“I never have anything go wrong,” he said later. “Never have a backache. Never have a headache. Never have anything else.” This would make him a lucky man no matter his age. Because he is 87, it makes him an unusually robust specimen, which is what he must be if he is to defy the odds (and maybe even the gods) and live as long as he intends to. He wants to reach 125, and sees no reason he can’t, provided that he continues eating the way he has for the last quarter century: with a methodical, messianic correctness that he believes can, and will, ward off major disease and minor ailment alike.
So that sore throat wasn’t just an irritant. It was a challenge to the whole gut-centered worldview on which his bid for extreme longevity rests. “I went back in my mind: what am I not eating enough of?” he told me. Definitely not fruits and vegetables: he crams as many as 20 of them, including pulverized banana peels and the ground-up rinds of oranges, into the smoothies he drinks two to three times a day, to keep his body brimming with fiber and vitamins. Probably not protein: he eats plenty of seafood, egg whites, beans and nuts to compensate for his avoidance of dairy, red meat and poultry, which are consigned to a list of forbidden foods that also includes alcohol, sugar and salt.
“I couldn’t figure it out,” he said. So he made a frustrated peace with his malady, which was gone in 36 hours and, he stressed, not all that bad. “I wasn’t really struggling with it,” he said. “But my voice changed a little bit. I always have a powerful voice.” Indeed, he speaks so loudly at times, and in such a declamatory manner, that it cows people, who sometimes assume they’ve angered him. “When I open my mouth,” he noted, “the room rings.”
The room ringing just then was the vast, stately common area of his vast, stately North Carolina lodge, which sits on more than 500 acres of woods and meadows where a flock of rare black Welsh sheep — which he keeps as pets, certainly not as chops and cheese in the making — roam under the protection of four Great Pyrenees dogs. He got the dogs after a donkey and two llamas entrusted with guarding the flock from predators failed at the task. The donkey and llamas still hang out with their fleecy charges, but they are purely ornamental.
Murdock loves to collect things: animals, orchids, Chippendale mirrors, Czechoslovakian chandeliers. He keeps yet another black Welsh flock at one of his two homes in Southern California, a 2,200-acre ranch whose zoological bounty extends to a herd of longhorn cattle, about 800 koi in a manmade lake and 16 horses — down from a population of more than 550, most of them Arabians, 35 years ago — with their own exercise pool. He has five homes in all, one on the small Hawaiian island of Lanai, which he owns almost in its entirety. He shuttles among them in a private jet. Forbes magazine’s most recent list of the 400 richest Americans put him at No. 130, with an estimated net worth of $2.7 billion, thanks to real estate development and majority stakes in an array of companies, most notably Dole. Five years earlier the estimate was $4.2 billion, but the recession took its toll.
His affluence has enabled him to turn his private fixation on diet and longevity into a public one. I went to see him first in North Carolina in late January. It is there, outside of Charlotte, in a city named Kannapolis near his lodge, that he has spent some $500 million of his fortune in recent years to construct the North Carolina Research Campus, a scientific center dedicated to his conviction that plants, eaten in copious quantities and the right variety, hold the promise of optimal health and maximal life span. The campus is a grand and grandiose sight, a cluster of mammoth Georgian-style buildings that dwarf everything around them. They call to mind an august, aged university, but the brick is without blemish, and there is no ivy.
Inside are world-class laboratories with cutting-edge equipment and emblems of the ostentation with which Murdock approaches much of what he does. He made two separate trips to the mountaintop quarries in Carrara, Italy, to select the 125 tons of off-white marble that cover the floor and even the walls of the central atrium of the main building, called the David H. Murdock Core Laboratory. He also commissioned, for the atrium’s dome, an enormous painted mural with outsize, hypervivid representations of about two dozen foods at the center of his diet, including grapes as large as Frisbees, radishes bigger than beach balls and a pineapple the size of a schooner. This kaleidoscopic orgy of antioxidants is presented as a wreath around a soaring eagle, whose wingspan was lengthened at the last minute, to about 18 feet from 12, at his request. The bird symbolizes him.
