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Triathlons for children have become tremendously popular, drawing participants as young as 3 (who probably did not come up with the idea themselves).

Some races let children as young as 3 participate, using swim floats, training wheels or even tricycles. “If you want to start a child when they are really young, understand they aren’t doing a whole lot,” said Ms. Osgood, who said that she considered age 8 or 10 a reasonable age to start.

A triathlon “combines three things kids like to do: swim, ride their bikes and run around,”

link to full article

I cruised down along the water, through a vacant lot (where I saw my orphan future kitty I think) past the giant steel robot sculpture man of my dreams and had a train security guy scream “No bikes on the platform!!!! $200 fine!”.

I went by the marina and over the bridge to Liberty Park just to check on our lady in the river. That’s when I felt the first drops. A “little” water is nice, so I started back home. Halfway the sky opened up and it started to pour. I thought about stopping to wait it out but I was soaked already.

It rained so hard I couldn’t see at all. The wind was blowing about 50 mph and the lightning and thunder was all around. I pushed on through foot deep puddles as cars passed sending waves at me like motorboats. Soaked to the bone, I finally pulled into my garage and headed inside. Slosh, slosh slosh…went my sneekers as I walked to the doorman and offered him a hug leaving a river of water behind me.

My cat gave me quite the look as I flooded in still dripping.

At least 3 good things came of this though. My bike is very clean now, I know I can bike faster than lightning and rain water makes my hair very soft and fluffy.

A bed in which headboards and pillows face each other to create a continuous relaxing sleeping area for community minded neighbors and friends.

Woodstock, one of the most important events in music history, marks its 40th anniversary this week.

Half a million revellers descended on the event to listen to some of the biggest stars of the time.

For many, Woodstock was not just a music festival but an attempt to make a social statement about peace and love when the United States was at war in Vietnam and suffering racial discord at home.

Anna Holligan speaks to one of the original performers to find out what it was like to be a part of it. (Watch video)

When I saw this I was immediately reminded of one of my first cooking adventures, trying to make the perfect batch of matzah balls. After spending hours trying to get them the perfect size, I put them in the boiling water. Little did I realize that they expand enormously in the water. The results were as you can imagine, big giant balls. My grandmother thought it was very funny.”

The record for the world’s biggest matzah ball was set in — where else? — New York today.

Weighing 267 pounds and made from 1,000 eggs, 80 pounds of margarine, 200 pounds of matzah meal, and 20 pounds of chicken base, the giant matzah ball easily set the Guinness record. The ball, which stood three feet high, was baked by Noah’s Ark Original Deli in an oversized kitchen in New Jersey and then given a police escort to Manhattan where it was unveiled and then devoured by a waiting crowd.

Watch the video from NBC New York below:

This guy was so cool. I had to take some video of him. I was on my way downtown to workout at a friend’s gym. I took this video when MJ was still alive a few months back. I’m sure that this mimi Micheal is even more popular now. Never know what you are going to see on the NY subways.

She had appeared more restless than usual in the last 24 hours, resting for shorter periods with intermittent nest building through the day and night. At about 2:45 this morning, she was observed leaning back and holding her feet. Regular changes of position become common at this stage of labor, and contractions were evident as the time went by. Bai Yun handled it all well, and staff agreed that this seemed like one of her easiest labors.

At 4:58 a.m., Bai Yun stood up and had a series of contractions while on all fours. With the last one, we suddenly heard the loud squawking we had all been anticipating. As Bai Yun turned around to gather up the cub, we all got a glimpse at a wriggling infant on the floor, crying loudly for attention. Bai Yun immediately attended to her newest offspring and spent the next half hour or so soothing it, cradling it in her arms and licking it. Panda Cam

More about baby Panda

Gathering of the Vibes Saturday. 20,000 plus had a great time outside on the water in Bridgeport Ct, complete with Leon Helms, Bob Weir and muddy Wookies.

(Hiding in my little purple tent)

I love outside concert festivals, the music, the people, the fresh air, the vendors. I do hate the porta-potties. At the concert I saw people passed booze, passed joints, passed 50, passed penguins, passed Orcas, passed giant worms, and passed out.

At concerts I found out that if you give people enough time and drugs you can make anything glow.

The Dead lives on, and on and on…

Crazy photo gallery

Yet, throughout the Rams’ 18-10 season, fans were treated to the spectacle of this little blur hounding opposing ball handlers, hoisting up threes, running the point. Believed to be the shortest college basketball player, Steward, a 20-year-old junior, nonetheless was a starter and a co-captain of a team that made it to the Skyline Conference Championship (losing to Mount St. Mary College) and to the second round of the Eastern College Athletic Conference’s Division III tournament (Lehman College). Even in Farmingdale’s one game against a Division I team, an 85-25 dismantling by the Big East power Rutgers University, she hit a three-pointer — to a standing ovation in Rutgers’s gym. It’s almost impossible this time of year not to be sucked into America’s best sporting extravaganza, the pageant of endless surprises that is college basketball in March.

