Mountain Views News          Saturday, August 10, 2013

10

SPORTS

Mountain Views News Saturday, August 10, 2013 

‘ZOMBIE BLOOD RUN’: 5K 
EVENT TO BENEFIT AMERICAN 
RED CROSS & ST. BALDRICK’S 
FOUNDATION 

Santa Anita Park 
has announced 
that it will host its 
first-ever “Zombie 
Blood Run” 
5k event on Saturday, 
Aug. 17, 
beginning at 9 a.m. Those who wish 
to participate can do so via three different 
categories: Runners can register 
for $50.00. Those who wish to join 
the fray as Zombie Performers, may 
do so for $30.00, and those wishing to 
observe the fun and frolic as Spectators, 
will be admitted for just $5.00. 

 In addition to 5k participation, the 
American Red Cross and the St. Baldrick’s 
Foundation (largest fundraiser 
for Children’s Cancer Research in 
America) will conduct a special raffle, 
with 100 percent of the proceeds 
going to each charity. Tickets will be 
available for purchase for $5.00 at the 
event. Contestants need not be present 
to win. 

 Raffle items will include unique autographed 
movie and horror memorabilia 
such as “Dawn of the Dead” 
posters, “Man of Steel” collectibles 
from blockbuster movie director 
Zack Snyder, and “Punisher War 
Zone” items from acclaimed director 
Lexi Alexander. Academy Award-
winning Special Effects guru Robert 
Shore will also donate “Beetlejuice” 
collectibles and much more. 

 Runners will encounter an interactive 
zombie-themed obstacle course 
and they’ll have flesh-eating ghouls 
to contend with as they pursue the 
runners en route to the safety of the 
finish line--as they attempt to survive 
what is being described as “the attack 
of the undead.” 

 “Proceeds from this event will go 
to benefit two outstanding charities, 
the American Red Cross, San Gabriel 
Valley Chapter, and the St. Baldrick’s 
Foundation,” said Pete Siberell, Santa 
Anita Director of Community Services 
and Special Projects. “These 
Zombie Runs have become very popular 
and we’re hoping to have a lot of 
fun with this and raise money for a 
pair of great causes.” 

 Those interested in participating in 
the ZBR at Santa Anita are encouraged 
to sign in via Facebook, where 
they can see which of their friends 
have already signed up to participate. 

Tickets are now available. For more 
information and to register as a ZBR 
participant, visit the WHAT YOU GET 
page at http://zombiebloodrun.com/, or 
call Timberwolf Productions, at (626) 
823-2241. 

NORTH/SOUTH TOURNAMENT KEVYN NOJIMA 
AWARD WINNER

Nathan Chow, a senior at Loyola High 
School, was awarded the Kevyn Nojima 
Award on Sunday, August 4, 2013 during 
the North/South 20th Annual High 
School Invitational Tournament. The 
North/South Tournament is a showcase 
event for high school basketball athletes 
from the Asian community throughout 
Southern California. Teams are divided 
between Northern and Southern California 
boys and girls grouped by grade levels 
from 9th through 12th and they compete 
against each other in a 3 game tournament. 
The North/South Tournament has 
a great history of high level competition. 
Throughout the years many of the athletes 
have moved on to play at the college level 
and professionally around the world. 

Nathan Chow is a varsity player at Loyola 
High and credits Loyola High Basketball 
Coach Jamal Adams for fostering his 
strength of character as a competitive 
player which defines the spirit of the Kevyn Nojima 
Award. Nathan is also a four time player of 
the South team.

Kevyn Nojima grew up playing for the Monterey 
Park Mustangs in the CYC organization where he 
honed his talents into a highly skilled point guard 
with great vision, handles, court sense, tenacity 
and a keen knowledge of the game. Kevyn made 
the roster of the Schurr High School team where 
he played with high energy and enthusiasm, displaying 
outstanding floor-leadership. Kevyn led 
his team to the Co-League Championship while 
earning his First Team All-League honors. Kevyn 
also played in the North/South Tournament 
for two years. In February 2001, Kevyn was diagnosed 
with Osteogenic Sarcoma (bone cancer). 
Despite almost two years of treatments and 
chemotherapy, Kevyn's arm and shoulder were 
amputated. Kevyn fought long and hard, always 
showing a strong will, courage and determination 
to face his serious condition head on. Unfortunately, 
on the day after Thanksgiving in 2003 
- at the young age of 22, almost three years after 
he was first diagnosed with his illness - Kevyn's 
body was no longer able to match the strength 
and courage he had in his heart.

Hence, the North/South Tournament Committee 
presents the Kevyn Nojima Courage Award to a 
North/South player who has demonstrated leadership 
ability, determination, strength of character, 
courage and a strong will to overcome any 
obstacles put forth before him. Kevyn's mother 
Judy Nojima was able to personally present the 
award in her son's name. The award is voted on 
by the North/South Committee and coaches. Nathan 
Chow, a resident of Sierra Madre, is grateful 
to God and humbled by such high honor. As 
quoted by a North/South Committee member, 
"Nathan exemplifies the exact qualities needed to 
be successful in life and on the court. We were 
proud to select him as this year's recipient".

The North/South Committee


Left To Right: Nathan Chow, Judy S. Nojima, Ted Young


ScienceNews 

by JEFF

THE WORLD AROUND US


Milkshake Like Cocaine 
For Overeaters: 
A new study 
shows the powerful 
impact food has 
on the brain. Millions 
of overweight 
Americans consider 
food the enemy. 
And according to 
research, this enemy 
plays devious 
mind games. The 
same changes in 
brain chemistry 
that push drug users 
to take cocaine 
or heroin may also 
cause overeaters to consume more calories than 
their they need. Gaining weight decreases the pleasure 
that we get from sugary and fatty foods. Eat 
a diet rich in these types of food, and one day you 
might need two pieces of cake to get the same enjoyment 
once provided by a single piece." Just as 
drug addicts use more to chase their original high, 
obese individuals may need to eat more food to 
compensate for these changes," said Cara Bohon, a 
post doc from U.C.L.A. 

