malate sono dunque le stelle.

Il tempo e' malato, vissuto

sopra pelle, in spazio minuto.

gli dei sono malati, umanizzati,

mostri golosi,ingiusti, capricciosi.

Resta l'accidia, unica forma nuda

della vita vera, unica forma vera,

unico personaggio in scena.

Vivere,non vale piu' la pena.

Esistere è sopravvivere,appena.

Lou Butt became involved with Yarn Forward in December last year, when Kerrie invited her on board the nascent magazine. As it happened, the timing was perfect. Lou had left Simply Knitting earlier that year, anticipating a relaxing life as a “yummy mummy” with the occasional book project to break things up – but after a few months, she found herself missing the busy schedules and creative activity of publishing. And with Yarn Forward about to go ten issues a year, Lou expects to be very busy indeed: “The best times have to be when we get such fantastic feedback. Going 10 issues a year was a very scary concept, but all our readers and advertisers are 100% behind us. The worst times have to be the deadline when I’m up late designing pages and trying to do the 101 other things that come with running a business too. We’ll have an art editor soon, so at least that pressure is reduced.”

Step into a UK newsagent, and you’re likely to see several home-grown knitting magazines. Lou thinks that YF is more than able to stand up to the competition. “There is so much that makes us different”, she says. For a start, there’s the approach to advertising, limited to just 10% of the magazine each issue: “We don’t feel it’s right to make our readers pay for 20+ pages of adverts.” Lou adds, “We’ll have no book extracts or designs from yarn companies. Because we’re independent we don’t feel pressurized into reproducing designs for the sake of advertising.”

Instead the emphasis is on providing original designs, put together with a real love for the crafts of knitting and crochet – and because restricting the advertising makes more room for editorial, Lou says “we can be gluttonous with our space and have lots of large charts on the patterns.” There are also at least five in-depth features in every issue: “There is so much out there in the knitting world, that 2 pages just isn’t enough room to really do something justice.”

After the jump... "battleship grey acrylic chunky", Uri Gellar, minuscule slippers, a "scary block of flats", and the projects that Lou loves best of all.

Lou’s passion for knitting goes back to childhood, when her parents owned a joint hardware and wool shop. “We had one of those old fashioned shops where customers could 'lay away' yarn and would buy a ball a week. It was my job to sort all the lay away yarn. Mum used to design and sell knitwear for the shop, one day a jumper that she'd marked up for £20 was snapped up by two ladies, who after paying informed mum that they were going to sell it in their London boutique for £200! That was back in the eighties.”

Lou took to knitting straight away, mastered crochet a little later, and was soon making bags, bedspreads and gloves for sale in the shop. Not everything she made was a success, though. Her first jumper was worked in plain st st with chunky yarn, decorated with half stripes across the front: “Mum still wasn't convinced that I'd finish it so chose some awful shades of yarn. Battleship grey acrylic chunky, with the half stripes alternating in white or cerise chunky mohair! I finished it in a week though. I hardly wore it as the colours were so bad.”

However, by the time Lou reached her mid-teens, the knitting boom had faded. As sales fell, the yarn side of the shop was wound down (although they continued to design and knit original garments for sale, some of which were so popular they went on back-order). Lou found that knitting was occupying less and less of her time: “it wasn't very trendy to knit and I got into other hobbies like painting, drawing, cardmaking and crossstitch – and boys!.” At university, she says, “I'd pick up my needles to make the occasional garment, but study and partying took up much of my time.”

Her early career in publishing had nothing to do with fibre-crafts: she started out on Uri Geller's Encounters magazine, and moved onto videogame journalism. But when she heard that a knitting magazine was in development, Lou says, “nothing was going to stop me working on it. I got the job as Operations Editor in 2003 and really embraced the craft again. I couldn't stop knitting and designing, and my husband was in shock at how much stash I managed to acquire. We became the odd couple. He would sit there reviewing the latest playstation games, while I sat and knitted all night. The perfect jobs for both of us!”

