Highest Five

World’s Strangest Delicacies

Mary Montserrat-Howlett — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:30:24 +0000

Every culture has their own traditional foods and methods of preparation, but what seems mouth-watering to some can be utterly vomit-inducing to others. While I travelled India for a month this summer, I remember talking with some locals about foods they liked and disliked, asking them if there were any particular Western dishes they found totally disgusting. To my surprise, they were almost all in accord that pizza was by far one of the most repulsive foods, claiming the smell of hot cheese made their stomachs churn. With pizza being pretty well my favourite food in the whole wide world, I became curious to know what seemingly gross dishes are actually considered delicacies depending where you are. Here are some of the notable ones I came across.

Hákarl (i.e. Rotten Shark) – Iceland

I first saw this dish on an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s travel-cooking show No Reservations and judging by Bourdain’s reaction, this is one delicacy that even the toughest of stomachs can barely withstand. Apparently, even among Icelanders this is an acquired taste and many don’t eat it. It has a very particular ammonia-rich smell and fishy taste, similar to Jewish deli whitefish or very, very, very disgustingly strong cheese.

Preparation: Typically, a Greenland or basking shark is the Hákarl shark of choice. First, gut and behead it. Next, place it in a shallow hole, dug in gravelly-sand, then cover it with the sand and gravel. Place stones on top of the sand in order to press the shark and extract any fluids out of the body. Allow the shark to ferment for 6-12 weeks. Following the curing period, cut the shark into strips and hang them to dry for several months. During this drying period a brown crust will develop. Remove the crust prior to cutting the shark into small pieces and presto, ready to serve.

Tacos de Chapulines (i.e. Grasshopper Tacos) – Mexico

Given enough Tequila, I think I would certainly indulge in one of these once-happy-hopping, crunchy delights. Restaurant critic Robert Sietsema describes them as “meaty, crispy and strangely addictive” and, if you keep your eyes closed, “aren’t all that different from say, pork tidbits”. They are also highly nutritious, low in fat and contain pound for pound, twice the protein content of beef.

Preparation: Send children outside to chase grasshoppers. Get the most demonic child to remove all of the grasshoppers’ wings and legs. Once this is done, the cooking is up to you. Heat up some frying oil in a shallow pan, then sautée garlic, chili and onions until the onions are translucent. Remove and discard onions, chili and garlic from the oil, leaving only the oil in the pan. Place the grasshoppers in the oil until crisp and brown. Make sure you cook them thoroughly though, as sometimes they can contain parasites. Remove the grasshoppers and drain them well on paper towel. Similar to the process of taking a tequila shot, sprinkle salt over the top of your grasshoppers, (like you would your hand before licking it off pre-tequila consumption) then squeeze some lime over them (like you would squeeze lime into your mouth, post-tequila consumption).

Gator Kebabs – South Louisiana

Mostly served at outdoor festivals, chunks of deep-fried alligator are served on 10-inch wooden skewers. This rare delicacy is said to have a chewy consistency, something to the effect of undercooked pork. Yummy?

Preparation: For the freshest of fresh gator kebabs, find a hunter with a permit to shoot alligators. Cut up the alligator’s tail into bite-sized pieces. Batter your gator in cornmeal seasoning. Skewer, throw on the barbecue and serve.

Bird’s Nest Soup – China

The initial image that popped into my head upon hearing the name of this renowned Chinese dish, was a soup comprised of floating, miscarried birds and remnants of twigs. However, it seems that a few species of swallow, namely swiflets, are known for building saliva nests, saliva which apparently produces a unique texture for soup that is simply… mouth-watering. The nests have been a traditional part of Chinese cooking for over 400 years and are among the most expensive animal products consumed by humans. In Hong Kong, a bowl of Bird Nest Soup could cost anywhere from $30 USD to $100 USD.

Preparation: There are two types of bird nests available: clean or unclean. Clean nests should be soaked in cold water for about 3 hours until soft, then cleaned under cold water. Unclean nests are blackish and still contain feathers and twigs so you will have to soak them for at least a day, that way, they will expand, loosening any foreign matter which will then float to the top. Rinse off the nests under running water until nothing comes loose. Whatever stubborn impurities remain will have to be handpicked using a pair of tweezers. Once this is done, you can add the softened nest pieces into your favourite chicken soup recipe. Mmmmm… Bird nest…

Kopi Luwak (i.e. Luwak Coffee) – Indonesia

For those of you who like cute things, FEAR NOT, no Luwaks were hurt in the process of making Kopi Luwak. In fact, these little creatures are renowned for their delicious poop which makes for the world’s rarest and most expensive coffee beans at a pricy $100-$600 USD per pound. The Luwak’s diet consists of only the ripest coffee cherries, however because they don’t digest the beans, the beans come out perfectly whole. The fermentation process in the stomach results in a unique, delicious aroma once excreted.

Preparation: Once the Luwak has shat, wash the beans. With the beans in hand, think about where they came from and wash them again. Then, lightly roast the beans, but only lightly, so as to not destroy the complex flavors that develop through the process.

Fried Tarantula – Cambodia

It seems one person’s nightmare is another’s regional delicacy. In the Cambodian town of Sukon, fried tarantulas are a very popular and seemingly tasty snack, which have come to pique the curiosity of many tourist taste buds from all over the world. The spider-frying tradition came in response to the starving population’s need for food during the years of the Khmer Rouge rule. The spiders are bred in holes in the ground in villages north of Skuon and then fried in oil; legs, fangs and all. The tarantulas are said to have a crispy exterior and a soft, sometimes runny interior.

Preparation: Toss spiders into a mixture of MSG, sugar and salt. Crush garlic and fry in oil. Add spiders to the fried garlic oil and wait until the legs are almost completely stiff, so that the contents of the abdomen are not too runny.

Seal Flipper Pie – Canada

Flipper pie is a Canadian dish, specific to Newfoundland, made from seal flippers and commonly eaten at Easter. Taste-wise it is said to taste like a combination of slow-cooked beef and liver with hints of chewiness and a slight marine flavour, which I guess means it will be pretty Fishy.

