Brain Rules

is a book I heard of from someplace and I had placed it on my paperback swap wish list.

then Julie on Sunday mentioned the Bobby gave a copy to Tonia.

So I'm looking at their website.  As a quick intro/overview is The 12 Brain Rules Illustrated.

It gets 4.5 stars at amazon.

Best Kung Fu Movies of all time

I remember there was a list from slate magazine a while ago, but I think it's long gone.  (I'll have to look up the link on my old CyberClub Hawaii website.)

So I'm googling what's out there now.

First, without looking much at the others, here's my list off the top of my head

5. Iron Monkey
4. Kung Fu Hustle
3. Wing Chun
2. Enter The Dragon
1. Fist of Legend

(notice they're all YWP movies except for Enter The Dragon)

And my favorite Yuen Woo Ping movies

OK, googling on:

Top 20 Martial Arts Films of all time (Black Belt Magazine)

Top 250 Greatest Martial Arts Movies of All-Time (imdb)

50 Greatest Kung Fu Movies (Total Film)

Top Ten Kung Fu Movies of All Time

The five greatest Martial Arts Movies (IFC)

*** [2/15/14] WatchMojo's Top 10 Martial Arts Movies

And after all these years (looking at Donnie Yen Top 10 Moments), I see I missed a Yuen Woo Ping / Donnie Yen movie.  It's Mismatched Couples.

salt and hypertension

Salt gets a bad rap. The oft-repeated mantra is that excessive salt causes hypertension and high blood pressure, which in turn lead to heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular ailments. However, this campaign has little foundation in science.

In 1972, the connection between salt and hypertension came from two pieces of research. One was the observation that populations that ate little salt had virtually no hypertension. But salt wasn’t the only thing
lacking in those diets, and any one of those could have been the cause. The second involved lab rats that developed hypertension on a high-salt diet. However, the amount these rats took in was 60 times more than what the average American consumes.

Although researchers acknowledged that the data were inconsistent, the link between salt and blood pressure became cemented in the public consciousness as fact.

A study published in the August 2011 issue of the American Journal of Hypertension, involving 6,250 subjects, found no strong evidence that cutting salt intake reduces the risk for heart attacks, strokes or death.
In fact, the risk for heart disease was 56 percent higher for the low-salt group than for the group that consumed the most salt. The conclusion the researchers came to was, the less salt you eat, the more likely you will die from heart disease, something that completely contradicts conventional views.

According to “It’s Time to End the War on Salt,” in the July 8, 2011, issue of Scientific American, “Intersalt, a large study published in 1988, compared sodium intake with blood pressure in subjects from 52 international research centers and found no relationship between sodium intake and the rate of hypertension.

In fact, the population that ate the most salt, about 14 grams [14,000 mg] a day, had a lower median blood pressure than the population that ate the least, about 7.2 grams [7,200 mg] a day. Studies that have explored the direct relationship between salt and heart disease have not fared much better.”

-- Costco Connection, September 2012

***

More from grist (with comments)

korean dramas

With the acquisition of my roku, I'm starting to use it for Korean dramas for my mom to watch.  I think it might work because they have subtitles (and her hearing isn't so good).  Plus my sister and aunties watch too.  So she might as well join the crowd.

Not familiar with the titles, but I started with Dong Yi since it sounded familiar.

And now I'm looking for other shows.

Another popular one was Dae Jung Geum which was directed by the producer of Dong Yi.

Jumong is one mentioned at Amazon (as other items customers buy).

Looking up Jumong, I see it is considered a major part of the Korean wave which refers to "the increase in popularity of South Korean entertainment beginning in the 1990s.

Other popular titles mentioned in the wikipedia article are

Winter Sonata (2002)
Dae Jang Geum
Boys Over Flowers

Here's a list of the most popular Korean Dramas in the 2000s.

1. Coffee Prince (2007)
2. Goong (2006) [aka Palace, Princess Hours, Imperial Household]
3. My Name is Kim Sam-Soon (2005) [aka My Lovely Sam Soon]
4. Full House (2004)
5. Stairs to Heaven (2003)
6. Daejanggeum (2002) [Jewel in the Palace, Great Jang Geum]
7. Winter Sonata (2002)

Cool,  I see Jewel in the Palace is on crunchy roll (which is where dong yi is too).  Unlike DramaFever, all the episodes are free on Roku.  (The full DramaFever is only free over the internet.)

Let's see.  Looking on crunchyroll's website, I see they have Boys Over Flowers, Coffee Prince, Princess Hours, Jumong, Dong Yi, Jewel in the Palace, My Lovely Samsoon, and lots more.

[I see Winter Sonata on youtube.  Heck, I see Donna logged on to youtube on my computer (donnacwong).  I'll create a playlist :)  Actually it's easier to subscribe to the uploader Syahir Ahir.]

This should keep my mom occupied for a while.

fighting Alzheimer's

Dr. Neal Barnard was on Dr. Oz's show talking about Alzheimers.  He said it's due to metals in the brain.

Where do the metals come from?  Pots and pans, food (meat and fish), vitamins.

Fat isn't good too.

Here's the links from Dr. Oz.

Your Brain Protection Plan

Brain-Protective Recipes

He wrote a book on Reversing Diabetes (with a DVD too)

I smell a new book coming soon.

Hey, the book is already out.  It's called Power Foods for the Brain.

road repaving schedule

As seen on KITV news today

is your street on the list?

(ours isn't, well we can hope for 2018 / that's a lot of streets that's not ours)

The Men Who Built America

I happened to catch a few episodes of this series on the History Channel and it caught my interest.  The portrayals of the motivations behind the men profiled made me wonder about the current men in power.

I saw the Blu-Ray on sale yesterday at Costco and was tempted to buy it.  However looking at some of the comments at Amazon and these reviews, it appears some of the events did not have occurred as they showed it.  (And so the motivation of the creators of the series have been called into question by some.)

Still it was interesting.  I guess one might have to take it more like a movie based on historical events.

Despite the faults, I might get the DVD set one day anyway, if I can get it cheap.

Hey, here's episode 4 on youtube.  Probably won't last long.

To satisfy myself, I can probably DVR this, then record it.  (And not watch it.)

Maybe these videos might be more accurately historically:

Cornelius Vanderbilt
John D. Rockefeller
Andrew Carnegie
J.P. Morgan
Henry Ford

Wow, The American Experience in its 25th season.  Where have I been?

***

After watching this (or least part of it), I'm not a little curious about another series from The History Channel called America: the story of Us.

Hey part 1 on youtube.

