World Top 10 Old Comeady Hero Images

September 04th Friday

1, Comedy Hero: Robert Townsend


To be honest, I don't know much about Robert Townsend. I vaguely remember him when I was kid growing up. But I was reminded of his great influence by a dear old comedy buddy of mine, Jason Miles, who reveres his work. One day Jason asked me, "Do you know Robert Townsend?" I squinted my eyes shut and grimaced a little as I tried to recall the name.

"Yyyyeaah, kinda."

"Kinda?" Jason scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You better recognize!"

My ego immediately dwarfed ten sizes.

It was THAT conversation which inspired this very post.

Let's begin, shall we?

Robert Townsend was another stand-up comedian to make his mark in the 80s. He was so successful in stand-up that he later was offered a contract with Saturday Night Live, only to have his position replaced by Eddie Murphy.
Townsend was the first when it came to bringing the uncomfortable race-based issues (more specifically black issues) to the mainstream. And he did it cleverly, not "in-your-face" like other black comedians were doing at the time.


He brought to the forefront the subtleties of racism in the entertainment industry--what the average person (the viewer) didn't see going on behind the scenes. And Townsend chose to tell the untold story in a comedic manner. It's hard enough to "make it" as an actor. Townsend decided it was time (even so late in the 80s) to show how much harder it is to make it as a black actor, by profiling the casting process, writing lines, and the general buffoonery backstage.
We (the audience) were barely seeing black people in Hollywood but definitely never hearing about the "behind-the-scenes". He gave a black voice and put his comedic spin on situation after situation, most of it stemming from his real life experiences.

He probably was the most influential with regards to black sketch comedy and black commentary on politics issues. Before there was The Boondocks, Chappelle's Show, before there was In Living Color, there was Hollywood Shuffle.



2, My Boss My Hero

Name: My Boss My Hero
Genre: Comedy, Drama, School Life
Year: 2006
Rating: Must See

The leader of the Kantou Sharp Fang family (Yakuza) is a strong 27 year old young master named Sakaki Makio. He loves fighting, smoking, women, alcohol and especially pudding. However he dropped out of highschool due to his ongoing poor academic results. In other words he is dumb or as others prefer to label him a “baka” (idiot). With an extremely bad temper one that is nearly as bad as his kanji Makio tries his best to lead the gang but fails whenever intelligence is required. His father the current boss gives Makio a chance, if he is able to go to high school and graduate he will be given the title of the 3rd generation boss. Of course while attending high school Makio must not have his identity revealed which means he will lose all the benifits of being a master that he is used to.

This j-drama is a favorite of mine. I actually enjoyed this more than GTO, although both have the same genre of delinquents going to high school, My Boss My Hero has its own special qualities. I found this series kept me entertained and full of laughs. If your looking for comedy in a live-action this can’t be passed. What is different between this series compared to GTO and Gokusen is that the Yakuza side of the story is more prevalent and also because it is the student who is the delinquent shaping the class there is more social interaction between him and his fellow classmates. I guess what I’m trying to say is that the main character Makio is on the same level as the other students which allows him to interact and create several awkward yet amusing situations

3,

Trivia, facts and fiction

Northolt is not the most well known of places in London but did you know...



The popular BBC comedy series My Hero featuring Ardal O'Hanlon and Emily Joyce was set in Northolt! The series was produced from 2000 - 2006.

4,

Korea, 1724. Once upon a time in the Joseon Dynasty, Chun-doong (Lee Jung-jae) meets a beautiful woman while in the middle of a fight in an old market. Having fallen in love at first sight, good fortune is with him and he finds her once again. Her name is Seol-ji (Kim Ok-bin) and she works as a gisaeng, a Korean traditional singing and dancing girl. They spend a memorable

night together but Chun-doong loses her again when she moves to work at another bar. When he finds her new hiding place, however, he is warned away by her new manager, Man-deuk (Kim Suk-hoon) who has connections in the city’s underworld. One day, while still despondent without Seol-ji in his life, he accidentally knocks over and kills the boss of the Jjak-gwi gang. Before he knows it, because of his fighting skills Chun-doong becomes the replacement boss. Soon, there is

a gathering of the region’s gang bosses at the bar where Seol-ji now works. In the middle of the meeting, Chun-doong causes a disturbance to steal Seol-ji away under the nose of Man-deuk. The meeting turns into chaos because of the incident and ends abruptly. A furious Man-deuk teams up with rival gangsters to plot the downfall of the Jjak-gwi gang… Notes: 1) The movie is based on the gangster culture of the Joseon Dynasty (18th Century). 2) The fight that occurs in the gisaeng house is based on an actual fight that occurred in 1724 at a gisaeng house. 3) Ok-bin Kim took two months of traditional dancing lessons to prepare for her role as a gisaeng


5, Hero Showdown: Cartman vs. Stewie

July 6, 2009 - Recently, IGN Stars ran a poll to determine which Hero Showdown match-up you wanted to see next. We can't say we're surprised as to the results. Today's battle features two of the most popular young heroes in the history of animated sitcoms.

Of course, calling them "heroes" is a bit of a stretch, as both have shown themselves to be evil through and through. Today's Hero Showdown pits South Park's Eric Cartman against Family Guy's Stewie Griffin. Both are extra crass beyond their years. Both have caused untold suffering to their respective family members and townsfolk. Now the time has come for these evil tyrants to direct their malice against each other.

Cast your vote for the winner of this bloody battle and let us know your thoughts by posting in the comments section below. And also tell us who you want the winner of this particular battle to square off against next. Can anyone survive their wrath?


Eric Cartman is an evil little boy who lives in South Park, Colorado. Despite being only 10-years-old, Cartman has gotten exceedingly good at being racist, sexist, homophobic and basically a bigot in every way imaginable. Thanks to his overly protective and doting mother, Cartman gives new meaning to the term "spoiled child".

But Cartman isn't just mean to others, he's downright sadistic at times. He has proven time and time again that no one can cross him and survive unscathed. Just ask poor Scott Tenorman. After a pubic hair-related prank went bad, Cartman retaliated by tricking Scott into eating his own parents and embarrassing himself in front of Radiohead. Tenorman can still be seen sobbing over his parents' graves day in and day out.

