if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained?"
-- Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, 1803
Tubby Chang
by Lee
This happens everywhere.
At least 200 million people in China will suffer from obesity within 10 years if current trends spurred by unhealthy lifestyles continue.
China currently has 90 million obese citizens whose weight is more than 20 percent in excess of their accepted level, said the Information Times, citing medical experts.
Among these, trends among youths were most disturbing, it added.
Ten percent of Chinese children were obese with the number increasing by eight percent annually, Chen Chaogang, a leading doctor at the hospital attached in Zhongshan University in southern Guangdong province, told the newspaper.
High fat fast-food diets and round-the-clock snacking were to blame, it said, adding Chinese had happily adopted more sedentary lifestyles centred around the television, computer and automobile.
Capitalism changes things. You can buy just as much junk food in China as you can anywhere else in the world, and with the Chinese now making more money, they’re spending more money on chips and cookies. I remember when I was there ice cream was starting to become a hit—the Chinese had never seen it before, it was brand new to 99% of them. So now that they’ve got more disposable income, they’re gorging on the foods that they’ve always been denied, and giving up on their traditional meals of fish heads and rice.
Comments
and giving up on their traditional meals of fish heads and rice.
Roly-poly fish heads?
Yum.
Chinese have a traditionally oily diet anyway. I bet it has less to do with all of the junk food and more to do with the fact that they have more food available.
Since when is a diet of rice and vegetables considered “oily”?
Since when is a diet of rice and vegetables considered “oily”?
Have you ever eaten Chinese food before? Like peking duck, dim sum, hot pot, shrimp omlettes, peppered beef, egg drop soup, etc.? Many popular Chinese dishes are fried, but Chinese are really anal about freshness. They have a catfish dish where they fry a living fish all the way up to the gills and serve it to you gasping for air on the plate. Thats fresh.
Chinese food is really oily, albeit Sesame oil.
They offset it with green tea. At least that is the theory anyway. Thats what my mother in law tells me anyway. Chinese have a great tradition of physical fitness as well.
They have a catfish dish where they fry a living fish all the way up to the gills and serve it to you gasping for air on the plate. Thats fresh.
Well, isn’t that wonderful.
Well, in my case I havent seen many Chinese vegetarians, either, but that is just me. It probably exists somewhere. If you are ever in Alhambra you can eat chinese Islamic food, though. Its the same dishes but prepared Halal.
It was an eye opener to me.
To be frankly honest though my wife is Chinese Indonesian. Her mother is really traditional Chinese, but my wife was raised in Indonesia and considers herself that culture first.
If you ever had a reason to put pounds on fast, go with Indonesian or Polynesian diet. Everything is Kecap Manis (a kind of suger laden soy sauce) and coconut or peanuts in almost every dish. I gained about five pounds eating this dish my mother in law brought over from Indo called ‘Rendang.’ Its chunks of pot roast stewed in a spicy coconut and chili sauce. Lots of sugar.
Most asian diets like chinese, Thai, Indo, Philipino, etc. replace carbohydrate intake from bread with pure sugar.
I personally think the lightest and healthiest diets in Asia are Vietnamese and Japanese. korean can be healthy but many of the noodle dishes are smeared in black bean sauce which is mostly sugar. They also eat a lot of pickled and fermented items as they are a cold weather mountainous region.
Well, isn’t that wonderful.
Growing up on a steady diet of Cuban food in Miami, I never questioned how curteous it was to have your food slaughtered before it arrived to the table.
there is also a Dim Sum dish of boiled Chicken Feet. It comes to you completely intact.
I politely declined.
Roly-poly fish heads?
Yum.
I’m not sure if it only ran in Chicago, but one of my fondest childhood memories is PBS’ “Image Union” running the video to Barnes & Barnes Fish Heads
Fish heads fish heads
Roly poly fish heads
Fish heads fish heads
Eat them up
Yum
In the morning laughing happy fish heads
In the evening floating in the soup
Ask a fish head anything you want to
They won’t answer they can’t talk
I took a fish head out to see a movie
Didn’t have to pay to get it in
They can’t play baseball they don’t wear sweaters
They’re not good dancers they don’t play drums
Roly poly fish heads are never seen
Drinking cappuccino in Italian restaurants
with Oriental women
The funniest thing to do though is to drink with Chinese people. It seems many Asian people have an allergic reaction to alcohol and their faces turn really red.
