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Saturday, August 30, 2008

The Power of Positive Thinking: Truth or Myth?

You might call Maarten van der Weijden the anti-Lance Armstrong. Last week, the Dutch Olympic long-distance swimming champion and cancer survivor told the British newspaper The Telegraph that he didn't want to be compared to the American cycling star.

"Armstrong says that positive thinking and doing a lot of sports can save you. I don't agree," said van der Weijden. "I even think it's dangerous because it implies that if you are not a positive thinker all the time you lose ... The doctors saved me. I am just lucky."

Van der Weijden's comments cut to the heart of an ongoing debate in the medical community. Can patients really improve their chances of survival by staying upbeat and happy? Experts say the American public has largely accepted this as fact. But, scientifically speaking, questions remain regarding whether this works, how it would work, and what such a connection would mean for patients who don't get better.

Appeal and promise

There certainly is an appeal to believing that you have some level of control over a debilitating illness. "I think it's part of the American spirit," said James Coyne, director of the behavioral oncology program at the Abramson Cancer Center and professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "There's this idea that you can succeed and conquer anything, even illness, on the basis of your character."

And studies showing a possible connection between positive thinking and health are frequently in the news. For instance, work by researchers at Ben-Gurion University in Israel suggested that women who've faced several life challenges, such as a death in the family or divorce, are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than peers who've had more stable, happy lives. The results were detailed in the Aug. 21 issue of the journal BMC Cancer.

The same study also found that women with cancer were more likely to report that, prior to diagnosis, they had been anxious or depressed and that bad things had happened in their lives.

Ronit Peled, one of the Ben-Gurion University researchers, said this was evidence for a relationship between emotional well-being and the risk of contracting cancer. "The main message from my point of view is that young women who have severe life events at a young age should be considered a risk group for breast cancer and treated accordingly," she said. "But general feelings of happiness and optimism in one's life can play a protective role."

Coyne said the public often takes news like this to mean that positive thinking has been unequivocally proven to be good for your health.

But the truth is a little more complicated.

How do you feel?

In reality, there is no clear-cut answer yet on whether being upbeat can keep you healthy or cure anything, Peled and Coyne both said. Research on the subject is divided between studies like Peled's and studies like the one Coyne did, detailed in December 2007 in the journal Cancer, which found that emotional well-being wasn't an accurate predictor of whether or not patients with neck and head cancer survived.

Coyne is particularly skeptical of positive thinking's power over cancer. "The problem with cancer is that it's so complex. By the time you're diagnosed it may have been building for decades," he said.

For other diseases, though, the scientific outlook is sunnier. Coyne said there's evidence that mood can predict whether someone who has had one heart attack will have another. And he said there is a biological explanation for why this might be possible.

Little research has been done on the biological basis of positive thinking as a therapeutic treatment for illness, but Coyne said scientists know the brain and the immune system communicate. Given that scientists also know the immune system plays a role in inflammation of the arteries, which can play a role in heart attack, it's reasonable to think that heart attacks could be tied back to things going on in the brain.

Good, bad

However, when Coyne and other researchers tried to intercede and treat depression among heart attack patients, they found the patient's moods improved, but the rates of second heart attack didn't. Ironically, Coyne said, the most evidence for emotion affecting health actually favors negative emotions, not positive ones. For instance, he said, we know anger and depression are correlated with having a second heart attack, however, what's unproven is whether being positive can reduce the risk.

Another way emotion could affect health, even for complicated illnesses such as cancer, is by affecting the patient's willingness to stick to the treatment plan. "It could be an indirect effect," said Anne Harrington, chair of Harvard University's history of science program and author of "The Cure Within: A History of Mind-Body Medicine" (W.W. Norton, 2008). "If a person is positive, he or she is more likely to show up for all the treatments to have a better diet to exercise. And if you're deeply depressed you sleep badly and that's bad for your health."

But Harrington and Coyne echoed the concerns of Maarten van der Weijden, saying that findings about emotions and health shouldn't be used to pressure patients into feeling a certain way.

In fact, Harrington said, that could hurt the patient more than if they'd been left alone. "Misinterpretations of this research can make people afraid to have the feelings they have," she said. "I have a colleague who's studied this and it's very clear from his work that it's just as stressful to keep up a performance of positivity as it is to [keep up] a bad mood. It's very stressful to be inauthentically upbeat all the time."

Healthy Eating Begins at the Supermarket

Navigating the Aisles

The typical American consumer hits the grocery store at least twice a week. Why, then, does it feel like we never have anything to eat at home? Follow the advice below to make sure you not only have a well-stocked pantry for healthful eating, but are buying the right products at the right time in the right way.

You'll notice, by the way, that many of the tips below have you looking at a food product's nutrition label and ingredients list for information. If you haven't become expert at this, time to study up. Go straight to the source -- the U.S. Food and Drug Administration -- via the Internet at, put "nutrition facts" into the search line, then click on "go" for a full menu of food-labeling information.

1. Rule number one: Buy fresh food! There is no simpler, no easier, no plainer measure of the healthiness of your food than whether it comes in boxes and cans or is fresh from the farm or the fields. If more than half your groceries are prepared foods, then you need to evolve your cooking and eating habits back to the healthy side by picking up more fresh vegetables, fruits, seafood, juices, and dairy.

2. Shop the perimeter of the store. That's where all the fresh foods are. The less you find yourself in the central aisles of the grocery store, the healthier your shopping trip will be. Make it a habit -- work the perimeter of the store for the bulk of your groceries, then dip into the aisles for staples that you know you need.

