Stop means no. And no means no. So . . . stop.

Xander ,'Conversations with Dead People'


Natter 34: Freak With No Name  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


ChiKat - Apr 25, 2005 9:58:28 am PDT #8712 of 10001
That man was going to shank me. Over an omelette. Two eggs and a slice of government cheese. Is that what my life is worth?

I agree with those who wondered why her current editors even published it. Maybe they hate her and don't want her working in journalism anymore.


erikaj - Apr 25, 2005 10:03:03 am PDT #8713 of 10001
Always Anti-fascist!

That'll do it. I hate her, I think, except for the part where I feel better about me because I'm not.


§ ita § - Apr 25, 2005 10:04:07 am PDT #8714 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

Well, I'm sure it's gotten them a gazillion more hits than they could have any other way.

Noticed at gofugyourself.com (which no longer lets people comment):

Mothers-to-be Britney, Jordan and Demi will be queuing up for this year’s most in-demand celebrity plastic surgery package.

First off, the celebrity mother gets her silicone breast implants removed early in her pregnancy to prevent stretching, then when the baby is born (usually whipped out by caesarean at eight months to prevent the mother having to get too fat) new implants are put back, liposuction is done on the arse and thighs plus a full tummy tuck to get rid of all signs of pregnancy. The new mother keeps hidden from the public for about ten days while everything heals - which, of course, is not suspicious, as she’s just given birth.

Many private hospitals around the world now offer this as part of the birth package. Nursing staff at London’s celebrity-friendly Portland Hospital have an unofficial name for the package which honours, they claim, one of its earliest adopters.

They call it the… “Mend It Like Beckham”.

(originally from popbitch, apparently)


Betsy HP - Apr 25, 2005 10:10:19 am PDT #8715 of 10001
If I only had a brain...

(usually whipped out by caesarean at eight months to prevent the mother having to get too fat)

This I doubt. An ethical doctor won't risk the baby that way, and furthermore celebrity pregnances seem to be lasting the full time; otherwise the media would be all over the prematurity (as with Julia Roberts).


§ ita § - Apr 25, 2005 10:11:12 am PDT #8716 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

furthermore celebrity pregnances seem to be lasting the full time

Doesn't that depend entirely on them telling the truth about conception?


Stephanie - Apr 25, 2005 10:19:43 am PDT #8717 of 10001
Trust my rage

Jeff - Welcome Back!! So glad you are out of the hospital!


DXMachina - Apr 25, 2005 10:20:21 am PDT #8718 of 10001
You always do this. We get tipsy, and you take advantage of my love of the scientific method.

Jeff! So good to see you up and about.


juliana - Apr 25, 2005 10:22:03 am PDT #8719 of 10001
I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I miss them all tonight…

Jeff!!! Yay!


Dana - Apr 25, 2005 10:22:33 am PDT #8720 of 10001
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.

Jeff!


tommyrot - Apr 25, 2005 10:22:36 am PDT #8721 of 10001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.

Mind reading!

OK, on a very limited basis, but still kinda' freaky:

Brain Scans Helps Scientists "Read" Minds

...

Yukiyasu Kamitani of ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan, and Frank Tong of Princeton University showed subjects one of eight visual stimuli--images with stripes aligned in various orientations. They determined that the MRI data collected while the volunteers were gazing at the images showed slight differences depending on what picture they viewed. The scientists wrote a computer program that recognized the patterns and found that they could successfully predict what images subjects saw. What is more, when a volunteer was shown two sets of stripes simultaneously--but told to pay attention to just one--the team could tell which set the subject was concentrating on.

In the second experiment, John-Dylan Haynes and Geraint Rees of University College London showed volunteers two images in quick succession, with the first flashing so quickly that the subjects couldn't clearly identify it. But by analyzing their brain activity, the scientists successfully identified which image had been shown, even when the subjects themselves didn't remember seeing it. Together, the results elucidate how the brain reacts to stimuli, even when they are "invisible." If scientists could gain a true understanding of the neural basis of subjective experience, Kamitani and Tong write, it might one day "allow for reliable prediction of a person's mental state based solely on measurements of his or her brain state." --Sarah Graham