- Anyone who has spent even a short amount of time in Europe knows that alcohol in some form plays a huge role in nearly every country and culture. Beer in Germany, sangria in Spain, wine in France…..liquid courage is huge in European cultures. Thus, it comes as no surprise that when a new study suggested that grapes contain compounds that block chemical changes in the body associated with causing skin damage and drinking wine could have benefits in preventing skin damage like sunburn, wrinkles, and skin cancer, that research came from Spain. Spanish researchers from the University of Barcelona conducted the study on compounds known as flavonoids, which help prevent the skin from forming "reactive oxygen species." Those species are what react with UV rays to destroy cells and cause sunburn. "This study supports the idea of using these products to protect the skin from cell damage and death caused by solar radiation," study director Dr. Marta Cascante, a biochemist at the University of Barcelona, said in a written statement. In their findings, Cascante and her team advocated that drinking red wine was an effective way to gain the benefits of the flavonoids contained in grapes. But what of non-boozing cultures where people - gasp - may not like red wine? Cascante and her team found that authors say eating grapes is just as effective. She also suggested t that these "encouraging results should be taken into consideration" to develop new skincare products. For those who do like wine, these findings provide even more reason to hit the hooch because another chemical in wine, resveratrol, has been associated with lowering levels of bad cholesterol and protecting the blood vessels' linings. To read more about these (possibly) exciting findings, stroll over to the magazine rack in your living room and sort through your assortment of scientific magazines and journals for the May 11 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.…………
- The twists and wonders never cease in the interminable saga of the West Bank and who controls it. For the first time, Israel's Supreme Court has formally ordered the dismantling of an illegal West Bank settlement, much to the surprise of all involved. The decision certainly ranks as a stunner for the Israeli government, which had asked the court for more time in order to organize the evacuation and construct alternative housing. However, the government had already conceded that the Migron outpost, just north of Jerusalem and home to about 250 settlers, was illegally built in 1999 on top of private Palestinian land. It was not until 2006, when the advocacy group Peace Now first filed a lawsuit against the settlement, that the issue went to court. Since then, the government has dragged out the process as much as possible by seeking delays and ignoring repeated deadlines to evacuate the settlers. After the latest deadline was ignored, the court decided it had tolerated just about enough insolence and as a result, the justices decided Tuesday that the settlement should be demolished by March 2012. Should the court’s decision be enforced, it would be the first evacuation of an entire settlement since 2005, when Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip. That is a much bigger if than many may suspect, as previous court orders, including one to evacuate an illegally built, Jewish-occupied apartment building in an Arab-dominated Jerusalem neighborhood, have gone unenforced. Making the difficult decision was not out of the ordinary for Israel's Supreme Court, which is frequently asked to enforce disputed or extremely unpopular policies that Israel's lawmakers and officials do not have the courage to tackle themselves. At least someone has the kahones to do what is necessary…………
- Testy, testy. Robert Pattinson and Summit Entertainment have been in an uproar ever since leaked images from the upcoming "Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" hit the Internet. Even though adapting a movie from a book series means fans know what is going to happen before a movie has a single scene filmed, Pattinson and the studio were enraged when images were released from Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward's (Pattinson) honeymoon scene and some of the final shots of the flick when Bella transforms into a vampire. Pattinson was asked about the leak shortly after it happened and was already in full-fledged rage mode. "It's just ridiculous. I literally can't believe that it happened," he said. "I want the 'Twilight' troops to mobilize, all the good fans, and find out who these little sh--s are and just hack into their computers and destroy them. ... I'm being genuinely serious, 'Twilight' fans." Hmm, did anyone test Pattinson for steroids during or after the filming of this movie? Someone sounds a bit ‘roid-ragerific. Summit clearly shared his anger and hired law firm Keats McFarland & Wilson LLP to search four continents (North America, South America, Europe and Australia) to find the people responsible for the leak. Director Bill Condon called the entire incident a "deeply upsetting" experience and Pattinson went so far as to claim he people involved in the incident could not even be considered fans. "It's raw footage; it's not even what people are going to see," he said "Why do this maliciously? You're not a fan. You're just a di*k." As of Monday, Pattinson’s and Summit’s long-running (not really) nightmare is over because the production company issued a press release Monday announcing that it has tracked down some of the alleged people responsible for and has taken