Wow, Japan is such an awesome place! Last week we caught God Snogging (with a capital S).
And this week we can actually literally get in touch with Jesus in a totally new and carnally exciting way! This takes the concept of "the body of the Christ" to an entirely new and exciting level! But be sure to read the fine print: Shhhhh... it's a secret (between you and Him).
They were all gathering at Kobuchizawa Station as I arrived. I wonder where they are headed? They sure sounded excited all giggling and laughing away as they were taking group photos of themselves.
You gotta love life whenever you feel this kind of vibrant energy! I love you!
Today is one of those rare days in Tokyo when the weather is not sunny. The atmosphere is subdued, things feel... muted. It is almost as if the blanket of wetness has put a damper on the energy and vitality of this lively megalopolis.
Tokyoites use umbrellas when it rains, which is the smart way to go. Christmas approaches as is witnessed through the Christmas music playing at McDonalds, the lights in the store windows, the sales and discounts. It is a nice day today, a rainy day. It's a good day for keeping the dust down. Last Monday the muscles in my lower right quadrant of my abs feel as if they gave way. I had to stop all workouts that involved ab tension (which is a lot more than one might realize - triceps for example...). I took the week off hoping that maybe I just strained them, but I'm not so sure that is all that happened. In 1993 I had an emergency appendectomy so those muscles have always been a bit weaker than the other side. The week away from exercise didn't seem to help much as coughing actually hurts. So tomorrow I guess I'll take off the morning and go to the hospital, stand in line and have a doctor reassure me that it is only strained muscles and not my intestines herniating their way through lining that has been compromised by the old war wound I have down there. I figure a week is long enough to wait and see so rather than leave it too long I'll head in for another life adventure! Lifeis worth the odd operation here and there. I don't mind. Have a great day. Love
Ithink my friend Paula said she just went to see this movie? It starts here 12/18. I like Cher so I think Ill go and see it. Is this poster different from the USA marketing?
The deepest lake in Japan at 453m. It's a crater lake.
We decided to get off the bus here and spend an hour around the lake. The buses comevery infrequently so we need to make sure we get on anothe bus at 14:10 to get back to the shinkansen station in time to catch our 15:05 train back to Tokyo. Eating lunch now... The onsen was fantastic. More on that later.Nobody ever planned on a short-lived TV series having such a lasting impact on society, but it has. And this is true whether you like Star Trek or not. It doesn't matter that the show's medical devices looked like scavenged pieces of plastic the Desilu studio prop department glued together on a low budget. Star Trek is part of our collective mythology. And in the endless loop of life imitating art, many of the futuristic technologies introduced on the show are now a reality. That's why we decided to compare some of today's medical breakthroughs with those envisioned by science fiction TV writers, producers and actors more than 40 years ago.
So, for our list of four ways real life medicine is catching up with Star Trek, here are the ground rules for all the hardcore Trekkers out there. We are sticking to The Original Series, where the gadgets, the technology, the basic assumptions of how the future might look are in their most primordial state. Each medical device or medicine was more of an idea, a basic concept of what things should do rather than anything that got too bogged down in actual science. As the later spinoffs got rolling, real science often got in the way of simply telling the story. Ultimately, the in-depth scientific explanations of the later series will likely turn out to be wrong, while The Original Series will forever retain a colored-plastic purity.
But enough of all that. Here's our Top 4 list.
1. Hypospray - The hypospray was a needle-free device that could subcutaneously inject drugs via forced air.
2. Medical Tricorder - There are many types of tricorders, but the one used by medical personnel can diagnose diseases and collect other vital information about a patient. And it can do all this noninvasively, from a distance from the patient.
3. Sickbay Vital Signs Monitor - There is a screen hanging above each bed in sickbay displaying various vital signs, and McCoy will not let you leave sickbay until those needles fall within acceptable parameters.
4. Venus drug - The illegal Venus Drug makes plain-looking women beautiful.
Here's a great spam I got at the office with a zip file that is sure to have a virus attached. I can see how some people who have parked their brains for a moment, might open this email attachment, thinking (or rather with lack of thinking) that they have a parcel waiting for them to claim. Normally I just delete; but this time, I scrolled down a bit to read the "disclaimer" that seems to be typical of business email these days. And I laughed. This disclaimer comes highly recommended. Take a look and let me know what you think!
Have a great day.P.S. Maybe the title should have been "FedEx Used Abe!"
