lower your blood pressure naturally

13 ways to lower blood pressure naturally

Normal blood pressure is considered to be 120/80 mmhg (millimeters of mercury). Anything above that can start to cause problems for you. High blood pressure is one of the most preventable conditions.

According to the American Heart Association, 28% of Americans have high blood pressure and don't know it.

While medication can lower blood pressure, it may cause side effects such as leg cramps, dizziness, and insomnia. Fortunately, most people can bring down their blood pressure naturally without medication.

best fight scenes

The 15 Best Character-Driven Fight Scenes In Movies


includes some my favorites (as evidence I own the DVD)

The Princess Bride
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Casino Royale
Enter The Dragon
The Karate Kid
The Empire Strikes Back

via zergnet (interesting lists)

what? no Fist of Legend?

Jonathan Winters

LOS ANGELES >> Jonathan Winters, the cherub-faced comedian whose breakneck improvisations and misfit characters inspired the likes of Robin Williams and Jim Carrey, has died. He was 87.

The Ohio native died Thursday evening at his Montecito, Calif., home of natural causes, said Joe Petro III, a longtime family friend. Petro said Winters died of natural causes and was surrounded by family and friends.

Winters was a pioneer of improvisational standup comedy, with an exceptional gift for mimicry, a grab bag of eccentric personalities and a bottomless reservoir of creative energy. Facial contortions, sound effects, tall tales — all could be used in a matter of seconds to get a laugh.

On Jack Paar's television show in 1964, Winters was handed a foot-long stick and he swiftly became a fisherman, violinist, lion tamer, canoeist, U.N. diplomat, bullfighter, flutist, delusional psychiatric patient, British headmaster and Bing Crosby's golf club.

"As a kid, I always wanted to be lots of things," Winters told U.S. News & World Report in 1988. "I was a Walter Mitty type. I wanted to be in the French Foreign Legion, a detective, a doctor, a test pilot with a scarf, a fisherman who hauled in a tremendous marlin after a 12-hour fight."

The humor most often was based in reality — his characters Maude Frickert and Elwood P. Suggins, for example, were based on people Winters knew growing up in Ohio.

A devotee of Groucho Marx and Laurel and Hardy, Winters and his free-for-all brand of humor inspired Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, Tracey Ullman and Lily Tomlin, among others. But Williams and Carrey are his best-known followers.

Roger Ebert

Famed movie critic Roger Ebert died Thursday in Chicago after battling cancer. He was 70.

An opinionated writer, but also a movie fan, Ebert reviewed films for the Chicago Sun-Times for 46 years. He was perhaps best known, however, for his 31 years reviewing films on television.

Ebert experienced health problems over the past ten years, suffering illnesses including thyroid cancer and cancer of the salivary gland. In 2006 he lost part of his lower jaw, but -- as his obituary in the Sun-Times points out -- it didn't drive him out of the spotlight.

The acclaimed writer enjoyed wide and varied accolades, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1975 and was added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005. He also won a Webby "Person of the Year" award in 2010 for special achievement.

Fresh off the heels of his Pulitzer, Ebert launched his television show -- along with Gene Siskel (who died in 1999) -- the same year he was honored with the esteemed writing award. It started as a local Chicago show, but its popularity eventually pushed it into the national spotlight, making the duo's famed "thumbs up, thumbs down" a household gesture.

Fallon to replace Leno on Tonight Show

After weeks of rumors and buzz, NBC finally made it official: Jimmy Fallon will graduate from hosting "Late Night" to "The Tonight Show" in 2014. He replaces longtime host Jay Leno, whose contract is up next spring.

"I'm really excited to host a show that starts today instead of tomorrow," Fallon said in the press release.
After 22 years, Leno leaves while his "Tonight Show" still tops late-night ratings.

"Jay Leno is an entertainment icon, making millions of people laugh every weeknight for more than 20 years," said Steve Burke, chief executive officer of NBCUniversal. "We are purposefully making this change when Jay is No. 1, just as Jay replaced Johnny Carson when he was No. 1."
While Leno is still king of late night, NBC hopes the younger Fallon can attract more viewers in the key, advertiser-friendly 18-49 demo.

In the release, Leno struck a friendly tone, in keeping with the vibe the two hosts gave off in their recent "Tonight" song duet.

"Congratulations, Jimmy. I hope you're as lucky as me and hold on to the job until you're the old guy," Leno said. "If you need me, I'll be at the garage."

Still, it remains to be seen if this transition will be a smooth one or if will blow up like Leno's hand-off to Conan O'Brien in 2009. In that tumultuous chapter of the long "Tonight Show" saga, "Late Night" host O'Brien took over from Leno after five years of waiting. Leno wasn't happy to be giving up his seat, and NBC scrambled to give him a primetime show to prevent him from jumping to another network. But when O'Brien's "Tonight Show" ratings sagged and Leno's primetime show went down in flames, NBC ended up returning Leno to his gig. A furious O'Brien left to create a new late-night show on TBS.

This time, it seems like the hosting change will stick. Not only is NBC handing over producing duties to Lorne Michaels, the man in charge of "Late Night" and "Saturday Night Live," it's moving the show back to its original city of New York for Fallon.

***

After a few weeks of late night disses and rumors, the official announcement came Wednesday afternoon that Jay Leno would be retiring from his seat as the host of the "Tonight Show" in February 2014, and Jimmy Fallon would be graduating from "Late Night" to fill his shoes.

In other words, cue the monologues.

Not surprisingly, Leno and Fallon had plenty to say on the matter, as did their counterparts and competition, from Conan O'Brien to Jimmy Kimmel. And, needless to say, David Letterman brought his sharp tongue to the table, even making the Top Ten list "Things We'll Miss About Jay Leno."

"I got a call from my mom today, she said, 'Well, David, I see you didn't get the Tonight Show again.' Didn't we just go through this. Jay Leno is now being replaced, and this is the second time this has happened," the "Late Show" host said. "I mean, it's crazy. He's being replaced by a younger late-night talk show host – what could possibly go wrong?"

"I’ve known Jay Leno for 38 years, thank you. I don’t know what aspect of that you’re applauding, but thank you," he continued. "As with everything in life, all I really care about is how will this affect me? That’s all I really care about. … But good luck to Jay. I know he’ll be out on the road, getting it done and taking care of business and congratulations on a nice long run there at the 'Tonight Show,' if in fact you're not coming back.”

But he couldn't just leave it at that. Wednesday night's Top Ten list? "Things We'll Miss About Jay Leno." The list includes such gems as "He's Mom's favorite talk show host," "If you broke down on the freeway, Jay was always there to help with a camera crew," and "Now I'm the only guy in late-night television who's not a Jimmy." Watch the full list below:

But that wasn't the end of that fight. Leno managed to get in a solid dig of his own.

"I got to be honest with you, I had a really awkward day today," Leno began. "I had to call David Letterman and tell him he didn't get the 'Tonight Show' again."