Tomorrow is World Hearing Voices Day, created to increase awareness about people who experience auditory hallucinations, specificallyhearing voicesin their heads. (Linkto previous post about "hearing voices.") A recent Dutch study suggests that about 4% of the population might experience this. And for those who do, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Now, University of Manchester researchers are launching a study to investigate why some people who hear voices find it positive while others' experiences are more traumatic.
Also,
A new Oregon subdivision is being modeled after Tolkien's Shire, though the developer isn't much of a Middle Earth fan (he has a friend who's read the books and advises him). He claims he's selling "finely crafted homes with a European flair."
The houses -- going for $550,000 to $850,000 -- will feature gabled roofs with faux-straw thatch made from thin strands of PVC that promotional literature says "is essentially windproof, rainproof, fireproof and guaranteed not to discolor."
Meyers has taken the liberty of renaming an irrigation canal next to The Shire as Brandywine Brook. He's happy to show off two Hobbit holes otherwise known as storage sheds.