Criticism?  Naturally.  Notably some complained why celebrities such as Margaret Cho, Sean Diddy Combs, Sheryl Crow, Michael Douglas et al were chosen to appear in history documentary.

*** [4/20/14]

Still looking to get the series on DVD, but now I notice it's on Amazon Prime.  And some of it has been uploaded to dailymotion.

Here are the descriptions on Amazon Prime.  There are 8 episodes, whereas they were shown on TV as four (combined) episodes.

1.  A New War Begins
2.  Oil Strike
3.  A Rivalry Is Born
4.  Blood Is Spilled
5.  A New Rival Emerges
6.  Owning It All
7.  Taking the White House
8.  The New Machine

And here's the episodes on dailymotion

1_6: William Jennings Bryan, Andrew Carnegie
2_6:  Theodore Roosevelt
3_6: J.P. Morgan (I notice this was only 25:28)
4_6: Johnstown 1889
5_6: Carnegie rethinks
6_6: electricity (Owning It All)

And I see it uploaded on youtube (will probably be taken off soon enough).

Part 1
Part 2 Bloody Battles
Part 3 Changing the Game
Part 4 When One Ends Another Begins

And the whole series in one file

And another uploader

1 of 8 - A New War Begins
2 of 8 - Oil Strike
3 of 8 - A Rivalry is Born
4 of 8 - Blood is Spilled
5 of 8 - A New Rival Emerges
6 of 8 - Owning It All
7 of 8 - Taking The White House
8 of 8 - The New Machine

So the options are: view the pirate videos, buy the DVD, buy the Blu-Ray, subscribe to Amazon Prime, buy the seasons on Amazon ($12.99 for SD, $18.99 for HD).

I see the America: The Story of Us and the Mankind: The Story of Us are also on Amazon Prime.

Maybe I'll just wait.  It's on my list at swapadvd.

[1/24/15] Now streaming on Netflix!

Super Heroes on screen (or attempts at)

Both DC Comics and Marvel would have you think that big-budget, blockbuster films like Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, X-Men, Green Lantern and The Avengers are their only attempts to bring popular comic book characters into the live-action arena. They would like everyone to forget the sometimes absurd, ridiculous and often ugly reality: that there were numerous early - and failed - attempts to bring super heroes to both the big and small screens.

***

Lots of stories from the "numerous" link above.  Like this one from Patton Oswald on Blade: Trinity.  (And I always liked that movie..)  And minutes later, it's not there..

More..  The evolution of Nicolas Cage's hair

OK, that's enough.

***

How did I get all this?  Well, I was looking at this review of the Birds of Prey DVD set (bought on eBay) which I got in the mail yesterday.

Here's a quickie technical review.  The menu fills the wide-screen but the TV shows are in non-anamorphic wide-screen (so it doesn't fill my HD TV screen).  And even putting my Panasonic plasma in wide-screen mode doesn't do it either.  I think it might be the Sony Blu-Ray player is upscaling the signal and the TV doesn't zoom properly the hi-def signal (even though I'm connecting the player with composite cables and not HDMI).  I think if I connect my DVD-recorder to the TV, it might zoom properly.

One plus that I like is that there are subtitles.  Also included (somewhat oddly) as a bonus feature is the Gotham Girls animated series (maybe they figured it would help sell the set).  This one is full screen without subtitles.  And the last bonus is the unaired pilot which is similar to the official pilot but with a different actress playing the Huntress.  This one doesn't support subtitles but oddly IS anamorphic wide-screen.

Compound Habit Interest

One of the things I’ve learned in my last 7 years of creating new habits is the power of compound habit interest.

It sounds really obvious when you say it, but if you do something small repeatedly, the benefits accrue greatly over time. It’s obvious, but not everyone puts it into practice.

It’s like putting a little extra cash into an index investment fund … let’s say you put in just $5/day (less than you spend at Starbucks perhaps) … at the end of 20 years, you’d have almost $70,000 if you could make just 6 percent interest, and closer to $90,000 if you could make 8 percent. Change that to just $8/day, and you’re now talking about $140,000 or so. It adds up greatly over time.

The same principle applies to habits.

Let’s take a few examples:

• Spend just a few minutes a day studying Anki flashcards, and at the end of a year, you have a ton of new phrases and sentences learned of a new language. Sure, it’s not the same as being fluent, but it’s much better than you were a year ago.
• Spend just a few minutes a day doing pushups (even if you can’t do any at first), and by the end of a year, you’ll be much stronger. I’ve seen the same thing happen to me when it comes to lifting weights — I was very weak when I started, and though I’m not going to impress any weightlifters with what I can do now, I’ve made remarkable progress over time.
• I started out not being able to run 10 minutes, but started with 7 minutes. Soon I could run 10, then 12, then 15. At the end of my first year of running, I ran a marathon.

Adding little amounts over time makes a huge difference.

If you repeat something regularly, just doing a small amount each time, it adds up hugely over time. Some ways to do that:

1. Actual money. Seriously, if you don’t have any savings yet, cut out one or two small daily expenses (Starbucks grande lattes are a good example) and instead, make regular automatic transfers each week (or every payday) to a savings account. Once you have a small emergency fund, pay off debt. Once you’ve paid off most of your debt, start investing. Your finances will improve immensely with time.
2. Healthy eating. Eating just one small healthy thing a day, if you aren’t eating healthy now, will pay off over time. Just add one fruit instead of an unhealthy snack you might have in the afternoon. Do that for a couple weeks. Then add a veggie to lunch. Do that a few weeks. Each step of the way won’t seem hard, but you’ll eventually get used to each change. Sometimes the veggie won’t be something you love, so just eat a few bites. You’ll learn to enjoy it with time. You change, little by little.
3. Waking early. Wake up just a few minutes earlier tomorrow (say 7:55 instead of 8:00), and stay at that level for a week, then another 5 minutes earlier for the next week, and so on. In less than 6 months, you’ll be waking up 2 hours earlier, and you won’t have ever really noticed it. It’ll never feel like you’re waking earlier. Most people, btw, try to do way more than this (say, an hour earlier at first) and then fail, and never figure out why.
4. Writing. If you haven’t been able to create the writing habit, just write a sentence today. I’m completely serious. Then write a sentence tomorrow. Do that for a week. Next week, write two sentences. This sound ridiculously easy, so most people will ignore this advice. But if you follow it, you’ll be writing 1,000 words per day, every day, this time next year. Maybe 2,000 per day the following year.
5. Stretching and/or yoga. I’m the world’s least flexible person (I think it’s in the Guinness Book). So now I stretch just a little each day. I bet in a a month or two, I’ll pass the guy in Luanda that’s just a little ahead of me on the flexibility list. I’ve started by just doing three yoga poses each morning.
6. Musical instrument. My wife Eva started learning to play the guitar yesterday. Just a couple chords. If she practices those two chords each day, then another chord or two when she feels pretty confident with the first two, she’ll be playing some Bach and Granados next year.
7. Meditation. I made a vow to meditate at least 3 minutes a day. That’s all I have to do, though sometimes I’ll do more. That makes it super easy to do it every day. What will I get if I keep doing that for years? I’m not sure, but I know I already have a judgment-free space, with no expectations, and it helps me to be more mindful and focused throughout the day.
8. Decluttering. Just declutter a few things every day. In a few months, you’ll have a dramatically less cluttered home.
9. Language learning. Study three cards a day with words/phrases/sentences on them. You’ll be speaking Spanish like loco in six months. (Yes, I just gave you your first Spanish investment in that last sentence.)

