I have nothing left to live for

Minneapolis Star Tribune -

HOT TEA LINKED TO CANCER

Is there anything left in life that isn't linked in some way to cancer?

Not hot tea, apparently. An international group of scientists has connected it with esophageal cancer. The problem doesn't appear to be the tea, but the temperature at which it is consumed, the study said.

Residents of Golestan Province in Iran have one of the highest rates of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in the world. They don't drink alcohol or smoke -- the disease's two primary risk factors in the West -- but they do consume tea. Lots of it. Nearly 1.2 liters per day, on average. So local researchers set out to see if there was a connection.

They recruited 300 esophageal cancer patients and matched them with 571 healthy controls. All but one of them drank tea, and they told interviewers about their tea habits.

Teaming up with investigators from the United States, England, France and Sweden, the researchers calculated that people who said they drank "hot" tea (149 to 156 degrees Fahrenheit) were more than twice as likely to develop esophageal cancer as people who said they drank the beverage "warm" or "lukewarm" (less than 140 degrees). Those who said they took their tea "very hot" (at least 158 degrees) were more than eight times as likely to get esophageal cancer, said the study published online Thursday in BMJ, formerly the British Medical Journal.

Doctors advised tea drinkers to simply exercise some patience before enjoying their favorite beverage.

Is this reality?

I was browsing through movie trailers the other day, and I came across this one for an upcoming documentary called Nursery University. The topic is on the great lengths that parents in New York City will go to get their children into a respectable nursery school, even going so far as to move to another part of the city or pay upwards of $20,000 a semester.

There was one part that I thought was particularly thought provoking: It was towards the middle and it the suggestion that a reputable nursery school is the great deciding element between your child's future as a success or a failure. Personally, I would beg to differ, in fact, I would contend that there isn't a single thing taught at nursery school that could not be taught with equal or better ability than the child's parents. A degree in developmental psychology is not necessary here, especially when the curriculum consists of learning ABC's, shapes, numbers, colors, and play-dough. Little children need to spend time at home with their parents, not away at school.

So, how much of a homeschooler am I?

You know how it works..... put "X's" in the boxes in things you've done copy and paste to your blog!

Growing up/now:
[ ] Own/have owned a denim jumper Don't really do that much jumping...
[ ] You were at least 13 when you got your first "trendy" haircut I don't think I've ever really had a "trendy" haircut.
[X] Everything in your closet at some time was referred to as modest Is there such a thing as 'immodest' men's clothing?
[X] You do/have tucked things in that shouldn't be tucked in We're not even going there...
[ ] You have been a member of at least 3 co-ops So, who do homeshoolers 'co-operate' with?
[ ] You were a true 16 and never been kissed That's silly, I've never been a 'false' sixteen and my mom kisses me all the time.
[X] Your mom drives a van of some sort I drive a van of some sort
[ ] You have at least one childhood picture where you, your mom, and all you siblings matched
[ ] At some point in your life you were more comfortable with adults than kids your own age I dunno, I'm kind of comfortable with everybody. Except rock stars, they weird me out.
[X] Have studied ways to defend your beliefs, debate, and/or create laws Defend my beliefs and debate? That was in 2nd grade. Right now, I'm studying on how to perform deadly preemptive strikes on everybody else's beliefs and pound them into oblivion. Buahahahaha.
[ ] Used uber conservative ABeka curriculum Actually, I thought ABeka was rather liberal.

[X] You use big words that most adults could not use in conversation Only extemporaneously.