Working on the Simply Knitting revived Lou’s interest in designing. Her book, Knitted Sock Sensations (with Kirstie McLeod) was published by David and Charles in April this year, and she has at least three patterns destined for upcoming issues of YF. “Sometimes I can pick up a ball and picture exactly how I feel it should be knitted up. Sometimes I’m given yarn and told to ‘make something’ which is harder to do. There’s no set way that I go about my designing. I have been known to follow a person wearing knitwear to work out how it’s constructed, then stop and write notes in my pad that I take everywhere with me. I currently have an idea for a cabled sweater that’s inspired by fence that I pass on my way into town, among many others. I like to make practical things that people will wear or use.”

Even when following a pattern, Lou finds that she has to do her own thing. “I can never follow a pattern to the word. I may start off with all good intentions, but then I’ll ‘ad lib’ and put my own little touches to it, like leaving out a line of pattern for a few rows, or putting a cable in the rib. Or even adding something completely new.” She likes a mixture of challenging work and satisfying results: “A st st jumper would bore me rigid. I like to work with 4 ply – though saying that I do like to knit with chunky and super chunky. I also like knitting socks, especially in variegated yarns, I like to see the colours pass through the needles – watching them is quite addictive. Accessories are a good, quick knit and great for presents.” Knitting has taken precedence over crochet lately, but, she says, “At some point soon, I’d like to get back into it. I like the way that crochet grows really quickly.”

“I hate frogging! As does everyone. I just can’t contemplate knitting something to rip it all out again. Time is precious. So before I embark on a project I make sure it’s exactly right on paper and in my head. So far I’ve only had problems with one garment. On the fifth attempt I really felt like burning the yarn. It just wouldn’t do what I wanted!” So Lou is a diligent – though reluctant – swatcher. “Swatching is also that necessary evil. I just want to get straight on and knit. It’s so important though. When I was designing the fulled slippers for Knitted Sock Sensations I did a swatch and fulled it at 40 degrees to work out the shrinkage. For some inexplicable reason when I’d finished the knitting of the socks I decided to put the machine dial to 50. When I took out the miniscule slippers I could have cried!”

However, there are some disasters which even swatching can’t prevent. “My biggest knitting nightmare was when a certain delivery service delivered my parcel of 8 new designs to the wrong address. I was so upset, that my wonderful husband drove all the way from Wiltshire to London at 10pm at night to get it back. He’d never driven in a city before and the route we’d planned was blocked off when he reached London. Somehow he found the ‘scary block of flats’ after midnight and woke up the poor bemused chap to retrieve the parcel. You can’t imagine how elated I was when he called me to say he had it in hands.”

Lou’s favourite projects are the ones with personal significance. “I love the wedding socks that I made for my best friend that are featured in the current issue. It was such a special day, and that design holds so many memories. I was knitting them in the limo on the hen night, though had to give up when I dropped stitches after the third glass of bubbly!” And Lou’s close relationship with her mother is commemorated in the project of which she is most proud – the Sudoku blanket in Weekend Knitting. “I designed it and my mum knitted all 81 squares in record time. Then we spent 8 hours sewing them all together. It was a real labour of love. I lost my mum last year, and every time I look at that blanket it reminds me of her and the work we did together on it.”

Recently, I watched two touring musicians perform live at a small venue. On CD, the music of this singer and guitarist involved an array of instruments and musical effects. For this performance, much of the supporting music had been brought along in digital form on a computer. (Hey, who can afford to carry a big band on tour?) A musician friend of mine came over and whispered to me, "I don't know about you, but I prefer live musicians." If I have a complaint about Tig Wired's release, this is it. The sound is big, but the instrumentation is all recorded and digitized by one person, Colin Campbell, with a little bit of help on drums and blues-harp.

You've got to hand it to Campbell. He's managed to carry this legerdemain off without sounding all digitized and soft, as happens with so many of today's one-man bands. Most of the time, but not always, without reading the liner notes you would never know this wasn't a flesh and bones band. I only hope that, if Campbell and his lyricist partner - his brother Chris - take this show on the road, they'll have the good sense to take along a real band and not just a pack of mp3 files.

