Lonely students show weaker immunity

From Yahoo! News:

"The loneliness and social isolation that university freshman experience in their first semester is powerful enough to have a very real impact on immune function, with potentially health relevant implications," study author Sarah D. Pressman, a doctoral candidate at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Melon University, told Reuters Health.

In light of this, it is important for students to "form social connections to protect themselves against illness, (and against) poorer immune response to vaccination," she said.

Pressman and her team looked at the influence of loneliness and social isolation on the immune response of 83 healthy men and women in their first semester of college.

At the start of the study, the college freshmen completed questionnaires about their psychological status, including their degree of loneliness. Then they began recording information about loneliness, stress and mood in their palm computer. Two days after the students began this online diary, they were vaccinated against influenza.

Chronically lonely students mounted a weaker immune response -- as measured by their production of antibodies to the influenza virus -- at both one and four months after vaccination than did those who reported less loneliness, the researchers report.

The association was true for students who consistently reported loneliness throughout the four-month study period, but not for those who only reported a high degree of loneliness at the start of the semester, Pressman noted.

A poorer immune response was also seen in those who reported having a small social network -- that is few friends or family members with whom they were in regular contact -- at the start of the study as well as for those who remained socially isolated throughout the study period, the researcher report in Health Psychology, a journal published by the American Psychological Association.

Students who consistently experienced a high degree of loneliness also reported more psychological stress. Stress is known to be bad for a person's health so it may be a "good pathway," by which the immune system is affected, according to Pressman. "Loneliness and stress are obviously closely intertwined," she said.

In light of the findings, "parents shouldn't worry about the transient loneliness that their children may experience upon their transition to a new school and a new city," according to Pressman. "But if their children seem to be experiencing social isolation many months into their new program, it might be best to advise them to try to get out there and meet people," she suggested.

"Even participating in a club or society might be beneficial because of the social contact that it offers."

So the reason why my sister is sick is because she is just naturally easily susceptible to viruses. The reason I get sick is because I'm lonely?

Given that everything I do is shortening my life in one fashion or another, I can only wonder if the social isolation I experience will shorten it even more. I don't feel like doing the math, but my rough estimate would be that I wouldn't see age 50 if what everyone is saying holds true.

The one thing that this article doesn't meantime is that they assume people that are always lonely can easily meet new people. That's always pissed me off. It's like going to a homeless person and saying "Get a job!" It's not that easy for some people. A homeless person looking the way they do more than likely cannot get a job on their own. A person that has a hard time talking to people, meeting people, or anything related to the social arena probably cannot go out and meet people.

I really wish educated people could at least consider this before they start making the kind of recommendation like this person did in any kind of area where there may be an exception. And there is always an excpetion.

Black & White Photo 1 Pictures

For more pictures, make sure to visit
Photographic Memories.

At long last and after many errors involving flickr or Blogger, I put all of my pictures from this past semester of B&W Photo I up on my photo blog. All 59 pictures from before the camera broke are up.

In a related story, the camera has been fixed. However, it is unknown if it will work properly or if a new problem will occur. It is recommended I that take it out and just take pictures of anything and everything with a spare roll of film I could care less about.

If I have any gems, I'll probably post those too, but as of right now, I'm just giving the camera some mechanical theropy. (You know, similar to physical theropy when you break your leg for a long time and need to learn how to walk again?)

Movie Trivia # 028: The Reincarnated Hamburger

At the beginning of E. T. (1982), Drew Barrymore and her mother (Dee Wallace) are eating dinner. Watch Drew's hamburger as it is restored from being half-eaten to whole, then it's gone. And when everyone's saying good-bye to E. T. at the end of the movie, in the background Mom stands up twice in less than a minute.

This and other Movie Trivia posts brought to you by Roman Soldiers Don't Wear Watches by Bill Givens.

Gay Men Respond Differently to Pheromones

From Yahoo! News:

The study, published in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was done by researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

They exposed heterosexual men and women and homosexual men to chemicals derived from male and female sex hormones.

These chemicals are thought to be pheromones — molecules known to trigger responses such as defense and sex in many animals.

Whether humans respond to pheromones has been debated, although in 2000 American researchers reported finding a gene that they believe directs a human pheromone receptor in the nose.

The Swedish study was one of a series looking at whether parts of the brain involved in reproduction differ in response to odors and pheromones, lead researcher Ivanka Savic said.

The brains of different groups responded similarly to ordinary odors such as lavender, but differed in their response to the chemicals thought to be pheromones, Savic said.

The homosexual men's brains responded more like those of women when the men sniffed a chemical from the male hormone testosterone.

Savic said the group is also doing a study involving homosexual women but those results are not yet complete.

"It is one more piece of evidence ... that is showing that sexual orientation is not all learned," said Sandra Witelson, an expert on brain anatomy and sexual orientation at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.

Take that, you people that think I chose to be gay.

A Drawing I Did

Feel free to rip me a new one in the comments area. Or, if you don't feel like doing so, click on the image to be linked to a Ratings Page and vote what you think of it.



By the way, that's a guy. And no, that's not me. It's the alter-me.

Movie Trivia # 027: Maybe He Decided Not to Retire

Early in the horrific film Seven (1995), Morgan Freeman's character name, "Somerset," is partially scraped off his office door leaving "erset" as he prepares to retire from the force. But a shot later, the full name is back again.

This and other Movie Trivia posts brought to you by Roman Soldiers Don't Wear Watches by Bill Givens.

