C 'Est Si Bon...Simone Simone!

CELL PHONES BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH?....(USE AN EAR PIECE IT MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE.)


Can Use of Cell Phone Cause Cancer?
MAY 27, 2008
Larry King Live

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcOq73ge-L8

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Is talking on my cell phone a lot bad for my health?
FROM OPRAH...Ask Dr OZ II

No one knows for sure what the long-term effects of cell phones on brain cells will be. "But my personal belief, based on some data that shows that brain cells are affected by the cell phone—if you look at the brain cells on the right side of your brain versus the left side, when you're listening with the cell phone on the right side, they're a little different—we may actually find some problems down the road," Dr. Oz says.

What about cordless cell phone receivers? While these do reduce the amount of energy from the cell phone that reaches your head, their effects are also unknown. "They're probably beneficial, but they're receivers and so they might receive other energy from other places as well. We're not quite sure on those as yet," Dr. Oz says. "But I wouldn't throw my cell phone away. I have one, but I think for a lot of us we ought to think at least about how much we're on the cell phone."

Instead, Dr. Oz says the safest solution is using the speaker phone option. "The reason for that is the distance that you hold the phone away will cut the amount of energy [reaching your brain] by a quarter. So it's a lot if you can pull it farther from your head." Or, even better, he says to stick to the land line if you can.

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NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/cellphones

• Cellular telephones emit radiofrequency (RF) energy (see Question 2).
• Exposure to high levels of RF energy can heat body tissue, but RF energy exposures from cellular telephones are too low to cause significant tissue heating (see Question 2).
• Concerns have been raised that RF energy from cellular telephones may pose a cancer risk to users (see Questions 1 and 2).
• Researchers are studying tumors of the brain and central nervous system (CNS) because cellular telephones are held next to the head when used (see Question 4).
• Studies have not shown any consistent link between cellular telephone use and cancer, but scientists feel that additional research is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn (see Question 6).

Latest Flicks!!!


Made of Honor

Synopsis:
Tom Bailey is in love with his best friend Claire. But Tom has a fear of commitment and refuses to admit the obvious--he should propose to Claire before she finds a less procrastinating suitor. When Colin, a rich Scotsman sweeps Claire off her feet and asks for her hand in marriage, Tom must witness her unquestioned happiness up close and personal--because she's chosen him to be her Maid Of Honor. My Review:
2 popcorn; C
It was another predictable chick flick...not that I don't love those. But this one was a little over the top. There was also one too many dirty sex jokes. Great acting on the main characters part.
Like all chick flicks the finale was predictable. Maybe it could have used a little more realism.

Iron Man

Synopsis:
Tony Stark is a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man.

My review:
3.5 popcorn; B+
I wasn't sure how much I wanted to see the movie after watching the previews. There have been so many movies about comic characters this just seemed like another one. I honestly had never heard of Iron Man. But everyone's excitement influenced me to get out there and watch it.
It was excellent! Robert Downey Jr. played his role superbly. I would have never thought him to play a super hero. There was just enough violence, thrill, laughs to make for a great flick.





Prince Caspian


Synopsis:
A year after their very eventful encounter with a closet, the former Kings and Queens of Narnia are summoned back unexpectedly to their part-time monarchy, only to find that nearly a millennium and a half have gone by in their former kingdom. The wicked Telmarines have taken over and booted the broodingly handsome Prince Caspian from his rightful throne. The PevensieMiraz packing. kids team up with the Prince to help him deal with his anger issues and send his scheming Uncle

My Review:
3 popcorn; B
It was a great sequel to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. I think that the majority of people who will really like the movie are people who are fans of the Chronicles of Narnia and read the books recently or as a child. I remember the old version of the movies...the quality of the film has improved so much. The acting is well done and there many humorous parts. I don't think that Reepicheep played as significant a role as he had in the books. Overall it was pretty good for not being my favorite book of the series.





Movies I'm excited to see:
Kung Fu Panda
The Black Knight

I took a weekend trip to visit my brother's family. Last time we lived within a few hours of each other was when we both attended BYU. Among other things we visited the Zoo. Thomasin has some playmates that we also met up with. The sunshine and climate was ideal for our visit to the Zoo.




It was so exciting for Thomasin who could name every animal. Marta just went along for the ride. Marta finally is warming up to me (kinda. at least she doesn't cry at the sight of me) and nestles her little head against my chest when I hold her. She is so cute! It took sharing my milkshake with her when I first got there for her to smile at me.

Soon I'll have a handsome baby nephew!!!

I took some time to do a little research, and I've discovered that roller derby is definitely something I'd never be associated with, but I did find it strange something so huge, right 'under my nose' could go unnoticed. I was unaware of the existence of roller derby until last week with a roommate describing someone as a roller derby woman. 'Huh, what's that?' I had to ask. Yet I am watching the TV right now with a blurb about how the popularity of roller derby is increasing with over 300 leagues internationally and 200 leagues in the US.

If your like me and don't know what it is then check out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_derby
Roller derby is an American-invented contact sport—and historically, a form of sports entertainment—based on formation roller skating around an oval track. In past decades, roller derby has been primarily a professional or paid sport for both women and men. Roller derby currently consists primarily of a predominantly female, amateur or unpaid circuit with a strong do it yourself ethic.

The term roller derby dates at least as far back as 1922, when the Chicago Tribune used it to describe multi-day, flat-track roller skating races, similar to 24-hour banked-track championship races reported on by The New York Times in 1914. One of the Times reports calls the 1914 championships a revival of an "old-time" sport. The rebirth of Roller Derby was in 2001 as a grassroots league in Austin, TX.




