Not that I am a huge fan of ferrets but they do have a point...
Friday, June 22, 2007
Spike Joining the Dr. Who Universe
Spike (James Marsters) was a very special peroxide player in the Buffy universe. He probably had the most interesting character arc as well. He began as an evil vampire mastermind, then after a failed attempt to kill Angel and take over, he was confined to a wheelchair during a long recovery, and finally he joined forces with Buffy to kill the evil Angelis. That was just in season 2. By the end of the series, Spike is one of the good guys, a true champion, often shirtless, and very funny. He popped over for the end of the Angel series and gave the star of the show (David Boreanaz) just the kick in the pants he needed.
If anyone else wanted to know what happened to this favorite from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, check out this article on SyFy Portal "James Marsters Makes Way To 'Torchwood'"
If anyone else wanted to know what happened to this favorite from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, check out this article on SyFy Portal "James Marsters Makes Way To 'Torchwood'"
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Dancing Ladies
After a lovely cafe lunch, just tables from a chatty Emily Mortimer (or her doppelganger) and friend, I decided to grab a few of life's essentials at our local grocery store.
There was something extremely depressing about the fluorescent lights and piped music. Every one of my fellow shoppers looked like slight variations on a type—each in their late 60s to 70s with the same gray-white hair, cut to the same bob, hovering around the frozen dinners and comparing garbage bags. Altogether, it was a creepy scene.
I had to find some peanut butter and my favorite instant breakfast drink before losing my will to live. But then something happened before my eyes. These dreary ladies transformed from shuffling shoppers into dancing boppers. Where was my camera?! Up and down every aisle, they were singing and dancing like nothing I'd ever seen. Not that they turned into the caste of Chicago but they were each performing in their own way, some quietly singing along and others shaking it in the aisles. The song? Oh the title of that song will always be a mystery, but I believe it was a major hit in 1960.
There was something extremely depressing about the fluorescent lights and piped music. Every one of my fellow shoppers looked like slight variations on a type—each in their late 60s to 70s with the same gray-white hair, cut to the same bob, hovering around the frozen dinners and comparing garbage bags. Altogether, it was a creepy scene.
I had to find some peanut butter and my favorite instant breakfast drink before losing my will to live. But then something happened before my eyes. These dreary ladies transformed from shuffling shoppers into dancing boppers. Where was my camera?! Up and down every aisle, they were singing and dancing like nothing I'd ever seen. Not that they turned into the caste of Chicago but they were each performing in their own way, some quietly singing along and others shaking it in the aisles. The song? Oh the title of that song will always be a mystery, but I believe it was a major hit in 1960.
Feeling Everyone's Pain and Pleasure
Did you know that some people may have an unstoppable physical reaction to seeing violence or touch of any kind? In a new study at the University College London, a group of individuals exhibited the rare ability to feel the physical sensations of another person- you touch his arm, she feels the sensation in the same part of her arm too. The condition is called mirror-touch synesthesia.
Synesthesia occurs when a person experiences an unusual combination of senses at the same time. The particular sensations are different in each case. Someone might experience a mixture of taste and shape *That steak was very prickly!* or sight and sound. Numbers, letters, or notes correspond to colors like this: 5, 8, 10, a, b. Unlike reported LSD experiences, the phenomenon isn't temporary and the synesthete is born with this genetic condition.
What makes this particular form of synesthesia even more interesting is the combination of empathy and touch. Our mirror neurons are thought to be active in humans and other animals when we experience empathy, this explains "mirror-touch synesthesia."
This Science Now article, "My Brain Feels Your Brain" summarizes the study in which several people had mirror-touch synesthesia.
"They had the individuals and members of a control group report where they felt a touch on their bodies while observing another person being touched. During the task, an actual touch was applied to their bodies as well--either at the same location as the person being observed or at a different location. The researchers found that mirror-touch synesthetes were quicker at detecting actual touch when it was applied to the same location as that of the person they were watching. They were also more likely than control subjects to report a synesthetic touch as a real touch."
Even I thought it was painful to watch the foot breaking scene in "Misery" but could you imagine what it might be like for some of these people? Do they lose their heads every time a Stephen King character slashes a throat? The subjects weren't given a special horror/gore movie test as far as I know. On the bright side, what if they feel the effects of a massage just by watching?