Happy 50th Birthday, Disneyland!

For more pictures, make sure to visit
Photographic Memories.

Today is the day when Disneyland's 50th Anniversery Celebration begins. It was 50 years this summer (July 17, 1955) that Disneyland first opened to the public. Since then, millions of visitors have come to know it as the Happiest Place on Earth.

In honor of this milestone, I have posted what vacation photos I've taken and kept from my own Disney vacations to Walt Disney World. It's not the same, but there's a reason.

See, I haven't been to Disneyland since I was 3 years old. Back then, I couldn't remember much of anything, much less what rides we went on. The only thing I do remember was the Tiki Room scaring me to death when the walls started to sing. (Hey, I was three! What did I know?) There were times where I wanted to go back, but we never got around to doing so. Mostly because of financial reasons.

Now more than ever, I really want to visit Disneyland again. There are a lot of new things going on for their big 50th birthday! Several of the vehicles on rides that have been around since the park opened have been given a golden touch. There is a new fireworks show which is in the round. That means that they fire fireworks from all sides around you and not just from behind the castle as they always have been. There are new parades, and several rides have been fine tuned for the flood of visitors, both regular and first-timers.

Bottom line is that it looks like a lot of fun to me, and the little child in me is screaming to go. If only my wish could come true.

Cinco De Mayo Pictures

For more pictures, make sure to visit
Photographic Memories.

In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, I've posted the pictures from our trip to Arizona and Mexico back in 2001.

Personally, looking back at these photos, I'm reminded of how lame the trip was. We didn't really get a full taste of the REAL Mexico, but some border town that was trying to make a living off of tourists like us. I'm surprised I was able to take pictures of the area that gave it some charm and appeal. Especially since that day was all dark and cloudy.

Also among the pictures I posted at this hour (HINT! HINT! I plan to post more.) are pictures from our trip to the Grand Canyon. Nothing of the quality of National Geographic, but we can't all be professional photographers whenever we want to be, now can we? This means, for those of you that haven't already seen them, you'll get to see what my parents and sister look like. Keep in mind that these were taken about four years ago. They've changed quite a bit since then as far as looks go.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures I put up on my other blog.

Texas House Bans 'Suggestive' Cheerleading

From Yahoo! News:

After an alternately comic and fiery debate — punctuated by several lawmakers waving pompons — the state House on Tuesday approved a bill to restrict "overtly sexually suggestive" cheerleading to more ladylike performances.

The bill passed on a 65-56 vote. It still must be approved by the Senate and signed by Republican Gov. Rick Perry.

One critic questioned the legislation's priorities.

"Have we done anything about stem cell research to help people who are dying and are sick advance their health? No," said Democratic Rep. Senfronia Thompson. "Have we done anything about the mentally ill, school finance or ethics?"

It's amazing how fast our governments can pass laws saying that a court should hear this case or to stop smut from being shown while still avoiding the real issues at hand.

Let's see, what's next? What could one of our state governments or even our national government tackle next that, in the end, is rather meaningless and not really all that important?

Texas considers ban on sexy cheerleaders

From Yahoo! News:

Legislators in Texas, famed for its Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, considered legislation to ban 'sexually suggestive' performances in schools.

The law would ban dance routines by school cheerleaders at sports events that one politician said was like something out of a strip club.

"Some of them are just downright vulgar, something you would see at an adult club or something," said Joe Deshotel, a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives, which is considering the bill. "The problem is in the eye of the beholder, I guess."

One of the co-authors of the bill, Republican Corbin Van Arsdale, said many parents want restrictions because they go to Friday night games to see young men clashing on the football field, not girls shaking their behinds on the sidelines.

Supporters of the legislation say those kinds of excesses show why change is necessary. They want to take Texas back to simpler days, when drill teams performed traditional routines, wore patriotic clothing and longer skirts.

"I think we should look at going back to the old traditions, to the art of dance," said Representative Tommy Merritt, a Republican. "It doesn't have to be all bumpin' and grindin'," he declared.

Okay, call me a raving loon, but this guy is suggesting that cheerleaders go back to the art of ballet? I mean, how far back do these guys want to go as far as the art of dance is concerned? All the article hints at is that they no longer want girls on the field getting the people in the stands all fired up because of their "sexually suggestive" routines.

You know, at this rate, they might as well ban wrestling. After all, who wants to watch nearly naked men roll around on the floor grabbing each other and trying to pin them for x-amount of time? And I don't mean just professional wrestling. I mean both sports.

While we are at it, we might as well ban beach volleyball. I mean, need I remind you of all the butt-slapping the female US volleyball team did during the Summer Olympics? And I don't mean just on the professional level either. I mean even casually during the summer vacation months. I mean, we all know that the guys watching the game are probably watching for the skin show.

And surfing? And swimming? They better have a wet-suit then or some kind of second-skin swimming suit, because some of the guys' speedos are hanging rather low and leave just close to nothing for my imagination.

Yes, I'm being sarcastic.

Honestly, now. Cheerleaders are suppose to be sexy. If they don't want them to be, then they might as well turn back to clock to the era when they didn't do anything but scream "LET'S GO BULLDOGS! LET'S GO!" and then clapped twice. And then, just for good measure, they throw in that letter-calling thing. I bet teenage girls with insecurities about their image and popularity would love to do that instead of dress up in short skirts doing flips and pelvic thrusts to the beat of some pop song. And if not them, I'm sure their parents wouldn't object.