Quote of the day:
"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals."
~ Sir Winston Churchill
Image of the day (Tristan Campbell):
BODY
~ Is diet soda really unhealthy? -- "Nutrition expert Amy Hendel weighs in on diet soda's drawbacks." I'm with Amy.
~ Evidence Review: Low Glycemic Index Diets Better For Weight Loss -- "Put aside the white bread and pick up an apple. A diet of foods less likely to spike blood sugar levels helps dieters lose more weight, according to a new systematic review from Australia. "Losing weight is very difficult and many people are unable to sustain a weight-loss diet. The low glycemic index diet is satisfying and has proven benefits," said review co-author Elizabeth Elliott, Ph.D., professor at the University of Sydney, The Children's Hospital at Westmead."
~ The Best Exercise You're Not Doing -- "One simple (and grueling) movement will revolutionize your leg workout." I have never been so sore as the day after the first time I did "pistols," ass-to-floor, one-leg squats.
~ 3 Reasons Why I Think Undulating Periodization Sucks -- "Yeah, yeah, undulating periodization is as hot as David Beckham lately... except... I don't know anyone who uses it."
~ How many calories is your workout burning? -- "Find out if your workout is burning up enough calories to help you lose weight."
~ Dynamic Hamstring Mobility Drill -- "This is a drill that I've been using for a number of years now- I think I picked it up from Dr. Sal Arria at the International Sports Sciences Association in Santa Barbara. It's a quick way to elongate the glutes and hamstrings in a pre-workout setting."
~ Review: Reishi "Herb of Good Fortune" -- "This post is a paid review of Reishi, a mushroom used to treat a wide range of ailments such as cancer, respiratory problems, high blood pressure and low mood."
PSYCHE
~ Ability To Learn A Second Language In Adulthood Linked To Brain Anatomy -- "Think you haven't got the aptitude to learn a foreign language? New research led by Northwestern University neuroscientists suggests that the problem, quite literally, could be in your head." That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
~ Group Therapy Helps Men With Impotence -- "A new review of existing research suggests that group therapy can help men with erectile dysfunction even if they are already using popular drugs like Viagra. Group therapy could even be a feasible alternative to some treatments for impotence." Yeah, but how are you get them to go?
~ Learning Improved By Hand Gestures -- "Kids asked to physically gesture at math problems are nearly three times more likely than non-gesturers to remember what they've learned. In the journal Cognition, a University of Rochester scientist suggests it's possible to help children learn difficult concepts by providing gestures as an additional and potent avenue for taking in information."
~ Faster-Acting Antidepressants Closer To Becoming A Reality - Could Relieve Symptoms Of The Disorder In Hours -- "A new study has revealed more about how the medication ketamine, when used experimentally for depression, relieves symptoms of the disorder in hours instead of the weeks or months it takes for current antidepressants to work."
~ Why We Feel Guilt -- "Guilt plays a vital role in the regulation of social behavior. That worried feeling in our gut often serves as the impetus for our stab at redemption. However, psychologists have trouble agreeing on the function of this complex emotion. On one hand, the punitive feeling of guilt may keep you from repeating the same transgressive behavior in the future, which psychologists call 'withdrawal motivation.'"
~ Scary Movies Provide The Enjoyment Of Fear Whilst Feeling Safe -- "A bedrock assumption in theories that explain and predict human behavior is people's motivation to pursue pleasure and avoid pain. How can this be reconciled with the decision to engage in experiences known to elicit negative feelings, such as horror movies" It certainly seems counterintuitive that so many people would voluntarily immerse themselves in almost two hours of fear, disgust and terror."
CULTURE/POLITICS
~ The Myth About Boys -- "We've been fretting about them for a decade. But young men are better off, socially and academically, than ever."
~ Mortimer B. Zuckerman Says the Golden Age Is Ending -- "We have been enjoying a golden age. In the latter part of the 1990s and the first part of the 21st century, every indicator of economic health that should be up has been up: employment, income growth, stock market profitability. And everything that should be down has been down: inflation, interest rates, and unemployment."
~ Euripides on Tyrants and the Law -- "Nothing does more harm to the state than a tyrant; when he rules, equal application of law comes to an end, the one man is tyrant, and he keeps unto himself and in secrecy the law, and so perishes justice. But when the laws are written down, rich and poor alike have equal justice, and it is open to the weaker to use the same language to the prosperous when he is reviled by him, and the weaker prevails over the stronger if he have justice on his side."