This can happen after say one or two beers.
We westerners amaze them in our capacity to drink alcohol, and it is an easy drinking bet to win most often.
Japanese cuisine doesn’t do anything for me. They rely on the natural flavors of the fish and veggies-no sauces or sauteeing. Very bland-even the wasabi is on the side, not integrated into the dishes. That said, I was in Tokyo for 5 days a few years ago and saw exactly 1 person who would have been considered chunky by American standards-and it was a girl, not a sumo.
Japanese cuisine doesn’t do anything for me. They rely on the natural flavors of the fish and veggies-no sauces or sauteeing. Very bland-even the wasabi is on the side, not integrated into the dishes. That said, I was in Tokyo for 5 days a few years ago and saw exactly 1 person who would have been considered chunky by American standards-and it was a girl, not a sumo.
I completely agree. I guess the flavor plays a factor. make bland shit and no one will want to eat it.
Did you get one of those monster loaves of bread they sell in the 7 Elevens?
East Asians are both alcohol and lactose intolerant, that’s why there are almost no dairy products in Chinese and Japanese cuisine.
Tis true, I am afraid. the Asian diet is almost militant when it comes to the lack of dairy in the diet. Almost none (I want to say none but thats impossible) of the cultures in Asia embraces cheese, milk yogurt, etc.
As I said before they make it all back up in their use of sugars. the staple of the Asian diet. hong Kong is a bit different as they were involved with the British for so long.
I have heard though that Chinese cuisine in China is a delicacy untouched by many other cultures.
I thought it was really interesting to see the divide between the East and the west even in the diet. Most European cultures couldnt live without dairy, while Asia was built without it.
It still is pretty hard for me to grasp that Italians wouldnt have noodles without that trip to Asia, but hey…
Interesting.... I’m South-East Asian and I hate cheese and milk.... and I’m not a fan of drink either…
The funniest thing to do though is to drink with Chinese people. It seems many Asian people have an allergic reaction to alcohol and their faces turn really red.
It’s beacuse most asians have about 20% of the alcohol dehydrogenase (the protein that metabolizes ethanol) that westerners have. One of my Korean buddies turns red under the eyes when he drinks , so we call him “panda”
OT: My eldest daughter just got her Bachelor’s Degree cum laude. I am so proud of her.
With all the “Chinese Food & Donuts” restaurants around here, you’d think China would be some big donut powerhouse.
Well, now I know more about Asian cuisine than I ever thought possible.
Drum: So now there’s another Fact-bot in the family? : )
P.S. Not being familiar with Asian food, what exactly is dim sum?
P.S. Not being familiar with Asian food, what exactly is dim sum?
Chinese version of breakfast, brunch, or sometimes even lunch.
Usually the meal that you wake up to.
Most Asian cultures are not so strict on the times you eat. It is not uncommon for an Asian family to eat a dinner at ten or eleven.
Dim Sum (in my opinion) is the first meal served in the day.
OT: My eldest daughter just got her Bachelor’s Degree cum laude. I am so proud of her.
Congrats.
Interesting.... I’m South-East Asian and I hate cheese and milk.... and I’m not a fan of drink either…
May I ask which part....
With all the “Chinese Food & Donuts” restaurants around here, you’d think China would be some big donut powerhouse.
No, just easy to launder money into and evade tax from.
so we call him “panda”
Funny,
My ultra Japanese freind, Jun, is nicknamed The Iron Panda.
He was the guy to point me to the main differences between Japanese and Korean foods.
koreans seem to get a kick out of mixing foods, while Japanese think that is savagery. the compartaments they serve you the food in are a direct politeness pecking order. they will smile, bow, and judge accordingly.
Poosh,
Amazing. Can you speak any mayla or Indo, or Arabic!
