News flash: Beyonce booted

Heard Beyonce died.

I wonder if Sasha Fierce stabbed her with them heels.

Literary fun

Eat yourself to death

Too much of anything is bad. Although that doesn't necessarily apply to everything (white shirts, shoes, Jacob's 12-inch Salmon Shawarma, or Double Mints in all variants), everything we take should still be done in moderation. I came across an online article about how certain food can knock you out. Here are some of the grub we chow down on everyday:

Apple Seeds

Apple seeds (and cherry, peach, and apricot pits) contain amygdalin, a cyanide and sugar compound that turns into hydrogen cyanide when metabolized. If you swallow seeds whole, there's no need to worry: the tough outer shell keeps the poison contained within. To release the cyanide, the seeds need to be pulverized or chewed, but since there's such a small amount per seed, to approach a lethal dose you'd need piles and piles of them.

Water

Water intoxication is mostly seen in extreme athletes and occurs when they consume so much water that sodium levels drop to dangerous low, which then results in blood plasma levels rising and then...a bunch more medical mumbo-jumbo. In short, you drown on the inside. A recent death-by-water case involved a (desperate) woman who took part in a “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” water-drinking contest in 2007.

Milk

There haven't been many cases of milk-related deaths. Raw milk, of course, has its enemies. But in terms of straight-up milk consumption leading to death, The New York Times reported that in August 1st, 1890, Mary Goldsmith of Plainfield, New Jersey died of "a too free drinking of milk." She was "very fond of the fresh milk, and drank it warm as it came from the cows morning and evening." It was estimated that she drank around three or four gallons a day. It was later found that a fatty formation had formed around the heart, thereby impairing it from beating. So, can milk kill? Answer: Well, the fat in it sure can. Milk can sometimes not do the body good.

Coffee

In order to croak from drinking coffee you would have to drink 80 to 100 cups of coffee in quick succession. That's about six gallons of coffee, which equals around ten to thirteen grams of pure caffeine. So if you want to commit suicide but want to be really, really awake when you die...

Potatoes

A raw potato (if left to turn green) along with its stems and leaves, contain a poison: a glycoalkaloid toxin. If consumed in hefty quantities, the toxin will cause a person to feel weak and confused and then fall into a coma, proceeded with a nasty case of death. So, the way I see it, making french fries saves lives. Bon Apetit!

Oh no they didn't

There are many inevitable things in life - the sun setting at the end of the day, people complaining about a government official's overspending, Kris Aquino spilling the beans about somebody. Then there's those local (f)artists who translate popular songs and make it totally their own.

What If...

Jose Rizal had a Facebook account..

Buckling Up

When I was in high school, my friend said he liked wearing a seatbelt while driving because he thought it was "cute."

I thought he was just making pa-cute.

It may be one of the parts of a car that is taken for granted and may be a well-dressed/OC dresser's nightmare since it tends to leave crumples across the body but when you witness someone important get saved from a terrible crash thanks to the seatbelt (and airbag), you realize that you're better off sporting crumpled clothes than getting your face crumpled.

Today, we celebrate 50 years of passenger safety.

The three-point seatbelt was invented in 1959 by Volvo's first safety engineer Nils Bohlin - whose previous work had been in developing a catapult ejector seat for pilots. But the car-maker was so convinced of the seat-belt's safety potential that it made the patent available for other manufacturers, and motorists, to benefit from.

A spokesman for Volvo said: 'Although we may now take it for granted, modern technological developments, such as seat belt pre-tensioners, are designed to work in conjunction with the same basic design of the seatbelt, so it remains the single most important safety feature on all modern cars.'

Safety experts calculate that wearing a seat-belt can increase the chance of surviving a collision by 50 percent.

Buckle up, everyone!

Something to tote about

Captain Planet cant help but do reruns on my mind after watching this earth docu that talked about the harmful effects of Man's lifestyle on the planet.

