Men and women differ in so many ways other than the sexual characteristics we exhibit.  There are also startling differences in the way that we think, and one of them is the memory aspect.  So what are the differences between men and women and the way that we remember things?  Well, it’s got to do with emotion..

Scientists don’t know if the memory differences, which are significant between men and women, are inborn or whether they are learned, but in tests between couples, it shows that the way men and women remember things, such as their wedding day and other significant events in their lives, is very different.  Or is it just differently recalled in words?  That’s what I have a hard time understanding.  Just because people voice their memories differently, does that mean that they actually, physically, remember things differently from eachother?

Well, research is saying yes, we do actually remember things slightly differently.  The results have been replicated between mutliple control groups.  Men store memories on different sides of the brain for memories between scary, fun, emotional and more. 

Different areas of the brain light up when men and women remember things, which shows that men and women store memories in different parts of the brain, and therefore may remember them differently according to what emotions they equate them with.  So you see, men and women really are fundamentally different, so to speak.   

Heath Ledger’s death has many spooked and looking for answers as to how such a young, seemingly healthy man died.  I have my own opinion of what happened, and I’m not sure if it’s true of course until all the facts come out, but I firmly believe he accidentally overdosed on sleeping medication.

It’s sort of a case like Anna Nicole Smith and her son, both of whom died of toxic overdoses and mixing of many prescription drugs at once.  Heath of course may have also had some sort of congenital health issue we don’t know about that may have added to the reasons for his tragic and early demise, but my speculation is that he simply accidentally took too many medications that are supposedly “safe” and unknowingly caused a breakdown in his system.

It really is tragic and sad to see such a talented and young actor, father, friend and good guy die so early in life.  Our heart goes out to his ex girlfriend who has to tell their little 2 year old daughter that daddy is gone forever, and in fact it pains us to see the paparazzi and media hounding his family and friends at this critical mourning time. 

As far as the lesson all men should learn from this, is that if you’re on one medication, you should ALWAYS check with your doctor by even just giving him a quick call before you pop any more pills, no matter if they are OTC, or even herbal, because there could always be interactions that you are not aware of.  I said herbal and regular OTC, because yes, herbal remedies and supplements can potentially interact with some medications, heck even some vitamins can. 

That’s why doctors now ask you if you take any herbal supplements or vitamins during your visits.  Also, many prescription drugs can interact with eachother and cause disastrous consequences, and yes, that includes Viagra and other medications for natural male enhancement and libido help.  This is why it amazes and shocks me that some people are on multiple prescription drugs at once.  Just from a logical standpoint, how can that be safe? 

It further amazes me that the medical community is so quick to attack herbal supplements and remedies for being “unsafe” and not scrutinized by the FDA when they cleary push multiple products on people at once, many of which are toxic and undo the other one.  Crazy.  Sorry, didn’t mean to get off on a tangent there, but as you can see I’m a little passionate about the subject.  As far as herbal and prescription safety, it is always best to not take too much, no matter what it is, that is my opinion. 

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably seen these ads with soccer star and American import David Beckham in his skivvies up on billboards, or on one of the gossip ragas online or somewhere else.  All anyone talks about is how big David’s penis looks in the pictures, which show him in a provocative position in his tighty whities, sporting what looks to be a huge package. 

According to David’s wife, Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice, who isn’t so bad herself, but has had her naughty parts surgically enhanced, and obviously, at that, insists that there is no padding in his underwear in those pictures, that it’s all him.  She actually says that Beckham’s penis is, among other things naturally “large, huge, and massive”, to use a few of her descriptive adjectives. 

She also boasts that after being married for quite a while and with three boys, they still enjoy quite an active sex life.  Is this all a bunch of BS, or are these two not only blessed with ridiculous good looks, and he a large penis, but with tons of money, three gorgeous kids and a great sex life? Hmm, part of me wants to be skeptical, but you know, some people are just very blessed and in sync with this universe, and yes, they are blessed in every way sometimes.  Damn them! 

So, the question now is, is David really sporting his own package that he was naturally given at birth, or has he really used some sort of penis enlargement device or system, like the famous Size Genetics penis enlargement system, or something else?  There are tons of penile enlargement products and devices on the market today, could he have benefitted from one of those, or did her perhaps get the dreaded penis enlargement surgery which is still very risky?  My bet might be on the padding!  Maybe penis enlargement exercises?  Ugh, I give up, maybe the guy is just naturally blessed in every way. 

Although there is a lot of promising research and studies about prostate cancer and better screenings and treatments for the men’s health scare as of late, some men are still saying this doesn’t change their opinion of whether or not to get tested for the cancer.  Many men, and I must say that I share this same opinion, but then again I do not have any history of prostate problems, say they’d rather not know or worry so much about something that they may or may not have control over. 

This is the school of thought that I personally tend to side with when it comes to my health and potential disease, because I know that I eat the best I can as well as exercise as much as I can, and have other health lifestyle habits such as not smoking, so I feel that I’m already being proactive in my health. 

