"Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so."
~ Bertrand Russell
Image of the day:
BODY
~ Exercise of the Week: The Serratus Crunch -- "You multitaskers out there will love this movement as it allows you to work the rectus abdominis, the obliques, and the serratus at the same time. Too bad the rest of your life isn't as efficient." One of my personal favorite ab exercises.
~ Low carb wins again... -- "What's really interesting is that the high protein, low carb group was superior for weight loss over high carb with exercise. And it was 75% superior when combined with exercise."
~ Estrogen's Secret Role In Obesity Revealed -- "New research on the effects of the female sex hormone estrogen in the brain lend credence to what many women have suspected about the hormonal changes that accompany aging: Menopause can make you fat. Scientists long have sought to understand how changes in hormones during menopause could account for the increase in appetite and accompanying weight gain that often occurs among aging women."
~ Broccoli Compound Could Boost Immune System, Fight Cancer -- "A compound found in broccoli and related vegetables may have more health-boosting tricks up its sleeves, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. Veggie fans can already point to some cancer-fighting properties of 3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM), a chemical produced from the compound indole-3-carbinol when Brassica vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and kale are chewed and digested."
~ Vitamin E's Lack Of Heart Benefit Linked To Dosage -- "The reported failure of vitamin E to prevent heart attacks may be due to underdosing, according to a new study by investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The findings, published early online in Free Radical Biology and Medicine, suggest that these earlier studies all had a fundamental flaw the doses used weren't high enough to have a significant antioxidant effect." Same is likely true for studies showing no benefit for vitamin C.
~ Picky Eater? It's in the Genes -- "Kids who don't want to eat their vegetables could say it's their parent's fault."
~ Exercise may restore some youth to blood vessels -- "Moderate exercise might help older adults' blood vessels relax, a study has found -- pointing to one reason why exercise lowers the risk of heart attacks and strokes."
PSYCHE/SELF
~ 99 Mind Mapping Resources, Tools, and Tips -- "So, there you are staring at that blank sheet of paper again. Or perhaps it's a blank Word document on your computer screen. Whichever it may be, it's obvious you're about to take notes for that big essay assignment or group project, and you're not too excited about getting started!" Ignore the typos, there are some good links here.
~ Root of Obsessive-Compulsions Found in Mice -- "There is still a debate about whether OCD has a genetic cause, but this finding, along with the earlier twin research by Rasmussen, may be enough to close the case."
~ Separate Areas Of Brain Responsible For 'Self-Control' And 'Taking Action' May Help Explain Why Some People Are Impulsive -- "The area of the brain responsible for self-control -- where the decision not to do something occurs after thinking about doing it -- is separate from the area associated with taking action, scientists say in The Journal of Neuroscience."
~ The Emotional Eater -- "Why do we eat junk food when we're stressed?"
~ Diet: Comfort Food -- "Is emotional eating ruining your diet?"
~ This Is Your Brain on Food -- "How just looking at food sends your brain into a tizzy."
~ My Five Favourite Personal Development Blogs at the Moment -- "Quite a few months back I listed The Personal Development Blogs I Really Like. Some of the blogs I listed back then are in my current top five. Some are new. My favourites at the moment are...."
CULTURE/POLITICS
~ The Great Iraq Swindle -- "How is it done? How do you screw the taxpayer for millions, get away with it and then ride off into the sunset with one middle finger extended, the other wrapped around a chilled martini? Ask Earnest O. Robbins -- he knows all about being a successful contractor in Iraq."
~ 15 Web Addresses for Wasting Time … View At Your Own Risk! -- "There’s a lot of articles around about how to make your time more productive. But some days I really don’t want to be productive, and while I should get off my chair and go outside instead I find myself killing time online."
~ A new Web site unmasks Wikipedia's vandals -- "Wikipedia seems benign and geeky, so eager to share its awkwardly written knowledge. Let us tell you about Atari 2600, Impressionism, and orcs! The nerd orientation, however, distracts from what the site has become: an information battleground. Type "Exxon" into Google and the first two hits are official Exxon sites; the third is the company's Wikipedia entry. Wikipedia is the fourth hit for "Philip Morris," the third for "Starbucks," the fifth for "New York Times." The Wikipedia page has become a public face for corporations, and they have an incentive to polish and scrub their entries."
~ Clift: Society’s Challenges as We Age -- "Having chronicled every stage of life, author Gail Sheehy now has insights on the final stages--from the view of a caregiver. One thing she's learned: Government doesn’t always help."