3. Think of the departments (dairy, produce, meat, and so on) as separate stores within the supermarket. You wouldn't shop at every store at a mall the same way, would you? You know better than to idly browse through a jewelry store, don't you? So apply the same approach to the grocery store. Target the sections that are safe to browse through -- the produce section, primarily -- and steer clear of the dangerous sections (the candy, ice cream, and potato chip aisles).

4. Shop with a list. Organize your shopping list based on the tip above -- that is, by the sections of the store. This will have you out of the supermarket at the speed of light. If you're a woman, consider getting your husband or son to do the food shopping, says Joan Salge Blake, R.D., clinical assistant professor of nutrition at Boston University's Sargent College. The latest survey from the Food Marketing Institute shows that compared to women, men are more likely to buy only what's on the grocery list. But shopping with a list has benefits beyond speed and spending. By lashing yourself to the discipline of a well-planned shopping list, you can resist the seductive call of aisle upon aisle of junk food, thereby saving your home, your family, and yourself from an overload of empty calories.

5. Food-shop with a full stomach. We're sure you've heard this one before, but it's worth repeating. Walking through the grocery store with your tummy growling can make you vulnerable to buying anything that isn't moving, says Blake. If you can't arrange to shop shortly after a meal, be sure to eat an apple and drink a large glass of water before heading into the store.

6. Buy a few days before ripe. There's no point in trying to buy fresh vegetables and fruits for your family if the bananas turn brown and the peaches mushy two days after you get them home. Buy fruit that's still a day or two behind ripeness. It will still be hard to the touch; bananas will be green. Feel carefully for bruises on apples, check expiration dates on bagged produce, and stay away from potatoes or onions that have started to sprout. If the produce on the shelves looks a bit beyond its peak, don't walk away; ask to speak to the produce manager. Chances are, there's a fresh shipment in the back just waiting to be put out on store shelves. For a real taste treat, if you're going to eat them within the next couple of days, pick up a bunch of vine-ripened tomatoes. There's just no comparison.

7. Buy in season. Sure, it's tempting to buy strawberries in December, and once in a while that's fine. But fresh fruit and vegetables are best when purchased in season, meaning they've come from relatively close to home. They often cost less, are tastier, and have less risk of pathogens such as E. coli.

8. Buy organic whenever possible. Sure, it costs a few dollars more. But a study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that organically grown fruits and vegetables contain higher levels of cancer-fighting antioxidants than conventionally produced foods. However, if organic is too pricey for you, don't worry; organic or not, fruits and veggies are key to a healthy larder.

9. Buy frozen. Frozen fruits and vegetables are often flash frozen at the source, locking in nutrients in a way fresh or canned can't compete with. Stock your freezer with bags of frozen vegetables and fruits. You can toss the veggies into soups and stews, microwave them for a side dish with dinners, or thaw them at room temperature and dip them into low-fat salad dressing for snacks. Use the fruits for desserts, smoothies, and as ice cream and yogurt toppings.

10. Stock up on canned tomato products. Here's one major exception to the "fresher is better" rule. Studies find that tomato sauces and crushed and stewed tomatoes have higher amounts of the antioxidant lycopene than fresh, because they're concentrated. Canned tomatoes are a godsend when it comes to quick dinners in the kitchen. Warm up a can with some crushed garlic for a chunky pasta sauce; pour a can over chicken breasts and simmer in the crock pot; add to stews and sauces for flavor and extra nutrients.

11. Stock up on canned beans. Although they may have a bit more sodium than we like, that's easy enough to get rid of with a good rinse in the sink. Beans can be mixed with brown rice, added to soups and stews, pureed with onions and garlic into hummus for dipping, or served over pasta for a traditional pasta e fagioli. In fact, all the hype about pasta raising blood sugar really comes down to this: What are you putting on your pasta? The soluble fiber in beans lowers blood sugar and insulin, making the combination of pasta and beans a healthful -- as well as delicious -- dish.


14. Choose prepared foods with short ingredient lists. We don't expect you to cut out prepared foods entirely. Just remember: The shorter the ingredient list, the healthier the food usually is. Of course, if the ingredients are sugar and butter, put the item back on the shelf.





19. Whenever you find yourself reaching for a package of ground meat, switch over to the poultry section instead and pick up ground turkey, ground chicken, or soy crumbles. Works just as well as ground beef for meatballs, meat loaf, or chili. This little substitution can cut more than 30 percent of the calories and at least half of the fat and saturated fat in a three-ounce serving, says Blake. When it's smothered in a zesty tomato sauce or flavored with seasonings, you'll never be able to tell the difference. If you're feeling a little gun-shy about abandoning the beef, use half turkey and half lean beef, or half soy crumbles and half beef.


21. Buy macadamia nut oil. It has more good-for-you monounsaturated fats than any other oil in the world and a higher smoke point than olive oil, so there's no trans fatty acid formation when you cook. It makes any dish you make heart-healthier, says Fred Pescatore, M.D., author of The Hamptons Diet.

22. Confirm that a wheat bread is whole wheat. Some of the folks selling bread are trying to pull the wool (or is it wheat chaff?) over your eyes. Sure, a wheat bread is made from wheat. But if the first ingredient is refined wheat flour, then it's made from the same wheat as white bread -- which means, stripped of fiber and nutrients, and in some cases, dyed brown for a fake healthy appearance. What you're really looking for are the words "whole wheat." That's the stuff with minimum refining and maximum beneficial nutrients.

23. Buy plain yogurt and flavor it at home. Pre-flavored yogurts have oodles of sugars that destroy any healthy benefits they once had. If you add a teaspoon of all-fruit jam at home, it'll still taste yummy, you'll consume far fewer useless calories, and you'll save lots of money.