Preparation: For the freshest of fresh flipper pie, find a seal hunter who will kill and cut off the seal’s flippers for you. In Newfoundland this is easier than it sounds. Salt and then rinse the flippers in hot water and baking soda. Next, boil your flippers with onions, carrots and celery. Remove the meat from the bones and tendons, and make into a meat pie-like dish with a puff pastry.

Bon appétit!

Craziest Natural Disasters

Mary Montserrat-Howlett — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:39:31 +0000

The disastrous earthquake that hit Haiti January 12, 2010 has affected an estimated 3 million people and is one of the most catastrophic natural disasters recorded. Here are some of the most notable natural disasters the human race has ever seen, a little about what causes them and the deadliest ones on record.

Earthquakes

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Cause: Earthquakes are caused by the movement of tectonic plates (large plates of rock that make up the foundation of the earth’s crust and the shape of continents) on the surface of the earth. Tectonic plates are constantly moving, towards, away or past each other. An earthquake occurs when there is a disturbance in the movements of plates, especially where one plate is forced under another.

Deadliest Earthquake:The 1556 Shaanxi earthquake or Jiajing earthquake is the deadliest earthquake on record, killing approximately 830,000 people. More than 97 counties in the provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Gansu, Hebei, Shandong, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu and Anhui were affected. An 840-kilometre (520 mi)-wide area was destroyed, and in some counties 60% of the population was killed.

Cyclones & Hurricanes

Cyclone

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Hurricane

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Cause:The terms “hurricane” and “typhoon” are regionally specific names for a strong “tropical cyclone”. A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a low pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and flooding rain. Cyclones develop over warm seas near the Equator. Air heated by the sun rises very swiftly, which creates areas of very low pressure. As the warm air rises, it becomes loaded with moisture which condenses into massive thunderclouds. Cool air rushes in to fill the void that is left, but because of the constant turning of the Earth on its axis, the air is bent inwards and then spirals upwards with great force. The swirling winds rotate faster and faster, forming a huge circle which can be up to 2,000 km across. At the centre of the storm is a calm, cloudless area called the eye, where there is no rain, and the winds are fairly light.

Deadliest Cyclone:The oldest and the worst cyclone on record is that of October 1737 which hit Calcutta and took a toll of 300,000 lives in the deltaic region. It was accompanied by a 12 metre high surge. A violent earthquake coinciding with this storm enhanced the destruction.

Avalanches

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Cause: Major causes of avalanches are weather, snowfall, temperature, wind direction, snow pack conditions, slope angle, slope orientation, terrain, and vegetation. Avalanches only occur when the stress on the snow exceeds the shear, ductile, and tensile strength either within the snow pack or at the contact of the base of the snow pack with the ground or rock surface.

Deadliest Avalanche: The 1970 Ancash earthquake or Great Peruvian Earthquake was an undersea earthquake that occurred on May 31 of that year. Combined with a resultant landslide, it was the worst catastrophic natural disaster ever recorded in the history of Peru. The quake destabilized the northern wall of Mount Huascarán, causing a rock, ice and snow avalanche and burying the towns of Yungay and Ranrahirca. The avalanche started as a sliding mass of glacial ice and rock about 3,000 feet (910 m) wide and one mile (1.6 km) long. It advanced about 11 miles (18 km) to the village of Yungay at an average speed of more than 100 miles per hour. The reported death toll from the earthquake and avalanche totalled 74,194 people, although some estimates place it as high as 80,000.

Tornadoes

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Cause:Tornadoes form in unusually violent thunderstorms when there is sufficient instability and wind shear present in the lower atmosphere. They are caused when a cloud of the right size precipitates rapidly releasing heat, which causes it to rise, and creates a vacuum under it. The warm moist air is forced upward (either by the heat of the sun, a cold front, or other weather disturbances). If the atmosphere is unstable strong upward currents called updrafts lift the air until water vapor condenses forming clouds and precipitation.

Deadliest Tornado: The deadliest tornado in world history was the Daultipur-Salturia Tornado in Bangladesh on April 26, 1989, which killed approximately 1,300 people. The tornado was estimated to be approximately one mile wide, and had a path that was about 50 miles long, through the poor areas and slums of Bangladesh. Approximately 80,000 people were left homeless by the storm, and 12,000 people were injured by the storm.

Tsunamis

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Cause:A tsunami is a large ocean wave that is caused by sudden motion on the ocean floor. This sudden motion could be an earthquake, a powerful volcanic eruption, or an underwater landslide. The impact of a large meteorite could also cause a tsunami. Tsunamis travel across the open ocean at great speeds and build into large deadly waves in the shallow water of a shoreline.

Deadliest Tsunami:The earthquake that generated the great Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 is estimated to have released the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). By the end of the day more than 150,000 people were dead or missing and millions more were homeless in 11 countries, making it the most destructive tsunami in history.

Floods

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Cause: Heavy rainfalls are one of the major causes of floods. Floods can be caused by the overflow of huge volumes of water, from rivers, lakes, oceans, heavy rains downpours, hurricanes, cyclones, or tsunamis or unexpected event such as dam breakages.
Deadliest Flood: Throughout history, floods have proven to be the deadliest natural disasters and China boasts 6 of the world’s top 10 deadliest floods and landslides of all time. The 1931 Central China floods are a series of floods that occurred during the Nanjing decade in the Republic of China era. It is generally considered the deadliest natural disaster ever recorded, and almost certainly the deadliest of the 20th century (when pandemics are discounted) and in China. The human casualties are estimated from 3.7 million to 4 million.

Sinkholes

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Cause: A sinkhole is a large depression in the Earth’s surface, often shaped like a well or a funnel, that can be up to several miles in diameter. A crack in underground limestone is often the first step in the formation of a sinkhole. A sinkhole may also be caused by a dramatic event, such as the collapse of a cave roof. Most commonly, sinkholes occur in urban areas due to water main breaks or sewer collapses when old pipes give way.

