Saturday, June 30, 2012

Helping the FAT, Holocaust survivor pageants and Katie Holmes finally free

- Detroit needs a morale boost right about now. DOVE Ice Cream understands that and gave the Motor City a bit of relief on a hot summer day Friday. Perhaps because DOVE felt sorry for Detroit in its dilapidated, crime-riddled state, it was named one of the 10 cities to receive a visit from the special-edition “Adults Only” ice cream truck. Before any wild ideas of whiskey-flaved ice cream or a gin and tonic with a side of moose tracks ice cream pop into your mind, there was no alcohol involved – at least not alcohol provided by DOVE. The truck, which opened up shop at 11:30 a.m. Friday at the corner of Cadillac Square and Woodward in Detroit, next to Campus Martius Park, offered creamy, rich chocolate folded over cold vanilla ice cream. Patrons could also enjoy a free five-minute back and neck massage by a licensed massage therapist and a free manicure. There were no bombsicles and orange creamsicles, only DOVE bars and massages. Oh, and none of the annoying calliope music played over loudspeakers that ice cream truck drivers/pedophiles use to muffle the screams of children they’re molesting, er, attract young customers, there was only relaxation. After a few hours downtown in which those operating the truck managed to avoid getting robbed, they moved to Saline Road in Ann Arbor and continued selling DOVE bars until they ran out. Those who were late to the party were reminded of the same harsh life lesson children learn early on in their existence: First come, first served and if you’re late, you lose out……….


- In the quest to take the fight to FAT, science has added another bullet to the gun of obese individuals and their physicians. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Wednesday approved Belviq, or lorcaserin hydrochloride, a weight-loss pill to be combined with a reduced-calorie diet and exercise. The FDA approved Belviq for overweight or obese adults who have one or more medical conditions due to their weight, such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol. The drug works by activating a receptor in the brain that helps a person to eat less and still feel full. Tricking the stomachs of people without the self-discipline or will power to back away from the all-you-can-eat buffet at Golden Corral may be the best option and in clinical trials, 47 percent of patients without type 2 diabetes lost at least 5 percent of their body weight. By contrast, just 23 percent of patients treated with placebo lost at least 5 percent of their weight. In a second part of the trial, 38 percent of participants with type 2 diabetes lost at least 5 percent of their body weight compared to just 16 percent of those who received the placebo. Those numbers aren't overwhelming, but most medical experts agree that even a 5 percent weight loss has significant implications in improving the overall health of obese individuals, specifically but reducing the risk of obesity-associated diseases including heart disease and diabetes. Before Belviq is available to the public, manufacturer Arena Pharmaceuticals will be required to conduct six additional studies, including a long term cardiovascular trial to assess the risk of heart attack and stroke. As with any medication, there are a few delightful side effects, including headache, dizziness and fatigue, and in diabetic patients low blood sugar and pain, according to the FDA…………


- The “Free Katie Holmes” campaign has finally worked. It took five long years, but the brainwashing job Tom Cruise did on the girl America came to know as Joey Potter on the late ‘90s teen TV soap opera has finally worn off. That’s right, five years-plus after the couple married in an Italian castle in November 2006 after dating for one year, they are divorcing. "This is a personal and private matter for Katie and her family," Holmes' attorney Jonathan Wolfe said in a statement. "Katie's primary concern remains, as it always has been, her daughter's best interest." The daughter would of course be 6-year-old Suri, who will undoubtedly have a completely normal life given her questionably sane father and growing up in the media spotlight her entire life. Almost since the day Cruise and Holmes began dating, insanity and a certain sadness have permeated their relationship. Cruise, who went mental patient when he jumped up and down on a couch on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to declare his love for Holmes, was largely viewed as the kooky Scientologist who took a sweet, loveable young actress and warped her mind and rooting for Holmes to escape his clutches. That dream has now been realized and Holmes is free. Best of all, she is apparently the one who decided to end the marriage. "Kate has filed for divorce and Tom is deeply saddened and is concentrating on his three children. Please allow them their privacy to work this out,” Cruise’s spokesperson said in a statement. Cruise is inching towards becoming a modern-day, male version of Elizabeth Taylor, as this marks his third failed marriage after failed attempts at wedded bliss with Mimi Rogers and Nicole Kidman…….


- An unusual beauty pageant in Israel is either a cool idea to honor women who lived through the biggest genocide in human history or an affront to the memory of those who perished in that genocide, depending upon who you ask. Israel's first "Miss Holocaust Survivor" pageant featured 14 women who survived the horrors of the Second World War. In a country where the horrors of the Holocaust are still fresh in the memory of the very people Adolf Hitler attempted to exterminate, the idea of bringing together a group of older women and judging them on appearance has been decried by some as going against everything Jewish culture is about. "It sounds totally macabre to me," said Colette Avital, chairperson of Israel's leading Holocaust survivors' group. "I am in favor of enriching lives, but a pageant masquerading [survivors] with beautiful clothes is not what is going to make their lives more meaningful." Others have applauded the idea of recognizing beauty in women all past their 70th birthday. The winner of the controversial event was Chava Hershkovitz and even if Avital and others believe the event was inappropriate, Hershkovitz and her 13 fellow Holocaust survivors’ willingness to appear, along with the smiles on their faces throughout the event, suggest that those who actually lived through one of the biggest tragedies in world history, suggest that not everyone feels "Miss Holocaust Survivor" was a mistake……….


- The door is now officially open. For NFL franchises wishing to jump ship from their current location and take up residence in sunny southern California, the road to Los Angeles has been clearly mapped out by commissioner Roger Goodell. The commissioner sent a five-point memo to each of the league's 32 teams Friday outlining the proper procedure for franchises considering a relocation to Los Angeles and even suggested that more than one team could move to the City of Angels. "Although substantial uncertainties remain, stadium development in Los Angeles has advanced to the point where the prospects for a new facility are better than they have been in many years," Goodell wrote. "At least two potential sites have well-developed plans, and both have moved forward to obtain necessary government approvals." The move could occur as early as the 2013 season and interested franchises must send a relocation application to the NFL between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15, 2013, if they want to play in Los Angeles the following season. The possibility that two teams could move was enhanced later in the memo when Goodell explained that t a new stadium in Los Angeles must fit two teams but doesn't necessarily have to be downtown. "Given that simultaneous league-wide investment in two stadiums in the same community is unlikely, we believe that the best approach will be a single site where an iconic facility could credibly both host two teams and provide ancillary entertainment and development opportunities," he wrote. Fans in Jacksonville, Minnesota, Oakland and San Diego, you can officially start to worry……….

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