My indonesian-Mayla is horrible but I could entertain you with my basics. I am sitting on a Kamus Lengkap right now after emailing in laws.
I know Mayla is the polite and proper form of Indo, but I have no perspective how Brunei might fit in, or not fit in.
It still is pretty hard for me to grasp that Italians wouldnt have noodles without that trip to Asia, but hey…
The French would commit mass suicide if they ever had to come to grips with the fact that they learned to cook from the pre-pasta Italians.
I still love Chris Rock’s take on fat people, someting to the effect that in most parts of the world a fat person would be someone you WANT to hang with just because they obviously have access to great chow.
Give the insult “More Chin’s than a Chinese phonebook.” a whole new meaning.
in most parts of the world a fat person would be someone you WANT to hang with just because they obviously have access to great chow.
Well I’ll tell you this: there was something funny going on with that Skipper on Gilligan’s Island.
Nobody looks like that eating coconuts.
Japanese cuisine doesn’t do anything for me. They rely on the natural flavors of the fish and veggies-no sauces or sauteeing. Very bland-even the wasabi is on the side, not integrated into the dishes.
I don’t know where you ate, but you need to try again. There are some fabulous superhealthy miso-based sauces that just melt in your mouth. Even the slightly down-at-heel cafeteria in the company where I work produces some fabulous flavours.
Did you only eat expensive restaurants?
They have a catfish dish where they fry a living fish all the way up to the gills and serve it to you gasping for air on the plate. Thats fresh.
Have you ever seen how they cook a cat? It would give you nightmares for the rest of your life.
The Watcher: Well, think of it as the mice getting their revenge…
They DID pay for it, after all…
And here I thought only Filipinos ate fish heads and rice for breakfast.
meow.. meeeew ew
My favorite comedian, Jake Johannsen, described Dim Sum something like this:
“I like chicken, and I like donuts, but I don’t like chicken donuts.”
Sounds pretty accurate to me. :-)
It’s funny how a few people on this thread have said that people from Asia can’t hold their liquor. That’s only true of about half of them, and you’ve gotta trust me on that.
I’ve lived in California my whole life, and most of my friends have been Asians (some born here, some born abroad.) Half of them get red in the face and watsed after drinking a beer, but the other half can drink, especially some Japanese and Korean folks I’ve had the pleasure of bar-hopping with.
For example, I know a lovely young woman from Tokyo who moved to the Sacramento area when she was a teenager. She’s probably 5’2”, and polite as can be, but she matches me round for round whenever we go out to a bar, and my hefty Irish-American ass is well over 200 lbs. And when we all get up in the (late) morning, she’s fresh as a daisy, while the rest of us are hung over. She usually deals with the dim sum waiters, and she gets us the best chow. (Her ex-boyfriend is from Hong Kong, so she learned how to deal with the waiters from him.)
Oh, and this cracked me up:
Most asian diets like chinese, Thai, Indo, Philipino, etc. replace carbohydrate intake from bread with pure sugar.
Um, they may not eat much in the way of bread, but, uh...rice?
Um, they may not eat much in the way of bread, but, uh...rice?
That was in addition to rice. thanks for pointing out my omission.
This one cracked me up
That’s only true of about half of them, and you’ve gotta trust me on that.
after you wrote this
For example, I know a lovely young woman from Tokyo
tokyo Rose perhaps…
Just confirmed my tickets to go to the King Tut exhibit at LACMA.
I dont know how many people will ever be able to say that they get to see such things in their lifetimes. Man, sometimes life is good.
Just confirmed my tickets to go to the King Tut exhibit at LACMA.
Is that the one with the white pharoah?
tis the same. Confirmed in both Europe and America as the Pharoah.
Isnt that so fucking stupid. well I have even had to entertain the arguement that Jesus was black.
Who fucking cares.
Who fucking cares.
Well the museum got all that free publicity, too. The exhibition sounds great. I wonder if it will come to Japan?
Actually, I have been reading about the issue since you said you were going - no-one can quite agree on whether he was North-African Caucasoid or negro, or something else. The people who did the reconstruction opted for a very neutral tone (neither black nor white). But they might as well have just made him white.