And let's not forget that Cartman already has a particular vendetta against the cast of Family Guy. His loathing for that show was so great, that Cartman traveled all the way to California and nearly succeeded in getting Family Guy taken off the air.

Cartman is not a physical fighter. He's fat, lazy, and can't even defend himself against the girls at school. But his soul is as black as the void. There have been those who have embarrassed or ridiculed Cartman in the past. But in the end, his revenge was sweet



6, Red Mullet and CowBoy”


Synopsis:

Red Mullet & CowBoy is a super-hero action comedy in which two community college students in rural Western Kentucky decide one day to become super-heroes on a budget.

Jes White/Red Mullet is an 21 year old Iraq War Vet that is back practically fresh from the war-zone, and with one less leg to boot (pun intended) thanks to a roadside bomb. Bobby Bovine/CowBoy is a 14 year old advanced placement student & local Science whiz that has just enrolled in the local community college after finishing high school at 13. The two meet on campus & decide to do something about a recent surge in crime due to the growing local & regional meth epidemic. They become & form the team of Red Mullet & CowBoy. Jes selects his alter ego of Red Mullet because of his obvious unique hairstyle (a.k.a: "The Kentucky Waterfall"). Bobby, being the son of a local dairy farmer, becomes CowBoy because of his respect and loyalty to the animal that has provided for and fed his family for generations.

With the help of Red Mullet's grandfather, Pap-Paw Lonnie (who raised Jes himself and is also a grizzled old war Vet), they begin training on the extra acres of his farm using some of his unconventional training methods. He also helps them build an array of low budget weapons in his garage. Red Mullet employs items such as ropes, stun gun/tazer, ball bearings, pepper spray, smoke bombs, lock picks, survival knife, and his trademark roll of duct tape to wrap up the bad guys. Bobby's weapons of choice are a slingshot, a 10,000 volt cattle prod, and also uses different combinations of chemicals that squirt different types of milky goo from each individual "udder" depending on what the situation calls for. Both of them also stay in constant touch with each other & Pap-Paw Lonnie when they're in the field via walkie-talkie headsets.

Armed with a variety of jimmy-rigged weapons and gadgets that they make from items bought from the local hardware store, the tough-as-nails young Vet & the local Science nerd start moonlighting as heroes to combat increased criminal activity in their county as well as the neighboring ones. They set out to take down meth labs & makers only to also find out along the way that Western Kentucky also has a major werewolf infestation. Upon learning this, they adapt & start setting up plays to capture the local Lycanthropes. They also build an underground bunker with cages to house the werewolves that come to stay overnight before they transform so they won't hurt anyone. Of course there are those that won't come willingly...including one of the main meth makers/ring leaders in the county. The 6'7" 300 lb. man-mountain, Ott. To make matters worse for our heroes, an alien in the form of an intergalactic zoo catcher has also just landed in Kentucky that is bent on capturing a few werewolves for his traveling exhibit. Things get even more complicated for them when the alien himself gets infected by a werewolf bite, which creates a creature that has never existed anywhere before.
Can these heroes do something about all this...or are they in over their heads?

======
Artist's statement to the good folks @ Platinum Studios:
Since pitching this concept at the CBC '06, these guys have gone through a lot of changes.
The protagonist has been made younger, the character designs have been re-conceived, and I feel that the art in general has also evolved and is much improved from the old version. I've also had 2 years to redevelop and fine tune the story & concept since that time. A supporting cast of both super-powered good & bad guys have been designed and will also be introduced along the way. Most of which are "wannabe" local heroes that are inspired by hearing about RM & CB actually starting to make a difference. The others are much more powerful baddies to come...most of which find new powers and abilities from their encounters with escaped aliens that were captive in the traveling alien zoo in the form of symbiotes, bites, and even inter-breeding with some of Kentucky's indigenous wildlife. A lot of other development has been done on RM & CB. Including a new cover, more pages than these 3 that I'm also extremely proud of, concept sketches of their surroundings, and even a live action movie poster and teaser trailer.
You can find samples of all this on my MySpace page @ www.myspace.com/jaychuppe.

To my knowledge there's also still nothin' like this out there,
& I want their home to be Platinum Studios.
Thanks again for you time & hopefully consideration!


7, Director Judd Aptow tells how he got hero's autograph.

The Huffington Post ran this hilarious story about the time Judd Aptow met Steve Martin when he was a kid:

NEW YORK — Judd Apatow, writer and director of comedy hits "Knocked Up" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," is doubtless already a hero to kids who want to break into film or comedy. But once, he was just a kid dying for the autograph of his own hero, Steve Martin.

Apatow regaled an audience at the New Yorker Festival this weekend with the tale of how, on vacation in California as a boy, he had spotted Martin washing his car in front of his home.

The young Apatow jumped out of the car and asked for an autograph, but Martin said he didn't give autographs at his home. "Please, we won't tell anyone," Apatow begged. Sorry, Martin said, but no.

So Apatow went home and wrote Martin a nasty letter, in which he gave an early glimpse of his now well-documented talent for profanity. Three months later, he received a package from Martin that contained a copy of his book "Cruel Shoes."


I'm sorry," read Martin's inscription. "I didn't realize I was speaking to THE Judd Apatow.

--

Hmmm, maybe if Steve Martin had been nicer to THE Judd Aptow, he could have possibly been written into one of his movies. Lord knows it would have helped Martin's career - it's been over a decade since he appeared in anything remotely funny.

I've never understood this kind of behavior from celebrities. It reminds me of a time my brother's friend worked at a golf course in Raleigh when Michael Jordan showed up. Jordan refused to shake this kid's hand, and would not give him an autograph even though my brother's friend was wearing Jodan shoes, a t-shirt, and cologne. That's probably more than $300 in merchandise all sold on the basis of Mr. Space Jam himself, and the dude would not endorse a piece of paper with his signature. So long as there was a pen and paper, it really shouldn't be a problem, if you asked me. Celebrities like Martin typically avoid soul-crushing jobs (unless you count Martin's sequel to Cheaper By the Dozen), and if that means their greatest hassle in life is to be asked for autographs, so be it. Beats working at McDonald's.

