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Good News in the Daily Grind by Melinda Beck in the Wall Street Journal.

Research conducted in Stockholm suggests that drinking coffee might lower the risk of dementia later in life. Might—there’s no evidence that if you start chugging coffee today you will be protected. If you do start chugging coffee today, I suggest black, no sugar, no mountains of whipped cream.

“After controlling for numerous socioeconomic and health factors, including high cholesterol and high blood pressure, the scientists found that the subjects who had reported drinking three to five cups of coffee daily were 65 percent less likely to have developed dementia, compared with those who drank two cups or less…

“Dr. Kivipelto and her colleagues suggest several possibilities for why coffee might reduce the risk of dementia later in life. First, earlier studies have linked coffee consumption with a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes, which in turn has been associated with a greater risk of dementia. In animal studies, caffeine has been shown to reduce the formation of amyloid plaques in the brain, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. Finally, coffee may have an antioxidant effect in the bloodstream, reducing vascular risk factors for dementia.”

Cat coffee pot and espresso cups

In line with our ongoing discussion on art, Chus alerted me to a new installation at the Guggenheim in New York, in which three baristas operating espresso machines hand out free cups of coffee. Why is this art? Are the good-looking espresso machines art? Are the baristas performance artists? If it’s in the Guggenheim, is it art?

Or maybe this is a comment on how everything these days is called “a work of art”, so “art” has ceased to mean anything.

Or maybe the fact that people keep asking the baristas how much is a statement on the commodification of art.

There’s also a hotel bed, which you can book for US$700 a night. You can walk around the museum, trailed by a security guard.

I suggest that three guys get dressed as a horse, approach the barista, and say, “Three coffees, please.” Then the barista can recite this verse:

One horse who wants three coffees.
I don’t know.
I just don’t know.
If he wants three coffees I’ll give him three coffees,
but I know there’s only one of him.

Yes, that’s from Sesame Street. It does not explain what a horse is doing in a coffee shop, or why three guys would get into a horse costume, but it sounds like many of the answers you get when you ask, But is it art?

I asked Ige to make a fake ad for a fictional coffee named Barakobama. 

 

 

If the proportions are a little odd, it’s because we used the logo of a local coffee company that sells Barako. I had to crop the ad because we don’t have permission to use their logo. 

Hey, do you sell coffee? We can let you use this. You can contact me by posting in Comments.

Another reason we’re so interested in the US elections: we have to look to their elections to find a candidate we like. When I look at our wannabes for 2010, I feel like moving to Russia. Even if it is next door to whatsherface.

On one hand my ten-year old Krups coffeemaker is about to go kaput. On the other hand I have a topic for my tech column. Could you recommend a good coffeemaker? A small one, say 4 cups, easy to operate and locally available. Not one of those ridiculously pricey Italian espresso makers that operate by nuclear fission. And I don’t want a French press. Thanks.

Research shows that lack of sleep produces false memories. It’s not the sleep deprivation itself that causes inaccurate recall, it’s the act of retrieving memories from storage. Coffee helps a bit.

In my experience, the way to remember information is to go sleep after learning it. But I believe that sleep solves everything. In short, don’t have an insomniac on your college quiz team.