March 2008 Archives

A death mask is a wax or plaster cast made of a person’s face following death. Death masks may be mementos of the dead, or be used for creation of portraits. It is sometimes possible to identify portraits that have been  painted from death masks, because of the characteristic slight distortions of the features caused by the weight of the plaster during the making of the mold. 

Intense! We would have incorporated Minnie Mouse or Glen Danzig somehow but, you know... not bad.

Here is something someone wrote on another blog.

This artwork by the artist KAWS most likely has the hidden meaning “Fuck Death”. This interesting graphic will be used on an upcoming t-shirt from KAWS.

For people in their 60s, regular walking appears to lower the risk of dementia. The finding, published this week in the medical journal Neurology, is the latest study to show that exercise helps delay some of the worst ravages of aging for both the body and the mind.

Humanity's age-old battle against infectious diseases stands to rage on and on, unless scientists develop a new generation of triple-action antibiotics, according to a new article.

In the article, Lester A. Mitscher presents a "rather personalized" account of the turbulent tug-of-war between microbes and mankind, describing past tactics, lessons learned, and a cautious prediction about the road ahead.

Mitscher notes, for instance, that "miracle drugs" in the 1940s and '50s failed to live up to expectations. Though penicillin promised an end to infections worldwide in 1941, reports of resistant bacteria appeared only a year later. "Significant clinical resistance is now known for virtually all antibiotics in medical use," the article states. "Unfortunately, the problem is getting worse since big pharma has largely withdrawn from research directed toward new antibiotic discovery."

The review concludes that microbial resistance is inevitable pending unforeseen breakthroughs. One involves development of new antibiotics that go beyond killing or slowing the growth of disease-causing microbes. Those new medications would contain antimutagenic ingredients that discourage bacteria from mutating into resistant forms. In addition, they would pack immunostimulants that enlist the body's own immune defense system to fight off an infection.

"Continued close observation and exploitation of natural phenomena appear at present to be the wisest course for scientists to follow in trying to deal with this problem," says Mitscher.

ScienceDaily

It's simple.

The darker the chocolate the richer it's Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (ORAC) or antioxidant power.

Antioxidants are good because they destroy free radicals, that cause ageing, and ageing causes you to be an old man.

If you like chocolate you should eat it, simple.

Hello Friends,
What better way to celebrate Good Friday and the first day of spring than with an FDF screening?

Abstract
Watch as pagans celebrate the first day of spring in traditional pagan style; by watching a movie and getting ripped in an upscale bar across from the Centre for Addiction and Mental health.

Tell Thor what you really think about him this Friday after a really late brunch.

Gates open at 8. Ceremony starts at 9. Come early. Worship late.

Details
The Fuck Death Foundation will be screening Peter Hewitt's impenetrable masterpiece Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.

Friday, March 21, 2008
Camera Bar 1028 Queen Street West Toronto.
Doors: 8pm
Screening: 9pm
$5 Cover (30 sea shells)

Please Note:
- Fuck Death multiples will be available
- It's first come, first serve. The theatre has a limited capacity so arrive on time
- If you don't want to/can't see the screening you can just come and hang out at the bar
- You give money. We kill death
- Bring your brains

Scientists have discovered a key part of the chemistry which makes cancer cells so dangerous.

They believe it could now be possible to tamper with the mechanism - and stop tumour growth in its tracks.

Harvard Medical School identified an enzyme which enables cancer cells to consume the huge quantities of glucose they need to fuel uncontrolled growth.

Writing in Nature, they describe how starving cancer cells of the enzyme curbed their growth.

Tai Chi Chuan is an internal Chinese martial art.
Tai Chi is typically practiced for health and longevity.
Tai Chi is something you should try.
Know why?
It reduces stress,
and stress kills, for real.

Watch this video to get a feel for it.

On a side note: My math tutor in junior high told me that "Tai Chi sped up
is lethal in a fight." He was a huge weirdo.

Jan Van Calcar (born circa 1499, died 1545) is credited with the famous woodcut illustrations of the anatomist Andreas Vesalius's famous works; most notably the anatomical study of the human body entitled De humani corporis fabrica libri septem or On the Fabric of the Human Body (1543).

These illustrations are still used by med students.

Hooray for useful art! Let's bring that back.

We will be screening Peter Hewitt's impenetrable masterpiece
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. 

Friday, March 21, 2008
8pm
Camera Bar 1028 Queen Street West Toronto.
$5 Cover

Fuck Death multiples will be available.

Please Note:

- It's first come, first serve. The theatre has a limited capacity.
- If you don't want to/can't see the screening you can just come and hang out at the bar.
- You give money. We kill death.
- Bring your brains

Keep it live.

Forever.

Rendering courtesy of The Bill and Ted's Fan Club

(No, it's not a photograph!)

If civilization is wiped out on Earth, salvation may come from space. Plans are being drawn up for a “Doomsday ark” on the moon containing the essentials of life and civilisation, to be activated in the event of earth being devastated by a giant asteroid or nuclear war.

Construction of a lunar information bank, discussed at a conference in Strasbourg last month, would provide survivors on Earth with a remote-access toolkit to rebuild the human race.

A basic version of the ark would contain hard discs holding information such as DNA sequences and instructions for metal smelting or planting crops. It would be buried in a vault just under the lunar surface and transmitters would send the data to heavily protected receivers on earth. If no receivers survived, the ark would continue transmitting the information until new ones could be built.

Death is the worst. Seriously. This is the kind of person we could really stand to have around. I foresee a massive wisdom shortage coming soon. Once the greatest generation dies off who's going to guide us, Ben and Jerry? Jimmy Page?

Okay, it's the Forever instrumental but did you know this song is about you going to the FDF store and buying a whole bunch of pins and pennants? Crazy right?! We know.

Thanks Cam'ron!

P.S. Newly designed store coming soon! Keep your bananas peeled for it!

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered a dance of proteins that protects certain cells from undergoing apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death. Understanding the fine points of apoptosis is important to researchers seeking ways to control this process.

In a series of experiments, St. Jude researchers found that if any one of three molecules is missing, certain cells lose the ability to protect themselves from apoptosis. A report on this work appears in the advance online publication of Nature.

"This is probably the first description of what is happening mechanistically that contributes to the ability of cells to delay apoptosis," said James Ihle, Ph.D., the paper's senior author and chair of the St. Jude Department of Biochemistry. "It provides incredible insights into how three proteins work and how they can control apoptosis."

Replace Germany with Unicef and Liechtenstein with the FDF and you'll have a good idea of where our game is at. Kumite!

Okay, not totally related to death, charity, life extension, etc but interesting nonetheless.