Waiting for the Water to Fall

By Sewell Chan

A rendering of “Waterfalls” by the artist Olafur Eliasson. (Public Art Fund/Agence-France Presse/Getty Images)

New York City is now 10 days away from the unveiling of “Waterfalls,” the much anticipated (and hyped) $15 million public art project by the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. The project, the biggest public art installation since “The Gates,” the Christo and Jeanne-Claude work in Central Park in 2005, is already being hyped, with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg saying the work could evoke the awe that led 16th-century European explorers to compare the New York shoreline to the Garden of Eden. (Seriously.)

Beginning in mid-March, workers have carefully assembled the four giant scaffolds that will support the waterfalls: at Pier 35, just north of the Manhattan Bridge; at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge in Dumbo, Brooklyn; between Piers 4 and 5 near the Brooklyn Heights Promenade; and on the north shore of Governors Island, which is open to the public throughout the summer. Last week, the real estate blog Curbed published images of the waterfall at Pier 35 actually being tested.

The waterfalls will range from 90 to 120 feet; “the two tallest will be roughly as high as the Statue of Liberty from head to toe and three-quarters the height of Niagara Falls,” Mayor Bloomberg noted on Sunday, in his weekly radio address.

All told, the scaffolding used for “Waterfalls” measures 64,000 square feet and weighs 270 tons; the materials will be re-used in future construction projects after the work closes on Oct. 13. The waterfalls will be turned on every day from June 26 to Oct. 13, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and will be lighted after sunset. More details are available at the project’s official Web site.

Stacy Bolton, a spokeswoman for the Public Art Fund, a nonprofit group, established in 1977, which is sponsoring “The Waterfalls” in a partnership with the city, said the construction has gone off largely without a hitch.

“During the planning process, the logistics of the plan were very difficult to navigate, and at one point the team considered building the waterfalls on barges in the middle of the river, but that idea was nixed for many practical considerations, including power sources, and environmental concerns,” Ms. Bolton said in an e-mail message.

Ms. Bolton noted that pile-driving on the riverbed would have created significant problems. “Pile-driving at the Pier 35, Governors Island, and Brooklyn Promenade sites would have had to avoid causing vibrations at the F-train tunnel, the Brooklyn Battery tunnel, and the 2 and 3 trains (respectively),” Ms. Bolton wrote. “The design team came up with an alternate solution (except at Governors Island) to avoid piles.”

Meanwhile, Mayor Bloomberg used his weekly radio address on Sunday to drum up excitement about the project. The mayor said, in part:

The project promises to make a big splash in our local economy by attracting thousands of sightseers to town, who will then spend money in our restaurants, hotels and stores. And that money will go straight into the pockets of hard-working New Yorkers. In addition, the project’s design takes steps to protect fish and other aquatic life, which means that for the more than three months they’re up, the Waterfalls will have little impact on the environment.

But it is going to have a big impact on our imaginations. One of the great things about the best public art is that it encourages us to re-discover — even just briefly — some of the parts of our city that we often take for granted. Our waterfront is one of the most magical parts of New York; when the first Dutch settlers sailed into the Harbor centuries ago, they looked at the shoreline and compared it to the Garden of Eden. The “Waterfalls” project will help bring that sense of awe back to the Harbor, and get more New Yorkers out to enjoy our wonderful parks and open spaces.

The mayor also put in plugs for Circle Line Downtown, which is providing sightseeing cruises in partnership with the Public Art Fund; the Staten Island Ferry and Governors Island Ferry, which are both free; and, of course, the city’s Web site, which has a map of the waterfalls and a recommended bike route [pdf].

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, as part of its efforts to promote downtown tourism, is contributing $2 million toward the cost of the project.

Ms. Bolton, the spokeswoman for the Public Art Fund, was asked whether any ceremonies or public events were planned for the debut of the artwork on June 26.

“The waterfalls will just be turned on!” she replied, via e-mail.

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Tea-Tree Oil For Bug Repellent And Almost Everything Else!

Tea Tree oil, which is extracted from the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia, has been used by the Australian aborigines for centuries as an antiseptic and antifungal treatment. In recent years, many countries have embraced it as an alternative to synthetic medicines.

Not only will this potent liquid cure you of all fungal problems on your body, but it is also great as an insect repellent for both you and your garden.

