To carbonate or not to carbonate...

It's probably best that I start this post by saying that all opinions are mine.  Obviously.  And that I have very, very strong opinions about pop (or to keep in line with language of the articles, "soda."  I'm a midwestern girl.  I drink pop).  Very strong.  Strong as in more then once I've told someone, "If you touch my pop I'll cut you." Seriously.


You don't have to be a rocket scientist to guess that I have strong opinions on the New York City soda ban.  I'm a reformed hardcore pop drinker.  During my undergrad, when various recitals or performances had me on the dancer's diet (diet coke, lara bars, and marlboro lights), I would drink 5 or 6 cans of diet coke a day.  I had a dedicated pop section in my hall closet.  I'm down to 1 or 2 day, simply because the invention of the Keurig Coffee Maker has taken my caffeine concerns elsewhere.  But I digress.  I'm a pop drinker for a caffeine.  I don't sleep enough and use caffeine to make up for it.

That's the truth.

The truth about me and pop is also in the above--I don't drink regular pop.  I never have.  And when I say never, I really and truly mean never.  I've always drank diet pop.  I was the little kid who had diet coke with her happy meal.  My mother is anti-sugar, so my entire life, I've drank diet pop.  I can count the number of times I've had non-diet pop on two hands (I should also say that I totally don't want or need the artificial sweetener lecture right now, as I've had it and heard it inside out more times then I can count).

So what does this have to do with New York City, one of my favorite places on earth?  New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg recently enacted legislation that would ban big, sugary drink.  Not just pop, but energy drinks and things like sweetened ice tea, as well.  The city would impose limitations on the sale of any sugary drink over 16oz in places like movie theaters, arenas, and fast food chains.  Interestingly, pre-packaged drinks are excluded from the ban, as are dairy based drinks, like milkshakes or some smoothies. The ban also has some interesting fine print in it.  New York Times columnist Michael M. Grynbaum explains some of the details well:


--Restaurants would be prohibited from giving out cups larger than 16oz in size, but refills and additional drink purchases would be allowed
--The ban would not apply to drinks that have fewer then 25 calories per 8oz serving (that would give things like Vitamin Water the A-OK)


The ban isn't perfect.  Far from it.  The fine print says that.  But as a soon-to-be social studies teacher, I see this as being an great talking put.  Think about bans for a minute.  How does this relate to bans of the past? (Prohibition, banned books, etc.  What do these all have in common?  Have they worked?  What longterm outcome do they have?)  It even leads to a great discussion about the legislative process.


Yes, I said the legislative process.  The earliest the ban would go into effect would be March of 2013, so this shows the speed that the legislative process works with.  It ties in directly with Bloomberg's failed attempts to get soda taxed and ban the use of food stamps on purchases of soda.  It shows that it's an imperfect system.  Want to take the political aspects a step further?   We have a lesson on lobbyists!  It should come as no surprise that big soda companies are trying their best to crush the ban.  Canvassers are out in the five boroughs and Facebook and twitter efforts have been started.


This also sparks a conversation on the limits and powers of our government.  What right does the government have to ban a certain size/type of beverage?  Who makes the determination that something is hazardous to our health if the item was safe enough to sell legally?  How far can the government go to say what we're allowed to have and not have?  Let's bring it down a little more--who really is in charge of making the decisions about things like pop?  Is it parents and families or is it the government paid scientists and dietitians?  


All of this ties in with the idea of the common good and community responsibility as well.  Our nation is fat.  New York City is a fat city.  If we can take steps to make something even a tiny amount healthier, shouldn't we do so?  I'm trying to view this from the view of a 16-year-old: "If we have to wear seat belts because it's safer, how is banning cups of pop different?  Both are trying to make people safer/healthier."  


I'm strongly in favor of using current events that are relevant to the lives of high school students in my classroom.  I see myself using this exact example...while I hide my diet coke from view of my students.


And on a lighter note, this post's video!


I have a passionate and unashamed love of Green Day.  I have since I was like 11 and had their tapes.  American Idiot, their 2004 album, is considered to by many to be one of finest and most prolific pieces of music produced in the past decade.  It harkens back to the music of 1960s and 1970s that was a response to the world around us.  Though I usually have a hatred of concept albums, American Idiot is one that works.  It tells the story of Johnny, the "Jesus of Suburbia", and his life in the present.  As someone who came over age c.2004, it addresses what was pressing at the time--the war in Iraq, the war on terror, and the uncertainty that went along with being on the verge of an adult.  The album itself was a path to Green Day's 2009 follow-up album 21st Century Breakdown, an album describe as a "snapshot of the era in which we live as we question and try to make sense of the selfish manipulation going on around us, whether it be the government, religion, media or frankly any form of authority."  Not long after the release of 21st century breakdown, Green Day took the concept album of American Idiot a step further and a stage adaptation of the album was produced.  It featured every song from American Idiot, a smattering of songs from 21st Century Breakdown, and a few b-sides.  It ran for 422 performance on broadway and won Tony awards for best design in a musical and best lighting design in a musical.  Out of the blue, I decided I wanted to be part of this show.  I went to an open call in New York for the second national tour back in the spring and had a callback a month ago based on my bitchin' dance skills.  I didn't book it, but I had to give it a shot.


The scene below is a bootleg from the show featuring "Before the Lobotomy/Extraordinary Girl."  It tells the story of one of Johnny's close friends, Tunny, who enlisted in the army, was wounded overseas and in subsequently having hallucinations of the nurse tending to him--the "extraordinary girl."  The scene has amazing aerial work in it and a rad dance feature at the very end that I had to do 7 times during my callback.


Other reason for posting it?  I want to be an Extraordinary Girl, just not in the hallucinatory sense.