Obesity

    

 

Tucson Weather Today

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I'm learning a lot about the culture of weight loss. I didn't know there were bloggers out there who were proud to be fat.
--Mick Cornett

Lately I have been feeling listless and, at times, nearly devoid of energy and enthusiasm, And I am wondering how much of this malady is caused by my being subject to the necessity of carrying around almost thirty pounds of excess fat, most of which resides atop my stomach, much of it drooping down around a most unsightly and growing gut.

WHOLE HEALTH SOURCE is a website I visit often. It's owner, Stephen Guyenet says" "I am an obesity researcher and neurobiologist by trade. In my spare time, I read, write, and speak about obesity, metabolism, nutrition, and health. I received a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Virginia in 2002, and a Ph.D. in neurobiology from the University of Washington in 2009. Whole Health Source is a free resource I publish to communicate science to the public."

His entry for today begins:

Calorie Intake and the US Obesity Epidemic

Between 1960 and 2008, the prevalence of obesity in US adults increased from 13 to 34 percent, and the prevalence of extreme obesity increased from 0.9 to 6 percent (NHANES surveys).  This major shift in population fatness is called the "obesity epidemic"


Now, I know that one cannot lose weight by reading books (or blogs) about obesity and dieting. But I read them anyway. And I agree with much of what is written, especially the scientific material such as that presented by Strphen Guyenet.

The best solution (along with eating very little) is for me is to increase my physical activity, not indulge in more repetition of what is essentially passive research.

Damn!

I just gotta get with it.

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Did You Know . . .?

The remains of a 47 million year old turtle pair fossilized while having sex were recently found.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On April 10 in 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was founded in New York City by philanthropist and diplomat Henry Bergh.

Bergh had been appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to a diplomatic post at the Russian court of Czar Alexander II. It was there that he was horrified to witness work horses beaten by peasant drivers.

Bergh’s dramatic street rescues of mistreated horses and livestock served as a model for those trying to protect abused children. After Mary Ellen McCormack, 9, was found tied to a bed and brutally beaten by her foster parents in 1874, activists founded the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

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WORD FOR TODAY

active  [AK-tiv]
adjective
1.  Being in physical motion: active fish in the aquarium.
2.  Functioning or capable of functioning.
3.
a.  Marked by energetic activity; busy: active stock and bond markets; spent an active day sightseeing.
b.  Involving or requiring physical exertion and energy: an active workout at the gym.
4.
a.  Being in a state of action; not quiescent: active hostilities along the border.
b.  Erupting or liable to erupt; not dormant: an active volcano.
5.
a.  Marked by or involving direct participation: took an active interest in politics.
b.  Currently in use or effect: an active membership.
c.  Openly acknowledged or expressed: an active dislike of the new neighbors.
6.  Producing an intended action or effect: active ingredients.

Activity as a synonym for physical exercise is described by Wikipedia as:

Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons including strengthening muscles and the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, weight loss or maintenance, as well as for the purpose of enjoyment. Frequent and regular physical exercise boosts the immune system, and helps prevent the "diseases of affluence" such as heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity. It also improves mental health, helps prevent depression, helps to promote or maintain positive self-esteem, and can even augment an individual's sex appeal or body image, which is also found to be linked with higher levels of self-esteem. Childhood obesity is a growing global concern and physical exercise may help decrease some of the effects of childhood and adult obesity. Health care providers often call exercise the "miracle" or "wonder" drug - alluding to the wide variety of proven benefits that it provides.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Peter C. MacNichol
(born April 10, 1954)

Peter MacNichol is an American actor. He is known in films for his roles of Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II, Stingo in Sophie's Choice, and David Langley in Bean. For television he is known for the roles of the eccentric lawyer John Cage in the FOX comedy-drama Ally McBeal, as Tom Lennox in the sixth season of action-thriller 24, Alan Birch in the medical drama Chicago Hope, and as physicist Dr. Larry Fleinhardt on the CBS crime drama NUMB3RS.