Here are a few other ailments of this incredible oil treats:

• Dandruff
• Athletes’ foot
• Jock itch
• Nail fungus
• Insect bites
• Acne
• Ringworm
• Bee Stings
• Boils
• Cold sores
• Gum disease

Always use this oil with caution. It is very strong and has been known to cause rashes in some people. If you use it on your skin, always dilute it with another essential oil such as jojoba. If used to repel insects in your garden, please be sure not to spray directly on plants as it can burn them and be sure to always dilute it before spraying.

This oil is toxic if ingested. Be very careful when using around domestic animals and when using as an antiseptic in your mouth.

I also think it is important to call attention to a study that suggests that Tea Tree oil and lavender oil may cause Gynecomastia in prepubescent boys when used in excess. Here is a link to the Mayo Clinic for more information http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tea-tree-oil/AN01555. The study found that it only occurred in 3 boys, so it is not really conclusive. It is important, however, to provide all the information, so people can develop an informed opinion.

Tea Tree oil is a great multipurpose treatment to use on a number of ailments. Whether you are looking to repel insects in your garden or if you are looking to clear up your acne, tea tree oil is a great alternative.

If you are looking for more information on tea tree oil please check out what the Mayo Clinic has to say at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tea-tree-oil/NS_patient-teatreeoil.

Another great source to learn more about Tea Tree Oil is http://www.teatreewonders.com/.

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Big Hands. Big Feet. Big Penis?

Can you tell the size of a man’s penis by looking at his hands or feet, or by how tall he is? Urban legend asserts that you can. It’s not uncommon to hear a woman speculate about a man’s member after sizing up his broad shoulders or scoffing at his dainty hands. Just the other day, I caught myself drifting into wonderland after catching sight of some of the largest, thickest man hands I have ever seen. I wasn’t even attracted to the owner of said hands, but I couldn’t get my mind out of the gutter. Damn, I thought, his penis must be huge.

But what evidence is there for correlating a man’s twigs and berries with the size of his extremities, or his height, or even his race?

The answer is not as clear as you might think. In a 2002 study conducted at the University College London, researchers wanted to know if a man’s shoe size correlated with the length of his unit. Measuring 104 men’s feet was easy; measuring their penises was not. That’s because there is no perfect way to measure a man’s penis. Should length be measured when it’s flaccid, stretched, or erect? Most men would probably want their penises to be measured when they’re erect—putting the best foot forward as it were—but not all erections are created equal. Some are really big and hard, and some are just big and hard.

In this study, and in many others that measure penis length, the researchers stretched the penis with a defined amount of force to determine how long it can get. This gives a pretty good indication of how long the penis would be when fully erect. (You can also inject a hormone into the penis to make it fully erect, but the idea of a needle near a penis makes for very few volunteers.)

The result of this study, to the relief of all size seven shoe-wearing males, was that “there is no scientific support for the relationship” between the size of shoe and length of penis.

Another study, which looked at body height in addition to foot length, had similar results. Researchers at University of Alberta measured the height, shoe size, and stretched penile length of sixty-three healthy men. They found that body height and foot length were only weakly correlated with the size of their penis and that “height and foot size would not serve as practical estimators of penis length.” Big feet mean that, ho-hum, he’ll wear big shoes. However, the issue of height is not so clearly resolved.

Although the above study did not find a correlation between height and penis size, my own anecdotal evidence in this category has proven otherwise. The biggest penis I’ve ever seen was attached to the biggest and tallest man I’ve ever slept with. The smallest penis? You guessed it, a petite man only a few inches taller than my 5'4". But a handful of men does not make a truth. So, digging deeper, I found a 2001 Italian study, conducted among 3,300 young men which found that penis dimensions (length and girth) were significantly correlated with weight and height. Another large study, published in the International Journal of Impotence Research in 2007, found a correlation between height and penis dimensions in 1,500 men. Although I’ve definitely seen some statistical outliers—tall men with small penises, short guys with big ones—the averages seem to show that males, parts to a whole, are proportionately scaled. But what about hands?

That’s where things get a little more interesting. In 2002, a group of Greek researchers measured the body compositions, including height, weight, waist/hip ratio, finger length and penis length of fifty-two men, aged nineteen to thirty-eight. They found that age and body characteristics were not associated with size of penis except for the “index finger length, which correlated significantly with the dimensions of the flaccid, maximally stretched penis.” Another study—this one with 1500 men—found that length of index finger was significantly correlated with penis dimensions.