Frank Bruni (bruni@nytimes.com) is a staff writer for the magazine. Earlier, he had been the paper’s chief restaurant critic. He is the author of a memoir, “Born Round.”
Editor: Dean Robinson (d.robinson-MagGroup@nytimes.com)
Saturday, March 5, 2011
The Billionaire Who Is Planning His 125th Birthday
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Romney returns to N.H. as candidacy nears - Political Intelligence - A national political and campaign blog from The Boston Globe
By Glen Johnson, Globe Staff
Former Governor Mitt Romney is speaking in New Hampshire Saturday night as his still-unannounced second presidential campaign gathers momentum.
Since a two-week break in Hawaii over Christmas, when both he and President Obama were vacationing in the 50th state, the Massachusetts Republican has undertaken an aggressive travel schedule making clear his intentions even if he has yet to declare them outright.
Romney has traveled from coast to coast and overseas as well. He's been on late-night television and "The View." He's talked cars at the Daytona 500 and gotten a trim at Tommy Thomas's barber shop, a political stomping grounds in Atlanta.
On Saturday alone, he's speaking behind closed doors in Florida to a meeting of the Club for Growth, then flying north for a speech at the Carroll County Lincoln Day Dinner at the Attitash Grand Summit Hotel in Bartlett, NH.
It will be his most prominent public audience since he addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington early last month.
The appearance also comes as likely rivals Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Mike Huckabee, and Haley Barbour ramp up their own activities — and their rhetoric.
Barbour, the governor of Mississippi, was especially entertaining on Tuesday as he sat beside Governor Deval Patrick and testified before a US House committee examining Obama's health care overhaul.
You might have thought that Patrick, a Democrat from blue-state Massachusetts, would have been Barbour's target. Instead, it was Romney, a fellow Republican, who endured the governor's silver-tongued jabs.
“Massachusetts has a state health insurance program that they’re obviously happy with, and we think that’s their right," Barbour said.
Then, deftly unsheathing a dagger, he added: "And Senator (Edward M.) Kennedy and Governor Romney and then Governor Patrick, if that's what Massachusetts wants, we're happy for them. We don’t want that. That’s not good for us."
Nor is that kind of talk good for Romney.
Try as he may, Romney has found it a challenge as he's insisted the state universal health care law he signed while governor of Massachusetts is different from the federal one Obama enacted into law last year.
It does him no good when a potential opponent reminds the GOP base, which can't find enough pejoratives to condemn "Obamacare," that Romney created its predecessor in concert with Kennedy, a favorite party target before his death in 2009.
The argument that may gain the most traction for Romney is that Massachusetts was free to design its own program, and other states should have the same option without having a federal plan imposed upon them.
Obama has delighted in declaring that his plan was modeled on Romney's, muddying a potential 2012 opponent in the process. But he may have given the former governor the most viable form of cover this week: The president shifted course and said he would not object to allowing states to design their own programs, as long as they are at least as good as the federal law that is being put into effect.
That sounds like the message that has been coming from Romney ever since he transitioned from governor to presidential candidate.
The speech Saturday comes as the pulse of the Republican campaign quickens.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich announced yesterday that he was entering the "testing the waters" phase. That will allow him to raise money and hire staff before declaring whether he is moving to an exploratory committee.
Barbour has been toying with reporters, telling them to watch his waistline as the clearest indication of his own possible candidacy — and then claiming it is getting more trim.
Huckabee has been delighting in polls showing him running strong among social conservatives, and Pawlenty has been taking advantage of a veteran staff of advisers to efficiently plot his own campaign and pick his spots for making news.
Elsewhere, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin remains free of any of the traditional constraints, given her ability to command an audience and raise money in a snap.
That is why it will be interesting to hear what Romney has to say.
Instead of letting his opponents frame him, he will have the opportunity to make his own case. And in the lead presidential primary state, the reason for his remarks will be clear, whether or not he wants to admit it yet.
Glen Johnson can be reached at johnson@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globeglen.
Tornado reported in
Fresh Anti-Governmen
Tornado reported in Louisiana; at least 9 hurt - Weather - msnbc.com
RAYNE, La. — A suspected tornado hit the southwestern Louisiana town of Rayne on Saturday, injuring at least nine people, leveling homes and causing natural gas leaks that prompted evacuations.