 

 

Chyler Leigh West
(born April 10, 1982)

Chyler Leigh is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Dr. Lexie Grey on ABC's medical drama Grey's Anatomy. She also portrayed Janey Briggs in Not Another Teen Movie.

Michael Carmen Pitt
(born April 10, 1981)

Michael Pitt is an American actor and musician. Pitt is known in film for his role in Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers. In 2014, he played Mason Verger in Hannibal. In television he is known for his role as Jimmy Darmody in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.

Laura Bell Bundy
(born April 10, 1981)

Laura Bell Bundy is an American actress and singer who has performed in a number of Broadway roles, both starring and supporting, as well as in television and film. Her best known Broadway roles are the original Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray and the original Elle Woods in the musical version of Legally Blonde.

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You know what the secret to weight loss is? Don't eat much.
--Simon Cowell

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Food, Nutrition, And Health

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

175 pounds

The devil has put a penalty on all things we enjoy in life. Either we suffer in health or we suffer in soul or we get fat.
--Albert Einstein

I found an interesting Youtube video presentation by Stephan Guyenet (whom I follow on Twitter) but it is 46 minutes long, so if you decide to watch it make sure you have sufficient time and interest available. (It's actually kind of boring.)

Why We Overeat

Stephen Guyenet is an obesity researcher and neurobiologist. In his spare time, he reads, writes, and speaks about obesity, metabolism, nutrition, and health. He received a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Virginia in 2002 and a Ph.D. in neurobiology from the University of Washington in 2009. Whole Health Source is a blog he publishes to communicate science to the public.


My ongoing effort at losing weight is not going well. I am so enamored with the taste and flavors of sweetened and fatty foods that I habitually either find excuses to ingest great quantities of high-calorie, unhealthy foods or I conveniently, temporarily forget that I am on a diet.

Cheap Generic Crunchy Style peanut butter and Smucker's Strawberry Preserves spread thickly on two slices of dense Honey Oat bread is my current self-directed affliction, at least one sandwich a day, sometimes substituting the name brand preserves with generic sweetened orange marmalade.

Can't keep doing that.

Must persevere.

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Random Images

Walking Trail Through The Scrub

Tucson, Arizona  March 22, 2014

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Did You Know . . .?

Johnny Depp jumped in to adopt his Sleepy Hollow co-star Goldeneye after he heard the one-eyed horse was going to be put down.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On March 22, 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment was passed by the U.S. Senate and sent to the states for ratification. The Equal Rights Amendment was to provide for the legal equality of the sexes and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex. Under the leadership of U.S. Representative Bella Abzug of New York and feminists Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, the bill was approved by the U.S. Senate and sent to the states.

Hawaii was the first state to ratify what would have been the 27th Amendment, followed by some 30 other states within a year. However, during the mid-1970s, a conservative backlash against feminism eroded support for the Equal Rights Amendment, which ultimately failed to achieve ratification by the a requisite 38, or three-fourths, of the states. Because of the rejection of the Equal Rights Amendment, sexual equality, with the notable exception of when it pertains to the right to vote, is not protected by the U.S. Constitution.

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WORD FOR TODAY

nutrition  [noo-trish-uhn]
noun
1.  The science or study that deals with food and nourishment, especially in humans.
2.  A source of nourishment; food.
3.  The process of nourishing or being nourished, especially the process by which a living organism assimilates food and uses it for growth and for replacement of tissues.

Nutrition is the selection of foods and preparation of foods, and their ingestion to be assimilated by the body. By practicing a healthy diet, many of the known health issues can be avoided. The diet of an organism is what it eats, which is largely determined by the perceived palatability of foods.
--Wikipedia

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

William Shatner

(born March 22, 1931)

William Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, singer, author, film director, spokesman and comedian. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of Captain James Tiberius Kirk, commander of the Federation starship USS Enterprise, in the science fiction television series Star Trek, from 1966 to 1969; Star Trek: The Animated Series from 1973 to 1974, and in seven of the subsequent Star Trek feature films from 1979 to 1994.

Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon

(born March 22, 1976)

Reese Witherspoon is an American actress and producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991. In 1996, Witherspoon appeared in Freeway, and in 1998, she starred in Pleasantville. For her role in 1999's Election, she earned a Golden Globe nomination.

Matthew Avery Modine

(born March 22, 1959)

Matthew Modine is an American film actor. His most well-known film roles include Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, the title character in Alan Parker's Birdy, high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest, and oversexed Sullivan Groff on Weeds.

May Britt

(born March 22, 1934

May Britt is a Swedish actress who had a brief career in the 1950s in Italy and later in the United States. She made her movie debut as the leading actress in Jolanda, the Daughter of the Black Corsair (1952). She also featured in the epic film War and Peace of 1956. In the late 1950s, Britt relocated to Hollywood after signing with 20th Century Fox. She starred in a few movies, including The Young Lions (1958) with Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift and Murder, Inc. (1960) with Peter Falk, as well as a much-criticized remake of The Blue Angel (1959) in the legendary role first created by Marlene Dietrich in 1930. She retired from the screen after she married Sammy Davis, Jr. in 1960. 

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How do I stay so healthy and boyishly handsome? It's simple. I drink the blood of young runaways.
--William Shatner

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I Hereby Admit . . . I Am Fat

     

Tucson Weather Today

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Stepping on my digital scales, I found yesterday that I now weigh 180 pounds. That means I have gained 20 pounds since I moved into this apartment in Tucson three full years ago.

GOOD GRAVY!

If I can remember to do so, I will post my weight each day somewhere around the top left side of each new post on the ol' blog.

180 pounds. Good Gravy!

I'll bet that if I were to lose thirty or forty pounds some of my joint stiffness and pain would lessen, or perhaps even completely disappear. I could be wrong, but I can't see where it would hurt to try it. Also, I seem to remember that some, maybe most, of my (limited) successes at writing and publishing fiction, fillers. and poetry was achieved when my weight was close to normal.

Hm. It should be interesting to see what changes might come about in the next few months.

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Did You Know . . .?

There are three plural forms of the creature called octopus: they are “octopuses,” “octopi,” and “octopodes” (pronounced ok-TOP-uh-deez).
source:

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1993 at 12:18 p.m., a terrorist bomb exploded in a parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City, leaving a crater 60 feet wide and causing the collapse of several steel-reinforced concrete floors in the vicinity of the blast. Although the terrorist bomb failed to critically damage the main structure of the skyscrapers, six people were killed and more than 1,000 were injured. The World Trade Center itself suffered more than $500 million in damage. After the attack, authorities evacuated 50,000 people from the buildings, hundreds of whom were suffering from smoke inhalation.

The mastermind of the attack -- Ramzi Ahmed Yousef -- remained at large until February 1995, when he was arrested in Pakistan. Eyad Ismoil, who drove the bomb carrying Ryder van into the parking garage below the World Trade Center, was captured in Jordan and taken back to New York.

In November 1997, Yousef and Ismoil were convicted and subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Only one other man believed to be directly involved in the attack, Iraqi Abdul Rahman Yasin, remains at large.

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WORD FOR TODAY

escutcheon
noun
1.  A shield or emblem bearing a coat of arms.
2.  A flat piece of metal for protection and often ornamentation, around a keyhole, door handle, or light switch.
3.  Idiom Dishonor to one's reputation: a blot on (one's) escutcheon

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Johnny Cash

(Feb 26, 1932 - Sept 12, 2003)

Johnny Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author who was considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Although he is primarily remembered as a country icon, his songs and sound spanned other genres including rock and roll and rockabilly and blues, folk, and gospel. His dark demeanor and dark performance clothing earned him the nickname "The Man in Black". He traditionally began his concerts with the phrase "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash.," followed by his standard "Folsom Prison Blues".

