June 2009 10:39:15
To:	XXXXXXXXX @hotmail.co.uk

If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view.
To ensure that your issue of comparethemarket.com's newsletter reaches your inbox, please addctm@comparethemarket.com to your e-mail Address Book or Safe List.

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Hi James,

If last month's budget news has made you think about how you spend your money take a look at our helpful energy saving tips and home news as well as the fantastic car insurance special offers.

Great car insurance offers

Save on your home insurance

Switch and save on your energy

You could save up to £332 on car insurance

I SAY...

NO I COULDN'T!!!

I tried your web site when my car insurance was up for renewal (probably why you are bugging me with spam emails now!) and you were nowhere near competitive. My renewal quote was £210.46 and you offered me a lowest quote that was over £100 in excess of that.

Perhaps you have spent too much on meerkats and that is causing your prices to rise? Might I suggest that you do the following...

1) Use less meerkats in future to save money

2) Be realistic about the alleged 'savings' you quote - when the small print says that only 10% of customers can make a saving of the level that you advertise, it's hardly an attractive proposition is it? How about the idea of telling us what the AVERAGE saving is? The number wouldn't be that high but it might be a more attractive prospect in terms of me believing that I might actually save some money... Aah, but most people don't read the small print - do they? WELL, I DO!!

3) Bear in mind that the only time I have ever put my details into your web site was a month ago, for a car insurance quote, and that I haven't taken it out because your prices are seriously uncompetitive. Was it really a smart marketing ploy to mailshot (spam) me offering me car insurance? THINK PEOPLE... In my quote I gave a policy inception date and that has now passed... What is the likelihood that am still looking for car insurance? Pretty small I would think, wouldn't you?

So, please take note of the following...

I REQUIRE THAT YOU REMOVE ALL OF MY DETAILS FROM YOUR MARKETING DATABASE AND ALSO FROM ANY ASSOCIATED COMPANIES WITH WHOM YOU SHARE DETAILS. I DO NOT CONSENT TO ANY OF MY DATA BEING HELD ON YOUR DATABASES FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER AND DEMAND THAT ALL INFORMATION THAT YOU HOLD ON ME IS REMOVED - IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE DATA PROTECTION ACT. FURTHERMORE, I DO NOT CONSENT TO MY DATA BEING PASSED TO ANY THIRD PARTY COMPANIES OR ORGANISATIONS FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER.

SHOULD I FIND THAT ANY OF THIS INSTRUCTION HAS BEEN IGNORED OR IS INCOMPLETE I WILL SEEK PROSECUTION FOR BREACH OF THE DATA PROTECTION ACT AND INVASION OF PRIVACY TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT THAT THE LAW ALLOWS.

SIMPLES!!!

Beer in the evening...

2009-05-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

OK, so I've been off from work today working on the site, trawling the web, looking for bizarre shot and I came across this. It almost makes you cry to think of the waste!

Whilst I'm chilling in the sun drinking a bevvy, just thought I'd share this picture of criminal spillage. Such a shame!

Massive site update

2009-05-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

OK, it's seriously taken all day to get this far but all the Golgotha Outlaws section of the site is now live. All the music is linked and ready to download and all the artwork is in place.

Also, I've built and submitted the site map today to Google, MSN, Yahoo and a couple of other search engines so hopefully that should generate a little traffic. Other than that, I'm pretty much built now so it's more about content now, so that's where getting traffic comes in, The more people visit, the more chance I have of getting someone to contribute some content.

Maybe I will put some more time into finding stuff to put into the blog as well.

The first update

2009-05-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, the new site is partly functional now. There's a bit of content on there but I need more, this is where YOU come in. Any contributions gratefully received.

Whilst I've been building the site today I've been looking around the web for inspiration and there's some seriously fucked up stuff out there.

DO NOT WATCH THE FOLLOWING VIDEO...

Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs Murder Guy with Hammer and Screwdriver

UNLESS YOU HAVE GUTS OF STEEL - IT'S NOT A FAKE.

but it is... rather odd

The birth of ratherodd.org

2009-05-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

After a bit of mucking around, and my general incompetence, RatherOdd.org was finally born at about 11:30am this morning. Following a major circumvention of my severe lack of web creation knowledge I am now up and running.

Over the next few days I'll be building the basic site and getting a few bits up and running. Contributions are always welcome so if you would like to start me off with a few photos of unusual, gross or odd things then by all means feel free to email them to me and I will add them to the galleries and credit you for their inclusion.

Lets make things RatherOdd.org