A person's heart rate can reveal a lot about how they make decisions when feeling stressed, a Queensland University of Technology academic says.
Economics Associate Professor Uwe Dulleck, from the QUT Business Faculty, said stress in the workplace wasn't necessarily a bad thing, because it was, in fact, a natural reaction that had been given a negative connotation.
Professor Dulleck is leading the Australian arm of a study that was awarded an Australian Research Council grant to study the effects of both positive and negative stress on workers' decision-making.
"The study will use heart rate monitors to measure the stress of people 'on the job' and in the controlled environment of an experimental economics computer laboratory as they interact and communicate," Professor Dulleck said.
"We will measure how much they are stressed in certain situations and whether that is positive or negative stress, this will be measured against how they behaved and what decisions they made - whether they made rational or emotional decisions."
Professor Dulleck said negative stress could be detected by measuring a person's heart beat and its variations over short intervals of time.
"If the heart rate varies, it shows that the body is relaxed with an activity and is feeling positive stress," he said. "In this case the body is more flexible to react to the demands of the situation".
"But if the variations are very limited it shows that the body is not at ease with this activity. This kind of stress hardens the body and makes it operate in a more regular way. In such situations, the body works more like a motor engine - highly efficient in some respects but also more likely to break if unexpected challenges arise.
"We are trying to find what effect this has on decision-making."
Professor Dulleck said study participants would be monitored as they played two games: a game of chance to see what kind of decisions they made when uncertain; and a negotiation game, both before and after socialising with their "opponent", to see what affect communication had on cooperation.
"We will also look at whether they took high or low risks in the game of chance, to learn about attitudes towards risk and whether an individual's worry is over losing money, or the risk of chance itself," he said.
Professor Dulleck said knowing what caused positive and negative stress in individuals and what effect this had on decision making would help businesses improve work for their staff and managers.
"Knowing how stress affects people's behaviour will help in designing training programs for employees as well as achieving a better work-life balance and avoiding burn-out syndromes," he said.
The study is being undertaken in conjunction with Associate Professor Benno Torgler and Dr Cameron Newton from the QUT Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies, and three Austrian business partners; a human resources company, a construction company and a nonprofit organization. 
Men's health News From Medical News Today
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Decisions Under Pressure: It's All In The Heart Beat
Yoga And Meditation Change Gene Response To Stress
Research from the US suggests that mind body techniques like yoga and meditation that put the body in a state of deep rest known as the relaxation response, are capable of changing how genes behave in response to stress.
The study is the work of researchers at Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Genomics Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and is published online in the open-access journal PLoS One.
Mind-body practices that produce a relaxation response have been used by people across cultures for thousands of years to prevent and treat disease, wrote the authors in their background to the study.
The relaxation response is characterized by reduction in oxygen intake, increase in exhalation of nitric oxide, and lower psychological distress. Many experts see it as the counterpart to the "flight or fight" stress response that has already been shown by a number of studies to have a distinct pattern of physiological and gene expression changes (called "transcriptional profile").
The researchers for this study wanted to test the idea that the relaxation response also produces changes in gene expression.
The researchers recruited three groups of people. In the first group (called the M group) there were 19 long term practitioners who had been practising various ways of producing the relaxation response every day for a long time (for instance with daily yoga, repeated prayer or meditation practice).
In the second group were another 19 people who they called the "healthy controls" (group N1), who were not daily practitioners, and the third group was like the healthy controls group, except these 20 people completed 8 weeks of relaxation response training (this group was N2).
The researchers assessed transcriptional profiles of the people in all three groups from blood samples.
They found the expressions of a total of 2,209 genes were significantly different between groups M and N1, and a total of 1,561 genes were similarly significantly different between groups N2 and N1.
More importantly, however, was the fact 433 of the genes were common to both sets of comparisons: the same ones were different between M and N1 and between M and N2, so even short term practise of the relaxation response appeared to produce changes in these 433 gene expressions.