Cash's best-known songs included "I Walk the Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", "Get Rhythm" and "Man in Black". He also recorded humorous numbers like "One Piece at a Time" and "A Boy Named Sue"; a duet with his future wife, June Carter, called "Jackson"; and railroad songs including "Hey, Porter" and "Rock Island Line".

Antoine "Fats" Domino Jr.

(born February 26, 1928)

Fats Domino is an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. Domino released five gold (million-copy-selling) records before 1955. Domino also had 35 Top 40 American hits. Domino crossed into the pop mainstream with "Ain't That A Shame" and his 1956 version of the song, "Blueberry Hill" reached Number two in the Top 40, and "Blueberry Hill" sold more than 5 million copies worldwide in 1956-57.  He had further hit singles between 1956 and 1959, including "When My Dreamboat Comes Home", "I'm Walkin'", "Valley of Tears", "It's You I Love", "Whole Lotta Loving", and "I Want to Walk You Home".

John Herbert "Jackie" Gleason

(Feb 26, 1916 - June 24, 1987)

Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, exemplified by his character Ralph Kramden in The Honeymooners. Among his notable film roles were Minnesota Fats in the 1961 drama The Hustler (starring Paul Newman) and Buford T. Justice in the Smokey and the Bandit series.

Chase Masterson

(born February 26, 1963)

Chase Masterson is an American actress, singer and voice actor. Masterson portrayed the Bajoran Leeta on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for five years, from 1995 to 1999, and Ivy Lief on General Hospital. She starred as a sultry singer in James Kerwin's sci-fi film noir Yesterday Was a Lie, which she also produced, Her television guest-starring roles include ER and Sliders; in the latter, her role was that of Kelly Welles, the sister of Wade Welles.

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Dieting isn't complicated: if you eat 2,000 calories, you have to burn it off; simple as that.
--James Purefoy

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Stupid Diet Don't Work

     

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Food, flavor, seasoning, etc.

Some few months ago I came to the conclusion that the rising rate of obesity in this modern era can, in part, be blamed upon the idea that food must taste good to be considered palatable. Cookbooks (some of them startlingly expensive) abound in bookstores and obtainable via the Internet. They all concentrate on presenting recipes that produce foods that are visually attractive and are tasty, or delicious. Which makes sense; who would want to prepare meals for family and friends that are bland or tasteless?

Sometimes though, no matter what you do, the dish you are preparing does not turn out as desired. Perhaps the seasoning was not done properly. Seasoning is the process of adding salt, herbs, or spices to food to enhance the flavor. When this happens one can always save the day by drenching the failed product in a highly flavored sauce, thus fooling the unsuspecting palate.

Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". However, Larousse Gastronomique states that "to season and to flavor are not the same thing", insisting that seasoning includes a large or small amount of salt being added to a preparation.

Salt may be used to draw out water, or to magnify a natural flavor of a food making it richer or more delicate, depending on the dish. This type of procedure is akin to curing. For instance, kosher salt (a coarser-grained salt) is rubbed into chicken, lamb, and beef to tenderize the meat and improve flavor. Other seasonings like black pepper and basil transfer some of their flavor to the food. A socially acceptable, well designed dish may combine seasonings that complement each other.

Even though I suspect that preparing foods without any seasoning at all, and with no sauces or flavor enhancers, would go a long way in reducing the habit of overeating and its accompanying result of obesity. I have never actually attempted to do so. I am a creature of habits with a strong hankering for fats, sugars and other sweeteners, and plenty of salt and pepper.

Eating simple non-enhanced meals? I really, really do intend to give it a try.

Soon.

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I saw this on Facebook and thought I'd share

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Did You Know That . . . ?

