In this episode of Cubs Out Loud, it’s time for another Let’s Talk About Food. For this one, the guys head back to the fair again to get a taste of some delicious dishes. In Part 3, the cubs head first to Iowa then next Jeff’s home state of Minnesota to satiate their appetites before heading to the southern border to savor their hankering for some big Texas vittles. From savory to sweet, get a dabble of the new foods coming your way soon. Are you hungry?
Show Topic
Let’s Talk About Food: State Fairs ‘23 – Part 3
Believe it or not, STATE FAIR SEASON KEEPS GOING! It’s the third go ‘round and we’re hitting up THREE states – Iowa, Minnesota, and the Big Tex! And of course we’ve got more pictures!
PEOPLE’S CHOICE BEST NEW FOOD: The Deep-Fried Bacon Brisket Mac-n-Cheese Grilled Cheese by What’s Your Cheez – The Rib Shack’s signature Bacon Brisket Mac and Cheese is slathered between layers of American cheese and two slices of What’s Your Cheez Bacon Cheddar Bread. It is then deep-fried until golden brown and served with a signature raspberry chipotle BBQ sauce.
BEST NEW FOOD FINALIST: Iowa Twinkie by Whatcha Smokin’ BBQ & Brew – “A Texas staple with an Iowa twist.” A smoked bacon-wrapped jalapeno stuffed with pulled pork, sweet corn, cream cheese and ranch seasoning. It is then glazed with Whatcha Smokin’ BBQ & Brew house-made Sweet + Sticky BBQ sauce and drizzled with house-made ranch dressing.
BEST NEW FOOD FINALIST: Grinder Ball by The Bacon Box – The Grinder Ball is a blend of bacon balls stuffed with mozzarella cheese, wrapped in bacon, rotisserie smoked and dipped in warm marinara sauce. The Grinder Ball is The Bacon Box’s new signature gluten-free take on the traditional State Fair Grinder.
Bacon-Wrapped Waffle Dog by Nordic Waffles. Griddled bacon-wrapped Kramarczuk hot dog served on a Nordic Waffle with cheddar cheese, pickle slices and crispy onions and drizzled with burger sauce.
Ba-Sants in Two Varieties – Everything Cream Cheese and Sweet Corn by French Meadow Bakery & Cafe. A buttery, crisp and caramelized pastry – a combination of a bagel and croissant: Everything Cream Cheese Ba-Sant is rolled in poppy seeds, sesame seeds, onion flakes, garlic flakes, black pepper and sea salt with a scallion cream cheese filling; Sweet Corn Ba-Sant is filled with fresh sweet corn custard and garnished with crunchy caramel corn.
Chicken Momo With Tomato Chutney by Midtown Global Market’s MomoDosa. Blend of ground chicken, cabbage, onion, ginger and other spices steamed in a dough wrapper. Served with tomato chutney. (Available Aug. 24-29 only) (New Vendor)
Fried Butternut Squash Ravioli by Oodles of Noodles. Deep-fried butternut squash ravioli sprinkled with maple cinnamon sugar. Served with a side of whipped ricotta. (Vegetarian)
Holey Hamloaf Breakfast Sandwich by Hamline Church. Hamloaf, tangy glaze, caramelized onions and cheese in a sandwich made with fried egg-in-a-hole toast. [Savuer recipe/article for Hamloaf]
Irish Butter Ice Cream Over Brown Sugar Cinnamon Toast by Blue Moon Dine-In-Theater. Ice cream made with European-style butter served on brown sugar cinnamon toast, drizzled with butter syrup and sprinkled with sea salt flakes.