You get the picture.

-- Leo Babauta

the Ivy Lee Formula

In the early 1900s, Charles M. Schwab (not the financial guru Charles Schwab), Andrew Carnegie’s right-hand man and president of Bethlehem Steel, wanted to increase his efficiency and that of his management team.

John D. Rockefeller Sr. suggested Schwab meet with Ivy Lee, a well-known efficiency expert and his personal consultant. Schwab was extremely busy, and despite his disdain for consultants, decided to schedule Ivy for a 20-minute meeting.

Lee began by asking Schwab to outline his vision for the company. Schwab responded immediately with a clearly articulated vision. Lee then asked Schwab to write down the six most important things he needed to do each day in order to achieve that vision. He then instructed Schwab to complete the tasks from the most important to least important and cross off each item that was completed throughout the day.

At the end of the day, Schwab was to create another prioritized to-do list for the following day. If he wasn’t able to complete a task, he would move it to the top of the list the next day. Lee was done with the meeting in less than 15 minutes.

Schwab responded with, “That’s it? How much do I owe you for this advice?”

Lee told Schwab to try out his advice and then send him a check for what he thought the advice was worth. Several weeks later, Schwab sent Lee a letter thanking him for the most profitable advice he had ever heard, and enclosed a check of $25,000, worth approximately $300,000 today’s dollars! Schwab later went on to build Bethlehem Steel into the largest independent steel company in the nation.

In time-management circles, this prioritized to-do list is called the “Ivy Lee Formula.” This advice can be applied to anyone, try it for yourself.

1) Clearly define your vision, goals and objectives for your life, business and family.

2) Create a “Daily Priority To-Do List” on your computer, notepad or smart-phone, whatever works best for you.

3) Write the top six tasks that you must complete the following day to reach your vision, goals and objectives.

4) Work through your list throughout the day and cross off the items you completed.

5) Create another “Daily Priority To-Do List” at the end of each day.

We can’t change the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day, but we can effectively manage our time through proactive personal management to gain more time.

batmobile auctioned off

for $4.2 million.

Expendables 3

When we saw some footage from Jackie Chan's forthcoming action thriller Chinese Zodiac, the stuntman and action veteran revealed that Sylvester Stallone asked him to take a part in The Expendables 2, but he couldn't partake because of his commitment to the aforementioned personal project. But the good news is, fans who have been waiting for Chan to show up in the ensemble action franchise have finally gotten their wish. However, rather than having a small cameo role like Chuck Norris had in the second film (and he's apparently not returning for another one), Chan wanted a bigger role in The Expendables 3. Read on!

Yahoo says Jackie Chan revealed this while at a press conference for Chinese Zodiac:

"Sly had invited me to be in 'Expendables 2' but I was too busy filming 'CZ12' and couldn't make a commitment to the film. But he did extend his invitation to the third movie, which I agreed on the condition that I will be appearing as more than just a minor role with a few scenes."

In addition, apparently Chan asked Stallone if the third film could be more like a "buddy-buddy" movie (which I assume means that Stallone would have more of a sidekick in addition to a whole team), and he obliged. So does that mean Chan is Stallone's sidekick in the film? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[Jackie and Jet together again?]

Letterman on Leno

Letterman contends that the idea there's a rivalry between the two is not true.

"Jay and I were friends. We were always friends before all of this happened," he says of being passed over to take over Johnny Carson's seat.

"He has a way, he’s an unusual fellow. I’ve never met anyone quite like Jay," Letterman tells Oprah of the "Tonight Show" host. "And I will say -- and I’m happy to say -- that I think he is the funniest guy I’ve ever known. Just flat out, if you go to see him do his night club act, just the funniest. The smartest, a wonderful observationist and very appealing as a comic."

*** [11/23/13]

Though the shots have ceased in the great war between Jay Leno and David Letterman, one brave soldier continues on. That man is Howard Stern, who never has a remotely nice thing to say about Leno.

Stern is a fairly regular guest on "The Late Show with David Letterman," though he refuses to visit Jay on "The Tonight Show." It's especially awkward since Howard is a judge on NBC's "America's Got Talent."

Still, Howard has always stuck to his guns, never giving up the fight over Leno getting the "Tonight Show" instead of Letterman, even though the rest of the world moved on over two decades ago.

Even Jay and Dave seem to have put it all behind them, exchanging phone calls with one another. Of course, Howard hates hearing about that. "I never served in the military, but I feel like a Vietnam veteran, you know? I feel like I'm still in the jungles, fighting your war, and you've made up with Vietnam."

wish list

Well, not really a wish list.  But a might-be-interested in.

Looking at an old Midweek, August 22, 2012

Saw this review of Campaign.  The reviewer Georgette Deemer mentions her favorite political film is Bulworth.  Bulworth caught my eye because it stars Warren Beatty and also features Jack Warden.  Both of them were in one of my favorite movies of all time, Heaven Can Wait [made 20 years earlier in 1978, but Beatty still looks pretty good].  Plus it also has Halle Berry.

I probably won't like the ending (where Bulworth gets shot), nor the profanity.  But it has enough qualities that make me want to see it.  So I'll put it on my swapadvd list.  Actually I see 7 copies are currently available.

Not on Netflix or hulu.

***

The other add on my wishlist is from Uncle Tom's Gabbin column.  He mentions he found himself with Jose Feliciano in Memphis for Elvis Week and that Jose's latest release is a compilation of Elvis songs.

The album is The King... by Jose Feliciano.  It's naturally available on amazon.  No song previews though.  Let's see if I can find some freebies on youtube.

