Hmmm.
Consider this:
According to the article in The Scotsman,
Depressed patients should be offered exercise "on prescription" by their GPs in place of drugs, according to a report by mental health campaigners published today. ... MHF said that growing evidence showed that a supervised programme of exercise on prescription could be as effective as anti-depressants in mild to moderate depression.
Studies have shown that exercise can produce significant and comparable improvements in patients relative to those who only take anti-depressant medication. It has also been shown that those who continue to exercise after completing an initial trial were much less likely to experience a return of depression than those in the group taking anti-depressants.
According to the article in Ananova,
Russian scientists claim a beating on the naked buttocks with a cane is the perfect way to cure everything from depression to alcoholism.
Caning, of course, releases endorphins; thus,
Endorphins lead to feelings of euphoria, a reduction of appetite, the release of sex hormones and an enhancement of the immune response.
Please note:
Dr Marina Chuhrova, who also took part in preparing the report, said she had 10 patients she caned regularly. She added: "At first they didn't like it, but when they started to feel the benefits they kept asking for more."
Hmmm...
If I'm administering the caning... would that qualify as exercise?
Heard a song on the radio today... I swear it sounded like someone had crossed Steven Hawking with Barry White...
Respects to the RCMP
It's very touching to see that the death and memorial of the four of them, the mounties, has made the news overseas.
{From the CBC gallery of the vigil.}
See pictures of the memorial from the BBC and the CBC.
Get a box of paperclips; paperclip papers together; file papers away in a file cabinet; run out of paperclips; get a new box of paperclips.
Hundreds of years from now, the paper will rot away to nothing. Archaeologists will discover scatterings of paperclips at the bottom of file cabinets, and will be left scratching their heads. Perhaps they're some sort of currency, they'll say; see, the ones at this desk have been made into a necklace.
One brave, lone wolf will posit that they held paper together; and his peers will scoff. Nonsense! they'll say, that's what *staplers* were for.
Disney will assimilate you
If only I could sew; I mean really sew. I'd make a plush Borg Winnie-the-Pooh. :)
Or has it been done?
In Which a Bear of Very Little Brain Makes Feeble Attempts at Comprehension
Who loves conspiracy theories? I know I do. Ones you can really sink yer paranoid teeth into: meaty, juicy, so-thick-you-can-cut-'em-with-a-steak-knife... not because I have any sort of "meat tooth" for paranoia, but... well...
*sigh*
Deep breath, now:
Mmm, Yummy, but I Couldn't Eat A Whole One
Okay. This started after taking a course in Communications Studies which, of course, covered propaganda.* Absolutely fascinating stuff, and it really changed the way I parse the news.
Now, I'm not saying I believe conspiracy theories; I just find them entertaining as little mind games. I'm not astute enough to really truly assess these things, nor have I the kind of memory capable of following all the strings of possibilities through to their ends; it's just a fun exercise to have "a little think", insofar my wee, hamster-wheel-powered little brain is enabled.
And the thing to remember here is, I don't personally know any of the entities involved; I'm not informed on any of the subjects; nor can I vouch for the veracity of any of the facts. So, really, it's ultimately an exercise in {Hollywood-type} fiction.
In fact, after that build up, I'm sorry to let you down; in this particular instance, I really don't even have anything more than a finger-waggling inkling. There's something in there, I say. More than what they're telling us. On the other hand... aha, maybe that's just what they want us to think... ;)
Strange Fisch
Story in question: Chess Genius Bobby Fischer has been in the news lately. Apparently, Mr. Congeniality started a row over hard-boiled eggs while in detention in Japan and was placed in solitary confinement.
I was a bit perplexed as to how on earth a chess game could be interpreted as violating an international sanction; but evidently, there was in place an economic embargo which extended to sports events; and Fischer not only played, but won himself a cool $3.3 million. I can only assume the organizers of the event made a profit of much more than that; otherwise I'm a little unclear as to how taking 3.3 million from Yugoslavia violates an economic embargo.**
Shaken, Not Stirred: the Story of A Boy and His Brains
But I can't help but wonder, what if... what if there's some sort of spy novel luking in there somewhere? Brilliant but intractable chess champion, fought over by international intelligence agencies willing to do anything to have him and his formidable brainpower in their possession...
Into this martini throw some cool chess-playing babes, some martial arts sequences, a chase scene; shake the audience well, add an ending with a twist and you're done.
Make it into a movie, and it might actually manage make chess seem sexy to high school students... Or does that strain the limits of credulity?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
* Small Aside {speaking of "meat tooth"}: One of the required reading texts for this course was a book called How Real is Real ~~ fascinating book, well worth a read. I mention it here only because it contains the story of Operation Mincemeat, which the author used to illustrate the idea of "disinformation".
** I also need a kind and understanding someone to explain to me how a chess match can rake in over $3.3 mil. Gambling? Charging admission? TV, book and movie rights? Marketing "{insert double-entendre chess phrase here} and all I got was this lousy T-shirt" T-shirts?
Beware the woman of mystery
Am beginning to think that "a certain 'je ne sais quois'" might in fact actually be code for "WTF?!?"...
One; like a fraction that has canceled itself out.*
Between the two of us, Boyfriend and I have come up with:
The Adventures of Captain Sarcasm!!! and his SnideQuip, Snarky Retort!**
Artwork forthcoming. Wait for it... wait for it...
* What a poetically mathematical proof of love. Oh, Happy Number. :)
** All Rights {and better judgements} Reserved
Words in my head when I awoke this morning:
Saturday, this word appeared out of nowhere, in the middle of the day:
Gymnosperm {aka Pine Cone}
It seems those soft & quiet P's are opening their mouths again...