Most Disastrous: Whole buildings have been sucked into sinkholes and on February of 2007 entire roads were knocked out and part of a poor Guatemala City neighborhood plummeted some 30 stories into the Earth. The reportedly 330-foot-deep (100-meter-deep) sinkhole swallowed about a dozen homes and claimed the lives of three people.

Landslides & Mudslides

Landslide

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Mudslide

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Cause: Landslides are caused by disturbances in the natural stability of a slope. They can happen after heavy rains, droughts, earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. Mudslides develop when water rapidly collects in the ground and results in a surge of water-soaked rock, earth and debris. Mudslides usually begin on steep slopes and can be triggered by natural disasters. Areas where wildfires or construction have destroyed vegetation on slopes are at high-risk landslides during and after heavy rains.

Deadliest Landslide:The Kansu landslide is the worst in recorded history. An earthquake near the Tibetan border was felt through some 30,000 square miles of western China. Thousands of peasants lived in cave dwellings, carved into the sides of 100-foot-high clay cliffs and hills framing the riverbanks. After the earthquake, these cliffs were sheared off along deep vertical faults and sent falling into river valleys, destroying more than 100 cities, countless villages, and killing more than 180,000.

Deadliest Mudslide :The 1999 Vargas tragedy was a disaster that struck the Vargas State of Venezuela in December 1999. The torrential rains and mudslides that followed on 14 December through 16 killed tens of thousands of people, destroyed thousands of homes, and led to the complete collapse of the state’s infrastructure. The disaster caused estimated damages of USD $1.79 to $3.5 billion. More than 8,000 homes were destroyed, displacing up to 75,000 people. The death toll was considered to be between 10,000 and 30,000 — the exact number of casualties is difficult to estimate as there were no reliable census data, especially about shanty towns and small communities that were completely wiped out; moreover, only some 1,000 bodies were recovered, with the rest swept to sea by the mud or buried in the landslides.

Volcanoes

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Cause: Inside the earth’s core there is a red-hot liquid rock, called magma. Volcanoes happen when magma rises to the surface of the earth, which causes bubbles of gas to appear in it. This gas can cause pressure to build up in the mountain, and it eventually explodes. When the magma bursts out of the earth, it is called lava.
Deadliest Volcano:Mount Tambora’s 1815 eruption on the on the Sumbawa islands of Indonesia was the largest eruption since the Lake Taupo eruption in 180 CE. The death toll was at least 71,000 people (making it the most deadly eruption in history), 11,000–12,000 were killed directly by the eruption but long-term implications were even worse. Some estimates say another 82,000 perished as a result of agricultural and environmental devastation

Blizzards

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Cause: Snow storms can be caused by a warm front colliding with a cold front. This creates a low pressure zone. When clouds in the low pressure zone are filled with ice crystals, there are chances for a major blizzard. Low pressure creates high powered winds, as the warmer air spirals into the low zone, and adds a lot of movement. Therefore if a low pressure zone gets lower, the winds speed up.
Deadliest Blizzard: The Great Blizzard of 1888 was one of the most severe blizzards in United States’ recorded history. The storm, referred to as the Great White Hurricane, paralyzed the East Coast from the Chesapeake Bay to Maine, as well as the Atlantic provinces of Canada. Over 400 people died from the storm and the ensuing cold, including 200 in New York City alone.

Wildfires

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Cause: The four major natural causes of wildfire ignitions are lightning, volcanic eruption, sparks from rockfalls, and spontaneous combustion.However, many wildfires are attributed to human sources such as arson, discarded cigarettes, sparks from equipment and power line arcs.
Deadliest Wildfire: The October 8, 1871 Peshtigo Fire in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, is the conflagration that caused the death of 1,700 people, the most deaths by fire in United States history. Having occurred on the same day as the more infamous Great Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo Fire is mostly forgotten.

Social Networking & Internet Vigilantes

Mary Montserrat-Howlett — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:36:02 +0000

Or Ways Social Networking is Fucking Shit up for Criminals and Assholes

Stories of internet vigilantism are becoming increasingly common, and with social networking sites enabling information to travel as fast as a speeding bullet and spread as quickly as gonorrhea, it’s easier than ever for people seeking revenge to take the law into their own hands. Though law officials are trying to keep internet justice under control, bad news travels fast and the word is always out before they can put a stop to it. Here are some notable cases of vigilantism, possible because of social networking.

With close to a half-billion users, Facebook has become the go-to website for Internet Vigilanties itching to dispense some good old vigilante justice.

Justice Served

Internet vigilantes named and shamed Kenny Christopher Glenn, a 14 year old cat abuser that posted videos of himself and his brother beating the piss out of their cat. A number of internet communities managed to find out his name, where he lived, his phone number and the school he goes to, getting support from around the globe to make sure these kids don’t get away with their blatant cruelty.

eBay Vigilantes

Unhappy with eBay’s failed attempts at eliminating fraudulent eBay activity, an increasing number of upset eBay users have been taking justice into their own hands and becoming eBay vigilantes. Bidding millions of dollars on items they believe to be a sham, they are warning bidders to stay away from faulty auctions by ensuring that no one wins them. Funny thing is eBay is not at all happy about the vigilantes, claiming they are disrupting legitimate auctions. eBay is actually spending more time cracking down on them than they are eBay scammers.

Facebook Vigilantes

Smokey the Teenage Mom

Rebecca Davey, an 18 year old mother was investigated by police after photographs of her six-month old son with a cigarette in his mouth were posted on Facebook. Rebecca then declared her love for her son, writing: ‘Why Would SomeOne Do That To Me U Ollie No was taking U Yur Mine for lyfee Darlinggg Mummy Loves You ’

Poor, poor child…

Cat Killers Convected

Back in 2008, four teenage boys/evil horrible shitheads were accused of killing a cat by putting it in a microwave. Facebook vigilantes then decided to name and identity the accused on several Facebook pages.

One person set up a hate group and wrote, “I think people like that should be shot.” Another person, who originally posted the names, wrote: “They will all get their faces smashed in by January 6th.”

