Current Events

Some interesting tidbits from various internet news sources:

1) The New York Times - Symptoms: Metabolic Syndrome Is Tied to Diet Soda
All the fitness magazines and diet gurus preach that soda is bad. But diet soda has no calories, so it can't be THAT bad, right? Think again. Deep down I knew that calories or no, there really couldn't be any way that aspertaine and caramel coloring were good for me, but never would I have guessed that Diet Coke had more of an impact on my cardiovascular health than, say, Kentucky Fried Chicken. Yet that's what studies seem to be showing.

Now I am by no means a big soda drinker, but when I start to crash and burn around 2:00 p.m. I go for the occassional DC...however, this may be the motivation I need to give it up for good (or at least go back to my 'only in restaurants' rule that I abided by for twenty-odd years).

To read this article, click the headline or paste this link into your browser: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/health/nutrition/05symp.html?em&ex=1202446800&en=62bc9a15e7b0537c&ei=5087%0A


2) Portfolio.Com - Lilly's $1 Billion E-Mailstrom
Having worked in the pharmaceutical industry and receiving the occassional email never meant for my eyes, I cringed when I read about Eli Lilly's retained lawyer attempting to email another company-retained lawyer some extremely classified information - and accidentally emailing it to a New York Times reporter (although while cringing for the lawyer, how cool would it have been to have THAT scoop land in your inbox unexpectedly?!) Although Lilly is retaining the law firm that employs the lawyer, I can't imagine that she won't face the music.

To read this article, click the headline or paste this link into your browser: http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/top-5/2008/02/05/Eli-Lilly-E-Mail-to-New-York-Times

3) The New York Times - Bordeaux's a Bargain, and Here's Why
Okay, this doesn't have a lot of news value, but I enjoyed it because my local wine store newsletter last week sang the praise of the $10 - $15 Bordeaux and nothing this article picked was less than$38. (Oh wait, I was mistaken - the very last wine on the list is $19. Still more than $10-$15.)

Here is my local wine store - Thames River Wine and Spirits - offering their take on the '05 Bordeaux selection:
"Okay, the '05 Bordeaux are creeping in the door, and I am proud to announce: We've got SIX, count them, SIX '05 BORDEAUX under $15!!! The Gravat is one of my personal favorites, and it's only ten bucks. Lovely, earthy, unmistakably French, from a small artisinal domaine. This is not a collector wine, it is French table wine made for French people. Don't let the low price scare you: Chateau Gravat is a small winemaker in Medoc which belongs to a collective of small houses (whose wine we also have), represented by an exporter in Blanquefort who bottles and directly exports it. No advertising, low production costs, so the winemakers tend to their vines and and their cellars, while the exporter worries about how to get it to nuts like us in the U.S. who want the real deal! "

I may be buying, tasting, and of course blogging about some Bordeaux this week.