Tag Archives: health

A Buddhist Monk’s Vegetarian Diet to Minimize Chemical Exposure

Image via: Wonderlane /Flickr Weekday vegetarians ready to ramp up their meatless-ness may find inspiration in this recently released study in Environmental Health News . For five days, 25 study participants dwelled in a Buddhist temple and adopted a monk’s lifestyle–including their oftentimes veggie… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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A Buddhist Monk’s Vegetarian Diet to Minimize Chemical Exposure

Want to Feel More Alive? Study Shows You Need to Go Outside

Photo via cletch We kind of already know this – if not intuitively then through past studies – but a new study has shown that when you spend more time out in nature, you feel more alive . Published in this month’s issue of the Journal of Environmental Psychology , the study shows that getting out and communing with nature is better for feeling rejuvenated than reaching for the ever-so-urban cup of coffee. “Nature is fuel for the soul, ” says Ri… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Want to Feel More Alive? Study Shows You Need to Go Outside

Lady Gaga Offers ‘Alejandro’ Video Sneak Peek On ‘Larry King Live’

‘It is a celebration of my love and appreciation for the gay community,’ she tells King of the clip. By Kara Warner Lady Gaga in “Alejandro” music video Photo: Interscope Records While Lady Gaga’s interview with Larry King on his show Tuesday (June 1) covered many topics — her fame, her health, her fans, etc. — the clear highlight was the very brief snippet shown from her new video for “Alejandro,” the third single from her 2009 album The Fame Monster. The clip was directed by fashion photographer Steven Klein, whose credits include a short film for Madonna’s D&G sunglasses ad campaign and the Brangelina W photo shoot. Dressed in a silvery white button-down dress shirt with black suspenders (a cheeky nod to the veteran CNN newsman), dark round sunglasses and her hair in a short blond bob, Gaga told King via satellite from London’s O2 arena that the video has a “homoerotic military theme” and will premiere very soon. “It is a celebration of my love and appreciation for the gay community, my admiration of their bravery, their love for one another and their courage in their relationships.” The clip depicts Gaga’s trademark theatrical gloss. It appears to be all in black-and-white, with Gaga and her dancers doing variations on a sharp military march throughout. From what little we saw, it seemed reminiscent of Madonna’s “Vogue” video, but where Madonna’s movements were soft, fluid and more feminine, in Gaga’s “Alejandro,” the style is more cutting, masculine and militant. Speaking of the video’s aforementioned homoerotic theme, King asked Gaga why she thinks the gay community has embraced her so wholeheartedly and vice versa. “I can speak for myself in that my admiration comes from an incredibly steadfast and joyful courage and bravery they have for one another and their community,” she said. “To be gay and live openly in this society requires tremendous strength. … I admire it and envy it in some ways. It’s something that, as a woman, I don’t always wholeheartedly possess.” King then brought up her bisexuality and pointedly asked how she deals with it. “I deal with it just fine,” she said coyly. “I’m looking for love just like everyone else. … Right now, love is in the form of my fans. I’m passionately only serving them.” Gaga’s love for her fans prompted her to reveal to King that her highly anticipated next album will not be out this Christmas, as has been reported, because she wants “to give it some time.” While careful not to reveal too many juicy details, Gaga also said it will be an “anthem for the new decade” inspired by her newfound understanding and love for her fans. Are you looking forward to the full “Alejandro” video? What do you expect from the clip? Let us know in the comments! Related Photos The Evolution Of: Lady Gaga Related Artists Lady Gaga

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Lady Gaga Offers ‘Alejandro’ Video Sneak Peek On ‘Larry King Live’

The Real Housewives of New Jersey Recap: Pink Limos, Little Divas, Danielle Drama and More!

A newborn was taken home this week; a nine-year old received lavish gifts at her birthday party; and, of course, Danielle Staub was at the center of all the drama. Incredibly, she managed to come across worse than ever. That’s hard to do. Follow along with our Real Housewives reviewer as she goes inside the fifth episode of season two of The Real Housewives of New Jersey . As usual, the show was both nauseating and entertaining… Sweet fancy Moses!

Miley Cyrus Gives Back, Labels Justin Bieber a "Boyfriend"

It’s been a busy week for Miley Cyrus . First, she visited a school in Hazard, Kentucky, where the singer contributed to Blessings In A Backpack. This organization provides food and supplies to poverty-stricken children. As seen below, Miley met with program officials and local school representatives to receive updates on the program’s presence in the lives of its recipients and school-age volunteers. We must give her a round of props for this effort. Said Cyrus: “Hazard, in fact all of Appalachia, has always been special to me and to my whole family. It’s where we’re from. So the health and education of these Hazard County kids was important to me, and something I felt I really could help do something about… these kids, and this organization, are really amazing.” From there, Miley may have gotten herself in trouble with Justin Bieber and his fans. Speaking to Q100’s Bert Show yesterday, she had the following to say about The Biebs, with whom she shared dinner two weeks ago: “I have my travel-size boyfriend [Bieber] and I have my oversized security boyfriend [Liam Hemsworth]. It’s perfect!” Uh-oh, Kim Kardashian. Sounds like you have competition for your boy . Who do you think Justin should date, readers: Miley or Kim?