1. Don't Be Cruel (live)
2. You Are Always On My Mind
3. I'll Remember You (live)
4. All Shook Up (live 1978)
5. Loving You
6. Are You Lonesome Tonight
7. Can't Help Falling In Love With You
8. Love Me Tender (live)
9. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
10. Teddy Bear
11. It's Midnight
12. In The Ghetto

Bonus: It's Now or Never

OK, maybe not.

Here's some from Raul Malo

Love Me
A Fool Such As I
Can't Help Falling In Love With You

The first song came from Sears presents Elvis the Tribute (seen at the beginning of the video).  But strangely I can't come up with any hits on it on google.

Wait it looks like it was a 1994 show and here's a couple I found

It's Now or Never (Wet,Wet, Wet)
Amazing Grace (Mario)

And more.  But I don't see The Mavericks on the material so I dunno.

Maybe I should put together a Raul Malo playlist.  [I guess I'm kind of repeating myself.  See here.]  Plus there's a bunch a playlists already on youtube.

turtles demonstrate the dark side

An American student who set out to determine how to help turtles cross the road ended up getting a glimpse into the dark souls of some humans.

Clemson University student Nathan Weaver put a realistic rubber turtle in the middle of a lane on a busy road near campus. Then he got out of the way and watched over the next hour as seven drivers swerved and deliberately ran over the animal. Several more apparently tried to hit it but missed.

"I've heard of people and from friends who knew people that ran over turtles. But to see it out here like this was a bit shocking," said Weaver, a 22-year-old student at Clemson's School of Agricultural, Forest and Environmental Sciences.

To seasoned researchers, the practice wasn't surprising.

The number of box turtles is in slow decline, and one big reason is that many wind up as roadkill while crossing the asphalt, a slow-and-steady trip that can take several minutes.

Sometimes humans feel a need to prove they are the dominant species on this planet by taking a two-tonne metal vehicle and squishing a defenceless creature under the tires, said Hal Herzog, a Western Carolina University psychology professor.

"They aren't thinking, really. It is not something people think about. It just seems fun at the time," Herzog said. "It is the dark side of human nature."

preparing a will

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” No one wants to think about death, but a little planning can ensure your assets are divided smoothly after you are gone.

Make a plan.
A will dictates where your assets go when you die. Without it, you will not have a say, and someone else will determine how to allocate your assets. Given that you have worked hard for what you own, it is important where, what, how much and to whom you want it to go is clear. Wills are especially important if you have a business or children from a previous marriage and want to prevent any potential family disputes.

List what you own.
Make a list of all your assets, no matter the value, and determine who should receive them. Make sure you include investment accounts and life insurance policies. It may even be helpful to ask your beneficiaries what they want. Some may have a preference on a particular item that others may not care for. This can help prevent any future ill will or disagreements. No matter how much you have, a will is important, especially if you have young children. You can decide who can step in as their guardian and what should happen to their assets.

Choose the executor.
The executor is the person responsible for making sure what you decide on the will is carried out. This person will oversee the transfer of your assets to the beneficiaries. Make sure it is someone you trust. If you are married, you can name your spouse. It is helpful to have an alternate executor named as well.

Talk to a professional.
Emotions can be high in writing up a will. Depending on how much you have, planning can be quite complicated and stressful. It may be a good idea to consult an expert who can help you navigate through this process. They can provide objective advice with knowledge on the most up-to-date estate laws. You will want to choose somebody who respects your wishes.

Leave instructions.
A letter of personal instruction can add to what is not covered in a will. This can include account numbers, passwords, burial arrangements and the location of important documents. The note can contain personal wishes of how you want people to remember you and the legacy that you would like to leave behind!

Jack Klugman

Jack Klugman, who played the sports-loving, slobby-living Oscar Madison on television and stage in “The Odd Couple” across from his close friend Tony Randall, has died. He was 90.

Klugman, a resident of Malibu, Calif., died Monday in Los Angeles, The Associated Press reported, citing his son Adam. He had surgery for throat cancer in 1989, then worked to rehabilitate his acting voice.

Raised in a rough Philadelphia neighborhood, Klugman carried a no-nonsense persona into roles as an agonized juror in the movie “12 Angry Men,” as a headstrong medical examiner in the TV series “Quincy, M.E.” and, most famously, as half of “The Odd Couple,” which ran on ABC from 1970 to 1975.

Klugman played the divorced, cigar-chomping, laundry-tossing sports columnist who, in a moment of charity, opened his apartment to his precise, finicky, hypochondriac photographer friend, Felix Unger, who needs a home after being expelled by his wife. They clashed — over women and money, food and furniture, habits and style — through five seasons and 114 episodes.

Klugman said the fact that he and Randall resembled their characters in real life helped the show succeed, as did their training as stage actors. Many of the show’s funniest scenes were improvised.

“Tony and I never saw the show as merely a frolic, but rather as a portrait of friendship,” Klugman wrote in his 2005 memoir, “Tony and Me.”

Randall’s death in 2004, ending a 35-year friendship and collaboration, prompted Klugman to write his book. He credited Randall with helping him survive throat cancer in 1989 and in making him a more open person and a better father.

For each of the five seasons of “The Odd Couple,” Klugman and Randall both received Emmy nominations for best leading actor. Klugman won in 1973 and 1971. Randall won in 1975.

the ideal gift

self-help books

While playing with my new Digix tablet, I tried looking for stuff to read on it.  And noticed some "classic" self-help books (apparently) free on the internet.

Here's a few to get started.  And they even have some on youtube too.

As A Man Thinketh by James Allen (youtube)

Law of Success (1928) by Napoleon Hill (youtube)

Think and Grow Rich (1937) by Napoleon Hill (youtube)

How To Stop Worrying and Start Living (1948) by Dale Carnegie (youtube: the whole 9+ hours, part 1)

The Ten Scrolls from the Greatest Salesman in the World (1968) by Og Mandino

***

And here's a youtube playlist titled Success Secrets featuring Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield, Napoleon Hill, John Assaraf, Brian Tracy, and others

The Big Religion Chart

The ReligionFacts "Big Religion Chart" is an attempt to summarize all the complexities of religions and belief systems into tiny little boxes on a single, quick-reference comparison chart. Yes, of course this is impossible. Our comparison charts are not a substitute for reading about religions, talking with religious adherents, etc. But this chart can (hopefully) be a useful way to compare basic beliefs and practices of the world's religions and belief systems. Currently, 43 belief systems are listed.

-- via Roy

Larry Hagman

J.R. Ewing was a business cheat, faithless husband and bottomless well of corruption. Yet with his sparkling grin, Larry Hagman masterfully created the charmingly loathsome oil baron — and coaxed forth a Texas-size gusher of ratings — on television's long-running and hugely successful nighttime soap, "Dallas."