Further analysis using techniques called gene ontology and gene set enrichment, showed that groups M and N1 (the long term and the short term practitioners of the relaxation response) exhibited similar physiological changes such as in "cell metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, generation of reactive oxygen species and response to oxidative stress".
A second phase of the study involving 5 N1 healthy controls, 5 N2 short term practitioners, and 6 M long term practitioners, was done to validate a significant number of genes and pathways.
The authors concluded that:
"This study provides the first compelling evidence that the RR [relaxation response] elicits specific gene expression changes in short-term and long- term practitioners."
They wrote that their findings suggest:
"Consistent and constitutive changes in gene expression resulting from RR may relate to long term physiological effects," and that "Our study may stimulate new investigations into applying transcriptional profiling for accurately measuring RR and stress related responses in multiple disease settings."
Dr Herbert Benson, director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute and co-senior author of the study said:
"Now we've found how changing the activity of the mind can alter the way basic genetic instructions are implemented," said Benson.
Dr Towia Libermann, director of the BIDMC Genomics Center and also co-senior author of the study added that:
"This is the first comprehensive study of how the mind can affect gene expression, linking what has been looked on as a 'soft' science with the 'hard' science of genomics."
"It is also important because of its focus on gene expression in healthy individuals, rather than in disease states," explained Libermann.
The authors said their study showed that the relaxation response changed the expression of genes involved with inflammation, programmed cell death and the handling of free radicals. Free radicals are normal byproducts of metabolism that the body neutralizes in order to stop damage to cells and tissues.
Co-lead author of the study Dr Jeffery Dusek formerly of the Benson-Henry Institute and now with the Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis said:
"Changes in the activation of these same genes have previously been seen in conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder; but the relaxation-response-associated changes were the opposite of stress-associated changes and were much more pronounced in the long-term practitioners."
Benson said that people across different cultures have been using mind body techniques for thousands of years. They found that it didn't particularly matter which techniques was used, whether it was meditation, yoga, breathing, or repetitive praying, they acted via the same underlying mechanism.
"Now we need to see if similar changes occur in patients who use the relaxation response to help treat stress-related disorders, and those studies are underway now".
Libermann said they used "cutting edge" genomic analysis and the "latest bioinformatics tools to identify potential gene functions, generating hypotheses that can then be tested in laboratory or clinical studies."
"There are a lot of differences in gene expression between one healthy person and another, so it is challenging to analyze the kinds of subtle changes we are seeing and identify what changes are significant and what are just background noise," explained Libermann.
Men's health News From Medical News Today
Gene/Stress Interaction Increases Cognitive Decline In Elderly
The negative effects of stress on cognitive functioning appear to be amplified by a genetic variation associated with Alzheimer's disease, a new federally funded study has found. The genetic variation may, in effect, accelerate the development of age-related cognitive decline by as much as eight years.
Researchers from the Baltimore Memory Study report in The American Journal of Psychiatry (AJP), the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association, that a high level of the stress hormone cortisol in study participants aged 50 to 70 years was associated with worsened cognitive abilities. The researchers also found that the effect was greater among those with a common form of the gene for apolipoprotein E (APOE), which has been shown to increase the risk for Alzheimer's disease.
This gene-environment interaction is reported by Brian Lee, M.H.S., Brian Schwartz, M.D., and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University. The group's findings will be presented online on July 1 under AJP in Advance . The effect appears to increase as the number of copies of a specific APOE gene in the individual increases. Everyone inherits two versions of the APOE gene, known as alleles - one from each parent. The most common APOE alleles are epsilon-2, -3, and -4. Having at least one epsilon-4 allele increases an individual's risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Individuals with two copies of the esiplon-4 version of the gene are particularly susceptible to the damaging effects of cortisol in the brain.
"Our findings indicate that the APOE epsilon-4 allele may increase vulnerability of the aging brain to elevated cortisol levels," said lead author Lee, a doctoral student in epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "While our results remain to be replicated, the observed cortisol-APOE interaction is intriguing since both cortisol and APOE have been implicated in cognitive decline associated with aging as well as in Alzheimer's disease."