~ The Way We Live Now: Universal Faith -- "Religion can have a place in public school. It just can’t be for believers alone."
~ On Language: Warrior -- "The old combatant is on the march."
~ In The Groves of Academe: A Report from the English Department and Some Thoughts on Graduate School -- "Graduate school in the humanities, particularly a doctorate in literature, is not a life choice whose value and purpose are necessarily self-evident. Some people look confused when I tell them that I am getting a Ph.D. in eighteenth-century British literature. Most others respond with some version of, "What do you do with that?" What follows is a sustained answer to this question - the why and the 'to what end' of a life, or an interlude, in the groves of academe. If you're wondering what the grad life is like, or why anyone chooses such a life, read on."
~ Mother Teresa’s Dark Night -- "I just read an excellent article from TIME entitled urchinTracker ('/outbound/article/www.time.com');">Mother Teresa’s Crisis of Faith. Based on a long series of letters that Mother Teresa sent to her spiritual mentors this book paints an extraordinarily different picture of the Saint of Calcutta."
HABITATS/TECHNOLOGY
~ Gaping hole found in universe -- "A giant hole in the Universe is devoid of galaxies, stars and even lacks dark matter, astronomers said on Thursday."
~ Where the Buzz Isn’t Hype -- "THE sight of a hummingbird zooming into a backyard, magically hovering midair, dipping into a flower for a sip of nectar and zipping away — all within 10 or 15 seconds — usually draws the same incredulous reaction: 'Did you see that?'"
~ Hackers claim to untie Apple's iPhone from AT&T (Reuters) -- "Hackers have found a way to use Apple Inc's iPhone on networks other than AT&T Inc's , opening up the coveted device to rival carriers and overseas customers, according to a Web report on Friday."
~ NOAA Vessel to Explore Undersea Unknown -- "Undersea explorer Robert Ballard leans back and smiles at the screens arrayed above his desk. One displays a view of a remote operating vessel, another scans along a seafloor never before viewed by humans."
~ Scientists Re-Trace Evolution Of Genes -- "Scientists have determined for the first time the atomic structure of an ancient protein, revealing in unprecedented detail how genes evolved their functions."
~ Giant panda can survive -- "The giant panda is not at an “evolutionary dead end” and could have a long term viable future, according to new research involving scientists from Cardiff University."
~ Rule four of offsets: No enhanced oil recovery -- "Capturing CO2 and injecting it into a well to squeeze more oil out of the ground is not real carbon sequestration. Why? When the recovered oil is burned, it releases at least as much CO2 as was stored (and possibly much more). Therefore, CO2 used for such enhanced oil recovery (EOR) does not reduce net carbon emissions and should not be sold to the public as a carbon offset."
INTEGRAL/BUDDHIST
~ The Matrix Reloaded: Deconstructing The One -- "OK. This is part three of my series on the much misunderstood and under-rated Matrix Trilogy."
~ Zizek’s critique of Buddhism -- "I’ve recently run across several interesting items in the blogosphere concerning Engaged Buddhism. Given my penchant for cutting-and-pasting large chunks of undigested text, it’s really too much material for a single post, so I’m going to split it up over several installments."
~ Wallace at Mind and Reality -- "First the interview with B. Alan Wallace on the Mind and Reality conference (only 1o minutes), and then the keynote itself (1 hour 9 minutes). Enjoy!"
~ Staying Power (4) -- "With the stage #4 called "close attention" we leave the domain of beginning meditative training and enter the more advanced phases of shamatha which involve the "acquired sign". There's broad agreement across Buddhist traditions that an acquired sign is necessary at this point, since further stages can only be achieved relying on a mental object, not a sensory impression, since now shamatha entails the cultivation of exceptional vividness of attention."
~ 10 Tips for a Fearless Life -- "Most of us grapple with fear every day. Buddhist author Susan Piver offers tips to overcome your fear and live a more fulfilled, joyous life."
~ God's (Christian) Warriors and The Clash of Worldviews -- "As for me, after watching the documentary, I've come to appreciate what Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris are doing. Yes, there are limits to their rational approach. Yes, they too are divisive. Yes, they don't address interior developments. Yes, they are less than "integral." But at least they are doing their part by putting themselves out there to remind everyone that rationality should never be ignored."
~ Breathwork session #4 -- "I had my fourth transformational breathwork session today, and each one is different as they say."
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