24. Buy healthy add-ins for plain cereals. These include raisins, fresh berries, dried berries, almond slivers, pumpkin seeds, sesame sticks, and bananas. The best breakfast-cereal strategy is to buy unsweetened cereals and then add in your favorite flavors. That helps you bypass all the empty sugary calories -- and lets you enjoy the cereal more. For ease, keep a wide-mouth, well-sealed jar on your counter with shelf-stable ingredients for quick mix-ins. Keep a scoop and ziplock bags handy, and you've got a handy, nutritious meal or snack for home or on the go.

25. Read juice labels carefully. Orange juice, although quite healthy, often has 20 grams of sugar in the average 8-ounce glass. Instead, try guava juice. It has three times more vitamin C, and is loaded with potassium (a great blood pressure regulator) and beta-carotene.

The Top Ten Strange and Unusual Japanese Chewing Gums

Chews your poison...



10) No Time Gum: Eat Your Toothbrush!




8) Chewing Gum with After-Wrappers - A Neat Idea




Check out this cool Japanese TV chewing gum commercial!

6) Sparkle Ninja Chewing Gum, for Flamboyant Ninjas


5) Black Black Gum - Bigger and Blacker than Before




3) Fuwarinka Scented Gum: Come Out Smelling Like a Rose


2) Sex Gum for Men: Like Chewable Viagra?


1) Bust Up Gum: It Blows Up Your Bubbles!




Friday, August 29, 2008

Cocaine and Ecstasy deaths up 1,200% since records began in 1993

By Charlotte Gill

Woman sniffing cocaine

Threat: Cocaine is becoming the middle-class narcotic of choice

Death from 'middle class' drugs glamorised by celebrities are at their highest level since records began, government figures revealed today.

Party drugs Ecstasy and cocaine now claim nearly 300 lives a year, an increase of over 1,200 per cent since figures were first recorded in 1993.

The statistics, released by the Office for National Statistics, also reveal that far more men than women are dying from drug abuse and are taking them later in life, often into their 40s.

Experts believe that cocaine's 'dinner party' image is masking its true dangers.

The high number of cocaine deaths are thought to be the result of mixing the drug with alcohol which produces a potentially-deadly compound called cocaine-ethynyl.

There have been a number of high-profile deaths involving the drug in recent years.

Actress Natasha Collins, 31, died in a scalding hot bath in January after taking large amounts of cocaine, wine, vodka and sleeping tablets.

Flamboyant German aristocrat Count Gottfried von Bismarck died last July after injecting cocaine every hour during the day and night before his death.

Yesterday drug charities warned of an 'epidemic' of recreational drug deaths as young Britons emulate stars such as Kate Moss, Pete Doherty and Amy Winehouse.

Clare McNeil, of drug treatment charity Addaction, said: 'Cocaine is seen as a middle-class drug associated with success and money.

'People think they can copy celebrities and do a quick line because it doesn't have the same stigma as other class As but it's actually just as destructive.

'People are often ignorant of the risks of combining alcohol with cocaine for example, which can increase the risk of liver and heart disease, strokes and epilepsy.

'The increase in deaths among men in their 30s and 40s is worrying. It suggests that more people are continuing to experiment with drugs well into adulthood.

'At one time young people would dabble then stop as they settled down but these kind of figures suggest an epidemic."

Deaths from all drugs rose by 2.7 per cent last year - the highest figure since 2002.

The figures show the total number of deaths in England and Wales from drugs poisoning in 2007 was 2,640, up 2.7 per cent from the 2,570 in 2006.

The majority of those were male - 1,914 last year compared with 1,782 in 2006.

Meanwhile, female drug poisoning deaths fell by eight per cent from 788 deaths in 2006 to 726 in 2007.

Cocaine claimed 196 lives in 2007 and Ecstasy 97, a combined total of 293.

This is a staggering 1,274 per cent increase since 1993, when just 23 people died after taking the drugs.

The highest number of drug deaths were among men aged between 30 and 39.

Deaths among 20 to 29-year-olds, which was previously the highest group, continued to increase but at a slower rate.

David Gilbert, chief executive of drugs charity D.A.R.E., called on families to become more involved in the war on drugs.

He said: 'Parents need to play a much bigger role in setting children on the straight and narrow when they are young.

'Childhood is when views of drugs are formed and it is the best time to educate people to avoid them.

'We obviously have a massive problem and the different agencies and charities need to pull together to tackle it.'

Class A drugs heroin and morphine caused 829 deaths in 2007, compared with 713 in 2006.

Methadone deaths also shot to their highest levels since 1999 with 326 deaths - an increase of 35 per cent compared with 2006.

Party towns Blackpool and Brighton top the list of black spots for drug deaths hitting 233 a year.

Blackpool topped the list with 120 people in every 100,000 being killed every year between 2000 and 2006.

The seaside town was closely followed by Brighton and Hove with 112 deaths and Camden, in London, with 83.

Deaths involving antidepressants, paracetamol and aspirin were all at their lowest levels since records began in 1993.

Original here

Narrowing World Health Disparities



It may seem obvious, or even inevitable, that a poor person would live a shorter, sicker life than a rich one. But consider also that a "social gradient of health" exists even among the rich: the outlandishly wealthy live healthier and longer than the rich, who live better than the merely comfortable. In every country around the world, WHO's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health found that the very best off had better health than people a few rungs below them on the socioeconomic ladder. "Even in Sweden" — a country with a strong history of social and economic equality — "if you look over the last 10 years, life expectancy has improved across the board. But it's improved more for people with high education than it has for people with low education," says Michael Marmot, chair of the Commission and a U.K.-based epidemiologist.