But sometimes the most amazing miracles don’t play out at schools whose gear is sold at the mall and whose games are punctuated by Dickie V yelling about diaper dandies. For a miracle that makes Syracuse-UConn look like a backyard barbecue, consider Steward’s career, which is most remarkable for what has been taken for granted. “When she was first born, I said to my mother, ‘I never touched drugs, I never touched alcohol — how could God give me a child with so many disabilities?’” recalled her mother, Vanessa Jones-Steward. “And she said, ‘God doesn’t give you anything you can’t handle,’ and since then, that’s how we’ve looked at things. We never thought of her as disabled; we never said there was something she couldn’t do. And once she started to play sports, we’ve never thought she was any different than anyone else.” That turned out to be fairly easy, because as tiny as she was, Tiffara Steward was a prodigy. She played a grade or two ahead in youth leagues in her hometown, Elmont; starred at Sewanhaka High School in basketball; and is also a standout in soccer, volleyball and softball.

Her specialty is defense, and she regularly takes the other team’s best ball handler out of the game by denying her the ball or hounding her into turnovers. “She’s the toughest kid on the team,” Coach Mooney said. “She’d run through a wall for you.” Though Steward’s older brother and sister played college ball, she never expected to do the same until Farmingdale called. She had been considering going there or to Syracuse to study business, but the offer to play made it an easy decision, even though Division III schools don’t offer athletic scholarships. “I was working at the Splish Splash when they called and said they wanted me to come and play at Farmingdale,” she said. “And I said: ‘Basketball? I can play basketball and go to school?’ It’s cheaper and it’s the same program, so it was an easy decision.” Her teammates, who share a dorm suite, say they’ve long since forgotten there’s anything much different about Steward, though publicity this year has made her a minor celebrity. Workers at the campus KFC have taken to asking for her autograph. Still, in her own world, family and friends manage both to forget and to remember what makes her special.

Her favorite player, not surprisingly, is Nate Robinson, the Knicks guard, who at 5-foot-9 is the N.B.A.’s shortest player this year. Steward’s mother stopped by the college on Friday, and the subject of whether her daughter’s vision had ever been an issue arose. “No,” Tiffara Steward said. “I guess I don’t know what I’m missing.” “Which is nothing at all,” her mother said.

Link

Roller coasters: You love them or hate them. But if you’re among the fanatics who worship the coaster gods, there’s an amazing worldwide assemblage of thrilling and chilling rides to choose from. Whether twisting, flying, looping or just plain speeding, last year coaster fans took more than 900 million rides in the United States alone. With more than 2,000 roller coasters worldwide, located on six out of the seven continents (Antarctica has no coasters to date), the thrill-ride phenomenon has been gaining momentum for years and is now better than ever.

(What, you expected me to be screaming?)

Kingda Ka, Six Flags Great Adventure

Jackson, N.J.

Although displaced as the world’s fastest roller coaster in 2009, Kingda Ka is still an adrenaline junkie’s dream. Rocketing from 0 to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds and hurling riders a record-breaking 456 feet in the air, this heart-pounding thrill ride twists and dips through more than 3,000 feet of track and a vertical 270-degree spiral. Kindga Ka is a steel, hydraulic launched coaster that opened in 2005 and gives more than 1,400 people per hour the ride of their lives. If Kingda Ka has impressed you, then visit the 13 other coasters at Six Flags Great Adventure, including the brand new floorless Bizarro, with seven loops and almost 4,000 feet of track.

Steel Dragon 2000, Nagashima Spa Land

Mie Prefecture, Japan

One of only two gigacoasters (complete circuit coasters with a height between 300 and 399 feet) in the world—the other being Millennium Force at Cedar Point—Steel Dragon 2000 holds the record for longest track length at an astonishing 8,133 feet. With a maximum speed of 95 mph and a height of 318 feet (it’s the 5th tallest coaster in the world) it runs almost four minutes long, so if you don’t like the ride, you just have to wait it out. Besides the three drops of over 200 feet, it’s been said the best part is the “air time” you get while racing over the bunny hills on the way back to solid ground.

Wicked Twister, Cedar Point

Sandusky, Ohio

Boasting the world record for most coasters—17—in one amusement park, it’s no wonder that this Mecca for thrill seekers has the tallest and fastest double twisting impulse coaster ever created. This seriously wicked ride propels riders forwards and backwards five times at increasing speeds while twisting up and down its 450-degree double-helix towers. The U-shaped track extends 215 feet in the air while riders hang suspended from the track, with their feet dangling perilously below. Aside from the adrenaline pumping experience, passengers have amazing views of Lake Erie and the entire amusement park so they can scope out the next ride—such as Top Thrill Dragster, the world’s second tallest and fastest coaster.

