Category: Uncategorized

Teaching Meditation to Four-Year Olds

It seems that meditative skills can be taught to children as young as four. And more than that, it seems that right now in the UK, one of these schools will be receiving state funding. And this is not going to be the only one either. It is one of 24 of the new schools that is being privately run but will be receiving Government support.

What else is interesting is that despite the fact that these schools are receiving state funding, they will not be forced to follow the country’s national curriculum. Indeed, one of the schools is going to be run along the teachings of Maharishi Yogi, an Indian-born guru.

The school will begin and end with sessions of transcendental meditation. Education watchdogs have rated this school as “outstanding.” Apparently these meditative sessions are relaxing the students and making it easier for them to learn.

The only problem seems to be, is the money. The critics are claiming such schools should not be receiving state funding at this point. According to Lisa Nandy, a Labour Member of Parliament, “people will be shocked that their taxes are going on teaching transcendental meditation. The money would be better spent on improving existing schools.”

Vampire Cruise to Sail in June 2012

Vampires have long been a topic of interest for fantasy lovers across the globe. Recently, the vampire genre has jumped in popularity as a result of some of the newer-age projects like Twilight, True Blood and Vampire Diaries, but legends, books, films and TV shows have been made on the theme in almost every generation.

Next summer, hundreds of vampire enthusiast will indulge their fantasies on the “Vamps at Sea” cruise, which will sail Alaska’s legendary Inside Passage, providing activities including glacier tours and late-night costume balls. Scheduled for late June of 2012, the cruise will sail at a time of almost constant daylight in the far north.

“They’ve got curtains and they can block everything out- so it can be as dark as we want it,” explained Linda Wolf, the cruise organizer and president of Los Angeles’s Cruises Cruises Cruises Inc.

A Popular Idea


Cruises which focus on a specific interest are common. Bird lovers, whale watchers, runners and book worms can all find cruises to suite their taste…. But Buckwheat Donahue, executive director of the convention and visitors bureau in Skagway said the Vamps at Sea cruise is one of a kind. Skagway is a historic gold rush town that is almost always put on the Vamps at Sea Itinerary.

“This is going to be fun,” he said. “I can’t imagine what people are going to be dressed like coming off the boat.”

Some of the cruise activities include a late-night costume ball, a scavenger hunt, a vampire talent show, as well as vampire-genre author visits.

Beyonce Steals the Night at VMAs with Pregnancy News

R&B and Hip-Hop singer Beyonce stole the show at the VMAs before she even finished one song, showing both the press and the audience why exactly she was smiling so brightly… On the red carpet, and later on stage, she cradled the beginnings of her new baby bump, excitedly letting the world know that her and her husband Jay-Z are expecting their first child.

Other performers that night included Lady Gaga’s alter-ago Jo Calderone, Katy Perry, Adele, Chris Brown, Bruno Mars and many others.

Soy Products Not Helpful for Menopause

It seems that research on how to treat menopause symptoms is changing. It used to be that the soybean was hailed as the all-encompassing cure-all.  But now things have changed.  According to a recent article in The New York Times, based on results from the Archives of Internal Medicine, soy products were seen to be “no more effective than a placebo.”

Menopausal Tests

Women have been using soy to fight against risks of estrogen replacement therapy but it seems that this was in vein.  University of Miami researchers conducted a study on 248 women between the ages of 45 to 60.  Fifth percent of the women took 200 milligrams of soy isoflavones on a daily basis, with the other half ingesting a placebo.  The women did not know which pill they were taking.  This went on for two years, at the end of which a test on bone mineral density and menopausal symptoms was conducted.

Results

It seemed that from the urine tests, the women taking the soy isoflavones had consumed almost 20 times as much soy as those who were just taking the placebo, but other than that there were “no significant differences in bone density” detected.  Neither group showed any signs of any serious effects but the women with the soy also indicated no improvement on any of the typical symptoms associated with menopause like insomnia, libido loss, night sweats, etc. compared to the placebo group.

Thus study leader Dr. Silvina Levis concluded that, “women should be reconsidering taking these types of products for menopausal health.”  There was no clinical benefit in taking the soy, and indeed, those taking it actually experienced more “constipation, bloating and hot flashes” than the other group.

Such New News?

The question is though, is this research so new?  According to an article written by John R. Lee, M.D. and Virginia Hopkins, no.  Another study was conducted at the Mayo Clinic some time ago that “showed no benefits from soy protein isolates, which have high levels of phytoestrogens.”  Others have found similar results through an analysis of salvia hormone levels.  It seems ultimately that the finding was, “soy phytoestrogens simply don’t work well to control vasomotor symptoms. The isoflavones in soy are aromatase inhibitors which lower the levels of estrogens made by the body, which is counter-productive to controlling vasomotor symptoms.”

So our most recent findings shouldn’t come as such a huge shock.

Emma Watson to Star in New Beauty and the Beast

Emma Watson, the much-loved actress who played Hermione in all 8 Harry Potter films, has already begun to broaden her career. As the new face of Lancome and the one of the leads in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the 21 year old has grown in the industry very quickly.

A New Beauty and the Beast

Her latest project is a new version of Beauty and the Beast. Unlike the recent ‘Beastly’, the film is to be directed by Guillermo Del Toro who is known for his more mysterious, dark films like Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth.

Warrior Princess

In the past Watson has expressed her preference of playing strong women, which adds to the theory that this film will indeed stand out from previous versions. “I feel like young girls are told they have to be this kind of princess and be all this sweet stuff,” she said before stating that that is ridiculous. “I identify with more of being a warrior princess, so if I had to be a princess, I’d have to kick some ass first. That would have a lot of people terrified.”

Don’t Forget Her Academic Career


With Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II out in theaters and making more than half a billion dollars, Watson has decided to return to her academic career as well. She told People Magazine that she plans in spending next year at Oxford University.

“I’m still a student at Brown,” she said. “It’s just that I’ll spend my third year abroad- at Oxford. Then I’ll return to Brown to complete my last year.”

Credit Card Blood Test?

Could it be possible that in the future, one could do a blood test using what looks like a credit card?  Apparently so as this has been recently developed.  In the future, an infection will be able to be diagnosed “within minutes.”  This device, according to an article in today’s Mail on Sunday, has been hailed as “a breakthrough in the fight against HIV and AIDS in the developing world.”  It has shown to be close to 100 percent accurate in testing that was undertaken for HIV in Kigali, and 76 percent for syphilis testing.

Inexpensive

The other good news about this small device is that it is extremely cheap to manufacture, costing a mere $1 a piece.  Developed by University of Columbia scientists, head researcher Professor Samuel Sia said, “the idea is to make a large class of diagnostic tests accessible to patients in any setting in the world, rather than forcing them to go to a clinic to draw blood and then wait days for their results.”

How it Works

Optics read fluids via the mChip by taking a pin-prick of blood.  It comprises 10 detection zones for the blood to pass through, thereafter giving a positive or negative HIV/AIDS or syphilis result within about 15 minutes.  The results are simple for the lay individual to comprehend, since they come in a simple color-coded way a bit like a pregnancy test.

It is hoped that this will lead to more testing for Africa’s pregnant women who may be carrying sexually-transmitted diseases.