Education, of course, is a major social determinant of health. More highly educated people tend to make more healthful lifestyle choices and, as they also tend to be richer, have greater access to health care. The Commission's "social determinants" cover a vast territory, encompassing virtually every factor that can be changed in a person's life by applying reasonable political and economic resources. (Early on, commissioners had considered adding the words Environmental Economic, Political, and Cultural to describe the determinants in their group's official title, but then figured that would make it too unwieldy. "It can get a bit silly," Marmot says. "So we just said, Social includes all that.") But the Commission's new report highlights social factors that go well beyond having enough money to buy a doctor's care or medication, and well beyond having the know-how to use it. The world's poor tend to die prematurely and log more life-years spent ill or suffering or depressed also because they are more likely to live in dangerous neighborhoods, have limited access to clean drinking water, be forced to endure long, sometimes arduous commutes to work, labor in unsafe environments and have little representation in the governance of their local society. If you're about to lose your job, the effects of eating too many trans fats may not be high on your list of worries. "Behavior and lifestyle are determined by the circumstances in which people find themselves," Marmot says simply.

The Commission's ultimate finding, however, is that "it does not have to be this way." Differences in longevity have many causes — the poor in America, for instance, are more likely than the rich to suffer diabetes, obesity or death in a gang fight — but with the new report, WHO aims to uncover "the causes of the causes." It sets out not to cure diabetes or crack down on violence, but to pinpoint the social factors that make the more poorly likely to suffer, and this "gradient," or the degree to which different groups are unequal in health, is far steeper in the U.S. than in most other industrialized countries. One reason, according to commissioner David Satcher, a former U.S. Surgeon General, may be that the U.S. comprises a more diverse population than other places, mixing a high proportion of recent immigrants with long-time American dwellers, which makes it all the more difficult to tackle social determinants early in life. "Two," Satcher says, "[the U.S.] invests probably less in improving that social gradient. There are countries that really invest in making sure that all children have quality education regardless of the education of their parents. There are countries that invest in making sure that everybody has access to a [minimum] level of quality of [health] care. We're one of the few countries that does not do that."

The Commission brought together an international team of academics, politicians and medical experts from around the world, including two former heads of state (a president of Chile and a prime minister of Mozambique), as well as two former directors of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and, for good measure, an economics Nobel laureate, the Harvard-based Amartya Sen. The team of commissioners combed through health data from around the world, and based on that evidence, drew up recommendations to narrow the inequalities of circumstance and opportunity that affect health. The suggestions are broad, only semi-concrete policies that are general enough to be applied to almost every country in the world: increase prenatal care, increase early education and provide free elementary and secondary school for all children. The report suggests cleaning up slums, supplying clean water for everyone, and giving people around the world health insurance and unemployment insurance. And it recommends doing a better job overall of measuring health disparities in the first place.

These demands are, in a word, steep. But the report authors do not feel they are unreasonable. "Health equity within a generation is achievable, it is the right thing to do, and now is the right time to do it," they write. Like any persuasive call to arms, the report is peppered with success stories: Marmot cites the national pension plan in Botswana, which shows that even poor nations manage to provide income security to their elderly; and an Indian rural employment guarantee, which assures workers a minimum number of days of paid manual labor for the state, demonstrating that the poor can still give workers some measure of job security. With better organization, the report authors believe, biological problems like infectious disease can also be brought under control through social policy. Mexico has in a matter of decades consigned widespread diarrheal diseases to the history books by cleaning its water supply.

The key may just be political will. Any government official — or doctor, for that matter — who tries to improve population health has basically just two options. One is to push the frontiers constantly, improving basic health knowledge and medical technology. The other is to work with existing knowledge and technology, but to concentrate on allocating it efficiently. Almost all the WHO's recommendations fall into the latter category, and the commissioners are convinced that focusing on the social determinants of health will save both lives and cash in the long run. "We're wasting a lot of the money that we invest in health and health care," Satcher says. "All sorts of studies show that targeting the social determinants of health is more cost-effective — for everybody, not just for those at the bottom. Everybody in this country, whether they know it or not, suffers from a system that is not committed to closing that [health] gap."

That's not to say that lab breakthroughs won't bring all kinds of new health benefits in the decades to come. "But we don't need to wait for those new breakthroughs to make enormous differences," Marmot says.

Original here

My Boobs Are Not Squeeze Toys :: 8 Tips For More Action In The Bedroom

What is one food that can make a woman’s sex drive disappear?

Wedding cake.

That joke might be funny if I hadn’t heard it from so many married men that complain about the lack of sexual activity taking place in their marriage.

As much as guys might want to think that any reduction in the quantity of time between the sheets (or on the dining room table) is an evil plan concocted by their wives, often times the real answer is staring at them in the mirror.

Now I am not going to get all Cosmopolitan on you and start bashing my fellow man and placing all of the blame on you for any lack of spice in the bedroom, as your partner certainly plays a role in that as well.

But when you take a step back and look at how you have changed over the years, you might just find that there are some small changes that you can make that will have your partner crawling all over you.

The following eight tips are things that you can do right now to avoid being one of those guys that breaks out that joke about the wedding cake.

1. Stop thinking of her as your personal squeeze toy.

Guys, I know it is extremely tempting to constantly be giving your wife a squeeze here and a squeeze there; however, she will most likely not appreciate it as much as you would if she were the one squeezing you.