That small quibble aside, this is a varied and interesting release that maintains a certain artistic unity despite its overall eclectic nature. If these brothers are not twins, perhaps they should have been. Their artistic vision is that tight, as though the creative centre of this music comes from not two minds but one. Chris Campbell's lyrics are a perfect match for brother Colin's musical magic, the two balancing and counterpointing one another at every turn.

While these songs hint at the blues, Forties' country music, rock, reggae, jazz, and even folk music and show music, they're really in a relatively new genre that often falls between the tracks and goes unacknowledged. What really connects these songs is their affinity for this genre that's only existed since perhaps the late-Sixties. What strikes me most about these songs is how much they remind me of the jazz rock pioneered by artists such as Van Morrison and Lou Reed some forty years ago.

Chris Campbell's lyrics, often socially conscious but never strident, are excellent, comparing favourably to the works of Morrison and Reed as well as many of our finest writers of protest songs. These are not just pretty poems but moving stories set to his brother's music for additional impact.

Much of the time, Colin Campbell sounds a whole lot like Lou Reed in his seminal Velvet Underground years. As often, he sounds very like Van Morrison from the same period and a few years after when Morrison slipped into jazz-mode. On "When I Get To Feel This Way," he starts to sound like Tex Williams of "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette" fame. "It's This Job I Do" is pure country, so much so that most contemporary country music stations might not play it. A bit more schmaltzy, and it might have been a Bobby Goldsboro song. On the more reggae-sounding songs, his voice shifts again, sounding ever so much like a young Bob Marley. The variety present in this release only adds to the literary and musical talent of the Campbell brothers.

The musicianship on this release is impressive. There are trumpets (Keyboard? They sound real.) that at times echo the early Freddie Hubbard and at other times blast hard like early ska trumpets. Other instruments bring the same high quality to this production. As far as I can tell, except for drums on some of the songs and blues-harp on one, Colin Campbell is the musician responsible for all of these very cool sounds.

Even though I'm in favour of a full suite of musicians playing on a recording, keeping working-musicians working, I can't help but be impressed with what the Campbell brothers have accomplished with this release. I do highly recommend that you give it a listen.

You'll find more information on Canadian musicians Colin and Chris Campbell, aka Tig Wired, at tigwired.com.

Support this independent roots music CD reviews blog.

The Denver Tattoo Convention: Museum of Skin

First Official “Green” Tattoo Expo & Release of The Tattoo
Sourcebook

The Denver Tattoo Convention (Sept. 19-21), an effort of leading
studio Phantom 8 Tattoos, brings nationally and locally recognized
tattooists together in a weekend of live tattooing, performance,
contests and parties. TattooFinder.com, a Denver-based leader in
online tattoo-friendly artwork sales, sponsors the convention as
their official release of The Tattoo Sourcebook.

DENVER, CO — The Denver Tattoo Convention: Museum of Skin (DTC)
comes to the Mile High City this fall, September 19-21, celebrating
the history of the craft and it’s connection to the nationally
recognized Denver tattoo community. The DTC stands apart from other
tattoo expos with their earth-friendly stance and efforts to include
post-consumer products, hybrid transportation, education and carbon
offsetting into the convention manifesto. And with dozens of
celebrated tattooists, sideshow carnival entertainment, body art
contests and live, multi-artist tattooing collaborations, the DTC
will be a spectacle, a platform of public education and a weekend of
camaraderie.

TattooFinder.com, a Denver-based leader in online tattoo-friendly
artwork sales, joins the Denver Tattoo Convention as a promotional
sponsor. Celebrating the September release of The Tattoo Sourcebook
(TSB), their new publishing effort with HarperCollinsPublishers and
Barnes & Noble, TattooFinder contributes their unparalleled knowledge
of tattoo-friendly artwork and their connections to renowned flash
artists and tattooists — both contributors to the Tattoo Sourcebook
and the company’s collection of over 22,000 high-quality, tattoo-
friendly designs.

Lyle Tuttle, the “Forefather of Modern Tattooing” and contributor
to the TSB, brings industry celebrity to the convention with his free
public presentation on the history of modern tattooing on Saturday,
September 20. With one of the world’s largest collections of tattoo
artifacts and a history of professional tattooing that began in 1949,
Tuttle has practiced the craft on six continents and tattooed legends
like Janis Joplin and Cher.