The effects on cognitive functioning extended to six of the seven areas that were studied: language, eye-hand coordination, executive functioning, verbal memory/learning, visual memory, and ability to copy a complex visual design.
The deficits are similar in magnitude to those seen with advancing age. The authors estimated the equivalent years of increased age, represented by the poorer cognition of the study participants with high cortisol and the epsilon-4 form of the APOE gene. For language ability, the lower scores of people with high cortisol levels and one epsilon-4 copy were comparable to an age increase of eight years. For those with two epsilon-4 copies, the comparable age increase was even larger.
Men's health News From Medical News Today
Late Onset Hypogonadism, ADAM, Andropause: What Is It And What Is The Treatment?
Late-onset hypogonadism (LOH), or androgen decline in the aging male, is a syndrome caused by the well-known decline in gonadal production of androgens in males that occurs with aging. It is characterized by clinical symptoms that accompany low serum androgen levels. LOH affects a wide range of organ systems and has a broad severity of clinical presentations. Sexual dysfunction, including erectile dysfunction (ED), decreased libido, difficulty achieving orgasm, and decreased penile sensation, is usually the presenting complaint, although fatigue, depressed mood, impaired cognition, and decreased muscle mass are other common symptoms. If these symptoms are found in conjunction with low serum testosterone (T), a diagnosis of LOH may be made. Universally accepted guidelines for a level of T to define or treat LOH have not been established. In general, when the T level is found to be at or below the lower limit of normal, in conjunction with symptoms, treatment is appropriate.
The incidence of LOH is rising. Serum T levels decrease with age and according to U.S. Census data from 2000, the U.S. population of men 65 years of age and older is projected to double by the year 2030. An extrapolation from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study found a prevalence of LOH of almost half a million new cases per year in men in their fifth, sixth, and seventh decades of life. The principal treatment for LOH is androgen replacement, also known as testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). With the rising incidence of LOH and better understanding of treatment benefits, the use of TRT has been steadily increasing in recent years. This rise is evidenced by a 500% increase in prescription sales of T since 1993.
The benefits of TRT are easily recognized, primarily because as levels of serum T normalize, desired improvements in sexual function, libido, and mood, as well as in overall quality of life are reached. TRT also has a positive effect on cardiovascular health; one well-documented effect of TRT is a decrease in total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)1. Recent studies have shown a link between hypogonadism and a high-risk and increasingly prevalent syndrome called metabolic syndrome, also known as insulin resistance syndrome, or syndrome X. Metabolic syndrome is characterized by at least 3 of the following: abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL), hyperglycemia, and hypertension2. Laaksonen and colleagues have suggested that hypogonadism is an element of metabolic syndrome based on their large population-based study. Treatment of LOH with TRT may improve the symptoms of metabolic syndrome, and vice versa, treatment of metabolic syndrome may improve the symptoms of LOH.
Despite its benefits, TRT has a number of contraindications, and questions remain regarding its effects on prostate health. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is an androgen-sensitive disease which is accelerated by endogenous and exogenous T. The incidence of BPH increases with age, and prostate volume is decreased in hypogonadal men compared to men with normal serum T. Prostate volumes of men with LOH undergoing TRT increase up to the levels of age-matched controls, but TRT has not been shown to drastically increase prostate volume beyond that of eugonadal men of the same age. Similar to BPH, prostate cancer (CaP) is exquisitely androgen sensitive. First-line treatment for metastatic CaP is androgen deprivation, either through bilateral orchiectomy or medical castration with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists. While numerous studies have failed to show that exogenous T is a direct cause of CaP, the fact that CaP is androgen sensitive raises the question of whether T can awaken a clinically insignificant CaP or augment a CaP into a higher Gleason grade.
