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Teabaggers jump the shark this time?

11.20.2009
06:52 pm

Topics:
Current Events

Tags:
low IQ buffoonery

 
Who would be stupid enough to think this is funny…? From Huffington Post:

Apparently, the latest thing in “Debasing The Institutions You Pretend To Hold Dear In Order To Suggest That President Barack Obama Should Be Murdered Without Actually Coming Right Out And Saying So” goes by a shorter name: Psalm 109:8.

And Psalm 109:8 is just straight up memetastic, appearing on bumper stickers and T-shirts, all of which carry the benign sounding message, “Pray For Obama.” But, as Gawker’s John Cook points out, this is just one more in a “long line of cheekily coded Obama death threats.” The verse in question reads: “May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership.” That leads fairly naturally into the Psalm 109:9, “May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.” You know, in case you miss the point.

The Cafe Press vendor also sells dog bowls with the same,er, “zany” slogan…

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“I believe in God, only I spell it Nature.”

∞

Frank Lloyd Wright

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November 18, 2009

Do blind people hallucinate on LSD?:

I've just found a remarkable 1963 study [pdf] from the Archives of Opthalmology in which 24 blind participants took LSD to see if they could experience visual hallucinations.

It turns out, they can, although this seems largely to be the case in blind people who had several years of sight to begin with, but who later lost their vision.

Those blind from a very early age (younger than two years-old) did not report visual hallucinations, probably because they never had enough visual experience to shape a fully-functioning visual system when their brain was still developing.

It is evident that a normal retina is not needed for the occurrence of LSD-induced visual experiences. These visual experiences do not seem to differ from the hallucinations reported by normal subjects after LSD.

Such phenomena occurred only in blind subjects who reported prior visual activity. The drug increased the frequency of visual events such as spots, lights, dots, and flickers. However, the complex visual experiences reported by 3 subjects after LSD did not occur after placebo or in ordinary experience.

It is interesting to note that duration of blindness was not related to the occurrence of visual hallucinations; nor was intelligence, acuity of visual memory, or use of visual imagery in speech.

I mentioned in an earlier post on auditory hallucinations in deaf people that I'd heard rumours of studies on LSD in blind people but never found any reports. This study is not the only one it seems. The paper reviews several other studies in the same area.

Three other reports deal with the effects of hallucinogenic drugs on blind subjects. Alema reported that 50 micrograms of orally administered LSD induced elaborate visual hallucinations in a subject with bilateral enucleations of the eyeball. However, the effects of 50 micrograms of LSD are stated to have persisted for the incredibly long period of 5 days (they usually last 6 hours). This subject was noted to have spontaneous visual activity.

Zador administered mescaline orally in doses of 0.05 to 0.4gm to 10 blind subjects. Elaborate visual hallucinations usually followed. Most of the subjects had prior spontaneous visual activity, but it is difficult to evaluate this activity because they also had central nervous system diseases. The presence or absence of light perception was not specified for this group, and no control studies were carried out.

Forrer and Goldnerr gave LSD, 1 microgram per kilogram to 2 blind volunteers, both of whom had suffered destruction of the optic nerves. Neither reported visual hallucinations, no mention was made of prior spontaneous hallucinations, and no mention was made of prior spontaneous visual activity.

pdf of full text of study.
Link to PubMed entry for study.

—Vaughan.

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Now available for preorder:
The San Francisco Panorama.

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GODZILLA'S JOURNAL. BY SEAN HEWLETT - - - - June 8—Confused today about my place in this world. Am I the protector of Tokyo or the destroyer? Sometimes I just don't know. I've smashed more than my share of buildings, but I've also vanquished a ton of other monsters. Therapist suggests these vanquishings have more to do with me staking my claim to my territory and with feelings of vulnerability when challenged than with playing the hero role. Must remember to stop putting off smashing of therapist's office building. Also, mixed reactions of Japanese add to confusion. Which is it—"Oh, no! Godzilla! Run!" or "Thank goodness, Godzilla will save us from Rodan"? June 9—It's my weekend to have Minilla. The divorce still hits me pretty hard, but these weekend visitations are always uplifting. Of course, I always get some crap from Helen on Mondays about my parenting methods. "I don't approve of you teaching him the fire-breath attack at such a young age, and I definitely don't approve of you stomping on his tail when he couldn't do it right away." Will she ever understand that Mothra isn't going to wait until a certain age to attack? That kid needs to be ready now. June 10—Total embarrassment today. Minilla chooses the middle of an epic battle against Gamora and his kid as the time to tell me he doesn't want to follow in my footsteps and take up monstering as a career. Says he wants to go to Tokyo U. to study interior design. Questioning son's sexuality. June 11—Stomped Tokyo U. after dropping off Minilla at Helen's. June 12—Spent all day patching up leak in underwater lair. According to the news, I missed Mechagodzilla calling me out. Gonna be hard to live this one down. Definitely doesn't help Japanese citizens' mixed feelings about me. Called and made dentist appointment d/t toothache, possible cavity. June 13—Had quiet time alone under the sea today. Spent time pondering my past clonings. Since they weren't really born, do Biollante and SpaceGodzilla have souls? Do they share part of the same soul or essence with me? In God's eyes, am I their father? How did my DNA get into space, anyway? And who's picking 500-foot monsters as test subjects for cloning? June 14—Dentist appointment reveals toothache not a cavity, just a fisherman's buoy stuck in gums. June 15—Am I fat? I don't feel fat, but I also can remember a day when I didn't have to bend over to see which building I just stepped on. Must look into Tae Bo tapes. Maybe the point diet thing, but doubtful Weight Watchers has a system that matches my dietary needs. June 16—Feelings of depression kicking in. On top of the weight gain, I noticed today that I bear a strong resemblance to Cookie Monster. Must do something to get out of this funk. June 17—Feeling much better today. Finally had that run-in with Mechagodzilla today and leveled half of Tokyo in the scuffle. I have to admit, a lot, probably most, of that damage could have been avoided. I tossed Mecha in a different direction every time so as to maximize damage, and took a couple of flops myself when he landed some hits. I still got it. June 18—On top of the world today. Headlines heralding me as huge hero, even after wasting their city. June 19—Depressed again. Felt I was on a roll, unstoppable, then lost a bundle to my bookie. Fuckin' Yankees. June 20—D/t depression, spent all day in underwater lair in front of the TV. Just learned of 1970s cartoon with my name and likeness involved. Where the hell are my royalty checks? I don't remember approving this. And who the hell is Godzooky? Is that supposed to be Minilla? I hope so, 'cause then we'll both sue Hanna-Barbera's asses. Have to admit, liked the theme song. Have a feeling I'll be mentally singing that every time I come up out of the water now. Called lawyer and got that ball rolling.

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