Several other industry leaders will be on hand to celebrate the
release of the Tattoo Sourcebook, including Friday Jones, New York’s
couture celebrity tattooist. Jones, who has tattooed her share of
icons (including Angelina Jolie and D. Woods of Danity Kane) and
contributed her amazing tattoo artwork to both the TSB and
TattooFinder.com, joins the Denver Tattoo Convention for the city’s
first ever Skinfusion feature. The live, multi-artist tattoo
collaboration brings together some of the best local and national
tattooists in a joint effort that will give some pretty big bragging
rights to two lucky participants!

Visit us online at http://www.denvertattooconvention.com/ or http://
tattoosourcebook.com/ for more information. A full media press kit
for TattooFinder.com can be found at http://
tattoos-101.tattoofinder.com/press-media.

Tattoofinder.com is division of Flash2xs.com, LLC, an Internet-based
company located in Denver, Colorado, owned by Lou Bardach, Rachael
Bardach, Brett O'Connor and Brad Hutchison. Lou, Brett and Brad have
worked in the Internet applications development, graphic design, and
online marketing fields since the mid-1990s and Rachael has been
tattooing since 1991. The Tattoofinder.com website was launched in
January 2003, and members of this team have been selling tattoo flash
since the early 1990s.

       Según recoge el proyecto de Real Decreto enviado a las Comunidades Autónomas, Universidades y otros sectores para su debate, la nueva selectividad mantiene una estructura similar a la anterior, pero aumenta las opciones de elección del alumno.

PINCHA AQUÍ SI QUIERES TENER MÁS INFORMACIÓN SOBRE ESTE ASUNTO

http://www.koolandthegang.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kool_&_the_Gang

Too Hot. Ladies Night. Take my heart. Get down on It. Celebration. Hollywood Swinging. Joanna

Hollywood swinging was sampled to make this:

.... wallspawn

Lou (right) and Dee (left) kindly took a little while away from attending to subscribers and suppliers to show us around. (Kerrie and Shirley are based at the second office in Bishops Stortford.)

Lou's "creatively organised" desk - "Dee likes to tease me about that", she said. Dee's desk is so organised that there was nothing to photograph, but I did find...

a secret stash of chocolate.

We're knitters, though, so the edible treats are a lot less exciting than the yarny ones. Piles and piles of gorgeous wool (that's the subscriber yarn, ready for dispatch)...

plus useful books, and beautiful handknits. Oh, and spray cleaner.

The YF staff are a self-reliant bunch. Not only do Lou and Dee have to clean up after themselves - they even had to build their own desks!

It was hard to say goodbye, but at least we got to take a little bit of Yarn Forward home with us. Hang on, what's in the bag? Could it be yarn?

Oh, it's chocolate. Note to assistant: go for the wool next time.

Lou: oh, who are you seeing?

Valancy Jane: Sugarland.
My friend ZJ got tickets.

Lou: nice
very awesome

Valancy Jane: So Aurora and I are going.
I'll prolly sneak out and go on an elephant ride.

Lou: please take pictures

Valancy Jane: I guess that makes more sense when I mention the concert is at the fair.

Lou: hahahah, yeah

Mój chińczyk vel. krowa vel. gruba świnia vel. osobisty ochroniarz vel. Mufinek vel. Lou kończy dzisiaj 5 lat! Na psie to już 50!!

PozdrawiaMY ( ja i solenizant!) :).

