BarelyBlogging

THE DEATH of former President Ronald Reagan on Saturday brought a sense of relief to Roxborough’s Valerie Morrison.

“A week before his passing, I became extremely depressed and couldn’t understand why,” said Morrison, a psychic once consulted by Nancy Reagan. “I couldn’t decipher it. Then when my husband told me that President Reagan had died, the depression left and this sense of relief came over me. I knew that now he’s with his daughter, Maureen.”

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A new study suggests these “out-of-body” and “near-death” experiences may be influenced by a portion of the brain misfiring under stress.

The paper, which describes one patient’s visions while she was being evaluated for epilepsy, does not wrestle with issues of the soul.

Nor, researchers said, do the brain-mapping results entirely explain these strange reports.

The researchers point to a processing center in the brain known as the angular gyrus. The angular gyrus is thought to play an important role in the way the brain analyzes sensory information to give us a perception of our own bodies. When it misfires, they speculate, the result can be visions of floating outside of ourselves.

Why this news is featured on a gay & lesbian website, I don’t know, but the reporter is hot!

Link (365gay.com)

Florida’s Constitution now insists that lawmakers keep their noses out of university programs, but that didn’t stop them from creating a chiropractic school, of all things, this year. Regrettably, the people who are supposed to oversee universities, the Board of Governors, did little more than vent their frustrations at their meeting last month.

The chiropractic school, fashioned for Florida State University, is largely the brainchild of a chiropractor, Sen. Dennis Jones, who has held influential positions in the Legislature. It would be the only such school on any university campus in the United States, a form of education that a 2000 FSU consultant’s report euphemistically called “unique.” But the proper role of universities in the teaching of alternative medicines is the least of the questions facing the governors board.

The Legislature’s $9-million chiropractic school appropriation is a direct affront to the board’s authority, which was duly noted in an animated dialogue on the subject. Zach Zachariah, a board member who is a Fort Lauderdale cardiologist and Republican fundraiser, was emphatic. “We have the authority,” he said. “In my opinion, there’s no question. We have to stand up.”

Instead, the board opted, on an 8-5 vote, to sit down - at least for now. Miguel DeGrandy, who is a former lawmaker, advised his colleagues: “I don’t think this is one where we want to cause a rift with the Legislature. We have to pick our fights carefully.”

Link (St. Petersburg Times)
ChiroWatch

Although there were no animals in sight, Logan could “hear” a cat talking to her and asked the stranger if she owned a cat. When the woman said yes, Logan told her the cat wanted to know why she hadn’t given his new toys to him.

The woman was astonished, Logan recalled. She said she had bought some new toys for the cat but was hiding them until his birthday, and she was even more surprised when Logan described one of them - purple with a feather - to a T.

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Supernatural films are a staple genre in the Hong Kong cinedrome. One recent success is The Eye, from Hong Kong-based Applause Pictures. The film - about a cornea-transplant patient and her eerie post-surgery visions - was a smash hit at the Hong Kong box office, and remake rights have been purchased by Hollywood’s Cruise/Wagner Productions.

But don’t search for The Eye at Beijing cineplexes any time soon. Despite decades of economic and social reform, the mainland maintains a cinematic nix-list: nudity, homosexuality, extramarital affairs and supernatural themes all remain verboten.

I love Hong Kong cinema… who knew that vampires travel by hopping?

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Just six months of yoga significantly reduces fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis, but it has no effect on alertness and cognitive function, says a new Oregon Health & Science University study.

Yoga was just as effective as other forms of exercise tested. Not exactly breakthrough news.

Link (EurekAlert - Social/Behavior)

Anti-aging medicine promises a healthier and, in turn, longer life. But does it deliver? If you could turn back the clock, defy the laws of aging, guzzle from the fountain of youth — would you?

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Although Houdini was born in Budapest, Hungary, and spent his earliest childhood years in Appleton, Wisconsin, he lived the greater part of his life in New York City. Throughout his career, no matter what he did or where he toured, The New York Times was there virtually every step of the way, covering everything from his packing-box escapes to his exposure of fraudulent spiritualists.

Compiled by Pittsburgh magician Tom Interval, this Web site is a free resource for Houdini enthusiasts and researchers who might not otherwise have access to the hundreds of Houdini articles, features, and letters that appeared in the Times from 1910 to 1943. The accompanying photos are only for visual context and, in most cases, did not appear with the articles.

Link www.houdinimuseum.org