Although he first gained fame as nice guy Major Tony Nelson on the fluffy 1965-70 NBC comedy "I Dream of Jeannie," Hagman earned his greatest stardom with J.R. The CBS serial drama about the Ewing family and those in their orbit aired from April 1978 to May 1991, and broke viewing records with its "Who shot J.R.?" 1980 cliffhanger that left unclear if Hagman's character was dead.

The actor, who returned as J.R. in a new edition of "Dallas" this year, had a long history of health problems and died Friday due to complications from his battle with cancer, his family said.

borrowadvd

I was thinking that it would be neat if friends had a pool of DVDs from which they could borrow.  Friends would list their DVDs into the pool and other friends could see what's available to borrow.

Apparently there was a site called lendaround which did just that, but then apparently it went away due to lack of interest (or funding).

Further searching brought up borrowadvd.  It's currently in development but allows you to put in your inventory of DVDs for now.

Searching for borrowadvd failed to bring up the site, but led to MoviesatWork.co.uk which seems to be operational.

Talk about limited functionaly at borrowadvd.  I can't even figure out how to add a movie..

is health insurance a bad bet?

In general, any insurance is a bad bet (because the insurance company is taking their cut).

And in the case of health insurance, it's even more of a bad bet if you're healthy.

Of course, the risk is that you'll lose all your money.

The best bet in either case: try to stay healthy!

Hawaiian music

Hey youtube is the new thatsitethateverybodyusedtopiratemusicfrom (napster)

Here's the start of the Hawaiian music playlist

Brown Eyed Girl (Ka'au Crater Boys)

I'm Yours (Ten Feet, Sungha Jung, Jason Mraz)
Islands in the Stream (Ten Feet)

Honey Baby (Three Plus) [grooveshark]
Cool Operator (Three Plus)
Two Person Party (Three Plus)

Undercover Lover (Three Plus)

Stuck on You (Ekolu)
Honestly (Ekolu)

Fish and Poi (Sean Na'auao Trio, solo, studio) / [Hungry Guy, Hungry Girl]

Inspiration: Take 1

Inspiration was William Hung's debut album.  But believe it or not, other people sang those songs too.  Here's some that I found (in progress)

She Bangs (Dario, Sindikatos, Patrick J Reyes, Ricky Martin, William Hung)

Hotel California (Loy, Bim, Joe, Eagles, William Hung)

Can You Feel Love Tonight (The Four Quarters, MA'capella, Vocal Folds 4, Biola King's Men, Landry Cantrell and Brianne Brieno, KiKeCeRv, OfficialRoflcopterz, sebi2205, Helene Fischer, Elton John, William Hung)

***

[2/11/16] William Hung got married

The Eagles: the alternate Common Thread

And while on the music subject, one of my favorite albums is Common Thread which are Eagles covers by noted country artists

Some of the tracks are youtube

Take It Easy (Travis Tritt)
Peaceful Easy Feeling (Little Texas)
Desperado (Clint Black)
Heartache Tonight
Tequila Sunrise (Alan Jackson)
Take It to the Limit (Suzy Boguss)
I Can't Tell You Why (Vince Gill)
Lyin' Eyes
New Kid in Town (Trisha Yearwood)
Saturday Night
Already Gone (Tanya Tucker)
Best of My Love
The Sad Cafe (Lorrie Morgan)

And here's an alternate Common Thread from youtube (in progess):

Take It Easy (Big River Band, Bluegrasspicker32, Tequila Sunrise, mosnick)
Peaceful Easy Feeling (roccoscirocco, DejaVuAcoustic, Jackson Browne)
Desperado (sjkcmusic, demenche, Steve Jackson, Lisa Mei, Carrie Underwood, Guitar Sensation)
Heartache Tonight (Tofta Sisters, 69SouthBand, Desert Highway)
Tequila Sunrise (TMSampson, HomePicking, beppemignemi, glimmertwins4, Music Family)
Take It to the Limit (asdisciple18, BRONZE8020, LeLive)
I Can't Tell You Why (Maxi, ropor, Ana Free)
Lyin' Eyes (rickytic3, tjgaghan, SteveYeager65, Moyse, f7jaybird, Scott Seiter, GennaAcoustic)
New Kid in Town (spettacolare, SeldomL8, Loy, Bim, Joe, tonybpr31, JD Souther)
Saturday Night (sof2jack, eciovdriht)
Already Gone (jamala22, boozelele)
Best of My Love (mocchicone, JD Souther, John Hall, Guitar Sensation)
The Sad Cafe (TheStevensCat, ilcvthesniper1989, JD Souther)

And here it is: the Common Thread alternate universe edition) playlist (take 1)

And the originals

Take It Easy
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Desperado (Clint Black)
Heartache Tonight
Tequila Sunrise
Take It to the Limit
I Can't Tell You Why
Lyin' Eyes
New Kid in Town
Saturday Night
Already Gone
Best of My Love
The Sad Cafe

Surprisingly, these hits were not on the album:

One of these Nights
Hotel California (Loy, Bim, Joe, David Wayne, Naudo, Reggae Remake, Calliman, William Hung, Eagles)

Seven Bridges Road (this one didn't make the cut, but I like the little white dog)

do not disturb

One of the most exciting features of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference last week was Do Not Disturb, the new iPhone feature designed to get you off your iPhone altogether.


Do Not Disturb is just one among a growing crop of like-minded apps that are tapping into the benefits of unplugging and recharging -- a source of wisdom that many of our most creative minds have long recognized. Bill Gates, who realized that good ideas come when we shut out distractions, used to take "Think Weeks" -- a week off once or twice a year in a secluded cabin, in order to read and think. Steve Jobs told Walter Isaacson that Zen meditation was important for him so he could still his restless mind and listen, as he put it, to more subtle things, and "that's when your intuition starts to blossom." John Steinbeck put it this way: "a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it."

Going back through history, we know that many of the great discoveries were made in moments of relaxation. Archimedes famously had his eureka moment in the bath, and was so excited he dashed out naked -- which of course today would have instantly been captured on Twitter.

- read in Midweek, June 27, 2012

Raul Malo / Roy Orbison

I wasn't familiar with Raul Malo, but when I searching for the Johnny Cash TNT special, I came to his site which had information and links to videos (see Johnny Cash in the blog).

It turnes out Raul Malo was the lead singer of The Mavericks, I listened to this video (Born to Be Blue) and it kind of reminded me of Roy Orbison.  (I'm trying to figure out what song they're ripping off -- it's L-O-V-E.)

