It's not soda, it's a "sparkling beverage." And it's good for you.

At least, that's the word from the soft drink giant as they unveil the latest versions of their products. But this time, they promise, their carbonated drinks are healthy.

Some believe that Red Bull and other energy drinks could lead to caffeine abuse.

Is that different from what millions of Starbucks addicts do each day?

How did we ever live without high fructose corn syrup? Before the corn industry created this corn starch-based sweetener back in the 1970's, food manufacturers had to rely on plain old ordinary sugar to sweeten their products.

But corn syrup is cheaper than sugar, thanks largely to USDA farm subsidies, so the food industry ditched the sugar for the syrup. The USDA's own figures show that our consumption of high fructose corn syrup has risen 250 percent in the past fifteen years, with a corresponding decline in sugar consumption.

“Did you see the turkey flavored soda on Regis and Kelly?” the cashier at the supermarket asked me yesterday.

Ouch. I am so out of the loop, I had to hear about it from a Hannaford cashier in rural Red Hook who watches Reege.

I rarely drink bubbly beverages so I’m not the consumer Jones Soda is Targeting. But you might be.

Are you into indie music? Jones Soda’s got a website for you. Did you snag a coveted Jones Soda Holiday Fun Pack? Would you like to see your photo on a bottle of Jones Soda?

The iconoclastic soda company built demand for its funny flavored sodas through a virtual community of Jones junkies who, according to Business Week, “chat, blog, enter contests, share movie reviews and download freebies.”

Peter Van Stolk, the 41 year-old founder of the Vancouver based soda company, explains his maverick marketing philosophy in a frank and funny interview with Fast Company, in which he freely admits that some of Jones’ flavors are “undrinkable.”

But while the quirky flavors generate the buzz, industry website BevNet finds some of Jones Soda’s more traditional flavors pretty tasty, and so do a lot of people, judging by sales.

Are you sucking up Jones Soda? Is Jones Soda sucking up to you? Peter Van Stolk says he doesn’t care whether you buy his soda. Are we buying it? Apparently so.