However, could this sort of “hand off” attitude toward health and screenings that could potentially catch cancer earlier and save lives actually detrimental?  Well, that is to be debated of course, actually ENDLESSLY debated, so we won’t even go there, but let’s take a look at today’s men’s options for prostate health screenings and cancer screenings and see if it’s even worth the time, effort, and worrying to you personally.

There are rectal exams to detect possible inflammation of the prostate and determine whether it is enlarged or possibly cancerous - that’s all men’s least favorite, of course, and it’s understandable why they don’t want to undergo that type of discomfort, and some might say humiliation, but we’ve all been there before or at least a lot of us have. 

Then there is some sort of digital reading that can be used, but I’m honestly not really sure how this works, and then there are the easy, painless ones that they are supposedly working hard on now, and that’s genetic testing, which tests for genetic signs that one is more susceptible to getting prostate cancer genetically.

So, it’s really up to you.  How do you approach your male health?  Do you think that it’s best to have a hands off approach, and not worry until there is something to be worried about, or are you a believer in getting tested and making sure?  I for one believe that preventive health is best, and taking male health supplements is the way to maintain optimal health, but most importantly, I think diet and exercise is the NUMBER ONE component of health and longevity, hands down. 

Supplements like the new Provacyl men’s super health supplement are exactly that - supplements, they should not be used solely as preventive health measures by themselves, but combined with a healthy lifestyle, period. 

A popular contraceptive patch that is used by women has been given a warning to bear to those that choose it as an option to prevent pregnancy.  Although the company and the FDA are still saying the drug is safe enough for use by the general public, there have been reports of related embolisms in the lungs and blood clots, both of which can lead to death and certainly other health issues. 

The name of the patch is the Ortho Evra patch, and it’s an option that women can use to prevent pregnancy that I believe only needs to be replaced once every month.  There’s still products in the works for men to take as birth control which will render their sperm useless, however, they have not been released to mass market to my knowledge. 

Of course, there’s always the snip-snip that men can get (vasectomy), however, for some reason a lot of men get very squeamish about this, even though it’s a relatively easy and pain free surgery with less complications than a woman can have from having her reproductive organs “disabled” (in other words, her tubes tied). 

The FDA, while still maintaining that the birth control patch is relatively safe enough for use, does warn women who have other risks for blood clots, such as smoking or dietary habits, do not choose this form of birth control, or any of the pills for that matter, since they all can increase blood clot risks.  They say to talk it over with your doctor before you choose a method, both the man and woman can decide what their optiosn are at that point. 

The patch does work nicely since it uses the idea of transdermal blood infusion of the hormone ingredients to inhibit pregnancy.  Transdermal patches are a cool idea, and are just starting to be used in some herbal male enhancement supplementations so that they can continually release ingredients into the blood stream.  It’s something to be on the lookout for …..

I just got done watching the movie “Magnolia” which is directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, most noted for his Boogie Nights movie, which I loved.  It was a really great movie that told the story of several people who we think are strangers but end up being strangely interrelated at the end of the film.  In it, Tom Cruise plays a character who is eerily close to his real life personality today, except Tom in real life is a nice guy who’s very passionate about a religion, not passionate about “taming” or “conquering” women like his character in Magnolia. 

Magnolia came out in 1999, and it was a fairly new concept at that time, since there weren’t too many movies that were a montage about several characters with huge ensemble casts that were commercial successes.  And actually, Magnolia was not a huge commercial success either, before I get ahead of myself. 

Tom Cruise plays the Frank Mackey character, who has made a business out of seminars that sell “conquering women” to men who are desperate and never get any action or the time of day from women.  However, he goes about it in a not so nice way, forever degrading women, saying that he can get any women he wants.  He lists among his bullet points of things to do to get, and then dump, women as not calling for 8 days at least, putting up an act of emotional competency and caring, and creating jealousy. 

In other words, all the stuff that guys who are forever stuck in the junior high and high school mentality of “getting girls” do.  And the men that follow him I’m sure find they are met with resistence instead of a bowing down of the heads and so forth that Frank preaches.  Frank preaches in a firey manner, rotating his pelvis in suggestive motions, creating unease and angst, but also excitement in his followers that they can be just like him if they act like a self absorbed jerk who alternates feelings and caring with an idiotic attitude. 

It’s a wonder he doesn’t sell pheromones to attract women, it’d be much easier than going through his blue booklets.  All in all, his character is hilarious, and ultimately, even identifiable when we find out how became such a megalomaniac.  As I said, some of his behavior in this film reflects a bit of what we’re seeing in his scientology videos today, so it’s interesting. 

Ooh, ouch.  I would feel sorry for this guy if it weren’t his own stupid fault, but alas, this is one of those headlines that should make it’s way on Jay Leno or David Letterman under some skit called “Stupid Criminals” or something.  Apparently a man was trying to rob a convenient store for some cash and a pack of cigarettes (Gee, just one?), when he tried to put the gun back into the waistband of his pants. 

