Wednesday, March 9, 2011

[Peckers_Pics] Model Wars, PICS; Mar 10, 2011-Safe PICS For All Ages



Model Wars, PICS; Mar 10, 2011
Safe PICS For All Ages / Support Keith Olbermann who will be on "Current TV"

Moderator Note: I am in the middle of moving - out of state.  From now through the next 10 days, I may not be posting as much.  During a period from Sunday, Mar 13 through Thursday, Mar 17, 2011, I will not be posting at all.  Posting may be slow prior and after those dates as I am packing and need to unpack (once i arrive at my new home). Please keep posts down to a minimum.  Thank you ....Jake

Updates on Keith Olbermann  @ ObamaBiden2008 (Update: Keith joined "CURRENT TV").  Check with your cable provider to see if you have "Current TV".  Current TV's website has option for you to request service from your cable provider.   Current TV's founder is Al Gore.  Charter Cable does not carry "Current TV".  Please Contact Charter now!  Keith is a man who stuck his neck out for progressives, as well as the LGBT community.

Updates on slain gay activist - David Kato of Uganda @ ObamaBiden2008

Boycott: "Chick-fil-a" as they are against gay marriage and donate to anti-gay causes.

Consider joining:

Diet & Fitness:

  • Reminder: Did you complete your Diet Journal today?
  • Did you do any physical activity?  If not, make a point of it by tomorrow! 
  • Perhaps our male fitness photos shall inspire you to get Fit!
Health - Wellness - Exercise - Reflections:
Snoring: Nuisance Or Serious Health Problem?
 
Huffington Post / Catherine Pearson / March 9, 2011

Whether it's a loud sawing or one of those grating, breathy affairs, snoring can be irritating for both snorer and significant other alike. So irritating, in fact, that recent Department of Health advertisements promoting marital health highlighted snoring as a potential source of tension.

Sometimes, though, snoring isn't just annoying, but indicative of an actual health problem. So, given the American Academy of Head and Neck Surgery's estimate that 45 percent of "normal" adults snore at least occasionally -- and a quarter of us are habitual snorers -- how do you know if you (or your partner) should be concerned? This National Sleep Awareness week, we take a look.

What Is Snoring?

According to the American Academy of Head and Neck Surgery, what you hear when someone snores is the result of a form of blockage that obstructs the flow of air through the mouth or nose. That blockage, however slight, can cause the tissues of the airway to vibrate and flap against one another -- thus the rattling, snoring sound.

Why Do Some People Snore?

The Mayo Clinic gives several conditions that can cause the snoring:

1. The actual anatomy of the mouth -- having a low, thick, soft palate or enlarged tonsils -- can result in obstructions.

2. Being overweight is another likely culprit, putting extra pressure on the throat, which can narrow the airway.

3. Nasal congestion, nose shape and composition can play a part.

4. Alcohol, particularly drinking before bedtime, "reduces the resting tone of the muscles in the back of your throat, reports WebMD.

When Should You See The Doctor?

The American Academy of Head and Neck Surgery recommends that all heavy snorers -- meaning people who snore constantly in any position -- should probably go see a doctor. The doctor will check the nose, mouth, throat palate and neck to see if there's anything wrong.

The National Sleep Foundation further recommends that anyone with symptoms like morning headaches and excessive sleepiness go to the doctor. That's because at least one study in the journal Sleep found that people who reported snoring loudly were at least twice as likely as non-snorers to have metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors for heart disease diabetes and stroke.

One thing a doctor will be on the lookout for is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) -- a serious condition that results in multiple episodes of breathing pauses, lasting for more than 10 seconds at a time. The problem is not just that OSA is disruptive (according to the American Academy of Head and Neck Surgery, sufferers can experience up to 300 episodes per night), but that it can lead to lower amounts of oxygen in the blood. The Los Angeles Times reports that OSA is now so prevalent, doctors are being called upon to regularly ask about it in physical exams. (Proper diagnosis often requires an overnight evaluation.)

Who else should go to the doctor? According to the Mayo Clinic, parents with kids who snore should take them to the doctor, too, as snoring can be a sign of nose or throat problems, as well as pediatric OSA.

What Can You Do?