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Gadhafi Forces Overcome Libyan Rebel Defenses in Zawiya
Photos From Libya
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY DEBORAH PASMANTIER An image grab from AFP TV footage, shows 72-year-old Libyan Mohammed Ettabal, father of slain Osama Ettabal, the first rebel killed by Moamer Kadhafi's forces in the latest anti-regime protests, during an interview on March 02, 2011 in the hardliner's western stronghold of Roujdane. Twenty-nine year old Osama has become a hero of the uprising against the four-decade-old regime after he was shot dead in his hometown of Roujdane on February 16. AFP PHOTO/DSK (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY DEBORAH PASMANTIER An image grab from AFP TV footage, shows 72-year-old Libyan Mohammed Ettabal, father of slain Osama Ettabal, the first rebel killed by Moamer Kadhafi's forces in the latest anti-regime protests, during an interview on March 02, 2011 in the hardliner's western stronghold of Roujdane. Twenty-nine year old Osama has become a hero of the uprising against the four-decade-old regime after he was shot dead in his hometown of Roujdane on February 16. AFP PHOTO/DSK (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY DEBORAH PASMANTIER An image grab from AFP TV footage, shows 72-year-old Libyan Mohammed Ettabal, father of slain Osama Ettabal, the first rebel killed by Moamer Kadhafi's forces in the latest anti-regime protests, during an interview on March 02, 2011 in the hardliner's western stronghold of Roujdane. Twenty-nine year old Osama has become a hero of the uprising against the four-decade-old regime after he was shot dead in his hometown of Roujdane on February 16. AFP PHOTO/DSK (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)
TO GO WITH STORY BY DEBORAH PASMANTER A Libyan anti-government fighter stands on a mountain near Nalut, western Libya, on March 1, 2011. Rebels at heart but short on means, Libya's Berber tribes quickly joined the uprising against Moamer Kadhafi and seized control of the mountainous west in an effort to secure their freedom. The uprising launched in eastern Benghazi on February 15 spread fast to the western mountains, or Jebel Gharbi, where within days villages fell like dominos to the opposition movement challenging Kadhafi's regime. AFP PHOTO / FRED DUFOUR (Photo credit should read FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)
TO GO WITH STORY BY DEBORAH PASMANTER Libyan anti-government fighters, one of them looking through binoculars, stand on a mountain near Nalut, western Libya, on March 1, 2011. Rebels at heart but short on means, Libya's Berber tribes quickly joined the uprising against Moamer Kadhafi and seized control of the mountainous west in an effort to secure their freedom. The uprising launched in eastern Benghazi on February 15 spread fast to the western mountains, or Jebel Gharbi, where within days villages fell like dominos to the opposition movement challenging Kadhafi's regime. AFP PHOTO / FRED DUFOUR (Photo credit should read FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)
TO GO WITH STORY BY DEBORAH PASMANTER Libyan anti-government fighters, one of them looking through binoculars, stand on a mountain near Nalut, western Libya, on March 1, 2011. Rebels at heart but short on means, Libya's Berber tribes quickly joined the uprising against Moamer Kadhafi and seized control of the mountainous west in an effort to secure their freedom. The uprising launched in eastern Benghazi on February 15 spread fast to the western mountains, or Jebel Gharbi, where within days villages fell like dominos to the opposition movement challenging Kadhafi's regime. AFP PHOTO / FRED DUFOUR (Photo credit should read FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)
A former Libyan army soldier shows new Libyan rebel recruits how to use the AK-47, during a training session after signing up with the forces against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi at a training base in Benghazi, eastern Libya, on Thursday March 3, 2011. Rebel forces routed troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi in a fierce battle over an oil port Wednesday, scrambling over the dunes of a Mediterranean beach through shelling and an airstrike to corner their attackers. While they thwarted the regime's first counteroffensive in eastern Libya, opposition leaders still pleaded for outside airstrikes to help them oust the longtime leader. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
New Libyan rebel recruits flash the victory sign and chant slogans as they stand in formation during a training session after signing up with the forces against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi at a training base in Benghazi, eastern Libya, on Thursday March 3, 2011. Rebel forces routed troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi in a fierce battle over an oil port Wednesday, scrambling over the dunes of a Mediterranean beach through shelling and an airstrike to corner their attackers. While they thwarted the regime's first counteroffensive in eastern Libya, opposition leaders still pleaded for outside airstrikes to help them oust the longtime leader. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