The path to romance rarely begins with a “drive-by” boob squeeze as you pass your wife in the kitchen. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the boob squeeze as much (actually more) than the next guy but if you think it is going to lead to some hot and steamy action in the bedroom, guess again.

2. Pay attention to her turn-ons.

No, I am not referring to the type of turn-on such as how she likes it when you kiss the small of her back. What I am talking about here are the every day things that might be a turn-on for your wife or partner. Often times it is things that seem so ordinary that you might not pay attention.

If you get home before your wife, rather than plop down in front of the TV, clean up the house and vacuum the carpets. When she walks in and sees you vacuuming, she may have a hard time not jumping on you right then and there.

3. Cook her dinner.

Sure, some of you guys are outstanding chefs and thrive when putting together a meal. However, many of us defer to our wives far too often when it comes to the cooking.

Once you are done with the cleaning (and any extra-curricular activities that might take place as a result) head into the kitchen and prepare a nice dinner. Throwing hot dogs on the grill with a side of potato chips doesn’t count either. Prepare a meal that includes a main entree along with one or two sides, maybe a nice salad beforehand. Bonus points if you plan ahead and bring home a nice bottle of wine to enjoy with dinner.

4. Plan a date night and surprise her.

Between the demands of work schedules, driving the kids around to their activities, and taking care of things around the house, it is easy to forget that you and your wife need to spend some time alone together. Away from everyone and everything.

Plan a complete date night for you and your wife without letting her know about. Coordinate the baby sitter to take care of the kids and enjoy a night together. About an hour (you might want to make it two depending on your wife) before you need to leave, tell her to put on something nice as you have somewhere to go.

The activities that you plan for the date night aren’t nearly as important as simply making the effort to plan some special time just for the two of you.

5. Randomly let her know that she is on your mind.

Sometimes we get so busy in our day to day activities that we take it for granted that our loved ones know how important they are to us.

Take a few minutes out of your day, maybe before you run into your next meeting, to give her a call and let her know that you were thinking about her. Tell her that you cannot wait to see her tonight so you can kiss her beautiful lips. When you hang up, she’ll know that she was on your mind and now she will be thinking about the kiss, and maybe more.

6. Admit it when you are wrong.

Have you ever argued a point even when you know that you are wrong? It is silly when you think about it, as you know that you messed up, yet you continue to hold your ground and refuse to admit your wrong-doing.

This defensive behavior builds up a wall around you and casts a negative light on your actions. When you can admit when you are wrong, your wife will appreciate the fact that you are aware that you don’t know everything. You might think this is a sign of weakness on your part, she will likely think it is an extremely attractive sign of your confidence.

7. Tease her.

Not the name-calling, hair-pulling kind of teasing - that might be coming later if you’re lucky. What you want to do here is leave her wanting more.

Pull her in close and start to give her a nice, deep kiss - then stop and walk away. She’ll be left wanting more and will be looking for an opportunity to continue where you left off.

8. Cuddle, yes, I said cuddle, after sex.

The word cuddle makes most men cringe, as they usually have one of a few things on their mind after sex: going to sleep, having something to eat, or watching SportsCenter.

Resist the temptation to indulge in one of those activities and cuddle with your wife. You will be showing her that there is nothing more important than being there with her at that moment. Check the scores in the morning over a big breakfast and you might just be given the opportunity to cuddle more and more.

Spark The Romance

Throughout all of these tips, you will hopefully have noticed that most of them are focused on adding a little romance into your relationship rather than talking specifically about sex.

As part of Darren Rowse’s Group Writing Project on Killer Titles, hopefully this post has given you something to think about and captured your attention.

After having a few kids and being married for years, it is easy to lose sight of the importance that romance has in a relationship. Give these tips a try and you will hopefully find that the path to more action in the bedroom begins with romance, not a boob squeeze!

Original here

Star Wars Landspeeder by Daniel Deutsch

Photo: Daniel Deutsch

That’s a full-size and driveable replica of Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder from Star Wars, built by Daniel Deutsch in his own garage:


Check out the “damaged” paint job on the Landspeeder. Excellent! Link - Thanks Richard Young!

Original here

Video of 3038 Photos Shot in 3 Days of Life in Boston

posted by Scott Beale

Robbie shot 3038 photos with his Canon 5D over a period of 3 days of his life in and around Boston. He then created a video of all of the photos played at hi-speed in the order they were shot, set to the song “Dry Lips” by Lightspeed Champion.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Brides Look Forward to Marrying Under Tribal Same-Sex Marriage Law



 Kitzen and Jeni Branting plan to marry under the Coquille Indian Tribe's law legalizing gay marriage.
Coquille Indian Tribe member Kitzen Branting, right, plans to marry fiancée Jeni Branting under her tribe's new law that legalizes same-sex marriage.
(Courtesy of Kitzen and Jeni Branting)




'Recognition and Respect'










The brides-to-be are looking forward to being married under Coquille tribal law.
(Courtesy of Kitzen and Jeni Branting)

Looking for Acceptance, Not a Fight







"This is a very internal matter," he said.




Calls to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs weren't immediately returned today.





Varying Tribal Law







'Ups and Downs'







And Tanner said he's going to marry the Brantings personally.

Original here

Top 3 Most and Least "Fee Crazy" Airlines

Airline fees are a controversial topic these days, so we look a look at the fees that airlines were charging and picked the top 3 most and least "fee crazy" airlines. Avoiding fees is hard, so why not try to avoid the airlines that charge them instead?