Lou Bizarro

El Lou Bizarro perdio por nocaut
con Robert Mano de piedra Duran
y su hermano bizzarro invade el escenario para recatar a Lou.
El Lou bizarro quedo muy mal pero llevo manjares a su hogar
que no pudo ni probar, que no pudo ni probar.
Esat es la historia que nadie conto,
la historia de otro boxeador que perdio,
esa anoche America bizarra lamento
la caida de un campeon sin corona.
Y mano de piedra ni se entero,
si el Lou Bizarro se levanto ,porque,
alguien en el ring lo encaro, creo que algo le grito en español
America bizarra se divide en 2 , el gran sector que ni se entero
y los interesados por el perdedor que son dos:
tal vez nosotros dos.
Lou bizarro perdio por nocaut fue en el primero, en el segundo round
un fallo que nadie protesto, un hombre gano,
ortro hombre perdio.
En casa de Lou mama Lou lloro, pero el cuñado la apuesta gano,
la hermana Bizarro apreta el pañuelo borbado en Cicilia por un bizabuelo.
Esta no es la historio de Lou solamente, es casi toda simultaneamente.
Son 10 segundos de un hombre comun que en la lona se cayo,
y en ese caso la pelea perdio,
y en ese caso la pelea perdio.
Mama Lou, papa lou, sister Lou Lou Lou(4)
no quiero ser Vicen, no quiero ser bankgog, no quiero ser
Tyson, Tyson en Japon.
Porque una campeon a veces cae, un campeon tambien cae,
porque un campeon aveces cae, un campeon tambien cae.
Mama Lou, papa lou, sister Lou Lou Lou(4)
Lou Bizarro perdio por nocaut ,
con Roberto mano de piedra Duran,
y su hermano Bizzarro invade el escenario para recatar a Lou.
El Lou bizarro quedo muy mal pero llevo manjares a su hogar
que no pudo ni probar, que no pudo ni probar.
Esat es la historia que nadie conto,
la historia de otro boxeador que perdio,
esa anoche America bizarra lamento
la caida de un campeon sin corona.
fue en el primero...

Marvin Sapp - Never would have made it.

If you have a minute and are looking for a great tattoo, be sure to check out his company, TattooFinder.com, here.

Click on the pictures below to make them larger!

We saw VJs Jesse and Bethany. When we intorduced ourselves as Coco and Lou it was a resounding "OHHHH." Ha. Twas rad.

Baseball makes me smile. Oddly enough. I'm so not a sporting events person, but I have always loved the Baseball atmosphere. I think the smell of French Fries and Beer and Peanut shells is magical and the people who get up and cheer and sing the national anthem and "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" are always an adventure. I've never had a bad experience with that.

I refuse to explain Anarchy Nachos but they will be served at my wedding.

A 19-year-old man was found stabbed in the stairwell of a building at 6 Sir Lou Dr. near Hurontario and Steeles. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Another 19-year-old man was taken into custody at the scene. No names have been released yet and there's no word on whether charges have been laid.

"Our initial investigation was conducted. We set up a perimeter rather quickly and our tactical unit was called in to sweep the stairwells," noted Cst. J.P. Valade of Peel Regional Police. "At this time a 19-year-old male has been taken into custody." (news)

Tomorrow all that changes. Fallowfield will still be here, the magic will live on, Lizzi and Bodil and whoever moves in will carry on being hospitable, loving and enjoying life here. I will be moving to Hollingbury, not near Hove at all, in fact the very title of this blog will come into question tomorrow as I move across to Brighton. I'll be living with Lou, Kev and Larry, we've had this crazy idea that God wants us to live as family together and to welcome all around us into that family. That He wants us to serve the community of Hollingbury, get to know them, be part of them and love them. That He wants us to live with each others interests as more important than our own and put aside the stuff of this world to serve others. To point others to the reality of Him. (Read Philippians 1 and 2 for actual proof of this.)

And so we're going, I'm going to attempt to squeeze my vast amount of stuff into a room 2/3rds smaller than the size of this one (check out my fraction ability Dad :-). We're going to attempt to live as family, not just being individuals living in a house but caring for each other, loving one another and welcoming all into our mad house. I'm excited and terrified. I'm scared and I'm loving this feeling of stepping over the cliff edge. We won't have internet for a while but I'll update you all on how it's going when we do... Pictures included... I'm glad we're not doing it alone, I'm glad we have a God who will help us love each other, forgive each other and keep on having hope because of His work in this world. I'm glad that this is only possible through Jesus and his example. And now I'm going to sleep. There is a long day ahead tomorrow as the beginning of this crazy journey starts.

Valancy Jane: Sometimes, sure.
Why?