Men with small hands have always unnerved me, and now I have a reason why. As with correlating height to penis size, we could probably use a few more studies on this subject, but there is evidence that finger length may have something to do with hormones, which have something to do with growth of a penis. Researchers have speculated that the ratio of index finger to ring finger can provide clues to how much testosterone a fetus is exposed to in the uterus. Longer index fingers may be a proxy to higher amounts of testosterone in the womb, and therefore, larger penises.

As for difference in penis size between races, there is no apparent science behind this myth. A review of the literature published in the British Journal of Urology International (BJUI) in 2006 found no differences among races, despite the popular notion that “once you go black, you never go back.”

But what’s the point of all this penis study, anyway? It’s not necessarily to debunk notions of shoe and penis size; it’s to get an accurate assessment of what’s “normal.” Many men worry about the size of their penis. According to the BJUI review, almost 12 percent of men are concerned that their penis is too small, but anxiety over a small penis is somewhat unfounded. Micropenises—meaning a flaccid penis that measures less than two inches—are uncommon; only about 0.6 percent of the male population has them. That means that out of 1,000 men, only six would have a micropenis—probably the ones driving sports cars.

Most men fall within a normal range of penis size, which, according to the Kinsey Institute, a center that studies sex, gender, and reproduction, is between five to seven inches when erect. As we’ve all seen, men have a built-in system for turning a small, flaccid penis into a larger one; it’s called an erection. And, while men stress over the length of their units, most women are actually concerned with girth. Back to the BJUI review, which found that 90 percent of women prefer a wide penis. An informal survey of my friends found that girth overwhelmingly trumped length. After all, our vaginas are only about four inches in length. We would rather feel it going in than have it, as my friend likes to say, “slamming against my uterus.”

Men, apparently, have anxiety over their penises largely due to the same reasons that women have anxiety over weight. We see pictures in magazines of skinny women that are nowhere near the norm; men see erotica/porn with men that have penises like Dirk Diggler from Boogie Nights. Dirk and his fellow porn stars are a statistical anomaly.

Though women may like to speculate on the size of things, and none of this may be based on solid research, the size of a man’s penis isn’t everything. It has nothing to do with his virility. Most women are satisfied with their partner’s penis. Although bigger sometimes feels better, there is one urban legend that all men can take to heart: it’s not the size of the ship, it’s the motion of the ocean.

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Higher Tax Helps Smokers Quit?

(ALBANY, N.Y.) — New York smokers have been sent outside in all kinds of weather, coughed at in disdain, and now they are burdened with the most expensive cigarette taxes in the nation. Now, to add cost to injury, the state is declaring its highest-in-the-nation cigarette tax a success.

The number of calls to the state's Smoker's Quitline quadrupled to nearly 10,000 calls during the week of June 2, when the full $2.75-a-pack tax kicked in, New York Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines said. Fewer than 2,300 people called for help during the same week in 2007.

"Not everyone that tries, quits," Daines said. "We estimate about 140,000 New Yorkers will successfully quit smoking. We may have more than a million try to cut down or stop, but this is how you get people to try: give them multiple chances and multiple reasons to stop."

The increase that took effect June 3 sent the tax from $1.25 to $2.75 per pack. In most of the state, cigarettes range between $6 and $8 a pack, depending on brand and store price. They can cost as much as $10 in New York City, which has its own tax.

New Jersey has the next highest cigarette tax, at nearly $2.58 per pack. Missouri has the cheapest tax in nation, at only 17 cents per pack, although individual counties and cities can impose an additional tax between 4 cents and 7 cents, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators.

Smokers calling the Quitline requested nearly 7,900 kits the week the new tax was introduced compared with 1,722 requested the same time last year.

Audrey Silk, who heads NYC Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, said the initial increase in quitline calls doesn't realistically represent how many people will become nonsmokers.

"No matter the goal, it's disgusting that any group would actually boast that coercive government — this time through the hammer of taxation — to beat a class of society enjoying a legal product into submission is 'successful'," Silk said.

Cigarette smoking kills about 400,000 people in the United States every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 45 million U.S. adults are smokers, though the prevalence has fallen dramatically since the 1960s.

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Helpful Bacteria May Hide in Appendix

Everyone is born with one, but no one knows what it’s for. The human appendix is a small dead-end tube connected to the cecum, or ascending colon, one section of the large intestine. Everyone lives happily with it until it becomes painfully inflamed, when the only treatment is to remove it surgically.

Then everyone lives happily without it. So why is it there in the first place?

