POP

Theatre of Tragedy - Machine

Awesome

In An Absolut World

Ay caramba! Absolut Vodka has found a surefire way to put its US sales figures in a downward spiral. This map, used in a Mexican ad campaign, shows what the US-Mexican border would look like in an ‘absolut’ (i.e. perfect) world: a large part of the US’s west is annexed to Mexico.
Needless to say this map made its way to ‘El Norte’, annoying and upsetting many Americans – even leading to calls for a boycott of the Swedish-made vodka. What must be particularly annoying is that this map has some basis in fact.
Large swathes of the western US used to be part of Mexico. In 1836, American settlers proclaimed the independence of Texas, formally a Mexican territory. The US annexation of Texas in 1845 prompted the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), after which Mexico was forced to cede 525,000 square miles of territory (42% of its pre-war territory, 12% of the US’s current territory).
Mexico didn’t have much choice: a US army occupied Mexico City, and the alternative was total annexation. The Mexican Cession consisted of the territories of Alta California and Nueva Mexico, out of which were eventually formed the US states of California, Nevada and Utah, and parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming.
In this ‘absolut’ version of the world, the US and Mexico are about the same size. As gratifiying as it might be for Mexicans to see the loss of Texas and the Mexican Cession be reversed, this map managed to offend so many Americans that it prompted Absolut Vodka to release a statement:
“We are sorry if we offended anyone. This was not our intention. We will try to explain. Though you may not agree, I hope you understand.”
“We have a variety of executions running in countries worldwide, and each is germane to that country and that population. This particular ad, which ran in Mexico, was based upon historical perspectives and was created with a Mexican sensibility. In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor doesjavascript:void(0) it reflect immigration issues. Instead, it hearkens to a time which the population of Mexico may feel was more ideal.”
“Obviously, this ad was run in Mexico, and not the US — that ad might have been very different.”

Here’s a link to it at the LA Times

咖啡益

每天喝一杯咖啡或可保護腦部，預防阿滋海默氏症（俗稱老人癡呆症）。美國北達科他大學以兔子做實驗，發現咖啡因確可阻隔危害人體的膽固醇，降低罹患阿滋海默氏症的風險。

這項發表於《神經發炎期刊》的實驗，每日餵食兔子高膽固醇的食物，有些兔子每日還喝到一杯咖啡，有些兔子則未餵食咖啡。十二周後，這些每日喝一杯咖啡的兔子，其「血腦障壁」與未喝咖啡的對照組兔子，結構功能皆更完整。

英國專家表示，北達科他大學此一試驗，乃截至目前為止有關咖啡益處的「最佳證明」。「血腦障壁」就像一個過濾器，可保護腦部中樞神經不受血液中有害化學物質的可能傷害。