I was starting to think that we ought to be conscious with how we treat our planetary abode even more when Al Gore had Fright levels sky rocketing all over the world when he gave the rundown of which city will sink under water and which city wont if we don’t start hauling our asses to save the environment.

Starting August 21st, Ayala Malls will start selling these designer totes (Support Filipino designers!) - all to save the environment.

I personally like the bag designed by Jun Escario. Because its green and has the most different design.

The bags will go for P400 a pop with P100 going to World Wide Fund and a percentage to the designer's pet environmental org. Ayala Malls will also sponsor a two week long Green sale of green clothing and accessories. Some tenants in GB5 will sell limited edition environment-friendly shnazzles.

Set your wallets for August 21st. The power is yours!

It's A Good Thing: Quotes

Whoever Richard Kemph is, he sure got it right when he said that "quotes are nothing but inspiration for the uninspired." Although I am not exactly uninspired this morning, some quotes I read today sort of helped in putting some things into perspective.

The September Issue

No, this isn't about that film that I'm sure everyone in publishing is waiting (and will probably dress up) for IF it gets released in cinemas. There's another thing to look forward to in September (well, aside from by 30th birthday). I attempted to read the book, which Paolo recommended, when I was in the mood to "return" to the classics but Oscar Wilde and I didn't mesh well. Casting that Prince Caspian guy seems like a good choice. I couldn't think of anyone else to play him. He has the hair for it and Colin Firth is always great in period films, or roles which allow him to play a stuck up Brit (no offense) with a stiff upper lip sort of way.

Learning experience

I don't know which program it's from but its true - you really do learn something everyday. Just today, I learned that there's a small ramen resto in Ortigas Home Depot that has big servings at small prices; some models do have brains (and sometimes fake boobs), can sing and paint ; and that it was a good decision to not buy that blue D&G dress shirt yesterday - even if it was on sale. Here are more shnazzles I've learned: 1) Blue M&Ms held mend spinal injury. No, its not a placebo effect but brainiacs have discovered that the colouring in the candy has medical benefits: "The compound, Brilliant Blue G, can block a chemical which makes injuries worse by causing inflammation and destroying cells. This 'secondary spinal cord damage' can often cause more problems than the original wound. Researchers found that treatment with Brilliant Blue G reduced the size of the lesion and also improved recovery.

But there was a dramatic side-effect on laboratory rats used in the experiment, whose skin temporarily turned bright blue. The dye also needed to be injected into a vein very quickly after a trauma to be effective - within 15 minutes. However, it was able to significantly reduce secondary injury, with injured rats being able to walk again, although with a limp. Rats that had not received the solution never regained the ability to walk. Researcher Dr Steven Goldman said: 'Our hope is that this work will lead to a practical, safe agent that can be given to patients to decrease the secondary damage that we have to otherwise expect."

2) Some people can Facebook to death

In a macabre new twist to hit the internet, various sites are offering users the chance to send email greetings to loved one from beyond the grave. Sadly the user will not be around to witness their site as it only goes live when the website is alerted to the subscriber's death. They are also able to obtain passwords for internet banking and other e-documents.

3) Milk really does the body good

Drinking milk could cut your chances of dying from heart disease and stroke, say scientists.

Contrary to reports that milk harms health, they claim consumption could reduce the risk of succumbing to chronic illness by as much as a fifth. They found milk protects against developing most diseases, apart from prostate cancer, and can cut deaths from illnesses by 15 to 20%.

4) There's a new job in town

Companies such as Pizza Hut are entrusting their brands with students on OJT by putting them in charge of their official Twitter accounts. 'Twinterns' are usually young graduates because they pretty much know the ins and outs of today's fast paced and ever changing tech world.

Alexa Robinson, 22, hit the headlines when she became Pizza Hut's first official 'Twintern' in June. 'Luv my new job!', she gleefully tweeted in her first message to the general public. Her role has been a success and boosted Twitter followers of Pizza Hut from 3,000 to 13,000 in a matter of weeks.