Colossus, Thorpe Park

Surrey, England

Riders have to hold on to their hats (literally), as they fly upside down an awesome 10 times on the world’s first 10-loop roller coaster. With a vertical loop, cobra roll, two corkscrews, and five heart line twists, passengers won’t know which way is up as they travel more than 100 feet in the air along 2,789 feet of track on one of Thorpe Park’s most extreme rides. Colossus is so intense that an exact replica was built at Chime-Long Paradise amusement park in Guangzhou, China, called Tenth Ring so coaster fans all around the world can experience the white-knuckle feeling of 10 inversions. If looping isn’t your cup of tea, then ride on X:\No Way out, the world’s first completely dark backwards roller coaster.

X2, Six Flags Magic Mountain

Los Angeles

Having the world’s first 4th dimension roller coaster apparently wasn’t enough for Six Flags Magic Mountain because they reinvented and renamed X and it became X2, the world’s first 5th dimension roller coaster. With a uniquely designed wing-shaped track, the seats extend off the track to the sides and hang mid-air, which allows them to rotate 360 degrees around the 3,600-foot maze of steel. At a height of more then 20 stories, riders also experience sensory effects like flashing lights, fog, and flamethrowers, along with a unique musical score featuring everything from Frank Sinatra to Rage Against the Machine. As passengers scream along at 76 mph upside down, backwards, and forwards, they will never know what to expect next.

Dueling Dragons, Universal’s Islands of Adventure

Orlando, Fla.

Riders have two chances to experience the world’s only inverted dueling coaster, on either Fire Dragon or Ice Dragon, two unique trains on Dueling Dragons. Each dragon has a zero-g roll, cobra roll, two corkscrews, and two vertical loops, but take completely different paths, during the 2-minute, 25-second ride. Dragons have an “aerial combat” three times along the track where riders narrowly pass; coming within 18 inches of each other, so close you can almost touch. Trains are weighted before launching to properly time them for battle in the sky—an adrenaline pumping ride much different then a traditional single train coaster. But if dueling isn’t your style then jump aboard the brand-new Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit which features a personalized music soundtrack blasted through an individualized audio system and six never-before-attempted maneuvers like the treble clef, where a part of the track is bent in the shape of the music symbol.

Ring Racer, Nürburgring

Nürburg, Germany

The highly anticipated Ring Racer promised to take the title of fastest roller coaster in the world when it opens this year, stealing the record from Kingda Ka. Although Nürburgring isn’t exactly an amusement park (it’s a race track), Ring Racer will be a Formula-1 themed coaster with a maximum speed of 134.8 mph and an acceleration of 2.5 seconds (second only to Dodonpa). The car takes off as the light changes to green and your body is forced backwards and races down a 1,500-foot straightaway, then makes a sharp left turn as it heads to the finish line. It won’t have any loops or plunges, but Ring Racer gives riders an authentic adrenaline-pumping racing experience on its Grand Prix style track, living the dream of driving a real Formula-1 car. link

In Pictures: 10 Record-Breaking Roller Coasters

Well, I do eat fish. I also taste my cat (best friend) Mangus’s chicken before serving him.

I have never enjoyed eating meat. I don’t like the taste so it’s not difficult to give it up.  My recent trip to Hawaii where we were surrounded by hundreds of wild chickens and roosters with their tiny babies making adorable cookadooadools made me never want to eat a chicken again.

I practice meetless Mondays through Sundays now. It’s very easy to do once you decide to do it. There are so many other much healthier foods that are not injected strange chemicals that can kill you. Another great reason to not eat meat. Try meatless Mondays. It’s just one day out of your week.

Hop, hop, hop down to farm stand, get some corn and carrots and eat like a healthy bunny.

I love a practical solution, especially when it’s good all around – for personal health, the environment, and for living consciously. So when I received an email from Chris Elam, the director of the Meatless Monday campaign – a project of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Columbia University School of Public Health, in association with twenty-seven other public health schools – I was thrilled.

The campaign is focused on convincing the world not to eat chickens, pigs, and other animals–just one day per week (on Mondays, as you may have guessed).

Since it’s sponsored by a slew of public health schools, the campaign was set up to promote health, and since I’ve already written extensively about the fact that eating meat leads to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and lethargy (for example here), I’ll skip extended analysis of these facts, other than to say: When Johns Hopkins, Columbia, the American Dietetic Association, and dozens of other health organizations argue that the less meat you eat, the better off you’ll be, it’s worth listening to them.

