Good morning, we have reached the middle of the week.
I must confess, I am not yet adjusted to the whole “getting dark at 5 p.m. thing.” Truthfully, I can see some benefit to eating earlier and being ready for bed by, say, 8 p.m. It’s probably a whole lot healthier, body-wise.
I can’t say the same about my mental health, though. It’s not even winter yet (the astronomical first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere won’t be until Dec. 21, according to the Farmers’ Almanac), but I’m already feeling a little blue.
I keep meaning to look into getting an official diagnosis of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which is thought to be caused by a chemical change in the brain brought about by less sunlight and shorter days.
Melatonin, a sleep-related hormone, is also believed to have a connection to SAD, because the early onset of darkness causes the body to make more of it, which contributes to the sleepiness and lack of motivation one can feel during this season.
I don’t sleep a heck of a lot, and take extra melatonin to help me drift off. This is apparently not at all good for you – especially not if you’re taking it regularly over a long period of time. But, then again, not sleeping is also not good for you, so maybe I’m erring on the lesser side of evil? Who can say?
Another symptom of SAD is a change in appetite – most notably a craving for high-carb, sugary foods, which can lead to weight gain. It’s not helpful that there tends to be a lot of sweets around this time of year – pies, cookies, candy etc.
And this is sort of a vicious circle, because you’re driven to eat sugar, carby stuff to make your brain feel better, but that makes your body feel worse, more sluggish and just overall blah.
Around this time of year, I always tend to make promises to myself about resetting my diet in the face of all the temptations out there.
That generally includes a vow to try to eat less meat, which countless studies have shown has a deleterious impact on your health when eaten in any significant quantities – even if its organic, grass fed, humanely raised, etc. and so forth. (Sorry, Keto fans). The Mediterranean diet is apparently the way to go.
I have tried – unsuccessfully – on several occasions to cut out meat entirely. The trouble is that I like it too much. I could maybe be a pescatarian, and I could live without chicken, which is so often disappointingly tasteless – why not just go for tofu and be done with it? But every now and again, I really enjoy some spare ribs, or some sausage with my morning eggs, or a juicy steak. So sue me.
These days, there’s a diet to suit every taste, need, lifestyle, goal, religion, allergy and/or ailment.
Some people eschew meat (or I guess it’s trendier these days to say that they are “plant based”) due to moral reasons – bet they because they oppose the way animals are raised and slaughtered, or simply don’t want to eat another living thing. (This could, if you really wanted to split hairs, be interpreted to extend to plants, some of which apparently emit a scream-like sound when cut).
Others just don’t like the taste. Still others believe that consumption of animal products – including milk and eggs and even honey – is not only immoral but unhealthy. If you’re a staunch purist, you probably don’t wear wool or leather, avoid pearl jewelry and perhaps even don’t play the piano (assuming that instrument has ivory keys).
I am not here to sit judgement on anyone, but merely to inform you that November is World Vegan Month, which started as World Vegan Day (Nov. 1, 1994) in the UK to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Vegan Society and then was extended to a week, and then to its current four-week run.
If you are interested in going down the rabbit hole on the history of Veganism itself, click here. The short version: Though the term used to describe flesh-avoidance was coined in the 1940s, the practice dates back many years before that.
If you – like me – are perhaps not quite willing to quit meat altogether, there are a number of half steps available – like meatless Mondays, and chef/food writer Mark Bittman’s Vegan Before Six approach (VB6 to those in the know). There’s also a whole world of meat alternatives to explore, which is perhaps a topic best tackled on a different day, as things are getting a bit lengthy here.
Excuse me while I spread some natural almond butter on sprouted grain toast.
Sadly, it won’t be nearly as warm today as it was yesterday – mid-40s as opposed to flirting with 60 degrees. But on the upside, there is no rain (or snow, for that matter) in the forecast. I’ll take it.
Then again….The Albany area may see its first winter weather this week as snow and sleet begin around midnight tonight before tapering off into rain Thursday morning.
