FRESH MEAT

Diaspora is up and running - private, ad-free, user-run social network

2011-09-29T01:34:00.001-04:00

Fed up with Facebook? Ticked at Twitter? Diaspora* is up and running! | rabble.ca
Excerpt:

What's different about Diaspora*?

First of all, unlike Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and others, there is
no single central server system that stores all of your personal data,
logs what links you click on, or reads what you post both publicly and
privately so that they can serve up advertising content to you.

Anybody with the skills and the time on their hands can put up a Diaspora* "Pod" (server). All of the instructions for doing it are on the Diaspora* website.
You might not know how to do this yourself, but you might know some
folks who do. Or, maybe your union or an organization that you belong to
could put up a server.

A number of folks running Diaspora* pods have already blown the doors open to the public. Right now, I'm using a community-based site at Diasp.org and have begun inviting some of my Facebook friends to join me.

It doesn't matter what Pod server you are on, because they all talk to each other.

Diaspora*'s computer source code is free software. This means that
anyone who wants to, can modify it to enable Diaspora* to connect to
other social networking services or create apps for it.

The central idea is that Diaspora* is run by the users and for the users. You control who sees what.

Having said all of that, Diaspora* is still in the "alpha testing"
stage of development. So, right now the service can be on the buggy
side. But any software that's in the alpha testing phase of development
is going to be buggy. That's normal.

Having folks use it enables the Diaspora* development team to figure
out what still needs to be fixed and what additional features people
want.

You'll find the user interface quite uncluttered. There are no ads
aside from a donate request and an ad for Diaspora* T-shirts. There are
no announcements about who became friends with whom and those in charge
don't make suggestions about who you should friend.

You can separate your friends into "Aspects" (a feature Google+ and
now Facebook seems to be copying). There are several "default" Aspects
and you can create your own. When you create an Aspect you can decide
whether to make that list public or not. If you have an Aspect that you
call "shitlist" you'll want to make sure that you make that list
private!

You can use Diaspora* to post messages on both Facebook and Twitter,
however, for the time being you can't see posts from Facebook and
Twitter in your Diaspora* "Stream," but it's in the works.

On Diaspora*, if you want to download all of the personal data
you've stored on a Pod server to your own computer you just click a
button to download everything. Secondly, if you want to close your
account forever you can just click a button and you're done!

Diablo 3 - id creative director - ultimately doesn't care about gamers

2011-08-11T09:41:00.001-04:00

id creative director on Diablo 3′s lack of offline play: “In the end, it’s better for everybody” | PC Gamer

‘Always online’ DRM makes things a lot easier for game creators but ultimately, more frustrating for gamers.

Read the link for the full story.

Breakthrough in cancer research

2011-08-11T00:59:00.001-04:00

‘Breakthrough’ method rids patients of advanced cancer - Healthzone.ca
Excerpt:

Kalos explains that the technique works much like a vaccine, training
the immune system to target cancer cells, just as inoculations coax it
to fight off viruses.

To do this, researchers isolated
immunological T-cells from the blood of the three leukemia patients and
genetically reprogrammed them using a virus vector that inserted a new
gene into their DNA.

This gene coaxed the T-cells to
create an antibody — known as chimeric antigen receptor or CAR — that
would specifically target structures on the surface of cancer cells.

The newly armed T-cells were then
injected back into the respective patients where they sought out and
bound themselves to the cancer cells and killed them.

More importantly, however, the
reprogrammed hunters caused other T-cells to multiply each time they
attacked, creating more killers with each slain cancer cell.

“Within three weeks the tumours had
been blown away, in a way that was much more violent than we ever
expected,” Dr. Carl June, a senior study author, said in a statement.

“In addition to an extensive capacity
for self-replication the infused T-cells are serial killers. On average
each infused T-cell led to the killing of thousands of tumour cells,”
said June, a University of Pennsylvania pathologist.

It’s estimated the scant number of
T-cells originally injected into the patients killed more than two
pounds of tumour cells in each of the men, whose blood and bone marrow
were replete with cancer.

After a year, microscopic analysis of their blood could find no trace of cancerous cells, Kalos says.

“I am still trying to grasp the
enormity of what I am part of and of what the results will mean to
countless others with (leukemia) or other forms of cancer,” one of the
patients, none of whom were named, said in a written statement.

Kalos says it appears that, like a
vaccine, the T-cells also left the patients with a lingering protection,
which would reactivate the immunological attack if cancer returned.

“If leukemia does come back, those T-cells (appear to be) armed and ready to eliminate it,” he said.

Studies show rich people are more selfish and less caring

2011-08-10T16:59:00.000-04:00

The rich are different — and not in a good way, studies suggest - Health - Behavior - msnbc.com
Is anyone surprised by this?
Read the link for the details.

Sarcasm boosts creativity in the workplace

2011-08-04T19:28:00.001-04:00

Sarcasm boosts creativity at the office (like that’s gonna happen) - thestar.com

While both anger and sarcasm improved an observer’s attention to
detail, focus and speed in solving simple analytic problems, being
exposed to anger limited their ability to deal with more complex
problems that involved mental creativity, the team found. Sarcasm on the
other hand boosted their creative juices.

“When they were exposed to anger, it created ‘prevention motivation,’
or the motivation to avoid unpleasant situations or pain,”
Miron-Spektor told the Star. “It demonstrated that if you are
exposed to your boss yelling at your colleague, you will try to avoid
similar situations by working harder.”

Prevention motivation forces the brain to narrow the scope of its
attention, focusing only on relevant information and exclude unrelated
and distracting issues, according to the paper.

Because of its humorous tone, sarcasm elicits less fear in listeners
while stimulating the brain by forcing it to decipher the literal
meaning of what the speaker is saying along with the underlying
hostility of the message.

“I would like to stress that (the positive creative result) is
compared to anger. It is not that sarcasm is a good thing, period. It is
good compared to anger, but too much sarcasm and can be problematic,”
Miron-Spektor told the Star.

Measles and Mumps rear their ugly heads in Ontario

2011-08-04T19:15:00.001-04:00

Doctors warn that measles, mumps going around - Healthzone.ca
I'm guessing that this is at least in part thanks to the ignorance spread by the anti-vaxxers.
If you aren't already immune, please get your shots to help protect yourself, your friends and family, and the public in general.

Excerpt:
If in doubt of your immunization status, get another needle, King advised. A blood test will also tell you if you’re protected.

“There is never any harm in receiving another dose of measles, mumps
and rubella vaccine if you simply do not know,” King said. Extra doses
are generally not considered harmful, she said.

Later this year the province is rolling out an integrated infectious
disease and immunization registry, called Panorama, which will compile
existing data and create a vaccination database accessible by health
professionals and, one day, the public. The project is expected to take
years, and eventually link to other provincial systems.

King called Panorama, related to the broader eHealth program, a
“really important advancement” in public health and emergency
preparedness.

To be fully vaccinated requires two doses of the measles, mumps and
rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is publicly funded and delivered for free
to Ontario residents. The province provides 14 vaccines against 17
illnesses. Those born before 1970 probably became immune to those
illnesses by exposure.

Measles is highly contagious, spread by contact, coughing and
sneezing. Symptoms of measles include rash, high fever and watery eyes.

Mumps, a viral infection of the salivary glands, is rare. Symptoms of
the mumps include swelling and pain in the side of the jaw, fever,
headache, fatigue, and loss of appetite.

To find more information on publicly available vaccines, visit the health ministry’s fact sheet online.

Diablo 3 beta hands on

2011-08-03T11:48:00.001-04:00

Diablo 3 beta hands on | PC Gamer
The game looks great, but, no single player mode without an on-line connection! C'mon Blizzard, that sucks!

CIUT news: Brian Burchell fired Oct. 2010

2011-08-02T16:54:00.001-04:00

CIUT manager axed | theVARSITY.ca
More corruption at CIUT.

CIUT, U of T's community radio station at St. George campus, has fired its manager over an unspecified issue.