8, OLD IS COLD

Same shtick, different setting – isn’t it time Akshay Kumar moved on to something else?

JUL 5, 2009 – HOW WOULD YOU KNOW IF YOU’RE among the card-carrying legions of Akshay Kumar fans who transformed the actor from action hero to comedy superstar? (He returns to his roots in this comedy by playing an action hero: a stuntman.) I suppose the indication would come early on in Sabbir Khan’s Kambakkht Ishq (reworked from the okayish Tamil comedy Pammal K Sambandham, with Kamal Hassan), if you find you can survive the wedding of Lucky (Aftab Shivdasani) and Kamini (Amrita Arora), a cuddly-wuddly ceremony accompanied by exchanges of “my wabbit” and “my tweety.” For you, then, is this movie made. As for me, I experienced what I usually do in an Akshay Kumar laughathon: there’s always a of law of inverse proportionality at work, which dictates that the more the public adores it, the more I have to resist the impulse to find a quiet corner and blow my brains out.

Tashan and Chandni Chowk to China were hardly successful films – not (entirely) artistically, and certainly not commercially – but they were at least borne along by minor-league ambition, even if that goal was to simply execute jazzy riffs on once-upon-a-time movies. At their core, there was something beyond just scene after trying scene attempting to up the noise quotient under the guise of humour. But after those flops, Akshay is back to upping the noise quotient. If size matters in the case of Kambakkht Ishq, it isn’t bigger that’s better but louder – not only is every actor instructed to perform as if on stage and playing to an exclusive audience of the hearing-impaired, it’s also the sheer volume of the slapstick, which at times assumes the shape of a bludgeon. Towering over you like a giant bully, the film practically dares the unimpressed not to laugh.

The tragedy of this comedy is that it could have delivered genuine laughs had it merely followed up on its battle-of-the-sexes premise. Viraj (Akshay Kumar) loves women but hates commitment. Simrita (Kareena Kapoor, in her unbearably supercilious “Poo” mode) hates men and, subsequently, hates commitment. There is, therefore, the mild anticipation of the inevitably old-fashioned trajectory of Viraj and Simrita moving from hate to love. They meet, for the first time, at the aforementioned wedding, where he is aghast that Lucky has gotten hitched, and she expresses similar sentiments about Kamini. It’s only a while before they begin sniping at each other. “Dog,” she hisses at him. “Bitch,” he barks back. “Ah, true love,” we sigh, and settle down for this apparently mismatched couple to realise that they are, in reality, perfectly matched.

9, This Person Businessman
10, Sexy Girl Maddeling

Recent top Comady news And Stills

September 02nd Wednesday

Action, comedy are boring, Akshay wants some romance now
London, Sep 1 (IANS) He has done loads of action films and made audiences laugh in rib-tickling comedies, but Bollywood star Akshay Kumar now says he's bored and wants some romance...on screen of course!
'I want to do more romance. I've actually gotten bored of comedy and action. Yes, I just want to do some romantic films. And that's what my next thing is going to be,' Akshay told Myleen Klass in an interview for CNN's 'The Screening Room Xtra' programme.
While his fans enjoyed actioners like 'Khiladi', 'Mohra' and 'Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi', Akshay also drew audiences for laugh riots 'Hera Pheri', 'Mujhse Shaadi Karogi', 'Welcome' and 'Sing Is Kinng' among others.
'...I've done quite a lot of comedy now and I don't know...sometimes an actor is very sensitive about what he's doing and where he wants to go ahead and do. I know comedy has worked a lot and it has worked brilliantly for me.
'Earlier, when I used to do action I would never think about comedy and then I started getting into it and I was quite successful. So now I've never done a complete romantic film. I did 'Dhadkan', which was eight years back. But now I wanna get into it and do at least two or three romantic films now,' said the actor, who entered Bollywood in 1991.
One of the highest earning members of the Hindi film industry, Akshay maintains that there is no sure-shot secret to success, but stressed that hard work and being 'a producer's actor' is essential.


'It's actually your hard work, your punctuality...Even if you're not a good actor, to be a producer's actor is very essential...If you finish your films on time, save a lot of money for the producer. I remember there was a time when I had delivered 14 flops in a row. But I still had movies along with me for a very simple reason, because I was a producer's actor.'
'I had good films still coming... I had finished all films in a three-month span. Even if they went for loss, they still preferred working with me. And after that, even I thought my career was over. But it still carried on,' Akshay added.

Mitch Hedberg jokes still inspiring
To this day, Mitch Hedberg is one of the most imitated comedians around. If you’ve been to more than one open mic you’ve provably seen a comic copying his style of accented, percussive speaking; sometimes good, usually terrible. I know that for my part I’ve heard a lot of comics telling bizarre one-liners they must have thought sounded Hedbergian.
But what is usually missing is the strong underlying logic that Mitch employed when constructing his jokes. And while he certainly made it seem natural and off the cuff, almost all of Mitch’s jokes were founded on a solid logical foundation.

And luck, he said, is of supreme importance for remaining on top.
'I've just been lucky... a lot of times I've watched my films and I felt it's not good. And those films worked. Like I tell you another film of mine was '8x10Tasveer'. I love that film... When I saw it, it's good but it didn't work at all. So I don't know exactly what works and what doesn't work. You just flow. I liked 'Chandni Chowk To China'. I did it with Warner Brothers, I was very confident and it didn't work at all.'
So why didn't it work?
'

I think it was the storyline. Like 'Kambakkht Ishq' was another film where that combination got together (Bollywood and Hollywood); so that worked. But this one didn't. So it's not the combination, it's actually the script - and sometimes the script doesn't work.'
The actor also firmly believes that the blessings of his parents too go a long way in making him the star he is today.


