View the full slideshow of our family hike at Kay’s Picasa Gallery.

This weekend, we had a family outing to finally see “Up in the Air.” Of course, Chris never heard of the flick, but my relatives had him outnumbered.

Four of the four moviegoers liked the move — although Chris wished for a happier ending.  (I know, a little strange.)

The New York Times calls the movie: “an assertively, and unapologetically, tidy package…”

I would agree with this assessment. It was a very good movie, although a little predictable. The national economy plays as subplot and refuses to give us a happy ending. If you’re optimistic about the economy, a happier ending would have appropriate. Having never been accused to be optimists, Dad and I agreed that maybe there’s not a happy ending to be had.

This week, rather than immediately delete to lessen my guilt for not being a consistently adventurous cook, I scanned the message to find this:

Of course, Michael Pollan is the author/activist behind The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and he has infected F&W, a glorious celebration of all things that taste good. Where you must buy “4 pounds meaty ham hocks” to make a salad.

The Pollan cheat sheet F&W provides is not entirely meat free, but take his rule #23 to heart: “Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food.”

This is measure of how far into popular culture the Pollan followers have gone. I doubt F&W will remove all its tasty meat dishes, and I fully expected them to twist any food fad to sell more magazines and obtain more click throughs.

Now, Pollan is not just an activist with a book, he’s creating a diet like South Beach or The Zone – which have thousands of followers each. A warning: The next article to show weight loss and shinier hair by way of the Pollan diet will no doubt show an impact on the meat industry.