-----Original Message-----Good morning! It's time to read my medical news. And in the news today, yet another trial using Omega 3 PUFA (EFAs) failed to reduce CVD (Cardiovascular Disease). This of course is the opposite of what everyone (except Brian Peskin) expects so the industry is once again "surprised". "Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Fatal Stroke in Whites But Not Blacks" http://tinyurl.com/VITALTrial (you will need to log in with a free membership to read this article [I'll try to attach a PDF for you])
Here is lovely actress Kana Kurashina playing a "gal character" in an upcoming TV series.
This look is slightly different from the previous Japanese Girl look I showed you the other day. We see young women in their 20s like this all around Tokyo, so her look is not at all unusual. I don't hear Matt complaining...
I have never been able to sit cross-legged with a straight back. My entire family is like this. Even after years of stretching exercises my hips just don't "release" so I get pain in them within about 15 seconds. It is very quick.
Stefnee mentioned something about working with very tall boys who grew extremely quickly as did I. She said that she recalled my inflexibility when she saw how inflexible her students were and thinks it might be related to bone development. It's not just a simple matter of more stretching as many believe. It's a different kindof pain . And the inflexibility is not only limited to the hips as I learned over the years. The shoulders, knees and ankles also have limited mobility in the joints. Today it's busy in my feeding place so I get to sit in the "wa" section, or the Japanese atmosphere (read: on the floor in front of a very low table that I cannot get my legs under.) I have dripped soy sauce on so many zabuton (and pants) over the years simply because I have to bring the food to me and cannot lean over the table to eat it. But that's my life and I love every aspect of it! Time to eat. Have a great day. I love you!
I'm on my way to Kobuchizawa. It's Friday, Not Monday so what the heck?! right? The schedule changed a bit and we juggled the 4th Monday to the 4th Friday instead.
And that means... A different lunch menu! No fry teishoku today so instead I'm having... Oh! A lovely businesswoman just sat at my table for lunch ... so I chatted her up! Her husband studied English in Victoria BC, they went to Vancouver, Banff and Niagara Falls for their honeymoon, and she oks in sales in the food service industry. How did I start it all off? Well, knowing that she would think it was cold, I said to her, "It's finally starting to cool off..." and away we went from there talking about low pressure zones, typhoons, and nihongo ga jouzu desu ne conversations. Sitting outside the station now enjoying the cool breeze as I wait a bit before heading into the pits of hell to catch my train for the mountains. Ive got my (fake) leather jacket with me. I dont need it now so Im carrying it. But tonight waiting for the train the wind will be cold off the mountains on both sides, it will be strong, and the temperature will likely be about 8C or so therefore one layer won't quite cut it. Have a great day! I love you!FINALLY the "powers that be" are admitting that green tea has NO breast cancer preventative abilities. It's ridiculous that they ever tried to pull that wool over our eyes.
The primary cause of cancer is a reduction of cellular oxygen by a mere 30%. That's it.
Once you get cancer, you can't "heal" the cells; you either cut them out, or you kill them with drugs. The problem is that this leads to massive other cellular complications. We have spent billions of dollars on the "war against cancer" and we have failed.
Why has this happened when Dr. Otto Warburg showed us the answer almost 70 years ago?!?!?
Wake up medical community and read the writing on the wall! Stop being brainwashed by industry!
Here is the article, followed by my comment in the comment section.
"Green tea has little breast cancer prevention effect: National Cancer Center" which you can get to by following this link:
http://tinyurl.com/GreenTeaBullshit
Enjoy your green tea, but don't for a minute be thinking it's going to prevent breast cancer, or any cancer for that moment!
I love you!
Cam
Here is a little news that I happened to find on www.japantoday.com.
There are crazy people everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't one of those fucking "nationalists" who drive around in the black vans spouting nonsense...
Thursday 21st October, 04:20 PM JST
FUKUI —
A car parked in front of a mosque in Fukui City was torched early Wednesday in what police believe is an arson case, and a sign saying, ‘‘Foreign people GET OUT’’ was posted at the two-story building, police said Thursday.
Police also said that a flag at an Indian restaurant about 1.5 kilometers from the building was set on fire and a similar sign posted in September, they said.
The car, a Malaysian student’s station wagon, was set on fire at around 1:15 a.m. in the mosque’s parking lot, but no one was injured, according to police.
The mosque in the capital of Fukui Prefecture can accommodate up to 80 people to attend services, according to its website.
This morning I left home for Shinjuku an hour earlier than usual. I went to the bike shop I fell in love with and returned the mudguards I had purchased for my folding bike. The tires I have on it are bigger than standard so the guards don't fit. I don't really want to pay for another pair of tires just for the guards to fit so I guess that bike will be for non-rainy day rides.
