Finally, health experts have caught up to what I’ve been shouting out loud since college.  BEER IS GOOD FOR YOU.

A new study suggests that drinkers, even heavy drinkers, tend to outlive those who abstain. “Moderate” drinkers, defined here as those who drink one to three glasses a day, were found to live longest.

The study followed 1,824 people between the ages of 55 and 65 for 20 years: In that time, 69% of those who never drank died, compared to 60% of heavy drinkers and 41% of moderate drinkers.

The findings are still a bit of a mystery. The benefits of a bit of booze are well known: improved heart health, circulation, and sociability.

What’s less clear, however, is why heavy drinkers  like Keith Richards would outlive some folks who never had a drop.  If you go by the Keith Richards plan, (and I don’t suggest you do) I think the preventative medicine is more like pickling the body with preserves than anything else.

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     ABC has a new cast of contestants for Dancing With The Stars (Adam likes to call it Dancing with the D-Listers).  Surprisingly, no one stands out as a shoo-in.  The playing field is pretty level for singer Michael Bolton, singer Brandy, comedian Margaret Cho, ex-NBA star Rick Fox, actress Jennifer Grey, actor David Hasselhoff, actress Florence Henderson, actor Kyle Massey, political daughter Bristol Palin, MTV reality star Audrina Patridge, MTV reality star The Situation, and ex-NFL star Kurt Warner. 

     I mean, the only connection to dancing that can be made really is a reference to Jennifer Grey’s big movie “Dirty Dancing”.  She laughingly said at the press conference don’t mistakenly connect her to a part she played in a movie over 25 years ago.  But I say…Nobody votes Baby off Dancing with the Stars!

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Why didn’t I think of this?  Awesome outdoor extreme bowling!

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     Three things happened to me this weekend on our family road trip that never happen.  One, I got to drive!  My husband is suffering with allergies really bad this season (poor baby) and had to take a pill that made him sleepy.  So, I took over behind the wheel.  Two, we challenged ourselves to not eat fast food.  I packed a cooler with fresh fruit and cheese plus I stocked the car with pretzels and granola bars.  Amazing how much better you feel when you’re not bogged down with fried fast food.  And three, I spotted a Rhode Island license plate.  For our family, that’s the Holy Grail in the license plate game!

     What games do you play in the car?  Do you take fresh food from home to eat healthy and/or save money?  Where are you headed on your next road trip?

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With the movie “The Last Exorcism” #1 at the box office (and “The Exorcist” on all our minds because of it), I thought it might be a good time for a fantastic split pea soup recipe.  And, no, Linda Blair didn’t submit this one!

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups chopped carrots

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 quart vegetable broth

1 cup dried split peas

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried chipotle chile pepper

salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, saute onion, celery, garlic, and carrots in olive oil for 5 minutes.   Add vegetable broth, peas, thyme, chile pepper, salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer for an hour. 

Note: If you would like creamier soup, puree soup in a food processor or blender.   Add additional broth to bring the soup to the consistency you desire.

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Here’s my pictures from

. It’s a great event and I really got a feeling of Madison community.

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Rated PG-13 – 1h27

I didn’t hear the tubular bells, but I did get a little spooked with The Last Exorcism.

Knowing that this was the sixth in a long line of exorcism  movies, I brought pea soup and holy water with me to the theater. Not to prevent the demons, but rather to throw at the screen upon my disappointment. Nothing was hurled though, and I was pleasantly surprised with this scary flick.

The Last Exorcism is not necessarily a title that designates it will be the last in the series, but rater the last for our hero, “Father” Cotton Marcus. “Father” is in quotes because Cotton admits that he is a evangelical trickster. He knows there are people willing to pay for the service of exorcising demons. He doesn’t believe in demons, but does believe that if his sideshow gives them some relief, he has done something good for the possessed and their family. A twisted form of psychotherapy I suppose.

Deciding to allow a documentary film crew to shoot his last exorcism, before leaving the job behind, Cotton and his faith are put to the test when the spirit cleansing turns a little too real. It’s interesting how likable Cotton Marcus is. We know he’s a grifter. He knows he’s a grifter, but you feel as if he is doing some kind of good in the world. I can’t say giving small shocks to the people he is exorcising is ethical, but it does seem to achieve the goal.

The Last Exorcism doesn’t exactly compare to the original, but I don’t think it’s trying to. There are some eerie moments that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. There is a possessed teenage girl who makes some disgustingly creepy faces.

This is more of a modern take on how an exorcism may happen today. The frights are real, it’s original and it was fun.

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They always say the way to make a million dollars these days is to come up with that one brilliant idea, or make a nice improvement on an existing product.

Here’s my contribution for the day. I think several movies would be significantly improved with just a slight name change.

Take for instance:

Finding Nemo Delicious

Rear Against Window

Exploding Bridges of Madison County

When Dirty Harry Met Sally

Dude, Where’s My Car Seat?

The Fairy Godfather

Men in Black Tu-Tus

Inception Explained

I’d go see any of these.

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Sounds like a familiar cry from an adolescent. From the “department of things we assumed was already true.” Kids don’t want their parents watching their Facebook pages.

A new survey from AOL and Nielsen found that three out of four parents said they insisted on being their child’s Facebook friend with the purpose of monitoring their activity on the social network. For the most part this means checking out their other “friends” as well as wall comments, status updates, and other content to make sure they’re not being approached by shady characters (or doing something ridiculously stupid all by themselves).

One out of five parents said they have asked their child to “unfriend” someone because they weren’t comfortable with the connection; on half of these occasions, it was because mom or dad objected to inappropriate content on the person’s Facebook page. However, many parents said they agreed not to comment on their children’s pages – an important concession averting potential online mortification.

Nonetheless, 30% of teens said they would like to “unfriend” their parents, given the option. Apparently unappreciative of hours spent in labor and years spent slaving over the hot stove, teens were twice as likely to want to “unfriend” their mothers as fathers – perhaps because mothers are more likely to violate the “no comment” rule.

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