Last edited by Scheherazade; 12-01-2004 at 09:26 AM.
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"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
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wow cool on the umbilical cord thingy
"It all comes down to what we make of ourselves, eh?"
-The Fairy Godmother
"Sing on, poor souls! The night is short, and the morning will part you forever!"
- Uncle Tom's Cabin
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"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
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"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
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When moving on to serious and really amazing news:
The lost manuscript of Rachmaninov's 2nd symphony is found
If you believe even a half of this post, you are severely mistaken.
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"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
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*sigh, no explanation needed:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6651230/?GT1=5855
I don't want to think what is next!Originally Posted by mono
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"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
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"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
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Concussions Kept Tintin Forever Young -- Study (Yahoo - Oddly Enough)
58 minutes ago Oddly Enough - Reuters
By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Comic book hero Tintin never aged during his 50-year career because the repeated blows he took to the head triggered a growth hormone deficiency, according to an analysis in the Christmas edition of a Canadian medical journal.
Claude Cyr, a professor of medicine at Quebec's Sherbrooke University, said a study of the 23 hugely popular Tintin books showed the intrepid Belgian reporter suffered 50 significant losses of consciousness during his many adventures.
"We hypothesize that Tintin has growth hormone deficiency and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (a disorder of the pituitary gland) from repeated trauma. This could explain his delayed statural growth, delayed onset of puberty and lack of libido," Cyr wrote.
His article was in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, which has a tradition of publishing studies into the ailments of fictional characters in its Christmas edition.
Tintin was created by Belgium's Georges Remi under the pen name Herge. The teenage character first appeared in 1929 and despite the passing of almost five decades was as fresh-faced as ever in the pages of the last book to feature him, which appeared in 1976.
Cyr, who wrote the study with the help of his two young sons, noted that Tintin had been knocked out 43 times by serious blows to the head.
"We identified the cause of the trauma, the length of loss of consciousness (calculated by the number of cartoon frames before Tintin returns to normal activity) and the apparent severity of the trauma (indicated by the number of objects e.g., stars, candles revolving above Tintin's head)," he said.
Among the main reasons for Tintin's injuries were blows from a club, bullet wounds, explosions, car accidents, chloroform poisoning and falls.
"Unfortunately, no brain imaging was performed," Cyr lamented.
Tintin traveled all over the world with his white terrier Snowy as he battled foes as varied as drug dealers, Incan priests, slave traders and the Abominable Snowman. The books have been translated into 60 languages and have sold 200 million copies.
In 2000 the Canadian Medical Association Journal caused something of an uproar by revealing that Winnie the Pooh's continuous search for honey was caused by obsessive compulsive disorder, Piglet needed anti-panic medication, while Eeyore was massively depressed.
Another study surmised that Beatrix Potter's ever energetic Squirrel Nutkin character was in fact autistic.
(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...nada_tintin_dc)
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"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
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Warning: Christmas Parties Can Damage Your Health
Fri Dec 10, 9:38 AM ET Oddly Enough - Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) - Don't dance on tables at the office Christmas party and resist the temptation to photocopy body parts in a drunken attempt to amuse colleagues.
That is the message from Britain's Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), which joined trade unions on Friday to issue guidelines on how to host a safe and successful office party.
"Resist the temptation to photocopy parts of your anatomy," RoSPA and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) said. "If the copier breaks, you'll have Christmas with glass in painful places."
"Dancing on desks could do them and you a lot of damage," they said. "Likewise, the boardroom table is meant for weighty documents, not overweight executives."
Candles, flaming Christmas puddings and cigarettes should be avoided at all costs.
Stepladders, not swivel chairs, should be used to hang tinsel and mistletoe, which should not be hung near sources of heat.
"Keep a close eye on those who may drink too much," the organizations advised. "Alcohol makes some people aggressive rather than friendly. The party will be spoiled if it ends in a punch-up or harassment complaint."
RoSPA and the TUC were condemned by some as killjoys but said they were only trying to help.
"We are not being party poopers," RoSPA Occupational Safety Adviser Roger Bibbings said.
"Some sensible safety precautions will allow people to have a great office celebration without having to call in the emergency services."
(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ain_parties_dc)
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"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
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Romeos to come unstuck in Verona
Many notes are written on sweet wrappings and stuck on with gum
Verona's authorities are slapping a ban on Romeos leaving written love notes near a balcony made famous by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
They say the scribbled messages are being fixed on by chewing gum - making a mess of the 13th century walls.
Lovers will be urged to post their notes by text or online - to be flashed on a screen being erected instead.
"It seemed the best solution to us," said a tourism official, adding it would appeal to young people.
Tourists in the northern Italian city of Verona make a point of visiting Juliet's house, in reality a former inn.
The tiny marble balcony and courtyard has become the place where, in William Shakespeare's 16th century play, Romeo declares his love for Juliet.
Clean-up
"This house is the stuff of legends. It has an effect on people - not just our younger visitors," said Francesca Tamellini, responsible for tourism at Verona city council.
But romantics compelled to leave their own prose at the site has caused unforeseen problems for the authorities.
Many of the notes have been stuck on with chewing gum, which is destroying the ancient building.
"It is time to clean the building, because people aren't just writing on the walls of the entrance arch, they are sticking notes on the wall with gum," Ms Tamellini was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.
"It has become really ugly."
She said they want people to send text messages, which will flash up on a giant glass screen to be put up in the courtyard, possibly by next summer.
"It seemed the best solution to us. It will appeal to young people, who are the first to want to send their messages," she said.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4086729.stm)
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"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
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Scher, aren't you tired ?
Of?
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"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
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Parents 'strike' over idle children
Cat and Harlan Barnard's story has struck a nerve across the US
A mother and father say they have gone on strike over their children's lack of help around the house.
Cat and Harlan Barnard have pitched a tent in the front drive of their Florida home and erected signs, one of which says: "Parents on Strike!".
They say they will stay there until Benjamin, 17, and Kit, 12, start to do their share of the household chores.
The stand-off, in Enterprise, Florida, is being monitored by the police, welfare officers and teachers.
Mrs Barnard said she and her 56-year-old husband, a government social services worker, had tried everything to get their children to act more responsibly.
They tried smiley-face charts, withholding allowances and even sought help from a psychologist.
"We've tried reverse psychology, upside down psychology, spiral psychology and nothing has motivated them for any length of time," said Mrs Barnard, 45.
She said the final straw came when her son failed to offer to help her mow the lawn one Sunday, even though she should have been resting following a medical operation.
"I had already made the decision to do it [strike] then, but I had absolutely no motherly guilt about it," she was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.
Media interest
Since Monday, the parents have slept on airbeds in their tent and eaten barbecue meals, only going inside to use the shower.
The children have frozen meals to keep them going inside the house.
The parents say they will stay outside until their children change
Officers from the sheriff's department have called at the home three times to check on the situation but have not tried to intervene.
One of Kit's teachers also stopped by, concerned after hearing that her parents had left home.
The Barnards' story has been picked up by the media across the US, and they have been inundated with interview requests.
One woman shouted "Good for you! You should put the kids outside!" as she drove past their home, the AP reported.
But others are less supportive. "One woman said I should be ashamed for creating emotional stress on my children," Mrs Barnard said.
"I told her, 'Well, they've been doing it to me for years.'"
The action appears to have angered Ben, who described the strike and ensuing press attention as "extremely inconvenient".
But his sister, Kit, said she understood. "I guess we don't help out as much as we could. I'm going to change."
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4085001.stm)
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"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
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