'I would say my success lies at the feet of my parents because that's been my biggest strength and that's what we Hindus believe in. Every morning before going to work just touch your parents' feet and go ahead in life. That's my personal belief and I followed that in my life. And I told a lot of people and they have also been successful. People may believe it or not, but that's exactly what I believe in,' Akshay said
Daily Show" Alumnus Mo Rocca Still Working the Comedy-News Game
The list of alumni from "The Daily Show" has some impressive comedy names on it: Steve Carell, Ed Helms, and Rob Corddry, to name a few. But they all went on to comedy that has little to do with covering news hilariously, and more to do with paper companies, virgins, and clown-doctoring. (Stephen Colbert doesn't count because he's still listed as a correspondent for "The Daily Show.")

Former correspondent Mo Rocca, however, still has his hands in the comedy-news genre, and has a new show at CBSNews.com called "The Tomorrow Show."
"I don't want to live inside of news, but I think having a guesthouse on the grounds of news -- somewhere in the back, with a garden, with a cabana, with a private driveway -- all of that, I think, is pretty nice," Rocca told the Associated Press.

World Top 10 Health Hosptial

september 2st Wednesday

practices and service line management.
Opened 14 months ago, the Paul and Judy Andrews Women's hospital provides comprehensive care for every phase of a woman's life -- from childbearing age through menopause and beyond.
1, The 190,000-square-foot facility and medical office building -- attached to Baylor All Saints Medical Center for easy access -- offers comprehensive maternity services, the area's largest Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), gynecologic care, an antenatal testing center, and a Midwife Center. Specialty services include a nurse navigator for breast cancer patients and services for reproductive medicine. Baylor All Saints will soon be opening a comprehensive breast facility, the Joan Katz Breast Center, and new centers for reproductive medicine.
"Our goal at the Andrews Women's hospital is to provide quality care one patient at a time," says Janice Whitmire, Andrews administrator. "We are committed to care for women for their lifetime with our team of physicians, employees and volunteers. Receiving this award just 14 months after opening this facility is thrilling to everyone involved in the project."
The four-level hospital includes 25 labor and delivery rooms, eight integrated operating suites, 63 NICU beds, 28 ante partum beds, 12 day patient surgery rooms, 18 gynecological

2, pregnancy—as well as a host of other women's health issues—announces recent enhancements designed to help pregnant teens. In developed nations such as the United States, teen pregnancy is considered an undesirable circumstance and a variety of measures, including abstinence and contraception information and sex education, are used to prevent it. And with good reason: data shows that most teen mothers have a much more difficult time raising healthy, well-adjusted children than older (non-teen) women. Teen mothers require additional determination, education, inspiration, and support to achieve the best possible outcome for themselves and for their children. The new interactive sections of womenshealthchannel's Teen Pregnancy Web pages will help to provide this additional level of support.
Since launching in 2000, womenshealthchannel has provided trustworthy patient education information and has helped millions learn about teen pregnancy and other women's health

3, HIV therapy in pregnancy-data support WHO recommendations
In an observational cohort study from Cte d'Ivoire, Fran ois Dabis and colleagues report on prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission among women receiving antiretroviral therapy according to World Health Organization recommendations.
Citation: Tonwe-Gold B, Ekouevi DK, Viho I, Amani-Bosse C, Toure S, et al. (2007) Antiretroviral treatment and prevention of peripartum and postnatal HIV transmission in West Africa: Evaluation of a two-tiered approach. PLoS Med 4(8): e257.

4, The Use Of Antioxidants To Diminish Effects of Alcohol During Pregnancy Questioned
Researchers say taking antioxidants during pregnancy may prevent birth defects in babies born to women who abuse alcohol. When pregnant mice // were exposed to ethanol and also given an antioxidant, researchers saw a 36-percent reduction in limb malformations in the offspring. Ethanol is the intoxicating agent in liquor.
Researcher say the nutritional status of alcoholics isn’t the best, people who are alcoholic by definition can’t control their drinking and often cannot quit drinking during pregnancy.
Researchers say the idea of adding antioxidants to alcoholic beverages has been proposed as a way of helping women who are unable to quit drinking during pregnancy. In a study conducted high amounts of alcohol were used in order to mimic the blood alcohol level of chronic alcoholics. It was found that virtually all children born with full-blown fetal alcohol syndrome, with major malformations caused by alcohol, are born to chronic alcoholics.


5, Antioxidants in the body protects the airways from diesel exhaust effect
Professor Thomas Sandstrom, Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, University hospital, Sweden and his collaborators from Europe has found that Exposure// to diesel exhaust increased inflammation response in the lungs of the exposed persons and inflammatory cells were increased in the airway pathways and openings and when they analyzed the inflammatory cells in the distal part of the airway they found a decreased inflammatory cells which they feel is due to antioxidant activity of the human body and the researchers have published this work in European Respiratory Journal.
Antioxidants quench the inflammatory cells produced by diesel pollution, antioxidants are present in the human body in the form of Vitamin C, Glutathione and Urate which quenches the free radicals produced by the pollutants by absorbing the free radicals produced by the stress and pollutants and these antioxidants gets reduced by absorbing the free radicals produced in the body and there by protecting the airways from infection and disease

6, A new study has found that the peels of fruits and vegetables, which are thrown away as wastes are best source of potent antioxidants//. So it's better to have a second thought next time, when you want to throw away those peels that fights against aging and keeps you young.
As reported in foodconsumer.org the sales of functional foods containing antioxidants have soared in the United States to $2.7 billion in 2003. Top of the pops are vitamins C and E, soy isoflavones, estrogen-like substances under study in the prevention of cancer, and catechins, tannins peculiar to green tea that stick to proteins, blocking bacteria from adhering to cell walls and disrupting their ability to destroy them.
Scientists studied residues from apples, strawberries, pears and red beets used in juice production. They also examined waste from tomatoes, artichokes and asparagus used in canning, along with the remains from harvesting broccoli, cucumber, chicory and endive.
All these, along with extracts of woad and golden rod herb, yielded polyphenols, a chemical that could protect against some effects of aging and damage caused by free radicals.
Of course extracting the high water content from fresh produce doesn't come cheap. In fact, extraction methods, even if they take place straightaway and close to the production site, as recommended by the scientists for cost-saving purposes, are so expensive that it isn't worth doing to red beet, asparagus or that poor woad.
In fact, it seems as though functional ingredients extracted from some fresh produce may not be able to compete economically with commercially available synthetic antioxidants.