Full moon may mean less sleep: Slumber waxes and 
wanes along with lunar rhythm. A full moon deprives 
people of sleep even when they are shielded 
from moonlight in a windowless lab, a new study 
suggests. People sleep less deeply and fewer minutes 
around a full moon than during other parts of 
the lunar cycle, researchers report in Current Biology. 
They suggest that humans may have internal 
clocks that track the lunar cycle, much like circadian 
clocks that sync with the rise and fall of the 
sun. Christian Cajochen of the University of Basel 
and his colleagues also reanalyzed sleep data they 
had collected over several years. 

No Smoking in Casinos, Fewer Ambulance 
Calls:Extension of smoke free laws to casinos led 
to decreases in ambulance calls to the gambling 
venues that were similar to what had been seen for 
other sites. Implementation of a smoke free law on 
July 1, 2006 led to a fall of 22.8% in calls for ambulances 
in one county in Colorado according to 
Stanton A. Glantz, PhD, of UC San Francisco, and 
Erin Gibbs of the Gilpin Ambulance Authority. Our 
results suggest that applying smoke free laws to casinos 
not only would prevent medical emergencies 
but also would reduce costs to the state, which may 
incentivize the passing of smoke free casino laws." 

Scientists issue call to change definition of ‘cancer’:In 
response to increasing incidences of over diagnosis 
and over treatment in cancer patients, The National 
Cancer Institute has suggested redefining the term 
‘cancer.’ Some cancers are life threatening, while 
others aren‘t, but frightened patients often choose 
the most aggressive treatment option available, despite 
the lethality of their condition. In some cases, 
this leads to unnecessary procedures that are often 
detrimental to the physical and emotional health of 
the patient.

Global climate change really is our fault:The 
American Geophysical Union, a body of more than 
62,000 scientists, issued a statement.” Humanity is 
the major influence on the global climate change 
observed over the last 50 years." "For anyone who 
might suggest natural causes the changes are inconsistent 
with explanations of climate change that 
rely on known natural influences." These observations 
show large scale increases in air and sea temperatures, 
sea level, and atmospheric water vapor; 
and decreases in mountain glaciers, snow cover, 
permafrost, and Arctic sea ice. 

EXCELLENT PROSPECTS FOR AUGUST’S PERSEID METEORS

 
The Perseid meteor shower, an 
annual celestial event beloved by 
millions of skywatchers around the 
world, returns to the night sky this 
week, peaking late-night on Aug. 11-
12 and continuing for several days 
through mid-August. And because the 
Moon will be in its crescent phase and 
setting in early evening, no moonlight 
will hinder the viewing in the later 
evening hours.

 Although an occasional Perseid 
meteor might catch your attention 
shortly after evening twilight ends, the 
prime viewing hours are from about 
11 p.m. or midnight (local time) until 
the first light of dawn. This is when 
the shower’s “radiant” (its perspective 
point of origin) is high up in your 
sky. The higher the radiant, the more 
meteors appear all over the sky.

 To enjoy the Perseids, you need no 
equipment but your eyes. Find a dark 
spot with a wide-open view overhead. 
Bring a reclining lawn chair or a 
ground cloth so you can lie back and 
watch the sky in comfort. Patience 
will be needed—in a dark sky, with 
little or no light pollution, you could 
see an average of about one meteor per 
minute.

 Perseids can appear anywhere 
and everywhere in the sky. Faint 
Perseids appear as tiny, quick streaks. 
Occasional brighter ones might sail 
across the heavens for several seconds 
and leave a brief train of glowing 
smoke.

 When you see a meteor, track its 
path backward. If you eventually 
come to the constellation Perseus—
which climbs the northeastern sky as 
the night progresses—then a Perseid is 
what you’ve just witnessed.

 Occasionally you might spot an 
interloper. The weaker Delta Aquarid 
and Kappa Cygnid showers are also 
active during Perseid season, and there 
are always a few random, “sporadic” 
meteors. All of these track back to 
other parts of the sky.

 Any light pollution will cut down 
the numbers visible. So will the 
radiant’s lower altitude if you’re 
viewing early in the night. But the 
brightest few meteors shine right 
through light pollution, and the few 
that happen when the radiant is low 
are especially long—skimming the 
upper atmosphere and flying far across 
the heavens.

 Meteors are caused by tiny, sand- to 
pea-size bits of dusty debris streaking 
into the top of Earth’s atmosphere 
about 80 miles up. Each Perseid 
particle zips in at 37 miles per second, 
creating a quick, white-hot streak of 
superheated air. The nuggets in Grape 
Nuts cereal are a close match to the 
estimated size, color, and texture of 
typical meteor-shower particles.

 These particular bits were shed long 
ago by Comet Swift-Tuttle and are 
distributed all along the comet’s orbit 
around the Sun. Earth passes through 
this tenuous “river of rubble” every 
year in mid-August.

 More about the Perseids and how 
to watch them appears in the August 
issue of Sky & Telescope magazine 
and at: http://SkyandTelescope.com/
Perseids

INTERNATIONAL STARRY NIGHT 
EVENTS

 Coinciding with the Perseid meteor 
shower, events are being held 
around the world to celebrate the 
first “International Starry Night, a 
Celebration of Starlight.” Check them 
out at: www.starry-night.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
File:The_2010_Perseids_over_the_
VLT.jpg

 You can contact Bob Eklund at: 
b.eklund@MtnViewsNews.com.

Photo courtesy stardate.org