[X] You can use the words sublime, epiphany, and cognicent correctly It's not cognicent, it's cognizant. Cognicent is not a word.
[ ] You have a favorite word.
[X] You have an understanding of Latin root words and how to use them Sounds like something you'd say if you were holding up a gas station: "I've got a first declension noun here and I know how to use it!!!"
[X] People from the outside world are referred to as "public schoolers" 'Bout right
[ ]You or one of your siblings knits.
[X] You laugh at the decline in literacy in America Ha
[X] You score constantly higher than "public schoolers" on standardized tests. Ha, Ha.
[ ] You have no concept of cafeteria food Actually, I have a very clear concept of cafeteria food: It's disgusting.
[X] Family vacations are/ can be referred to as "Field Trips"
[X] Traveling on said vacations have included stopping at historical site markers along the way Gotta love those little brown signs...
[X] You have never been in a public elementary school, middle school, or high school during regular school hours You've got to take your PSAT somewhere...
[X] You have gone to or been involved in a homeschool convention
[X] You read books on a regular basis
[ ] You have taken part in a political protest I AM a political protest
[X] You were a Pride and Prejudice fan before the movie GO Lizzie!
[X] You were a Lord of the Rings fan prior to the movie GO Frodo!
[X] You were a Chronicles of Narnia fan before the movie GO Lucy! (big fan)
[ ] You speak a language other than English Parlez-vous anglais?
[ ] You dream of dating characters from books instead of celebrities Well, there was that time when I got into a relationship with Fern from 'Charlotte's Web', but we broke up. She just couldn't get over that stupid pig.

Total so far:18

It (has been) assumed that you:
[ ] Have won many spelling bees Actually, I've never been in one...
[X] Have no social life Define "social life"...
[X] Have no friends of the opposite gender Well, if they're part of your fan club, does that count?
[X] Are outstandingly smart E=MC with that little 'two' thingie on the top.
[ ] Are extremely inept Not really
[X] Only listen to classical music That's ridiculous, I actually listen to a healthy mixture of baroque, and romantic eras, with a touch of Rachmaninoff thrown in, just for kicks. Classical music is far too dry.
[X] Play piano or the violin Correct
[X] Do not own a pair of trendy jeans. Well, I don't know, I've got some jeans that are so holey that you could put them in the Vatican (ha, religious joke)
[ ] Have no knowledge of drugs or alcohol Sorry, I sing too many Irish songs for THAT to happen.
[X] Don't date, only court. Less heartache and a WHOLE lot cheaper. (ha, relationship joke)
[ ] Have never been to a "party" I try to attend my birthday party whenever I can...
[X] Know no other beliefs other than what your family believes And then I start talking about the paradoxical nature of postmodernism...

Total so far: 26

You have been asked more than 10 times:
[ ] If you wear pajamas to school Even if I did, I'd still look good.
[ ] If you get perfect grades because your mom grades you I WISH
[ ] If your mom teaches you or if somebody else's mom does
[ ] How do you meet people Try walking up to them and saying Hi.
[ ] Why you aren't in school I generally just slip on a pair of sunglasses and mutter something under my breath about that being classified. (ha, undercover CIA joke)
[ ] If you get days off whenever you want
[X] If you're going to be homeschooled through college Why not?
[X] If you have a big family I love drawing this out...

Innocent lady who has no idea what she is getting herself into: "So, how large is your family?"

Me: "Well, there are five girls..."

Innocent Lady: Wow, that's huge!

Me: "...And six boys. Last we counted that is."

[thud]

[ ] What your parents are protecting you from Actually, my parents are protecting the intellectual world at large from ME...
[ ] To quote something famous "My name is Ishmael" (Don't know why that's famous, but it is)
[ ] For the answer, because supposedly homeschoolers always have all the answers Always.

Total so far: 28

You have rebelled by:
[ ] Listening to "worldly music" Vs. Heavenly music?
[ ] Wearing black fingernail polish Ick.
[ ] Wearing tight clothes or letting your midriff show Double ick.
[ ] Watching a *gasp* PG-13 movie Gotta Clearplay box. It rules.
[ ] Breaking dress code I AM the dress code.
[ ] Listening to music with a beat Tell me, what music doesn't have a beat?

Final Total: 28

1-10 You're not really a homeschooler...you just do school at home
11-21 You're a homeschooler, but not what the world expects
22-32 You're a homeschooler
33-60 You probably wouldn't have facebook to begin with...but congrats you're the stereotypical homeschooler

Girls

Girls are complicated. The instruction manual that comes with girls is 800 pages, with chapters 14, 19, 26, and 32 missing, and its badly translated, hard to figure out.

-Hugh Laurie on raising his daughters

Color Tones in Cinematic Storytelling

An excellent summary of a speech given by Issac Botkin at the 2009 Christian Filmmaker's Acadamy: OutsideHollywood.com

Issac Botkin outlines how different colors in lighting and post production can greatly enhance and expand a story, such as Black Hawk Down. Contains cool pictures!