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Instructor develops air guitar aerobics work-out

A fitness instructor has devised a work-out to help air guitar fans get into shape in their living rooms.

US dance tutor Laila Hardman says by mimicking the likes of Slash and Eddie Van Halen people can develop all the major muscle groups.

She says by recreating the Townshend Windmill, the Angus Young Shuffle, the May Mosh and the Parfitt Sway to high-tempo rock music participants can have a "full-on cardo-vascular work-out."

The instructor says the work-out has been modelled on Punk Rock Aerobics which has become popular in New York.

Ms Hardman said: "It works all the major muscle groups paying particular attention to the legs and the upper body, as elements of the class will incorporate free weights to mimic the weight of a real guitar."

The basic Air-Guitar-Aerobics moves can be found on www.musicchoice.co.uk.

Music Choice's main event channel, Sky Channel 480 is playing a selection air guitar tracks this week to promote the work-out.

Story filed: 07:11 Friday 30th January 2004

Car Park Named One of the World's Safest Places
Feb 18, 9:22 AM (ET)

LONDON (Reuters) - A humble car park in Derby, central England, has been named alongside the bank vault at Fort Knox and the U.S. President's plane Air Force One as one of the most secure places in the world.
A study by British science magazine Focus said the Bold Lane multi-story car park had not had one break-in or act of vandalism in the six years it had been in operation.

"Bold Lane uses a sophisticated web including CCTV cameras, panic buttons, entry doors and bar-coded tickets," said the magazine.

Sensors monitor all vehicles in the parking bays and if there is any disturbance, the cameras are activated and the incident transmitted to the car park's control room.

Bold Lane was included in the magazine's top ten of secure places in the world, among more established sites such as the Fort Knox bank vault -- which boasts a 25-tondoor and granite walls -- and the Baghdad bunker used by deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

"We didn't want to fill the list with banks and bases, we wanted something down to earth," said a magazine spokesman.

This Just In
Slave Lake,AB—Ed Is Vacationing In Bristol This Week

3:13pm (UK)
Experts Condemn New Craze for 'Snorting' Alcohol

By Sarah Cade, PA News

A new craze for inhaling alcohol was today attacked by medical experts as a potential danger that could cause brain damage.

Drinks including vodka and absinthe can be “snorted” into the nose or inhaled into the mouth through a tube using a new device known as an Alcohol Without Liquid (AWOL) vaporiser.

Scientists estimate that the effects of the alcohol can be felt much quicker as it is directly absorbed through blood vessels in the nose or lungs – bypassing the stomach and liver.

Bristol bar Il Bordello became the first venue to offer its customers the device last week and owner Liz Lewitt said it had proved a hit with drinkers.

The inventor of the Awol machine, Dominic Simler, claims this method of consuming alcohol reduces the effects of a hangover and is calorie-free.

But alcohol experts described the device as “diabolical” and warned that inhaling alcohol could cause serious brain damage.

Professor Oliver James, head of clinical medical sciences at Newcastle University, said: “By snorting the alcohol it can go directly into the brain without being filtered by the liver.

“What is getting into your brain could be the equivalent of many times more than by drinking it.

“This will not only make you very drunk very quickly but is also likely to increase the risk of direct alcohol damage to the brain. This could do irreversible damage to nerves, lead to swelling and possibly lead to dementia in the long term.”

He added that people may also be able to inhale alcohol for 20 minutes, get drunk, drive and still be able to pass a police breathalyser test as alcohol levels in the blood remained very low.

The Automobile Association said Awol would have to be treated like drugs and be subject to rules making it illegal to drive with impaired abilities.

Andrew Howard, head of road safety at the AA Motoring Trust, said: “The law doesn’t just say you must not be over the legal limit, it says you must not drive when you are impaired.”

Mr Simler, 29, from London, said no one should drive after consuming alcohol but refuted claims that the device posed a danger to health.

“There is a built-in safety device as it takes about one hour to inhale one shot of alcohol. It is hardly something people are going to get very drunk on,” he said.

“It is designed to allow people to enjoy the effects of alcohol mixed with oxygen. It promotes a sense of well being and a mild euphoria. It is a fun new legal way to take alcohol.”

Mr Simler adapted the vaporiser from oxygen machines used for aromatherapy and exercise purposes.

The alcohol vapour is created by pouring a spirit into a diffuser capsule connected to an oxygen pipe. The oxygen bubbles are then passed through the capsule, absorbing the alcohol, before being inhaled through a tube.

Mr Simler estimated that he had sold approximately 50 machines, at £1,500 each, to be used specifically for vaporising alcohol.

Bar owner Ms Lewitt said customers using Awol would get “bored before they got drunk” as the amount of alcohol inhaled was so small.

She said she had been overwhelmed with bookings for the device, which is charged at a rate of £6 a shot.

“It is a novelty. People enjoy passing it around in a group. It takes that burning sensation away from the alcohol allowing customers to enjoy the taste of flavoured alcohol,” Ms Lewitt said.

She added that she had not seen anyone react badly to Awol yet but insisted the bar had a zero tolerance policy to bad behaviour.

Too much time on his hands Department:Self-Help

Discoveries from the Weird Wide Web

Cloud Over Magic Kingdom Worries Disney Tattoo Guy
Feb 18, 9:13 AM (ET)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - George Reiger is troubled by the turmoil at the Walt Disney Co. these days but that's not stopping him from pursuing his dream -- one Mickey Mouse tattoo at a time.
Reiger, who calls himself Walt Disney's No. 1 fan and, more familiarly the Disney tattoo guy, has devoted his life and most of his body to the Magic Kingdom -- from the 102 Dalmatians on his right leg to Pinocchio's whale on his belly.

Just last week Reiger had an image of comedian and "Finding Nemo" voice actor Ellen DeGeneres inked on his right knee -- the 1,579th Disney-related tattoo he has had done.

Like many Disneyphiles, Reiger is saddened by Comcast Corp.'s 's unsolicited bid for Disney and the possible disappearance of an American entertainment icon that he admits has become a costly obsession.

"I really don't agree with it, but today money talks," Reiger says of the Comcast offer announced last week. "They have nothing to do with Disney and will end up destroying the idea that Walt had."

Reiger, a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania postal employee and professional magician, estimates that he spends over $50,000 a year on all things Disney, including weekly Disney tattoo sessions and monthly trips to the theme parks.

He also has collected 19,000 pieces of Disney memorabilia, customized his house so that the doors and fixtures are in the shape of Mickey Mouse ears and written into his will the wish that his ashes be scattered in the Seven Seas Lagoon and Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Walt Disney World in Florida.

"My voice won't be heard, but it hurts because they are turning away from Disney's dream," says Reiger, who is critical of both Comcast and Disney's current direction under Chief Executive Michael Eisner.

In something of a show of protest, Reiger says he would never consider a tattoo of Eisner, although he has three portraits of company founder Walt Disney. "A lot of people ask me, if I had (an Eisner tattoo) where would I put it?" Reiger jokes.

Abandoned by his parents and raised by his grandmother, Reiger has been married six times, a fact he blames on his obsession with all things Mickey Mouse and his attempt to recapture a childhood he feels he was denied.

"I go overboard with Disney," he says. "My life revolves around it. It's like a religion for me."
Note from Ed-This guy should probably be in TMTOHH section