7, Researchers at the University of California in San Francisco have found that eating five or more servings of fruit and vegetables can reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer by 50 per cent.
The vegetables most strongly associated with increased // protection were onions, garlic, beans, yellow vegetables (such as carrots, yams, sweet potatoes, corn and yellow squash), dark leafy vegetables and cruciferous vegetables. Light-green vegetables, tomatoes and tomato products showed weaker protective benefits.
Fruits were found to be protective but significantly less so than vegetables, with citrus fruits and citrus juices most protective.
The study was based on in-person interviews of pancreatic cancer patients and randomly selected controls. Control group participants did not have pancreatic cancer but were of a similar age distribution and similar male to female ratio as the pancreatic cancer patients.
They were asked about their fruit and vegetable consumption for the one-year period prior to the interview, as well as other questions about diet, smoking, occupation and other factors.
The results will be published in the September issue of the journal Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.
"Pancreatic cancer is not nearly as common as breast or lung cancer, but its diagnosis and treatment are particularly difficult," said Elizabeth A. Holly, PhD, UCSF professor of epidemiology and biostatistics and senior author of the study.
"Finding strong confirmation that simple life choices can provide significant protection from pancreatic cancer may be one of the most practical ways to reduce the incidence of this dreadful disease.”
Pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose and remains largely untreatable. It kills about 30,000 people in the US each year and has a five-year survival under four per cent.


8, Gel form of Aloe vera extract is known for its therapeutic effect on burned or irritated skin. Looks like there is more to it than just cosmetology applications. The gel could be taken as a healthful additive to fruits and // vegetables in the future.
A new form has been recently developed by researchers that can be used as an edible coating to prolong the quality and safety of fresh produce. The gel does not appear to affect food taste or appearance and shows promise as a safe, natural and environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional synthetic preservatives that are currently applied to produce after harvesting.
Although a number of edible coatings have been developed to preserve food freshness, the new coating is believed to be the first to use Aloe vera according to the scientists involved in the study. The colorless Aloe gel used in this study was developed through a special processing technique that maximized the amount of active compounds in the gel. The gel can also be applied as a spray.
Common table grapes were subjected to Aloe Vera treatment and were found to have a better result when compared to untreated grape. The untreated grapes appeared to deteriorate rapidly within about 7 days, whereas the gel-coated grapes were well-preserved for up to 35 days under the same experimental conditions. The gel-treated grapes were firmer, had less weight loss and less color change than the untreated grapes, measures which correspond to higher freshness. In addition, it was found that the gel-treated grapes were generally superior in taste.
The gel works better through a combination of mechanisms. Composed mostly of polysaccharides, the gel appears to act as a natural barrier to moisture and oxygen, which can speed food deterioration. It can also enhance food safety. Aloe vera gel appears to contain various antibiotic and antifungal compounds that can potentially delay or inhibit microorganisms that are responsi


9, Australian researchers have suggested a simple and natural remedy for reducing the intensity of asthma attacks or even putting off an attack, // by just eating more fruits and vegetables. They have enough evidence to show that diets deficient in antioxidants, are capable of accelerating and worsening an attack.
A small group of asthma sufferers were subjected to a diet low in antioxidants and their asthma was observed along with levels of antioxidants, like carotene and lycopene in their blood .It was observed that those who had low levels of antioxidants circulating in the blood, especially antioxidant lycopene, showed symptoms of asthma on the rise. Incidentally lycopene is found in abundance in tomatoes.
The study was conducted by Lisa Wood, a research fellow at the Respiratory and Sleep Medicine Unit at the Hunter Medical Research Institute in Newcastle. She said "There has been no evidence that if you take these foods out of the diet it will affect your asthma outcome. The thing that's most exciting is a proof of concept, that if you take antioxidants out of your diet it will be bad for you, and that hasn't been scientifically proven before."
Associate Professor John Wilson, chairman of the National Asthma Council, said “The study was highly significant and very important for our understanding of inflammatory mechanisms. The researchers will no doubt want to go on and explore the relationship in their findings to the usual diet of Australians, and how that might be improved to improve asthma outcomes."


10, A new survey has suggested that, its a common belief that asthma is a condition only associated with childhood. Asthma is one of the most common long-term conditions affecting people in the UK. The disease can develop at any age. Research indicated that around 40% of people with asthma develop the condition in adulthood. it can be life-threatening if symptoms are not recognised and corrected. However, around two-thirds// of those surveyed thought asthma was only a children's condition. Only 4% were aware that is a common problem in those aged 50 or over. Furthermore, while 88% knew that wheezing was a common symptom, 42% did not realise that a persistent cough that is worse at night or in the early morning, or shortness of breath are also common symptoms that indicate poorly controlled asthma.
There seems to be a commonly held misconception that asthma only affects children. The condition not only affect all ages, it can start for the first time at any age. It may be the case that many people have asthma but don't realise they have it. It is vital people recognise the symptoms early in order to get appropriate treatment. If the condition goes untreated, it can lead to a downward spiral of poor health and an increased risk of long-term lung damage.

New Comedy Images And News

September 01st Tuesday

Nigel Havers' new comedy series

Nigel Havers and Sian Reeves are to star in a new comedy series about office life.
They will join a cast of new, young talent in BBC Three's Lunch Monkeys, which is set in the administration department of a law firm that has become a gathering place for school-leavers, no-hopers and general misfits.



Brothers And Sisters star Havers plays solicitor Mike Cranford, while Reeves - known for shows such as Hope Springs and Cutting It - stars as office supervisor Gloria Stevens.
As Gloria strives to be rewarded for her role in the company she is continually let down by her team - and by herself.
This Life's Steve John Shepherd plays a hotshot solicitor in the six-part series.



Mila Kunis Talks About 'Extract'


Mila Kunis stars as Cindy, a temp worker at a factory that produces artificial food flavoring, in the Mike Judge comedy, Extract. Jason Bateman plays Joel, the owner of the company who lusts after Cindy, has a wife who won't have sex after 8pm, and is dealing with the aftermath of a workplace accident that resulted in Step (Clifton Collins Jr) losing a testicle.

