Good crazy woman

Last week, there was a controversy in the U.S. that had nothing to do with President Trump. I’m not kidding. It was in reference to the premiere of the film Joker next Friday, October 4th. (See trailer)

In April 1940, DC Comics introduced the Joker, a bank robber with clown grandeur. However, throughout the years, the creators of Batman’s arch-enemy transformed the character into a psychopath with genocidal desires capable of the most abhorrent acts.

In the 2008 version, The Dark Knight, the Joker was played by Australian actor Heath Ledger, who died from a prescription drug overdose a few months after finishing the movie. Continue reading “The real clown is Hollywood”

The most recent data from the World Health Organization estimates that there are 1.1 billion smokers around the world, and about eight million die annually. Out of those deaths, seven million are first-hand smokers and more than one million are second-hand smokers. 

To cease smoking is not an easy journey. Therefore, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), commonly known e-cigs or vapers, rapidly became a popular alternative to combustion cigarettes since their origin in 2003 in China.

However, on September 2008, WHO stripped electronic cigarettes of their good reputation as a smoking quitting aid and forced their manufactures to remove literature from their ads and packages.

Continue reading “E-cigarettes’ catch is coming to the light”

Last week, I had the privilege to spend four days in Las Vegas to celebrate my mother’s birthday. We left my husband and son in charge of the house and our dog, Sasha, and ventured to Sin City.

The last time I visited the jewel of Nevada was 2007. That year, according to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the city received 39,196,761 tourists who accounted for a record revenue of $10.8 billion.

Eleven years later, in 2018, the number of tourists were 42,116,800 and the revenue was $10.2 billion. By comparing the numbers, I reached a conclusion that was evident during our stay. Continue reading “Glowing LasVegas”

Last Friday, July 26, Egan Bernal conquered the Col de L’Iseran as if he were a French goat. He demonstrated in the Tour de France what he learned climbing the Colombian mountains, embossing on each curve his love for cycling. A love passed to him by his father and nurtured with the aspirations of an entire country.

Watching the replay of Stage 19 to write this blog, I imagined the radio conversation between Egan Bernal, Geraint Thomas, (2018 Tour Champion,) and David Brailsford, (Team Ineos General Manager.) This is the transcript I came up with:

Brailsford: Thomas, Alaphilippe is hurting. How are you?

Thomas: My legs are dying. Ask Egan.

Brailsford: Egan, how are your legs son?

Egal: Cool coach.

Brailsford: Then go on. Your turn has come to make Colombia’s dream come true.

Continue reading “The team behind Egan Bernal’s triumph”

Last Saturday, July 20th, was Colombia’s Independence Day. During the patriotic celebration, there was a moment that caught the attention of the media. A strong hug and tears were shared between the President, Iván Duque, and a policeman, José Fernando Carvajal Rueda, who lost both legs after stepping on a land mine last year. (See video).

I don’t know what motivated the President to walk over the serviceman in the middle of the parade, but as a regular citizen, the image of a disabled law enforcement officer or soldier, fills me up with gratitude. Their sacrifice ensures my safety, a life free from the dangers and horrors of war. Continue reading “Heroes that bleed in vain”

Sugary beverages have had a bulls-eye on their back for many years due to their impact on obesity and the part they play in many types of cancer, including mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophageal, stomach, pancreas, gallbladder, kidney, colorectal, liver, breast, endometrial, and prostate.

Nevertheless, no previous investigation had equalized 100% fruit juices to sugary drinks like sodas or sport and energy beverages until last week. On July 10th, the British Medical Journal published the results of a cohort study of Nutri-Net Santé in France.

Since 2009 and until 2017, more than 101,000 volunteers over 18 and without cancer (21.3% male and 78.7% female) completed lifestyle questionnaires, 24 hour eating diaries, and weight measurements every six months. See study.  Continue reading “100% fruit juice is also 100% sugar”

During my recent vacation in my home country, my son and I had the opportunity to spend a few leisurely days with my best friend and her three sons at a countryside house. My friend and I became the referees in charge of controlling the emotions of four kids ages eight to four.

As it could be expected, many situations arose in which a kid claimed justice especially when another one took the floating doughnut away. Nonetheless, they knew just how far they could go because the moms were ready to discipline them if necessary.

Now, on June 19th, 2019, Colombia’s congressmen behaved like kids taking advantage of their lack of supervision. They passed around the floatie of the so-called Anti-Corruption Law; for almost two years they have told their countrymen that they are willing to “clean house.” But, in the end, they popped the floatie and sunk it. Continue reading “Corruption Lifesaver”

I live by a popular quote in my country that translates “Deaf ears to foolish words”. Believe me, it is the secret to a tranquil life. Nonetheless, Nicolas Maduro’s speech last Wednesday, May 22, in which he affirmed that the best coffee in the world is not Colombian but Venezuelan, caught the attention of all my senses.

During a broadcast on the nationalized T.V. channel, a loyalist to the regime warned farmers about buying coffee seeds from Colombia because, according to him, they were plagued with biological diseases.

Then, Maduro added to the commentary and said that Colombians “are taking the coffee out of here. Half of the coffee Colombia is selling to the world is Venezuelan. They are taking it. Paramilitary armies are threatening the farmers. We are investigating all this. The best coffee in the world is from Venezuela.” (See video in Spanish)

Continue reading “Coffee Appropriation”

Even though there are more than 30 million diabetics in the United States, unfortunately this illness flies under the radar of many people. This is especially true in the Hispanic community, even though they are the second group at risk in the country.

Diabetes is not only the seventh cause of death in America, but also the number one cause for kidney failure, blindness, and lower limbs amputations in adults.

The last condition named above was detailed in a spine-chilling reportage published on CNN Health last week, which included the most recent statistics of the state of California–the state with the third largest Hispanic population in the U.S.

Continue reading “The sour side of diabetes”

On March 29th the Washington Post published the most recent results about America’s active, or better yet, inactive sex life. The study was conducted by the General Social Survey, GSS, a project of the University of Chicago, focused on the analysis of the U.S. society’s changes since 1972.

According to the paper, the percentage of individuals who reported not having a sexual partner during the past year was 23%, one in four people.

In general, the study considered the decrease of sexual activity in the past decades due to the aging population. Those people older than 60 years old increased from 18% in 1996 to 26% in 2018. Continue reading “Male sex-drive down the hill”