Short-term changes in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels during TRT have been reported. Much of this data is derived from relatively small, often retrospective studies. A definitive double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study on the effect TRT has on PSA has yet to be published. A systematic review of 18 studies of short-term TRT for men with LOH performed in 2003 found an average PSA increase of 0.3 ng/mL, and a systematic review of 6 other published studies of TRT in slightly older men with LOH found a slightly higher average PSA increase of 0.43 ng/mL. The long-term effects TRT has on PSA, however, have yet to be reported.
Men's health News From Medical News Today
Worry And Sleepless Nights Increase Risk Of Diabetes In Men
New research claims that psychological distress including anxiety, insomnia, depression, apathy and fatigue can more than double the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in older men.
Scientists looked at 2,127 men, born between 1938 and 1957, who had normal blood glucose levels. They determined their level of psychological distress both at the beginning and end of the study. The men were tested for diabetes eight to ten years later and it was found that the men with the highest levels of psychological distress were 2.2 times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those with the lowest levels. Altogether 103 men developed Type 2 diabetes. The study also looked at 3,100 middle-aged women but found that there was not an increased risk of diabetes in those with high levels of psychological distress.
More research is needed
"It is intriguing that the increased risk of diabetes occurs in men only and it would be interesting to find out why. The results suggest that it could be due to a hormonal or behavioural influence. We already know from previous studies that stress is considered to be a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes and others have looked at the link between sleep disorders, such as insomnia, and the condition. This research appears to confirm that there might be something in this," said Dr Iain Frame, Director of Research at Diabetes UK.
"We know that risk factors which increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes are being white and over 40 years old, or of black or South Asian origin and over 25 years old, having a family member with the condition, being overweight and having high blood pressure. If you have two or more of these risk factors, you should see your GP for a simple test."
Other factors
Professor Anders Ekbom from the Unit of Clinical Epidemiology at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, conducted the study. "Genetic and environmental factors are involved in the development of Type 2 diabetes. We already knew that psychological distress and depression are risk factors for heart disease and suspected they may play a part in developing Type 2 diabetes, which is corroborated by this research," he said."
The link could be a result of the way psychological distress affects the brain's role in regulating hormones or perhaps because depression influences a person's diet and level of physical activity in a negative way."
The study was published in the journal 'Diabetic Medicine'.
Men's health News From Medical News Today
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
PhotoFunia.com - Make Funny Facesphotofunia
DeCesare blogspot already posted somewhere in the States!...
"What can I do with my old pictures?" That question has been bothering humans ever since the invention of the camera. Finally, Photofunia.com has the answer. On the site, you will be able to upload pictures of your face and add fun effects to it.
My BOYFRIEND is a model of PhotoFunia as you can see
this guy hanging his poster in front of this store located somewhere in the States
Whether you want to alter your picture so it looks older, or stretch your face out to make you look like an alien, you will be able to do that and more on this site. The site uses feature detection technology, which allows the effects to look realistic. The variety of effects is astounding, so you should not have a problem finding one to suit your photograph. The site works surprisingly fast for an image processing website. Just upload your picture and chose the effects you want it to undergo and it will almost instantly do it for you. On the whole, this site should provide entertainment for everyone who has a spare picture of themselves lying around.
For more information log on to: PhotoFunia.com
How to Maintain a Long-Distance Relationship
Are you both wondering what the future will hold in terms of your relationship? Don't fret--there are ways to make it work! It just takes a little extra time, effort and creativity. In this article, I'll show you some easy ways to let each other know you care despite the distance.
Things You’ll Need:
• a honey who's far away
• some crafty things such as watercolors, paint brush, colored pencils, water color paper, scissors, glue/mod podge, etc.
• cd burner
• digital camera
• some creativity
Step 1 - WRITE LETTERS. In this electronic world, it's easy to replace old-fashioned letter writing with email--and sometimes it's more efficient to do so. But when it comes to love, it's better to revert to snail mail. Whether its once a week, once a month, or once in a blue moon, letter writing gives you the opportunity to simmer over your thoughts, grab your favorite pen, and write something that can't be captured in an email. Just think of how surprised your honey will be to get a piece of mail that's not a bill or netflix! He or she will surely return the favor.
