Day: June 11, 2007

I think, therefore I am.

~ FmH
//anatomy.yonsei.ac.kr/LWT/images/Homunculus.JPG' cannot be displayed] Interesting findings in neural plasticity, from the weblog of neuroscientist Michael Merzenich. He describes the current status of our understanding of cortical representations of the surface of the body (what has been known as Penrose’s homunculus since its discovery several decades ago), emphasizing findings that show it is plastic in realtime. [thanks, Joel] He finishes with what might be considered to be the neuroscientist’s equivalent of the get-a-bigger-penis spam-mails.

And so it ends…

~ FmH
//www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2006/10/18/tony_narrowweb__300x462,0.jpg' cannot be displayed]
The Sopranos goes dark: “Instead of taking Tony down out of karmic retribution, Chase got his karmic revenge on us for caring too much about this ‘jack-off fantasy on TV’ in the first place. …immortalized eating onion rings, chuckling, focusing on the good times.” (Salon)

Given the focus on the soundtrack and the abruptness of the fade to black at the end, I myself favor the interpretation based on Bobby’s memorable line to Tony several episodes ago about how you “probably don’t even hear it coming when it happens.”

Dr. Kevorkian’s Wrong Way

~ FmH
//www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2007/06/02/3n_kervor_wideweb__470x337,0.jpg' cannot be displayed]
“Dr. Jack Kevorkian — a k a “Doctor Death” for helping chronically ill and terminally ill patients commit suicide — has emerged from prison as deluded and unrepentant as ever. Brushing aside criticism by other supporters of medically assisted suicide that his tactics were reckless and harmful to their cause, Dr. Kevorkian asserted: “I did it right. I didn’t care what they did or didn’t do. When I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it right.”

The irony, of course, is that he did it wrong, and in performing assisted suicides so badly, he besmirched the movement he hoped to energize. If his antics provided anything of value, it was as a reminder of how much terminally ill patients can suffer and of the need for sane and humane laws allowing carefully regulated assisted suicides.” (New York Times editorial)

The Disorder Is Sensory…

~ FmH
…The Diagnosis, Elusive: “No one has a standard diagnostic test for these sensory integration problems, nor any idea of what might be happening in the brain. Indeed, a diagnosis of such problems is not yet generally accepted. Nor is there evidence to guide treatment, which makes many doctors, if they have heard of sensory problems at all, skeptical of the diagnosis.Yet in some urban and suburban school districts across the county, talk of sensory integration has become part of the special-needs vernacular, along with attention deficit disorder and developmental delays. Though reliable figures for diagnosis rates are not available, the number of parent groups devoted to sensory problems has more than tripled in the last few years, to 55 nationwide.And now this subculture wants membership in mainstream medicine. This year, for the first time, therapists and researchers petitioned the American Psychiatric Association to include ‘sensory processing disorder’ in its influential guidebook of disorders, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Official recognition would bring desperately needed research, they say, as well as more complete coverage for treatment, which can run to more than $10,000 a year.” (New York Times )
 //speechtherapy4kids.com/images/puzzle_piece-index.jpg' cannot be displayed]

Dr. Kevorkian’s Wrong Way

~ FmH
//www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2007/06/02/3n_kervor_wideweb__470x337,0.jpg' cannot be displayed]
“Dr. Jack Kevorkian — a k a “Doctor Death” for helping chronically ill and terminally ill patients commit suicide — has emerged from prison as deluded and unrepentant as ever. Brushing aside criticism by other supporters of medically assisted suicide that his tactics were reckless and harmful to their cause, Dr. Kevorkian asserted: “I did it right. I didn’t care what they did or didn’t do. When I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it right.”

The irony, of course, is that he did it wrong, and in performing assisted suicides so badly, he besmirched the movement he hoped to energize. If his antics provided anything of value, it was as a reminder of how much terminally ill patients can suffer and of the need for sane and humane laws allowing carefully regulated assisted suicides.” (New York Times editorial)