Have some Madeira, M'dear!

[joffridus informed me of the sad and shocking fact that, though an admitted Anglican, he knew not Flanders and Swann. Posthaste, then, these lyrics from Flanders and Swann Online. Look for the CDs.]

She was young, she was pure, she was new, she was nice,
She was fair, she was sweet seventeen.
He was old, he was vile, and no stranger to vice,
He was base, he was bad, he was mean.
( Read more... )

Green tea vs. AIDS

"Green tea is the nonoxidized, unfermented product of the leaves from the evergreen plant, Camellia sinensis. It is made up of catechins, the most abundant of which is Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG). It is believed that EGCG is responsible for the vast array of presumed health benefits green tea possesses, such as the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Several studies have reported that EGCG may also have a protective effect against HIV infection.

"Kuzushige Kawai, MD, and colleagues from the University of Tokyo demonstrated in laboratory studies that EGCG blocked the binding of HIV envelope glycoprotein to human CD4 molecules on human T cells. The CD4 molecule acts as a binding target for HIV vesicles and plays an important role in the aggressive infection process."

From here.

Thanks to realimpostor.

Synthetic Testosterone

Somehow those folks in Washington, having no idea how a real man acts, always go for the cinematic version, where whipping the bad guy is the beginning and the end. Not so in real life. Somebody has to clean up the bodies, restack the bricks, pick up the garbage and get the electricity back on. Obvious candidates for the job would be the Iraqi people themselves.

-- Michael Peirce

News from Jerusalem

Ex-Israel Security Chiefs Push for Truce

"The four said Israel needs to withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza Strip -- areas captured in the 1967 Mideast war -- even if that means clashes with some of the 220,000 Jewish settlers who've built towns and outposts there.

"The former security chiefs said Sharon's preoccupation with trying to halt attacks by Palestinians before agreeing to peace talks is at best misguided, and at worst a ploy to avoid concessions, including a freeze in Jewish settlement construction."

AP

Yum

Camel milk doesn't curdle naturally, making cheese production difficult. But by 1994, with the help of a French professor, Abeiderrahmane had developed a method for making camel cheese, which tastes similar to goat cheese, but spreads and looks more like brie or Camembert.