Chris wrote to share the fact that Michael Pollan had just argued in favor of the campaign on Oprah, saying, “[w]e don’t realize it when we sit down to eat, but that is our most profound engagement in the rest of nature… To the extent that we push meat a little bit to the side and move vegetables to the center of our diet, we’re also going to be a lot healthier…” I wasn’t surprised, since Pollan’s most recent book calls on all of us to eat “mostly plants,” and his new movie (Food, Inc.) offers a stomach-turning look at factory farming and slaughterhouses (I highly recommend it).

As an aside on Food, Inc.: The scene that I found most interesting is the one where Joel Salatin, proprietor of Polyface Farm, was slaughtering chickens and talking a mile-a-minute through the process. He was talking about treating the animals with respect, but in the theater where I saw the film, this scene elicited perhaps the most audible shock of the entire movie because you can actually see the animals being slaughtered (contrast this with the secrecy of factory farms and slaughterhouses–no one is allowed because, as Paul McCartney likes to say, the process would turn everyone vegetarian). Anyway, this scene seemed to shock a lot of people, even though this is poultry slaughter at its most humane. Actually, the scene reminded me of that Sarah Palin interview that she conducted in front of the turkey slaughter; it’s worth remembering that most chickens and turkeys have a far more horrific experience in the factory farms that process more than 98% of the birds we eat.

Chris also wanted to share their new video, in which their scientists tell us that if all Americans switched from eating chickens and pigs to eating beans and grains for just one day per week, that would stop as much global warming as if everyone in the U.S. shifted to ultra-efficient Toyota hybrids (which is the weekly equivalent of using 12 billion fewer gallons of gasoline). Of course I have to point out the obvious: If we all stopped eating animals completely and shifted to vegetarian foods, that would save 84 billion gallons of gas per week (and all the troubles that go with that kind of consumption).

I know that some readers will argue that the issue is not the meat industry, but factory farmed meat. But in fact, environmentally, all meat requires exponentially more resources to produce than eating grains and beans, as eloquently discussed in the Audubon Society’s magazine a few months back. And all meat contributes to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and so on. Some meat may be “less bad,” but according to the science, no meat is good.

And I know that some vegetarians pooh pooh Meatless Monday as not enough. I’m sympathetic to that view, but I think it’s unnecessarily strident. For people who think that going totally vegetarian is too challenging, the Meatless Monday campaign offers a gentle entrée into the idea of eating without eating animals. My hope is that people will use the campaign as a stepping stone–first one meatless day per week, then three, then five, then seven. As we lean into meatless eating–switching out more and more meat meals for meatless meals–we end up feeling better, both physically and ethically.

And another point for those who might think that Meatless Monday is not enough: The first family of vegetarianism–Sir Paul McCartney and his daughters–recently launched the campaign in the UK. Stella and Mary have been vegetarian since birth, and Paul has been a vegetarian for more than two decades.

For recipes and cooking information, check out the Meatless Monday site. And for tips on making the transition to vegetarian eating, please click here.

Happy eating! link

In regards to your aticle about Schmoes, (hope I have spelt it correctlly) what is the difference between a female bodybuilding fan and a Schmoe? Just curious.

Glen
London . England

Dear Glen:

I don’t like the word Schmoe.
It’s demeaning. I prefer “MAG” (Muscle Adoring Guy)
I coined this term because it sounds much nicer than Schmoe.

The difference is that a Schmoe has a fetish that is somewhat irrational.
A “MAG” admires the female bodybuiilder, but is not possessed by his admiration.

Lori

 Talk live to Vikinqueen now

Photos on shemuscle

I worked hard on it and it showed. All day people would stop me in the street and in school and tell me how much my hair was a perfect Farrah look alike. I loved Farrah. I do not think it was something I told many people.

In Charlie’s Angels Farrah was strong, athletic, funny, intelligent, adorable and gorgeous. Not many young girls did not admire her and wish they could be exactly like her. I sure did. She seemed to be a normal woman and someone to whom I could relate. Her problems in life also made her more real, lovable and vulnerable.

I watched her tv special Farrah’s Story a few weeks ago. It really hit me hard. Very compelling. She allowed the world to see her pain, suffering, fear and sadness.  Farrah, although very sick, was strong and funny and all those qualities that I fell in love with as a child. Great memories. Here is a photo gallery of favorite Farrah photos I found.

Farrah Photo gallery

“The life of Charlie’s Angels star Farrah Fawcett was celebrated on Tuesday at a private funeral in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

Her longtime companion, Ryan O’Neal, was among pallbearers who accompanied the casket, covered in yellow and orange flowers, into the Roman Catholic cathedral.