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Miley Cyrus Gives Back, Labels Justin Bieber a "Boyfriend"

Bret Michaels Crowned Newest Celebrity Apprentice

Despite his health battles, Bret Michaels must be feeling pretty good right now. The Poison frontman beat out Holly Robinson-Peete on Sunday night to become Donald Trump’s newest…

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Bret Michaels Crowned Newest Celebrity Apprentice

Prominent Princeton Scientist Dr. Happer Testifies to Congress: ‘Warming and increased CO2 will be good for mankind’

Climate Depot’s Selected Highlights of Dr. Happer’s May 20, 2010 Congressional Testimony: (Dr. Happer’s Full Testimony here: (To read the warmists’ testimony of Ralph Cicerone, Stephen Schneider, and Ben Santer, see here. ) Dr. Will Happer’s Testimony Before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming – May 20, 2010 My name is William Happer, and I am the Cyrus Fogg Bracket Professor of Physics at Princeton University. I have spent my professional life studying the interactions of visible and infrared radiation with gases – one of the main physical phenomena behind the greenhouse effect. I have published over 200 papers in peer reviewed scientific journals. I am a member of a number of professional organizations, including the American Physical Society and the National Academy of Sciences. I have done extensive consulting work for the US Government and Industry. I also served as the Director of Energy Research at the Department of Energy (DOE) from 1990 to 1993, where I supervised all of DOE’s work on climate change. Key Excerpts: The CO2 absorption band is nearly “saturated” at current CO2 levels. Adding more CO2 is like putting an additional ski hat on your head when you already have a nice warm one below it, but you are only wearing a windbreaker. The extra hat makes you a little bit warmer but to really get warm, you need to add a jacket. The IPCC thinks that this jacket is water vapor and clouds. The climate-change establishment has tried to eliminate any who dare question the science establishment climate scientists and by like-thinking policy-makers – you are either with us or you are a traitor. Orwellian: I keep hearing about the “pollutant CO2,” or about “poisoning the atmosphere” with CO2, or about minimizing our “carbon footprint.” This brings to mind a comment by George Orwell: “But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” CO2 is not a pollutant and it is not a poison and we should not corrupt the English language by depriving “pollutant” and “poison” of their original meaning. Our exhaled breath contains about 4% CO2. That is 40,000 parts per million, or about 100 times the current atmospheric concentration. CO2 is absolutely essential for life on earth. Commercial greenhouse operators often use CO2 as a fertilizer to improve the health and growth rate of their plants. Plants, and our own primate ancestors evolved when the levels of atmospheric CO2 were at least 1000 ppm, a level that we will probably not reach by burning fossil fuels, and far above our current level of about 380 ppm. We try to keep CO2 levels in our US Navy submarines no higher than 8,000 parts per million, about 20 time current atmospheric levels. Few adverse effects are observed at even higher levels. That we are (or were) living at the best of all CO2 concentrations seems to be an article of faith for the climate-change establishment. Enormous effort and imagination have gone into showing that increasing concentrations of CO2 will be catastrophic: cities will be flooded by sea-level rises that are ten or more times bigger than even IPCC predicts, there will be mass extinctions of species, billions of people will die, tipping points will render the planet a desert. Any flimsy claim of harm from global warming brings instant fame and many rewards. Sea Level: The sea level is indeed rising, just as it has for the past 20,000 years since the end of the last ice age. Fairly accurate measurements of sea level have been available since about 1800. These measurements show no sign of any acceleration. The rising sea level can be a serious local problem for heavily-populated, low-lying areas like New Orleans, where land subsidence compounds the problem. But to think that limiting CO2 emissions will stop sea level rise is a dangerous illusion. It is also possible that the warming seas around Antarctica will cause more snowfall over the continent and will counteract the sea-level rise. Hockey Stick: I was very surprised when I first saw the celebrated “hockey stick curve,” in the Third Assessment Report of the IPCC. Both the little ice age and the medieval warm period were gone, and the newly revised temperature of the world since the year 1000 had suddenly become absolutely flat until the last hundred years when it shot up like the blade on a hockey stick. This was far from an obscure detail, and the hockey stick was trumpeted around the world as evidence that the end was near. We now know that the hockey stick has nothing to do with reality but was the result of incorrect handling of proxy temperature records and incorrect statistical analysis. There really was a little ice age and there really was a medieval warm period that was as warm or warmer than today. I bring up the hockey stick as a particularly clear example that the IPCC summaries for policy makers are not dispassionate statements of the facts of climate change. Conclusion: I regret that the climate-change issue has become confused with serious problems like secure energy supplies, protecting our environment, and figuring out where future generations will get energy supplies after we have burned all the fossil fuel we can find. We should not confuse these laudable goals with hysterics about carbon footprints. For example, when weighing pluses and minuses of the continued or increased use of coal, the negative issue should not be increased atmospheric CO2, which is probably good for mankind. We should focus on real issues like damage to the land and waterways by strip mining, inadequate remediation, hazards to miners, the release of real pollutants and poisons like mercury, other heavy metals, organic carcinogens, etc. Life is about making decisions and decisions are about trade-offs. The Congress can choose to promote investment in technology that addresses real problems and scientific research that will let us cope with real problems more efficiently. Or they can act on unreasonable fears and suppress energy use, economic growth and the benefits that come from the creation of national wealth. added by: Dagum

It May Be a Bit Worse Than We Were Led To Believe…

Washington (CNN) — The “top kill” method intended to stop the runaway flow of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico probably will be tried early next week, BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said Friday. In the procedure, thick, viscous fluid twice the density of water will be pumped at a high rate into the site of the leak to stop the flow so that it can then be sealed with cement, Suttles said. “Our best estimate is probably Tuesday,” he said, noting that the operation has never been tried in such deep water. Also on Friday, a top scientist told a congressional panel that the damaging effects of the massive Gulf spill will be felt all the way to Europe and the Arctic. “This is not just a regional issue for the wildlife,” said Carl Safina, the president of the Blue Ocean Institute. Safina, who recently returned from the Gulf Coast region, presented several photographs, including one of an oil-covered bird. “There will be a nest empty in Newfoundland,” Safina said, noting common migratory patterns. Safina warned that multiple forms of marine life in the Atlantic Ocean “come into the Gulf to breed.” Safina's briefing to representatives of the House Energy and Commerce Committee was scheduled as part of an ongoing effort to draw on a broad range of expertise for cleanup efforts. “We have to use science to find solutions,” said Rep. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts. Markey has been strongly critical of the current cleanup effort, calling it ineffective. Meanwhile, another congressman, concerned about people who are working to clean up the spill, has asked the White House to set up temporary health care centers along the Gulf Coast to serve volunteers and workers. Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Louisiana, envisions such clinics as providing “medical checkups to people who have come in contact with the oil and assist in monitoring the health effects of the oil leak on south Louisianians.” He sent the request Wednesday to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. There was no immediate response from the agency. “Many residents and volunteers are being exposed to hazardous materials on a daily basis, and some will have to travel hours to get treatment at the nearest health care facility. It is imperative that temporary health care clinics be established to provide basic health care services in this geographic area,” he said. He has also asked Sebelius to “appoint a health care coordinator to oversee and streamline the health care response.” Melancon emphasized that BP should be responsible for such health care services in his state. The energy giant was operating the oil rig that exploded and sank in April, triggering the spill. On Thursday, BP acknowledged that the underwater gusher is bigger than estimated to date, as new video showed a cloud of crude billowing around its undersea siphon. Company spokesman Mark Proegler said Thursday that the siphon is now drawing about 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) per day up to a ship on the surface of the Gulf — as much as government and company officials had estimated the spill was pouring into the Gulf every day for a month. Proegler declined to estimate how much more oil was escaping. BP America Chairman Lamar McKay said Wednesday that the figure used by the oil spill response team had a degree of “uncertainty” built into it. But figures by independent researchers have run up to many times higher: Steve Wereley, a professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, told CNN's “American Morning” that the spill could be as big as 20,000 to 100,000 barrels a day. And members of Congress released video from the company that showed much more oil pouring out of the damaged well than the siphon was capturing. Rep. Ed Markey, who leads a House subcommittee investigating the disaster, told reporters, “I think now we are beginning to understand that we cannot trust BP.” “People do not trust the experts any longer,” said Markey, D-Massachusetts. “BP has lost all credibility. Now, the decisions will have to be made by others, because it is clear that they have been hiding the actual consequences of this spill.” Meanwhile, the Coast Guard announced the creation of a federal Flow Rate Technical Group to assess the flow rate from the well. Coast Guard Capt. Ron LaBrec said that Adm. Thad Allen would oversee the team, which will include members from the Coast Guard, the Minerals Management Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Geological Society and others from the science community and academia. The peer-reviewed team, which has already begun its work, is to determine the flow rate from the beginning of the incident to the present, LaBrec said. The Obama administration announced Thursday that it has ordered BP to release all data related to the massive spill, including environmental sampling analyses, internal investigation reports and details of the cleanup effort. In a letter to BP Group CEO Tony Hayward, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson told BP to post that information on a website and update it daily. “The public and the United States government are entitled to nothing less than complete transparency in this matter,” they concluded. The spill began with an April 20 explosion and fire that sank the drill rig Deepwater Horizon two days later. Eleven workers were lost with the rig, which was owned by drilling contractor Transocean and hired by BP. The resulting slick now threatens the coastal marshes of southeastern Louisiana, where brown, syrupy oil made it past protective booms and into the wetlands near the mouth of the Mississippi River on Wednesday. Over the weekend, BP inserted a piece of pipe into the larger of the two leak points and began drawing oil from the undersea gusher, located about a mile underwater, up to a ship on the surface. It also has been laying booms out along barrier islands and spraying hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemical dispersants on the surface and near the sources of the leak. But that element of the response came under new fire as well on Thursday, as the EPA ordered BP to find a less toxic chemical to use to break up the oil. The EPA gave the company a day to pick a new substance and three days to start using it instead of the current dispersant, known as Corexit 9500. The chemical has been rated more toxic and less effective than many others on the list of 18 EPA-approved dispersants, according to testimony at a congressional hearing Wednesday. “Because of its use in unprecedented volumes and because much is unknown about the underwater use of dispersants, EPA wants to ensure BP is using the least toxic product authorized for use,” the agency said in a statement announcing the order. “We reserve the right to discontinue the use of this dispersant method if any negative impacts on the environment outweigh the benefits.” added by: ignignokt

Line Between Crazy/Genius Closer Than We Thought

New research shows a possible explanation for the link between mental health and creativity. By studying receptors in the brain, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have managed to show that the dopamine system in healthy, highly creative people is similar in some respects to that seen in people with schizophrenia. High creative skills have been shown to be somewhat more common in people who have mental illness in the family. Creativity is also linked to a slightly higher risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Certain psychological traits, such as the ability to make unusual pr bizarre associations are also shared by schizophrenics and healthy, highly creative people. And now the correlation between creativity and mental health has scientific backing. “We have studied the brain and the dopamine D2 receptors, and have shown that the dopamine system of healthy, highly creative people is similar to that found in people with schizophrenia,” says associate professor Fredrik Ull

Diddy Describes His Prison Visit With Lil Wayne

‘It wouldn’t have been right if I didn’t go see him and check on his health and well-being,’ he tells MTV News. By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Josh Horowitz Photo: Universal There was no big spectacle when Diddy visited his friend Lil Wayne earlier this month at New York’s Rikers Island. There are no pictures or video footage. Diddy told MTV News he just wanted to check in on a friend who always came through in the clutch for him. “Wayne is a trooper,” Diddy said Tuesday (May 18) while promoting his June 4 film, “Get Him to the Greek.” ” Wayne is doing great. It was a personal visit, so I don’t want to get into the details of that. We’re just counting down the days of him getting out. He’s somebody that has been there for me over the years numerous times. I live in New York. It wouldn’t have been right if I didn’t go see him and check on his health and well-being. But the status of where that’s at, that’s his personal business.” One of the ways Wayne came through for Puffy was shooting a video for Diddy-Dirty Money’s Last Train to Paris album, due June 28. “On Last Train to Paris, Wayne is on the album, Drake is on the album, we’re trying to get Hov on the album, trying to get Janelle Mon&#225e on the album,” Diddy told MTV News in March. “Everybody that’s on the album, it’s not done in a regular appearance way. It’s done in a unique way that’s authentic. It’s not about a single or [album sales]. It doesn’t have that behind it. Wayne is on a record that’s called ‘Strobe Lights.’ It’s one of the first records where I hear him talking about love and how love has affected him. That’s the type of things I wanted to get out of people if they were on the album. I wanted people to get out of their comfort zone and do something that was special. He did the video for me over the weekend. ‘Strobe Lights,’ it’s gonna be tough.” Diddy also said Wayne’s absence from the scene is a big loss. “I think we gonna miss a certain energy that Wayne has,” Diddy said. “The beauty about it is, he’ll be back, and hopefully he’ll come back a better person. Whenever we get in trouble, we’re in the public spotlight. So hopefully there’s a lot of kids out there who could learn from any mistakes that we may have put ourselves in, even if we’re not guilty of the crime sometimes. We are human. People have to learn: ‘Make sure you know where you’re going, who you riding with, what the situation is.’ We’re targets. I’m just happy he doesn’t have to do a lot of time and that he’ll be out, and hopefully he’ll use the time wisely and use it in a positive way.” What do you think about Diddy visiting Lil Wayne in prison? Let us know in the comments. Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Get Him To The Greek’ Related Artists Diddy Lil Wayne

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Diddy Describes His Prison Visit With Lil Wayne