I do wish these things could be discussed a little less emotionally.
He looks very much like a representation of people indigenous (I know probably spelled wrong) to Modern day Egypt.
Many blacks think different. I see the view point that North Africans were conquered white, but I must add that is theoretical bullshit. Many NorthernAfrican countries could throw a rock and hit Southern Europe.
they have no more clame to King Tutt as a traditional black person, than white people could say Jesus looked like a German with blonde hair and blue eyes. Absolutely, stupid.
While in Japan I ate at a variety of restaurants-the best one was Korean. The only flavored dish w/ a sauce was barbequed eel, which was excellent.
The pizza in Japan is crazy-I got one of those 4 in 1 combos at Pizza Hut that were just introduced over here. The toppings were tuna/corn-pretty good, korean-spicy meat,good, squid and broccoli-not bad,different, and asparagus/mayo-disgusting.
At the 7-11 I didn’t see any giant loaves of bread, but I had a couple of their deli sandwiches and they were different to say the least. Mostly hard boiled egg/mystery meat-tasted pretty good when I was drunk. I stayed w/ my American buddy and his Japanese girlfriend, so they ate western food for breakfast-no fish at 8:30 in the morning, thankfully.
Tut was an ancient Egyptian, and the idea that they were black is absurd in the extreme. Just look at all the pictures and statues they left of themselves. They were not black, European or Semitic. As for the idea Jesus was black, HE WAS A JEW! Which meant he looked more like an Arab or an Isreali.
Isn’t “Jew” a little more involved than just Israeli? I would expect the Israelis to have interbred with Egyptians and North Africans during their slavery, so he may have had some black heritage. Certainly he wouldn’t have been “white”.
My stepfather is (Russian) Jewish, and he doesn’t really look Arab.
I would expect the Israelis to have interbred with Egyptians and North Africans during their slavery,
You got the story of their slavery but missed the part that they kept themselves separate, according to the familial ancestry of the twelve brothers? Different cultures, different languages (although there was probably a lot more corruption of the language than of the bloodlines). There isn’t much in the way of “marriage” between master and slave, especially when both sides work to keep themselves separate.
Certainly he wouldn’t have been “white”.
Especially not the effeminate type seen in all those pantings, with long flowing light brown hair, blue eyes, delicate pale skin, and that mournful expression.
Jesus was a carpenter, folks. His dad, Joseph, was a carpenter. He worked with his hands and muscles pounding metal into wood six days a week (no working on the Sabbath) up until the time he was almost thirty, and lived much of the time out of doors after that.
He had a rough sense of humor, using puns when talking about religion.
He had a temper, and the strength to follow up on it.
He was a big guy physically, seeing as how he chased all of the moneylenders out of the Temple, walked the length and breadth of Israel, slept on the ground, handled the 39 lashes by the Roman guards, and STILL carried the cross up Golgotha. (Just going by what the Bible says.)
So I have no idea who they were trying to model that image after but it wasn’t the Jesus of the Bible.
flogg, I was referring to his facial features and coloring. If he lived in Galilee, then he would have the classic Jewish features, and would be colored like and Arab or Isreali, not like modern European Jews.
Actually, there is a DNA marker that separates ethnic Jews from anyone else-and all Jews have it, no matter where they are from. On 60 Minutes a few years ago, they did a profile on a tribe from South Africa who claimed to be Jewish-their religion had some Jewish elements to it-but looked like normal black Africans. Well, 60 Minutes DNA tested the tribe, and guess what, they were as Jewish as Albert Einstein or Barbara Streisand-the DNA markers confirmed it.
I would imagine that there was some inbreeding hundreds of years ago, w/ jews from Nrth africa or Ethiopia or something.
“I remember when I was there ice cream was starting to become a hit—the Chinese had never seen it before, it was brand new to 99% of them.”
Which is ironic, as ice-cream was a Chinese invention.
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But Lee, only us bloated lazy Americans are fat. The rest of the world all have model physiques and dine on mana and wine.
all we get is crummy McDonalds.
/sarc