Women in all aspects of life, with a variety of careers come together in the evening in teams to battle. From the glimpse from ESPN, the players claim it gives them confidence, allows them to release pent up anger. They get to create their name, and bring whatever image they want to the game. It gives the player a freedom that no one else can have. Violence for women. And excuse for women to let go and be angry. I don't really understand the appeal but then again I don't think I have aggression to release, maybe that is why I just don't get it. To me it may be kinda a joke but to some this is serious business. :)

So I had to laugh when I watched a You-tube video/music video of the Arizona Roller Derby:

Reverse Dumpster Diving!!! Hunting for a dumpster not foraging through trash.



Background:

Everyone is moving out of our townhouse and new renters are coming. Everything has to be spotless and empty. I've spent the last couple days pulling out the nails, puttying & painting walls, and making trash. We are cleaning up and clearing out. We encountered a dilemma...what to do with all the rubbish we've bagged?. It is very convenient living across the street from Costco and other commercial property because they have huge dumpsters.



When it was dark we loaded up two grocery carts full of trash. As conspicuous as we could walk with noisy grocery carts we went on the hunt for a trash bin. Alas there was a dumpster but it was on the other side of Costco. Lucky for us. Is that illegal to throw your trash away in someone else's garbage bin? It felt illegal.

We have had a few nice days intermingled with all the rain...this is my May in DC. Today was one of those beautiful days. I walked with my friends around the Tidal Basin, enjoying the beautiful weather to the place where paddles boats are rented. I had to laugh when we picked up the life jackets we had to wear. The beautiful orange foam life jackets that I remember so well from my youth when my family would float the Boise River.

We out in the paddle boat. The comment the was repeated throughout our hour of paddling was "thank goodness we chose the 4 person paddle boat (it had a cover to protect us from the sunshine and the 2 person boats didn't)." It was a pretty amazing workout, or at least more than I thought it would be. I could feel my quads burning. So the hour was definitely enough for me unless I was a passenger not a paddler.

Now that we worked up an appetite we drove back to home or pretty close to it. Costco and hot dogs...right across the street from my house. How much more lucky could I be?.

You don't need to go to Japan to see the Cherry Blossoms...

I met up with a few friends at the National Mall during the Cherry Blossom Festival and day of Kite Festival. There were hundreds of kites in the air, and hundreds more people watching the kites and being a part of the masses.

I've always wanted to go to Japan. Maybe it was something about the cinematography from Memoirs of a Geisha that attracted me. I wanted to go to Japan in the Spring to see the Cherry blossoms. What I've envisioned of the blossoms and landscape of Japan seemed so romantic and majestic. Yet I realized before moving out to Washington DC that Japan isn't the only place to see Cherry Blossoms. DC has it's own festival during this time of year. It really was beautiful walking around the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson Memorial observing the blossoms across the water.

Food in every nation. I love to try new ethnic foods.
I think that is one of the many reasons that I have a passion for traveling...so I can try the real thing. Marvin Gaye says it the best, 'Ain't nothing like the real thing baby,' pertaining to food as well as love. I like to see what the American version compares to the real thing. We do okay and in some instances better but Chinese and Indian are definitely better when you eat a little farther from home.

We have it best in America though because we cover a larger variety of ethnic foods than other countries. The only place the may may be better and truer to its origin is England (I haven't been there but this is me speculating). It is hard to find many Chinese food places in India, and it is just as hard to many good Mexican food places in Europe.



These photos are just a few of the tasty or not sooo that I've had on my travels:

JUST SOME KANGAROO TAIL....YUM!!!



HUNGARIAN!




CZECH! ...was my least favorite.


POLISH!





THE BEST EVER BAKLAVA...IN CROATIA?!

Who ever thought that fungus would be so yummy and provide so many nutrients!

One of the things that my dad would talk about of his childhood living outside of Vienna was mushrooms hunting in the fall. It is something he really enjoyed because the benefits he enjoyed after his search...and I didn't know what that was until I had my own hunt. During one of our family camping trips we were hiking and my dad found this huge edible mushroom. The next morning we had eggs and mushrooms. It was so good that I vowed that one day I would go to Vienna during the Fall and go hunting for mushrooms.

Another tidbit about my introduction to mushrooms. When I was living in China. My friends and I went out to eat with an Chinese American friend, who knew his stuff. We had this amazing broth boiling in a huge kettle before us and we picked the items we wanted cooked in the soup. O Of the items that our friend picked he had included several types of mushrooms which were some of the most expensive things to add to our soup. It tasted amazing!

I went to eastern Europe in the fall last year. I spent a few days with my uncle and aunt in Bergenland, Austria. I couldn't have come at a better time, well at least by mushroom production (the weather was only fair with quite a bit of rain). My aunt said they've picked so many mushrooms this year they didn't even know what to do with them. It was towards the end of the yield but we still went out each morning in the hunt. You see, you can't eat every mushroom, and some of the edible ones are too old, or been mostly eaten by slugs. During my visit with my aunt I had the most amazing mushroom soup and semeln knudel with mushroom sauce.


Mushrooms complement almost any everyday meal. They are easy to sauté and add savory flavor, texture, appetite appeal and nutrients to just about anything. From appetizers and salads to main dishes and sides, mushrooms can be enjoyed in so many ways.

Though mushrooms are commonly thought to have little nutritional value, many species are high in fiber and provide vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, cobalamins, ascorbic acid. Though not normally a significant source of vitamin D, some mushrooms can become significant sources after exposure to ultraviolet light, though this also darkens their skin.^[6] Mushrooms are also a source of some minerals, including iron, selenium, potassium and phosphorus.

see more about the nutritional value of mushrooms:

http://www.mushroomcouncil.com/nutrition/

So it goes to say that fungus not only have an amazing taste and texture but can actually be really good for you.