‘Blue man’ becoming mini-celebrity, and he likes it

Paul Karason please by response from public about his medical condition

Being blue was never a problem for Paul Karason, but since the story about the medical condition that turned his skin almost purple went national, he’s actually feeling pretty good.

“I’m drawing these little crowds everywhere I go,” the California man told TODAY co-host Matt Lauer on Wednesday. “It feels good. People are pretty positive.”

During a January appearance on TODAY, the 57-year-old Karason had described himself as reclusive and shy. But his fiance, Jackie Northup, told Lauer that the way New Yorkers have embraced him has wrought a change in his personality.
“He’s not such an introvert anymore,” she said. “He’s willing to come out. He loves New York.”

Video shot by NBC of Karason, whose bushy auburn beard is a sharp contrast to his singular complexion, showed people on the streets of the city stopping to talk and encourage him. He’s even getting unsolicited hugs.

When Karason was on the show last month, NBC’s chief medical editor, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, urged him to get a medical check-up to make sure the silver solution he takes that has caused his skin to permanently turn blue has not damaged his organs. Silver is a heavy metal and can cause liver and kidney damage.

Distrustful of doctors, Karason had started drinking the silver solution 14 years ago after seeing an ad for it in a magazine. He claims it cured several chronic conditions he had, including sinus problems, arthritis and acid reflux. When he put it on his face to treat a severe case of dermatitis, his skin turned blue.

Karason, who moved from Oregon to the Fresno, Calif., area last year, told Snyderman he’d consider seeing a doctor. He returned to the TODAY Show after taking her advice, getting a check-up from Dr. Seth Uretsky, a cardiologist at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York.

The verdict?

“I would say that Mr. Karason is in good physical and medical condition,” Uretsky reported.

Tests showed that his liver function was ‘within normal limits. The doctor noted that a report on the silver levels in his organs isn’t completed, and, he concluded, “Final judgment should be reserved until the blood silver level results are available.”

Karason, who wore a blue denim shirt and suspenders, admitted he was nervous going into the examination. “If they did find something wrong, what was I going to do about it?” he explained. But, he said, “The results were very gratifying.”

He found he even liked Uretsky, a member of the medical establishment that Karason distrusts.

“I like people,” he said.

Karason and Northup had moved to California in search of more acceptance – and a job. He’s still looking for a job. Asked by Lauer what type of work he does, Karason said, “I’ve done all kinds of things; done everything from maintenance to landscape construction. Particularly since I’ve turned blue, janitorial is easy to get into.”

Karason’s conditions is called argyria, and Snyderman said in January it’s caused by the silver that Karason used to treat his dermatitis and continues to drink in a liquid form called colloidal silver.

Colloidal silver is a suspension of silver in a liquid base – in this case distilled water. Karason makes it himself by running an electrical current through water with a piece of silver in it, a process called electrolysis.

Silver has antibacterial properties and has been used to fight infection for thousands of years. But it went out of use when penicillin, which is far more effective, was developed.

It continued to be used in some over-the-counter medicines until 1999, when the FDA banned it because it causes argyria, which is a result of the silver reacting with light the same way it does in photography. The silver collects in the skin and other organs and does not dissipate. Silver is a heavy metal and doctors say it can collect in the organs and cause kidney and liver damage and even brain seizures. But it is still sold as a dietary supplement.

Snyderman had said she would not endorse anyone taking colloidal silver. “It’s not something I recommend because there’s no science behind it,” she said. “I worry about the safety, and the FDA has been very strong in saying there’s no reason to take it.”

But Karason continues to drink his daily cocktails of colloidal silver. During his first appearance on TODAY, he joked that if he stopped, “I might not be able to levitate anymore.”

source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com

New Dancing Stars Revealed

A football player, comedian, and Oscar winner will take to the floor on the next season of Dancing with the Stars!

ABC announced the new cast yesterday which includes Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, Adam Carolla, Marlee Matlin, Kristi Yamaguchi, Priscilla Presley, Shannon Elizabeth, Steve Guttenberg, Monica Seles, Penn Jillette, Cristian de la Fuente, Marissa Jaret Winokur and singer Mario.

The competition will kick off with a live show on March 17.
source: http://www.starmagazine.com

Clinton, Obama, McCain, and Janet Huckabee campaign in Seattle

Clinton, Obama, McCain, and Janet Huckabee campaign in Seattle

Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are campaigning in Seattle before Saturday's caucuses in Washington.

