Apr 16 2010

Vatican Forgives the Beatles?

From UltimateGuitar.com:

Vatican Finally Forgives The Beatles For Religious Comment: An article in the L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s official newspaper, praised the band saying Lennon’s comment is now considered “meaningless” because of the beauty found in the group’s songs.

Well, at least it take 300 years like it did for Galileo!

Uh…. and Ringo, referring to the clerical sex abuse scandal, followed this up with:

Didn’t the Vatican say we were satanic or possibly satanic? And they’ve still forgiven us?” he said. “I think the Vatican, they’ve got more to talk about than the Beatles.

Yah think??? Hey!, today is the Pope’s birthday. Maybe he’ll give the world a present and resign for the good of the church? Maybe? Right, probably not.

Oh, and for the record, if you watch the interview and listen to John Lennon say it, he was not bragging that the Beatles were somehow bigger, or better, or more important that Jesus. He was lamenting the fact that they seemed to be for the youth of that time, and that it was kind of crazy.

Apr 13 2010

Carbs boost heart disease risk in women

From CNN.com:

White bread, rice, and other carbs boost heart disease risk in women: Women who eat more white bread, white rice, pizza, and other carbohydrate-rich foods that cause blood sugar to spike are more than twice as likely to develop heart disease than women who eat less of those foods, a new study suggests.

…

Only carbohydrates with a high glycemic index appear to hurt the heart. Carbs with a low glycemic index — such as fruit and pasta — were not associated with an increased risk of heart disease, which suggests that the increased risk is caused “not by a diet high in carbohydrates, but by a diet rich in rapidly absorbed carbohydrates,” says the lead author of the study, Sabina Sieri, of the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, a national institute for cancer research in Milan, Italy.

Well, if you’ve read either [[Mark’s Daily Apple]] or his great Primal Blueprint book, or the fantastic Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taube, you already knew this. Humans did not evolve eating the by-products of wheat, rye, rice, or other grains, and as such have not adapted to them. We evolved eating animals, vegetables, fruits, tubers, and nuts. Avoid grains and grain by-products, and sugars that have been extracted from the food they were in, eat lots of animals and plants, and you’ll be far healthier than you would be on the diet recommended by the USDA…. hmmm…. did you ever wonder why grains and cereals are the base of the USDA pyramid?? Could it possibly be related to the huge number of farmers that grow grains and cereals have a strong lobby in Washington??? Or is that too cynical?

Apr 12 2010

Phil Green, Everyone Else has Envy

FANTASTIC final day of the [[Masters]]!

Phil Mickelson shot a bogey free round to capture his 3rd green jacket.

02ACF591-A2BA-4827-BF54-0E5743A71C2E.jpg

His name now goes along side such legends of the game as Sam Snead, Gary Player, Nick Faldo, and Jimmy Demerret as a three time winner. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. He completely deserve the win, making gutsy plays and never backing down.

Apr 11 2010

The Eagle has Landed for Mickelson!

OMG! What a third day!! From Phil going -5 in a 3 hole stretch, and missing -6 by about an inch, to [[Tiger]] having a very tough day, but still managing to keep pace with the leaders, and Lee Westwood holding it together to keep his lead, it was a spectacular moving day at the [[Masters]].

63AFA625-94FC-4D61-98C2-304B121FD69E.jpg

Phil getting an eagle on 13, holing out for eagle on 14, and nearly holing out for eagle on 15 has to be the greatest three hole stretch in [[Masters]], if not golf history.

I hope this is a preview of what’s coming for Sunday.

Ahhh…. spring is finally here!

Apr 9 2010

Couples and Tigers and Watsons Oh My!

What an awesome first day at the [[Masters]]!

Who’d have thunk it! Couples leading after the first day, and Watson just a stroke back? Is this 1990? The putt that Couples made on 12 and the approach on 18 were like the good old days. Is it possible that Watson can be in contention on Sunday like last year’s British Open?

3079D8E8-A25C-422A-87F9-F44962ECF714.jpg

And how about [[Tiger]]? OK… I’m not gonna comment on his life outside golf (despicable… oops, that’s a comment!), but with all the distractions and negativity surrounding him, he still manages to post his lowest score for an opening round in the [[Masters]] ever??? The guy is absolutely amazing. The approach on 8 was amazing, but the recovery on 9 was downright unreal.

