Its Just More News

Lets start off with the light stuff before we get to the heavy hitters.

Chris Penn, brother of Sean Penn was found dead today in his apartment. No immediate or suspicious cause of death is known to the public or officials.

Chris, younger sibling of Oscar-winner Sean Penn is best known for his role as Nice Guy Eddie Cabot in Quentin Tarantino's classic Reservoir Dogs.

I'm not a Catholic so I don't exactly keep the Pope in my worldly pool of things-to-take-note-of. However, this Pope seems to be setting a bearing for not just the world Catholic community but trying to speak to the entire Chrisitan audience. For that I'm paying attention.

In the 71-page document "God is Love," Benedict explored the relationship between the erotic love between man and woman, referred to by the term "eros," and the Greek word for the unconditional, self-giving love, "agape". [Refers to married couples as the agape dynamic.] Eros, reduced to pure 'sex' has become a commodity, a mere 'thing' to be bought and sold, or rather, man himself has become a commodity." Even Vatican officials have expressed surprise at the topic ... Benedict ... could easily have delved into a more problematic issue such as bioethics in his first authoritative text.

Considering how widespread the practice is of having a bed-buddy, a lover, a boyfriend, and a husband is... how is this not a hugely problematic topic to tackle? Bravo. This has its roots in the self-respect we have for one another and the general outlook and bearing we give on day-to-day issues. I have great respect for the long battle this Pope has begun. I only hope people realize to what they are listening and what the vast import it has on humanity.

Funded Bad Adware List

Internet research centers at Harvard Law School and Oxford University plan today to unveil a program aimed at outing the shady companies that produce them. The site will also publicize the names of companies and the methods they use to get marketing and tracking software onto consumers' machines.

Finally, an astonishing piece of information- Bye bye WB, UPN

Two small, struggling television networks, UPN and WB, will shut down this fall, and thei parent companies plan to form a new network called the CW using programming and other assets from each of them. Both UPN and WB has struggled to compete against larger rivals in the broadcast TV business, including Walt Disney Co.'s ABC, News Corp's Fox, General Electric Co.'s NBC, and CBS Corp's CBS.

Sad, sad times.

Two Articles

Super Foods

I did some research today- funny how I couldn't find how much selenium you can find in onions and garlic. Oh well, it just says you aren't supposed to have more than 400 mg per day. How specific. Here's some highlights from the article.

Avocado: A great source of fiber, monounsaturated fatty acids, magnesium, folate, vitamin E, chlorophyll and carotenoids. Avocados are rich in magnesium, which is an essential nutrient for healthy bones, the cardiovascular system (especially regulating blood pressure), prevention of migraines and Type II diabetes. Avocados provide more magnesium than the 20 most commonly eaten fruits.

Extra virgin olive oil: Long a staple of the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet, olive oil is looking even better now that scientists have shown that the extra-virgin variety has anti-inflammatory properties.

Dark chocolate
Perhaps the best news is that dark chocolate (but not milk chocolate) is now a superfood. Dark chocolate contains substances similar to the heart-healthy compounds in green tea. Six brands were tested for levels of [flavanols]. The winner: Newman's Own sweet dark chocolate.

Cinnamon: The USDA found that half a teaspoon a day lowered blood-sugar levels in patients with Type II diabetes and brought down their bad cholesterol. Also, smelling cinnamon offers a “brain boost” and it is anti-bacterial. It's has been shown to be effective in fighting E.coli.

It goes on to talk about garlic, onion, kiwi, etc. Nice article.

No more Minolta film.

Minolta is pulling their film and camera division to focus on LCDs medical equipment and optics, and color copiers to boost profits. They still will make SLR lenses for Sony. I think this is a shame since I first learned on a minolta how to take pictures. Mom's that she bought almost fifteen years ago still works. I'd urge people to snap them up, but where will you find parts and new lenses once the factories shut down in '07?

Pets on Parade

Cat trained to dial 911. Saves owner's life.

Cat survives interstate. 'Miracle' hitched a ride on an SUV undercarriage and wasn't spotted until 70 miles later.

“He was pretty freaked out,” Dixon-Aquino said. “His paws were burnt, one claw was missing and his fur was singed.”

Schnauberian dog 'Ginny' memorialized at cat show.

Ginny once threw herself against a vertical pipe at a construction site to topple it and reveal the kittens trapped inside. Another time she ignored the cuts on her paws as she dug through a box of broken glass to find an injured cat inside.

Just deserts.

An Ohio woman will spend the night outside for dumping 33 kittens in the woods. Judge Michael Cicconetti said he wanted Murray to feel what the kittens experienced.

The woman was a 25-year old former animal rescuer. What the heck? Most of the kittens now have upper respiratory infections and nine didn't survive. Glad to see that some judges believe in people getting their due.

Credit Wasn't Due

And to think just six months ago I had recanted what I said about Lohan. And now she throws it in my face? That insufferable little *simmers*.

Lindsay admitted she was making herself sick. She is admitting to some drug use in the new Vanity Fair article.

Sorry for this, but the page two of this article is important. I'm pretty sure there is a study somewhere that people don't go for the next page feature on web articles. Something about the first thirteen seconds I think. Article is about people working past their retirement. Why is this important? THE OLD FOLK GOTTA MAKE ROOM FOR THE YOUNGER GENERATION. Thanks Gramps, I have to work a lower pay job because you don't wanna retire to your fly fishing?

We tend to think of retirement as playing golf in Florida. But when people talk about what they want to do with the rest of their lives, that rarely comes up.

Page one is even worse-

But there’s no indication of when the working retired plan to slow down their working, saving — which they still do — or their spending.

Noooooes!
All About the Beef

I dub it, MiniCow. You heard me, half size cattle.

“They’re like a pet more than anything. I like them because they’re neat looking, they’re oddities,” Warren said. Those 10 mini cows will provide about 6,000 pounds on the hoof, compared to as much as 3,000 pounds that could come from two full-size cattle, Gradwohl said.

Well ain't that something. Supposedly it will make efforts for organic meat easier since the cattle destroy less grass. And grass heavy diets make healthier meat. And that makes me happy.

What makes me happier? Hearing about a Kobe that doesn't have to do with infidelity.

Healthy beef? Healthy fatty beef? Absolutely, Yamamoto says — he helped fund research that backs up his claim. A Texas A&M University researcher, Stephen Smith, concluded that compared to American beef, Wagyu beef is much higher in unsaturated fat. It has high levels of oleic acid, the fatty acid in olive and canola oils that has been shown to lower bad LDL cholesterol.

"The health aspect of this animal is what should be the standard for the U.S. cattle herd," Yamamoto said. "If I can put these bulls on any breed and decrease the saturated fat, that would be the standard."

Another selling point for Kobe-style beef is that it's often raised without hormones or antibiotics.

This is really a facinating full article, if you read no other linked article I beg you to read this one the whole way through. But I admit- I hate steak fat, it feels slimy.