The American Sleep Apnea Association, a non-profit that's committed to educating people about sleep apnea and "serving sufferers," lists several possible treatments -- many of them surgical options aimed at reducing obstructions. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute says some sufferers can benefit from mouthpieces or breathing masks. According to a recent Los Angeles Times report, while prescription mouthpieces that pull the jaw forward and can cost up to $3,000 can be effective in treating mild sleep apnea, over-the-counter options that run closer to $40 are "unproven." The key, of course, is to consult your doctor to figure out what treatment is best for you.

When it comes to more mild habitual snoring, the first place many doctors will tell you to start -- according to the Mayo Clinic -- is with lifestyle changes. That can include things like losing weight, avoiding alcohol near bedtime and sleeping in a different position (usually on your side, not your back). After that, many of the potential treatments are the same -- "oral appliances," pressurized masks or surgery -- both traditional and laser.

And what about your partner? The Mayo Clinic recognizes that it's not just the snorer who suffers -- it's the snorer's partner, too. Their suggestions? Earplugs, earphones or trying to stagger the time you go to bed.

The Bottom Line?

Even if you don't suffer from a more serious snoring-related condition, sawing logs can be bad for your health on a day-to-day, practical level. A new CDC study tracked some 75,000 Americans, more than 35 percent of whom said they sleep fewer than seven hours a night, which could be because almost half of them reported snoring. And according to a second CDC report, not sleeping enough can take a toll on daily activity, impacting everything from your ability to concentrate and remember things to handling your financial duties.
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And Now, Model Wars!

This group is called "Peckers Pics."  The English -  slang definition of "pecker" is to pluck at the truth. Therefore, we peck at items such as Gay Men's Health, Male Fitness, Gay (LGBT) Politics & Issues.  In this section you may peck at each photo in order to decide the winner of the "war of the fittest!"   Whereas, who is the model that may inspire you to exercise and "get fit?"  Warning: This may stoke you!
 
Your participation in discussion of health / news articles - appearing in this message is greatly appreciated.
 
Matus Valent
 
VS
Cristiano Ronaldo
 
You Decide!
Sydney Mardi Gras / March 6, 2011
Stoked?
Sydney Mardi Gras / March 6, 2011
Gay Icons and American Dreams in New Documentary: Making the Boys
Penelope Andrew/ Huffington Post / March 9, 2011

Off Broadway, Hollywood and American Dreams in Making the Boys: All About The Boys in the Band

Director Crayton Robey's ambitious new documentary Making the Boys, about The Boys in the Band -- both the play (1968) and the film (1970) -- chronicles the life, times and resonance of a cultural phenomenon and imparts the bittersweet story of its author, Mart Crowley.

Robey juxtaposes the play, film and playwright within the decade of the 1960s, which began with the hope of JFK's election, was radicalized during the Civil Rights movement and transformed by provocative, off-Broadway theater, and ultimately, was rocked by the Stonewall riots, which erupted on the night of Judy Garland's funeral. The documentary also makes excruciatingly palpable the personal tragedies later brought about by the AIDS crisis, which took the lives of five of the nine members of The Boys' cast as well as the play's producer and director. Making the Boys is laced with fascinating recollections about its immediate and long-term impact, by figures as diverse as former NYC Mayor Ed Koch, author Michael Cunningham (The Hours) and author/activist Larry Kramer (The Normal Heart, Women in Love).

Robey's film captures the exuberance of 1960s Hollywood, when Crowley was a frequent guest at the Malibu beach house of actor Roddy McDowall, famous for his star-studded parties. His home movies reveal a shy, diminutive Judy Garland and an impossibly handsome, robust Rock Hudson in the same frame, a lighthearted Lauren Bacall posing on deck and a mischievous Natalie Wood mugging for the camera. And then there is the adorable, budding playwright frolicking in the sand as he builds sandcastles on the beach. The playwright-to-be is also exposed as a marvelous dancer by his friends, author/producer Dominick Dunn and actor Robert Wagner, as confirmed by footage from The Daisy -- an exclusive, members-only, Hollywood discotheque -- where one finds McDowall's guests out of their swimsuits and dressed, instead, to the nines.