It turns out they're a fan of Orbison having released a Covers album.

And I see on youtube Malo singing a few Orbison classics

Crying
In Dreams
Dream Baby

Raul as Roy doing Puff The Magic Dragon

***

And here's Roy Oribson himself

Crying
In Dreams
Dream Baby

***

Raul does Elvis too

Can't Help Falling In Love With You 
Love Me
A Fool Such As I

***

You're Only Lonely was by J.D. Souther but would have fit Orbison too.  Raul Malo's version (a bit slower than Souther's version).  Digging through youtube's results: also done by Schuyler Fisk, Giovy Jiminez, Caitlin Strnadica.

Hey, J.D. Souther does covers too.

Best of My Love (Eagles)
New Kid in Town

Live at the Troubadour

Carole King and James Taylor (concert)

I wouldn't think this would last this long, but it's been up since 2/27/11.

oldies collections

I bit on the Dick Clark's Rock and Roll Era informercial.

But another one was/is Malt Shop Memories (partially available on grooveshark)

The current one is Teen Years.

But actually I think I probably enjoy the informercial better than the actual music

Couldn't find the full informercial of other two but here's Teen Years (starring Neil Sedaka)

Bossa music

[11/1/12] I've written about Bossa music on previous posts (for example, Bossa Beatles in the previous post - for more search this blog for Bossa).  But I figure I'll make a new post devoted just to it.  It seems the singer on these albums (or at least some of them) is Rita Lee.

Well I'll just cut and paste here..

Fly Me to the Moon (saxophone)
Fly Me to the Moon (Olivia Ong)
Fly Me to the Moon (Astrud Gilberto)
The Girl From Ipanema (Astrud Gilberto)

My favorite Bossa album is Bossa N' Chicago.  Anyway, here's some tracks from youtube.  I guess I should one day make a playlist.

If You Leave Me Now
Will You Still Me Love Me?
Happy Man

shucks, I thought I could find more.  [I might have downloaded it on my other computer.]

Hey, I see the tracks available for streaming on grooveshark.  I'll write them down before they disappear (since they're being sued for copyright violations by all the major music companies).

Just You N' Me
Will You Still Love Me? (youtube)
If You Leave Me Now (takko27)
Colour My World
You're the Inspiration
Hard Habit To Break
Glory Of Love
Here in my Heart
Hard to say I'm Sorry
After The Love Has Gone
I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love
Happy Man (nestormena3000)
The Next Time I Fall
Take Me Back To Chicago

[12/8/16]  Found this note in the divider, they're the Bossa N' Chicago Tracks, but in a different order.  Maybe this was the order on my custom playlist?  I dunno.  But here it is..

If you leave me now (bal27rck)
you're the inspiration (bal27rck)
will you still love me (bal27rck)
glory of love (bal27rck)
happy man (bal27rck)
hard habit to break (bal27rck)
hard to say I'm sorry (bal27rck)
I don't want to live without your love (bal27rck)
just you n' me (bal27rck)
after the love is gone (bal27rck)
colour my world (bal27rck)
next time I fall (bal27rck)
here in my heart (bal27rck)
take me back to chicago (bal27rck)

Looking at the youtube links, I see the first one (Will You Still Love Me) no longer works, but I found a couple more attributed to Sitti [actually got 'em all!].  I'll link them above.  And before they're gone, I'll download them too (using keepvid).  Tried downloading the mp3 with keepvid and I couldn't get it working, so I used listentoyoutube.com.  Funny the mp3 is bigger than the mp4 file.

Hmm.  Now I see the scribbled list was (the bulk of) my playlist labelled Bossa's and that I looked at those videos almost four years ago - see 3/17/13 post below.  One video is missing from the playist (which is will you still love me).  I'll add it back.  I also notice some deleted videos from the playlist: top of the world and you got a ....

OK, here's a replacement for Top of the World (by Taryn Szpilman).  Actually I like this one (uploaded by Harris Syach) better.  As for You got a friend, I like this one by Susan Wong.  And this one by Lisa Ono.  OK, I'll add the second and third to the list to replace the deleted ones.

So here's the current playlist (the first 14 are from Bossa N' Chicago)
If You Leave Me Now (takko27)
Happy man (nestormena3000)
You're the inspiration (bal27rck)
Will you still love me
Glory of love
Hard habit to break
Hard to say I'm sorry
I don't wanna live without your love
Just you n' me
After the love has gone
Colour my world
The next time I fall
Here in my heart
Take me back to Chicago
Fly to me the moon (Sinval Fonseca)
Can't buy me love (mony0728)
Hey Jude (TATIMELMONO)
Let It Be (mitodrumR)
Here Comes the Sun (mitodrumR)
Beat It (TATIMELMONO)
Top of the World (Harris Syach)
I won't last a day without you (alcatraz0700915)
You've got a friend (evosound)
Killing Me Softly (rizos5224)
More than words (Breeze BossaNova)
Just the way you are (Breeze BossaNova)
Can't Help Falling in Love (BRUTALTECHNOCORE)

[3/17/13 - I see that bal27rck has uploaded the tracks to youtube between 12/1/12 and 12/3/12 and attributes the singer as sitti.  Looking up sitti, I see she is Sitti Navarro and is credited with the Cafe Bossa and My Bossa Nova albums (on which she sings If You Leave Me Now).  They're pretty good, but to me sounds different from the singer on the Bossa N' Chicago which I still believe to Rita Lee.]

I like Bossa n' Marley too.

Is This Love?
Waiting in Vain
I Shot The Sheriff
Redemption Song
No Woman No Cry
Buffalo Soldier

[Hey, I see this album on megazip.]

I guess I'll just listen on grooveshark while I can.

[1/23/14] Hey rdio is streaming free.  Lisa Ono - Soul & Bossa caught my ear (while trying to listen to songs from Slim Whitman Country Classics).  And here's a reggae version of Send Me The Pillow.

[12/5/15] Listening to Bossa n' Essentials on spotify.  Love it.

[5/14/22] The Boss N Chicago songs from bal27rck have gone private.  But I see a new playlist "provided to YouTube by Warner Music Phillipines".  So this kind of looks official.  The songs are dated 9/26/14, but the playlist was last updated 4/11/22.

Beatles covers

I love Beatles music, but since I've heard it played over and over by the Beatles, I've kind of collected a bunch of Beatles cover music (over the like the last 20 years or so).

But now I see I can get some on youtube.  Here's some I found.