IDEA: Make a puzzle letter by taking a sheet of thick cardstock or watercolor paper. Using either watercolors or colored pencils, draw a light-colored scene or design, so as to make your own background/stationary. Write your message over this design. Cut the letter in interesting shapes and put in an envelope. Your sweetheart will have fun putting the letter together before he/she can read it!
Step 2 - SEND PRESENTS. Again, this isn't something you have to do every week. Once every month or so is good. And they don't have to be expensive. Just something that makes you think of your honey or an inside joke or a moment you shared together. A book, a Polaroid, a screenprint, or a thrift-store trinket are some ideas. Send a box of fine tea over fine chocolate. Or a bottle of specialty beer in lieu of flowers. This will give you each an opportunity to recall the times you've shared (if you're sending something to spark memories) or if you're sending something new, like an interesting beverage, it'll give you an opportunity to share an experience even if you can't do it in person.
Step 3 - CELEBRATE. Being separated during holidays, birthdays, or anniversaries can be difficult. Celebrate these events long-distance if you can't be together. Send holiday presents and take videos of yourselves opening the present you receive from your sweetheart--or do it in realtime with a webcam. If you can't be there to celebrate your honey's birthday, send a party! Pack streamers, kazoos, a candy-filled pinata, and hats, etc in a box and send it.
Step 4 - GET SAPPY. SOMETIMES. Make a mixed CD--or mixed tape, if you're old school--of favorite songs or new ones you think your sweetheart will like. Make an album full of photos of the two of you and your friends. Write poems. Send mushy text messages while you know he/she is at work.
Step 5 - VISIT EACH OTHER. This can be hard to once you've settled into your new, seemingly single life. But it's important to take turns visiting each other so neither of you feels neglected. If transportation starts getting expensive, choose a destination between your locations and meet each other half way. Even if it's for a weekend, it will be worth it.
Tips & Warnings:
• Be unexpected! Send or do things when you know you sweetheart isn't expecting you to.
• Make it your own. If you have difficulty being creative, try to personalize the things you buy. If you're buying a box of chocolates, send a card with a note from you.
• When all else fails, a simple phone call to say "hello" or "i miss you" will always suffice.
Here's how to find a partner by first being happy with your own life
There's a lot to be said for getting your own life in order before you involve someone else in it. Some people even say you can never be happy in a relationship unless you're happy with yourself and your life before the relationship begins.
Step 1 - Think about why you want a partner. If it's because you're not happy without someone, you may need to concentrate on being a better single person - otherwise, you may be too possessive and scare away potential partners.
Step 2 - Focus on keeping your mind and your home free of clutter. Real and imagined junk can distract you and make you feel overwhelmed when there's really nothing wrong at all.
Step 3 - Start clearing up your credit problems, outstanding debts and other unresolved business. If nothing else comes of this exercise, you'll feel better about yourself.
Step 4 - Take control of your life by accepting the fact that you're single and concentrating on the things in your life that are going well.
Step 5 - Work on fixing the other things in your life that aren't perfect. For example, if you can't find a partner and you hate your job, you can't make a partner come to you, but you can work on getting a better job so you'll have one less thing to worry about.
Step 6 - Find something that gives your life as a single person some meaning. It could be the discovery of a spiritual home or it could be finding volunteer work or a job that allows you to feel you're contributing to society.
Step 7 - Keep dating and waiting while you get your life in order, but be realistic with your expectations.
Tips & Warnings:
Stay focused on being a good partner, not on finding a partner to be good to you. You'll be more likely to find someone who's interested.
Engagement
Same sex couples have all sorts of ways of coming to a decision to have a wedding, commitment ceremony or civil union. Some get there the "old-fashioned way" thanks to a bended knee of one partner; others finally succumb to the badgering of their friends and decide to tie the knot.
