THE BOGUS SCHOLARSHIP

The Da Vinci Code has become a monster best-seller with over 40 million book sales worldwide. Now the Hollywood movie based on this blockbuster is due for release worldwide mid-May. The controversial plot divides people between the many who enjoy the fast-paced hunt to decipher a code to reveal the wherabouts of the Holy Grail, and those who criticise author Dan Brown for sloppy research and for putting forward inaccuracies as buried truths

Many Christians are outraged by the plot which claims Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children, and that the Christian religion and the Roman Catholic church in particular, has deliberately suppressed the true original message of Jesus, substituting a set of beliefs which oppress women and independent spiritual searching. Mark Greene, writing in Christianity (July 2004) described the book as ‘a confident presentation of bogus scholarship with enough truth mixed in to create a convincing alternative account’. Dan Brown insists the novel is not anti-Christian but meant to be an entertaining story to promote discussion and debate. In fact Brown claims to be a Christian and says Christian theologians have been key influences in his life. That said, his novel promotes and seeks to restore ‘the sacred feminine’ to religion in general and Christianity in particular. Brown on his website argues that women in most cultures have ‘been stripped of their spiritual power. The novel touches on questions of how and why this shift occurred… and on what lessons we might learn from it regarding the future.’

While many regard the success of the book and launch of the movie as a big threat to Christianity – many believers also consider this is a major opportunity to talk to friends, family and acquaintances about the heart of the gospel.

Building A Strong Back and Shoulders

Back injuries account for about one third of all workers compensation costs and one third of all workplace injuries. Back injuries can occur wherever people are at work - on farms and building sites, in factories, offices, warehouses, hospitals, banks, laboratories and while making deliveries.

Your spine, or backbone, is the central support of your entire skeletal system. It is designed for strength, to support your body weight, and flexibility, to allow movement. When healthy, your spine is S-shaped with three natural curves. When these curves are in balance, your body weight is evenly distributed. To maintain this alignment, you need to have strong and flexible muscles in your back, legs and abdomen.

Most people do not exercise on a daily basis and few of us relax even when we are not on the move. Sometimes your work may require you to hold yourself in postures that make movement difficult and unnatural. This can lead to lower back pain. Any posture that compromises the natural curvature and muscular balance of the spine places strain and tension on the supporting muscles and ligaments, weakening them. Without proper support, the joints of the vertebrae are forced to carry weight they are not meant to carry. This leads to premature spinal degeneration and pain.
When body systems work in harmony, self-healing processes can function efficiently. Because the spinal cord carries nerves to every part of the body, any distortion or strain on the spine (known as ‘subluxations’ or ‘fixations’) can have far-reaching effects and cause problems in the internal organs, glands and blood vessels. Chiropractic treatment aims to re-align the spine so that body systems can function properly.

Your back is also the biggest muscle group in the body. Thus, effective back routines are an extremely important part of your routine.

A Strong Back Will Prevent Injuries

Managed to get Vero's back..its a natural answer!!

India's marathon boy, aged three

He runs seven hours at a stretch, sometimes as much as 48km (30 miles). On a daily basis. And Budhia Singh is just three and a half years old.

When Budhia's father died a year ago, his mother, who washes dishes in Bhubaneswar, capital of the eastern Indian state of Orissa, was unable to provide for her four children.
She sold Budhia to a man for 800 rupees (£11(approx)).

But the young boy came to the attention of Biranchi Das, a judo coach and the secretary of the local judo association. Mr Das said he noticed Budhia's talent when scolding him for being a bully.

"Once, after he had done some mischief, I asked him to keep running till I came back," Mr Das told the BBC.
"I got busy in some work. When I came back after five hours, I was stunned to find him still running."

Mr Das, also the president of the residents' association of the run-down area where Budhia used to live, summoned the man who had bought Budhia and paid him his 800 rupees back.

Then started a strict diet and exercise regimen that saw Budhia adding a few kilometres to his daily marathon every few days. A few stretching exercises for the marathon boy,In place of a few lumps of rice that he used to get at his mother's place, he now has a diet of eggs, milk, soybean and meat.

He starts running at 0500 each day and does not stop till noon.
After a few stretching exercises, he has lunch and goes for a siesta.

At 1600 it is time to run again. Budhia is enjoying his stay at the judo hostel. "I can run and eat to my heart's content here," he says.
His speech is not yet easy to understand. Though he has yet to go to school, he has completed learning the alphabet of Oriya, the local language.
Budhia's coach has now set his eyes on a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

That, he says, will be possible when he can run for 90km at a stretch.
"I have no doubt whatsoever that he will achieve it soon", Mr Das says.