Zombie Ball - Video Update/BioPsych Low Calorie

I am currently in the process of getting another zombie ball game organized and have decided I will for sure sit out a round and video tape the proceedings. Hopefully the video will explain the basics so that you all can try it out some time. It is honestly a ton of fun to play.

In other news I have been learning about something exciting in my Biopsych course about low calorie diets and their effect on aging. Basically a low calorie diet that is still balanced in nutrients has been shown time and time again since the 80's to extend the life of rats dramatically. Flashback to post WWII and you have the island of Okinawa in Japan already practicing this sort of diet. So by the time the researchers had done the rat studies they were able to study this island's inhabitants as well.


Turns out, the low calorie diet seems to have a dramatic effect in humans as well! The researchers involved found that the level of centenarians (those of age 100 or older) was in some cases 40 times higher on the island of Okinawa than the rest of Japan. It is notable that the Japanese already have a calorie reduced diet in comparison to the rest of the world so the Okinawans are eating less than less than normal. Along with the longevity comes other perks as well. It was found that there was absolutely no daibetes or other insulin diseases, cardiovascular health was improved significantly and levels of disease were lower than normal as well.

So what do you guys think? Is it worth sacrificing calories for a longer healthier life? Is it worth it to live your life this way without adequate research done to prove this is the cause of the Okinawan's health? Post in the comments.

Housing Success/Some Local Tunes

Just a minor update to let you all know the housing situation went through! I am super excited as we almost lost the deal but last minute managed to scoop it back up. The landlord seems like a super nice guy and so I am quite excited about moving in. I will have the puzzle explanation up for tomorrow, I will tease you by letting you know at least one of you got the right answer! As well since I don't want to bore you all, here is an awesome song by a local artist that I think deserves some more views:

She has a smooth, rhythmic style I hope you will all enjoy.

Vancouver - Riots

I am not sure how well known this is outside of Vancouver, but after losing game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals a bunch of people went insane and started rioting. There is a ton of footage of it circulating around, but I really like this video (originally an advertisement to come to Vancouver for those that don't know).

So just how well known is this incident outside of Canada? Post in the comments.

Video Selection - Brand New Dubstep, Trial Biking and Babe Youth

Watch this one in HD. Unreal dancing and cool song.

This one starts off slow, you can skip through to about a minute in to see some awesome stuff. Such talent.

This one is a neat song pulled from those new Perrier commercials. The commercials are not very interesting but the song they decided to use is gold.

Next IQ Puzzle will be up tomorrow morning, until then rock out to the top video.

Updates on Everything

So I have decided that I will start posting some IQ style puzzles once and a while to spice things up. As well due to the comments on my last post with almost all liking the fourth song I figured I would throw out a few bands that I feel have a comparable sound. So here they are in no particular order, they are all pretty good listens:

Civil Twilight - Letters From the Sky

Crash Kings - Mountain Man

Oddly enough those two bands were the openers for a concert I went to a while back and absolutely stole the show from the main act (Anberlin). I ended up spending the rest of the concert talking to the Crash Kings who were exceptionally nice guys and quite down to earth. In any case see you all tomorrow with a new post and perhaps a tricky puzzle for you to solve! Stay tuned.

Ultimate Frisbee - Moving Up a Division

So unfortunately even with all the luck you guys gave me there were no games last night due to rain. I thought this was supposed to be summer! I still have a practice Sunday and a game Tuesday so I will get a chance to play but I hope this rain lets up or all the fields will remain closed. Short post for now, will give you all something neat later on. For now be appeased with this song:

See you all later today.

Ultimate Frisbee - Championship Video

So in the comments for my Ultimate Frisbee post there were two that stuck out (1 and 2). I thought I would post one of my favourite highlight reel videos from the 2009 UPA Nationals. The best moments to look at in my opinion if you don't want to watch the entire video are 00:58 for an example of a great read, 1:07 for an awesome layout/cross field hammer, 1:45 for a good recovery and 2:31 for a guy outskying two players. Now the best moment in the entire video deserves a section all to itself so please CLICK HERE to see the most amazing layout (quite possibly ever). If anyone knows of video of one that beats that let me know in the comments! The video is underneath:

 

I hope you enjoy and seriously CHECK THIS MOMENT OUT!

HST - Why should you care?

A little while ago I came across an awesome video explaining some of the misconceptions about the HST and what it means. It is definitely worth taking a look at.

 I will admit that even though I thought I understood the concept fully, some of the finer points completely eluded me until I watched this explanation. This hearkens back to my previous post about misinformation and how important it is to concentrate on educating through facts.

Vancouver Art Gallery

Attended the VAG today, ended up enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. On the first floor was an exhibit encompassing the works of a handful of Surrealists. The most notable artist for me was Kurt Seligmann whose paintings detailed great landscapes obscured by whirling objects which appeared to be made of either air or stone depending on their orientation on the canvas. Continuing on through the surrealist portion there were a number of Dali paintings and I had a moment to write down an amusing anecdote from his book "The Secret Life of Salvador Dali" where it details him "demanding to know why when he asked for a grilled lobster in a restaurant, he was never presented with a boiled telephone". Oh Dali, you strange, strange man. Another piece of intrigue was Giorgio de Chirico's "The Child's Brain", which Chirico described as a combination between his father and Napoleon III. Many of the pieces were linked back to Freud, with this one being described as having a semblance to Freud's Oedipus Complex.

The second floor ended up drawing a close parallel with the ideas presented on the floor below, even though it was supposed to be a completely separate exhibit. A variety of artwork was presented however one artist soared above the rest with both his art style and installations. Ken Lum, a native to East Vancouver had a number of photographs as well as a larger room devoted to his art installation of a neon sign detailed by the Vancouver Sun here. There was a computer set up in the room that allowed you to look at various articles about the piece and I noticed that the majority of the negative response was due to a lack of information on what the installation is meant to represent. This video that was in the room did a great job of showing that the art was not designed by him to be religious, in the video he actually mentions it is both religious and sacrilegious at the same time.

The negative comments stating this was promoting Christianity seemed to be a little bit misinformed and misplaced after watching the video.

The most outstanding of Lum's installations in the VAG were his room of mirrors and his wall of mirrors. When I entered the room of mirrors I was filled with a little bit of a joking feeling, figuring it would be similar to the one at the PNE (in which it is possible to run through, though they advise you not to). Instead, Lum's room of mirrors was utterly disorienting, to the point where on the first pass both my mother and girlfriend had to exit the way we came in after getting turned around in the corridors. I decided to go back in and they came through the exit side so we could meet in the middle and they could lead me back. On the way back out my girlfriend managed to mistake a mirror for the exit and walk full force into it. Quite bizarre and intriguing at the same time.

Lum's wall of mirrors consisted of a length of mirrors with reverse text printed on the wall across forcing you to read the text on the mirror in front of you. To read, it was necessary to move along the mirror as your own body obscured a portion of the words. Once you reached the end, the hallway turned in on itself and eventually after a series of mirrors it became a dark tunnel. Upon entering the tunnel you came into the room behind the mirrors you were just in and then had the chance to observe other people reading with the mirror. It was very strange, but fascinating.

All in all the VAG has a great series on right now and I would recommend that anyone in the Vancouver area drop in to check it out!