In the headlines…
Democrats saw a successful Election Night, scoring wins in a number of competitive contests.
In deep-red Kentucky, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear sailed to reelection, while in Virginia Democrats flipped control of the House of Delegates and maintained control of the state Senate.
Abortion rights advocates also saw a number of wins, most notably in Ohio, where voters chose to enshrine abortion protections.
The night’s results showed the durability of Democrats’ political momentum since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to an abortion in 2022.
Ohio voters also approved a measure legalizing recreational marijuana, defying Republican legislative leaders who had failed to pass the proposed law.
Democrats in New Jersey appeared likely to retain a comfortable majority in the Assembly and the Senate, according to early results from The Associated Press in yesterday’s races.
The House voted late last night to censure Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — the only Palestinian American in Congress — an extraordinary rebuke of her rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas war.
Twenty-two Democrats joined most Republicans to pass the resolution, which accuses Tlaib of “promoting false narratives” surrounding Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and of “calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.” The vote was 234 to 188.
Four Republicans voted against censuring Tlaib, while one Democrat and three Republicans voted “present,” declining to take a position. After the gavel fell, Democratic lawmakers, mostly progressives, surrounded Tlaib on the floor and embraced her.
This was the second time Tlaib faced a censure resolution over her criticism of Israel. She became emotional on the House floor earlier yesterday as she defended her views on the deadly conflict.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) hosted a bipartisan candlelight vigil last night for Israeli victims and hostages taken by Hamas militants Oct. 7.
Israel’s ground invasion in Gaza reached the heart of the densely populated Hamas stronghold of Gaza City, officials in Tel Aviv said, as questions mounted over Israel’s plans for the beleaguered territory after fighting ends.
All bakeries in northern Gaza have been forced to close due to shortages of vital supplies, a United Nations agency said Wednesday, with desperate civilians struggling to access the daily staple of bread under Israel’s ongoing military offensive.
The White House cautioned Israel against reoccupying Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that his country could hold a security role there “for an indefinite period” once the war is over.
President Joe Biden’s poll numbers may be showing stark warning signs over his reelection, but top Democrats see a possible silver lining: The sooner they can jolt voters from dismissing the chances that Trump could return to the White House, the better.
Biden’s reelection campaign sent a memo to news outlets asserting that there’s disparity in the way the media has covered polling, so far, following the coverage of the latest set of polls that show Biden trailing Trump in a hypothetical 2024 rematch.
After posting on social media that Biden should consider whether to stay in the 2024 race, David Axelrod insisted in an interview that he was not calling on the president to suspend his campaign.
Biden will throw a spotlight on his support for organized labor tomorrow when he comes to Belvidere, Illinois, where United Auto Workers scored a big win with their new contract.
The Senate confirmed Dr. Monica M. Bertagnolli, a cancer surgeon who currently leads the National Cancer Institute, as the next director of the National Institutes of Health, overriding the objections of Senate Health Committee Chair Bernie Sanders.
Ivanka Trump is set to testify under subpoena against her father and brothers today before the state rests its civil fraud case against Donald Trump and his top company lieutenants.
Trump reportedly has seen his wealth soar by a half billion dollars thanks to some shrewd moves including moving to low-tax Florida, selling off assets, and paying down personal debts.
House Republicans are grasping for a way to avert a government shutdown amid deep divides in their ranks over federal spending, debating how to strike a compromise with the Democratic-led Senate and Biden just 10 days away from the funding deadline.
New York’s infant mortality rate jumped more than 10 percent during the three-year COVID-19 health crisis, effectively erasing pre-pandemic strides recently touted by the state, new data shows.
Congenital syphilis has become more than ten times as common over the past decade, the C.D.C. reported. “The situation is dire,” said one expert.
Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo is now getting paid to do legal consulting work for clients as a private attorney while in political exile.
More bills are making their way to Hochul’s desk for action, but nearly 300 still need her signature – or veto.
Hochul is standing by Mayor Eric Adams after the FBI raided the home of his chief fundraiser.
