Tuesday Linkages to the Small Part of the World That’s Not the Underground

Writing for a living isn’t exactly the path to untold riches, though it’s a great career choice if you enjoy the spectre of deadlines bearing down on you.

In fact, deadlines are what today and tomorrow are all about for me, so rather than another thoughtful review or scintillating fishing report, you’re getting the Underground’s Tuesday Roundup of Weird, Sometimes Fly Fishing Related News.

You were warned.

First, Yellowstone Weirdness

Fly Fishing in Yellowstone National Park is one of my favorite blogs; read it for a season and you’ll know pretty much everything you need to know about fly fishing around Yellowstone park — despite having never fly fished in Yellowstone park.

Of course, like any blogger, he doesn’t draw a line between posting about fly fishing and posting about European Web sites featuring naked women hugging carp.

“Sure,” you might ask, “why doesn’t the Underground run articles about nymphs and carp?”

I don’t know. I really don’t have an answer.

The Real CarpMeister

A real carp fly fisherman — Carp on the Fly — went fishing for carp, and came back with some killer photos of carp in water so shallow they’re leaving wakes. Sure, he’s got no naked women on the site, but go see ‘em all anyway.

Net Gain for Fly Fishing

Here’s an interesting-yet-oddly written article about a pediatric cardiologist who also hand crafts landing nets that retail for something like $800.

Sure, some of you might be sniggering, thinking that the things only cost that much because the doctor/builder thinks your insurance company will pay for it, but in truth, they sound pretty impressive. Sadly, no pictures.

This Blog Goes to 11

For those of you who (like me) watched the movie “This is Spinal Tap” over and over, here’s a link to a fifteen minute short about the band reuniting to combat global warming.

As clueless as ever, our protaganists have moved on in life; Nigel’s actually raising miniature horses, and looking for miniature jockeys to race them. Priceless.

Clouds In Your Eyes

Ed Dentry of the Rocky Mountain News writes about clouds — and how people who can distinguish between subspecies of cutthroat trout don’t know the difference between alto-cumulus and oatmeal.

He also pitches Mayer’s new book (”How to Catch the Biggest Trout of Your Life”) which interests me not at all, but he does mention The Cloudspotter’s Guide — which suddenly does.

Big Day Out

It was a big day out for the Trout Zone blog, as he landed in the neighborhood of 70 fish (how can anyone keep track?) over the course of a day in the Smokies, and hands us a couple of us nice pictures.

Here’s One For Our Close, Personal Friends at Nestle

There’s precious little news about Nestle’s McCloud abomination project, but the Swiss-based firm is taking heat for its unfair business and marketing practices (we’re shocked).

First, groups are urging the FTC to crack down on Coca-Cola and Nestle for lying about the weight-loss benefits of their Enviga beverage.

At issue is the claim that Enviga burns more calories than the five calories per can it delivers, which, CSPI says, strongly implies weight loss. CSPI is separately suing Coke and Nestlé in federal court on the same issue but says that shouldn’t stop the FTC from cracking down immediately on the false advertising.

Turns out the study supporting this assertion was funded by Nestle and Coca-Cola, and that six of the 31 participants actually gained weight.

Another, more scientifically valid study suggests you’re more likely to gain weight than lose it.

Worse are Nestle’s ongoing attempts to market infant formula in third world countries — even though infant formula often ends up killing third world children.

Heartwarming shit indeed, and some of you might remember the uproar over this very practice in the late 70s. Apparently, Nestle’s at it again.

From the UK Guardian story:

Twenty-five years ago, when Dr Iqbal Kabir first came to work at this hospital, small babies were almost unknown as patients. Today, he says, infants make up as many as 70% of admissions.

The reason? Kabir shakes his head, and points to a poster on the wall above Eti’s bed. The same poster is displayed, many times, around the ward. It shows a baby’s bottle, with a big cross drawn heavily through it. The message is clear. “Bottlefeeding is harmful,” says Kabir. “Because bottlefed babies get diarrhoea, since their formula is mixed with dirty water and since their bottles are not sterile. Do you know how many breastfed babies are admitted here with diarrhoea? The number is almost zero.”

A blog exposing Nestle’s efforts can be found here. No, it’s not fishing related, but at least you know the caliber of company we’re dealing with up here.

More to Come

Sure, it kills me to sit here working while bugs are hatching, but life is like a box of chocolates; sometimes it’s an annoying, gooey mess, and sometimes it puts you into a diabetic coma.

See you on the river (tomorrow evening, hopefully), Tom Chandler.

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