Winner “Best Taste – Savory”: DEEP FRIED PHO by Michelle Le. Bringing a southern flare to this popular traditional Vietnamese comfort food that is both rich and savory. Deep Fried Pho is handcrafted, rolled up, and deep-fried Texas style! This unique combination creates a perfect balance between flavorful and refreshing. With every bite, you get a harmonious and succulent mouthful of noodles, slices of beef, fresh herbs, bean sprouts, and a taste of aromatic pho broth that has been slowly simmered for hours. To tie this experience together, it is served with a side of pho broth for dipping, lime, jalapeños, cilantro, hoisin sauce, and sriracha for a spicy, fiery kick! Pairs well with Karbach’s Hopadillo IPA!
Winner “Best Taste – Sweet”: Biscoff® Delight by Stephen El Gidi. Immerse yourself in the realm of a classic New York-style cheesecake coated with Belgian chocolate. Each bite reveals the symphony of an outer layer adorned with crushed Biscoff® cookies, offering a delightful crunch. To elevate this edible artwork, a drizzle of Lotus Biscoff® spread cascades gracefully, imparting a caramelized touch. Finally, a crowning glory is bestowed upon this culinary marvel with a perfectly placed Biscoff® cookie that entices you to embrace pure indulgence. Pairs well with a Ziegenbock!
Winner “Most Creative”: Bourbon Banana Caramel Sopapillas by Cody & Lauren Hays. Hot and delicious traditional sopapillas topped with vanilla-caramel-infused bananas, sweet bourbon syrup, crushed candied pecans, sweetened mascarpone cheese, crumbled Nilla Wafers, and dusted with powdered sugar. Pairs well with a Ziegenbock!
In this episode of COL Drag Race ‘T-Time’, Gary and Damon get musical!! As the queens dance and sing their way through Social Media the Rusical! From parodied apps to yellow dress up, listen as the guys critique the queens’ performances and runway walks. Which gurl takes the leading role and who ends up praying for an 11th hour miracle?
In this episode of Cubs Out Loud, Let’s Talk About Sex! The guys are joined by resident Sex Therapist Edward Angelini-Cooke to discuss “sides”. You know of tops, bottoms, and versatiles; but do you know about sides? Listen in as the cubs define this role in the MSM community and what it means in the sexual spectrum.
Show Topic
Sides
Definition?
Joe Kort developed the term in 2013 after not engaging in anal intercourse and feeling frustrated answering the “top or bottom” question. “Can I be a side?”
A side is typically a man who has sex with another man (MSM) who does not engage in anal intercourse or penetration as it is not part of their erotic orientation. Erotic orientation reflects your sexual fantasies, desires, and sexual behaviors.
Self-labels (labels used to describe anal sex behaviors….or does it):
Top
Bottom
Versatile
What if you don’t fit into any of those groups? shame…guilt….FOMO…et al.
In this episode of Cubs Out Loud, it’s another Let’s Talk About Sex. We are joined again by our London based guest hosts, Shutter and Bruce, to talk about DL guys. From “str8” men playing with men to gay guys not wanting people to know who they’re shacking up with, the cubs spill the beans on their interest and disinterest with those who keep it on the down low. Make sure everybody knows about this show.
In this episode of Cubs Out Loud, the cubs take some time to discuss some feedback they received from their recent “Bear Issues” episode. Listen in as they get some insight on the scientific process from a fan and doctoral student. Also, first world problems, gay desserts, and holding the door.
Comment from The BigBoy Project: “yasss another bear channel on youtube, love the channel”
Bear Underground: chubnerdchaser
Weekly Topic
Bear Issues Study Feedback – COL367 episode feedback for discussion
[From Facebook]
Randall: great episode…i have to agree with your points on this “study” that was conducted as i am sure several of us feel it is incomplete and highly inaccurate..sadly misinformation is such a dangerous thing and does not help our community at large or how others perceive our community. Again please keep up the good work and i liked the Down Low topic being brought up..i myself have a story about a straight guy and being his “secret sex” as i am sure most of us in the bear community do
[From Email]
Hi cubs!
