from: puddleriver
to: Edwin Owens
5/16/2005 3:27:59 AM

Funny story about Will the Circle be Unbroken. Right after Michael and I broke up was the biggol Elmer's pigroast and annual party. I went. But to make sure I ahem had a good time, I was doin' some serious drinking. (something truly disgusting as I recall ~~ maybe grapefruit something or other, in my car's lidded coffee cup: nothing so tame as beer, at any rate.)

By the end of the evening, when the karaoke guy (another funny story, some time) started taking requests, I made one: Will the Circle. . . . And took the stage, and started singing. Now, understand, I don't sing. Since I didn't make it into choir in 7th grade, I've been told, and believed, that I can't sing. (mind you I love to sing, but do it pretty much in private) Well I sang. I sang seriously, and loudly, and with joy. We had a repeat, and I was joined by a number of my neighbors. And then a third time.

The next day, Sunday, at my local (not Quaker) meeting, I was asked to create the choir. *Somebody* thought I was one helluva singer, LOL!! I didn't: I know I can't sing. . . .

All love, all the time xox Julie

New Moon

New Moon in Virgo: Tuesday, September 11, 2007: 11:45 am EDT:
"This New Moon in Virgo is an explosive Solar Eclipse opposed by electric Uranus while assertive Mars and expansive Jupiter form tense right angle squares to the Sun-Moon conjunction. Nerves are easily rattled by surprising events and pressure builds if we try to keep the lid on a situation that is bound to change. This is earthquake energy that will release unresolved tension hidden below the surface. Volatility in personal matters or worldly events is best met with faith, forgiveness and imagination, as the integrating North Node in Pisces shows that the way to fulfillment is through spirit, not matter."
- - -
"New Moons begin cycles, but when they are Solar Eclipses like this one, something must be released before progress can be made. This volatile event may require that you relax competence in one area of life to advance in another. Your masterful skills have reached their limit, so loosen up where you are tightest, in action or attitude. The rigid grip of control narrows vision to exclude possibilities for fulfillment that may be waiting nearby. A little wandering from your well-worn path can lead you to them."

Whoda Thunkit?

Homo politicus: brain function of liberals, conservatives differs

by Marlowe HoodSun Sep 9, 1:33 PM ET

The brain neurons of liberals and conservatives fire differently when confronted with tough choices, suggesting that some political divides may be hard-wired, according a study released Sunday.

Aristotle may have been more on the mark than he realised when he said that man is by nature a political animal.

Dozens of previous studies have established a strong link between political persuasion and certain personality traits.

Conservatives tend to crave order and structure in their lives, and are more consistent in the way they make decisions. Liberals, by contrast, show a higher tolerance for ambiguity and complexity, and adapt more easily to unexpected circumstances.

The affinity between political views and "cognitive style" has also been shown to be heritable, handed down from parents to children, said the study, published in the British journal Nature Neuroscience.

Intrigued by these correlations, New York University political scientist David Amodio and colleagues decided to find out if the brains of liberals and conservatives reacted differently to the same stimuli.

A group of 43 right-handed subjects were asked to perform a series of computer tests designed to evaluate their unrehearsed response to cues urging them to break a well-established routine.

"People often drive home from work on the same route, day after day, such that it becomes habitual and doesn't involve much thinking," Amodio explained by way of comparison in an e-mail.

"But occasionally there is road work, or perhaps an animal crosses the road, and you need to break out of your habitual response in order to deal with this new information."

Using electroencephalographs, which measure neuronal impulses, the researchers examined activity in a part of the brain -- the anterior cingulate cortex -- that is strongly linked with the self-regulatory process of conflict monitoring.

The match-up was unmistakable: respondents who had described themselves as liberals showed "significantly greater conflict-related neural activity" when the hypothetical situation called for an unscheduled break in routine.

Conservatives, however, were less flexible, refusing to deviate from old habits "despite signals that this ... should be changed."

Whether that is good or bad, of course, depends on one's perspective: one could interpret the results to mean that liberals are nimble-minded and conservatives rigid and stubborn.

Or one could, with equal justice, conclude that wishy-washy liberals don't stick to their guns, while conservatives and steadfast and loyal.

As to the more intriguing question of which comes first, the patterns in neuron activity or the political orientation, Amodio is reluctant to hazard a guess.

"The neural mechanisms for conflict monitoring are formed early in childhood," and are probably rooted in part in our genetic heritage, he said.

"But even if genes may provide a blueprint for more liberal or conservative orientations, they are shaped substantially by one's environment over the course of development," he added.

Obscuring causal links even more is the fact that the brain is malleable and neural functions can change as a result of new experiences.

The under turtle is resin. . . .

New Wildflower for me this fall -- White Snakeroot

You can tell he didn't get to dress himself for the first day of school. . . .

September 04, 2007 at 08:36 PM MDT

Tanner was too cute today, but I couldn't find my camera. I'll try to paint you a picture. Tanner was wearing his diaper with his Cars undies over the top. They were, of course, on backwards. He paired that with a dinosaur pj top and green/white/blue braided belt. Add to that a forest green snowflake tie that belongs to his brother. Top it off with red, goggle-type sunglasses with an elastic strap that velcros on the back of his head. Oh, and they were upside down...and too small.

