Foods that fight inflammation naturally include Blueberries, Papaya, and Avocado.
I always like these guides that try to help you to help yourself naturally. These foods help to fight inflammation. Yes, modern medicine is wonderful and super and I use it all the time blah blah blah. However, the more I can attune myself to my body's needs, rather than trying to do the reverse (which never works out well in the end), the better.
The foods listed include:
Papaya
Avocado
Cranberries
Broccoli
Red Cabbage
Hemp Seeds
Blueberries
Chia Seeds
Ginger
Walnuts
Turmeric
Celery
I realize that from all the health stuff I post that people who don't know me and only stumble upon this blog probably think I'm either sickly or some kind of new-age nut. Neither could be further from the truth. I just try to understand my place in the world and maximize my potential. So, I don't smoke, I don't drink carbonated sodas except on special occasions while out, don't eat much fast food at all, don't drink the hard stuff, etc. On the flip side, I do eat a lot of the wrong things and don't eat enough of the good things in posts like this. But I am interested, and maybe I'll improve over time in that regard.
I suppose that makes me a bit of a stick-in-the-mud for some, a real party pooper, but that's me and all that's never going to change. And, don't think I'm being sanctimonious about anything, because I'm not - all you have to do is read about some guy living to 116 or something, in perfect health all the way, who attributes it to smoking like a sieve or drinking scotch every day or something like that, to know that no lifestyle is "best" or "better" or anything like that. We all decide what's right for ourselves, and nobody's decision about that is better than anyone else's. I know an awful lot of people wouldn't want to live to 116 anyway. ;)
Churchill was an alt-rock band from Denver. That's right up the road from me, but I had never heard of them until fairly recently. They had a great sound. "Change" was pretty much their only hit, but it was a classic one, as far as I'm concerned. Perhaps you've heard it, momentarily thought, "Hmmm, that's a cool tune, wonder who did it?" and then completely forgot about it. Well, that's why I'm here!
Churchill broke up quite abruptly over the summer of 2013, just as they were scheduled to play an eagerly awaited concert. Rumors have flown among fans about the cause. The best I can come up with is that somebody who was married to somebody else cheated on that somebody. But who knows, that could be (and probably is) just an idle rumor. Maybe it was just a matter of being offended that their artistic integrity was in jeopardy, as the song "Change" suggests - but I doubt that was the reason. It could have been over anything, and it doesn't really matter now.
It's a shame, but I know personally that, when it's over, brother ... it's over. Concert to perform that evening or no concert to perform. They had "local success," as the charming phrase goes, and most bands don't even get that.
The lead singer, Bethany Kelly, has a great voice. It reminds me of Adele's sound when she lets it rip. The other band members for this recording were Tim Bruns (guitar/vox) and Mike Morter (mandolin/guitar) (Bruns and Morter formed the band) and Tyler Rima (bass) and Joe Richmond (drums). There's a great thumping drum/bass line which drives the song, another reason why I enjoy this track. Bethany, though, with her enigmatic look, sells the whole thing. Unfortunately, the harsh lighting and overdone makeup did not do her any favors in the "Change" video. I wish her well.
I love bands like this. They do their thing, have their moment - and that's it. What they did will live forever, in its purest essence. A band forever at its peak. They are a great advertisement for taking unknown bands seriously. Such talent always is around, lurking and soon forgotten. For example, if you want to hear some good music, look up a band called "Information Society" from the '80s. Good stuff, original sound. They were there for a day, then poof, gone like a firefly in the August gloom. There have been many other great sounds that were silenced too soon. Churchill is part of a vast crowd.
Anyway, Churchill put out two videos for this song (no, I have no idea where the name came from. I highly doubt it is related to either the famous British Prime Minister or a certain highly controversial college professor in Boulder, Colorado, but who knows). The "official" video is a fairly standard performance video replete with visual tricks. Bethany, as I noted, is given some fairly unflattering looks in it, but the guys come off a lot better because, well, they are asked to do a lot less. You can tell that they are not experienced video performers, which actually lends the video a bit of freshness. Overall, the video is saved by the performers' terrific energy and talent more than polish. Such is life.