But there's more to Cindy than just a temp worker who happens into a job at the factory. She's really a con artist out to get Step to sue Joel for megabucks. Cindy isn't exactly the nicest girl around, but Kunis says she had no problem understanding the


character. "It’s one of those things where you have to play her very realistic and not judge her by her actions, but just kind of accept them for what they are. And you hope that that kind of translates on screen, because if you start judging her for what she’s doing and being like, 'Oh, I can’t believe she’s stealing a guitar,' it’s going to come across as a little negative. But if you just kind of go, 'Well, girl’s gotta do what she’s gotta do,' it kind of comes across a little naïve in a sense, so it’s a little more accepting," offered Kunis.

And the fact Cindy's the opposite of Kunis was very appealing. "She’s not very normal, to say the least, so she’s just very fun to play. She’s crazy."

In Extract, Cindy's able to get away with things that others might not have. Part of the reasoning behind that is that, supposedly, pretty girls live by different rules. In real life, Kunis doesn't find that to be true. "Personally, no. I don’t. I really don’t. I do think that there are women out there... You look at L.A. No one’s really from L.A. All the pretty people from the world all come to L.A., so L.A.’s just filled with beautiful women. But I feel like there’s two groups of them. You have one that solely relies on their looks. And that’s fine if that’s what they have to get through life, so be it. And then you have the beautiful women that actually have something else to offer the world and are constantly fighting against the stereotype. I do not look like this every day. I, in fact, very rarely look


like this, so no, I can’t even get out of a parking ticket. I don’t exude... I think there are certain actresses, absolutely, that exude a certain amount of sexuality or whatever it may be that men just completely fumble over. I do not feel that I’m that person, personally," said Kunis.

Kunis had a good time on the set and calls Judge a "great" director. "He’s a very comforting director," explained Kunis at the LA press day for the Miramax film. "He hires people that he trusts and he kind of gives you this material that he’s created and is not married to it and you can explore and have fun with it and feel very safe. So he’s great."

Looking Ahead - Mila Kunis' Other Projects

Up next for Kunis is a starring role in Darren Aronofsky's thriller, Black Swan, opposite Natalie Portman. Filming isn't expected to begin until November, but already the internet's abuzz with rumors of a sex scene between Kunis and Portman. Asked about the rumor, Kunis replied, "I will not be adding any fuel to this fire, let me tell you that much. [Publicist] Nancy Ryder is in here..."

"She can’t. It’s just she can’t," interjected Ryder.

"Here’s the truth. This is the honest truth. The script is so under lock and key, completely under lock and key, I in fact have no idea how anybody could’ve read it at all. It’s not possible. There’s maybe about four copies," revealed Kunis. "So I’m not going to say it’s not true. I’m not going to say it is true, because I just can’t talk about. But it’s very bizarre how anything would even get out because it’s such a private script."

What is known about Black Swan is that Kunis and Portman will be playing rival ballet dancers. "I am training right now, seven days a week, four hours a day, every single day and it’s been now four weeks," said Kunis of her ballet training. "So I have two more months of training before choreography begins."

"Ballet is intense," added Kunis. "It’s not at all like one part of your body’s used more than the other. It’s your entire body is constantly being contorted into a very unnatural state. Your hips are being, like everyone’s hips are out like this. My hips are now turning out. And I slouch normally, this is how I sit, and in ballet, everything’s tucked back and under. It’s all very unnatural. Everything about it is very unnatural."


Kunis also recently completed work on another dramatic film, The Book of Eli, starring Denzel Washington and directed by the Hughes brothers. "Book of Eli, my character in that is pretty awesome I have to say. She starts off very young, very naïve, very sheltered but also very hungry to learn about life. What can I say? [She] gets inspired by Denzel Washington’s character and goes on this journey with him and throughout the film, it takes place in maybe four or five days, and she grows up so fast and so quickly and almost becomes a woman and takes over. She was a beautiful, beautiful woman to play," said Kunis.

Not only does Kunis' character mature throughout the film, she also gets to kick a little butt and do some intense action scenes. "I get to flip a car. I get to throw a grenade into a convoy of cars and explode them. And then I get to do other fun things that I can’t talk about..."


The Book of Eli isn't the first film in which Kunis has played a character capable of handling herself in action; she played a hitwoman opposite Mark Wahlberg in Max Payne. But Kunis says Eli is different. "Like I think in Max Payne, she was very much just that. She was an assassin, what you see is what you get. In Book of Eli, it’s a very real character that has to fight to survive in this specific type of world and learns how to survive, versus just being placed in front of you as this one person," explained Kunis. "You get to see her grow. It was a great, great, great, great part."

Amazing Latest Comedy Scene

Augest 08th Saturday

New Comedy News Image Gallery

Augest 07th Friday


Hugh Jackman To Star In New Comedy “Avon Man”
Wolverine star Hugh Jackman will produce and star in Avon Man, a new comedy from 20th Century Fox, Variety reports.
The story will center on an out of work car salesman who becomes an Avon rep and uses his good looks to become one of the cosmetics brand’s most successful workers.
Excited at new comedy season

THERE is nothing like live theatre so it is great news that Derby Playhouse is likely to be reopening in the near future. The new season's plays announced are comedies which should encourage “bums on seats”. And Peter Pan, I am sure, will be as popular as previous Christmas shows. For those of you who haven't been before, try it, you don't know what you've been missing.