When he realized his long-held aspiration of becoming a writer by masterfully crafting eight gay characters in his play, which was initially produced off-Broadway by the cutting-edge Playwrights Unit, no one was more surprised than Mart Crowley himself -- who heeded and simultaneously took on the powerful, straight New York theater critic, Stanley Kauffmann of the New York Times. On opening night, Crowley wondered if people would find his play funny, to which director Robert Moore replied, "Listen, they've been laughing at fags since Aristophanes, they're not gonna stop tonight."

The Boys in the Band opened to such fanfare that it quickly moved uptown to Theater Four. It ran for 1,000 performances, drew everyone from Jacqueline Onassis to Marlene Dietrich into the audience and was made into a film in which the original cast was kept intact, an extremely rare phenomenon in stage-to-screen adaptations.

Making the Boys mirrors the texture, tone and verve -- 40 years later -- of The Boys in the Band, which led the way for other plays that also became films, such as Love! Valour! Compassion! and Angels in America. The crossover phenomenon is championed by playwrights Tony Kushner, Terrence McNally and Paul Rudnick for its groundbreaking portrayal of eight gay men, who "celebrate" the birthday of Harold, a self-described, "32-year-old, ugly, pockmarked Jew fairy." Presumably, it was lines such as these that cemented playwright Edward Albee's (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf) appraisal of the play as "a highly skillful work that I despised." Like Albee, many gay activists felt the play reinforced negative stereotypes and "did serious damage to a burgeoning gay respectability."

The major casualty in The Boys' transfer to celluloid was Robert Moore (Deathtrap, Cactus Flower), a five-time Tony Award nominee who had never directed a film. He was replaced by William Friedkin (The Birthday Party, The French Connection), who remains highly enthusiastic about the landmark movie: "It's one of the few films that I've made that I can still watch. I love it." The cast members, devoted to Moore, were at first opposed to working with the sometimes arrogant, cigar-toting filmmaker. Crowley, however, is clear about Friedkin's gifts: "Cinematically, the picture could not have been what it is, I think, in the hands of a lesser director."

With his new documentary, director Crayton Robey has created a superbly crafted artifact, rich in theater, film and gay history. This artful work also frames the cultural phenomenon of The Boys in the Band's creator who, through originality and risk-taking, survived against all odds. Having started out as a gofer on Elia Kazan's set of Splendor in the Grass, Mart Crowley developed into the screenwriter of Cassandra at the Wedding, an unproduced film vehicle for his close friend, Natalie Wood, and then turned his attention to The Bette Davis Show, a TV pilot, whose script he rescued with his campy dialogue (in which we witness the delicious diva at the top of her campy game in vintage, 1965 footage), finally becoming a celebrated playwright and producer and winning his ongoing battle against alcoholism and depression. His journey is nothing if not a riveting example of a small-town, Mississippi boy's realization of a uniquely American dream.

Making the Boys opens in NY on March 11 at the Quad Cinema and in LA on March 18.
"Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."
....Jake
  
 
Important Notice: Our ObamaBiden2008 Group works hand - in - hand with Peckers PICS (Both groups were co-created to work with each-other).  To prevent duplication of articles and questions, all members of this group MUST Join ObamaBiden2008. It is unfair for members that belong to both groups to hear members of just Peckers PICS (only) to make statements when the ObamaBiden2008 has covered such topics in detail.  Therefore, members must join ObamaBiden2008  as of today - as I am going through our member list and removing any member that does not belong to both groups. This shall clear up communications and confusion.  The LGBT cause is too important and beyond 1 person's need to just look at pictures.   Therefore, recommend you join ObamaBiden2008 now.  No you don't have to read every article! But, it covers the LGBT community and includes updates on Health insurance; LGBT boycott list; Westboro Church; and the end of DADT, etc...Also, updates with state gov't war against unions and people with disabilities.  The group is created for you!  There are gay teen suicides going on. There are Hate crimes against gay people.  There are gays who are fired over their sexuality.  There are gay people who died for our cause! You always reserve the right to remove yourself from all my groups.  I have done everything I can and now it is time for you to step up!  If my hard work is unappreciated, than you have the option to leave all my groups now (before you are deleted).  My Groups are for Yahoo members who sincerely care about LGBT rights and Gay Mens Health!   Please Join Now!
 


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"Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."

...Jake (Moderator)



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