70 percent of Americans have visited Disneyland/Disney World.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On October 5 in 1974, American David Kunst completed the first round-the-world journey on foot, taking four years and 21 pairs of shoes to complete the 14,500-mile journey across the land masses of four continents. He left his hometown of Waseca, Minnesota, on June 20, 1970. Near the end of his journey in 1974 he explained the reasons for his epic trek: "I was tired of Waseca, tired of my job, tired of a lot of little people who don't want to think, and tired of my wife." During the long journey, he took on sponsors and helped raise money for UNICEF. He was accompanied by his brother, John, but in 1972 John Kunst was shot to death by bandits in Afghanistan and David was wounded. After returning to Minnesota to recuperate, Kunst traveled back to Afghanistan and continued his global journey with another brother, Peter. Peter had to drop out later for health reasons, and David Kunst completed his trek alone, returning to Waseca on October 5, 1974.

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WORD FOR TODAY

gorp  [gohrp]
noun
A mixture of high-energy foods, such as nuts and dried fruit, eaten as a snack.
synonym
trail mix

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Kate Elizabeth Winslet

(born 5 October 1975)

Kate Winslet is an English actress and singer. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader (2008). She has been nominated twice for an Emmy Award for television acting, winning once for her role as Mildred Pierce in the 2011 mini-series of the same name.

Winslet made her film debut in Heavenly Creatures (1994), for which she received her first notable critical praise. She achieved recognition for her subsequent work in a supporting role in Sense and Sensibility (1995) and for her leading role in Titanic (1997), the highest-grossing film in the world at the time

Neil deGrasse Tyson

(born October 5, 1958)

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist and science communicator. He is currently the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space and a research associate in the department of astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History.

From 2006 to 2011 he hosted the educational science television show NOVA ScienceNow on PBS and has been a frequent guest on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Real Time with Bill Maher, and Jeopardy!. It was announced on August 5, 2011, that Tyson will be hosting a new sequel to Carl Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage television series.

Karen Jane Allen

(born October 5, 1951)

Karen Allen is an American actress best known for her role as Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Allen has also had roles in films, including National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), The Wanderers (1979), Cruising (1980), Starman (1984), Scrooged (1988), The Sandlot (1993), and Poster Boy (2004).

Larry Fine

(Oct 5, 1902 - Jan 24, 1975)

Larry Fine (born Louis Feinberg) was an American comedian, actor, violinist, and boxer, who is best known as the smartest member of the comedy act The Three Stooges.

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We don't walk. We overeat because we've made it easy to overeat. We have fast-food joints on every corner. By the way, the 'we' is all of us. It's not the government. It's all of us doing this together.
--Mehmet Oz

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Things Worthy Of Cogitation

     

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Man is an intelligence in servitude to his organs.

--Aldous Huxley

When I was a child, I spake as a child,

I understood as a child,

I thought as a child:

but when I became a man,

I put away childish things.

--King James Bible

1 Corinthians 13:11

One of the most childish things I can think of is harboring belief in The Bible as being the absolute and unquestionable Holy Word of God. Even more childish is my effort to convince Christians that they are childish.

Will I never learn?

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TRIVIA

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day, September 26 in 1996, U.S. astronaut Shannon Lucid returned to Earth in the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis following six months in orbit aboard the Russian space station Mir.

On March 23, 1996, Lucid transferred to Mir from the same space shuttle for a planned five-month stay. A biochemist, Lucid shared Mir with Russian cosmonauts Yuri Onufriyenko and Yuri Usachev and conducted scientific experiments during her stay.

Beginning in August, her scheduled return to Earth was delayed by more than six weeks because of last-minute repairs to the booster rockets of Atlantis and then by a hurricane.

She was the first American woman to live in a space station.

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WORD FOR TODAY

factotum  [fak-to'-tuhm]
noun
A factotum is a general servant or a person having many diverse activities or responsibilities.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Olivia Newton-John

(born 26 September 1948)

Olivia Newton-John is an English-born Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles (including two platinum) and 14 of her albums (including two platinum and four double platinum) have been certified gold by the RIAA. Her music has been successful in multiple genres including pop, country and adult contemporary and has sold an estimated over 100 million records worldwide. She co-starred with John Travolta in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Grease, which featured one of the most successful film soundtracks in Hollywood history.