legal action. In the release, Summit identified Daiana Santia as allegedly being involved in the group that stole the images and footage, which were captured in the town of Posadas in northern Argentina. The investigation to find others involved in the theft is ongoing, but civil action has already been filed in the U.S. and Argentina, while criminal action has also been filed in Argentina. “While we very much appreciate the legions of committed fans of the franchise and encourage them to create community online, we cannot ignore that property was stolen," Summit Executive Vice President David C. Friedman said. "It is not fair to the majority of fans that want to see the final chapter of the 'Twilight Saga' film franchise fully realized by the filmmaker and dedicated cast and crew to have these images out and available on the Internet." Honestly……shut it, Friedman. The leak will have no effect whatsoever on the number of people who go to see the film, so you and your acting talent-deprived leading man should go and roll a fattie, get baked and chill out because you’re not making Citizen Kane, Jaws, The Shawshank Redemption or The Usual Suspects here. It’s a freaking teeny-bopper vampire romance soap opera on the big screen, so dial your outrage down accordingly…………
- Thankfully for Perrysburg, Ohio resident Mariann Lang, boom did not go the dynamite (if that joke sailed over your head, search for “Boom goes the dynamite on YouTube). Laing was doing what so many Americans have done over the summer months, cleaning out her garage. Getting rid of old crap to make room for new crap is an American summer tradition and Laing was doing her part to keep it going when she moved a box whose contents she did not know. "I found a box, and I moved it, and I thought, 'well there's nothing in that,'" Laing said. "I opened it up, and there was something in it." That something was dynamite - more specifically, 30 lbs. of the stuff that goes boom. The decaying dynamite was inside a box stored in a cupboard and although its appearance had deteriorated some, Laing knew enough not to mess with it. "It was grey, and it looked like fat sausages, and it said 'Danger' on them! So that's why I didn't touch it," she said. She then made a second consecutive wise decision by calling the bomb squad in to deal with her find. Sergeant Mark Fry with the Toledo Police Bomb Squad was among the officers who responded to the call and found the 30 lbs. of explosives waiting. "If it would have detonated, I wouldn't be standing here," he said. Not only was the dynamite a potential hazard, but Fry said when dynamite decays, everything it seeps onto becomes potentially explosive. "When I first went down there in the suit and moved it out to the back where we disposed of it, that was probably the riskiest part. When the dynamite decays, not only does it become motion sensitive, but so does everything around it," Fry stated. As a precaution, the bomb squad shut down the entire street and evacuated neighboring houses. Alas, the dynamite was dealt with sans any trouble and save for a few tense moments for Laing and her family, no damage was done…………
- Suffering through a four-plus month lockout has made NFL fans appreciate their favorite sport all the more, even the more mundane part of the league’s offseason. Having the possibility of missing part or all of the season hovering overhead has turned the most blasé free agent signing into an event worth celebrating. Something else that was missing during the lockout was the always-welcome smack talking coming from the brothers Ryan, Jets head coach Rex and Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob. With no games, practices or team activities, the Ryans simply didn’t have much to talk about. Now that the player transactions have started again, both of the men have begun to bump their gums again and it’s Rob who has unleashed the most interesting quip thus far. His Cowboys haven’t signed any big-name free agents and instead have focused on resigning some of their own players while adding more affordable pieces around them. The biggest headlines in Dallas have centered on who is leaving town, not who is arriving. Key veterans like Roy Williams, Marion Barber and Leonard Davis have been cut while elsewhere in the NFC East, one of Dallas’ biggest rivals has quickly become the shining star of the preseason. The Philadelphia Eagles landed All-Pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Babin and other high-profile pieces in defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins and Vince Young on the free agent market and Pro Bowl cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie by trade - all in the past week. Those moves have elevated the Eagles to division favorites in the minds of many observers - just don’t count Rob Ryan among them. "I don't know if we win the all-hype team," Ryan said after Monday's second practice. "That might have gone to someone else, but we're going to beat their ass when we play them." He did not mention the Eagles by name, but figuring out which team he was referring to doesn’t exactly take brilliant deductive reasoning skills. Jenkins quickly deduced who Ryan was speaking about and took to Twitter to issue his response. "Talk is cheap. Let them talk. We are focused here and I could care less. We are worried about ourselves n getting better. He must be nervous," Jenkins tweeted. For the record, the two men can settle their differences on the scoreboard when the Cowboys visit the Eagles on Oct. 30 and host Philadelphia Dec. 24……………
No comments:
Post a Comment