The station's Board of Directors voted to cancel then-station manager
Brian Burchell's contract last Monday. Ken Stowar is now the station
manager in addition to his previous role as program director.

“We've asked Ken Stowar to serve at least until the annual general
membership meeting in March,” said Gage Averill, chair of CIUT's Board
of Directors.

Stowar said Averill asked him about accepting the position on September 27.

“[Averill] asked if I would consider stepping in as the acting station manager, and I said yes.”

Stowar added that Burchell was dropped because of an audit issue.

“[Burchell was] requested to work in cooperation with internal audits
of the University of Toronto and as to what that is about specifically,
I really have no idea,” said Stowar. “I was just asked to step in and
here's why.”

U of T's spokesperson said the university is unable to give any
additional information. Averill said he could not specify what exactly
led to the change, but explained it had to do with another company
managed by Burchell.

“We had a process of review over the last few months and decided to
terminate the contract with a company that Brian Burchell runs that had
management contracts for CIUT,” said Averill.

Burchell is publisher of Gleaner Community Press. Averill said he
wasn't sure if this is the company in question, and that it was
registered as a set of digits followed by "Ontario Inc."

Burchell did not respond to requests for comment. CIUT completed its week-long fall membership drive yesterday.

Comments

If you dig a bit further, I'm sure you'll
find that Mr.Burchell has committed a number of crimes against his
listenership. Let's hope he doesn't get away with it.- Joseph A. Dec 1, 2010 at 04:50 PM

Stowar isn't any better than Burchell. He's
fired almost all the paid staff in order to replace them with his own
cronies and has cut back on original spoken word by killing Take 5.
Stowar is unpopular with volunteers and is making the same mistakes that
led to the divisions at CKLN. Let's hope the Board hires someone else
as station manager or CIUT's days are numbered. - Susan F. Fe 13, 2011 at 02:46 AM

Brain News - Are we getting stupider, or is our brain becoming more efficient?

2011-07-22T17:09:00.001-04:00

The Archaeology News Network: Are we becoming more stupid? Human brain has been shrinking for the last 20,000 years

Bacon Roses!

2011-07-18T11:35:00.001-04:00

Bacon Roses
Instructions on how to make bacon roses

Geologists discover lost world beneath the North Sea

2011-07-14T03:16:00.000-04:00

Geologists discover mysterious ‘lost world’ beneath the North Sea - thestar.com

About 55 million years ago, a massive chunk of land rose up from the
floor of the North Sea, giving birth to a wild and beautiful river
valley surrounded by steep mountains.

For a million years, this verdant landscape — about 200 kilometres
north of Scotland — was home to countless plant and wildlife species and
rushing, crystal clear rivers and streams.

Then, as quickly as it appeared, it sank back beneath the waves of the ocean, never to be seen again.

Until now.

...

Anti-Vaccination Cranks - Lies & Deceit

2011-06-29T11:23:00.001-04:00

Anti-Vaccination Cranks – Lies & Deceit « Dead Wild Roses
Watch this video exposing quacks. This type of fraud against the public, resulting in many preventable deaths, should be a criminal offence.

Sports is Tribalism

2011-06-21T16:54:00.001-04:00

Bill Longstaff: Sports—tribalism in full cry
Excerpt:
The now infamous Vancouver hockey riot has done a pretty good job of
smearing the city's reputation around the globe. Shocking as it was, it
wasn't entirely surprising. Rioting seems to be part and parcel of
professional team sports. The reason, of course, is that team sports are
a tribal phenomenon and tribalism has a close relationship to violence.

When people go to a music concert, a movie, the ballet, whatever, they
go principally to appreciate the performance—the art and the skill. But
when they go to a sports match they go principally to see our guys beat
their guys, to see our tribe triumph over theirs.

If you go to a concert and the performers sing out of tune or if at a
ballet the dancers trip over each other, you are unhappy. You may want
your money back. If, on the other hand, they sing or dance beautifully,
you are delighted, you got your money's worth. You don't much care one
way or the other whether the

performers are from your home town or from
Beijing. The performance is the thing.

But
if you go to a sports match and it's badly played but your team wins,
you are nonetheless ecstatic. On the other hand, if the game is
brilliantly played but your team loses, you are depressed. The tribe is
the thing.

...
Read the full post at the link

The Hobbit - movie news

2011-06-20T14:57:00.001-04:00

‘Hobbit’ alert: Evangeline Lilly joins the cast of the films - thestar.com
Evangeline Lily will play a wood elf named Tauriel.
Barry Humphries will play the Goblin King.
Luke Evans will play Bard, and Benedict Cumberbatch will be Smaug.
Martin Freeman will play Bilbo.
The movie will be release in 2 parts: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again. They are to be released in 2012 and 2013.

Smokers in the North, Drinkers in the Southwest

2011-06-14T10:32:00.001-04:00

Drinking and marijuana use on the rise in Ontario: Survey - Healthzone.ca

A daily beer or cocktail could be turning into a habit for more
people in Ontario and marijuana use is also growing, according to a new
survey.

The survey released today by the Centre for Addiction and Mental
Health suggests the proportion of adults reporting daily drinking
increased from 5.3 per cent in 2002 to more than nine per cent in 2009.

Tobacco smoking is down slightly, but the use of cannabis, or
marijuana, has increased from 8.7 per cent in 1996 to 13.3 per cent in
2009.

Read the link for the whole story

What other moms what you to know about giving birth

2011-06-10T15:29:00.001-04:00

What other moms want you to know about giving birth - Parentcentral.ca
A list of important factors in being pregnant, giving birth, and important information for partners too.

When bouncy castles go bad

2011-06-10T15:24:00.001-04:00

Runaway bouncy castles highlight safety concerns - Parentcentral.ca

At least 10 inflatables around the country have been toppled by winds or collapsed under too much weight in the past two months, injuring more than 40 people, according to RideAccidents.com, a website that tracks amusement ride accidents.

'Storm' in a Tea Cup Raises Larger Concerns

2011-06-04T00:05:00.002-04:00

'Storm' in a Tea Cup Raises Larger Concerns | The Mark
The Torontotonians raising a "genderless" child should consider the ethics of experimenting on kids.

by Margaret Somerville (Director of the Centre for Medicine, Ethics, and Law, McGill University)

The following is the full article (highlighting is mine) as it was published in the Ottawa Citizen.

With same-sex marriage, we saw the advent of arguments for
“genderless parenting” – the idea that all a child needs is love, and
that it’s irrelevant whether the loving persons are male or female. Now
we have “genderless kids.”
Kathy Witterick and David Stocker, the parents of five-year-old Jazz,
two-year-old Kio, and three-month old Storm, want to rear and love each
of their children not as a daughter or son, not as a girl or a boy, but
just as a child.

Now, at one level, that’s not a bad thing. It’s a statement of
unconditional love for one’s child simply because he or she is one’s
child, and it stands as a small counter-statement to the abomination of
the millions of missing girls in India and China, where daughters are
aborted or killed as infants because the parents want a son instead.

But, as the Supreme Court of Canada, citing the United States Supreme
Court, once said, in distinguishing what parents were free to decide
with respect to their own medical treatment as compared with what they
could decide for their children, “Parents may be free to become martyrs
themselves. But it does not follow they are free, in identical
circumstances, to make martyrs of their children.”

So, are Witterick and Stocker making martyrs of their children? Is
their conduct with respect to their children unethical? And, if it is,
does society have any obligation to step in? These are difficult
questions to answer, and ones that require us to consider some
definitions and facts.

First, a person’s sex is a matter of biology: Women have two X
sex chromosomes, and men have one X and one Y. (There are other
combinations, such as XXY or XO, but these are not the norm, and the
people who have them are usually infertile).

Gender, on the other hand, is the cultural expression of male and female. For most people, gender parallels their biological sex.

Media reports quote Witterick and Stocker as wanting their children
to be “gender creative.” In trying to achieve this goal, they allow the
two older boys “to make their own choices” with respect to clothing and
hairstyles (they often wear pink feather boas, dresses, and braids). As a
result, the boys are often mistaken for girls, and other children do
not want to play with “that girl-boy.”

The sex of the baby, Storm, has not been disclosed to anyone other
than the midwives who delivered it, a close family friend, the father,
and the two siblings, who have been told to keep it secret (which also
raises ethical issues). They refer to the baby as “Z,” not he or she.
Even the grandparents don’t know Storm’s sex.

To analyze this situation, ethically and legally, the basic
presumption from which we start is that the parents have a right to make
decisions concerning their children, and have obligations to them in
doing so. That right can be displaced, however, when the parents’
conduct constitutes neglect or abuse. My guess is that most people would
be very reluctant to argue that that’s the case here, but, at the same
time, many believe that these children are going to have a difficult
path in life as a result of the nature of their upbringing. So what do
we need to consider in trying to gain some insights as to whether the
parents’ present approach is acceptable?

The parents seem to believe that children “can make choices to be
whoever they want to be,” including regarding their gender, and they are
giving them the opportunity to do this. Are the parents, however,
conducting a social experiment on their children, or – as it’s been
described – “a social experiment of nurture”? If so, the principles
governing experimentation should be especially stringent when children
are the subjects, because children are classified as “vulnerable
persons.” Ethics requires that, when there is a conflict that prevents
us from honouring everyone’s rights or claims, we must decide in a way
that gives a preference to the most vulnerable people.

As with all experimentation, we can only find out later what harm may
result, but we have obligations, at the very least, to avoid reasonably
foreseeable harm. In this regard, we might learn from past unethical
experimentation. Sexologist and psychologist Dr. John Money's experiment on David Reimer
is a tragic example. In the infamous case, Reimer was sexually
reassigned after a botched circumcision destroyed his penis. Money
reported the reassignment as successful, and as evidence that gender
identity is primarily learned. However, later research showed that
Reimer never identified as female, and he began living as male at age
15. He lived a tormented life and eventually committed suicide.

I suggest that we might also gain insights from asking: “Are the
parents doing this for the kids, as they claim, or are they doing it for
themselves?” My guess is that they would say – and probably believe –
they’re doing it for the kids, but that their own ideological and
political beliefs are the main motivation. When the adults’ beliefs
about such things are concordant with the “best interests” of the
children, there is no problem – but when they clash, there is. The
conflict situation can be compared to that of a physician asking a
patient to participate in a medical experiment. Long ago, as a
protective measure, we started to teach patients to ask doctors who
approached them to be research subjects: “Are you doing this for me,
doctor, or am I doing it for you?” These kids need someone to ask their
parents that question for them.

It merits noting that there is an ethical difference between parents
having children who are non-conformist in some ways, and parents
intentionally making their children non-conformist, as in this case. As
well, parents are still making a choice when they choose not to choose for their children.

Witterick and Stocker’s strong emphasis on the idea of choice, and on
giving their children choice, even at such a young age, is also
noteworthy. In many ways, it seems naïve. It is a rejection of the
belief that there is a natural reality, including with respect to our
own selves, with which we need to live in harmony and balance. Much of
what makes us who we are as individuals, and what matters to us as human
beings, is not open to choice. The new field of epigenetics
is showing us, from one scientific perspective, just how complex the
interaction of nature and nurture is in forming who we are and who we
become.

There is also arrogance in ignoring millennia-worth of human wisdom
when it comes to what we need in order to become as fully actualized as
we can. Before the “choice armies” come after me, let me quickly add
that this does not mean that we must not change or continue to evolve
socially. Instead, it means that, in seeking to do good, we must be
careful that we do not do serious harm to individuals or society.

Finally, in the context of some other work I’m involved in from time
to time, it’s interesting to note that the most socially liberal parents
(such as Storm’s parents) and the most socially conservative ones (such
as, for example, those who want strict obedience from their children
and are willing to use corporal punishment to get it) both want the
state to keep its nose out of family issues. (Strange bedfellows!) But
society always has residual obligations to protect its children.

This article originally appeared in the Ottawa Citizen.

Best Video Stores in Toronto

2011-06-01T15:51:00.001-04:00

The Best Video Stores in Toronto
Great list of video stores, mainly downtown Toronto.
Read the link for details

Basic list:
Queen Video - Queen St West of Spadina, and Bloor East of Bathurst
The Film Buff - in Leslieville and Roncesvalles Village
Suspect Video - behind Honest Ed's - Bloor and Bathurst
Black Dog Video - Queen & Ossington
Eyesore Cinema - Above Rotate This, on Queen St, East of Trinity Bellwoods Park.
7-24 Movies a& More - Church & Wellesley, and in Parkdale
Bay Street Video - Bay & Bloor
Videoflicks - Avenue Rd. N. of Lawrence
Big Daddy's DVD Shop - Dundas W. in The Junction

A risky social experiment

2011-05-28T03:25:00.007-04:00

Dr. Harold Koplewicz: Bringing Up Baby Without Gender: A Risky Social Experiment?
A Toronto couple are attempting to raise their children free from initial gender identity. They are keeping Storm's gender a secret from most people. And, their 5 year old boy, Jazz, wears his hair in pigtails and sometimes wears a dress and is schooled at home because he fears (and rightly so) that he will be teased by other children. So, the parents will keep their gender-confused children at home, cutting them off from the vital education of socializing with peers.

I think most of us agree that it is not good for parents to force their children to be who they don't want to be. That is one extreme. The issue here is that the parents are going to the other extreme and creating a vacuum. They are removing the kids from any gender reference points they would have if they were going to school/socializing with their peers (they are removing the kids from an environment that would help the kids make an informed decision - kids, we want you to make up your own minds, but
we are going to put you in a bubble so you won't be able to research via experience, environment and society to make an informed decision), AND they are making the kids think about their gender MORE than normal by trying to hide the gender from everyone (thus making everyone, including the kids, focus on their gender).

It might turn out okay in the end, it might not. But the potential for this to cause the kids undue stress and lasting difficulties in life is definitely there.

This story has pretty much gone viral - starting out as an interview piece in the Toronto Star, and now spreading around the globe. Here is a cartoon about it from The Torontoist.
Here is the latest commentary on it from Dr. Harold Koplewicz at the Huffington Post.

Excerpts:

Being secretive about a child's gender seems rather antithetical to
this necessary process of developing an identity. Witterick and Stocker
seem to be raising their three children in a kind of bubble by creating
an expectation-free zone, which may be great for experimentation but
doesn't help them develop the strength and confidence to be comfortable
in the world inhabited by other children and adults.

Indeed, their oldest boy, Jazz, who at 5 is often mistaken for a girl

because of his penchant for wearing his hair in braids and sometimes
donning a dress, apparently elected not to start school last year,
though he is eligible, for fear of being teased. "People -- children and
adults -- would immediately react with Jazz over his gender," Witterick
tells Poisson. "That's mostly why he doesn't want to go to school."

I can't help thinking of the more sensible approach another mom I know took when her young son asked her, "If I wear this pink thing to school, will people make fun of me?" Her answer: "Yup. I don't know why, but yes." This is the truth. He needed that information to decide what he wanted to do. Learning to get along with other kids is one of the tasks of growing up. Keeping them in the nest indefinitely, with what Witterick and Stocker call their home "unschooling," isn't going to help them learn to connect with other kids and navigate social universes. Teaching them that they are only safe -- understood, accepted -- at home is not a very character-building message....

The pioneering (if not welcome) research of Judith Rich Harris suggests
that peers are far more influential in socialization than parents are.
What parents can do is guide their children towards peers they think
will do a good job helping their kids craft their own identity -- which
does not appear to be happening yet in this household.
...

UPDATES
Here is the video of the interview on NBC's Today show with the reporter Jayme Poisson, and with Dr. Harold Koplewicz (see above) of The Child Mind institute.
Some interesting points from it:

Poisson: [the older boys] "they have been encouraged to be creative with their gender."
To me, this would imply that there is direction here from the parents in this regard - direction to the children to figure out gender on their own.

Dr. Koplewicz: "what we don't want to do is confuse a child and keep secrets. I think one of the worst parts of this story though, is that the 2 year old and 5 year old have to hold onto this secret."
...
"The thing that is disturbing to me here is, that while they seem like well-meaning people, it's misguided. Because, frankly, you can't deny, you know, a child's sexuality or gender, and what we want to do as parents is be more than just passive, we also want to offer some guidance."

And, finally, what my friend Angel said about this issue:
I think they are sowing the opposite of what they want to reap. Their eldest son is more gender conscious not less, because he has to address the issue every time he meets someone.

American: The Bill Hicks Story trailer

2011-05-27T19:40:00.001-04:00

YouTube - Bill Hicks - AMERICAN: The Bill Hicks Story Official Trailer - redband
Watch the trailer, see the movie

People of Walmart Song

2011-05-27T11:29:00.001-04:00

People Of Walmart Song Video
Watch the video.
Be Afraid.

Top 10 New Species

2011-05-26T10:35:00.000-04:00

Top 10 New Species | Care2 Healthy & Green Living

Tourette's may be linked to histamine levels

2011-05-25T12:56:00.000-04:00

Treating Tourette's: Scientific American
Excerpts:
...
Tourette’s syndrome is most pronounced in children. The physical and
vocal tics, which can alienate kids from peers, are difficult to treat.
First-line drugs are limited in their efficacy, whereas more effective
antipsychotics have many potential long-term side effects, including
weight gain and movement disorders. Investigators may be moving closer
to a new treatment option involving drugs that already exist.

Last year researchers identified a new gene mutation associated with
the disorder. Known mutations have only explained a small number of
Tourette’s cases, so the investigators, led by Matthew State,
co-director of the Yale Neurogenetics Program, studied a rare family in
which the father and his eight children all had Tourette’s. In these
family members, the gene involved in the production of histamine in the
brain was shorter than normal, generating lower levels of the compound,
which is involved in inflammatory response. State believes these lower
levels can cause tics, and he is looking for this and further
histamine-related mutations in other people with Tourette’s.

Now scientists have found parallels between this family and
histamine-deficient mice, which furthers the connection to Tourette’s.
Most individuals with Tourette’s have low prepulse inhibition, meaning
that they are more easily startled or distracted than the average
person, says Christopher Pittenger, director of the Yale OCD Research
Clinic. In May he was to present new data to the Society of Biological
Psychiatry that both this family and mice missing the histamine gene had
low prepulse inhibition and tics. Other experiments have shown that
histamine-boosting drugs decrease ticlike behaviors in mice.

...
Drugs that increase histamine are already being tested to treat other
neurological conditions, as well as attention-deficit hyperactivity
disorder, which is often found in people with Tourette’s.

Rapture Day - May 21, 2011

2011-05-19T17:56:00.001-04:00

2011 end times prediction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What's it all about?

The 2011 end times prediction made by Christian radio host Harold Camping states that the Rapture (in premillennial theology, the taking up into heaven of God's elect people) will take place on May 21, 2011^[1]^[2] at 6 P.M. local time (the rapture will sweep the globe time zone by time zone) ^[3] and that the end of the world as we know it will take place five months later on October 21, 2011.^[4] Camping, president of the Family Radio Christian network, claims the Bible as his source and says May 21 will be the date of the Rapture and the day of judgment "beyond the shadow of a doubt".^[5] His followers claim that around 200 million people (approximately 3% of the world's population) will be raptured.^[6]

Camping's predictions have not been embraced by most other Christian groups;^[7] some have explicitly rejected them.^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11] An interview with a group of church leaders noted that all of them have scheduled services as usual for Sunday, May 22.^[12] Camping previously claimed that the world would end in September 1994.

...

Atheists Offer Post-Rapture Services

A group of atheists in Seattle have begun a funding campaign for
people who will be left behind, and a website offers to deliver the mail
of Christians after they are taken to heaven to their non-believer
friends.

“Rapture Relief
Fund” was created just in case Family Radio prognostication is correct,
and if not, Seattle Atheists plan on donating its proceeds to Camp
Quest West, a camp for children from non-religious families.

How to look Punk

2011-05-19T17:46:00.001-04:00

http://www.kompost.ru/files/file53145479.pdf

The Cult of Apple - It IS a religion (not a computer company)

2011-05-19T16:50:00.001-04:00

Apple causes ‘religious’ reaction in brains of fans, say neuroscientists

Excerpt:

In a recently screened BBC documentary, UK
neuroscientists suggested that the brains of Apple devotees are
stimulated by Apple imagery in the same way that the brains of religious
people are stimulated by religious imagery.

People have
often talked about “the cult of Apple”, and if a recent BBC TV
documentary is to be believed, there could be something in it.

The program, Secrets of the Superbrands,
looks at why technology megabrands such as Apple, Facebook and Twitter
have become so popular and such a big part of many people’s lives.

In
the first episode, presenter Alex Riley decided to take a look at
Apple. He wanted to discover what it is about the company that makes
people so emotional. Footage of the opening of the Cupertino company’s
Covent Garden store in central London last year showed hordes of Apple
devotees lining up outside overnight, while the staff whipped up
customers (and themselves) into something of an evangelical frenzy. This
religious-like fervour got Riley thinking – he decided to take a closer
look at the inside of the head of an Apple fanatic to see what on earth
was going on in there.

Click the top link to read the rest.

Stephen Hawking interview with The Guardian

2011-05-16T11:28:00.001-04:00

Stephen Hawking: 'There is no heaven; it's a fairy story' | Science | The Guardian

Meth Lab busted at 165 Bathurst St., Toronto

2011-05-12T11:07:00.000-04:00

Police bust suspected drug lab on Bathurst near Queen - CityNews
Late Tuesday night, early morning Wednesday May 11th, police responded to complaints of a domestic dispute. When the police kicked down a fifth-floor door, they found a man, with a bloody nose and face, a woman, and a small lab. The lab appears to have been for small scale meth production and possibly also for GHB (date rape drug).
Fire crews were also called to the scene in case of fire from the lab.
There was no fire. The man and woman are in custody.

Other news reports on this:
http://torontoist.com/2011/05/scene_explosion_at_queen_and_bathurst.php
http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/130532--police-bust-suspected-drug-lab-on-bathurst-near-queen
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/05/11/police-bust-downtown-drug-lab
http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/article/989799--police-investigate-suspected-drug-lab-on-bathurst-st?bn=1

Drinkable vaccines for babies coming to Ontario

2011-05-05T14:33:00.001-04:00

Drinkable vaccine for babies among changes saving families up to $350 - Parentcentral.ca

Ontario newborns will soon be able to receive a new, drinkable vaccine to protect them from diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration.

Nearly 140,000 infants will benefit from the oral rotavirus
vaccine, the Liberal government says. They are set to announce a number
of changes to its publicly funded immunization program this morning.

Ontario is the first jurisdiction in Canada to cover the oral rotavirus vaccine, according to Health Minister Deb Matthews.

Beginning this August, the government will offer two new vaccines —
one for rotavirus and the other a combined chicken pox and
measles-mumps-rubella vaccine known as MMRV.

The government says the vaccine change will save families up to $350 per person.

Also this August, Ontario will cover a second childhood dose of the
varicella (chicken pox) vaccine to enhance protection and they’ll pay
for a lifetime dose of the pertussis, or whooping cough vaccine.

“Immunization is one of the most effective ways to protect yourself
and your family,” said Dr. Arlene King, Ontario’s chief medical officer
of health in a release.

Why Intelligent People Use More Drugs

2011-05-04T21:42:00.001-04:00

Dangerous Minds | Why Intelligent People Use More Drugs
Excerpt:
Consistent with the prediction of the Hypothesis,
the analysis of the National Child Development Study shows that more
intelligent children in the United Kingdom are more likely to grow up to
consume psychoactive drugs than less intelligent children. Net of sex,
religion, religiosity, marital status, number of children, education,
earnings, depression, satisfaction with life, social class at birth,
mother’s education, and father’s education, British children who are
more intelligent before the age of 16 are more likely to consume
psychoactive drugs at age 42 than less intelligent children.

Gullibility may be early sign of dementia

2011-04-16T20:58:00.001-04:00

Gullibility may be early sign of dementia - Boing Boing
This makes sense

How to piss in public - tips for guys

2011-04-14T20:34:00.001-04:00

YouTube - HOW TO PISS IN PUBLIC (from offthewall.tv)

Something Creepy video

2011-04-14T11:36:00.001-04:00

Something Creepy (vid) | GeekFill
Watch in the right state of mind for extra fun.

Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern coming to the big screen

2011-04-14T10:13:00.001-04:00

Watchmen writer adapting Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern to film

Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern book series has garnered generations of fans. Now it's about to be translated for the screen by the screenwriter for Watchmen and X2, David Hayter.

According to Deadline,
producer Steve Hoban has been itching to make a Pern film forever. And
now David Hayter has been hired to write the script based on Dragonflight, the first book in McCaffrey's 22-book series.

I wasn't too impressed with The Watchmen movie. But I can't see how they can make Dragonflight dull. Here's hoping they do a good job on this.

The Sofa Eater

2011-04-12T01:28:00.003-04:00

Comfort food: The woman who can't stop eating sofas | Mail Online

7 Memes that went viral before the Internet existed

2011-04-12T01:28:00.001-04:00

7 Memes That Went Viral Before The Internet Existed | Cracked.com

Fake Science blog - fun for the whole family!

2011-04-12T00:26:00.001-04:00

Fake Science

Eye magazine changing its name and direction

2011-04-11T14:04:00.002-04:00

Toronto can say bye to Eye, it’s changing to The Grid | Marketing Magazine
Eye've got a bad feeling about this...

The new publisher and editor-in-chief, who reports directly to Star Media Group president and Toronto Star publisher John Cruickshank, used to be the editor of the Globe & Mail's Report on Business magazine (see link here).

Excerpt from the main link above:

The new handle is not some sort of Tron reference, he said.
“It’s actually more descriptive than anything. If you look at a map of
the city and take out the background and just emphasize all the
roadways—North, South, East and West—it looks like a piece of graph
paper. So that notion of looking at the city from a street level and a
neighbourhood level is very much the direction we’re going editorially,”
said Turnbull, who stepped into his role at the Torstar-owned Eye seven months ago.

The name change is part of a move in a radically different direction for the publication, he continued.

Rather than remain an alternative newsweekly heavy in arts, entertainment and listings, The Grid will essentially be a city magazine for people in their 20s and 30s. “So a younger, hipper, more provocative version of Toronto Life in a weekly guise,” he said.

“We’re pretty excited about it because there’s never been a weekly
city magazine for young people in Toronto and we think there’s a real
appetite for it,” said Turnbull. He added that Torstar has put a lot of
resources into the launch.

“There really hasn’t been a big print and online media brand launch in this town for a long, long time. Dose was probably the last thing that would even approach this scale.”

Dose magazine info

And, more on this here:
People In Print: Changes at Eye Weekly and Chatelaine

Pope charged with crimes against humantiy in World Court

2011-04-09T21:50:00.001-04:00

Pope charged with crimes against humanity in World Court - Los Angeles atheism | Examiner.com
Excerpt:
hey claim the Pope “is responsible for the preservation and
leadership of a worldwide totalitarian regime of coercion which
subjugates its members with terrifying and health-endangering threats”.

They allege he is also responsible for “the adherence to a
fatal forbiddance of the use of condoms, even when the danger of
HIV-Aids infection exists” and for “the establishment and maintenance of
a worldwide system of cover-up of the sexual crimes committed by
Catholic priests and their preferential treatment, which aids and abets
ever new crimes”.

They claim the Catholic Church “acquires its members through a compulsory act, namely, through the baptism of infants
that do not yet have a will of their own”. This act was “irrevocable”
and is buttressed by threats of excommunication and the fires of hell.

It was “a grave impairment of the personal freedom of
development and of a person’s emotional and mental integrity”. The Pope
was “responsible for its preservation and enforcement and, as Prefect of
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of his Church, he was
jointly responsible” with Pope John Paul II.

Catholics “threatened by HIV-AIDS . . . are faced with a
terrible alternative: If they protect themselves with condoms during
sexual intercourse, they become grave sinners; if they do not protect
themselves out of fear of the punishment of sin threatened by the
church, they become candidates for death.”

There was also “strong suspicion that Dr Joseph Ratzinger, as
prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of his church
and as Pope, has up to the present day systematically covered up the
sexual abuse of children and youths and protected the perpetrators,
thereby aiding and abetting further sexual violence toward young people”.

Calls for the Pope to be tried for crimes against humanity have been issued many times before. Only last April,
Geoffrey Robinson, a United Nations jurist from the UK, called for an
international criminal investigation of Benedict by the UN World
Criminal Court over the cover-up of crimes by pedophile priests, but
nothing came of it. That may not be the case this time because once
charges are filed, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
must investigate them.

Silver Snail comic shop may move to the Annex in 2012

2011-04-09T10:26:00.001-04:00

The Silver Snail: Comics icon sold, to move - thestar.com
The owner of the Silver Snail will be sold to to the manager and it will continue. But, it may be moving in in 2012 to the Annex.
Read the link for the details.

F**k Yoga button gets woman kicked off public transit

2011-04-07T01:44:00.000-04:00

Rights group defends woman’s right to take profane position on yoga - The Globe and Mail

Cool treehouse

2011-04-02T13:01:00.001-04:00

Beyond Reason: God's treehouse

Interactive 3D model of Solar System Planets and Night Sky

2011-04-02T01:17:00.001-04:00

Interactive 3D model of Solar System Planets and Night Sky - StumbleUpon
Go. See. Play.

People with Tourettes syndrome have tremendous cognitive motor control

2011-03-25T03:31:00.001-04:00

People with Tourettes syndrome have tremendous cognitive motor control
Excerpt:

The motor outputs of children with Tourettes syndrome are under
greater cognitive control. You might view this as their being less
likely to respond without thinking, or as being less reflexive.

This helps explain why some people may have many tics as children,
but as adults have very few. Over time, their brains have developed ways
to control these tics. Jackson points out that this may mean people
with Tourettes need mental exercises rather than brain surgery or drugs,
because their brains will naturally develop compensatory mechanisms.

Fringe renewed for Season 4!

2011-03-25T03:27:00.001-04:00

Fringe has been renewed for a fourth season

Duke Nukem Forever - to ship a month later

2011-03-24T19:51:00.000-04:00

Maximum PC | Duke Nukem Forever Delayed Until June, Gearbox Maintains Sense of Humor
It was actually schedule to come out in May of this year, now delayed one month later.
:)
Watch the video at the link for the full announcement.

Owsley, icon of LSD, dies in Australia

2011-03-13T19:27:00.001-04:00

KSFR: Psychedelic icon Owsley Stanley dies in Australia (2011-03-13)
Thank you, man.

Israeli Apartheid Week.

2011-03-11T13:41:00.001-05:00

Israeli ~~Apartheid~~ Week: I give up - Dawg's Blawg (Blog)
Apartheid is a totally appropriate term. But, as one commenter suggested, "slow genocide" actually captures what is happening more directly.

As Arab world marches towards freedom, Israel would be wise to join them

2011-02-23T23:58:00.001-05:00

Straight Goods - The genie is out of the bottle - As Arab world marches towards freedom, Israel would be wise to join them.
Excerpt from article by Uri Avnery (Uri Avnery is a peace activist, journalist, and writer. He was a founding
member of Gush Shalom (peace bloc), an independent peace movement, a
former publisher and editor-in-chief of Haolam Hazeh news
magazine. Avnery is also a former member of the Knesset and a founding
member of the Israeli Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.) :

"When our Zionist fathers decided to set up a safe haven in Palestine, they had the choice between two options:

They could appear in West Asia as European conquerors, who see
themselves as a bridgehead of the "white" man and as masters of the
"natives", like the Spanish conquistadores and the Anglo-Saxon
colonialists in America. That is what the crusaders did in their time.

The second way was to see themselves as an Asian people returning to
their homeland, the heirs to the political and cultural traditions of
the Semitic world, ready to take part, with the other peoples of the
region, in the war of liberation from European exploitation."

I wrote these words 64 years ago, in a brochure that appeared just two months before the outbreak of the 1948 war.

I stand by these words today.

These days I have a growing feeling that we are once again standing at a
historic crossroads. The direction we choose in the coming days will
determine the destiny of the State of Israel for years to come, perhaps
irreversibly. If we choose the wrong road, we will have "weeping for
generations", as the Hebrew saying goes.

And perhaps the greatest danger is that we make no choice at all, that
we are not even aware of the need to make a decision, that we just
continue on the road that has brought us to where we are today. That we
are occupied with trivialities — the battle between the Minister of
Defense and the departing Chief of Staff, the struggle between Netanyahu
and Lieberman about the appointment of an ambassador, the non-events of
"Big Brother" and similar TV inanities — that we do not even notice
that history is passing us by, leaving us behind.

Guide to common childhood illnesses

2011-02-23T01:49:00.001-05:00

10 childhood illnesses and how to treat them - Parentcentral.ca
A guide to 10 common childhood illnesses, as well as a vaccination schedule for children from 2 months to 6 years.

The pros and cons of fluoridating the water supply

2011-02-09T16:54:00.001-05:00

CBC News - Health - The fluoride debate
CBC's Q&A with 2 doctors - one pro and one con - about the issue of fluoridating the water supply.

Big aquarium to be built at the foot of the CN Tower in Toronto

2011-02-03T01:54:00.001-05:00

City aquarium project nears final approval - thestar.com

Egypt: Updates and Analysis Feb. 1, 2011

2011-02-01T10:39:00.002-05:00

Live news broadcast from Egypt at Al Jazeera

Live: Egyptians gather in Tahrir Square - thestar.com
8 million people protesting today across Egypt.

Another Warning on Egypt - Chris Hedges
Veteran war correspondent Chris Hedges writes we have to brace ourselves for what a post-Mubarak Egypt will look like. The thing is, he's quite probably right:
...
The rise of powerful Islamic parties appears inevitable. It
appears inevitable not because of the Quran or a backward tradition,
but because we [USA] and Israel believed we could bend the aspirations of the
Arab world to our will through corruption and force.

Could Egypt's rich deal decisive blow to Mubarak?

During 30 years of authoritarian rule by Mubarak, the widespread
abuse of human rights has been documented and elections have been
manipulated. Forty per cent of Egypt’s 80 million people live on less
then $2 a day.

The potential for violence during
Tuesday’s march remains. The hated riot police, who disappeared from
Cairo’s streets after Friday’s violent clashes, returned in force
Monday.

Analysts in Egypt are divided on
Mubarak’s future. Most believe he is finished. They say the military —
from whose ranks all Egyptian Presidents have come since the monarchy’s
overthrow in 1952 — is trying to work out as dignified an exit for
Mubarak as possible.

Others describe Mubarak as playing a dangerous game of chess with protesters while trying to remain as President.

Huffington Post: Egypt: A Complete Guide To The 2011 Revolution
and
Why Egypt Matters: The Implications Of The Protests

CKLN License Revoked - What Happened?

2011-02-01T02:42:00.006-05:00

Summary of what happened:
http://torontoist.com/2011/01/timeline_why_ckln_radios_broadcast_was_revoked.php

History leading up to license revocation:
http://www.theeyeopener.com/really-old-archives/search.php?q=ckln&=Search

UPDATE
Feb. 11, 2011
CKLN granted stay of CRTC Decision, will remain on air pending the outcome of CKLN’s motion for leave to appeal

CKLN will remain on air, for now

John Cusack to star as Edgar Allen Poe in The Raven movie

2011-01-31T04:27:00.001-05:00

Relativity Media To Release John Cusack Mystery-Thriller 'The Raven' | Hollywood.com
Poe (Cusack) will be a serial-killer-hunter - hunting for someone inspired by Poe's literary works.

Egyptian protests - background and analisys

2011-01-29T10:19:00.006-05:00

2011 Egyptian protests - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikipedia has a good summary and chronology of the events.

Analysis: Upheaval in Egypt
Experts speak to Al Jazeera about the protests and what they mean
video

Mapping Egypt's 'day of wrath'
Specifics about various demonstrations and that happened

Pulling the Plug on the Internet

A Nation In Waiting
A special programme looking at Egypt under Hosni Mubarak
video and text

Egypt: The Youth Perspective
video and text

Are We Witnessing the Start of a Global Revolution?

Video of police and protesters

The Toronto Star: Siddiqui: Time to cut Mideast dictators loose

Octapus Flesh - chair

2011-01-25T22:19:00.001-05:00

OOctopus Flesh | Fubiz™

Baby you can drive my car - John Lennon's Rolls-Royce on tour

2011-01-20T03:20:00.001-05:00

The magical history tour of Lennon’s Rolls-Royce - The Globe and Mail

Bell gets a slap on the wrist from the CRTC for annoying its customers

2011-01-19T01:41:00.001-05:00

Complaints of abusive calls from Bell telemarketers - thestar.com

OTTAWA—The CRTC received more than 10,000 complaints from consumers
about Bell Canada telemarketers, including at least one alleged death
threat, the Toronto Star has learned.

While both the Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and Bell Canada
refused to say how many complaints were received from the public, the Star
confirmed it was 10,000-plus and that the telemarketers’ calls
continued for about a year before the agency finally moved against Bell.

Bell was recently fined $1.3 million for calling tens of thousands of consumers on the Do Not Call list.

The calls from the telemarketing
companies on contract — some of them in India — were at times aggressive
and abusive, documents show. In some cases telemarketers cursed at
people who showed no interest in their sales pitch and even threatened
them.

...

Bad media news - CRTC enables SunTV (Fox News North) to lie to you

2011-01-18T12:05:00.001-05:00

Progressive Proselytizing: CRTC enables SunTV to say what it wants - even if not true
Excerpt:
Some have considered this comparison to Fox News unfair[1]:

Don Newman, CBC columnist and former host of Newsworld's
"Politics" attacked the idea characterizing Fox news in the U.S. as
"hugely polarizing." Fox "mainly spews out propaganda that is
dangerously misleading and often factually wrong....It
specializes in drive-by attacks and misrepresentations, and is
positively Orwellian at times, claiming to be 'fair and balanced' while
implying that its competitors aren't."

This is a reasonable
description of Fox News, but notice the distinction claimed to separate
SunTV from Fox: it is precisely the "misleading and factually wrong"
part. This is the part the CRTC gives them full license to do.

Mr Lavoie, who replaced Mr. Teneycke and is a former Mulroney insider,
claims the news will retain Sun's "provocative" tone. We are thus left
with an unapologetically politically right leaning 24 hour news station
intending to engage in provocative language with the ability to
misdirect or lie with impunity. That is a scary thing indeed.

Toronto school start hour later and sees improvement to grades and well-being of students

2011-01-18T11:51:00.001-05:00

Toronto school starts hour later and grades improve - Parentcentral.ca
Starting high school at 10am instead of 9am makes sense to me. I was always tired in high school.

War on drugs in Canada - people fined for growing cucumbers

2011-01-17T04:44:00.001-05:00

Let Freedom Rain: Canada's war on drugs includes fines for growing...cucumbers?
Read the link.

North American remake of UK TV series Skins

2011-01-16T01:45:00.001-05:00

Under the Skins, it's Toronto - thestar.com
I can't believe they are doing a North American version of this. It will probably be so watered-down, especially since MTV is doing it.

Homeopathy = Quackery

2011-01-14T19:43:00.001-05:00

CBC News - Health - Marketplace investigates homeopathy
CBC investigates homeopathy and finds that the solutions are just milk, sugar and water.
No surprise at all.

Here is another interesting item:
Homeopathic Products Used For Mass "Suicide"
“Permitting yourself to be deceived by a silly theory that was outdated and untenable even in the nineteenth century does not show an open or tolerant mind. It only shows you are gullible and an easy prey to smooth-talking quacks.”

Other posts about Homeopathy

Another vampire movie - Priest - looks like fun, hopefully.

2011-01-12T02:42:00.001-05:00

How much crap can the vampire-slaying movie Priest cram into one trailer?

Future cities, motorcycles, brothers, CG monsters, CG vampires, cowboy
vampires, Emperor-esque priests, forehead burns, brothers on their
deathbeds, crucifix ninja weapons, lady warriors, train jumping — gasp!
Everything you've ever wanted from a monster vampire motorcycle movie is
in Priest.

As one commenter said:

This looks fantastically bad. Can't wait to see it

Yes, I do want to see this.

Lena Heady to take on Judge Dredd as Head she-villain?

2011-01-12T02:30:00.001-05:00

Lena Heady to take on Judge Dredd as head she-villain?

The movie (which is being billed as a grittier version than the Sly
Stallone flick, and more faithful to the comics) is being directed by
Pete Travis.
Hooray!

LSD makes a comeback as a possible clinical treatment

2011-01-12T00:48:00.002-05:00

LSD Returns--For Psychotherapeutics: Scientific American
Excerpt:

The preliminary study picks up where investigators left off. It
explores the possible therapeutic effects of the drug on the intense
anxiety experienced by patients with life-threatening disease, such as cancer.
A number of the hundreds of studies conducted on lysergic acid
diethylamide-25 from the 1940s into the 1970s (many of poor quality by
contemporary standards) delved into the personal insights the drug
supplied that enabled patients to reconcile themselves with their own
mortality. In recent years some researchers have studied psilocybin (the
active ingredient in “magic mushrooms”) and MDMA (Ecstasy), among
others, as possible treatments for this “existential anxiety,” but not
LSD.

Gasser, head of the Swiss Medical Society for Psycholytic Therapy,
which he joined after his own therapist-administered LSD experience, has
only recently begun to discuss his research, revealing the challenges
of studying psychedelics. The $190,000 study approved by Swiss medical
authorities, was almost entirely funded by the Multidisciplinary
Association for Psychedelic Studies, a U.S. nonprofit that sponsors
research toward the goal of making psychedelics and marijuana into
prescription drugs. Begun in 2008, the study intends to treat 12
patients (eight who will receive LSD and four a placebo). Finding
eligible candidates has been difficult—after 18 months only five
patients had been recruited, and just four had gone through the trial’s
regimen of a pair of all-day sessions. “Because LSD is not a usual
treatment, an oncologist will not recommend it to a patient,” Gasser
laments.

The patients who received the drug found the experience aided them
emotionally, and none experienced panic reactions or other untoward
events. One patient, Udo Schulz, told the German weekly Der Spiegel
that the therapy with LSD helped him overcome anxious feelings after
being diagnosed with stomach cancer, and the experience with the drug
aided his reentry into the workplace.

The trials follow a strict protocol—“all LSD treatment sessions will
begin at 11 a.m.”—and the researchers are scrupulous about avoiding
mistakes that, at times, occurred during older psychedelic trials, when
investigators would leave subjects alone during a drug session. Both
Gasser and a female co-therapist are present throughout the eight-hour
sessions that take place in quiet, darkened rooms, with emergency
medical equipment close at hand. Before receiving LSD, subjects have to
undergo psychological testing and preliminary psychotherapy sessions.

Another group is also pursuing LSD research. The British-based
Beckley Foundation is funding and collaborating on a 12-person pilot
study at the University of California, Berkeley, that is assessing how
the drug may foster creativity and what changes in neural activity go
along with altered conscious experience induced by the chemical. Whether
LSD will one day become the drug of choice for psychedelic
psychotherapy remains in question because there may be better solutions.
“We chose psilocybin over LSD because it is gentler and generally less
intense,” says Charles S. Grob, a professor of psychiatry at the
University of California, Los Angeles, who conducted a trial to test
psilocybin’s effects on anxiety in terminal cancer patients. Moreover,
“it is associated with fewer panic reactions and less chance of paranoia
and, most important, over the past half a century psilocybin has
attracted far less negative publicity and carries far less cultural
baggage than LSD.”

Greyhound abandons passengers for 14 hours in Northern Ontario

2011-01-04T23:52:00.001-05:00

‘Abandoned’ Greyhound bus passengers ponder lawsuit - thestar.com

Angry Greyhound passengers were contemplating legal action against
the bus company Tuesday for being left to fend for themselves for some
14 hours in a small town in northern Ontario.

Many of the more than 100 westbound passengers who were stuck in
White River, Ont., on two buses said Greyhound added insult to injury by
giving them the runaround when they sought answers.

“It was just a brutal experience,” Paul Hitchin said Tuesday after finally arriving in Calgary.

“I’ve never seen a company do something like that to people and not care anymore.”

I've had bad experiences on Greyhound, but nothing of this magnitude. I usually try to take Ontario Northland buses when possible. They seem much more concerned about their passengers than Greyhound.

Study shows conservatives have more capacity for anxiety and emotions but less for courage and positive outlook

2010-12-30T16:00:00.001-05:00

Political views 'hard-wired' into your brain - Telegraph
Excerpt:

Scientists have found that people with conservative views have brains with
larger amygdalas, almond shaped areas in the centre of the brain often
associated with anxiety and emotions.

On the other hand, they have a smaller anterior cingulate, an area at the front
of the brain associated with courage and looking on the bright side of life.

Thor movie trailer

2010-12-19T22:46:00.001-05:00

First trailer for Thor hits the web - Shadowlocked
In theatres May 6, 2011

Steampunk fashions at Steampunk Couture

2010-12-19T19:41:00.001-05:00

SteampunkCouture.com
Also check out their Facebook page, which seems to have more galleries:
http://www.facebook.com/steampunkcouture#!/steampunkcouture?v=photos

Dear governments of the world. We are watching you.

2010-12-02T02:31:00.001-05:00

My Blahg » DEAR GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD

I only have one thing to say about the current document release by wikileaks and that’s this:
Dear governments of the world. We are watching you. Get fucking used to it.

Exactly.

Google Bike directions for Toronto

2010-11-30T16:16:00.001-05:00

Google Maps are up for cyclists
From BikingToronto.com:

BlogTO is breaking the news that Google Maps Bike Directions is now kinda-sorta working (it’s a “beta” launch – which is used for working out glitches) for Toronto Bike routes:

Google bike maps for Toronto launched in beta sometime earlier this afternoon, and I’ve been toying around with the route planner for the last half hour or so in an effort to evaluate its effectiveness. Unfortunately, based on this short little test, I can only give this initial version mixed reviews.

From the standpoint of route suggestions, it seems most things are in order — not only did I agree with almost all of Google’s recommendations, I was surprised by the sophistication of some of the alternatives to riding along busy streets it came up with.

To use the Bike Directions – make sure you go to http://maps.google.com (.ca does not seem to have the feature yet) and hit the “get directions” link. You should then see little icons of a car, a subway train, a pedestrian, and a bike.

Fox News North - It ain't about making $$$

2010-11-29T01:18:00.000-05:00

Canadian Soapbox: Fox News North - It ain't about making $$
It won't be about making money, but about making lies the mainstream.

Multi-country poll finds most people think religion is NOT a force for good

2010-11-26T19:55:00.005-05:00

CBC News: Poll underlines sharp divide on religion
Ipsos-Reid conducted a survey with over 18,000 people in 23 countries and found that 52% of respondents agreed that "religious beliefs promote intolerance, exacerbate ethnic divisions and impede social progress."

There was wide regional variation in the results. Respondents in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, where there are large Moslem populations, overwhelmingly said they believed religion was a force for good, while respondents in European countries tended to disagree with that.

About two-thirds of Americans polled thought religion was a force for good, but only 36 per cent of Canadians thought the same.
...

Uwe Boll, King of Trash, to make a 3rd Bloodrayne movie

2010-11-25T03:37:00.000-05:00

First look at Uwe Boll's third Bloodrayne movie — featuring Nazis who want to make Hitler a vampire!

Eye Implants restore sight to the blind

2010-11-25T03:35:00.001-05:00

Revolutionary eye implants have restored sight to the blind

100 Websites To See Before You Die (Part 1)

2010-11-25T03:32:00.000-05:00

100 Websites To See Before You Die (Part 1) | Maximum PC
Someone at Maximum PC has too much time on their hands.
And with these sites, you won't have any extra time. So, what are you waiting for!

Punks On Film

2010-11-24T23:42:00.003-05:00

Destroy All Movies!! A Complete Guide to Punks on Film

Steampunk Stuff

2010-11-19T05:50:00.000-05:00

12 Coolest Steampunk Gadgets - Oddee.com

Sucker Punch movie - This Looks Fun

2010-11-04T01:50:00.002-04:00

New Sucker Punch trailer delivers robots, dragons and sexy lady fights
Watch the trailer.

Coming in March 2011

And here's another trailer:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3707110937/

"The Fourth Kind" - a Cloverfield on the Moon

2010-10-21T09:39:00.001-04:00

The Fourth Kind screenwriter's new film: Cloverfield on the Moon

"28 Months Later" movie in the works

2010-10-21T09:38:00.001-04:00

28 Months Later: The Bottom Line - ShockTillYouDrop.com
Over the past few weeks, director Danny Boyle has been cornered and
queried at various promo screening Q&A's about the status of the 28 Days Later sequel, that's become known as 28 Months Later.
Each time, he's reiterated what he said two years ago, which is that
he’d like to direct it. Many of these queries may have come about from a
recent interview with original writer Alex Garland in which he said
there wasn't a script and any possibilities of it being made were tied
up in some issues revolving around the rights to make another film. ...

Toronto - TTC and Google team up for a trip planner

2010-10-16T08:43:00.001-04:00

TTC and Google show the way - thestar.com

The trip planner ( www.google.com/transit) includes TTC schedules for all bus, streetcar and subway routes and all this is available on your mobile devices.

With Google Transit, transit users can now plan their trips around the GTA by TTC, GO Transit and York Region Transit.

"The world actually still likes Canada; they don't like Stephen Harper"

2010-10-13T08:01:00.001-04:00

The Galloping Beaver: The day the world rejected Stephen Harper
The global community made a decision. They decided that Stephen Harper
was someone they would rather not have at the table. It was not about
Canada - it was about him and his reckless foreign policy.

Trailer for the new Narnia movie: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

2010-10-09T01:45:00.001-04:00

Eustace Shows Up And Faints In The International Narnia: Dawn Treader Trailer
It looks like they added things to the story, but I think it will still be fun.

Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) is being considered for Ridley Scott's Alien prequel

2010-10-09T01:36:00.001-04:00

Next Hot Female Role: Noomi Rapace In Hunt For Ridley Scott’s 3D ‘Alien’ Prequel – Deadline.com

Also, at the above link, is a trailer for the 3rd and final film in the Dragon Tattoo trilogy: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

Conservative candidate in the making - all the Right stuff

2010-10-07T15:00:00.001-04:00

Dawg's Blawg: The Right stuff
Julian Fantino is being pressured to run for the Conservative party in the next election in Vaughan. Let's look at his recent accomplishments that make him an outstanding Conservative party candidate - read the link.

Trailer for the new Tempest movie

2010-10-07T03:15:00.001-04:00

The gender-swapping, hyper-stylized trailer for Shakespeare's The Tempest

Jeffrey Combs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-10-07T02:55:00.001-04:00

Why Jeffrey Combs is our ultimate avatar of sexy weirdness
io9 takes an in depth look at the characters Jeffrey Combs has played over the years. Numerous video clips included.

Israeli author, Gideon Levy, says Israel demonizes Palestinians to justify occupation

2010-10-06T13:39:00.001-04:00

Straight Goods - Israeli author and journalist speaks out - Gideon Levy says Israel demonizes Palestinians to justify occupation.
Excerpt:

Gideon Levy was once an army recruit and an aide to former Prime Minister Shimon Peres. He is now a veteran journalist who writes for Haaretz, Israeli's oldest daily newspaper. He said that he feels compelled to tell his fellow Israelis a story they don't like to hear about their country's brutal occupation in the occupied territories of the West Bank and in Gaza.

"I was brought up as a typical Israeli," he says, "but in the late 1980s I started to travel to a place a half hour from my home, a trip that most Israelis never make. I started to go into the occupied territories, our own dark backyard."

"The rest of the world must raise its voice against the occupation."

Levy spoke recently in an Ottawa university auditorium while on a seven-city Canadian tour to promote his most recent book, The Punishment of Gaza. A group called Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East sponsored the event. Levy said he was surprised that about 300 people attended his talk. "In Tel Aviv not this many people would show up to hear me," he said.

What follows here are quotes from Levy's half hour address, which he delivered entirely without notes:

"I have never seen an occupation in which the occupier feels so good about himself and in which he also poses as the victim.

"Israel is occupation-addicted. It wants more real estate. Israel holds 3.5 million Palestinians against their will in conditions that you cannot imagine and there is no way Israel will move without pressure or a push from the outside.

"The Israelis are deeply convinced that seven billion people in the world are wrong, and that five million Israelis are right. It is a society that is losing its connection with reality. How can they feel so good about themselves? The explanation is simple. Israelis care about human rights, laws, values and morality but they have come to a simple conclusion. Palestinians are not human beings. Palestinians are not human, therefore there is no problem and that allows Israel to continue the occupation. And the Israeli media also tries to convince their readers that Palestinians are not humans.

Click the link to read the rest.

Marine census finds stunning diversity

2010-10-04T10:02:00.001-04:00

CBC News - Technology & Science - Marine census finds stunning diversity
Excerpt:

Ten
years after the project took root, researchers wrapped up the first
Census of Marine Life on Monday, with findings that include the
discovery of thousands of new species and an understanding of how
climate change is altering the ecosystem.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/10/04/science-marine-census.html#ixzz11OmJHkNs

American human experimentation atrocities through the years

2010-10-03T17:35:00.001-04:00

we move to canada: u.s. admits infecting guatemala mental patients with gonorrhea and syphilis in secret medical experiments
Excerpt:
I have heard people claim that the US would never do anything (or allow
anything to happen) to its own citizens. As though those in charge of
the US would bother to make some distinction based on where people
happened to be born. History says the truth is the exact opposite. Here
is a super-small sample from this webpage (emphasis mine; I have also edited some entries for brevity):

Read the full post at the top link.

A reminder of what the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are really about

2010-10-03T17:21:00.001-04:00

LeDaro: Blackwater=Blackoil
Read the post, watch the video.
Excerpt:
When will the World understand that all these so-called wars for freedom
and democracy are for resources and, in the case of the
Iraq/Afghanistan war, for fossil fuel resources? It’s blatantly obvious
for Iraq. For Afghanistan apparently there is going to be a natural
gas pipeline from the former USSR, through Afghanistan, into an Indian
Ocean port.

Hunter S. Thompson's letter to the editor of the Vancouver Sun, 1958

2010-10-03T11:54:00.001-04:00

Hunter S. Thompson's brutally honest Canadian job request

Exploding Sea Snot!

2010-09-25T19:46:00.001-04:00

Boing Boing
read more at the link

Viking links

2010-09-24T20:52:00.001-04:00

thevikingworld / The Viking World Links Page

BIXI - public bike sharing system coming to Toronto?

2010-09-22T23:38:00.001-04:00

BIXI TORONTO - Home page
They need 1,000 subscribers to bring the program to Toronto. Check it out.

UPDATE
600 sign up for BIXI bike share
400 more subscribers needed in the next couple of months to reach the goal of 1,000 and then they can set up and start in Toronto.

The Fly by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby

2010-09-22T22:22:00.001-04:00

The secret origin of the Fly
Check out these Simon/Kirby pages from Simon Kirby Superheroes