Linda Carroll Hamilton

(born September 26, 1956)

Linda Hamilton is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Sarah Connor in The Terminator and its sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Catherine Chandler in the 1987-1990 television series Beauty and the Beast, for which she was nominated for two Golden Globes and an Emmy. Hamilton had a recurring role as Mary Elizabeth Bartowski on NBC's Chuck.

Donna Douglas

(born September 26, 1933)

Donna Douglas is an American actress best known for her role as Elly May Clampett in the CBS television series, The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-1971).

Serena Jameka Williams

(born September 26, 1981)

Serena Williams is an American professional tennis player who is currently ranked No. 1 in women's singles tennis. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her World No. 1 in singles on six separate occasions. She became the World No. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002, and regained this ranking for the sixth time on February 18, 2013, becoming the oldest world no. 1 player in WTA's history. She is the only female player to have won over $50 million in prize money. Williams is the reigning French Open, US Open, WTA Tour Championships and Olympic ladies singles champion.

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America faces a fundamental choice: either the blessings of liberty or the servitude of liberalism.
--Nancy Pearcey

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All It Takes Is Willpower

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

I recently enjoyed consuming an entire 12 oz.carton of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream. The quality seems to have diminished since the previous time I sampled it, which was a long time ago. But as we all know, superior products always manage to go downhill in time, with all the new improvements (cheaper ingredients for higher profits) -- among other things.

It must be admitted, though, that I enjoyed every sweet, tasty morsel of cherry-flavored ice cream, whole embedded cherries, and brittle little slivers of milk chocolate.

Gooood.

But . . .

Damn!

For a brief moment of time, I forgot . . .

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TRIVIA

A Boeing 747's wingspan is longer than was the Wright brother's first flight.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day, August 10 in 1945, just a day after the bombing of Nagasaki, Emperor Hirohito submitted Japan's acquiescence to the Potsdam Conference terms of unconditional surrender, and President Harry S. Truman ordered a halt to atomic bombing.

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WORD FOR TODAY

marketing
noun
The action or business of promoting and selling products or services.

Marketing is the process of communicating the value of a product or service to customers, for the purpose of selling the product or service. It is a critical business function for attracting customers.

Shrewd marketing practitioners know that, once a product has been adopted as superior to all its competitors by loyal consumers, the original product can be safely downgraded in quality by using cheaper ingredients, without being noticed by the consumer, The bottom line is always profit, profit, profit.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Martha Hyer

(born August 10, 1924)

Martha Hyer is a retired American film actress. She had roles in So Big (1953), Sabrina (1954), The Delicate Delinquent (1956) (Jerry Lewis' first film without Dean Martin), Houseboat (1958) and Once Upon a Horse, also in 1958 with Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.

In the 1960s, Hyer would play in films like The Best of Everything (1959), Ice Palace (1960), Desire in the Dust (1960), The Carpetbaggers (1964), First Men in the Moon (1964), Blood on the Arrow (1964) and The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), Night of the Grizzly (1966), among many others. She co-starred with Keenan Wynn in Bikini Beach (1964), one of the Beach Party movies with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. Her most significant role came as the love interest of Frank Sinatra in Some Came Running.

José Antonio Domínguez Banderas

(born 10 August 1960)

Antonio Banderas is a Spanish film actor, director, producer, and singer. He appeared in some high-profile Hollywood movies, especially in the 1990s, including Assassins, Evita, Interview with the Vampire, Philadelphia, Desperado, The Mask of Zorro and Spy Kids. Banderas is also a voice artist, portraying the voice of Puss in Boots in the Shrek sequels and Puss in Boots as well as the bee in the US Nasonex commercials.

