Wednesday 26 September 2007

Tea advertising claim under attack

The Advertising Standards Authority has criticised a UK Tea Council poster which recommended drinking four cups a day as part of a healthy diet, saying that the advertising campaign which highlighted the health benefits of tea was guilty of exaggeration. The ASA said there was no evidence to "firmly substantiate" the claims of the Tea Council that tea was rich in beneficial antioxidants also found in fruit and vegetables.

An independent expert who advised the ASA said evidence about the health benefits of drinking tea was "promising but inconclusive". He said that while there was some scientific evidence that tea may protect against cancer and heart disease, the findings had yet to be confirmed in tests on humans.

However, as around 165 million cups of tea are drunk in the UK every day (which equates to more than 62 billion cups a year) according to a 2006 study by the International Tea Committee, it may take more than the ASA's slap on the wrist to the Tea Council to change the drinking habits of Infusion members.

Half of world’s languages may become extinct by 2100

Languages are now becoming extinct faster than birds, mammals, fish or plants. Of the estimated 7,000 unique languages spoken in the world today, nearly half are likely to disappear this century, with an average of one lost every two weeks. Losing a language often means losing the knowledge and history of an entire culture, especially when there is no written record available. For this reason, the National Geographic Society and the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages have engaged in an impressive undertaking to identify and record the most endangered languages in the world.

If you want to follow this up, another resource is Ethnologue: Languages of the World, a comprehensive catalog which alphabetically lists all known living languages (Ethnologue lists 6,912), documenting the world’s complex language situations, including endangered languages. Ethnologue is produced by SIL International, a faith-based organization that studies, documents, and assists in developing the world’s lesser-known languages.

Monday 24 September 2007

What's the carbon footprint of a potato?

With increased concern about food miles and our carbon footprint, its intriguiug to learn that local firm Walkers Crisps has become the first firm to put carbon footprint figures on its products, with nine more companies set to follow. In April, Walkers Crisps began labelling its cheese and onion bags with a carbon footprint - how many grams of greenhouse gases were emitted in its production - and that has been rolled out to other flavours. The calculations are done by the Carbon Trust, which spent several months working out that 75g of greenhouse gases are given off in the production of a 33.5g bag of Walkers crisps, taking into account the energy used in farming, manufacture, packaging, distribution and disposal.

Friday 21 September 2007

Smile, please, you're on email

If you’ve ever ended an e-mail message or an instant message with an emoticon, now might be a good time to pause and reflect on the work of Scott E. Fahlman. It is 25 years ago this month since Mr. Fahlman, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, invented the digital smiley face. After a colleague joked about a contaminated elevator on an electronic bulletin board and this remark was mis-interpreted, Mr. Fahlman had his eureka moment: He recommended that future quipsters mark their jokes with :-) to make sure no one misconstrued their comments.

Simon Jenkins picks up on the use of emoticons in today's Guardian: I'd rather mingle souls by letter than live a life of regret through email. He writes that he is concerned that "email has become a substitute for both the telephone and the letter, and an inadequate one at that. As against the telephone, email is a distancing device. It not only eliminates tone of voice, it prevents interruption or response. It is a one-way conversation, a monologue, with all the rudeness that can imply."

After stating that he feels emails ought to carry a standard health warning, he concludes: "do something you may not have done for ages. Write a proper letter, rewriting it if necessary. The recipient will be amazed and delighted that you have taken the time. You will have written what you meant to say, and I bet you will have used no emoticons."

Thursday 20 September 2007

Spirituality and sticky-toffee pudding

Interesting to see that The Telegraph Travel section is recommending holiday breaks with religious communities. Our local retreat centre, Launde Abbey, is featured - in fact the title of this blog post comes from from the article as it describes Launde as "an Anglican community where sticky toffee pudding is a speciality and salads come fresh from the Victorian walled kitchen garden". Launde offers themed retreats and, if you want it, spiritual direction, but many come here simply for a quiet day or a restful break and peace is very much the keynote.

The Retreat Association website has more information on retreats as well as further resources including a Prayer for Stillness.

Tuesday 18 September 2007

Jesus and Dr Who

Another post about Doctor Who and resonances with the Christian faith. There's news of a vicar who is using concepts from the series to teach about Jesus. Father Ben Andrews in Cardiff is planning a Dr Who themed evening of worship on Sunday, September 23. He will use themes from the series to explore the Christian faith with hopes that young people can worship in a way that’s right for them.

Saturday 15 September 2007

Countdown to Christmas

Am I the first person to point out that there are only 100 days until December 25th? If your first reaction is to utter a Scrooge-like "Bah, Humbug", then maybe a bit of retail therapy is required. But don't shop for yourself! Operation Christmas Child offers the ideal activity to focus on preparing for the Christmas season - by sending a message of hope to children in need around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes. Choosing gifts and then wrapping and filling a shoe box is a fun and rewarding activity – especially when you know these gifts are going to be used and treasured.

Operation Christmas Child enables caring individuals, churches, businesses, and other organisations to fill ordinary shoe boxes with small toys, school supplies, sweets, and other gifts for needy children around the world. Drop Off Points for the 2007 campaign will be open between November 4th and 20th. Want to learn more about the mpact of Operation Christmas Child - then watch the video or read some stories.

Friday 14 September 2007

Foot and Mouth

While another outbreak of Foot and Mouth is mildly inconvenient for walkers, it is of course devastating for the famers involved. The Ramblers Association website provides updates on the outbreak and advice to walkers and other visitors to the countryside. Meanwhile, here are some prayers for those affected by the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease .

Wednesday 12 September 2007

Back of Church Sunday

Some churches are preparing for Back to Church Sunday on Sunday September 30th 2007. But, especially for Anglicans, here's an alternative concept: Back of Church Sunday - a special Sunday when people would be especially invited to the back of church.
[Cartoon by Dave Walker, reproduced with permission]

Monday 3 September 2007

Prayers for a Monday morning

The Church of England has today published a selection of prayers to help weary workers kick the post-holiday blues. The five prayers - by authors ranging from Charles Wesley to Sheridan James, a curate in Catford - have been selected to give busy people a chance to reflect and recharge with God's help. The prayers are taken from Pocket Prayers for Work (Church House Publishing, 2004) and are available online, alongside a range of other prayers on contemporary concerns.