God I love the [[Masters]]!!!

Apr 8 2010

Primal Results

From Mark’s Daily Apple:

Where Are They Now?: I’ve made a number of positive changes by going Primal. The first (and most obvious) is that I’ve dropped about 80 pounds since August 13, 2009. The second is that by stopping grains, sugars, and starch-loaded foods, I’ve eliminated my arthritis, my IBS, and my migraines, and I’ve brought my blood sugars down to normal (they’ve been there since mid-November, usually in the mid-80s to mid-90s). My doctor is absolutely flabbergasted by my progress. I’m still losing about 8 to 10 pounds a month, too. And I’m no longer in a wheelchair! I can walk quickly and sometimes even run for short bursts. It’s amazing.

…

If it weren’t for this site, I’d be sucking down my hypoglycemic pills, hating life, and wondering how I’d ever get my sugars out of the 300s again. Mark, I can’t thank you enough for giving me my life back. Check back with me in another six months, and grok on!

True stories from people following the primal way.

You gotta love results like these! I’ve experienced something like this myself, and so have friends of mine. I have a friend that was borderline diabetic and overweight. He’s now slim and trim, and no longer close to being diabetic. And like the guy above, his blood chemistry is outstanding (mine too). I gotta really thank my doctor. Several years ago when I talked to him about this approach to eating, he said that most doctors won’t admit it because it’s not the accepted conventional wisdom, but it is exactly correct. If you eat like a caveman, you’ll lose weight and get healthy.

Apr 8 2010

The Masters is Finally Here!

19D20C24-9B4E-4D93-8A21-EE8235CC1516.jpg
The winner of the [[Masters]] is presented with a green jacket, for those that don’t know

OK, so who’s going to be charging on Sunday afternoon around Amen Corner to claim the Green Jacket this year? What are your predictions for [[Tiger]]?

I’m thinking [[Tiger]] finishes in the top ten, probably ahead of every other big name. The winner this year is going to be someone we don’t expect at all. Phil Mickelson will miss the cut, and Ernie Els will finish middle of the pack, as will Steve Stricker.

But who knows? I only know one thing: I’ll be watching on Sunday as this year’s champion is crowned!

Apr 5 2010

Young men who smoke have lower IQs

From Science Daily:

Smoking is dumb: Young men who smoke have lower IQs, study finds: A study led by Prof. Mark Weiser of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Psychiatry and the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer Hospital has determined that young men who smoke are likely to have lower IQs than their non-smoking peers. Tracking 18- to 21-year-old men enlisted in the Israeli army in the largest ever study of its kind, he has been able to demonstrate an important connection between the number of cigarettes young males smoke and their IQ.

Hmmm…. I’ve always maintained to my daughters that anyone that starts smoking today, with all we know, is a moron. I’ve even gone out of my way at times to point to the teenagers out in front of the movie theater and exclaim as much. Now I have scientific proof to back me up.

Thankfully, they understood, and never started. Now, if we could only reach the rest of the impressionable youth.

Apr 5 2010

Tiger’s Return

Well, it’s finally here, the final week of winter. Oh, I know that the calendar says that spring started a couple of weeks ago. But it’s not really spring until Sunday afternoon at Amen Corner at the [[Masters]].

BB591F01-099E-4868-8844-B75BA400D005.jpg
A view of the 12th hole at Augusta, the second leg of Amen Corner

This year is a bit different at The Masters than any other year though. It’s the Year of the Tiger, and the year that [[Tiger]] tries to make amends. Will he be able to quell the rancor of the crowds and score at Augusta? I hope so.

I have to say that from the beginning I was a huge supporter of [[Tiger]]. He seemed to do it the right way both on, and off the course. Well, clearly, his antics off the course have proved me at least half wrong, and some of his behavior on the course has left a lot to be desired as of late.

Hopefully the past few months have given him a full serving of humble pie and he’s willing to come back with more respect for the game, for his fans, for women, and especially for his family.