5) There are signs of being rich and it just ain't $, £, ¥, or € In today's extremely pretentious world, you can no longer tell if someone is rich or riche. But author James Palumbo can. In his book, Tomas, he pours the dirt about a world obsessed by reality TV and the "bloated bankers, Russian roubles, salacious socialites and filthy footballers" that rule over it. He also shares pointers on spotting those with real dough and those that just simply, eat dough. The Look: "For the boys it's diamante-encrusted t-shirts or white shirts with oversize collars, anchor sized watches and sunglasses worn at all times ... but especially at night. For the girls it's micro-cocktail dresses, giraffe stilettos and bazooka breasts. Underwear, however expensive, is frowned upon." The Laugh: "Rich people laugh a lot because it shows how successful and care free and fun to be around they are. A rich laugh is either a high-pitched, head-turning 'Ha! Ha! Ha!' or a hysterical, I'm-having-so-much-fun 'He! He! He!' or a satisfied, consciously inappropriate guffaw 'Ahhaha! Ahhaha! Ahhaha!'"

The Language: "The über-rich talk mainly about the two subjects that interest them most, themselves and money ... me etc ... more etc ... money etc ... my etc ... mwah! " The Life: "High-net-worth individuals are creatures of expensive habits, and a busy day is mostly made up of bars, cars and beaches, smoking, shopping and eating, and a lot of unnecessary shouting."

The Luxury: "There is no end to the exhaustively extravagant ways the rich have devised to publicly dispose of their cash. From magnums to Old Masters and jewels to jets, they have an unshakable dedication to the art of expense."

Of course, he could be wrong. Maybe he's just bitter.

6) One pill to rule them all

Who cares about being unplugged from the Matrix or continue being blinded by reality? As long as you can stay 10 years younger, go for it.

A miraculous 'elixir of youth' which could extend the human life span by more than a decade is being developed by scientists. The anti-ageing pill was created from a chemical found in the soil of Easter Island - one of the most remote and mysterious places on the planet. In tests on animals, the chemical increased life expectancy by a staggering 38%. The drug, rapamycin, is already used to suppress the immune systems of organ transplant patients.

7) Peter Piper picked the right pepper

Red peppers are ripened green peppers. As such, they contain more nutrients - a red pepper contains twice the Vitamin C of a green one, and ten times the Vitamin A. One cup of raw, chopped red pepper gives 100 to 150 per cent of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C and 80 per cent of Vitamin A.

They are also a rich source of plant chemicals lycopene, beta-carotene and zeaxanthin - pigments that give peppers their red and orange colours - and contain folic acid, potassium and iron.

So peppers can help tackle a range of diseases and conditions, including arthritis, cancer, fertility, cardio diseases, and blindness.

8) OJ is bad

Yeah, OJ Simpson is too but researchers warned that Orange Juice can be so acidic it can strip off your teeth of its enamel. Fruit beverages can cut enamel hardness by 84 per cent causing teeth to erode more than previously thought.

Dr Yan-Fang Ren, of the Eastman Institute for Oral Health, at the University of Rochester Medical Centre in New York, said the acid in orange juice 'is so strong that the tooth is literally washed away'. Dr Ren and his team made the discovery after studying the effects of over-the-counter teeth whitening products.

He found the effect of six per cent hydrogen peroxide, the common ingredient used for teeth whitening, was 'insignificant' compared with acidic fruit juices.

9) Lose weight, you should go kiddie

The Shortening teaches the Kiddie Cart diet - "Most supermarkets have those scaled down shopping carts; take one the next time you have to do the groceries. They'll fill up easily, it'll necessitate your focusing on quality food items, you'll bring home less grub. Simple, less spoilage, better for hand-to-mouth proportion. Being smaller, you'll need less, anyway."

10) Twitter is actually fun,Google Reader makes my morning blog ritual much easier, and Blogger refuses to follow my layout.