Then I headed over to another very cool cycling shop which is full of even cooler stuff but not for hardcore bikers. It does have really technical clothing as the main fare. In fact they also sell cyclocommuter business suits which are made of special material for cycling and sweating, have hidden zippers for ventilation and reflective tape in foldaway places. And of course designed for the Japanese bodysize so not for me. The reason I went back was because I decided on Saturday when I saw it that I really do want another helmet, one I can wear with jeans and a sweater as I toodle around the city. I'll stick to the lycra and colourful jerseys while riding with Max and sweating up a storm. But as for this city life... it's time for some more change and that includes what I wear when I ride. As I have been reinventing myself on all fronts over the past two years, inside and outside are equally important to redesign. So it is just natural that my cycling attire too would undergo a fundamental shift as well. I introduce you to my new, fully functional and totally safe helmet, a design coming from the French Foreign Legion or something! I love it. And I love that I can change the outer design to about 30 other varieties whenever I feel like doing so. I love you!
Here is the belt I fell in love with @ DIESEL. It goes with my kilt perfectly as it adds a rough & tumble edge to the brown kilt. The black and brushed steel on the belt goes perfectly with my kilt!
I just read that DIESEL's biggest market is Japan... the store was aesome! I also went into the Abercrombie & Fitch flagship store for the first time. The boys and girls working there are stunningly gorgeous. The boys all had their shirts open and you could see excellent pecs, six-pack abs and more one each and every one. The perfume in the store is cloyingly pungent and you can smell the shop from blocks away. If you are sensitive to perfumes you will leave with a headache. There are fourteen (14!) floors to this shop and the elevator stops ONLY on the 1st, 6th, 11th and 13th so you need to take the stairs if you want to see each floor. It was a great experience and if I didn't already have too many winter jackets I would have gone home with one more before they start selling "Japan fit" and I can't get anything in my arm length any more (like so many of the popular American stores do here). I'll keep searching for that man's knit shawl as it is perfect for my commute to work which is a short jaunt in the brisk air followed by a long, hot train ride. I love you!
This evening I headed to Ginza. I don't usually come here because I still have the Bubble image in my head... a place where the uber rich shop.
It's still full of the uber rich but these days it is a lot more accessible. The shops are gorgeous and all the brands are here along with more affordable shops as well. My goal today was to visit DIESEL and see if they had a man's shawl that I saw in Kanazawa. I'm a hotbody so wearing a jacket to and from work in the winter is difficult for me here in Tokyo. I'd prefer to go in just my dress shirt but the wind is cool so I need a little more and that shawl/wrap was perfect. I didn't geit it in Kanazawa and it wasn't in DIESEL, unfortunately. So... instead I left with these kickass leather boots an awesome belt that looks fantastic ith my kilt (black material with brown leather accessory strips and brushed matte steel rings (like you ould see as ringmail on a warrior in the SCA)) and a frikkin awesome minimal deep purple leather zip pouch to hold my train pass, alien registration card, apartment key and cash but nothing else. I also visited an aesome Belgian pub and had a delicious belgian beer (that cost a pretty yen) with some fantastic sausages, prosciutto crudo and a cool salad. I think I'm going to have to get the new i-Touch too... *drool-to-dehydration*. It's a good thing I brought my credit card...
Since I have been consuming a very low amount of carbohydrates for the past ten years along wit supplementing with YES supplement's correct blend of parent essential oils (Essentia Fatty Acids or EFAs) my body has become quite sensitive to the insulin spike that goes with the body trying to deal with sugars (Carbs).
