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Louie, Louie Day

In 1963, a rock group named the Kingsmen recorded the song “Louie, Louie.” The popularity of the song and difficulty in discerning the lyrics led some people to suspect the song was obscene. The FBI was asked to investigate whether or not those involved with the song violated laws against the interstate transportation of obscene material. The limited investigation lasted from February to May 1964 and discovered no evidence of obscenity.

The FBI files can be viewed at https://vault.fbi.gov/louie-louie-the-song

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When singing Louie Louie almost any words can be sung and it seems to fit. The song is actually about a sailor singing about a girl. It was written in the 1950’s during the Calypso Craze. The songs were in a gentle Caribbean-based folk style. A well known artist of the genre was

Harry Belafonte, whose song “Banana Boat (Day-O) was a top five hit.

The craze soon lost its momentum, however, and the hit recordings stopped coming. Calypso was quickly absorbed back into the commercial folk music movement. In Jamaica itself, the style soon was eclipsed by the rise of a succession of new pop amalgams in the 1960s: ska, rock steady, and reggae. By this time, calypso was largely marketed through festivals in the Caribbean islands to attract nostalgic middle American tourists.

For more information about music genres visit https://www.shsu.edu/~lis_fwh/book/index.htm#regional

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National Poutine Day

Poutine is a Canadian dish created in Quebec. It is French Fries covered in Poutine gravy and cheese curds. Poutine gravy uses a combination of beef broth and chicken.

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Money Smart Week

Parents can employ various strategies, including assigning chores, to instill a sense of responsibility in their children. The natural segue from chores is to offer compensation for the jobs that children are doing.

Allowances can provide foundations for parents to teach kids about working for a living. Kids are able to grasp the concept that money doesn’t come without hard work. Also, allowances paint the picture that one’s financial resources are commensurate with the effort he or she puts in. Giving allowances also can help teach children how to manage money, plan ahead and make spending choices about what’s most important, according to the parenting guide Raise Smart Kids.

Allowances can be tough to figure out. For example, parents may not know how to determine the rate and frequency of payouts.

According to Lewis Mandell, a former dean of business at the State University of New York at Buffalo, giving a child an allowance, especially a regular, unconditional allowance that the child can depend on, isn’t the right way to approach allowances. Children may begin to view this allowance as an entitlement. In fact, Mandell’s research on teens in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia found, without exception, that teens who received a regular unconditional allowance had diminished financial literacy, lower levels of motivation and an increased aversion to work.

But when handled properly, allowances can be important tools. Here are some additional benefits to allowances.

• Allowances can provide incentive to get chores done.
• Allowances can motivate students to work hard at school.
• Allowances can include a required portion to be donated, teaching kids the importance of being charitable.

Learning the correlation between work and compensation is a lesson that starts in childhood. Allowances can be an important part of kids’ early financial education

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome Awareness Month

7 Healthy Drinks That Improve Digestion

By Alexis Weilbaecher, RD, LDN

Whether you’re gorging on a feast or simply enjoying a light afternoon snack, one thing is certain: You want your food to be digested properly. And the fact of the matter is, the better our digestive system functions, the better we feel, look and perform.

To improve your digestive health, consider adding one or more of the following healthy drinks to your diet.

Kombucha

Made by fermenting yeasts and bacteria with sweetened tea, kombucha is a refreshing, lightly carbonated drink that’s rich in probiotics.

Probiotics are healthy live bacteria that help the gut to run smoothly. The health benefits of probiotics are many; they help to boost the immune system, improve blood sugar, reduce inflammation and improving overall gut and digestive health.

Ginger Tea

Drinking warm ginger tea just before or during a big meal may improve digestive health and prevent heartburn, stomachache and indigestion. This is because the root stimulates saliva flow, bile and gastric juice production, which jump starts the breakdown of the food you eat.

Lemongrass Tea

In addition to being wonderfully tasty, lemongrass tea has been shown to help soothe the stomach and keep digestive functions in check. Used as an ancient Chinese medicine remedy to help decrease symptoms in certain stomach issues such as bloating and constipation, lemongrass contains a compound called citral which provides anti-inflammatory benefits. It’s also caffeine-free, making it an ideal after-dinner beverage or sleepy time tea.

Peppermint Tea

Native to Europe and Asia, peppermint has been used for thousands of years for its pleasant, minty taste and health benefits. It contains natural chemicals that may help the digestive tract by reducing spasms in the gut, meaning your body is more relaxed and can more easily digest food after ingesting it. For this reason, it has also been found to be likely effective in treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Fennel Tea

Packed with fiber, fennel may help relieve constipation and other digestive problems that cause gas, as well as keep things moving properly in the digestive tract, though research has shown insufficient evidence for this. To enjoy the therapeutic benefits of fennel, you can simply chew on the seeds, or make a tea by crushing them and pouring hot water over them.

Coffee

Your morning brew can help with more than providing you a much-needed energy boost. It may also act as a stimulant for your digestive tract. Functioning like a laxative, coffee gets things moving quickly in your gut. While coffee may help you time your daily bowel movement before you head out the door, you shouldn’t rely solely on it to help with digestion.

Consuming excessive amounts of caffeine may cause to diarrhea, which is not only uncomfortable, but may also prevent your body from absorbing certain nutrients. Too much caffeine has been shown to hinder sleep, so it is best to avoid drinking coffee after 3 p.m.

Pro Tip: For additional protein and added health benefits, consider adding 10 grams of collagen powder to your morning cup of coffee. Collagen is a protein that plays an important role in the function of our skin, joints, ligaments and tendons, and it also helps promote gut health.

Water

Touted as nature’s digestive aid, water is a major component of every single cell that lines your digestive tract, meaning you need plenty of it for those cells to function. Water also keeps tissues in your digestive tract pliable while creating an environment that allows food to easily pass.

Be sure to drink the right amount for your body type. To determine your total daily fluid intake, divide your weight (in pounds) by two, and that’s approximately how many ounces of fluid you need daily. Add an additional 16 ounces for every pound of sweat lost during exercise or work outdoors in hot temperatures.

For additional therapeutic effects, add a squeeze of lemon in your water or unsweetened tea. This citrus is used as a digestive aid, an anti-inflammatory and a diuretic.

Furthermore, drink your daily recommended amount of water, especially when consuming foods high in fiber to prevent constipation. Fiber not only helps regulate bowel movements throughout the day, it also helps us feel fuller, longer.

Disclaimer: As consuming herbs can lead to unexpected interactions with certain medications, consult with your doctor before adding them to your diet.

Alexis Weilbaecher landed her dream job of becoming a consulting Registered Dietitian right out of college and has been practicing nutrition at Ochsner Fitness Center for the past eight years. Her passion is connecting with her clients on a unique personal level, working closely with them to optimize their diets to improve whole-body wellness while having fun.