HBO Shooting Pilot For New Comedy
We’ve got another HBO comedy coming our way and Jason Schwartzman is the main man. Jason has been cast to be the lead in new HBO comedy pilot "Bored to Death."
The Hollywood Reporter reports that Jonathan (Jason) will play a struggling writer with a drinking problem in Brooklyn who, following a painful breakup with his girlfriend, decides to emulate his heroes from the novels of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. He takes out an ad pretending to be a private detective and starts taking cases -- solving some and making others worse.
Production is set to start filming sometime in September in NYC.
We've been seriously lacking in the comedy department so lets hope this show is something worth watching.
India's next outsourcing boom: comedy
MUMBAI (AFP) - In 1979, Don Ward opened a small club in London to provide a stage for the best of Britain's undiscovered comic talent. After 30 successful years, he now wants to do the same in India.
Ward is taking The Comedy Store out of Britain for the first time, opening a branch in India's cosmopolitan entertainment capital Mumbai to give audiences a taste of the best of international stand-up and to foster home-grown talent.
"There's a tremendous comedy scene in the United Kingdom, which has just 60 million people," Ward told AFP by telephone from his London home. "India has 1.2 billion people. It's easy to do the maths.
"I think there's going to be a comedy explosion (in India)."
In India, comedy in Hindi and other indigenous languages still tends to see comedians delivering pithy one-liners on television shows or theatre satires lampooning politicians and society's quirks.
Its English-language comedy scene is small in comparison, although Indian comics such as Vir Das and Papa CJ or Canadian Russell Peters, whose family is of Anglo-Indian origin, have attracted a loyal following.
Like Ward, Papa CJ and Peters believe India's stand-up scene can be developed and, as in business and technology or outsourcing, unleashed on the world.
"I strongly believe there is phenomenal potential for high quality stand-up comedy in India," Papa CJ, who has performed at The Comedy Store in London, told AFP by email.
"There is a dearth of entertainment in India and The Comedy Store fills that gap very well."
Peters added: "In the (United) States and Canada there's a lot of Indian comics and quite a few of them are pretty good. I also know that there are a few local Indian comics in India, which is a good thing.
"There's no reason why they shouldn't be successful... I know there's a market for it," he told AFP by email from Canada.
The new Comedy Store, a 1,400-square-metre (15,000-square-foot), 300-seat venue at central Mumbai's High Street Phoenix shopping and leisure complex, is due to open in early December.
Ward and his Indian business partner Amar Agrawal have both invested one million pounds (1.6 million dollars) to get the project off the ground.
Preview gigs in the city in June, featuring comedians Sean Meo, Ian Stone and Paul Tonkinson, were well-received. More are planned before the opening.
Ward, 67, said he is well aware of India's "sacred cows" -- subjects that are still off limits in what is still a deeply conservative society.
But he promises that the material -- and even performers such as Paul Sinha, an openly gay British Bengali doctor or British-Iranian comedian Shappi Khorsandi -- will push boundaries.
"Safe comedy is boring comedy," he said. "There has to be an element of risk. My mission is to make you guys feel uncomfortable and to make you think -- and of course entertain you."
Just like 30 years ago, Ward is planning to reprise his role that found the stars of Britain's "alternative comedy" scene in the 1980s including Ben Elton, Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Alexei Sayle and dozens of other British household names.
He says he'll be happy if he can find half a dozen new Indian comedians who can eventually work alongside the international talent flown in for weekend gigs.
"I'm sure that around the 'Slumdog' areas you have got guys and girls who have got something to say about life in India," he said, referring to the city's Dharavi shantytown seen in the Oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire". "This is where the humour comes out of everyday life," he added.
After Mumbai, there are plans for branches in the capital New Delhi and the southern city of Bangalore as well as stand-up nights in Hindi and other languages.
India and Indians are ripe with comic potential and could soon take the world by storm, he says.
"The British were here for 200 years. We gave you fantastic buildings and we left you with a great sense of humour," he joked.
"Indians have got funny bones. They like to talk and are full of self-importance. Just like comedians, in fact. It's a win-win situation."

New Comedy News In World

Augest 03th Monday

Michael Showalter Discusses His New Comedy Central Show

One half of the issue burdened Michaels from "Michael and Michael Have Issues," Michael Showalter, joined us to discuss his and Michael Ian Black's new show on Comedy Central (Wednesdays at 10:30 pm ET). Michael also talks about his time at "The State," what the status is with that "Wet Hot American Summer" sequel and breaks down his recent appearance on "Late Show with David Letterman."

Mike: I'm kind of happy this interview was delayed a few days because now I've seen the second episode...

Michael Showalter: Oh, good.

Mike: I really liked the first one but I think I liked the second one better; the show just kinds of grows on you the more you watch it.


Michael Showalter: I hope that's true. I really hope that's true. I think they keep getting better, actually, too. I think episode three is better than two and so on and so forth.

Mike: Obviously you and Michael Ian Black have known each other for quite some time so the chemistry was there from the first episode.

Michael Showalter: Yeah.

Mike: People that may not be familiar with "The State" or familiar with the previous work, the longer the show continues the more they will get what's going on.

Michael Showalter: As long as they keep watching; that's the key. People have a habit of making snap decisions. It's that and it's also a different kind of show for Comedy Central. It's a single camera, narrative show. Sarah Silverman is kind of like that but Sarah's is a much more absurd reality than our show. I think we agree, it's going to take a little while for people to kind of get used to it and learn the characters and the sensibility and all that stuff.

Mike: I've always been intrigued by just the process of comedy sketch writing ... It was fascinating for me to watch "Saturday Night Live" from the writers' room and watching what the writers would laugh at as opposed to the audience -- almost like on certain jokes there's a funny story about how that was written. Do you think that sometimes the funniest moments are at the writers' table?

Michael Showalter: Gee. Mike and I haven't done sketches in so long that we're almost relearning it. So, the sketch part of the show is still very much a work in progress because it's been over ten years since we were writing sketches with any regularity. I think, for us, it may have actually been the opposite. That the sketches may have gone a little bit better in the shooting of them (laughs). When we were doing "The State," all we did all day long was write sketches. With this, it's not as much like that because there's all the narrative stuff and that's really where most of our energy is going in to. So, figuring out that balance is something we'll have to work on.


Mike: I almost kind of meant it more as drawing off your memories from "The State." When you guys were in a groove, did funny things happen and you say, "we're putting this in because we think it's hilarious but we don't know how it will play."

Michael Showalter: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely, yes. Definitely. And that's, I think, where you want to get to. Where you're at a comfort level of trusting that what you find funny is what the audience will find funny. And you do start getting to a place where the jokes that you're doing in the sketches are just whatever crazy idea you have that you guys thought was really funny in the room. But at "The State," that's where things really started to go in the third and fourth season. It was just us being silly with each other and making sketches out of it.