I have done so much experimenting with foods and my body's response that I pretty much know what will happen when I consume certain kinds of carbs. Take this one beer that I am pointing at for example. Beer is very high carb... the equivalent of eight tsp of sugar. Did you know your blood sugar is regulated strictly at about ONE tsp for the entire 4L of blood? Yep. Anything above that and you can die so the body protects you by pumping out insulin to remove the sugar before it enters the blood. How? It turns it to bodyfat. It makes you fat to save your life. Now, after 10years I can drink very little beer compared to the earlier years. In most cases I simply dont want it. But if I DO drink it, it affects my mood by making me snarky. It affects my motor skills (one SMALL glass!), I get very dehydrated, my sleep is disrupted, I have bizarre insulin dreams and I wake up the next morning with cotton mouth. Eating pasta has a completely different effect on me. Rice is again entirely different, and so on. Did you ever stop to realize that food is actually a VERY powerful "hormone" that affects your body in a myriad of ways? Most people dont even realize that their moods are directly connected to the foods they eat. Go to Starbucks and watch a pair of calm, happy children consume a frappuccino and you will see exactly what I am saying. It happens to you and to me, too. So the next time you are feeling irritated, sarcastic and grouchy just take a minute to step out of yourself and view you from a third person perspective. The chances are high that its not your partner, kids, friends who did something to piss you off, but rather your very own mood shift due to the carbohydrates you recently consumed. I can say that I know for certain Stefnee and Jenny react this way on carbs, as do I. Check yourself and what you eat; you might just get a rude self-awakening. Time to go home to weird dreams... Im having trouble typing already. I love you! Cam
As I was looking for a legal term on the online dictionary.com (work-related, I swear!), the "hot word" popped up, and immediately made me chuckle as I thought of my friends Steve & Jen, one living in Dimland, and the other in New Jersey simply because the topic pops up when those two get together. No sexual innuendoes intended! Even though the story on Dictionary.com is extremely poorly written, the origin of the words is interesting, to say the least.
http://hotword.dictionary.com/woman-bear-courgette/
Here is the British version of the original story, as it ran in the Daily Mirror (UK) Tabloid talking about one great way to serve up a courgette in Montana: http://tinyurl.com/14inCourgette
As might be expected, this original story which ran in the US newspapers called the courgette by another name. And on a final note, courgettes taste great dipped in an egg/milk/flour batter and sauteed in butter in a cast iron fry pan. Or should I say "skillet"? Batter up! Har. Have a great day.
I love you!
Cam
It's 18:00 exactly and I'm having a relaxing forest ride through mud, rocks and slippery branches. Now it's meditation time in the middle of a suspension bridge as the sun sets on my glorious mountains...
Ahhhh Hokuriku... just as I remember: rain all week with very high humidity and temperatures between 24C-27C in the day making you feel deliciously cold, clammy and very sweaty. The place where laundry takes four or five days todry! The weather is completely different from Tokyo and that side of the country.
Max and I went out for a 30km ride in the mountains. And the rain. It was good, though the pavement sections are much more discontering than the offroad portions of the ride. In this kind of humidity and rain pavement is very dangerous. It is so easy to have your tires zip out from beneath you on a downhill section. I much prefer riding gravel in this weather. So we rode and talked and saw many animals. We happened to catch glimpses of a wild monkey and even two wild boar on separate occasions. The majority of beasts were these big bullfrogs in the trail. This fellow didn't even move when I took this photo by putting my keitai just two or three centimeters from his nose. It was a ribbeting experience. The ride lasted 2.5hours and we got soaked the entire time along with our faces and chests getting cloaked in superstretchy spiderwebs (and sometimes spiders crawling on the webs stuck to our faces as we continued to ride.) We stopped at the 1300 year old trees in Yamanaka that both Paula and Stefnee loved, and those which Jen wanted to see with her own eyes rather than in photos. Apparently it is getting marketed as a "power spot" so it has more tourists coming to see it and "get power" now (silly rabbits, trix are for kids!). Whew! Im tired. Sleepy is more like it, especially after the hot shower. I think I'll finish my triple espresso and have a nap. That's what holidays are all about, right? I love you!
Max and I are on our way home on the bikes after fitting them somehow into the T. Vitz (sounds like a newly discovered dinosaur artifact) and driving the car to the Orix shop near Komatsu Airport to drop it off. The wind is strong and the sun is hot. But it feels gooood to be riding in My Hokuriku where everything is familiar and ther is more green than concrete.
It never occurred to me to check if there is an Orix office closer to Max' place... I wonder...? Mmmm Frank! (and chicken and coffee...) I love you!
Ahhh.... It's great to be at Max' where everything is familiar and you have to burn doodoo coils in the house because the skeeters are so bad.
It was a great drive here. On the way I went to my beloved Kasano Misaki Single track route to enjoy the rugged ocean. Then it was over to Yamanaka to hug Max. We walked around town, ate Frank while soaking feet in hot onsen water (no funny things between toes) and had a great time. We went to a spot where he used to play in the river as a child but hadn't been to in decades. I convinced a bunch of elderly tourists to make peace signs for a photo and then I jumped in. Cool, humid and very sweaty. Cool and sweaty. Gotta love this humidity. We went to an onsen hotel near his place and got to see the art he has displayed there. It had increased from one piece to about 10 so thatis goodstuff! We drove back to Komatsu, then went over to Chizu-chan's house and chatted with her for about and hour, came home and just finished curry and fried eggs. I'm looking forward to the next five days on the bike in the rain and humidity and insects. It will be a good way to enjoy September Hokuriku just like it always is. I love you!