I love it when kids start to dress themselves. Oh, the combinations!

Love and thanks to everyone, Megan


.

Obesity, lack of exercise and pancreatic cancer

The Association of Obesity and Lack of Exercise with the Risk of Pancreatic Cancer May be Mediated by a Protein in the Blood

August 15, 2007

Field(s) of Research: Prevention Research

PHILADELPHIA - Obesity and aversion to exercise have become hallmarks of modern society - and a new study suggests that a blood protein linked to these lifestyle factors may be an indicator for an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Researchers from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute report their findings in the August 15 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

In a study of 144 patients with pancreatic cancer and 429 people without the disease, a subset of patients with low blood levels of a protein called IGFBP-1 were at approximately twice the risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Low blood levels of this protein have previously been linked to excess weight and lack of physical activity. Their data originated from tens of thousands of men and women enrolled in four large-scale cohort studies - the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, the Nurses' Health Study, the Physicians' Health Study and the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study - all of which followed the health of participants over numerous years.

"The prognosis for many patients with pancreatic cancer remains poor, so it is vitally important that we indentify and better understand risk factors for the disease, particularly risk factors that are modifiable" said lead study author, Brian M. Wolpin, M.D., attending physician at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. "In addition to cigarette smoking, exercise and weight control appear to be important modifiable risk factors for this difficult disease."

Pancreatic cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death in America - over 33,000 Americans will likely die from the disease in 2007, according to projections from the American Cancer Society. Studies indicate that smoking is responsible for about 25 percent of pancreatic cancer cases, and obesity and lack of exercise may account for a similar amount, Dr. Wolpin said.

According to Dr. Wolpin, previous research has linked IGFBP-1 (insulin-like growth factor binding protein one) with increased risk of colorectal and endometrial cancer. Like its name suggests, IGFBP-1 is a molecule that binds with insulin-like growth factor (IGF), a hormone normally associated with growth and development. In the laboratory, IGF has been noted to increase the growth of pancreatic cancer cells. Since one role of IGFBP-1 is to sequester IGF, Dr. Wolpin and his colleagues were interested as to whether people who developed pancreatic cancer had lower blood levels of the IGFBP-1 protein.

To study the relationship between IGFBP-1 and pancreatic cancer, Dr. Wolpin and his colleagues chose pancreatic cancer patients enrolled in one of the four cohort studies and with blood drawn four or more years before developing cancer. The blood levels of IGFBP-1 from these patients were compared to those taken from 429 cancer-free people also enrolled in one of the cohort studies. According to their findings, patients with low blood levels of IGFBP-1 were nearly twice as likely to develop pancreatic cancer.

"We still have much to learn about the mechanisms by which obesity and sedentary lifestyle may contribute to the risk of pancreatic cancer," Dr. Wolpin said. "While it is too early to discuss IGFBP-1 as a suitable blood marker for pancreatic cancer, it is never too early to address the lifestyle issues that may contribute to low levels of IGFBP-1 and to an elevated risk of this difficult disease."

The study was supported by The Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research and the National Cancer Institute.

Luciano Pavarotti, 1935-2007

Do it!

http://www.treehugger.com/

I beg your pardon,
I never promised you a rose garden.
Along with the sunshine,
There's gotta be a little rain sometimes.
When you take, you gotta give, so live and let live,
Or let go.
I beg your pardon,
I never promised you a rose garden.

I could promise you things like big diamond rings,
But you don't find roses growin' on stalks of clover.
So you better think it over.
Well, if sweet-talkin' you could make it come true,
I would give you the world right now on a silver platter,
But what would it matter?
So smile for a while and let's be jolly:
Love shouldn't be so melancholy.
Come along and share the good times while we can.

I beg your pardon,
I never promised you a rose garden.
Along with the sunshine,
There's gotta be a little rain sometimes.

I beg your pardon,
I never promised you a rose garden.

I could sing you a tune or promise you the moon,
But if that's what it takes to hold you,
I'd just as soon let you go, but there's one thing I want you to know.
You better look before you leap, still waters run deep,
And there won't always be someone there to pull you out,
And you know what I'm talkin' about.
So smile for a while and let's be jolly:
Love shouldn't be so melancholy.
Come along and share the good times while we can.

I beg your pardon,
I never promised you a rose garden.
Along with the sunshine,
There's gotta be a little rain sometimes.

VesicaPiscis

"Now we must look upon each other as brothers and sisters. Only by joining together in a Spiritual Peace with love in our hearts for the Great Spirit and Mother Earth shall we be saved... If you have a way to spread the truth... Tell what you know to be true.
Should we succeed, we will realize our mistakes of the past and return to the true path -- living in harmony as brothers and sisters, sharing our Mother, the Earth, with all living creatures.
In this way we could bring about a new world.
A world which would be led by the Great Spirit......
and our Mother will provide plenty and happiness for all..."

Chief Dan Evehema of the Hopi Nation

Willard Wigan and the eye of the needle

May the stars carry your sadness away,

May the flowers fill your heart with beauty,

May hope forever wipe away your tears,

And, above all, may silence make you strong.


Chief Dan George

Poets in the Wilds of Ontario. . . .