Sounds like the gun’s safety was still off, because the guy ended up shooting himself in the groin area in the process, injuring one of his testicles and also part of his leg in the process.  Poor guy - not!  He’s 25 years old and lives in Indiana, where the robbery took place.  This is a great example of why crime doesn’t pay, or rather why it pays you back, and not the way you’d like. 

The criminals did end up getting caught right away.  Police found him with his injuries at his home and plan to charge his with armed robbery - after his wounds get tended to, of course.  Imagine the shock when the clerk heard the gun discharge - I bet she was thanking God that it wasn’t meant for her.  The good thing is, no one was injured except for the idiot who robbed the place. 

This is just one of those examples where it shows that people who resort to crime instead of using their minds and ingenuity to make a dime get punished in one way or another.  Call it karma or whatever, but I believe it that more and more every day with life experiences and news stories exactly like this! 

I read the most interesting article today about how friends that have kids, while their friend remains childless, many times experience a serious shift in the friendship, and often even hard feelings at first about the life changes that kids almost always bring to the table.  An example is, say your guy friend was always the guy you hung out with after work, went to happy hours with at bars, and golfed with on the weekends.  Mr. Fun suddenly marries, and shortly after has a kid or two.

Now, your fun trips to the bar after work and the weekend golfing trips have disappeared, or been severely limited.  It’s often hard to accept that readily, but apparently women have a much harder time losing their friends to their kids than men do. It’s not really a surprise though, since women many times still seem to be the primary caretakers of the children, and often are the first to ban outside activities in their own life before men do.  It’s just the unfortunate differences between the sexes. 

I remember a friend of mine recently telling me that she has to “ask” her husband if she can let him watch the kids while she goes out with a girlfriend, but he will just go out and do things with his friends or whatever else, and it’s more of an understanding that she’ll be ok with the kids alone, so it is a bit of a double standard I must admit. 

Some of the boundaries that can be set is letting your children know that adult conversations are important too, and while they are also important, they shouldn’t interrupt when adults are mid sentence, or at least politely ask if they can get something or whatever else it is they need.  Also, women should try to be more mindful that it’s up to them to still set aside time for themselves, as being happy is what makes one a good parent. 

Men need to also be mindful that their friends priorities change when they have kids, and they should be open and accepting of that, and if it’s a true, long time friendship, then these shifts shouldn’t matter to the friendship and they should be able to have a long lasting, mutually supportive relationship for life. 

Wow.  Can you imagine, first of all, being struck by lightning?  See your life flash before you, waking up after moments or perhaps even minutes, and realizing that you were one of the very statistically FEW people in this world who get hit by lightning - let alone who survive being struck by lighting?  Well, this guy can honestly say that he’s been hit by lightning at dinner parties.  Imagine having that story to tell, wouldn’t that be a hoot?

The man, who lives in Britain, and is now 43 years old, was struck by lightning five years ago, and after living through it was told that he was infertile and would not be able to have children.  And who could blame the doctors who treated him for thinking any different?  Well, he has surprised all involved, because he has become a father recently to a beautiful 8 pounds some odd ounces little boy.

The amazing part is how he was struck and the fact that he even survived.  I guess he was jogging not far from his home in Britain when he was struck by lightning.  The man had extensive head injuries, including a jaw break in many different places, his eye sockets were smashed (ouch!), and he also had to overcome four blood clots in his brain.  The doctors were actually amazed that he even pulled through ok.  But this guy, if there ever was a definition of one, is a total survivor. 

Not only has he made a full recovery from his internal injuries, but he is back at running and has recently run a 10k race AND he fathered a baby!  Wow, this guy is truly an inspiration I’d say.  Amazing story - these are the kinds that you actually like to hear about in the news instead of all the gloom and doom we get accustomed to hearing these days. 

There is a new male pattern baldness and male hair loss predictor on the market that is for sale online for a price of $149 that says it will predict with nearly perfect accuracy whether a man is prone to hair loss before the age of 40 years old.  This would be considered early hair loss for a man, so the test is genetically geared toward detecting certain genes that make a man more predisposed to early hair loss than other men - much more so actually.

Supposedly you can order the genetic test kit online and then you can mail it in and go to the company website a couple weeks later and find out your results.   The biotech company who came up with the concept says that it may prevent men who don’t even have balding or hair loss yet from spending money of hair loss products for men, which is a billion dollar industry here in the US since it’s  real sore spot for many men and one of the things that sucks worst for men who are aging.

All in all, I’d say that if you think you may experience early hair loss, it wouldn’t hurt to order the kit, but only if you have a little disposable income to deal with, ’cause it’s not exactly cheap.  They said that just because it runs in the male side of a guy’s family, it’s not always a guarantee that you will carry that gene too, so this test can supposedly ease fears of some men - and put it in others.