Whatever the reason, you can't really plan the wedding until someone has the courage to "pop the question" in some form of another.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Beijing Olympics begin with fireworks
China opened the Olympics on Friday with a burst of fireworks at a spectacular ceremony. The ceremony celebrated ancient Chinese history and aimed to draw a line under months of political controversy. An army of 2,008 drummers pounded out the countdown to the Games. Around 80 world leaders, including US President George W Bush, joined 91,000 excited spectators in the majestic Bird's Nest stadium for the opening show.
Beijing Olympics begin with fireworks
Brad Pitt joins Tarantino's 'bastards'
Brad Pitt has enlisted to play an American resistance fighter battling Nazis in German-occupied France in Quentin Tarantino's latest film "Inglorious Bastards," report said Friday.
Daily Variety and the Hollywood Reporter said Pitt's character is a Tennessee hillbilly who leads a group of Jewish-American soldiers in Tarantino's long-awaited WWII drama. The movie, which is being made by the Weinstein Co. and Universal, will begin filming in Germany in October.
It is the first time that Hollywood icon Pitt has worked with Tarantino, the acclaimed "Kill Bill" and "Pulp Fiction" director. Tarantino, whose last film was 2007's "Death Proof", has also acquired the services of German actress Natassja Kinski for "Inglorious Bastards" as well as British comedian Simon Pegg.
Courtesy of MSN News - Entertainment
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Talk Dirty—Oh … Baby … Yeah
There you are, skin to skin, hands stroking soft, bare flesh, and your partner whispers in your ear, “Talk dirty to me.” Do you suddenly find that you’d rather be discussing your taxes than what you are about to do to his body parts (or want done to yours)—let alone making it sound sexy? Are you trying to hold back an embarrassing urge to burst into a fit of girlish giggles? Would you rather “show” than “tell?”
Here's how:
Step 1 - If so, you are not alone. For many, sex is a non-verbal affair. According to an Elle/MSNBC.com Sex and Love Survey, only four in 10 respondents said they have asked their lovers for something in bed in the past month.
If you and your partner aren’t yet comfortable communicating during sex, you might have a hard time jumping into the world of dirty talk. So the first thing to do is to learn how to verbalize in bed.
Start with one sentence. It could be as simple as letting him or her know how much he turns you on. You don’t have to get into the specifics yet. A simple “that feels sooo good” can go a long way. And by the way “dirty talk” doesn’t have to be “dirty.” (Though it certainly can be if you like it that way.) Hot talk is simply sexual communications turned up a notch. It incorporates aural stimulation into the sex, which can be a major turn-on—if it’s within your comfort zone.
Step 2 - A little out-of-bedroom hot talk can help pave the way. Try leaving a sexy note telling your partner what you’d like to do to him when you hit the sheets that night. My husband and I sometimes enjoy some sexy Instant Messaging to get our engines revving. For many, it’s easier to express yourself in writing rather than face to face.
But don’t neglect the bedroom. Start verbalizing your desires. Don’t expect your partner to guess what you want. Tell him. If you want oral, ask for it. If you want it harder, softer, faster, slower, speak up. The beauty is that the more you talk, the easier it will flow. Then you can start to get a little saucy.
Step 3 - One of the keys to mastering dirty talk is to find a vocabulary that works for you. Some words probably make you hot while others leave you cold (or giggling). So what sexy words get your juices flowing? Ask you partner to share some of his preferred vocabulary (and what NOT to say). This conversation alone can get you off and running.
But if you are still at a loss what to say, try simply describing what’s happening and how you feel about it. “Now I’m going to kiss/lick/suck/stroke your ______” or “Mmmm, I love it when you _____.”
Step 4 - The more you practice, the more comfortable you will become. And new doors will likely open up. Who knows what may happen once you start whispering your little secrets in your partner’s ear? Role playing, or sharing fantasies, is an extension of hot talk that can deepen your intimate connection—and make life a whole lot more interesting between the sheets.