Michelle Obama is campaigning in Spokane Friday. Republican Janet Huckabee will be in Kirkland on behalf of her husband Mike Friday as well.

Hillary Clinton is scheduled to lead a rally at 8:30 p.m. tonight at Pier 30 in Seattle.

Obama is scheduled to rally supporters at 11 a.m. Friday in the Key Arena in Seattle. Clinton will attend a nurses rally at University of Puget Sound in Tacoma at 10:15 a.m. and then will be in Spokane for a town hall meeting at 3 p.m.

Sen. John McCain will meet supporters at The Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle on Friday at 6 p.m.

source: http://blog.oregonlive.com/

Holly Wellin (also known as Holly Wallen, Holly Wellen, Holly Weiden) is a British pornographic film actress and nude model.

Holly Wellin (also known as Holly Wallen, Holly Wellen, Holly Weiden) is a British pornographic film actress and nude model.

Born July 4, 1986 in Manchester, she went to St. Mary's RC High School in Astley, Wigan, England, Holly began modelling at 16 (2002) and at 18 (2004) she appeared in her first pornographic film. She is perhaps best known for her enthusiastic (and often violent) performances. She has been known to spontaneously spit, hit and cry on camera during a scene. Her filmography includes around 80 titles as well as various website and magazine pictorials including Hustler Magazine.

In 2005 she was nominated for XRCO's Teen Cream Dream Award.

She has recently gotten out of a long-term relationship with Jim South Jr. of World Modeling. She lived primarily in Leigh, England, but currently lives in Los Angeles, California

In 2007, Holly sported a new tattoo on her left hand/wrist area, easily seen in It's Huge 8.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/

Pregnancy makes women forgetful

Pregnancy makes women forgetful

Scientists have now confirmed what expecting mothers have long suspected – that pregnancy makes women more forgetful.

Australian scientists have found that a woman's memory may be impaired for at least a year after giving birth although the effects are minor and mainly concern unfamiliar or demanding tasks.

For the current study, the researchers carried out a review of pregnancy studies conducted over the past 30 years.

These showed that pregnant women had "modest deficits" in memory, particularly when information was new or presented in a challenging way.

"The memory deficits many women experience during and after pregnancy are pretty much like the modest deficits you'd find when comparing healthy 20-year-olds with healthy 60-year-olds,” Dr Julie Henry, a psychology researcher at the University of New South Wales, has said.

Dr Henry and co-investigator Professor Peter Rendell, of the Australian Catholic University, compared the memory performances of more than 1,000 pregnant women, mothers and healthy non-pregnant females involved in 14 studies around the world.

They found that pregnant women were considerably impaired on some, but not all, measures of memory.

The scientists found that women experienced most difficulty with memory tasks that relied on "executive cognitive control," i.e. those involving novelty or significant effort.

"Regular, well-practised memory tasks – such as remembering phone numbers of friends and family members – are unlikely to be affected," Prof Rendell said.

"It's a different story, though, when you have to remember new phone numbers or people's names, or hold in mind several pieces of information, such as when multi-tasking,” he added.

The research is one of the first to confirm the suspicion from endless subjective reports that "baby brain" is a real phenomenon.

The results signify that the impairment is still evident a year after childbirth, but no studies have yet investigated beyond this period.

According to Dr Henry, scientists still did not understand why a woman's memory should be impaired at such an important time, but they suspected lifestyle factors played a role.

Other experts have suggested forgetfulness may stem from a feeling of being overwhelmed by the changes having a baby brings.

"In pregnancy your normal routines are disrupted and you can suffer sleep deprivation after the birth," Dr Henry said.
source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

zymurgist:Ex-Bettendorf man, fiancee, win $16,000 on 'Millionaire'

Ex-Bettendorf man, fiancee, win $16,000 on 'Millionaire'

Chris Bowker, formerly of Bettendorf, and his fiancee, Elizabeth Alexander, walked away with $16,000 in winnings on today’s “Wedding Week” episode on “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.”

The Yorkville, Ill., couple started in the hot seat on Wednesday’s show, making it up to the $16,000 question. They continued as holdover contestants for Thursday’s show, when they began by looking at the $25,000 question with two lifelines left, both of which they used.

The question was: “Which of the following is made by a zymurgist?

A) steel,

B) explosives,

C) glass,

D) beer.