The problem is that the act of identifying individuals charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act is illegal and could lead to criminals getting off on petty technicalities. Moreover, ignorance cannot be used as a defense. Technology is creating new legal scenarios for lawyers and judges — particularly sites like Facebook, which allow users to self-publish. A person convicted could well face a more severe sentence from a judge.

Baby P’s Revenge

Peter Connelly (also known as “Baby P” and “Baby Peter”) was a 2 year old boy who died in London after suffering more than 50 injuries over an eight-month period. Peter’s mother, Tracey Connelly, her boyfriend, Steven Barker, and Jason Owen (revealed to be the brother of Barker) were all convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child. The identities of the convicted were circulating via unofficial news websites and social networking sites. Online vigilantes began a campaign calling for violent retribution.

One Facebook group was entitled “Death is too good for [the mother's name], torture the bitch that killed Baby P”. Another that carried the name said “Baby P killers should be hanged Drawn and Quartered”. Facebook shut down pages carrying threats and abusive comments about the mother after thousands of users subscribed to groups carrying the names of the couple and Jason Owen.

Twisted Fire Starter

Authorities charged Brendan Sokaluk, a 39-year-old who once served as a volunteer fighter of lighting one of Australia’s deadly wildfires that killed a total of more than 180 people in Australia. FB vigilantes revealed the Aussie wildfire starter’s photo and address, threatening his life. At least two Facebook groups have been created to name and shame the alleged arsonist, and thousands of Facebook users have joined them.

Police in Victoria demanded Facebook remove Sokaluk’s details and urged people to let them do their job.

Twitterlantes

26 year old Paul Chambers was arrested after joking about blowing up Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport after his flight got delayed and decided to write this in a tweet:

“‘Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together, otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high”

Police were alerted to the Tweets, and Mr. Chambers was arrested. He was held under UK anti-terror laws, and locked up for seven hours. He was eventually released on bail, and will have to appear in court on February 11th. Worst of all (for him), he has been banned for life from Robin Hood airport and has been suspended from his job.

Crazy In Our Own Ways: Mental Illness Around The World

Mary Montserrat-Howlett — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:44:19 +0000

Flying over the cuckoo’s nest can vary radically from culture to culture and after reading a very interesting NY Times article: The Americanization of Mental Illness, I wanted to find out more about some very particular culture-bound syndromes mentioned, most of which were unbeknownst to me. Killing rampages, fear that genitals are retracting, spirits taking over the body… here are some notable cultural illnesses that step outside the Western medical box and can only be understood, “understanding the ideas, habits and predispositions of the mind that is its host”.

CULTURE-BOUND SYNDROMES

Amok (South Asia)

Amok or running amok is derived from the Malay/Indonesian word amuk, meaning mad with rage. It quite literally is a mad fit of rage where a person who hasn’t shown any previous signs of anger or inclination to violence will suddenly switch into homicidal maniac mode and attempt to kill or seriously injure anyone around them. Their fit will be followed by a bout of amnesia wherein the person will return to their premorbid state (i.e. the state before they went haywire) with no recollection of the incident. This violent outburst is prevalent almost exclusively among males. Episodes of this kind normally end with the attacker being killed by bystanders, or committing suicide. Many researchers theorize that amok is closely related to male honor. Some element of deep shame has prevented them from living an honourable life and running amok is a way of escaping the world (as the perpetrator usually gets killed) as well as re-establishing one’s reputation as a man to be feared and respected.

Koro or Penis Panics –(South Asia, Africa)

Also known as genital retraction syndrome (GRS), koro is a condition in which an individual is overcome with the belief that his/her external genitals are retracting into the body, shrinking, or in some male cases, disappearing entirely. Koro most commonly strikes men, but rare cases are known to involve women and the fear that either their external genitals or nipples are retracting into the body. Though Koro itself is not physically harmful, and no actual retraction has ever taken place, injuries have occurred when koro-stricken men have resorted to apparatuses such as needles, hooks, fishing line, or shoe strings, to prevent the disappearance of their penises. (Typing that sentence just made my guts churn.) Some Western scholars claim that GRS is similar to the Western category of a panic attack, with sexual elaborations. In cultures where sexual anxiety is high and stories exist of death by genital retraction, a man in the right frame of mind could panic at the observation that his genitals are shrinking in response to cold or anxiety.

Pibloktoq or Arctic Hysteria (Arctic Circle)

It is probably safe to assume, that if you live in the Arctic you are already a stark raving mad lunatic. Pibloktoq is a condition that is prevalent in winter (how shocking!) and is exclusive to Eskimo societies living within the Arctic Circle. The condition is characterized by an abrupt dissociative episode of intense hysteria, frequently followed by convulsive seizures and coma lasting up to 12 hours. Symptoms can include intense screaming, uncontrolled wild behavior, depression, coprophagia (i.e. eating feces- nothing like warm poo on a cold day), insensitivity to extreme cold (such as running around in the snow naked), echolalia (senseless repetition of overheard words, e.g. red rum, red rum) and other irrational and dangerous acts. This condition is most often seen in Eskimo women and is linked to vitamin A toxicity (hypervitaminosis A) found in the native Eskimo diet which consists primarily of organ meats, arctic fish and mammal liver.

Grisi Siknis (Central America)

Grisi Siknis is a contagious, culture-bound syndrome that occurs predominantly among the Miskito people of eastern Central America and affects mainly young girls ranging from 15 to 18 years old. According to Dr. Phil Dennis of Texas Tech University, grisi siknis is typically characterized by long periods of anxiety, nausea, dizziness, irrational anger and fear, interlaced with short periods of rapid frenzy, in which the victim “lose[s] consciousness, believe[s] that devils are beating them and trying to have sexual relations with them”. In the majority of cases the victim will try and run away. Miskito tradition, according to Dennis, holds that grisi siknis is caused by the possession of an evil spirit. The victim may view other people as devils, feel no pain for bodily injuries and have absolute amnesia regarding their physical circumstances.