I'm Looking Through You (ukelele)
Blackbird (Cameron Mitchell)
Blackbird (Kenny Rankin)
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Jake Shimabukuro)
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Sungha Jung)
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Eric Clapton, Concert for George)
My Sweet Lord (Billy Preston, Concert for George)
Here Comes The Sun (Paul Simon, David Crosby, Graham Nash)
Here Comes The Sun (James Taylor with John Williams)
Here Comes the Sun (Yuna - via roy)
Here Comes the Sun (Landon Austin)

Something (reggae cover)
Imagine (Bruddah Waltah)

Don't Let Me Down (Bruddah Waltah)

[11/5/12] Here's my play list (so far).

Fool on the Hill (Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66)

Daytripper (Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66)

Can't Buy Me Love (in Bossa)

A Hard Day's Night (Rita Lee)

She Loves You (Rita Lee)

All My Loving (Bossa N' Beatles)

With A Little Help From My Friends (Rita Lee)

In My Life (Rita Lee)

Here, There, Everywhere (Rita Lee)

If I Fell (Rita Lee)

Michelle (Rita Lee)

Hey Jude (Cool Songs in Bossa)

Let It Be (Bossa 'n Beatles)
Til There Was You (Barbara Williams)

Top 10 best Beatles covers

***

Top Tracks for the Beatles (100)

[11/4/12] the covers project shows just how many people have covered Beatles music

The Complete Beatles 1 album

Star Wars VII

The Force is strong with this merger. Disney announced on Tuesday that it had purchased Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion in cash and stock shares. In conjunction with the news, Disney also revealed that plans for a seventh "Star Wars" film, "Star Wars: Episode VII," are in motion with eyes on theatrical release in 2015.

TV shows watched by liberals and conservatives

A new survey reveals political partisans are divided when they reach for the TV remote, too. And not just between Fox News and MSNBC.

Larry the Cable Guy and Jon Stewart appear to split conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats as surely as President Barack Obama's health reform law.

Republicans prefer competitive reality TV and shows about hard work, while Democrats are looking for sarcastic humor and complex characters.

Some seem obvious: Democrats love the Daily Show with Jon Stewart for the biting criticisms of (often Republican) politicians and wry wit that the program dishes out from New York City.

Conservatives list Jon Stewart's program as one of their most hated for his sarcastic commentary and his pretentious media-watching.

Republicans, meanwhile, are drawn to Only in American with Larry the Cable Guy, a show featuring the self-styled plain-talking comedian and his adventures exploring everyday people doing strange jobs across the United States.

To liberals, Larry the Cable Guy is a caricature of a redneck, an anti-intellectual who plays the the lowest grade of humor. They rank his show among the worst on TV.

On the late-night lineup, Republican viewers love Jay Leno, while Democrats split their time between David Letterman, Craig Ferguson and Conan O'Brien.

This was the 2011 survey.

***

The 2012 Survey by Experian Simmons rates the shows in these categories: Super Democrats (The Daily Show with Jon Steward), Ultra Conservatives (College Football on ESPN), Mild Republicans (Rules of Engagement), On The Fence Liberals (The Graham Norton Show), Green Traditionalists (Lizard Lick Towing).

***

And according to Conservapedia:

The Worst Liberal TV Shows

The Greatest Conservative TV Shows (including Family Ties, The Office, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Cosby Show, Ozzie and Harriet, American Idol, Star Trek, The Waltons, The Lawrence Welk Show, Little House on the Praire, The Bob Newhart Show, Dick Van Dyke Show)

Paul Shaffer leaving Letterman?

He has remained his loyal and steadfast companion over three decades of national TV.

But now it appears that David Letterman’s musical director Paul Shaffer may be about to quit the show - and his $5m a year contract.

The 62-year-old said that 30 years with the talk show host could be enough because he is worn out.

He suggested that the late nights could be getting to him and that he would love to spend his evenings napping rather than on camera.

Were Letterman to lose Shaffer it would mean the end of an era for the two men who have built a close relationship based a strong and enduring loyalty to each other.

***

It looks like Paul Shaffer isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

The longtime Late Show bandleader gave an interview to TV Guide Canada over the weekend in which he seemed to suggest he might step down as David Letterman's sidekick once his contract is up in 2014.

"We've been on 30 years so now we've got another two years...I'm going to be certainly ready to lie down after that, take a nap," he said.

However, on Monday, Shaffer was quick to clarify that he didn't mean to imply he was quitting his day, er, night job.

"In an interview with a reporter, I made two unrelated points which, joined together, seem to say something that isn't true," the 62-year-old musical director said in a statement. "It's true that the show was recently extended for two years, and yes, someday when it's all over, I will most likely take a nap. But I hope that day never comes. As long as the show goes on, I will be there for as long as Dave wants me on it."

Cafe Paris (or whatever)

I thought I wrote about it here, but can't find it.

Some years ago, WalMart used to sell this CD called Paris Cafe or French Cafe (or none of the above), that featured accordion music.

I wish I had bought it because it would have been kind of funky to play it for dinner.  But now I can't find it.  And the memorial.

I think it was french accordion music.

Like
La Vie En Rose
or Smoke Get In Your Eyes

Moulin Rouge

or whatever this is

or Enchanted Rendezvous (I don't know the title obviously, the one Paul Shaffer plays when Dave encounters a pretty girl)

or was it Speak Softly Love

or something like that

maybe one day I'll find it.  But I'm getting my fill of accordion music for now..

left-wing (and right-wing) news

There's zillions of right wing news sites on the internet (not even counting FoxNews).  For example, NewsMax which keeps popping up on the sidebars of various web sites.

But to counter that, there's a bunch of left wing news sites too (not even counting MS-NBC).

Here's a couple I came across while googling medicare voucher.  I didn't know they were left-wing at first, but after glancing at their headlines for a split-second...

Think Progress
MediaMatters For America

I don't want to look much further, as it gets too depressing..

And back to Medicare, here's wikipedia on The Path to Prosperity which was the Republican budget proposal for 2012.

dishwashing spirit

I guess it's just me, but when I start up my dishwasher it sounds like the beginning of Spirit In The Sky.

Ohio State marching band takes on video games

They don't call Ohio State's band “The Best Damn Band In The Land” for nothing.

[via blake]

saving water

One bathroom fact you might not be aware of is that the biggest water user in the home is the toilet.  Toilets account for about 30% of an average home's indoor water consumption according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - even more for older toilets.

-- Costco Connection, February 2010

James Bond

The James Bond film franchise turns 50 today, so we're celebrating something called Global James Bond Day. And if you don't, the studio bosses will evaporate the world's oceans with lasers from space.