Lou: eh
creepers
so it wasn't you then?

Valancy Jane: Well, I haven't been a 38 year old jewish man since like, ...... last week.
So prolly not.

Lou: yeah
okay

One of the biggest quirks for me about the movie is how short it seemed. The Hulk TV eps were 45 mins alone and this movie is supposedly 114 mins.. So I'd say it's worth a watch only if you're bored. My advice is for you to buy the first 2 seasons of Hulk TV so you can see Hulk in good fashion.

trailer@apple

At eleven Stephen went to St Albans School, and then on to University College, Oxford, his father's old college. Stephen wanted to do Mathematics, although his father would have preferred medicine.Mathematics was not available at University College, so he did Physics instead. After three years and not very much work he was awarded a first class honours degree in Natural Science.

Stephen then went on to Cambridge to do research in Cosmology, there being no-one working in that area in Oxford at the time. His supervisor was Denis Sciama, although he had hoped to get Fred Hoyle who was working in Cambridge. After gaining his Ph.D. he became first a Research Fellow, and later on a Professorial Fellow at Gonville and Caius College.

After leaving the Institute of Astronomy in 1973 Stephen came to the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and since 1979 has held the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics.The chair was founded in 1663 with money left in the will of the Reverend Henry Lucas, who had been the Member of Parliament for the University. It was first held by Isaac Barrow, and then in 1669 by Isaac Newton.

Stephen Hawking has worked on the basic laws which govern the universe. With Roger Penrose he showed that Einstein's General Theory of Relativity implied space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes. These results indicated it was necessary to unify General Relativity with Quantum Theory, the other great Scientific development of the first half of the 20th Century. One consequence of such a unification that he discovered was that black holes should not be completely black, but should emit radiation and eventually evaporate and disappear. Another conjecture is that the universe has no edge or boundary in imaginary time. This would imply that the way the universe began was completely determined by the laws of science.

His many publications include: The Large Scale Structure of Spacetime with G F R Ellis, General Relativity: An Einstein Centenary Survey, with W Israel, and 300 Years of Gravity, with W Israel. Stephen Hawking has three popular books published; his best seller A Brief History of Time, Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays and most recently in 2001, The Universe in a Nutshell.

There are .pdf and .ps versions of his full publication list. Professor Hawking has twelve honorary degrees, was awarded the CBE in 1982, and was made a Companion of Honour in 1989. He is the recipient of many awards, medals and prizes and is a Fellow of The Royal Society and a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences.

Stephen Hawking continues to combine family life (he has three children and one grandchild), and his research into theoretical physics together with an extensive programme of travel and public lectures. Prof. Stephen Hawking suffers from ALS.

What is ALS?

ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease. It is a rapidly progressive and fatal neuromuscular disease that is characterized by degeneration of a select group of nerve cells and pathways (motor neurons) in the brain and spinal cord. This loss of motor neurons leads to progressive paralysis of the voluntary muscles. The heart is not a voluntary muscle, and therefore, remains unaffected by the disease. However, since breathing is controlled voluntarily by the chest muscles, death usually occurs when the chest muscles are no longer able to help the lungs achieve adequate oxygenation. Generally, there is little impairment of the brain or the senses.

"Amyotrophic" means:A = absence ofmyo = muscletrophic = nourishmentlateral = side (of spine)sclerosis = hardening or scarring ALS is not contagious, but it is fatal.For the most part, the battle is short, with 80% losing their lives within three to five years of diagnosis. While between 10% and 20% live ten years or more after diagnosis, others live only a few months. While the cause is unknown, research is being conducted in areas relating to genetic predispositions, viral or infectious agents, environmental toxins and immunological changes. For some people, the muscles for speaking, swallowing or breathing are the first to be affected. This is known as bulbar ALS.