World Pyro Olympics 2008 Philippine's Pyro Musical
The 2008 World Pyro Olympics ended in May 31st. The last day of event is called the Fellowship of Fire Display. It is the largest international fireworks competition in the world. The final day also included the awarding of the competition's winner, the exhibition fellowship fireworks show, and the final pyro musical, which is a display of fireworks with the synchronization of music. This year is the 3rd World Pyro Olympics which opened last May 3. The said event was held every Saturday of May at the Esplanade Area of the SM Mall of Asia, the largest mall in the Philippines and the third largest in Asia. The principal sponsors of the big event were SM Mall of Asia and Pepsi.
World Pyro Olympics 2008 Philippine's Pyro Musical VIDEO (Part 1/2)
The participants of this year's competition were Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, and Venezuela. They compete in their artistry and technical expertise.
The event brings benefits to the Philippines especially in the economic aspect. Since it started, the number of spectators grows bigger and bigger. The crowd does not only include Filipinos but tourists and foreigners, having a chance for them to have a glimpse of the Philippines. The success of the 1st world competition gave way to an annual event.
World Pyro Olympics 2008 Philippine's Pyro Musical VIDEO (Part 2/2)
To close the event, the La Mancha Pyro Productions showed their own display of expertise as exhibitor. They are the pioneer and industry leader for displays in the Philippines. La Mancha is also the organizer of the World Pyro Olympics. The country or team that won in this big annual event is Italy.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Men in dresses
For 27 years, Joe Sears and Jaston Williams have been playing all the wacky folk of tiny Tuna, Texas - men and women, young and old. Yet it's their female characters - such as Sears' cantankerous, dog-poisoning Aunt Pearl and Williams' gravel-voiced, used-weapons entrepreneur Didi Snavely - who grab the most stage time, get the biggest laughs and have become the series' trademark figures.
"We didn't plan it that way," Sears says. "But from the first show (Greater Tuna, premiered in Austin in 1981), they've taken charge. Maybe it's that we both came from families with fairly dominating women. Maybe it's that every play needs some heart. While we can find it in a few of the men, like Petey Fisk (the town's meek but determined animal advocate), it usually arises more naturally from the women."
"I think it's a Texas thing," Williams says. "For instance, you can talk about all the colorful men there've been in Texas politics - but then you throw in Ann Richards and everyone else pales beside her. We've got a line about how Texas men may be scary but it's really the women who run the show."
Or maybe it's just that — as Milton Berle and Flip Wilson proved to TV audiences years ago — a guy in a dress is funny.
That dictum seems especially true for Sears and Williams. Offstage, in their street clothes, these down-to-earth guys probably wouldn't be pegged as actors. They look more like ranchers or truck drivers. However humorous, their male characters usually hew to that offstage reality, a look that's — well, kind of ordinary. By comparison, the Tuna women are outrageous, outlandish and outspoken, letting the actors paint the roles in bigger, brighter colors.
Williams says it's a blast when he and his co-star take on such bold, outspoken personas as sassy Tastee Kreme waitresses Helen Bedd and Inita Goodwin. "These two are not making enough money to be polite," he says.
"I'd have to admit they (the female characters) are more fun to play," Sears says. "It's the stretch they give us, the chance to exaggerate."
Tuna Does Vegas, the fourth and newest in the series, returns to Galveston's Grand 1894 Opera House tonight and plays through Aug. 24. The pair (who co-write the shows with director Ed Sears) report it has undergone considerable change since its premiere there one year ago.
Sears and Williams are continuing a long-standing theatrical tradition. In the early 20th century, Julian Eltinge's tasteful impersonations were seen as a tribute to womanhood. Stars from Ray Bolger in Where's Charley? to Harvey Fierstein in Torch Song Trilogy to George Hearn in La Cage Aux Folles won Tonys playing heroes/heroines who (either by choice or necessity) spent much of their stage time in women's garb. More recently, Fierstein won again playing a woman (not a man dressed as one) in Hairspray.