Really and clearly, Global James Bond Day is all about promoting the 23rd 007 film, which opens next month.

To help you assess the looming threat of Global James Bond Day, we present our list of 22 the previous Bond films, ranked from worst to best.

***

I saw Costco was selling the entire James Bond collection in Blu-Ray.  Amazon too.

***

The Best of Bond.

Hungry Guy

I keep seeing the Burger King commercials with a guy singing Hungry Guy and a girl singing Hungry Girl.

Looking it up..

The girl is Kimie.  Here's the blurb from her website:

I recently filmed a commercial for Burger King Hawaii to air state wide on July 30, 2012. I recorded the "Hungry Girl" song to the melody of Sean Na'auao's famous  "Fish and Poi".

[Ah, I knew the song sounded familiar.]
​
Much mahalo go out to the team at Harris Agency, Cottage by the Sea for the beautiful yellow and gray dress, Hooked Up Hawaii for the beautiful sunrise earrings and seashell jewelry, Bridgette at The Hair Box, Debbie Nishimoto for styling, Sean Na'auao, Malia Chung and Lauren Fonseca. 

And here's her commercial.

The guy is Duncan Osorio.  And here's his commercial.  And a MidWeek story.  He's Jon Osorio's son (of Jon & Randy fame).

Andy Williams

Andy Williams, the affable, boyishly handsome crooner who defined both easy listening and wholesome, easygoing charm for many American pop music fans in the 1960s, most notably with his signature song, “Moon River,” died on Tuesday night at his home in Branson, Mo. He was 84 and also had a home in La Quinta, Calif.

The cause was cancer, his publicist, Paul Shefrin, said. Mr. Williams, who had continued to perform until last year, announced in November that he had bladder cancer.

“Moon River” was written by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer, and Audrey Hepburn introduced it in the 1961 film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” but it was Mr. Williams who made the song indisputably his own when he sang it at the 1962 Academy Awards ceremony and titled a subsequent album after it. When he built a theater in Branson, he named it the Andy Williams Moon River Theater.

“Moon River” became the theme song for his musical-variety television series “The Andy Williams Show,” which, along with his family-oriented Christmas TV specials, made him a household name.

“The Andy Williams Show” ran on NBC from 1962 to 1971 and won three Emmy Awards for outstanding variety series. But its run also coincided with the social and cultural upheavals of the 1960s, and with a lineup of well-scrubbed acts like the Osmond Brothers (whom Mr. Williams introduced to national television) and established performers like Judy Garland and Bobby Darin, the show, at least to many members of a younger, more rebellious generation, was hopelessly square — the sort of entertainment their parents would watch.

Despite that image, “The Andy Williams Show” was not oblivious to the cultural moment. Its guests also included rising rock acts like Elton John and the Mamas and the Papas, and its offbeat comedy skits, featuring characters like the relentless Cookie Bear and the Walking Suitcase, predated similar absurdism on David Letterman’s and Conan O’Brien’s talk shows by decades.

best TV shows of all time

 More than 60 years after it premiered, the iconic television sitcom "I Love Lucy" nabbed top honors with TV fans in a survey conducted by ABC News and People Magazine for "Best in TV," a special edition of "20/20" that aired Tuesday night.

"Lucy" was voted the best show of all time, beating out finalists "Seinfeld," "M*A*S*H," "All in the Family" and "Cheers." All five finalists were comedies.

"We were not surprised Americans chose comedies as their favorites of all time," said ABC News' Barbara Walters, who hosted the special. "We all like to laugh and these shows still make us laugh today."

how to tell a democrat from a republican

Many of you have expressed great confusion, in these troubled times, in trying to tell a Republican from a Democrat. Sure, we know what they say they are; most of them have well displayed nameplates. But could you tell one from the other in a blind test? That is, without prior knowledge and access to his/her nameplate, could you determine which was which simply by his/her actions? Probably not. The purpose of this essay is to assist you in making such an identification. In the following paragraphs, I will list the major issues of our times and clearly identify the differences between the Republican and Democrat approaches to these issues.

[note: as this article is sure to rile up both sides, the author is Leon Felkins, not me]

eat fish, not fish oil

Omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish such as sardines and salmon and once touted as a way of staving off heart disease and stroke, don't help after all, according to a Greek study.

Based on a review and analysis of previous clinical trials including more than 68,000 participants, Greek researchers whose report appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association said the fatty acids have no impact on overall death rates, deaths from heart disease, or strokes and heart attacks.

This was true whether they were obtained from supplements such as pills, or from fish in the diet, said the researchers, led by Mosef Elisef at the University Hospital of Ioannina.

A decade ago, medical evidence suggested that boosting omega-3s, including the acids known as EPA and DHA, with food or supplements had a strong protective effect even though the mechanism wasn't understood.

Scientists cited improvements in levels of triglycerides - a type of fat in the blood - as well as blood pressure levels and heart rhythm disturbances.

But since then, the picture has grown clouded. Earlier this year, a group of Korean researchers found that omega-3 supplements had no effect on heart disease or death based on 20,000 participants in previous trials.

Because people who eat a lot of fish have been found to have less heart disease, researchers figured that perhaps putting the supposed "active ingredients" in a pill could provide similar benefits, said Alice Lichtenstein, director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at Tufts University in Boston.

 "What we have learned over the years is you can't think about individual nutrients in isolation," she added.
People who eat fish often may be replacing things like steak, hamburgers or quiche, making for a healthier diet.

Instead of supplements, Lichtenstein recommended eating fish at least twice a week, having a diet rich in whole grains and vegetables, getting lots of physical activity, and not smoking.

***

The medical world long ago noted that societies in which diets were high in fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel and others had lower rates of heart disease. A large 1989 study found that men who had already had a heart attack and changed their diets to include more fatty fish rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid were 29% less likely to die in the next two years. Because of these and other findings, many medical groups suggest that people at risk for heart disease either increase their fatty fish intake or take omega-3 supplements.

However, subsequent studies that looked at omega-3 fatty acid supplements derived from fish were less clear. Some supported and some refuted the findings, though overall the connection between supplements and lowered heart disease has been elusive. The study released today attempts to pull together all the current research.

The message Americans may not want to hear is that eating healthy foods, not taking pills, is what helps heart health, says Richard Karas, director of the preventive cardiology center at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
Time and time again research shows that a diet rich in a certain vitamin or nutrient is beneficial. But then people think "if you take a pill containing that ingredient, you'll be healthier," Karas says. It doesn't work that way.

He now tells his cardiac patients to eat fatty fish in at least two meals a week.