Well, this settles it. Not that there was any doubt....

Barack Obama is a Bruce Springsteen fan. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Obama said, "Not only do I love Bruce's music, I just love him as a person. He is a guy who has never lost track of his roots, who knows who he is, who has never put on a front." He added that, when speaking to the singer, he addressed him by his moniker the Boss. "You've got to," Obama said.

Bruce (yes, we are on a first-name basis) endorsed Obama in April.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/25/barackobama.uselections2008

Akino Fuku

We were hesitant to even visit the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto. Not all that into modern, really, especially after spending the previous days exploring centuries-old castles, gardens and temples. But we were very pleased with the exhibit that was going on there.

The artist was Akino Fuku. She is a Japan native who lived and studied art in Kyoto (the cultural heart of Japan) from 1929 to 2001. Many of her paintings came out of the year she spent in India as a visiting professor--Those were my favorites anyway. I wasn't able to find much of her stuff online, but here are a few, enjoy:






Names, top to bottom: Indian Woman, River Crossing, Afghanistan

The End of Genetic Nihilism

This just in: Your genes don't determine your destiny. It has been understood for awhile now that genes can predispose you to certain diseases, but new research shows that changing your lifestyle habits can actually "turn off" bad genes and activate positive ones. Essentially, if you make the outward changes in lifestyle, your body adjusts and makes changes at the genetic level.

The study was conducted at the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute and followed 500 men diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. The men, for reasons unrelated to the study, were not receiving any other treatments at the time. They changed their eating habits to mostly plant-based foods (fruits & veggies, soy, legumes, whole wheat), walked for 30 minutes per day, did one hour of yoga-type stretching or meditation each day, and met once a week for a group support session.

"After three months, we repeated the biopsy and looked at changes in normal tissue within the prostate. We found that many disease-promoting genes (including those associated with cancer, heart disease, and inflammation) were down-regulated or "turned off," whereas protective, disease-preventing genes were up-regulated or "turned on." For example, a set of cancer-promoting oncogenes called RAS was down-regulated in these men. The Selectin E gene (which promotes inflammation and is elevated in breast cancer) was down-regulated. Another gene that suppresses tumor formation called SFRP was up-regulated, thereby reducing the risk of cancer. These genes are the target of many new drugs that are being developed. Clearly, changing lifestyle is less expensive, and the only side-effects are good ones. "

Because the study looked at the healthy tissue, not cancerous tissue, it is likely that the results can be generalized beyond just men with prostate cancer. The end of the era of genetic nihilism is upon us.

Another Reason to Love Coffee

New research using information gleaned from the Nurses Health Study (an amazing wealth of information!) has shown that people who drink coffee on a daily basis have slightly lower death rates. The affect seems to lie mainly with heart health, as coffee-drinkers are particularly less likely to die from heart disease. The benefit is more pronounced in women than in men and doesn't seem to be tied to caffeine consumption, because both regular and decaf drinkers achieved the same benefits. In the study, women who consumed several cups of coffee per day had a full 25% lower risk of death from heart disease and an 18% lower risk of death from something other than cancer or heart disease. Also, you don't have to limit your coffee drinking to get the positive effects (as you do with wine)--Drink up to six cups per day to get the benefit.

Family Vacation

Last week my family went on vacation to Olympic National Park, on Washington's Olympic Penninsula. ONP is unique in its wide variety of ecosystems, from windy beaches, to mossy rainforests, to snow-capped mountains. We had a great time! Enjoy the photos....

Pop Quiz

The first person to correctly identify the following picture wins a personalized haiku!

More Hiking

Here's an informative sign we came across on a Sunday hike near Liberty Lake:




















Reads: "More Hiking"