Yesterday was a day that I'm going to call "Old Haunts Day".The car I rented in Kanazawa runs great, is very peppy, has enough legroom and is great on gas. Can you guess what it is without googling it? In Japan e call it the Vitz. In North America it is called the Yaris. Both are silly names but the vehicle is very nice. Tomorrow when I return it to Komatsu airport Max and I will have to ride back to his place so we need to put our bikes in it. But you know what? I actually think they will fit (with minor adjustments on our part)!
So I drove through Kanazawa to the expressway and recalled all the years Mayu and I came to Kanazawa when we needed a bigger city experience than Fukui and a little more culture. At Tokumitsu Service Area I parked, peed, and went down to the sea to enjoy the beach, surf, sun and most strongly the sound of the waves mixed with the fresh Japan Sea Air which is soooo much better than Tokyo. The air here is wonderful! No wonder I feel more tired in Tokyo. I got off the expressway at Maruoka and visited Maruoka Castle, learning of its 450 years of history while enjoying the amazing view of the entire valley from mountains to mountaIns. Nobody could sneak up on that lord! Then it was off to Yasusaki Home Center and Y Plaza supermarket to wander around. I ate lunch at McDonalds there then zipped over to the only Starbucks in Fukui which is at the shopping center kalled Elpaformerlyknownascopa. From there I wandered in that mall then took my cycling route way up to Aoki Drug in Matsuoka so I could buy some dish sponges that are cheaper here than Tokyo. Next I drove through Eiheiji and went to my swimming hole where I spent an enjoyable half hour or so getting naked and swimming in the autumn-chilled "shrivel me timber" waters. Wonderful!! After drip drying I dressed again and went to the old house to see how well it was degrading. Very well indeed. I even said hi to Dickhead's Dad. You should have seen his face when he saw me! It was priceless! He asked, "Are you going to be livinghere again?!?" As I had the upper hand I smiled and told him I was just passing through to take a look. The relief I gave him with my words was palpable. I saw a bunch of my other friends in the hood, hugged them all, laught, talked and enjoyed the time. Then I took the big loop up to Katsuyama along my favourite river road, went to Ono and visited a pastry shop I went to for the best pie choux in the multiverse. Having a hankering for dinner I went to 8Ban Ramen for a great memory dinner then drove back to Fukui not the Katsuyama way, but throught the othr mountains. I havent driven that way in years. Arriving at Fukui I zipped into Second Street but didnt find any clothes I wanted, got back in the car, drove to Maruoka and jumped back on the tollway. Then it was an hour long drive in the inky night mountains to Kanazawa. I found a parking spot, went into the hotel, and has an hour-long comprehensive bath in the onsen spa on the 14th floor. And now, at 10:30 in the morning on Monday I am about to check out and head over to Maxville where I will remain (unshaven) until Saturday evening. Oh yeah... I have to return the car to Komatsu airport on Tuesday and ten cycle back to Maxville in the cool night air. A night run! And there we go: full circle on Old Haunts Day, brought to you by my thumbs on my keitai. Enjoy the gotch! I love you!!
Ahhhhh... Great weather in Kanazawa! Great bus ride (read a map and got bussick). Great time in Kenroku-en Park. Great visit to a very weird art show by a Swede. Great lunch (see photo). Great walking and window shopping and people watching (was busy for Kanazawa but empty compared to Tokyo).
And now to head up to the 14th floor to the onsen for a long soak then head back out again in the much higher humidity than Tokyo evening for dinner somewhere. Tomorrow I rent a car and head to Fukui to visit all my old haunts and enjoy the slow country life. I love you! Statin drugs--those ubiquitous cholesterol-lowering pills--have been hailed as potential treatments for everything from cancer to rheumatoid arthritis. And researchers now say the drugs could be pneumonia-fighters.
A new analysis of the Jupiter study--designed to show whether AstraZeneca's Crestor was better than placebo at cutting cholesterol--found that fewer Crestor patients got pneumonia during the study compared with those receiving placebo: 214 versus 257, to be exact. Crestor patients were also less likely to develop other sorts of infections, too.This isn't a bolt out of the blue; a 2008 study showed that people hospitalized with pneumonia were less likely to die if they used a statin drug. Other data suggests that statins may help reduce inflammation and prevent a dysfunctional immune system from attacking healthy tissue, Bloomberg reports. The new study has researchers calling for trials of statins in lung disease patients - read the news from Bloomberg:
