Of course Jimi Hendrix was a big science fiction fan

The secret science fiction inspiration behind Jimi Hendrix's music

Excerpt from above link:
Night of Light was a science fiction book that in 1966 inspired
Jimi to eventually write 'Purple Haze.' Farmer's story had to do with
sunspots having a disorienting effect on a distant planet's population.
Jimi wrote pages and pages of lyrics for 'Purple Haze,' originally an
epic tale of the history of warfare for the control of the planet
Neptune.

Ancient city in Peru

Ancient, abandoned Great Wall of Peru ringed an elaborate stone city
More pics at the link

Monsters coming soon

New Monsters preview gives a first glimpse of Mexico's intergalactic horror
Check out the trailer.
This looks to be something like a blend of District 9 and Cloverfield and ...

Caprica returns to TV

Caprica gets another chance to survive after all
The 2nd half of season one will begin Oct 5th instead of in January 2011.
No news yet on a season 2 or not.

Wind Farms and Health in Canada

Komorowski’s Korner – No Adverse Health Effect from Wind Turbines – June 5, 2010 – Cornwall Ontario |
A report from Dr. Arlene King, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, states that there is not any direct causal link between wind turbine noise and adverse health effects.

An Angus Reid survey has shown that most people support renewable energy generation, including wind power. Most opposition comes from people in the locations where wind farms are to be built. I occasionally see posts about negative health effects, but they seem to be unsubstantiated claims without proof. You would think that, with all the wind farms around the world, especially in Europe and Britain, where they have had large wind farms for many years, if there were adverse health effects, then they would have come to light by now.

From what I have seen and read about the dangers of different kinds of energy production, I'll take wind power over nuclear or coal power generation any day.

Anyway, read the link at the top for more information on the health report.

Here is a list of Wind Farms in Canada.

Calling "Bullshit" on the Wind Power Witch Hunters
The Disaffected Lib gets into more detail about the anti-Wind Power people.

All the FRESH MEAT posts on Wind Power

Doctor's determine a way to reduce risks from ovarian cancer

B.C. study a ‘eureka moment’ in fight against ovarian cancer - The Globe and Mail
Excerpt:

Removing fallopian tubes as part of hysterectomies and tubal
litigations would “have an immediate impact on saving lives,” said
Dianne Miller, a gynecologic oncologist with the Ovarian Cancer Research
Program of the B.C. Cancer Agency.

That is because,
paradoxically, the most deadly form of ovarian cancer originates in the
fallopian tubes – where eggs travel from the ovaries to the womb – not
the ovaries per se, she said.

Warning: LSD turns hot dogs into screaming trolls with 7 children!

Warning: LSD turns hot dogs into screaming trolls with 7 children - Boing Boing
Watch the video

Far out.

Cary Grant loved LSD

Destination Subconscious: Cary Grant and LSD - WFMU's Beware of the Blog

"I knew Cary Grant very well and he loved ... what did they call it? Acid! LSD. He said he liked to take the trip." - Debbie Reynolds

"I learned many things in the quiet of that room ... I
learned that everything is or becomes its own opposite ... You know, we are all
unconsciously holding our anus. In one LSD dream ... I imagined myself as a
giant penis launching off from earth like a spaceship." - Cary Grant

Read the full story at the link.

The secret history of psychedelic psychiatry

The secret history of psychedelic psychiatry : Neurophilosophy

ON August 15th, 1951, an outbreak of hallucinations, panic attacks and psychotic episodes swept through the town of Saint-Pont-Esprit
in southern France, hospitalizing dozens of its inhabitants and leaving
five people dead. Doctors concluded that the incident occurred because
bread in one of the town's bakeries had been contaminated with ergot, a
toxic fungus that grows on rye. But according to investigative
journalist Hank Albarelli, the
CIA had actually dosed the bread with d-lysergic acid diethylamide-25
(LSD), an extremely potent hallucinogenic drug derived from ergot, as
part of a mind control research project.

Although we may never learn the truth behind the
events at Saint-Pont-Esprit, it is now well known that the United States
Army experimented with LSD on willing and unwilling military personnel
and civilians. Less well known is the work of a group of psychiatrists
working in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, who pioneered the use
of LSD as a treatment for alcoholism, and claimed that it produced
unprecedented rates of recovery. Their findings were soon brushed under
the carpet, however, and research into the potential therapeutic effects
of psychedelics was abruptly halted in the late 1960s, leaving a
promising avenue of research unexplored for some 40 years.

...

Continue reading at the link above.

Toronto skyline 1880-2010

The transformation of Toronto's skyline from 1880 to today
1920s pictured here:

Norway's Troll Hunter movie/documentary!

Norway's massive Troll cover-up exposed!

Oxford English Dictionary may soon only be available online

Oxford English Dictionary may soon only be available online - The Globe and Mail
...

Publisher Oxford University Press said Sunday that burgeoning demand
for the dictionary's online version has far outpaced demand for the
printed versions. By the time the lexicographers behind the dictionary
finished revising and updating the latest edition — a gargantuan task
that will take many more years — publishers are doubtful there will
still be a market for the printed form.

The online Oxford English
Dictionary now gets 2 million hits a month from subscribers. The current
printed edition — a hefty 20-volume, $1,165 set published in 1989 — has
sold about 30,000 sets in total.

...

Intel buys McAfee - will introduce security built into chips

Why Intel's deal for McAfee will shake the laptop landscape - thestar.com
...
the combination of Intel chips and McAfee security
will result in automated defences that should make it easier for
consumers and businesses to manage the information security burden.
Processor-based security is more efficient than software because it
doesn’t drag down machine performance or productivity.

Direct integration into the hardware also makes it much harder to
attack. The fact that it works right out of the box means it doesn’t
rely on unreliable humans for installation and maintenance.

...

Conditions for women in Afghanistan worse now, but media spins the opposite

Dawg's Blawg: "Time" exploits victim to promote Afghan war
Excerpt:

"I heard Aisha's story from her a few weeks before the
image of her face was displayed all over the world", Ann Jones, author
of Kabul in Winter, wrote in the August 12 Nation. "She told me that her
father-in-law caught up with her after she ran away, and took a knife
to her on his own; village elders later approved, but the Taliban didn't
figure at all in this account."

The Time story, however,
attributes Aisha's mutilation to a husband under orders of a Talib
commander, thereby transforming a personal story, similar to those of
countless women in Afghanistan today, into a portent of things to come
for all women if the Taliban return to power ...

Afghan feminist
Malalai Joya : "During the Taliban’s regime such atrocities weren’t as
rife as it is now and the graph is hiking each day."

The article at RAWA cites a March 11, 2010 CIA document on spinning the war, published by WikiLeaks : CIA Red Cell

"Afghan
women could serve as ideal messengers in humanizing the ISAF role in
combating the Taliban because of women’s ability to speak personally and
credibly about their experiences under the Taliban, their aspirations
for the future, and their fears of a Taliban victory. Outreach
initiatives that create media opportunities for Afghan women to share
their stories with French, German, and other European women could help
to overcome pervasive skepticism among women in Western Europe toward
the ISAF mission.

Media events that feature testimonials by Afghan
women would probably be most effective if broadcast on programs that
have large and disproportionately female audiences.

What ancient statues really looked like when they were made

Color + Design Blog / Gods In Color: Painted Sculpture Of Classical Antiquity by COLOURlovers :: COLOURlovers
A recent touring exhibition is turning a long held common belief on its
head. The common perception is that the great statues and buildings of
ancient Greece and Rome were all pure unpainted stone or green tarnished
bronze, but researchers have been arguing that this may not been what
these classic monuments really looked like back in the era of their
creation. That, in fact, these statue's were quite alive and vibrant,
full of color.
...

Psychedelic Drugs Show Promise as Anti-Depressants: Scientific American

Psychedelic Drugs Show Promise as Anti-Depressants: Scientific American
...


The August 18 review, by psychiatrist Franz Vollenweider and
neuropsychologist Michael Kometer of the University Hospital of
Psychiatry in Zurich, proposes that various psychedelics' interaction
with the receptors for the neurotransmitter serotonin
may prove key to understanding their beneficial—and
mind-bending—effects. "Psychedelics activate neuronal networks and the
glutamate system that are implicated in the regulation of emotion,"
Vollenweider says, noting that their hallucinogenic effects can be
impeded by blocking specific serotonin receptors in the brain (known as
5-HT2A). Psychedelics typically boost serotonin and may also boost the
release of glutamate, according to the review authors, another
neurotransmitter that has been linked to short-term but long-lasting
brain functions such as learning and memory. More glutamate also has an
impact on synapses. "This might result in an increased number and
function of spine synapses in the prefrontal cortex," Vollenweider says.
...

Bacon Pancakes!

The Great Bacon Odyssey: Extreme Bacon Pancakes | GeekDad | Wired.com

The most isolated man on the planet

The most isolated man on the planet. - By Monte Reel - Slate Magazine
Now, here's a guy who enjoys his privacy.

Mental Illness in America - the numbers

Mental Illness in America
infographic

Magnetar!

Giant star that should have been a black hole became something even stranger

New studies into hallucinogens and mental health

Two new scientific studies reveal hallucinogens are good for your mental health


LSD and ketamine, two powerful hallucinogens, are also potential cures
for depression, OCD, and anxiety. Two studies published this week, in Science and Nature, confirm that hallucinogenic drugs stimulate healthy brain activity, even promoting the growth of neurons.

Bedbug remedy - heat

Bedbug remedy not just hot air - thestar.com
Apparently, Bedbugs die off at 46 degrees Celsius.

What celebrities would look like if they lived in Barrie, Ontario

WHAT CELEBRITIES WOULD LOOK LIKE IF THEY LIVED IN BARRIE, ONTARIO
You have to log into Facebook to see this, but this is the biggest collection of photo(shopped)s for this theme.
Hats off to Pat Boogie for assembling the collection.

Iggy Pop's chest through the years

The Official Iggy Pop Shirtless Aging Timeline: Pics, Videos, Links, News
(Thanks Marc!)

Beware deceptively labeled "healthy" foods

Lawsuit Over Deceptive Vitaminwater Claims to Proceed ~ Newsroom ~ News from CSPI ~ Center for Science in the Public Interest
“In fact, Vitaminwater is no more than non-carbonated soda, providing
unnecessary added sugar and contributing to weight gain, obesity,
diabetes, and other diseases."

Anti-Choice groups mislead women about abortion after-effects

Deception used in counselling women against abortion - thestar.com

Seeing Electrons

Electrons viewed in real time for the first time ever

Rogers to reduce download limits

Rogers shrinks consumers’ download limits - thestar.com
They're still better than Sympatico, who throttle users at various times of the day, regardless of your package limits.

Steve Jobs: genius at making money, jerk for ripping people off

Olive: Jobs is both a genius and a jerk - thestar.com
Read the article.

Biggest Star Ever

CBC News - Technology & Science - Astrophysicists find most massive star ever