Well, Actually people have been writing to me for a while....and I usually reply, and it's really nice to get the email...but I finally decided to start putting some comments up on my page, because there are some nicely clever comments out there. Unfortunately, I don't have all the old nicely clever comments that people made BEFORE I started this page, so I'll just have to hope that more of you will give me comments so I can post them here...
Subj: Why eat butter?
Date: 10/26/99 5:20:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: (Patrick Yonkin)
To: marc@delemos.net
Dear CyberPhilosopher:
In reference to you question "why eat margarine?" I would like to submit a theory originated by Douglas Adams. In So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, (Adams p 72) in the beginning of chapter 12, he states "It is by eating sandwiches in pubs at Saturday lunchtime that the British seek to atone for whatever their national sins have been." The essential concept is that the British, in consuming the awful varieties of sandwiches available in pubs at Saturday lunchtime, are on a quest not for culinary satisfaction, but rather expiation. I venture to expand this to include those who choose margarine over butter, those who consume "low-fat" and "reduced fat" products, and who attempt to deny the very coffee-ness of their coffee through excess sugar and dairy application. These folk do not eat and drink to enjoy food and drink. They eat and drink to punish themselves. They need not be aware of the exact nature of the sins they seek to atone, as Adams points out. (Adams, p 72) All that matters for the purposes of this theory is that there is an ascetic sensibility at work here. The obvious culmination of this theory is the diet: a complete denial of food. When one is no longer able to cope with life by eating fake food, one must stop eating altogether. This is the essence of the diet and the reason why so many reject the Happy Fat theory. Hopefully this will help to extend your theories, making them even more enlightening and accurate. I must add that it is a thrill to finally be able to quote Douglas Adams in a scholarly manner.
Work Cited
Adams, Douglas. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish. Simon and Schuster,
NY 1985.
Please feel free to use all or part of this in your further works.
Pat Yonkin
Subj: ketchup...................
Date: 3/18/00 11:55:17 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: (Cindy)
To: marc@delemos.net
Ketchup is useless, huh? Well, l never thought about it before but what an amazing concept! Of course, l don't think my 4 year old daughter would agree with you......
Cindy
Subject: wonderful site!
Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 22:34:31 EDT
From: MoreCawfee
To: marc@delemos.net
I stumbled onto your site by way of a mustard link, of all things (thanks to your anti-ketchup sentiments), and thoroughly enjoyed reading through! Your Happy Fat theory is, I believe, the secret behind what's known as the French Paradox: How can it be that the French consume so much fat on a daily basis, and yet don't suffer from heart attacks or giant waistlines like Americans?? Some think it's the red wine (MY theory is that red wine reduces heart attacks simply b/c it relaxes people and takes away some of the stress associated with heart problems, but I digress....) It's also been theorized that it's the KIND of fat the French eat- the fat in locally-produced fresh Brie or Camenbert bears absolutely no resemblance to the fat in, say, a Whopper w/extra cheese. Plus, the French don't eat as a result of stress; instead, they refrain from snacking on stuff like potato chips and Cheetos between meals. And the meals themselves are savored slowly and appreciated for their freshness and flavor....not eaten standing up in front of a convenience store while scratching off $1,000-a-Week-for-Life tickets. It comes down to quality of life vs. quantity- Americans want more and more for less and less; the French understand that quality of life is less convenient, but that life itself is meant to be savored slowly, and appreciated for all the miracles it has to offer (esp. in the form of butter, cheese, beer, wine, chocolate.....)
Subject: Happy Fat!!!!!
Date: Mon, 24 July 2000 10:17AM
From: Anonymous
To: marc@delemos.netHey Marc!!!!!......
About your happy fat philosophy........let me tell you this: I work in the bakery at "my local grocery store" and I've been practicing the happy fat philosophy for over a year and a half and I lost 25 pounds!!!!....well, the two don't exactly have to do with each other, but let me tell you this. Just over a year ago, I weighed.....too much. every morsel I put in my mouth was preceded by "oh I shouldn't". Then I went on a protein diet. I ate avocados, meat and REAL whipping cream.......now, I'm slender and sexy and I spend my days eating happy fat. I eat the "about to be discarded" trimmings off the giant pans of brownies, and slab cakes, and the tiny morsels of cinnamon buns with cream cheese icing that stick to the pans. I always find my way to the mixer paddle covered in whipped cream, meringue, or mousse before it ends up rinsed off down the sink. Basically, due to my expert timing and watchful eye, I nibble on the things that would other wise end up getting chucked ....definitely an UNhappy way to treat perfectly good fat. Now, rather than saying "oh I shouldn't" before stuffing my face, I say "mmmmmm....gooooooood!!!!!!!".........
Subject: your site
Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2000 23:05:49
From: Andreas Jakob
To: marc@delemos.netDear Mr. Delemos,
I´ve stumbled over your site completely by accident, and after having read only a few lines I'm absolutely positively convinced that you are completely insane. In other words:
MAN, do I love your site!
Keep it up!
Sincerely yours:
c2k
(and thanx!)
Subject: coffee, fat intake and truely injoying life
Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 23:34:42 -0500
From: rjsamp1
To: marc@delemos.net
I came across your site by chance (don't ask how, but isn't that how any site is found?)
And never had I heard voiced those dark secrets that I hold dearly within me.
I've never met anyone else who doesn't wash (or admit to not washing) their coffee cup.My hatred of ketchup has earned me scorn for more years than I can imagine (by the way, ketchup does taste good on one food, and one food only, fried Spam).
As far as the Happy Fat Diet, I am a certified chef and love to cook French. A little (1/2 lb.min.) of butter always does great to smooth the flavor out of any sauce. In fact, my philosophy on sauces remains that it is a balance of acid (wine, vinegar, fruit juice, etc.) and base (butter or oil) combined in the right proportion with the main flavoring
ingredient (if it is something different not lending itself to either element, such as a beef stock - though it has a great fatty flavor inherent in it - I think you get my point).
Margarine is an abomination!!!!!!!!!!
It is like a weight lifted off my shoulders to hear a fellow man voice these believes unabashedly.
Thank you
zenchef