Synesthesia occurs when a person experiences an unusual combination of senses at the same time. The particular sensations are different in each case. Someone might experience a mixture of taste and shape *That steak was very prickly!* or sight and sound. Numbers, letters, or notes correspond to colors like this: 5, 8, 10, a, b. Unlike reported LSD experiences, the phenomenon isn't temporary and the synesthete is born with this genetic condition.
What makes this particular form of synesthesia even more interesting is the combination of empathy and touch. Our mirror neurons are thought to be active in humans and other animals when we experience empathy, this explains "mirror-touch synesthesia."
This Science Now article, "My Brain Feels Your Brain" summarizes the study in which several people had mirror-touch synesthesia.
"They had the individuals and members of a control group report where they felt a touch on their bodies while observing another person being touched. During the task, an actual touch was applied to their bodies as well--either at the same location as the person being observed or at a different location. The researchers found that mirror-touch synesthetes were quicker at detecting actual touch when it was applied to the same location as that of the person they were watching. They were also more likely than control subjects to report a synesthetic touch as a real touch."
Even I thought it was painful to watch the foot breaking scene in "Misery" but could you imagine what it might be like for some of these people? Do they lose their heads every time a Stephen King character slashes a throat? The subjects weren't given a special horror/gore movie test as far as I know. On the bright side, what if they feel the effects of a massage just by watching?
Monday, June 18, 2007
Xanadu on Broadway
A place. Where nobody dares to go. The love that we came to know. They called it Xanadu.... A million lights are dancing and there you are, a shooting star...Now we are here in Xanadu.
Have my campy dreams come true? I am crying animated tears of joy. Check out the website featuring Olivia Newton-John's title song.
Have my campy dreams come true? I am crying animated tears of joy. Check out the website featuring Olivia Newton-John's title song.
Insomnia
It finally happened. The big bad sleep disorder or syndrome or whatever called insomnia. I probably had a mild case. After all of these years of bad boyfriends, worries over grades, encounters with terrorists, and a sincere belief in ghosts did it finally happen to me?
At first I didn't believe that I was the type. There used to be a time when I looked forward to those few minutes before falling asleep when I could imagine any world or any situation to please myself. There was a few recurring fantasies about having superpowers and saving orphanages full of children. Sometimes I fulfilled my dress-up fantasies and imagined the 18th century court at Versailles. Then there were the typical pirates on the high seas scenarios where I convince the captain of the ship to let me take charge of the whole operation.
Then there are the dreams. I love to dream. I can remember some of my favorites up to 15 years ago. There is that one fascinating nightmare that I had as a four year old that I still can't shake where I was walking in a beautiful ballroom of some fancy hotel when WHAM! and explosion destroys the world around me, leaving shards of glass and twisted metal all around me. But even then, after waking from this horrifying apocalypse, I was never kept awake for too long. More sleep awaited me. A better dream. You can live out an entire alternate life within the nightly sleep cycle. I've been different races. In a few I lived as the other sex— and sometimes both at once. That was a very odd dream indeed.
For five days last week the sweetness of a full night's sleep eluded me. Each night it would start with a loud bang around 3.30-4.00 a.m. On night #1 I decided to scare myself with an overactive imagination. I scanned the room for the noise source. Looking at our closet I saw an impossibly large man standing in the dark. An intruder! He was going to kill me in my sleep but obviously froze up when I heard his clumsy entrance. But after a few moments and a bit more focus, I realized that it was just a mess of clothes dangling off hangers and onto the floor. I was safe, for the time being.
Then it happened again, each night for five nights last week and the bang and wallop of the crashing sounds outside also gave me a little clue. Oh yes, it was coming from my busy Brooklyn street. No real surprise there, I suppose. You can bet it is one of those garbage trucks. That, or a cement mixer. Oh why can't they work normal hours?
You may be thinking, "That is not insomnia, you foolish woman." But let me finish. Within moments I forget about the outside world and realize that I am not only awake but wide awake. This is an important distinction because when you are overtired, some kind of kick occurs inside of the brain and before you know it all of the worries of the day come flooding into the mind: must get renters' insurance; need to learn to drive like every other American; or why is it so hard to figure out the paperwork for my tiny retirement account? Those are only the first three upsetting thoughts among the dozen or so that can drive a person mad at 3.30 in the morning when nothing is to be done.