Most Fee Crazy Airlines:

  1. U.S. Airways: Not only does U.S. Airways have the distinction of being the only US airline to charge for water, they were also the first to discontinue free snacks. They've also decided to do away with in-flight entertainment. So what will you think about while you're bored, hungry and thirsty? How about that $15 first checked bag fee, the $25 second checked bag fee, the $5-30$ fee to choose your favorite economy class seat, and the whopping $250 fee you paid to change your ticket. Oh, yeah, and remember when they made everyone crazy by charging a $5 fee to book a ticket... with their own website?
  2. United Airlines: United is following U.S. Airways lead with a combination of cutting amenities and introducing fees. They've done away with snacks and are selling "snack boxes." Soon, United will be raising the prices for these items and economy class passengers will be expected to pay $9 for a sandwich. While you're munching on that overpriced nonsense, you can add up the following fees: $15 to check your first bag, $25 for the second bag, and $125 for the third. Then there's the $25 you paid to book your ticket over the phone, the $125 you paid for the privilege of traveling with your pet in the cabin, and of course, the $349 per year that you pay to be able to "stretch out and relax in comfort in seats located at the front of the Economy section,".."if available."
  3. (tie) Delta Airlines & American Airlines: American was the first airline to charge for the 1st checked bag, and Delta has managed to resist that fee — but Delta's other fees are just so darn expensive that we had to call this one a tie. Ultimately, it costs more to check two bags with Delta than it does with U.S. Airways, United, or American. American currently charges $15 for the first bag, $25 for the second, and from $3-6 for snacks. Delta charges nothing for the first checked bag, but if you're thinking of checking two bags, get ready to pay $50 for the second bag, and $125 for the third bag. Ouch! Delta's snacks are complimentary, but they charge from $1-10 more for certain special items.

Least Fee Crazy Airlines:

  1. Southwest Airlines: Southwest is the only major airline that isn't charging a fee to check two bags, and the third checked bag will only cost you $25. There is also no fee to change your ticket. Instead, you'll get a flight credit that is good for one year. They don't charge a fee to book over the phone or in person, and they don't charge a fee for an unaccompanied minor.
  2. AirTran: AirTran has fees but they're lower than a lot of its competitors. For example, the 2nd checked bag is $10 and the third is $50. The ticket change fee is $75, and unaccompanied minors will only cost you $39, as opposed to $100 on Delta, United, etc. You will pay $6 for an advanced seat assignment and $20 to sit in an exit row.
  3. JetBlue: JetBlue keeps threatening to go over to the dark side with new charges for things that used to be free (headsets $1, blankets and pillows $7) but they still have some of the more reasonable fees in the industry. There is no charge for the first checked back, and the second bag will cost you $20. Changing your ticket will cost you $100, and expect to pay from $10-20 more for their mini-business class "extra legroom" seats. Snacks and non-alcoholic beverages are plentiful and free, however. Love those blue potato chips.

If you're looking for an easy way to compare fees, check out this excellent PDF from the folks at,, and

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How I survived a heart attack at age 43


At first, Francisco Menendez thought the tightness in his chest was indigestion.


In fact, I never eat junk food. My father had a heart attack, but he was in his 70s, so that is not a significant risk factor.

However, a closer look at my medical records would have suggested there was a problem. My total cholesterol was around 400, and my triglycerides, which are really affected by diet and exercise, were 600 to 700. A healthy number is 150 or below.

I was not on a statin, but the doctors were urging me to start exercising more and to cut down on refined carbohydrates, like pasta and bread. That can really make your triglycerides shoot up, and I love all those things.

The night of my heart attack I was home, and I felt a lot of pressure in my chest. Not pain, really. I thought it was indigestion. It went on all night and even though my wife Ingrid urged me to go to the hospital, a heart attack was the last thing on my mind.

The next morning the pressure was so great I could barely walk, so I took a taxi to the hospital. I know you are supposed to call an ambulance, but that's what I did. When I got to the emergency room, I knew what to say: "I have chest pressure, and I think I am having a heart attack." It was 6 a.m. and they wheeled me in and started giving me blood thinners right away.

The doctors were excellent, and they told me they were going to give me an angioplasty. That scared me because after my dad had his angioplasty, he had to have open-heart surgery. I didn't want that. Health Magazine: How doctors diagnose and treat a heart attack

The oddest thing about the angioplasty was that for six hours they told me not to move my foot, and I didn't know why. Turns out there is a plug in your skin where they put the needle in, and if it comes loose your blood shoots out like shaken Champagne because you are on blood thinners. I wish they would have told me that, because I didn't know why I needed to hold my foot still.

I ended up having three angioplasties, but my heart attack was mild. It turns out my heart was less than 5 percent damaged. I ended up on a lot of medications. I take a statin, TriCor, and Plavix, and a baby aspirin every day.

I have a stress test every year and a half, and so far my cholesterol looks OK; it's about 160. I don't think about myself as a person who had a heart attack, but I think my wife worries.

I still hate to exercise, and I do eat bread and pasta, but mostly my diet is fine.

The worst thing about being a young heart-attack survivor is knowing I will have to be on these medications forever. I am convinced that if I became a strict vegetarian and got all the stress out of my life I could go off the meds. But that would require me to quit my job and move to the country, and I am not ready to do that yet. -- As told to Bryan Miller

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Teeth Can Yield Stem Cells, Scientists Say

Amitabh Avasthi
for National Geographic News

Dental pulp from wisdom teeth could be a new source of therapeutic stem cells, Japanese researchers announced recently. Like embryonic stem cells, the new cells—known as mesenchymal stem cells—are capable of developing into a variety of tissues, including bone, cartilage, and fat. These new lines of stem cells can be created without the use of an embryo—possibly sidestepping controversy.

