Caution: Employees May Have Gross Hands

The pursuit in personal interests and limitation on governmental control seemed to go in a weird direction with Senator Tillis’ idea of skewed sanitary regulations in food chains.  Senator Tillis believes that employees should not be regulated to wash their hands after they use the restroom as long as the facility has a sign that states employees aren’t forced to practice those basic hygienic practices. It’s ironic that the Senator wants to venture from regulations, yet in his basic argument, he mentions the condition of needing to warn the public with signs. Oh well. Politics, I guess.

            Adam Smith’s works have been read and interpreted by millions of people, inspiring numerous tangents people have gone off on. I am sure that people have read Smith’s writing and inherited an extremist view of his policies, while others merely nod in agreement of disbelief.

            Senator Tillis’ interpretation of Smith’s free-market system utilizes some imaginative ideals. As Michelle pointed out, healthcare and FDA restrictions were not quite around in Smith’s time, so Senator Tillis had to apply basic theories and polices to today’s issues.

            Now, I am quite certain, much like Senator Tillis, that facilities who choose not to participate in the enforcement of hand washing would eventually die out, because, I mean, natural selection and all that fun stuff. Unlike Senator Tillis, I don’t believe that making employees wash their hands should be up for debate. We already have to use the honor code with the regulation. There aren’t random soap checks or any other method to make sure employees wash their hands. I guess I just don’t understand why it is such a big deal. Yes, strong government regulations are a little rocky and could lead to some rough times and policies, but must we really use valuable government time to discuss sanitary practices that were written into Barney songs?

Fairytales

            As I was thinking about a topic to write the next essay on, I looked around my dorm, searching for something to pop out at me to write about. While I was scrutinizing every knick-knack that cluttered my shelves, my roommate was singing a song from Mulan. Of course I joined her, and after a solid two minutes of belting out the classic Disney song, I thought about Taylor’s blog that centered on Frozen and the feminist approach that people commented on. Being a bit of a Disney buff, I was intrigued by the class discussion on the topic, so I went on JSTOR and searched ‘feminist fairytales’. I wasn’t expecting a huge flood of results, but after flicking through a couple of resources, I concluded that there was definite potential for a three to four page paper.

            One of my sources thus far, Salman Rushdie’s Attempt at a Feminist Fairytale Reconfiguration in Shame, by Justyna Deszcz, seems the most intriguing. As I was skimming through the document, one particular quote caught my attention. “Woman must make the best of her fate, for if she does not love Man, why then he dies, the Beast perishes, and Woman is left a widow, that is to say, less than a daughter, less than a wife, worthless (158)”. This quote was provoked from the fairytale Beauty and the Beast. The movie showed a slow progression of a relationship getting more and more simple and traditional as the Beauty acclimated to life with the Beast and the Beast eventually returned to his true human form. It stated that women must settle with which men are allotted to them, otherwise without the status of being someone’s wife, their lives could be considered worthless.  

            I hope to argue the thesis that original fairytales created a certain mold for women in the minds of others, especially the children who grew up hearing about these stories. Maybe, if time permits, I could include something about how modern day fairytales are spun in a completely different direction, sending the message out to viewers that feminism is alive and well.

Toppers Take the Cake

Like Trevor, I fancy myself a baker. I love making cookies, cakes, cupcakes, and brownies, really anything that could be considered unhealthy. However, when I think about weddings cakes, my mind does not go to the flavor or if there is a surprise filling. No, the first thing that pops into my head is the wedding cake topper. Why, you may ask? I haven’t a clue.

            I have never been to a wedding, but I have watched enough of the TLC show, ‘Four Weddings’ to know what constitutes a successful union. A couple can earn major style points with a fancy cake topper. The traditional days of a Caucasian man and woman standing pin straight in the commonly known white get-up are long gone.  They have been replaced by cool, hip, diverse options that can make any guest go wild.

            We live in a thriving time period that allows a variety of choices when it comes to the decorations a-top a wedding cake. Some wonderful examples of unique toppers can be seen on the David’s Bridal website. These include a medley of outfit choices to best represent the attire of the occasion, various positions of the couple from hugging to sitting on a bench, and even some that are birds. Sports fans all over can make their cake festive with hockey geared grooms and soccer playing brides. A couple that adores riding around on a motorcycle can grace the top of their cake with them on a stylish ride.

            The Roman’s may not have paid too much attention to pimping-out their wedding cakes, but the times have changed and how exciting is it that we are the generation along for the ride. Couples can go for a comical, cutesy, or artistic approach when making the tough decision of what goes on the top of their most important cake.

            I’m sure once the servings knives are out and people are shoveling in the delicious treat, the topper won’t be on their mind. But, until that time, the only thing to catch a guest’s eye is the statue on top of the cake.

Battle of the Syrup Grades

Grade A versus Grade B

           

            Vermont Maple Syrup comes in many variations, each as satisfying as the others. Vermont Syrup is organized into four categories, which then falls into either Grade A or Grade B. Many people have debated the difference between the two grades of syrup. Questions about which is healthier have arisen, causing some cultures to pull for certain grades more than other.

(Vermont Maple Syrup Makers Association via Forbes)

It has become a recent fad in certain cultures to try cleanses and other health boosting practices. It’s been said that Grade B syrup, because of its lighter pigment, has less of a detrimental effect on people’s allotted caloric intake each day. People have created a false pretense that Grade B is healthier than the darker batch of Maple Syrup labeled as Grade A. In actuality, both grades of liquid gold are as processed and sugary as the other. Randi Calderwood, a fourth generation Vermont syrup maker, said, “I’ve had people tell me it has to be Grade B because it is purer and less processed but that’s not true at all.”[1] Each tapped tree is processed an equal amount and the color of the syrup is a result of the temperature, not an absent amount of calories.

            The only difference between the various grades of the wonderful product is the taste.  “Grading is done simply by color, and color in turn varies largely based on weather, with sap from the same tree capable of producing different colors and thus different grades from one day to the next – or even within a single boiling run of the same sap.”[2] No matter the grade, everyone can experience the joyous, processed treasure that is Vermont Maple Syrup. The rumors about a higher processed rate in Grade A syrup holds no merit, which means people should select their syrup by taste, not rumored health benefits.

 Personally, I’ve always been a fan of Grade A Dark with Robust Taste.  

  

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[1]

Olmsted, Larry. "Goodbye Fancy, So Long Grade B: Making Sense Of Maple Syrup." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 2 Apr. 2014. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2014/04/02/goodbye-fancy-so-long-grade-b-making-sense-of-maple-syrup/

[2] Olmsted