The alternate video of "Change" (below) is quite artistic and, in my humble opinion, offers an inventive play on the lyrics. While the official video gets more hits on youtube, the version below is more enjoyable if you want a meditation on what the song may really be saying. Once you watch it, perhaps you'll agree.
Ships shipping ships. Well, that's not something that you see every day!
That's a full-sized barge, hauling about a dozen tankers somewhere. One assumes that the tankers are designed in part to be able to be stacked like that.
There's a lot of crazy stuff out there in this crazy world.
Now, I am not political on this site - believe me, I can be political - but I found this short clip of George W. Bush on the Tonight Show recorded on November 19, 2013, quite amusing. Okay, it's not Seinfeld or Rodney Dangerfield, but it raised a chuckle.
From a purely technical perspective, watch how carefully this bit is set up. Jay lobs the softball question to Laura Bush, using the word "scary" twice. Laura responds saying how scary it was, again saying it twice. Then she turns to George, obviously waiting for the closing comment about how he wasn't scared.
But what makes this a classic exchange is Jay then, master of droll comedy that he is, going in for the kill with absolutely stunning timing, waiting for the polite laughs to George's somewhat canned response with the "So, you were on Obamacare?" closer. The reaction of the Bushes, roaring with laughter themselves, suggests to me that Jay didn't let them in on that response in advance, so they were genuinely amused. Otherwise, they are quite good actors.
Regardless of your politics, students of comedy and politics would do worse than to study this exchange. It's rare for a non-comic or actor on one of these shows to be genuinely funny, but George and Laura pull it off - with Jay's huge assistance.
Anyway, the bit about Obamacare comes at the very end of this.
Just continuing my erratic tour through music that appeals to me.
When it comes to pop music, I'm not much of a fan of what might be called "hip hop." Just not my thing. Though sure, there are some catchy tunes there, but trying to figure out what some guy speaking 150 words a minute is saying never really grabbed me.
"I Got the Power," though, is just a classic that I never tire of hearing.
This largely forgotten song has some of the best lyrics of all time. "It's gettin' kind of heavy." "I'm the lyrical Jesse James." "I've got the power." "It's gettin' kind of hectic." "Stay off my back or I will attack, and you don't want that!"
Even the weird little "Sputnik," which isn't about the Sputnik you're likely to think at first, the intro is somehow just right.
Everything in the sparse video is spot on, though just exactly what they're trying to say is a bit murky.
I don't know the name of anyone in the video, who they are/were, what happened to them, where they are, whether they got rich or died poor. This is them, frozen in a moment, the 3:51 of their lives that will live forever.
The original score for Spartacus was composed and conducted by six-time Academy Award nominee Alex North. Below is a re-recording by Erich Kunzel & Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.
I have had a review up for "Spartacus" for some time - in fact, it is on my personal Top Ten list - but I love "Spartacus" so much that I decided to give the Spartacus Love Theme its own special page here.
Kirk Douglas and Jean Simmons in "Spartacus."
As anyone familiar with Stanley Kubrick's "Spartacus" knows, Spartacus is an escaped slave who falls in love with fellow escaped slave Varinia. Unlike later vulgar versions of the tale, their love is portrayed in the 1960 "Spartacus" as a courtly romance between two mature and somewhat worn adults. The delicate love theme reinforces that depiction and is so wildly out of context with what people usually remember about "Spartacus" that it never received any kind of recognition. The score is also somewhat overlooked because the "Spartacus" soundtrack album was not properly done and North never properly showcased it before his passing in 1991 - he had a lot of other things to work on. North himself was a giant of soundtracks - he received an Honorary Academy Award, the very first one by a composer, but never nabbed a competitive Oscar despite fifteen nominations. Fifteen nominations! Fifteen!
Kirk Douglas and Jean Simmons in "Spartacus."
A common thread among the greatest films of all time is that they have terrific scores. "Spartacus" does not have quite as memorable a score as, say, "Gone With the Wind" or "The Third Man," but it also is awesome in its own subtle way. Alex North was one of the great unknown composers of modern times, and this is his best work.
Kirk Douglas and Jean Simmons in "Spartacus."
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the Love Theme from "Spartacus" as much as I do.