In many countries adults routinely get minor surgeries to remove wisdom teeth.

"The [wisdom] tooth is usually discarded into trash, so there are no ethical concerns," said Hajime Ohgushi, principal research scientist at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in the Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.

However, unlike embryonic stem cells, the newfound cells cannot morph into almost any type of cell in the body.

(Related: "Stem Cell Breakthrough: No More Need to Destroy Embryos?" [August 23, 2005.])

The new research has also not been published or vetted by other scientists in the field.


Work on embryonic stem cells has long been mired in controversy.

The cells could lead to breakthroughs in regenerative medicine by allowing certain tissues and diseased organs to be replaced.

But harvesting the cells typically requires the destruction of an embryo, which critics equate with the taking of a life.


The race to create induced pluripotent cells—cells capable of developing into most types of cells in the body—in humans began in 2006, when scientists at Kyoto University in Japan announced they had inserted genes into cells from the tails of mice and reprogrammed them into cells with properties of embryonic stem cells.

In 2007 researchers from Kyoto University and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, separately announced that they had successfully applied the technique to human cells by using viruses to ferry four genes—OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, and LIN28—into skin cells.

Researchers from the two teams said they had given properties of stem cells to human cells taken from skin and connective tissues.

Now Ohgushi and his colleagues claim they used just three sets of genes—OCT4, SOX2, and KLF4—to program cells cultured from the center of a wisdom tooth into adult stem cells.

The researchers add that their success rate, about 10 stem cells for every 50,000 cells, matches that of the Kyoto researchers.

Better Source

Ohgushi said stem cells derived from wisdom teeth are not only easier to store—the tooth they used had been sitting in a freezer for three years—but also better than those extracted from bone marrow.

Stem cells found in bone marrow cannot express telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), a type of protein crucial to cell division and growth, Ohgushi explained.

"Our cells clearly express TERT and showed [more] extensive … activity than stem cells from bone marrow."

Though clinical trials are still years away, the researcher envisions banks where donors could store their wisdom teeth and access their own stem cells to treat potential diseases later in their lives.

Shinya Yamanaka, a researcher from Kyoto University who was not involved in the teeth research, agreed that the discovery could provide an alternative source of stem cells for use in regenerative medicine.

But he said it was odd that the discovery was apparently announced directly to the press and that the results did not seem to be backed by a peer-reviewed publication.

"I know venture companies do this to keep investors' interest," Yamanaka said. "It was surprising to me that government-backed scientists did this."

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Dealing with Difficult People






Why Bother Controlling Our Responses?

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By Rebecca Camber




Step-by-step: The Rejuvi cream is injected through tiny needles and causes the ink to come to the surface of the skin, form a scab and then drop off

A cream called Rejuvi can be injected into the skin in much the same way as the ink is injected into the top layers of the epidermis to create the tattoo.

The Rejuvi is absorbed by the pigmented cells and bonds with the pigment, say experts.

This softens the ink and pushes it to the surface of the skin where it forms a scab.

When the scab falls off after six to eight weeks, the ink goes with it.

Experts claim the technique, first used in the U.S., has a higher success rate than laser treatment, is cheaper, less painful and has a minimal risk of scarring.

Stuart Harrison, director of Oxford Skin Clinics, which has just started using the process in its Harley Street, Richmond and Oxford clinics said: 'It is uncomfortable rather than painful but it is less painful than having the tattoo itself and certainly a lot less painful than having laser treatment.

'Laser works by breaking up the ink pigmentation. However this works by using the body's natural processes.

'The reason that a tattoo stays there is that a coating is put around the ink to protect it from the body's immune response.

'But this cream makes the ink identifiable to the body so that it realises the ink is there and starts rejecting it and healing itself.'

The technique was first pioneered in the U.S. but until recently the only way of using the cream was forcing it into the skin which had a 'cheese grater' effect on the skin.

Now a new micropigmentation gun can apply cream under the surface of the skin without scarring.

Previously the most popular method of removal in the UK has been laser treatment which breaks up the tattoo pigment in the skin, flushing the particles away through the immune system.

However, it can take several treatments and some complain the ink never completely fades.

Other treatments include a skin peeling acid or dermabrasion which involves freezing the skin and sloughing it off with a rotary tool.

It can lead to scarring and even a skin graft.

Some tattoos are surgically cut out but only when they are too deep to be treated with laser.

But Mr Harrison claims that this cream has a minimal risk of scarring.

He added: 'There is a risk of scarring but it is probably no worse than an ordinary cut.

'Aftercare is important to minimise the risk of any scaring.'

However, the efficacy of Rejuvi has been questioned on some U.S. chat forums.

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Overcome 5 Sexual Mismatches for Hotter Sex





3. The mismatch: You always make the first move.

4. The mismatch: Your number is higher than hers.


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World's Deadliest Delicacies

Adam Bulger

Bad berries, frightening fish and other natural-born killers

When Edward Bachner was arrested in July for buying enough poison to kill about 100 people, he inadvertently implicated sushi chefs as potential bioterrorists. The 35-year-old Chicagoan ordered 98 milligrams of Tetrodotoxin, a nerve toxin found in the Japanese puffer fish served as fugu, an expensive sashimi dish. Sometimes called the Russian roulette of sushi and once featured on an episode of The Simpsons, fugu requires delicate preparation for its edible meat to be separated from its toxic internal organs. Before they're licensed to serve fugu, Japanese chefs undergo months of training and a rigorous exam which only 30 percent of applicants pass.

