"...the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like the fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..."
- Jack Kerouac
YouTube - 5 Seasons Brewing vs Sembler
Topic: Miscellaneous
8:11 pm EDT, Aug 19, 2008
I love 5 seasons...I have been going to this restaurant for years, and I have many fond memories from this place. I sincerely hope that they do not go out of business, for then I would have to drive all the way up 400 to their north location (which is good...but far).
RE: Cannibalism & the shaking death: A new form of the disease & a possible epidemic
Topic: Miscellaneous
11:24 am EDT, Aug 15, 2008
janelane wrote:
This silent film clip shows several victims of a disease called kuru. They are - or rather were - members of the South Fore, a tribe of approximately 8,000 people who inhabit the Okapa subdistrict of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. In the 1950s and '60s, a kuru epidemic swept through the South Fore, claiming the lives of more than 1,000 members of the tribe. Later it was established that the disease was transmitted by the tribe's practice of ritualistic mortuary cannibalism.
Yuck!
The word kuru means "shaking death" in the Fore language, and describes the characteristic symptoms of the disease. Because it affects mainly the cerebellum, a part of the brain involved in the co-ordination of movement, the first symptoms to manifest themselves in those infected with the disease would typically be an unsteady gait and tremors. As the disease progresses, victims become unable to stand or eat, and eventually die between 6-12 months after the symptoms first appear.
Kuru belongs to a class of progressive neurodegenerative diseases called the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), which also includes variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, more popularly known as "Mad Cow Disease"). TSEs are fatal and infectious; in humans, they are relatively rare, and can arise sporadically, by infection, or because of genetic mutations. They are unusual in that the infectious agent which transmits the diseases is believed to a misfolded protein. (Hence, the TSEs are also referred to as the prion diseases, "prion" being a shortened form of the term "proteinaceous infectious particle"). ... Following the outbreak of kuru among the Fore in the 1950s, cultural anthropologists quickly established that the disease was transmitted by the practice of mortuary cannibalism. When an individual died, the female relatives were responsible for dismembering the body. They would remove the brain, arms and feet, strip the muscle from the limbs and open the chest and abdomen to remove the internal organs. Those that died of kuru were highly regarded as sources of food, because they had layers of fat which resembled pork. It was primarily the Fore women who took part in this ritual. Often they would feed morsels of brain to young children and elderly relatives. Among the tribe, it was, therefore, women, children and the elderly who most often became infected.
Double Yuck! Seriously, I know that it's a time-honored ritual and all, but some dude in your family dies of something obvious like shaking accompanied by dementia, perhaps you might think there's something in their body causing the symptoms and just bury them. Could they have been so starved for protein? Or just mindlessly bent on following a ritual despite obvious risks? Or afraid of the consequences of not abiding?
-janelane, using commonsense
Update: Even granting this analysis, could they not have wanted to protect themselves? Or, will we be just as flabbergasted at ourselves in 50 years?
You should really read deadly feasts - its a very interesting read...I agree though...just say no to ritualistic mortuary cannibalism....or any other sort of cannibalism.
Truck carrying 43,000 pounds of beer overturns | ajc.com
Topic: Miscellaneous
5:08 pm EDT, Jul 14, 2008
A truck carrying 43,000 pounds of beer caught fire late Monday morning after overturning on eastbound Interstate 20, according to Department of Transportation officials.
The problem with TiVo is that you never see commercials. So I almost missed that the The Venture Bros. returned for a 3rd season.
If you aren't watching this show you are a fool.
From last night's episode:
Dean: She's the Wereodile! Dr Venture: I almost f@$&ed a wereodile? Dean: Don't worry dad [grab chair]... [smacks Dr Quymn] The power of Christ compels you!
and of course:
Henchman 24: Come on! They have one female servicing a large group of males. That implies a species that lays eggs. Henchman 21: Oh my God, you're crazy! They're so obviously mammals! Henchman 24: Please! She'd be in estrus 24/7 if she didn't lay eggs. Henchman 21: Smurfs don't lay eggs! I won't tell you this again! Papa Smurf has a fucking beard! They're mammals!
The Associated Press: Animal rights protesters torment scientists
Topic: Miscellaneous
4:34 pm EDT, Jul 11, 2008
Accompanying the attacks is increasingly tough talk from activists such as Dr. Jerry Vlasak, a spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front press office. In an interview with The Associated Press, he said he is not encouraging anyone to commit murder, but "if you had to hurt somebody or intimidate them or kill them, it would be morally justifiable."
And for our friday afternoon light reading enjoyment, an entertaining article about wedding traditions and their bizarre origins. My favorite is about how "best men" used to hide weapons under the church floor, in case they needed to help the groom "steal" the bride. Nice...
flynn23 wrote: Um, I would venture to guess that 90% of the articles on Memestreams are generated by this user. If this is indeed a human, I'd like to know what they do for a living, other than read articles online and post them on Memestreams. I check the site almost daily and there's absolutely no way I could ever read the amount of material generated by this user. Much less absorb it, comment on it, and pontificate about it. What's up?
Bahahaha...this is an awesome thread. Jeremy is WAY more productive than 5 grad students put together...he puts us all to shame with his brilliance:)