“Some grab machetes or broken bottles to wave off unseen assailants. Other victims are reported to have performed superhuman feats, vomited strange objects such as spiders, hair and coins and spoken in tongues. In some cases the semi-conscious victim will speak the names of the next to be infected, although it is not always accurate.”

Susto (Latin America)

Susto is a cultural illness, specifically a “fright sickness” characterized by a sudden intense fear of a threatening spirit. Most common among adult women (although men and children have also been affected), it is attributed to a “soul loss” resulting from a frightful or traumatic experience. Through this fright, Earth spirits capture a person’s soul removing it from their body, never again to return. Symptoms include fatigue, insomnia, feelings of loss and depression and eating disorders. Traditional Western medicine has not yet recognized susto but there are some similarities between susto and certain anxiety disorders, “post-traumatic stress disorder” and “acute stress disorder” in particular.

Anorexia Nervosa (North America, Western Europe)

Though anorexia mainly affects young girls and women living in Western societies, cases of anorexia are becoming increasingly common in places such as Singapore and China. A survey found that most of the patients tend to be from rich families, thus ruling out malnutrition as a cause, but a result. Anorexia is the severe restriction of food intake, associated with a morbid fear of obesity. In places in the world where food is scarce, the concern about getting fat is… non-existent. For many anorexics, self-starvation is a way to feel in control. People with anorexia may feel powerless in their everyday lives, but they can control what they eat. Restricting food is a way to cope with painful feelings such as anger, shame, and self-loathing. Methods used to lose weight include excessive exercise, laxative use and purging, as symptoms of bulimia nervosa may overlap.

5 Recommended, Free Sites To Take Online Business Classes

William MacDonald — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:15:42 +0000

Many of us don’t have the time to go back to school to complete a business degree, but with so many different online prospects, taking business courses online saves time and money and gives you the opportunity to learn at your own pace. Whether you’re looking to start your own business, improve your leadership skills, or expand your online marketing knowledge, here are some top site’s to help further your new business endeavors.

1) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

You can find a wide range of free online business courses at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Some of the classes offered include:

• Financial and Managerial Accounting: This course aids business owners in understanding and presenting financial information to investors and for decision-making processes within the management of your business.
• Applied Economics for Managers: Learn about how economists model consumer choices and market coordination. While it mostly focuses on microeconomics, you’ll learn a little bit about global markets as well.
• Taxes and Business Strategy: Plan for taxes and situate your business in the most advantageous spot within tax laws.

2) The Small Business Training Network (SBTN)

SBTN offers online courses, workshops, publications, information resources, learning tools and direct access to electronic counseling, and other forms of technical assistance. Many of the learning opportunities offered by the Network are developed by co-sponsors (academic institutions and corporations), some are developed by SBA’s resource partners and some are developed internally through agency contracts. All of the offerings are free, most are self-paced and the majority are considered “topical primers“.

3) Free Management Library (SM)

There are approximately 650 topics in the Library, spanning 5,000 links. Topics include the most important practices to start, develop, operate, evaluate and resolve problems in for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Each topic has additionally recommended books and related Library topics. FML gives you step-by-step guidelines, from how to employ calendar software for time management, to tools and techniques necessary for the most important activities in any for-profit or nonprofit organization.

4) My Own Business

MOB offers courses on how to start your own business. (Certificate options are also available on the site.) The 16 courses are presented by various successful business owners, explaining why most businesses fail and how to avoid common mistakes. Some of the topics include evaluating business potential, communication tools, accounting and cash flow and how to finance your business.

5) The Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

The Kutztown University of Pennsylvania’s Small Business Development Center offers more than 80 free business courses online. Many of the courses feature high-end graphics, interactive case studies and audio streams. Some courses offered include:

•    Accounting
•    Business Management
•    Business Planning
•    Finance
•    International Business
•    Marketing
•    Small Business Management

How to Legally Defend Yourself With Weapons

Dan Bingham — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:04:23 +0000

One of my biggest fears, is to somehow end up in prison. I have no idea how that could happen, I’m a fairly law abiding citizen, but if it can happen to Martha Stewart, if someone who builds Christmas trees out of pipe cleaners and love gets thrown in the slammer, then what chance do I have?

One of the only scenarios I could imagine where I’d end up in prison is if I got into some sort of street brawl with a hooligan, and I ended up seriously injuring or killing my attacker. Aside from the weather, there are few things in this world more chaotic than violence. Someone tries to swing at you, you step aside and throw him into a lamp post, he falls and cracks his skull on the pavement, turning his brain to pudding, and now you’ve got the right to remain silent. Hopefully an emergency response team arrives in time. You were trying to defend yourself from a mugger, now you’re defending yourself in a court of law.

Of course when it comes to self-defense I’ve always believed in the expression “Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.” If your life is being threatened, you need to do whatever it takes to survive, and you can’t have your sharpest instincts about you if your head is all muddled with thoughts of legal ramifications. However, if you can prove that your attacker encroached on your personal space, to the point where you felt threatened, you will be more justified in how you dealt with them. This is why before any violent encounter you should have already defined what your “limits” are. In the U.S. if you beat a burglar’s head in with a 9 Iron, all you have say is “they were on my property, and I was defending my family.” The same applies if you break someone’s arm in three places, you’ll need to prove how “they were in my space, and I was defending my body.” One example of someone infiltrating your space is someone laying their hands on you or grabbing you in any way. You should consider this a strike that has already landed, and you should react accordingly.

But on the street you’ll also need to prove that you:

1. Did everything you could to verbally de-escalate the situation.
2. Could not escape and was responding to your attacker’s levels of aggression.
3. Felt that your life was in danger.