Even when properly prepared, fugu's toxicity is a critical part of its appeal. The flavor is so subtle it's nearly nonexistent, but eating it numbs the lips, and creates an alcohol-like buzz for the diner. Popular in Japan, it's banned in Europe and offered in a small number of restaurants in the United States and Korea.

See our slideshow of World's Deadliest Delicacies.

But while it's the most notorious toxic fish, fugu is neither the most powerful nor the most commonly served. And beyond fish, there are scores of other foods whose deadliness equals their deliciousness, including commonly served fruits and vegetables that come with a sickening (and maybe lethal) kick. While the dangers can usually be avoided through proper preparation, this association with danger is irresistible to adventurous diners.

Fish present the most clear and present danger. There are hundreds of species of toxic fish, and many find their ways to dinner plates.

"People would definitely be surprised at how venomous fish are," says Dr. Leo Smith, assistant fish curator at the Field Museum in Chicago. Smith is a leading researcher of poisonous and venomous fish, and says that while snakes are more often associated with venom, there are far more poisonous species of fish. "Because humans live on land, they don't think of fish as venomous."

In nature, the most venomous fish is the stonefish, a fixture of Asian and tropic cuisine whose potentially fatal sting has been described as the worst pain a human can feel. However, human death from eating stonefish is rare to nonexistent.

"There's an important distinction you have to make between poisonous and venomous," Smith says. Venom is commonly deployed when a fish bites its prey, but certain fish are poisonous due to their diet and environment.

See our slideshow of World's Deadliest Delicacies.

When stonefish venom is cooked, it loses its potency. And when served raw—as is the sashimi dish Okoze—its venomous dorsal fins are simply removed. The body meat that remains is delicious and nontoxic. On the other hand, puffer fish and the silver-striped blaasop do not deploy venom, but they are nonetheless toxic to humans because of bacteria in their diet.

As a result, puffer fish farmers in Japan have been able to breed non-poisonous puffer fish by restricting the fish's diet. The newly safe but still legally suspect puffer fish liver, where Tetrodotoxin is most concentrated, has reportedly become a sought-after underground delicacy in parts of Japan.

Of course, you needn't rely on the ocean to provide dangerous delicacies; a number of poison plants serve as side dishes and garnishes around the world. Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica. This bulbous-looking plant has the look and taste of scrambled eggs when cooked, and is often paired with stonefish and eaten as breakfast. But pray that breakfast comes at the right time—ackee can cause extreme nausea if served when it's not ripe enough, which occurs often enough for the condition to acquire the nickname "Jamaican vomiting sickness." It can be even fatal to children.

Like ackee, cassava is a dietary staple in the tropics. In Brazil, Peru, Cuba and other countries, it's used to make breads, ground into pastes and fried into cakes. Also like ackee, it can have undesirable consequences if not washed and prepared properly; the root vegetable contains enough cyanide to kill. Cassava is found in Africa, too, where it's at home with the Namibian bullfrog, a nasty-looking specimen that grows to the size of a housecat—and contains enough poison to be lethal.

The fans of these foods argue that deliciousness outweighs the danger. And anyway, a simple chicken dinner isn't guaranteed to be safe. According to the Center for Disease Control, an average of 600 Americans die from the chicken-borne bacterial disease Salmonella every year. On the other hand, annual worldwide deaths by fugu amount are just a small fraction of that.

Of course, Salmonella poisoning occurs if the chicken is undercooked or dirty—the chicken itself isn't inherently poisonous. James Briscione, chef and instructor at Manhattan's Institute of Culinary Education, speculates that it takes a certain mindset to order a dish with a lethal reputation. "I think it gets back to when a kid eats worms in the playground. It's an adventurous thing to do and you're going to have a story to tell."

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Utah Woman Charged With Homicide in Alcohol Poisoning Death of Teen She Was Called to Help

A Utah woman was charged with homicide in the alcohol poisoning death of a 14-year-old boy she reportedly tried to help.

Authorities say that the teen, Jess "Micade" Horrocks, died because of inaction on the part of 24-year-old Candice Collard, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Collard now could spend 15 years in prison if she is convicted of second-degree felony homicide.

Prosecutors said Collard was allegedly called to help Horrocks, who had been drinking hard liquor in Uintah County with some friends April 12, according to the Tribune.

Horrocks guzzled so much alcohol that he became unresponsive. Collard was called, but took the boy to her home 13 miles away rather than driving him to a hospital, Uintah County Deputy Attorney Greg Lamb told the paper.

Another adult called 911 about midnight after discovering the teen, who was declared brain dead the next day and removed from life support.

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Applebee's Food Comes With Delicious "Use By" Sticker

Reader Jamie's Applebee's dinner came with an interesting ingredient: an expiration date sticker. Understandably grossed out, Jamie asked Applebee's for some new food. They agreed, fished out the sticker and brought the old food back. Ick.

Jamie writes:

Me and my 4 other military friends were enjoying our appetizers when our food arrived. After eating a few bites, I noticed a "food good until" date sticker cooked in with my food. I did not know a date was required on my food...

Anyways, we called the waiter over to show him what was going on. "Well," he said, "Sometimes the food bags and stickers can be mixed in with the chicken when cut up."

WTF! He said he is sorry and is there anything else he can do? Yes you can sir, you can get me another bowl of my food, cooked new. Well, he took the bowl back and about 2 min later he brought out another bowl... 2 min to cook a new bowl?

It looked exactly the same. My fork was still in the bowl. I told him I wanted it to go. He said he was sending the manager over to talk to me. Well the manager came over and said he was sorry and "any drinks need to be refilled?"

Jamie says he didn't get new food, nor did the manager take the sticker pasta off the bill. You stay classy, Applebee's!

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