There will always be something to keep a person awake all night. Health fears, love fears, and general confusion about how to navigate our lives. THE MAN has made it very difficult indeed. But I now know the answer to insomnia of this sort.
My insomnia cure
Do not drink coffee after your supper. Make sure you finish that glass of wine at least 1.5 hours before bed. Turn on a fan or air conditioner to block out the noise and keep an extra pillow nearby in order to attach them to either side of your head if necessary. Most importantly, be sure to knock at least one item from your list of things-to-do during the day. (We finally got that insurance we needed. ) If all else fails, try to answer the following questions:
1. What are the three basic rock types?
2. What did you eat for lunch three days ago?
3. What is the difference between the summer solstice and spring equinox?
4. What is the birth order of your 3 best friends?
5. Which fantasy vacation do you find most appealing?
I guarantee that you will fall asleep within 20 minutes.
At first I didn't believe that I was the type. There used to be a time when I looked forward to those few minutes before falling asleep when I could imagine any world or any situation to please myself. There was a few recurring fantasies about having superpowers and saving orphanages full of children. Sometimes I fulfilled my dress-up fantasies and imagined the 18th century court at Versailles. Then there were the typical pirates on the high seas scenarios where I convince the captain of the ship to let me take charge of the whole operation.
Then there are the dreams. I love to dream. I can remember some of my favorites up to 15 years ago. There is that one fascinating nightmare that I had as a four year old that I still can't shake where I was walking in a beautiful ballroom of some fancy hotel when WHAM! and explosion destroys the world around me, leaving shards of glass and twisted metal all around me. But even then, after waking from this horrifying apocalypse, I was never kept awake for too long. More sleep awaited me. A better dream. You can live out an entire alternate life within the nightly sleep cycle. I've been different races. In a few I lived as the other sex— and sometimes both at once. That was a very odd dream indeed.
For five days last week the sweetness of a full night's sleep eluded me. Each night it would start with a loud bang around 3.30-4.00 a.m. On night #1 I decided to scare myself with an overactive imagination. I scanned the room for the noise source. Looking at our closet I saw an impossibly large man standing in the dark. An intruder! He was going to kill me in my sleep but obviously froze up when I heard his clumsy entrance. But after a few moments and a bit more focus, I realized that it was just a mess of clothes dangling off hangers and onto the floor. I was safe, for the time being.
Then it happened again, each night for five nights last week and the bang and wallop of the crashing sounds outside also gave me a little clue. Oh yes, it was coming from my busy Brooklyn street. No real surprise there, I suppose. You can bet it is one of those garbage trucks. That, or a cement mixer. Oh why can't they work normal hours?
You may be thinking, "That is not insomnia, you foolish woman." But let me finish. Within moments I forget about the outside world and realize that I am not only awake but wide awake. This is an important distinction because when you are overtired, some kind of kick occurs inside of the brain and before you know it all of the worries of the day come flooding into the mind: must get renters' insurance; need to learn to drive like every other American; or why is it so hard to figure out the paperwork for my tiny retirement account? Those are only the first three upsetting thoughts among the dozen or so that can drive a person mad at 3.30 in the morning when nothing is to be done.
There will always be something to keep a person awake all night. Health fears, love fears, and general confusion about how to navigate our lives. THE MAN has made it very difficult indeed. But I now know the answer to insomnia of this sort.
My insomnia cure
Do not drink coffee after your supper. Make sure you finish that glass of wine at least 1.5 hours before bed. Turn on a fan or air conditioner to block out the noise and keep an extra pillow nearby in order to attach them to either side of your head if necessary. Most importantly, be sure to knock at least one item from your list of things-to-do during the day. (We finally got that insurance we needed. ) If all else fails, try to answer the following questions:
1. What are the three basic rock types?
2. What did you eat for lunch three days ago?
3. What is the difference between the summer solstice and spring equinox?
4. What is the birth order of your 3 best friends?
5. Which fantasy vacation do you find most appealing?
I guarantee that you will fall asleep within 20 minutes.
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