Rosanna Lauren Arquette

(born August 10, 1959)

Rosanna Arquette is an American actress, film director, and producer. Arquette has appeared in both television and screen films. In 1982, she earned an Emmy Award nomination for the TV film The Executioner's Song. Arquette's first starring role was in John Sayles's Baby It's You. She starred in Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) alongside pop singer Madonna, for which she won a British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA).  Following the commercial and critical success of Lawrence Kasdan's Silverado in 1985, and the failure of both After Hours and 8 Million Ways to Die, she quit Hollywood to work in Europe

Jimmy Dean

(Aug. 10, 1928 - June 13, 2010)

Jimmy Dean was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. Although he may be best known today as the creator of the Jimmy Dean sausage brand, he became a national television personality starting in 1957, rising to fame for his 1961 country crossover hit "Big Bad John" and his television series, The Jimmy Dean Show, which also gave puppeteer Jim Henson his first national media exposure. His acting career included a supporting role as Willard Whyte in the 1971 James Bond movie, Diamonds Are Forever.

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"You try moving things with nothing but willpower, and you'll see it's about as easy as trying to lasso a bull with a licorice whip!"
--Richelle E. Goodrich


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I Enjoy Solitude - Don't Know Why

     

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It seems as though the new Bark Avenue Dog Wash (of which I have previously made mention while it was under construction) is now open for business. I have not gone inside yet, but I snapped a quick shot of it yesterday  morning while on my daily fitness walk.

The new business is located off Pantano Road (near Speedway Blvd.) -- adjacent to the Fry's Market entrance.

According to their Facebook page, they opened Friday, August 2nd at 8 a.m. and they carry great dog and cat food product lines. All natural, healthy, limited ingredient foods:
Natural Balance
Petcurean (go! and now)
Blue Buffalo
Nature's Logic
Fromm

Bark Avenue Dog Wash

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Stephen Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television and radio presenter, film director, activist, and board member of Norwich City Football Club.

After a troubled childhood and adolescence, during which he was expelled from two schools and spent three months in prison for credit card fraud, he secured a place at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he studied English Literature. While at university, Fry became involved with the Cambridge Footlights, where he met his long-time collaborator Hugh Laurie (Dr. House). As half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, he co-wrote and co-starred in A Bit of Fry & Laurie, and took the role of Jeeves (with Laurie playing Wooster) in Jeeves and Wooster.

I don't suppose anyone else reading this is interested in Stephen Fry. But I am, and that's what counts.

Right?

Stephen Fry's blog

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TRIVIA

Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day, August 8 in 1974, Richard Nixon announced that he would resign the office of the President at noon the next day, August 9. He had been engulfed by a major political scandal that began with the bungled burglary and wiretapping of the Democratic Party's campaign headquarters in the Watergate apartment complex in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 1972. Senate investigations eventually revealed that the President had been personally involved in the subsequent cover-up of the break-in.

The Watergate affair had far-ranging impact, both at home and abroad. In the United States, the scandal shook the faith of the American people in the presidency, but, in the final analysis, the nation survived the constitutional crisis, thus reinforcing the system of checks and balances and proving that no one is above the law, not even the president.

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WORD FOR TODAY

designate [des'-ig-nayt']
verb
1. To indicate or specify; point out.
2. To give a name or title to; characterize.
3. To select and set aside for a duty, an office, or a purpose.

designate [des'-ig-nuht]
adjective
Appointed but not yet installed in office: the commissioner designate.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Dustin Lee Hoffman

(born August 8, 1937)

Dustin Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He first drew critical praise for the play Eh?. This was soon followed by his breakthrough 1967 film role as Benjamin Braddock, the title character in The Graduate. His most notable films include Midnight Cowboy, Little Big Man, Straw Dogs, Papillon, Lenny, Marathon Man, All the President's Men, Kramer vs. Kramer, Tootsie, Rain Man, Hook and Wag the Dog.

Connie Stevens

(born August 8, 1938)

Connie Stevens is an American actress and singer, better known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.

Donny Most

(born August 8, 1953)

Donny Most is an American actor best known for his role as Ralph Malph on the television series Happy Days.

Deborah Norville

(born August 8, 1958)

Deborah Norville is an American television anchor and journalist. Since 1995 she has been host of the syndicated American television program Inside Edition. She earlier hosted Today on NBC, substitute-anchored both the NBC Nightly News and the weekend CBS Evening News, and was a host and correspondent for two CBS News magazine programs.