New Libyan rebel recruits stand in formation during a training session after signing up with the forces against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi at a training base in Benghazi, eastern Libya, on Thursday March 3, 2011. Rebel forces routed troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi in a fierce battle over an oil port Wednesday, scrambling over the dunes of a Mediterranean beach through shelling and an airstrike to corner their attackers. While they thwarted the regime's first counteroffensive in eastern Libya, opposition leaders still pleaded for outside airstrikes to help them oust the longtime leader. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A former Libyan army soldier shows new Libyan rebel recruits how to use the AK-47, during a training session after signing up with the forces against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi at a training base in Benghazi, eastern Libya, on Thursday March 3, 2011. Rebel forces routed troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi in a fierce battle over an oil port Wednesday, scrambling over the dunes of a Mediterranean beach through shelling and an airstrike to corner their attackers. While they thwarted the regime's first counteroffensive in eastern Libya, opposition leaders still pleaded for outside airstrikes to help them oust the longtime leader. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Audioboo / DOCTOR IN
Will Mardi Gras Reve
Saudi Arabia: Demons
Saudi Arabia: Demonstrations won't be tolerated - Yahoo! News
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Demonstrations won't be tolerated in Saudi Arabia and its security forces will act against anyone taking part in them, the Interior Ministry said Saturday, a day after about 100 members of the Shiite minority staged a protest in an eastern region of the kingdom.
The warning was another attempt by Saudi Arabia to get ahead of the unrest that has swept the Arab world in recent months. Last week, the government announced an unprecedented economic package worth an estimated $36 billion that will give Saudis interest-free home loans, unemployment assistance and debt forgiveness.
The Interior Ministry statement said the kingdom bans all demonstrations because they contradict Islamic laws and society's values, adding that some people have tried to go around the law to "achieve illegitimate aims."
Security forces were authorized to act against anyone violating the ban, the statement said.
The demonstration followed Friday prayers in the eastern town of Hofuf when the Shiites demanded the release of detainees, including Tawfiq al-Amer, a Shiite cleric who was arrested last week after he called for a constitutional monarchy.
On Feb. 24, a group of influential intellectuals urged King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia's 86-year-old monarch, to adopt far-reaching political and social reforms. They said Arab rulers should learn from the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, and listen to the voice of disenchanted young people. The group includes renowned Islamic scholars, a female academic, a poet and a former diplomat.
While oil-rich Saudi Arabia has been mostly spared the unrest in the Middle East, a robust protest movement has risen up in its tiny neighbor, Bahrain, which like others around the region is centered on calls for representative government and relief from poverty and unemployment.
A Facebook page calling for a "March 11 Revolution of Longing" in Saudi Arabia has begun attracting hundreds of viewers. A message posted on the page calls for "the ousting of the regime" and lists demands including the election of a ruler and members of the advisory assembly known as the Shura Council.
There are no government figures in Saudi Arabia that provide a national income breakdown, but analysts estimate there are more than 450,000 jobless. About two-thirds of the population is under 29 — and many of them chafe under the harsh religious rules that keep the sexes largely segregated.
Steve Jobs’ unveils health with Apple iPad2 | Science updates | NewJerseyNewsroom.com -- Your State. Your News.
The unveiling of Apple’s iPad2 this past Wednesday brought a standing ovation from the crowd present for the event in San Francisco. But the attendees may have risen to their feet just as much for the presentation’s surprise master of ceremonies.
Steve Jobs, who is taking a leave of absence from the company, returned to unveil the new product, which is expected to be a hot seller. It was the Apple CEO’s first appearance at an Apple event since announcing his third medical leave from the company, and an unexpected one at that.