Mike: On "Michael and Michael Have Issues," you see them so rarely, is that a real studio audience? Are they just brought in for the sketches part of the show?


Michael Showalter: Yes. That's a real studio audience.

Mike: Do you show them the footage from [the narrative]...

Michael Showalter: No. They don't know that there's a storyline. If we make another season, they will.

Mike: Oh, that's interesting.

Michael Showalter: Those audiences didn't really know what they were looking at and they saw only sketches. They saw the sketches we were shooting live; a lot of which were those "Michael and Michael" segments sitting in the chairs. And then we would shoot maybe one or two live sketches with the costumes and then role in on camera some of the other sketches we'd been shooting on location. But, they didn't know anything about the behind the scenes stuff. A lot of the sketches we shot live, got cut. The majority of the things we did that got cut were the live sketches. They didn't come out right, somehow. Like I say, it's a work in progress. They were funny but they clashed a little bit with the rest of the show.

Mike: So if you're in the studio audience, all you know is that you're coming in for this new sketch comedy show?

Michael Showalter: Kind of. They kind of know it's more than that but they're not really sure what.

Mike: I do love the fact it incorporates sketch comedy. If you look back, "The State" had a nice run, but why do you feel, other than "SNL," it's hard to get sketch comedy on the air? I like that "Michael and Michael Have Issues" is doing it in a unique way with the story, then a sketch, then more story.

Michael Showalter: Gosh, I don't know. I really don't know. I'm not sure, I wish I had an answer. It's a good question. I have no idea. What do you think?

Mike: I don't know either. I've been trying to figure it out because everyone I know loves sketch comedy.

Michael Showalter: I really don't know. I really don't. That's a really good question.

Mike: So [July 14] I saw you on David Letterman. What's it like going on Letterman? I've heard stories it can be pretty nerve-wracking.

Michael Showalter: It's as terrified as I've ever been to do anything in my life. I idolize David Letterman and he's an icon to me. I've watched the show thousands of times. I was terrified



Mike: You didn't come across terrified at all. Very impressive.

Michael Showalter: I ended up taking the attitude that what I think I could have done that would have made it bad is if you get caught up in -- and I've watched the show enough to see it when you watch people on the show -- feeling impressed with that I was on Letterman. Meaning: I must be a really big deal or something if I'm on David Letterman. Because then you start putting pressure on yourself like, "This is my big chance. I have to be amazing on Letterman or my career is over," or something like that. And I just tried to think of it more along the lines of I was there to promote my television show and just try to be a good guest. And to also realize he's a human being -- he's also an icon but he's a human being -- and to just try and go there and be myself and it ended up going great. He was really nice to me and I had heard he was intimidating, as well, but I found him to be very nice



Mike: And you don't get to meet him before the show, right?

Michael Showalter: No, no, no. When you go out there, that's when you meet him. It was totally surreal. It's like walking into your TV set and all of a sudden you're there.

Mike: Right. I've been to Letterman before in the audience and even from that perspective it felt like you're inside your TV.

Michael Showalter: It's very surreal but I'm really happy with the way it went and he was nice.

Mike: The cat story was hilarious. Do you spend time practicing that?

Michael Showalter: I definitely told the story a few times at a few small comedy shows just to see if it was funny or not. But I was not in there scripted or rehearsed. It's a true story so I just told the story as it really occurred. I really just tried to be myself; I really tried to go in there and not be too prepared.

Mike: I have a few questions from readers on Twitter, is that OK?

Michael Showalter: Of course.

Mike: (From Ryan in Arlington, VA) How did you come up with "Wet Hot American Summer" and how much was improvised?

Michael Showalter: None of it was improvised, really. We came up with it because David [Wain] and I both had formative summer camp experiences and sort of just -- we wanted to write a movie together -- started writing down what we thought would be funny characters in scenes based on that and it just kind of grew out of that.

Mike: (From Katie in New York City) Wasn't there a mention of a sequel to "Wet Hot American Summer"? What happened to that?

Michael Showalter: David and I just haven't had a chance to connect and talk about it. But I definitely think it's something we would be interested in doing one day.

Mike: (Dave from Hoboken) says he has seen you out playing poker before. How much do you enjoy poker and how good are you at it?

Michael Showalter: I love playing poker. And I play very aggressively and I'm a very loose player, they call it. And I'm pretty good. I think I'm a pretty good poker player. I'm a big risk, high return guy.


Futurama WILL Be Back With All Voice Talent Present and Accounted For

t looks like “Futurama” will be coming back to television with its voice talent intact. Fox has reached a deal with “Futurama” regulars Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille , John DiMaggio and Maurice LaMarche that will keep the gang at Planet Express cracking wise for at least 26 episodes




Michael Moore plans Traverse City, MI comedy festival | KIDK-TV

Oscar winner Michael Moore has more big plans for his adopted northern Michigan hometown of Traverse City, where he's already established a film festival. Moore said Saturday that he and comedian Jeff Garlin, a star and executive producer of the HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm," will organize the Traverse City Comedy Arts Festival. It will run over a weekend and feature movies, stand-up and sketch comedy and other entertainment. A date has not been chosen yet




Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival has a partial 2009 lineup, seeks sponsors | the comic's comic


ugene Mirman is ready to host his second annual Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival this coming Sept. 17-20, 2009, in Brooklyn. As you can see, he's already got some great talent lined up to perform, and if its anything like last year -- which included canvas bags and laminates to make you feel like it was a real comedy fest, which it was -- then you should mark your calendars, and then when your calendar hits these days, then you





Joe Rogan's New Comedy Special To Premier Uncensored On Spike

On Saturday June 20th, stand up comic and UFC commentator Joe Rogan's comedy special "Talking Monkeys in Space'" will debut at midnight in an uncensored format. ‘Talking Monkeys in Space' captures Rogan breaking down cultural taboos; exploring his subjects with a raw honesty that is as engrossing as it is hilarious. Exuding a mad joy for life in all its insanity Rogan dispels the negative effects of marijuana use and marvels at his baby daughter; challenges the politically correct teachings of Dr. Phil and ends the anti-Evolution debate – all with the incisive edge that has defined Rogan's comedy