The Use of Weapons

All this being said, when is it okay to use a weapon on an attacker, and which weapons are acceptable to carry on your person at all times? We’ve used this graphic before, but it serves as an effective indicator as to when weapons can come into play without getting you into legal hot water:

Technically anything you can find can turn into a weapon. As all three Bourne movies have proven you can cause consideral damage to an opponent using a pen, a book, or a magazine, and these of course do not limit you from using your wallet, keys, your cell phone (for calling 9-11 or as a beating tool), or an umbrella to ward off an attacker.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As for actual weapons you are legally allowed to carry, the laws vary from state to state, province to province. For example in some states it is perfectly acceptable to carry pepper spray, a taser, extendable batons, knives, throwing stars and even a hand gun, as long as you have the appropriate paperwork and authorization to do so. While in others, knives, tasers, batons and guns are strictly prohibited.

So before you start roaming the streets at night with your shotgun and a pocket full of ninja stars, make sure they’re legal, make sure you’re trained in how to use them, and make sure to only pull out your weapons as a last resort. Remember, the goal is to survive, not to brutally beat someone into an unrecognizable pulp. In a world where you can get sued or even go to prison for defending yourself, make sure to define you physical limits, to keep in mind the amount of force needed for every level of aggression, and to know the laws concerning concealed weapons in your neck of the woods. Once these things are solidified in the back of your mind, you can focus all your attention on the deconstruction of your assailant.

A Virtually Realistic History of Virtual Reality

Steven Rosen — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:28:13 +0000

What’s the coolest piece of technology in Star Trek? One word, three syllables: Holodeck. Screw tri-corders and tractor beams, every man, woman and child that watched Gene Roddenberry’s TV cult classic secretly dreamed of the day when they would be able to walk through an automatic doorway and into a far away land.
Well, we’ve got the automatic doors, an iPod is practically a tri-corder, we’ve already got virtual data rooms, and I’m sure that some particle physicist somewhere almost has a lock on the tractor beam. So, the question remains, where’s our Virtual Reality room?

A Brief History of Virtual Reality

The creation of virtual reality has been slow going, arduous and, up until the mid-‘90s, largely theoretical in nature. In 1965 Ivan Sutherland, an ARPA scientist, published his grand oeuvre “The Ultimate Display.” In his essay Sutherland predicted all sorts of advances in computer technology: computer mice, drag and drop interfaces and voice recognition software. But most importantly, he wrote about the ultimate display—“a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter.” Sutherland’s essay might have been full of fanciful speculations about the future of digital technology, but his wild (and shockingly accurate) predictions helped plant the seed of VR in the minds of scientists and non-scientists to follow.

In 1968 with the help of one of his assistants, Sutherland created one of the first head mounted augmented reality display systems—what would come to be known through movies and TV as a VR helmet—known to some as The Sword of Damocles because it was so big and heavy that it had to be suspended precariously over the user’s head with a series of cables. The display only showed the users crude outlines of a virtual environment.

Despite the technology’s scientific beginnings, however, VR made its first major strides in fiction. The movie TRON had people imagining the possibilities of interactive gaming to the Nth degree. William Gibson rocked the minds of a generation when he wrote of a cyber-punk society where a brain-computer interface was possible in Neuromancer. Ray Bradbury took the concept of a VR room to its most horrific extreme in The Veldt.

And while VR charged ahead in the realm of fiction, in the field of science it scrambled to keep up.

The first major technical leap forward came in the mid-‘70s in the form of Myron Krueger’s VIDEOPLACE. Using cameras, computers and projectors, people in a VR room were able to see and interact with silhouettes of people in other similar rooms. Compared to the advances that writers and directors of the time were coming up with, VIDEOPLACE was crude, but Krueger’s experiments showed that science was at least trying to move forward with VR.

Click here to view the embedded video.

So, Virtual reality had bounded forward in one of the five senses—sight—but that left the other four to conquer. Soon scientists were trying to combine systems like VIDEOPLACE with data gloves and tactile interfaces. The leader in this field was Jaron Lanier. In fact, he popularized the term virtual reality. In 1985 Lanier founded a company called VPL Research and began experimenting with all sorts of goggle and glove set ups.

Initially, the video game market, captivated by the possibilities of VR, tried to cash in on the early advancements. Who could forget that seminal scene in the classic movie Wizard where the badass townie unlocks a Nintendo power glove from a carrying case and proceeds to school all those who dare come up against him? Or the phase in the mid-‘90s where you could stand on a giant platform, put on a ridiculously large helmet and box a 16-bit opponent with Nintendo Wii-like controllers?

But all of these attempts to game with VR would quickly fade away—most in less than a year. The tech was too expensive, the equipment was too bulky and the graphics and game play offered weren’t up to par. So, gaming companies quickly cut their losses and left VR to the scientists and the artists, and they had a field day.

Since the late ‘80s virtual reality has been popping up everywhere in movies and TV. The Lawnmower man, VR5, Virtuosity, eXistenZ, and most famously The Matrix imagined worlds where the goggles and gloves were obsolete; it was all about beaming the information directly into the user’s brain.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Science too kept pursuing the elusive brass ring of VR, but direct to brain transmission was and is still a little invasive for the scientific community (However, this didn’t stop Sony from patenting the idea that information could someday be beamed into a human’s brain earlier this year). Instead, they concentrated on better, less intrusive helmets, more efficient interfaces and more realistic 3D modeling.

Virtual Reality in… Reality

This brings us to today. Current VR technology, while more impressive than anything we’ve had before, still falls short of what we imagined it could be. Most systems can only manage to immerse two senses at a time: The VR systems that therapists use to help treat client phobias or PTSD use helmets or small rooms to simulate sights and sounds; The Nintendo Wii allows people to physically interact with a virtual opponent.

But science is getting tired of this plateau it’s been stuck on. In the last few years, researchers in the field of VR have been stretching themselves to hit more of the five senses.
One of the biggest innovations in VR came earlier this year. Sight and sound have always been the go-to senses for virtual reality researchers, but few have ventured into the realm of taste and smell. In March 2009 a team of scientists from the Universities of York and Warwick in the U.K. revealed what they saw as a giant leap forward in VR tech, the Virtual Cocoon. The cocoon not only simulates the looks and sounds of a 3D environment on the inside of a portable helmet, it also has a library of smells and tastes it can feed to the user to correspond to the world they are experiencing.