I just finished listening to your podcast on bear issues. I also read the journals on Instinct and the Journal of Clinical Nursing. I have been following the scientific literature on bears and their health for some time now and was very excited to see that someone wrote a systematic review! But when I read the Instinct article I was concerned. I was also concerned when I heard your thoughts and heard that you had so many questions. If you allow me, I would like to express my opinion about this issue. This email is going to be long, but bear with me(pun completely intended :P); I’m going to try to make it worth your time.
First, let me tell you why I care about this. I am a doctoral student and my line of research is on health and health disparities (how individual or social characteristics may affect health). I have previously given lectures about the LGBT and bear communities to college students. I have also worked with and for the LGBT community. I also keep my colleagues and faculty aware of the specific health issues that minorities (LGBT, Hispanics, etc.) face. Also, I have published research and served as an independent reviewer of studies and reviews for scientific journals.
When I read the article on Instinct, my academic soul hurt so much. I recently found a great and funny video about this issue and I hope you enjoy it (I know, it is 20 minutes long, but it is sooooo worth it).
I hope I still have your attention after watching the video and would like to address your questions in an organized way so that you feel free to read as much as you can/want/like:
About studies and systematic reviews: Individual studies may contradict each other in some or all aspects. This happens in social science, physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science. As you guys pointed out, the discrepancies could be because of who researchers surveyed or interviewed, where they surveyed them, and other methods. Systematic reviews are a way of bringing all the findings together, making sense of the information at a greater scale, finding patterns, suggesting why results differ, and suggesting improvement in research (and in this case also clinical practice). The usual audience of empirical studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analysis is other researchers or clinicians with similar training. The way other researchers and clinicians interpret these articles is different than someone without the training.
As an analogue, imagine researchers finding that Hispanics have a higher likelihood of having diabetes and hypertension (this is something that has been found repeatedly). I bet someone has interpreted this as “Hispanics are fat and lazy” or “Hispanics are hot heads.” But remember, this is not what the researchers have said. They have identified that Hispanics are at a greater risk for diabetes and hypertension, but the causes are not known (more of that in a bit). The same happened in the systematic review.
About the purpose of the systematic review: I guess it would be good to know the purpose of the systematic review was two-fold: 1) to address possible health disparities among people who identify as bears so that other researchers fine tune future research and 2) motivate other clinicians to improve the health of those who identify as bears. The purpose is not to criticize or stigmatize bears. It is to address the health needs of bears. The authors of the systematic review make that clear while the author of the article in Instinct did not.
About the people studies recruited: It is impossible to recruit every person from the populations we are interested in. Recruitment for studies like the ones mentioned in the review is usually self-selective. We want people to be willing to answer some questions and not everyone has the time or the willingness. The studies cited in the review included men who self-identified as bears through a survey, an interview, or any other form. Some of the studies compared men who identified as bears to other groups like straight men or gay men who did not identify as bears (usually asking a simple question like: “Do you identify as a bear?” or “How would you identify yourself” and providing options). Here is one of the descriptions from Manley, Levitt, and Mosher (2008).
“The study was advertised through e-mails sent to listservs serving the bear community and to bear community group leaders. These postings asked for volunteers to participate in a study that sought to understand the relationships, values, and beliefs of bear-identified men.”
Another study from Moskovitz and colleagues recruited gay men from Craigslist (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK), IML (Chicago, 2008) and PrideFest (Milwaukee, 2008). One of the studies was done in China! Still, the concern you guys expressed that the findings may not apply to all bears is true and the authors of the systematic review mention this as a limitation:
“The total number of research studies and the small sample size within those studies may not reflect the true experiences of the men who identify as Bears. Researchers should be very cautious when interpreting the results of the studies.”