Some experts have guessed that it is a vestige of the evolutionary development of some other organ, but there is little evidence for an appendix in our evolutionary ancestors. Few mammals have any appendix at all, and the appendices of those that do bears little resemblance to the human one.

Last December, researchers published a novel explanation in The Journal of Theoretical Biology. The appendix, they suggest, is a “safe house” for commensal bacteria, the symbiotic germs that aid digestion and help protect against disease-causing germs.

Structurally, the appendix is isolated from the rest of the gut, with an opening smaller than a pencil lead, protected from the fecal stream that might be carrying pathogens. In times of trouble like a diarrheal infection that flushes the system, these commensal bacteria could hide out there, ready to repopulate the gut when the coast is clear.

William Parker, the senior author of the study and an assistant professor of surgery at Duke, emphasized that this was a hypothesis, not experimental proof. “At this point,” Dr. Parker said, “this is a deduction based on a lot of information that we’ve had for many years and some key pieces of information that have only been uncovered recently by our lab and others. It does make sense.

“But an experiment to prove this theory would be very expensive. And in any case, why would you want to spend money to find out something that is not likely to help cure a disease?”

Rebecca E. Fisher, an assistant professor of anatomy at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, said that although the appendix was “likely to be a derived feature, selected for a purpose, the enigma is that we didn’t know what that purpose might be.”

“I think Parker’s study offers an interesting solution,” Professor Fisher said.

Recent studies have found that biofilms, colonies of beneficial microbes that live outside cells, form in the large intestine, where they are dependent on the mucus that lines the bowel. There, they aid digestion and protect against infection, while enjoying the protection and nutrition of the human host.

The researchers, examining tissue from uninfected human appendices removed in kidney-pancreas transplants, found biofilms on the epithelial lining of the appendix, as well. Under their theory, it is in these biofilms in the appendix, well positioned to avoid pathogens in the rest of the gut, that commensal bacteria take refuge.

If that is true, why is it that removing the appendix apparently does not have negative side effects? The scientists contend that in industrialized countries with modern medical care and sanitation, maintaining a reserve of helpful bacteria has become unnecessary. Widespread outbreaks of intestinal disease are so rare that the commensal bacteria face little danger of extermination.

Dr. Parker wants to know whether biofilms function in the same way in other animals. “We already have an idea that the cecum in some animals works the same way,” he said. “But how, for example, do biofilms work in frogs and other species with no cecum and no appendix?”

Whether the human appendix has the function Dr. Parker thinks it has or whether it has no function at all, it is clear, he said, that “if your appendix gets inflamed, forget about the fact that it might have some function.”

“You have to get it out,” he added. “Appendicitis can be life threatening, and the earlier you treat it, the less likely it is that you will die from it.”

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The knowledge: how to improve your posture

Standing too straight is just as bad as slouching, says Brita Forsstrom, an expert in the Alexander Technique

Make it Easy 'Good' posture is surprisingly effortless - we only need actively to use 14 out of 640-odd muscles for standing up. And although 'bad' posture is most often identified as slouching, standing up straight like a sergeant major, poking the chest out and tilting the head back is actually just as unhealthy. You should also watch out for leaning down on to one hip, and pulling the shoulders back, too

Start at the Beginning Nearly all postural problems originate from tension in the neck, caused by jutting the chin up and out. If you don't deal with this first, any other measures are just sticking plasters. Stop pulling your head back, let your head release forward and allow your entire spine to lengthen. Loosen your arms and shoulders; we are designed to use our hands in front of our body, so don't force them back

Mix it Up Don't get stuck in one position for hours on end; change the way you sit for different working modes. Rest back when reading through something, and sit up near the front of the seat when you are writing. Lean forward from the hips, rather than slumping forward. Every time the phone rings, use it as an alarm bell to remind you to lengthen your neck and loosen your shoulders

Keep Your Feet on the Ground If you spend all day behind a desk, sit with your knees a little apart and your feet flat on the floor. Crossing your legs will twist your spine, put pressure on your knees and hips, and compress your lower back

Take Your Eyes Off It Eyes play an important role in balance and posture. Turn away from the computer screen and look around regularly. Having your screen at eye level is only helpful if you sit effortlessly straight-backed already. Try tilting the screen slightly downwards instead, to lengthen the back of the neck and prevent tension building up in the shoulders

Stand Tall Bad posture causes muscles to shorten and us to shrink. People who give the impression of being under-confident look both physically and figuratively 'down'. If you feel nervous when performing or giving a presentation, try standing with one foot behind the other rather than leaning down on to your hip; you will feel more balanced, and look more confident