The device has long been a favorite in movie comedies, with such standout entries as Tootsie, Mrs. Doubtfire and the classic Some Like It Hot, the ne plus ultra of drag cinema.
Obviously, the Tuna guys appreciate the comic opportunities in such gender-bending.
"My role model is Flip Wilson as Geraldine," Williams says. "That character was so politically incorrect and absolutely brilliant."
With two actors playing some 20 roles between them, two key challenges of costuming the Tuna shows are keeping each character distinct and making the changes possible in just seconds.
Linda Fisher, the New York-based designer who has costumed the series from the start, says she uses a color code to help the audience keep the characters straight. Perpetually hassled homemaker Bertha Bumiller favors lime green (an "acid green" Fisher calls it.) Would-be social lioness and "smut snatcher" Vera Carp wears peach.
The identifying factor can also be a pattern rather than a color: Aunt Pearl in old-fashioned print dresses, OKKK radio host Arles Struvie in plaid shirts, and so forth.
"When I first did the show," Fisher says, "they'd done some work on their own, coming up with clothes that worked for the characters. The original lime green polyester pants suit for Bertha was something that Jaston had found in a thrift store — and he actually fought a woman to get it."
As to facilitating the quick changes, Fisher says "there's no one solution." The techniques vary, but she most often creates systems of layering, so that pieces of costume can be quickly removed to reveal the next change. Transitional passages often find one or both actors just offstage, morphing from one character to the next, while continuing to deliver overlapping dialogue.
Fisher agrees the series' women are the more flamboyant roles, but feels the team keep the menfolk in proper balance.
"What makes it work is that Joe and Jaston play them all sincerely, including the women. They're acting women characters, not men in drag, camping.
Because it's the first of the series to take the Tuna characters beyond their home turf, Vegas is the team's most elaborately costumed outing. There are new, non-Tuna characters, including dueling Elvis Presley impersonators and hotel manager Anna Conda (who, Williams reports, "favors snakeskin muumuus.) Even some Tuna folk get beyond their Texas-tacky fashion roots. Aunt Pearl wins some loot and gets dolled up. Helen and Inita get jobs as showgirls.
Wait till you see those costumes.
Courtesy of The Houston Chronicle Read More...
Yao carrying China flag at Olympics opener again
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BEIJING - Olympic host China has selected Houston Rockets star Yao Ming to be its flag-bearer at the opening ceremony. Again. Yao first carried the flag at the 2004 Games in Athens. As China's highest profile athlete, he had long been a front runner to receive the honor for a second time.
The criteria ... is that the bearer should be a skilled sportsman, with excellent sporting ethics and a positive public image," China's deputy chef de mission Cui Dalin said at a news conference on Thursday.
"There are many in the Chinese delegation who fill the bill. What to do? After careful consideration, the delegation decided that the flag bearer for the Chinese delegation should be Yao Ming," Cui said.
Since leaving for the NBA in 2002, Yao has loyally returned for national team duties, anchoring the team in major tournaments and taking China to eighth in the last Olympics. That has helped make him a household name in his homeland, earning him millions of dollars annually in endorsements and placing him consistently near the top on lists of the most popular and marketable celebrities. Exempted as hosts from qualifying, China is fielding its largest ever Olympic team; 639 athletes competing in all 28 sports. The team is slightly older than that of four years ago, with an average age of 24.4. Among them, 73 percent are Olympic first-timers, while 165 competed previously in Athens and 37 in Sydney. Three athletes: 10 meter diving champion Guo Jingjing, shooter Tan Zongliang and men's basketball veteran Li Nan, are three-time Olympians. While China is believed to be aiming to top the medal tallies for the first time, Cui said organizers had never set a target, although he noted Chinese athletes had been steadily improving their results.
"A lot of other countries have also been improving this Olympic cycle," Cui said.