Which just leaves one last aspect of creating a truly immersive virtual reality system–the ever elusive locomotion? You can create life-like graphics and simulate realistic sounds, you can feed them tastes and smells, but as soon as your test subject takes their first step to explore your virtual world, you’re in trouble, and a virtual world the size of your living room just doesn’t do it for most people. To get around this problem, a company called Cyberwalk has started work on an omni-directional treadmill they call the CyberCarpet. This would allow people to walk in any direction for as long as they want without hitting a wall or walking into traffic. When combined with something like the Virtual Cocoon, we’re the closest we’ve ever been to escaping this troublesome world in favour of an ideal one of our own making.

We may have waited a long time, and the technology might be in its infancy, but we may have our VR rooms and Holodecks sooner that we think.

Integrating Back Into Society After Being Released From Prison

William MacDonald — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:40:50 +0000

There are over 2 million people currently serving time in the U.S. prison system and according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, over a half million will re-enter society each year. However, due to a host of issues, including mental health or substance abuse problems, about 50 percent of these individuals will repeatedly return to the prison system. Sadly, even in the best of circumstances, reintegration is tough for prisoners. Here is an overview of some critical issues that prisoners face when attempting to rejoin society, as well as some strategies states can use to help make the process run more smoothly.

Retraining and Employment

One of the most critical issues in determining whether an ex-prisoner can successfully re-enter society is their training and employment. Prisons often fail to provide any type of job training to prisoners, which means they leave prison without any way to earn a living. Recidivism rates of prisoners involved in job and vocational training during their stint in jail are generally 20-60 percent lower than those of prisoners released without the additional training. Some states, such as Illinois and Virginia, are successfully reducing recidivism rates by providing programs that help train prisoners and find them jobs after their release. Programs like these are crucial to help ensure the successful re-integration of prisoners, having their criminal record wiped clean by pardon services Canada, as well as the provision of temporary support services such as housing assistance and food stamps.

Family Networks

Prisoners who have a supportive network of family members tend to have a smoother reintegration process. By involving concerned family members in the process and helping ensure prisoners maintain strong relationships with their family while in jail, some states are improving their recidivism rates as well as ensuring adequate support for the prisoner. Family members can often help by providing prisoners with a place to stay after their release and by helping them to find employment. They also provide emotional support, which is an important part of helping prisoners avoid substance abuse and other issues that often led to their initial imprisonment.

Housing

Many studies show that up to 50 percent of recent parolees become homeless at some point after being released from prison. By lifting many of the bans that prevent individuals with drug felony convictions from being able to apply for government help with housing or food, states can help ensure that ex-prisoners have a safe place to live. Without a physical address, looking for a stable job can be impossible, which can compound the problem for many parolees. Programs that help ensure parolees have a stable place to live after leaving prison can help prisoners build a more successful life after leaving prison.

Sionara Endoscope! Hello Virtual Colonoscopy!

William MacDonald — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:12:15 +0000

The thought of having an endoscope passed through your anus, up your rectum and into your colon can be dreadfully intimidating, but with colon cancer being such a widespread disease that has claimed its victims with few symptoms and warning signs, taking the uncomfortable test has proved most effective in the prevention and diagnosis of various medical problems related to the colon. And the good news is, in this technologically advanced world we live in today, now your doctor can colonoscopize you, without the insertion of an invasive tube between your hams, well, mostly.

Thanks to medical imaging technologies, physicians can do a full colon exploration while viewing the images in near real time on the screen. A virtual colonoscopy provides 3D reconstructed endoluminal views of the bowel without the use of a colonoscope. VC is a procedure used to look for signs of pre-cancerous growths, called polyps; cancer; and other diseases of the large intestine. The old system for diagnosis and treatment was discovery with a series of x-rays, or more commonly referred to as a lower GI. However, those images have proven insufficient to detect and prevent tiny polyps in their early cancerous stages. Today, with the advent of medical imaging technology, doctors are able to catch and treat colon cancer at the onset.

In most cases, a colonoscopy procedure takes no more than 30 minutes, but the VC will take only about 10, and the examination does not require sedatives. (Whether or not that’s a good thing is debatable.)

Here’s a quick breakdown of how the procedure would go:

• The patient is placed in a supine position on the examination table
• A thin tube is inserted into the rectum (sorry, can’t avoid it completely), so that air can be pumped through the tube in order to inflate the colon for better viewing.
• The table moves through the scanner to produce a series of two-dimensional cross-sections along the length of the colon. A computer program puts these images together to create a three-dimensional picture that can be viewed on the video screen.
• The patient remains conscious throughout the session, and may be asked to participate with the steadying of the images by taking in a deep breath and holding for a few seconds.
• The scan is then repeated with the patient lying in a prone position.

After the procedure the patient may resume normal activity, but if abnormalities are found and the patient needs conventional colonoscopy.

Be warned though, that just because the colonoscope isn’t going in, doesn’t mean you get to avoid what’s got to come out beforehand. While preparations for VC can vary, you will usually be asked to take some laxatives or suppositories one day before the procedure to clear stool from the colon.

Colonscopy patients have reported that the preparation time is the worst of the ordeal, but that the actual procedure is performed quite quickly and comfortably. Finally, the American Cancer Society recommends the test at age 50 and again at age 60.

Dumping & Dating: How to Mix Facebook & Relationships

Dan Bingham — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:20:14 +0000

For those of you who don’t remember me, which probably includes all of you, I’m the dude who nearly retreated to the safety of the witness relocation program because a girl I was dating cyberstalked the crap out of me. You can read all about how a woman, armed with the left click button of a mouse invaded my space here.

I was young and naïve back then. Back in April.

Well I’m still naïve, but I think you’ll be pleased to know, or at the very least indifferent, that I am no longer in the “zoo without a cage,” the “circus without a tent,” the “diarrhea without a diaper” world known most commonly as “dating.” Yes my friends, I have somehow convinced a human girl to be in a monogamous relationship with me. By convinced I of course mean “tricked,” and by monogamous I mean “sexually exclusive to one another.”