The term "bulbar" refers to the motor neurons located in the brain stem, that control the muscles used for chewing, swallowing, and speaking. ALS symptoms, and the order in which they occur, vary from one person to another. In 85% of cases, ALS effects the lower portion of the spinal cord first. This is known as limb onset ALS. In these cases, muscle weakness, cramps and weakened reflexes affects the muscles in the arms and legs as the first signs of ALS. The rate of muscle loss can vary significantly from person to person with some patients having long periods with very slow degeneration. Signs and Symptoms Upper Motor Neuron Degeneration muscle stiffness or rigidity emotional lability (decreased ability to control emotions) excessive fatigue dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) dyspnea (shortness of breath) dysarthria (a speech disorder caused by impairment of the muscles used for speaking) incresed or 'b risk' reflexesgait spasticiy Lower Motor Neuron Degeneration muscle weakness and atrophy involuntary contraction of muscle fibres muscle cramps weakened reflexes flaccidity (decreased muscle tone)difficulty swallowing disordered articulation shortness of breath at rest.

Is ALS a Rare Disease?

ALS is not considered a rare disease. Approximately 2,500-3,000 Canadians currently live with ALS. Two or three Canadians lose their battle to this devastating disease every day. In Ontario, roughly 1,000 people have ALS at any one time. "ALS is clearly the most common cause of neurological death on an annual basis," Dr. Michael Strong, clinician at the University Health Sciences Centre and research scientist at the Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario.

What Causes ALS?

We don't really know what causes ALS, but we do know that it can strike any adult at any time. While the usual age at onset is between 45 and 65, people as young as 17 have been diagnosed in the past. Between 5 and 10% of ALS cases are found in the same families, meaning that they are "familial", and are definitely linked genetically. But for the most part, diagnosis is sporadic and we don't know how it is caused.

What are the early symptoms?

ALS usually becomes apparent either in the legs, the arms, the throat or the upper chest area. Some people begin to trip and fall, some may notice muscle loss in their hands and arms and some find it hard to swallow and slur their speech. ALS is difficult to diagnose. There is no specific test available that will either rule out or confirm the presence of ALS. Diagnosis is usually made through a 'diagnosis of exclusions'. Neurologists conduct a number of tests, thereby ruling out other disorders that may cause similar symptoms, such as strokes or multiple sclerosis and if nothing else is positive and yet the symptoms continue to worsen, ALS is often the reason.

What are the effects of ALS?

Because ALS frequently takes its toll before being positively diagnosed, many patients are debilitated before learning they have ALS. The disease usually does not affect the senses - taste, touch, sight, smell, and hearing - or the mind. ALS has a devastating effect on patients and their families. As they cope with the prospect of advancing disability and eventually death, it consumes their financial and emotional reserves. It is a costly disease in its later stages, demanding both extensive nursing care and expensive equipment.

What can be done about ALS?

There is no known cure at this time and very little in the way of treatment that will have an effect on the disease itself.

Is there hope for people with ALS?

Research is looking to find not only the cause of the disease so that a cure can be developed but also other medications or treatments that can help until a cure is found. With improved knowledge about ALS, healthcare providers and families can help people living with ALS live life more fully. The services offered by the ALS Society of Ontario help improve the quality of life for those who live with ALS and their families.

Keep visiting: www.lifechums.com/ more Celebrities featuring Shortly .............

Yes, I've witnessed how Chuck and Sarah clicked from the first moment they met, how Chuck started falling for her, and how Sarah tried to deny her feelings for him. Classic story, huh? Maybe. Just remove the fact that they're agents and they have missions here and there.

Anyway, Lou was a refreshing story. She's very pretty and she's probably the complete opposite of Sarah. But I don't know, seeing Chuck with Lou is like... uhm... wrong. Not the sinful kind of thing. They're not just matched, physically and anything that ends with -ly. Obviously, they don't have chemistry, albeit they tried to work it out (talk about steamy kissing scenes). Or maybe that's why they're not matched, because they're trying too hard. But of course, I still send my regards to Lou for waking up Sarah from her denial state.

Everything could have been perfect between Chuck and Sarah now that Lou's out of the scene. But then, it was discovered that Bryce is still alive and the look on Sarah's face when she saw him spells D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R. Who wouldn't blame her though for still loving Bryce? He's totally hot (maybe a bit hotter than Chuck although they look kinda the same) and the guy's a nice person (remember why Chuck was spelled out?). But what would happen now to Chuck? Poor thing... he looked so happy when he left that message to Sarah, asking her out.