~ Will the G.O.P. Say No to YouTube? -- "Some of the major candidates are getting skittish about a sequel to the Democrats' CNN debate. Are they leery of the questions or of the network?"
~ Cities Sue Gangs in Bid to Stop Violence -- "Fed up with deadly drive-by shootings, incessant drug dealing and graffiti, cities nationwide are trying a different tactic to combat gangs: They're suing them."
~ Contador Wins Tour De France -- "Alberto Contador won the doping-scarred Tour de France on Sunday, a new, young and unlikely winner for the three-week race shaken to its core by scandals."
~ Inspired Iraq Claims Asian Cup Crown -- "Iraq delivered an inspirational victory Sunday by winning the Asian Cup with a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia, a beacon of hope for a nation divided by war." Gotta love soccer.
~ 3,000-year-old mask found in Aleutians -- "A whalebone mask discovered at an Alaskan archaeological site was probably broken during an Aleut funeral 3,000 years ago, scientists said."
HABITATS/TECHNOLOGY
~ Web Site Archives the Dead of MySpace -- "Somewhere deep in cyberspace, where reality blurs into fiction and the living greet the dead, there are ghosts. They live in a virtual graveyard without tombstones or flowers. They drift among the shadows of the people they used to be, and the pieces they left behind."
~ Study solves mystery of mammalian ears -- "A 30-year scientific debate over how specialized cells in the inner ear amplify sound in mammals appears to have been settled more in favor of bouncing cell bodies rather than vibrating, hair-like cilia, according to investigators at St. Jude Children`s Research Hospital."
~ The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman [The Cheerful Oncologist] -- "Looking for something to read that's a little more thought-provoking than the usual beach book detritus pushed on the unwary consumer this summer? Fly, don't waddle, to the nearest bookstore and take a gander at The World Without Us, a fascinating "thought experiment," as one reviewer called it, that ponders what would happen to our planet if all humans suddenly disappeared."
~ Congestion pricing saves more than it costs -- "After overcoming numerous obstacles in Albany, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's controversial congestion-pricing plan finally appears to be slowly moving forward. Thanks to a last-minute deal between Bloomberg and the leaders of the state Assembly, it is almost certain that New York will receive a $500 million federal grant to fund the equipment and upgrade mass transit in order to begin the program."
~ Panel Recommends Climate Change Market -- "As California begins mapping out its strategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions, how industries will be forced to comply is emerging as one of the most complex aspects of the debate."
~ Tentative Bison Deal Struck in Montana -- "Montana officials have reached a tentative deal allowing some bison to roam outside of Yellowstone National Park without fear of slaughter, a potential breakthrough in a decade-long attempt to end the killing of thousands of bison for disease prevention."
INTEGRAL/BUDDHIST
~ An Integral Environmental Community web 2.0 tool - The Walk Score -- "As someone who lived in "suburbia" all his life, except for some time spent in the far 'boonies', I have to say that, a GOOD dense neighborhood - where I can walk to pick up groceries, drycleaning, restuarants, esasy commute to work, etc - is a type of living that I much prefer over the typical "get in the car to do anything" life."
~ Zen Is a Religion -- "I think, to some degree, Buddhism can be both a philosophy and a religion. The choice rests with the participant and the label is either irrelevant or chosen for emotionally charged reasons. From the outsider’s perspective the whole argument must seem awfully semantical - especially when considering those who have chosen a monastic path or become priests."
~ Dharma as usual -- "Several interesting articles in the summer issue of "Buddhadharma". Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche discusses death as a wonderful opportunity to discover enlightened mind." And more.
~ Movies as practice (ii or iii) -- "Watching movies, and taking in stories in any other form, is a stocking up of human experiences." Brief but good post.
~ Integral Soul -- "Today has brought a facinating confluence of thought on the soul in integral theory to the fore for me. I’ve been rereading Ken Wilber’s One Taste, while reading some compelling takes on the role of soul from William Harryman’s Integral Options Cafe and Joe Perez’s Until." Nice response from Apollo.
~ How we care for the soul -- Joe Perez responds, very thoughtfully, to my post on Soul in Integral Theory.
~ Rounding Up the Buddhas - July 27, 2007 -- Great links to other Buddhist blogs.
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