About risky behavior: I admit that I do not like when someone uses the words “risky,” “unhealthy,” or “low self-esteem” in the same sentence as my different identities (gay, bear, Hispanic, researcher, graduate student, poor). However, knowing that I am at a higher risk for diabetes because I am Hispanic has given me the power to take action and prevent it from happening. As I have mentioned, this review has that purpose; letting others know where to look to prevent bad things from happening. With this, let me show you an extract of the findings and then the recommendations from the review authors:
“When compared to other gay men, men who identified as Bears engaged in more diverse sexual acts like anilingus, fisting, asphyxiation, voyeurism, and exhibitionism (Moskowitz et al., 2013). Furthermore, men who identified as Bears were found to engage in UAS more often than other gay peer groups (Prestage et al., 2015; Willoughby et al., 2008).”
These sexual activities are characterized as “diverse” in the text not as perverse or wrong. Remember that guys who self-identify as bears were reporting these behaviors more often than other gay men (who do not identify as bears).
“Men who identified as Bears were found to engage in unsafe sexual activity, like UAS, anilingus, and fisting, more often than other gay men (Moskowitz et al., 2013; Willoughby et al., 2008). Healthcare providers can offer advice regarding protective measures to help decrease the chance of infection like the use of condoms and dental dams or receiving the hepatitis A vaccine. If a client engages in fisting, healthcare providers should teach clients the risks such as laceration or perforation of the rectum or colon, which can result in serious injury.”
We know that anal sex without a condom, anilingus, and fisting increase the chances of infections and injury in everyone. With the premise that men who identify as bears are reporting these behaviors more often than other groups, bears may face specific health needs that other groups may not. Even when people engage in fisting using as much caution as possible, fisting increases the risk of injury just like driving a car increases at speed limit increases your risk of injury compared to someone who does not drive a car or someone who drives very infrequently. The authors are not condemning or suggesting other clinicians to tell clients or patients to stop these activities. They are calling for clinicians to inform their patients about the risks. Patients can, then, decide what to do with the information.
About cause and effect: One of the issues that I remember from the podcast was the feeling that the authors of the review were implying that because we are bears all bears are unhealthy and have low self-esteem. The authors are not saying or implying that, but when articles like these are interpreted by other people who are not familiar with scientific writing, it could be interpreted in many ways. The systematic review and the articles it included are basically saying: “People who identify as bears report these characteristics more often or at higher rates than people who do not identify as bears.” In other words, researchers and clinicians read this as “people who identify as bears, on average, report higher BMI, more self-esteem issues, more masculinity traits, etc.” Other researchers usually know that studies like these cannot apply to everyone, but could be useful in identifying health needs. They also know the fact that being a bear does not cause lower self-esteem, higher masculinity, etc. A study answering that question would be impossible to do.
About BMI: Yes, BMI has a lot of flaws and has created unrealistic expectations and confusion. We cannot disregard that, time and time again, research has shown that higher BMIs usually categorized in the obese range are related to worse health outcomes especially if a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, excessive drinking, sleep problems, and other issues that go together are also present. The BMI is not a great measure of health, but it reflects other issues and works to take quick decisions when you are a doctor seeing a bunch of patients for 15 minutes at a time.
There is a lot that was left out from the Instinct article that is important to know. The language used in the systematic review was neutral and without bias against bears or gay individuals. It communicated a concern about potential and specific health needs of bears. The first author seems to identify as a bear (I did a quick search on google). The article recognizes that more research needs to be done to have a clearer picture about the health needs of bears. The review has been accepted for publication, but it is not the final product. Even though the results are unlikely to change, the suggestions and interpretations may be changed in the final version.
I hope I did not bore you too much with all this info. I did this because I care about these issues and I have been involved in research, clinical practice, and the LGBT community to offer a perspective you may have not had from any of these individual sources of information. If you have any comments or questions, I’d be happy to discuss them and answer them the best way possible.
In this episode of Cubs Out Loud, it’s time for another Let’s Talk About Food. For this one, the guys head back to the fair again to get a taste of some delicious dishes. In Part 3, the cubs head first to Iowa then next Jeff’s home state of Minnesota to satiate their appetites before heading to the southern border to savor their hankering for some big Texas vittles. From savory to sweet, get a dabble of the new foods coming your way soon. Are you hungry?