Get an Expert Opinion 'Curious things, habits. People themselves never know they have them.' So said Agatha Christie, and the same applies to our own posture; it's almost impossible to self-diagnose habits that we have spent a lifetime acquiring. The Alexander Technique teaches you that what is actually straight may feel crooked initially, and puts you back on track

Stop! Undo a day's tension by spending 20 minutes every day in the 'active resting' position. Lie on your back on a carpeted floor, with your feet on the floor and knees bent pointing upwards towards the ceiling, to free up your lower back. Support your head on some books, so that your head isn't tilted back, but not so much that your chin is at your chest. This position will help release tension, particularly in the spine, and give immediate benefit

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Segway sales hit all time high, thanks OPEC!

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 16th 2008 at 8:54AM

We get that rising gas prices are putting folks in a world of hurt, but has it really gotten so bad that we're resorting to losing our dignity riding Segways? According to a recent writeup in The Wall Street Journal, "sales at Segway Inc. have risen to an all-time high," and CEO Jim Norrod fully expects sales this quarter to "jump 50% from a year earlier." Not surprisingly, many of its new customers are universities and public service divisions who are replacing traditional vehicles with the all-electric scooters, but we still get the impression that individuals are steering clear due to its remarkably high price and laughable design. At least, that's what we'll continue to tell ourselves.
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Literary Lion

Q: At the age of 82, you will be publishing your new collection of essays this week, which seems likely to confirm your reputation as one of America’s last public intellectuals. Why do you think that critics have traditionally praised your essays more than your fiction, which includes “Burr,” “Myra Breckinridge” and 20 other novels? That’s because they don’t know how to read. I can’t name three first-rate literary critics in the United States . I’m told there are a few hidden away at universities, but they don’t print them in The New York Times .

Are you saying your novels have been critically neglected? I don’t even read most reviews, unless there is a potential lawsuit on view. I’ve never had much attention paid by critics — nor has anybody else in the United States of America, as Mr. Obama likes to call it.

And what about Mr. McCain? Disaster. Who started this rumor that he was a war hero? Where does that come from, aside from himself? About his suffering in the prison war camp?

Everyone knows he was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. That’s what he tells us.

Why would you doubt him? He’s a graduate of Annapolis. I know a lot of the Annapolis breed. Remember, I’m West Point, where I was born. My father went there.

So what does that have to do with the U.S. Naval Academy down in Annapolis? The service universities keep track of each other, that’s all. They have views about each other. And they are very aware of social class and eventually money, since they usually marry it.

How, exactly, is your cousin Al Gore related to you? They keep explaining it to me, and I keep forgetting.

What about your grandfather, Thomas Gore of Oklahoma ? He invented the whole state. It was Indian territory. There was no state until Senator Gore.

In 1968, during the Nixon-Humphrey race, you became the voice of liberalism in a series of televised debates with William Buckley. Any plans to be a pundit at the coming presidential conventions? No.

How did you feel when you heard that Buckley died this year? I thought hell is bound to be a livelier place, as he joins forever those whom he served in life, applauding their prejudices and fanning their hatred.

You live in California , where last month the State Supreme Court overturned the ban on same-sex marriage . As someone who lived with a male companion for 50-plus years, do you see this as a victory for equality? People would ask, How could you live with someone for so long without any problems of any kind? I said, There was no sex.

Were you chaste during those years? Chased by whom?

Are you a supporter of gay marriage? I know nothing about it. I don’t follow that.

Why doesn’t it interest you? The same reason heterosexual marriage doesn’t seem to interest me.

If we look at the situation apart from you — It’s my interview, so we’ve got to stay with me.

Have you ever considered leaving the United States permanently? No, it’s my subject.

Do you read a lot of contemporary fiction these days? Like everyone else, no, I don’t.

Anyone in the 20th century you might have a kind word about? Yes, I liked Italo Calvino, and I thought he was the greatest writer of my time.

Your new collection includes an essay in which you note, “Calvino does what very few writers can do: he describes imaginary worlds with the most extraordinary precision and beauty.” What about American novelists? Can’t think of one.

Norman Mailer? Oh, dear, we’re not going to go into pluses and minuses now.

Philip Roth? Ditto.

I admire Roth. He never became complacent. He had no reason to. He’s a good comic writer.

What do you think is your own best novel? I don’t answer questions like that. Ever. And you ought not to ask them.

Well, it was a great pleasure talking to you. I doubt that.

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