Sacha Baron Cohen. You won't believe this shocking moment as SALMA HAYEK and former Charlie Chaplin child co-star GRACE CODDINGTON presents SACHA BARON COHEN with the Charlie Chaplin Award For Excellence In Comedy at the BAFTA LA Jaguar BRITANNIA AWARDS!
All right, admit it, if not for this stunt, you never would have heard of the Brittania Awards. Am I right?
Anyway, this is worthy of a look. It's almost as good as Cohen's classic stunt as 'The Dictator" with Ryan Seacrest at the Oscars.
This is a British family circa 1900. Source unknown.
Appears to be a family. They are picking oakum for the making of rope. That is hard on the hands, for sure. Picking oakum was a common practice among the inmates of the Parish workhouses all over England. Thus, this may have been an indigent family taken in and put to work to pay its way. Some famous people spent time in workhouses doing this, including Charlie Chaplin.
One of the boys is wearing socks and boots whilst the others are barefoot. Perhaps the barefoot boy was taken in as an orphan. One of them might have simply been visiting, but they all do bear a family resemblance.
The lad who is standing does not look very happy. No doubt, some of the boys wound up in the trenches during World War I.
Just a historical snapshot, make of it what you will.
Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame posing with Cameron Adams. Never heard of this guy, "Cameron Adams," or his "spoof" of the Harry Potter films, but Emma Watson sure does seem like a good sport, doesn't she? She must meet quite a few "interesting" folks during her appearances. Well, they're all in the entertainment business, right?
Not sure I like the pixie haircut look on her. Really emphasizes the "little girl" image, which no doubt she's trying to shed in real life. Makes me wonder what role she was done up for in this picture.
On a side note, Emma does looks awfully young to have a drink in her hand, doesn't she? I doubt she'd have a swizzle stick in there if it were just ginger ale. I know, everyone loves her and so she can do no wrong, it is emphatically none of our business what she drinks, she's on her own time, she probably was of legal age in whatever jurisdiction she was in when this picture was taken blah blah blah. Just seems interesting to me, obviously a free-spirited girl. Perhaps a Tom Collins.
If you would like to see a nice collection of Emma Watson pictures, much better than the one above, you will find them here.
Jennifer Lawrence is a quick thinker on Woody Harrelson's bus.
Woody Harrelson recounts an anecdote about Jennifer Lawrence. She continues to amaze. Now, this is my kind of girl! When you can shock Woody Harrelson, you've taken it to the next level!
Interesting that he doesn't provide his response.
Okay, here's a snap quiz for the "real life" SATs: if Jennifer Lawrence comes into your bus and inquires whether your yoga swing is actually a sex swing, the correct answer is:
No, it's a yoga swing that I only use in the mornings, alone.
Actually, no, it's for curing the weed I'm growing in the back of the bus.
No, what an impertinent question young lady!
Wow, why, yes it is! You are so clever! Would you like to try it out?
I'll leave it to your imagination which of those choices, in this writer's opinion, is the proper response he should have given.
Dad has a mind-warping experience when he decides to have a little fun. Now, really - wouldn't this just ruin your whole entire day if this happened to you? Well, at least it wasn't his wife and daughter.
All right, so you've seen all the horror films. You saw "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" - both of them. You saw the "Night of the Living Dead" films, all ten of them or however many there were. "Hostel" was a piece of cake, as was "Nightmare on Elm Street" and all its sequels.
No problem. Nothing can scare you. Right?
Well, bucko, master horror film maven, here's one that may even get to you. I defy you to watch this video and not get a little sweaty or queasy or however you react to tense situations. I'll be plain, this is one of the scariest videos I've personally ever seen.
The point where he takes both hands off the tower at the very top to fiddle with his equipment, that's like a "whoa" moment for me. If you've ever worked at heights, you know how difficult it can be to just, you know ... let go.
Some folks just have a good sense of balance and aren't in the slightest afraid of extreme heights. The men who built the skyscrapers in New York City were famous for their fearlessness. Of course, now and then one would fall off.... But that didn't stop, them. Not when there was work to be done.
Anyway, hope you enjoy it. Don't give up on it early on, it gets better and better, right to the very end.