Fawcett’s friend Alana Stewart and Charlie’s Angels co-star Kate Jackson were among early arrivals before the hearse pulled up, accompanied by 10 motorcycle officers.

Fans and news media watched from across a street. The service was closed to the public.

Fawcett died Thursday at age 62 after a public battle with cancer. O’Neal and Stewart were at her side.

“After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away,” O’Neal said in a statement last week. “Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world.”

Diagnosed with a rare cancer in 2006, Fawcett’s battle with the disease was documented in Farrah’s Story.

Stewart, a producer of the documentary, said Fawcett was “much more than a friend; she was my sister.”

“Although I will miss her terribly, I know in my heart that she will always be there as that angel on the shoulder of everyone who loved her,” Stewart said in a statement.

Fawcett and O’Neal, 68, have a son, 24-year-old Redmond, who has been jailed since April 5 on drug charges.

Last week, a judge granted his request to attend Fawcett’s funeral. The order by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jane Godfrey allows Redmond O’Neal to be released for three hours and wear street clothes to attend the funeral.”AP

Cheerleading safety efforts have led to modest reductions in the number of serious injuries in recent years, according to a new report about college and high school sports and cheerleading mishaps.

But cheerleading continues to cause more serious and deadly injuries by far than other sports. 

“Trust me, I never dropped a 50 pound dumbbell on myself and I never received a cheerleading injury, but I do fall off my bike all the time.”

girlsgotlegs

more photo galleries

Researchers have long known how dangerous cheerleading is, but records were poorly kept until recently. An update to the record-keeping system last year found that between 1982 and 2007, there were 103 fatal, disabling or serious injuries recorded among female high school athletes, with the vast majority (67) occurring in cheerleading. The next most dangerous sports: gymnastics (nine such injuries) and track (seven).

Today, the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill released its 26th annual report on the topic. The latest figures are from the 2007-2008 academic year for college and high school sports, male and female. The report defines catastrophic injuries as any severe or fatal injury incurred during participation in the sport.

The new numbers are for the 26-year period from the fall of 1982 through the spring of 2008:

• There were 1,116 direct catastrophic injuries in high school (905) and college sports (211).
• High school sports were associated with 152 fatalities, 379 non-fatal injuries and 374 serious injuries. College sports accounted for 22 fatalities, 63 non-fatal injuries and 126 serious injuries.
• Cheerleading accounted for 65.2 percent of high school and 70.5 percent of college catastrophic injuries among all female sports.

The number of cheerleading injuries fell slightly in the 2007-08 academic year.

“Progress has been slow, but there has been an increased emphasis on cheerleading safety,” said the study’s author Frederick O. Mueller. “Continued data collection on all types of cheerleading injuries will hopefully show that these safety measures are working to reduce injuries.” link

17th Annual NYC Dyke March

The 17th Annual NYC Dyke March steped off at 5 pm sharp on the evening of Saturday June 27th 2009. Everyone assembled at Bryant Park, located at 42nd Street and 6th Avenue. The march went down 5th Avenue to Washington Square Park.

[Reportedly heard at the parade, although I was not there.] “It’s time to hit the streets! Make some noise. Be visible. Be heard. Demonstrate, agitate, liberate at the New York City Dyke March. Bring signs, banners, drums, giant puppets, flags, hula hoops or just be there!”

[the purpose of the parade]“The New York City Dyke March is a protest march, not a parade — we don’t ask for a permit, because we have the right to protest. As queer women, we recognize that we must organize amongst ourselves to fight for our rights, our safety, and for visibility. Thousands of dykes take over the streets every year in celebration of queer women everywhere and to protest against ongoing discrimination, harassment and anti-women violence in schools, on the job, in our families and on the streets.”

“As always, the Dyke March is open to all women, biological or otherwise – no sign-up or registration required. Just come out with your banners, signs, noisemakers, and beautiful dyke selves, and joi n in the march!” link

Michael Jackson singing ” Ben”, one of my favorites.

Tonight I feel like a piece of my childhood died. Such a tragic and sudden loss.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, as you are probably well aware from the trailers, stars Denzel Washington as New York City subway dispatcher Walter Garber, a man whose world is turned upside down when the Pelham 1 2 3 train is hijacked by a gang of terrorists, led by an attention-seeking loud-mouth who goes by the name Ryder (John Travolta). Ryder and his three underlings have taken over the train and are demanding a large amount of cash in exchange for the safe return of 19 hostages. He communicates with the outside world using Garber and has put a one hour deadline on his demand for the money. If the cash is not delivered, one passenger will be killed every minute until the money is received. A lot of times in this type of movie, the antagonists never actually follow through with their threat to kill people but Ryder proves right from the beginning that he is not fooling around. He only wants to speak to Garber and when his newfound buddy is removed from the radio by the NYPD, Ryder does not hesitate to put a bullet in one of the passengers.

That pretty much lays the groundwork for the next 2 hours and 45 minutes — a subway dispatcher, a hijacked train, 19 hostages and a crazy man with a gun. “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ also stars the likes of Luis Guzman as a bad guy with a bandaid on his nose, John Turturro as an NYPD hostage negotiator and James Gandolfini as the Mayor of New York.

The first thing I will say about “Pelham 1 2 3″ is that I really liked John Travolta in this movie. I would say it’s his best role since 2001’s Swordfish and the best movie he’s been in since Ladder 49. (Yeah, I liked Ladder 49 so leave me alone.) Travolta manages to make a gun-toting murderer come across as a somewhat engaging character. He was a guy that you wanted to know more about. He delivered some great one-liners. He seemed to have a bit of a sense of humour. And yet despite all this, you still know that he was just another lunatic with a gun. I really thought Travolta did an excellent job in this movie.

Denzel wasn’t too bad himself, as the equally engaging and calm, steady subway dispatcher. Him and Ryder really had a good rapport going on that kept the movie interesting. I was actually surprised to see on his IMDb profile that this is the first movie Denzel has done since 2007, when he was in “American Gangster” and “The Great Debaters”. That seems like so long ago. And there’s going to be an “Inside Man” sequel? Who would have thought?

As for the rest of the cast, Luis Guzman is always enjoyable to watch but really wasn’t used too much in the movie. I just can’t get past the whole “Tony Soprano” thing when I see James Gandolfini and watching him play an asinine mayor was somewhat painful. Maybe he should have just been thrown on the train with a gun. A terrorist role would have been much more suitable. John Turturro was as solid as we have come to count on him being, although I think audiences, in general, are expecting too much humour from him, like that butler with the gangrene foot from “Mr. Deeds”. I mean the guy showed up on the screen and spit out one line and the whole theatre started laughing – and it wasn’t even a funny line. It was also nice to see Gbenga Akinnagbe in the movie. Fans of “The Wire” will remember him as “Chris”. I really liked him in that show.

Overall, I will say that “Pelham 1 2 3″ is a lot better movie that I was expecting. I thought Travolta was very good and I really liked the chemistry between his character and Denzel’s subway guy. It’s an intense movie at times that, excuse the pun, takes no prisoners. The terrorists in this movie aren’t here to fool around. They mean business. Despite a handful of moments that might make you chuckle, this is a very “no-nonsense” movie. I’m even pretty sure that the “f”-bomb is dropped somewhere in the first three words that are uttered in the film. Now that’s some serious stuff.

I think my biggest complaint about the movie, on a whole, would be the escape plan of the terrorists. Considering how much effort they seemed to put into hatching their evil plot, you would have thought that they could have come up with a better exit strategy. Not that I want to give away too much, but have you ever heard of disguises, gentlemen? Even the motivation behind the whole hostage-taking was bit feeble. Not enough to make the movie a complete write-off but does everything just have to be about money? What happened to the good old days, when criminals had more substantial incentives for their evil plots – like Hannibal Lecter. He ate people because he was hungry. Now there’s a good reason to kill innocent people.

The one final problem I had as the movie drew to an end was I also found that it dragged on a bit in the last 15 minutes. It should have been edited down a bit. However, in my opinion, “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ is still a pretty entertaining movie – a lot moreso than I thought it would be. There’s a lot more good than not and as I said, it was great to see Travolta back in form. For that alone, I would suggest checking out “Pelham 1 2 3″ at some point in the near future. link

This girl is pretty funny. Love to watch women flexing for the first time!

Shemuscle photo by Brian Moss

In those with healthy backs, the scientists found, a deep abdominal muscle tensed several milliseconds before the arms rose. The brain apparently alerted the muscle, the transversus abdominis, to brace the spine in advance of movement. In those with back pain, however, the transversus abdominis didn’t fire early. The spine wasn’t ready for the flailing. It wobbled and ached. Perhaps, the researchers theorized, increasing abdominal strength could ease back pain. The lab worked with patients in pain to isolate and strengthen that particular deep muscle, in part by sucking in their guts during exercises. The results, though mixed, showed some promise against sore backs.

From that highly technical foray into rehabilitative medicine, a booming industry of fitness classes was born. “The idea leaked” into gyms and Pilates classes that core health was “all about the transversus abdominis,” Thomas Nesser, an associate professor of physical education at Indiana State University who has studied core fitness, told me recently. Personal trainers began directing clients to pull in their belly buttons during crunches on Swiss balls or to press their backs against the floor during sit-ups, deeply hollowing their stomachs, then curl up one spinal segment at a time. “People are now spending hours trying to strengthen” their deep ab muscles, Nesser said.

But there’s growing dissent among sports scientists about whether all of this attention to the deep abdominal muscles actually gives you a more powerful core and a stronger back and whether it’s even safe. A provocative article published in the The British Journal of Sports Medicine last year asserted that some of the key findings from the first Australian study of back pain might be wrong. Moreover, even if they were true for some people in pain, the results might not apply to the generally healthy and fit, whose trunk muscles weren’t misfiring in the first place.

“There’s so much mythology out there about the core,” maintains Stuart McGill, a highly regarded professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo in Canada and a back-pain clinician who has been crusading against ab exercises that require hollowing your belly. “The idea has reached trainers and through them the public that the core means only the abs. There’s no science behind that idea.” (McGill’s website is backfitpro.com.)

The “core” remains a somewhat nebulous concept; but most researchers consider it the corset of muscles and connective tissue that encircle and hold the spine in place. If your core is stable, your spine remains upright while your body swivels around it. But, McGill says, the muscles forming the core must be balanced to allow the spine to bear large loads. If you concentrate on strengthening only one set of muscles within the core, you can destabilize your spine by pulling it out of alignment. Think of the spine as a fishing rod supported by muscular guy wires. If all of the wires are tensed equally, the rod stays straight. “If you pull the wires closer to the spine,” McGill says, as you do when you pull in your stomach while trying to isolate the transversus abdominis, “what happens?” The rod buckles. So, too, he said, can your spine if you overly focus on the deep abdominal muscles. “In research at our lab,” he went on to say, “the amount of load that the spine can bear without injury was greatly reduced when subjects pulled in their belly buttons” during crunches and other exercises.

Instead, he suggests, a core exercise program should emphasize all of the major muscles that girdle the spine, including but not concentrating on the abs. Side plank (lie on your side and raise your upper body) and the “bird dog” (in which, from all fours, you raise an alternate arm and leg) exercise the important muscles embedded along the back and sides of the core. As for the abdominals, no sit-ups, McGill said; they place devastating loads on the disks. An approved crunch begins with you lying down, one knee bent, and hands positioned beneath your lower back for support. “Do not hollow your stomach or press your back against the floor,” McGill says. Gently lift your head and shoulders, hold briefly and relax back down. These three exercises, done regularly, McGill said, can provide well-rounded, thorough core stability. And they avoid the pitfalls of the all-abs core routine. “I see too many people,” McGill told me with a sigh, “who have six-pack abs and a ruined back.”

The Phys Ed column will appear here in Well every Wednesday and also in print once a month, in the Sunday magazine. In it, Gretchen Reynolds, who is working on a book about the frontiers of fitness, will write about what the latest science can tell us about how to make ourselves stronger, more flexible, less prone to pain and generally fitter and healthier. We want to hear what you think, so stay tuned and offer your comments and questions.

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Continental jet whose pilot died in flight just landed by two first officers at Newark airport in New Jersey. Awesome!14 minutes ago from web

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Getting my carpet cleaned now The guy told me to move my furniture around Does that mean facing it the other way? http://femalemuscle.com/

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New FM Post! Call her. Now! We dare you!: Wanna talk to the STRONGEST, SEXIEST, MOST DOMINATING women.. http://tinyurl.com/lxkumdabout 16 hours ago

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Back to work then gym, gym, gym, gym, gym, gym..It’s “Groundhog DAY” again.10:12 AM Jun 17th

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“Reigning Queen of Female Muscle” Interview..Hey that’s me! http://bit.ly/1707y91:03 PM Jun 16th

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“It was a needless hugging…It wasn’t a greeting. It was happening all day.” Noreen Hajinlian10:54 AM Jun 16th

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Carpet cleaning guys just left. Loud. Lillybelle my kitty freaked out. Hitting the gym downtown now. Gotta train!about 5 hours ago

Emerging from a military helicopter flanked by Secret Service agents, and looking as sculpted as ever in a J. Crew sleeveless white blouse, Obama’s limbs were welcomed by throngs of native Sri Lankans eager to catch a glimpse of their mesmerizing firmness.

The arms, which showed no noticeable flab or unsightly sagging at any point during the trip, received a warm handshake from Sri Lankan human rights minister Mahinda Samarasinghe upon their arrival.

“I would like first to say how proud we are to have Mrs. Obama’s arms in our beloved country,” said Samarasinghe, who referred to the limbs as both “beautiful” and the “epitome of class.” “Hopefully their presence here, with their well-defined biceps and tank-top ready shoulders, will bring strength to the 265,000 citizens who have lost their homes.” For entire article

Talk live now! Dial 800.222.3539

Here is a brief blurb that Sam emailed to us yesterday:

My name is Sam, short for Samantha. But there is nothing short about me. I am rather like a yellow haired Amazon, almost six feet tall. When I walk down the street I stop traffic. Strangers offer me marriage proposals and motorcycle rides which I sometimes accept because I have an adventuresome spirit. Being a “fly by the seat of my pants” type of girl can get me into some trouble but I can always get myself out with the help of my muscles. I like being ripped and cut. I am friendly by nature but my body is dangerous. Once I was hanging out with a girlfriend and a guy got fresh fresh with her. I said, “Hey lay off her!” He didn’t so I laid into him, threw him over my shoulder and slammed him onto the ground. That is when I realized some men like it rough. After this incident this guy tracked me down to give me a dozen red roses. I’m a sucker for flowers and a sucker for all types of men. I just love them all.

I go all the way to Hershey Park PA. every week to get my chocolate milk.

Nothing better then a glass of chocolate milk for a midnight snack!

Researchers studied 13 male soccer players at James Madison University in Virginia and found that those who drank low-fat chocolate milk instead of high-carbohydrate sports drinks after exercise had significantly lower levels of creatine kinase, a substance that indicates muscle damage. The researchers also studied other factors, including the players’ levels of fatigue, muscle soreness and muscle strength. Those measures turned up no differences between milk and sports drinks. The study is to appear in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Read the full story in the Guardian, which provides tips on what’s best to drink when exercising. Link

Tokyo fashion design student Sachino Kurozu’s multi-layered underwear in a fresh green, inspired by a sprouting cabbage, was picked as this year’s winner of a Tokyo lingerie competition organized by underwear manufacturer Triumph, known for its novelty bras featuring unusual designs.

Grace Rivera-In Her Room After Pre-Judging

Triumph’s most recent promotional offering was a bra with an electronic nuptial clock for husband-hunting women.

Kurozu, 20, said her design was intended to express women’s “blooming beauty.” She will now go on to compete at a global Triumph contest in Milan later this year.

“The cabbage underwear was so cute. Many designers adapted Japanese themes, but the cabbage one was so unique and catchy,” said Haruna Hirasawa, a fashion student at the show.

Cabbages were not the only vegetables on offer. Another design student created underwear entitled “Onion,” featuring brown frills.

The winner of Triumph’s Milan competition will receive a cash prize and the opportunity to adapt their design into a commercial underwear set.

Last year, a Japanese student designer won the international award with her lingerie collection, “Under Skin.”

(Reporting by Toshi Maeda, editing by Miral Fahmy) link

National donut day is always the first Friday in June and was originally started during World War 1.

The day is spent commemorating Salvation Army volunteers who braved the front lines in order to provide home cooked foods as a morale boost to soldiers. The donuts made in those days were often times cooked inside of the metal helmets of American soldiers.

Just back from Dunkin Donuts four Jelly Donuts.

Due to their fondness of the fried dough, American infantryman were often called “Doughboys”.

Brief History of the Doughnut:

- The doughnut originated from Holland during the sixteenth century. How do people from the Netherlands say doughnut? Oliebollen.

- Hanson Gregory is credited for the hole in the center of the doughnut. In 1847 he suggested to his mother to put a hole in the middle of her “fried cakes” to ensure the cake was fully cooked in the middle.

- In 1920, Adolph Levitt created the first doughnut machine.

Who Eats the Most Doughnuts?

- Canada has more doughnut shops, per capita, than any other country.

- Americans consume 10 million doughnuts annually.

- Louisville, Ky. is the number one doughnut loving city in the United States. People in Louisville eat more doughnuts per capita than any other city in the U.S.

Doughnut World Records:

- An American-style jelly doughnut weighing 1.7 tons, and was 16 feet in diameter by 16 inches high, holds the title as the largest doughnut ever made.

- John Haight holds the Guinness Book World Record for eating 29 doughnuts in just over 6 minutes.

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Let us focus on the most amazing woman in the female bodybuilding  world right now, Iris Kyle. I met Iris a few years back when she won her first big show. One look at her and I knew she was a the one, the champ, the star, the only.

She has the most amazingly symmetrical physique that I have ever seen, a worthy rival to Lenda Murray. Iris is totally focused backstage while pumping up. She smiles and flexes, curls massive dumbells and does pushups before going on stage to do her routine. Amazingly, she always has time to stop say hello, flash her lovely smile, pose for the camera, and let me take as many photos and video of her as I would like. Never in a rush, she is just a relaxed and super confident person.

Here are some photos of Iris that I shot backstage during the Arnold 2009 right before she won the show. I know you will enjoy these photos of Iris up close and very personal.

Photo gallery