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"I didn't realize it was possible for a woman to be 'unusually' irritable."
--Dr. House


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Rule # 1 - Change Your Eating Habits

     

Tucson Weather Today

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'Nuff Said?

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TRIVIA

You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television. Guess I had better take more naps.

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On August 3, 1958, the U.S. nuclear submarine Nautilus accomplished the first undersea voyage to the geographic North Pole. The world's first nuclear submarine, the Nautilus dived at Point Barrow, Alaska, and traveled nearly 1,000 miles under the Arctic ice cap to reach the top of the world. It then steamed on to Iceland, pioneering a new and shorter route from the Pacific to the Atlantic and Europe.

After a career spanning 25 years and almost 500,000 miles steamed, the Nautilus was decommissioned on March 3, 1980. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982, the world's first nuclear submarine went on exhibit in 1986 as the Historic Ship Nautilus at the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut.

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WORD FOR TODAY

carbohydrate
noun
Any of a class of organic compounds that are polyhydroxy aldehydes or polyhydroxy ketones, or change to such substances on simple chemical transformations, as hydrolysis, oxidation, or reduction, and that form the supporting tissues of plants and are important food for animals and people.

A carbohydrate is an organic compound comprising only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, usually with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water); in other words, with the empirical formula Cm(H2O)n (where m could be different from n). Some exceptions exist; for example, deoxyribose, a sugar component of DNA, has the empirical formula C5H10O4. Carbohydrates are technically hydrates of carbon; structurally it is more accurate to view them as polyhydroxy aldehydes and ketones.

Oh come on now...  The Downhome Dictionary says carbs are things in food that ain't proteins or fats and if you eat too many of them too often you get really fat.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Martin Sheen

(born August 3, 1940)

Martin Sheen (born Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez ) is an American actor who achieved fame with roles in the films Badlands (1973) and Apocalypse Now (1979). Sheen has made notable appearances in films, including Wall Street (1987), Gettysburg (1993), The Departed (2006), and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). He has also appeared in television, notably as President Josiah Bartlet in The West Wing (1999–2006), and lent his voice as the Illusive Man in the Mass Effect video game trilogy.

Sheen is the father of four children (Emilio, Ramon, Carlos, known as Charlie Sheen, and Renee), all of whom are actors, as is younger brother Joe Estevez.

Martha Stewart

(born August 3, 1941)

Martha Stewart (born Martha Helen Kostyra) is an American business magnate, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she has gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, merchandising, and electronic commerce. She has written numerous bestselling books and is the publisher of the Martha Stewart Living magazine, while her syndicated talk show, Martha, is broadcast internationally.

In 2004, Stewart was convicted of charges related to the ImClone insider trading affair and there was speculation that the incident would effectively end her media empire. She began a comeback campaign in 2005 and her company returned to profitability in 2006. Stewart rejoined the board of directors of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in 2011 and became chairman of her namesake company again in 2012.

Tony Bennett

(born August 3, 1926)

Tony Bennett (born Anthony Dominick Benedetto) is an Italian-American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a serious and accomplished painter, having created works—under the name Anthony Benedetto—that are on permanent public display in several institutions. He is the founder of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in New York City.

Raised in New York City, Bennett had his first number one popular song with "Because of You" in 1951. Several top hits such as "Rags to Riches" followed in the early 1950s. Bennett reached an artistic peak in the late 1950s with albums such as The Beat of My Heart and Basie Swings, Bennett Sings. In 1962, Bennett recorded his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco".

Jay North

(born August 3, 1951)

Jay North is an American actor. Beginning a prolific career as a child actor at the age of six, North became a household name during the early 1960s for his role as the well-meaning, but mischievous, Dennis Mitchell on the CBS situation comedy Dennis the Menace, based on the comic strip created by Hank Ketcham.

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Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.
--Mark Twain

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