Voters headed to the polls yesterday to cast their ballots for all 51 New York City Council seats up for grabs on Election Day — with the Big Apple’s rising crime and crippling migrant crisis a big motivating factor for some.
Councilmember Justin Brannan, a moderate Democrat, defeated an ex-Democrat who ran as a Republican in New York’s most closely watched council race.
Democrats overwhelmingly control the City Council, and many ran unopposed yesterday — including Yusef Salaam, one of the so-called Central Park Five defendants who won a hotly contested Council primary in Harlem this past summer.
Trump once called for Salaam’s execution. “I am really the ambassador for everyone’s pain,” Salaam told the Associated Press in an interview. “In many ways, I went through that for our people so I can now lead them.”
In Queens, incumbent Councilmember Vickie Paladino defeated her challenger, Democrat Tony Avella, who used to hold the Council seat. During his campaign, Avella called Paladino a white supremacist and alleged that she has ties to the Proud Boys.
In a stinging upset for Democrats, Republican challenger Kristy Marmorato declared victory in a race to represent the 13th City Council district, which covers several neighborhoods in the eastern part of the Bronx.
Democrat Susan Zhuang won the election for Brooklyn’s newly-drawn 43rd Council District, staving off challenges from two conservative candidates who had hoped to expand the GOP’s footprint in the borough.
The unofficial results yesterday evening showed Republicans are expected to maintain just 6 of the 51 Council seats.
Employees of the little-known Brooklyn construction firm hadn’t donated to local political races going back more than a decade. Then all of a sudden they became heavy donors to Adams’ campaign for mayor.
Adams appeared on screen as himself in a Turkish rom-com — in which he is asked for political favors by two men speaking Turkish — years before his office became embroiled in a probe over potential bribes from the country.
Adams reportedly is not traveling to Puerto Rico this week for the annual Somos conference.
A Jewish-owned Manhattan coffee shop was on the verge of having to shut its doors for the day after its anti-Israel baristas walked out — until Jewish community members showed up in droves volunteering to work and lining up around the block to buy a brew.
Billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen finally unveiled his long-awaited Queens casino plan, revealing a sprawling $8 billion gaming center, hotel, and music venue near Citi Field that he has dubbed “Metropolitan Park” after the team’s full corporate name.
West Park Presbyterian Church, a 19th-century architectural gem on West 86th Street, stands at the center of a heated dispute between preservationists and developers.
Republicans won the county executive’s office in Suffolk County for the first time in two decades, according to The Associated Press, reclaiming what had been one of the last Democratic strongholds in the Long Island suburbs.
Republican Ed Romaine, Brookhaven’s longtime town supervisor, defeated Democrat David Calone in the race to replace three-term incumbent Democratic County Executive Steve Bellone, who was term-limited out of office.
The GOP now occupies all the countywide seats in Nassau and Suffolk Counties — both county executive seats, the district attorney and comptroller’s offices, as well as all four congressional seats.
Incumbent Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy coasted to his fourth 4-year term in a landslide 4,222 to 1,993 win over GOP challenger Matt Nelligan and retired city fire lieutenant Ed Varno, who tallied 380 votes on the Working Families line.
Republican City Council President Carmella Mantelldo became the first woman to be elected mayor of Troy when she defeated Democratic Rensselaer County Legislator Nina Nichols Tuesday and pulled in a GOP majority on the City Council.
The tempestuous three-way races for mayor and commissioner of public safety have upset Democratic dominance in the City of Saratoga Springs, with incumbents Ron Kim and James Montagnino tossed out in favor of John Safford and Tim Coll.
The state Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction of David J. Decker, a former top Lake George Watershed Coalition official who was indicted five years ago for stealing thousands of dollars in state and federal grant funds meant to benefit the association.
A federal judge denied NXIVM leader Keith Raniere’s bid for a new trial, rejecting his argument that FBI agents planted evidence to frame him for possession of child pornography.
St. Peter’s Health Partners said it will host a virtual “open house” tomorrow to discuss its plan to close the Burdett Birth Center in Troy.
Photo credit: George Fazio