” After using the “Phone-A-Friend” lifeline, they were not able to come up with a definitive answer. After using the “50-50,” they were left with “A” and “D” as options. Out of lifelines and unsure of the answer, Elizabeth and Chris decided not to take a guess and walk away with the guaranteed $16,000 that they had already won. If they had guessed incorrectly on the $25,000 question, they would have fallen back to $1,000 in winnings.

The correct answer, by the way, is D) beer.

source: http://www.qctimes.com/

Pats Score More Points but Giants Make More Plays in Superbowl First Half

The New England Patriots carried a four-point lead into the locker room at halftime in Superbowl LLXII, scoring last but scoring more; the Patriots managed a TD while the Giants were help to a field goal.

Despite trailing 7–3 in points, the Giants won a psychological victory in the first half. The Giants's defense managed to stop Tom Brady's offense on third down repeatedly; the Giants kept pressure on Brady, and kept him from making any game-breaking plays.

Meanwhile, the Giants' offensive line was able to keep the Pats' rushers away from Eli Manning for the most part. Manning had trouble with interceptions, and fumbles, but got lucky when the Giants recovered some dropped balls that seemingly fell into Patriots players' hands.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (R) passes the ball during Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants at the University of Phoenix Stadium 03 February 2008 in Glendale, Arizona. (Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images)

The Patriots were in good field position with ten seconds left, but pressure on Brady forced a fumble which the Giants recovered. Manning tried a Hail Mary but no one could catch it.

The Patriots punted as often in the Superbowl's first half as they did in the entire last game the Pats and Giants played.

Tom Brady's ankle, which was reported injured, did not apparently affect his play. Brady threw several of his patented laser-like long passes with no visible discomfort.

source: http://en.epochtimes.com

U of C "nanovalve" discovery could be used to cut greenhouse gas emissions

U of C "nanovalve" discovery could be used to cut greenhouse gas emissions
Researchers at the University of Calgary say they have found a new way to trap and store gasses in molecule-sized tanks - a discovery that businesses could use to deal with their greenhouse gas emissions.
"This is fundamentally a different way of storing any gas," chemistry professor George Shimizu said in an interview.
Right now, gas storage can be tricky and pose safety risks because it needs to be kept at very high pressures, said Shimizu, who along with fellow researchers David Crab and Brett Chandler announced the discovery Friday.
But the scientists have invented a crystal structure that can store gas molecules indefinitely without the need for pressure using "molecular nanovalves." On top of that the gas can be released easily.
"If it was a static structure with pores, the gas could really just flow in and out. But it's the fact that the structure shifts and traps the gas that's really intriguing," Shimizu said.
Right now gas can be stored by chemically bonding the molecules to a surface, which makes it hard to access. Alternatively, gas can be absorbed onto a surface, but it doesn't usually stick very well.
"In this case it's neither of those. It's a mechanical trapping where we're forming a molecular cage around the gas. So the gas is stuck in there for a few hundred degrees, but you can access the gas at room temperature just by adding a little bit of water," Shimizu explained.
The research, published Friday in the journal "Nature Materials," could have a number of applications.
"From a commercial standpoint, anything that you'd want to store in a cylinder can be stored at lower pressure in this material," Shimizu said.
"One of the gasses that is stored efficiently in this material is carbon dioxide."
That could include carbon capture and storage, a technology touted by the Alberta government as a good way to cut the massive greenhouse gas emissions belched out by the energy sector.
A provincial-federal task force, chaired by TransAlta Corp. (TSX:TA) CEO Steve Snyder, said Thursday the government should shell out $2 billion to develop carbon capture technology. The process involves capturing the carbon dioxide emissions, compressing them and pumping them underground.
Critics have slammed that plan as too expensive and risky. Some environmentalists say it does nothing to address the crux of the climate change issue: the world's dependence on fossil fuels.
But TransAlta and a number of other energy companies have been trying hard to advance it.
"I believe it's something that needs to be done. The technology is available. It needs to be put into full-scale use," Snyder said Friday in a conference call to discuss his company's fourth-quarter earnings.
The University of Calgary discovery could serve another environmentally friendly purpose: the development of hydrogen fuel cells.
"The gas that globally would be of most interest would be hydrogen. If you ever plan on using hydrogen to power mobile vehicles, you need a way to store hydrogen on board," Shimizu said.

Source: http://canadianpress.google.com