The question now is who will Sarah choose? Who do you think?

I'd like to hear from you... :)

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) also known as Lou Gehrig's disease in the US, Maladie de Charcot in France and Motor Neuron Disease (MND) in the UK is a progressive neuromuscular disease characterised by the progressive degeneration of motor nerve cell in the brain (upper motor neurons) and spinal cord (lower motor). To date there is no cure for ALS. Present day medical management of the disease through the combinatorial use of medications and advancements in state-of-art technological devices for nutrition and breathing, have markedly increased the survival rate of ALS sufferers.

An article in SpokesmanReview states their may be a link between statins and ALS, with suggestions that Lipitor has triggered it in certain cases. The article sites the WHO as pointing out that high numbers have developed Lou Gehrig disease while on statins and advises doctors to discontinue therapy if patients develop ‘serious neuromuscular disease such as ALS like symptoms’. Could Lipitor (still the biggest selling drug) actually cause ALS while the company itself thinks it will aid in the treatment of MS?

The report examines key ALS/ Lou Gehrig markets such as:

• US

• Japan

• Germany

• France

• Italy

• Spain

• UK

Sanofi-Aventis' Rilutek (riluzole) is the only prescription drug currently approved for the treatment of ALS. Rilutek generated global revenue of over $153 million in 2006. Visiongain reveals that, Rilutek’s market value will continue to expand with, global revenues anticipated to exceed, $129 million 2007 in the seven major markets across the globe. What will it be in 2012? This report tells you.

Visiongain’s ALS Market Analysis & Forecasts, delves into Rilutek’s monopoly over the market in recent years, it present market share and trends envisaged in the medium future. This current report presents a three hundred and sixty degree examination of how present changes in Governmental Pharmaceutical Policies will impact on Rilutek as the main treatment for ALS in the seven major markets. Plus we examine how current and new drug treatments can take hold of the market, plus which companies will succeed in each market.

The report provides in-depth market analysis upon these areas, and extensively identifies the challenges faced by new market entrants, and what exciting market opportunities exist in this therapeutic area.

Why You Must Buy This Report?
This report features tables, graphs and charts, news, insights, the past and present developments in ALS research. This report, will provide you with the complete understanding of the market indications for ALS, the institutions heralding ALS research, companies on the outlook to join in decoding, such matters as- directions to meeting primary unmet needs in ALS. When you buy this report, you have also bought, why big players in the biopharmaceutical business are filling their portfolios niche medical devices and diagnostics technologies products through major M&A.

With unmet medical needs this is this market set to grow with an ageing population and by how much? This report will tell you. Brought together in one easy to read, easily digested format, this report will keep you fully informed and up-to-date on the global ALS pharmaceutical market.

Why You Must Buy This Report:
This report features tables, graphs and charts, news, insights, the past and present developments in ALS research. This report, will provide you with the complete understanding of the market indications for ALS, the institutions heralding ALS research, companies on the outlook to join in decoding, such matters as- directions to meeting primary unmet needs in ALS. When you buy this report, you have also bought, why big players in the biopharmaceutical business are filling their portfolios niche medical devices and diagnostics technologies products through major M&A.

Key questions that this report answers are:

• What research over the past 20 years has failed? And why

• What R&D opportunities exist for ‘new comers’?

• Which current or future therapies will drive the ALS market?

• The key companies involved in the market and their analysis?

• What companies are joining in ALS research?

• What treatment besides Rilutek, can improve ALS survival rate?

• Which of the major markets has the highest prevalence?

• What is the present state of the disease awareness?

• Who are market leaders in medical devices M&A activities?

• Which emerging markets are forcing big pharma into M&A deals?

Unique benefits to you when you order this report:

• You can access your report whichever country you are in without using harddrive space

• Primary research throughout. You will not find this information anywhere else

• Report stored in your reading room for ever

• Full searchable report when you buy the company or corporate editions

• Copies can be printed off for offline reading
• Packed with charts, analysis, figures, graphs and tables

For more information kindly visit:  http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=76649