In my last article I talked about how Facebook and the internet had changed the face of dating, completely eradicating blind dates while giving potential mating partners access to your life in photograph form. Now that I’m in a fully functioning relationship, I’m discovering a whole new way of screwing things up and getting into trouble with the ladies. I call it Facebook C***blocking.

The Double Dump

The last relationship I was in ended horribly. I had to do the hardest thing in the world which is to tell another human being, and not to their email inbox but to their actual face, that I don’t love them anymore and that I want to see other people. I compare the feeling to what it must be like to drown a puppy, or to throw one off a bridge in Lithuania. This is a good litmus test to separate those of us with souls from those of us who are zombies. But nothing prepared me for how tough it would be to end our relationship on Facebook.
Breaking up with a person is one thing, but telling the thousand-plus people between us about it was something else entirely! I tried simply removing the “status” function completely, but sure enough, the broken heart symbol went out like a virtual Bat-signal, inviting the whole world to swoop onto my wall and inbox with a flood of “Why’s” and “So sorry’s.”
I hate when people say “I can’t believe you guys broke up! You guys looked so happy in all those photos!” Well no shit! When someone takes your picture, what do you do? Exactly. You pull your loved one in close and you smile. That picture only represents a split second in time. It doesn’t capture the last 6 hours of arguing over why the toilet paper roll should be pull-able from the top and not the bottom. Besides, it’s kinda hard to look pissed when someone says “cheese.”

But if there’s one thing I’ll give Facebook, you’re never alone during birthdays and breakups. But changing my relationship status really felt like breaking up with someone twice, or if you will, drowning two puppies. Like these little guys.

I just wish I had read this before doing anything, taken from an actual FB profile called “Did u know u can change ur relationship status without anyone knowing!?”

If you change your settings, you can make facebook not tell the world that u and ur lover have just ended that relationship of yours….

How u ask??

This is how!!

1) Click on “privacy” in the top right hand corner of any facebook page
2) click on “news feed and mini feed”
3) unclick the box next to “remove my relationship status”
4) click “save changes” at the bottom of the screen
5) break up with ur bf/gf in peace without the world finding out!
6) Change ur relationship status from… (read more)

A wise Jewish wedding singer once said “Information that would have been useful YESTERDAY!!”

Never Again

Since then I vowed to never, EVER post my relationship status on Facebook for the love of sweet Jesus.
Well apparently my vows mean nothing, a fact which should be of concern to the lovely girl whom I am now posted as being “in a relationship” with on Facebook.
Inasmuch as I wanted to keep my previous breakup private, I wanted the world to know that I had learned absolutely nothing.

The following are some basic rules for maintaining a danger-free Facebook profile while in a relationship. They will help the new person in your life feel like they are the only person in your life, and they will hopefully spare you from getting water boarded by jealous partners looking for answers.

Spring Clean Your Profile

Facebook can really screw you when starting a new relationship. More precisely, all the crap you and your pals have posted can screw you. From the second you add your new love interest to your web of “friends,” expect him or her to sift through your profile with a fine-toothed stalker comb.

So before you click “Add”, make sure to delete all the wall posts discussing that time you were so wasted that you woke up in a recycling bin; remove all those photos with your tongue in people’s ears, in fact, you should remove all photos with any members of the opposite sex in them, as you will be forced to give a detailed history of each and every one them to your new love buddy.

No more Face-flirting

When the cute waitress you used to work with posts photos from her all-inclusive vacation in the Dominican Republic, it is no longer acceptable to tell her how awesome she looks in her floss-kini.

While comments like “Damn girl, you so fine you blow my mind” or “I wish I was your sunscreen lotion right now” might have been cute (they were never cute) when you were single, they are now grounds for getting dropped like that garbage remake of Night Rider.

You should also keep an eye on comments that other people post on your wall. People have a bad habit of saying the quiet parts loud and the loud parts quiet. When ex-flings post “hey hot stuff, I’m back in town for the weekend, do you still have those gravity boots and that trampoline?” on your wall instead of your inbox, you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do. And almost no amount of “Baby that’s over now I swear!” can extinguish the jealousy fire your profile page created.

Along with the spring cleaning mentioned before, it would be a good idea to completely remove all exes, flings and booty calls from your profile while in a relationship, as they can only get you in trouble. Besides, you can always add them back later if things don’t work out.

Easy on the Cheesy

Now that you’re in love, it’s going to be very tempting to spread cheese on your loved one’s wall. Status updates like “Carla is floating on cloud 12” or “Bill is wondering how long before the heart-wound from cupid’s arrow becomes infected” are all fine and dandy…at first. The only problem is that people who aren’t in love HATE hearing about people who are. And while my general opinion on this matter is f*** them, you should try not to rub your love in their single, lonely, monstrous-amounts-of-alcohol-consuming faces.
Also, there is a Too Much Info meter when it comes to posting messages on each others’ walls. Stuff like “miss you, xox” or “I had a lamb burger for lunch and thought of you” are perfectly acceptable displays of PDFA (Public Displays of Facebook Affection). But stuff like “I can’t properly sit on a chair today” or “Last night was awesome! If CSI showed up at my apt today with a black light, it would look like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man exploded!” should be spared from the public consciousness and go straight to the inbox.

Face-time Vs Facebook Time

When people take Facebook way too seriously, the line between quality and quantity time becomes blurred. I once lived with a girl, who would get upset with me if I didn’t notice the new photos she would post on her Facebook, or respond to the comments she posted on my wall. I LIVED WITH HER! We would wake up together, spend entire evenings together, and fall asleep together, all the while actually speaking to each other. This of course does not include the barrage of texts and MSN messages sent back and forth throughout the day.

How many lines of communication need to be open for couples to feel in touch with each other? Does anyone remember what it was like to be “unavailable?” I’m sometimes envious of our parent’s generation, who could go to work and be completely unreachable, except of course for emergencies, until they returned home. Now we need to talk, text, and type to each other through half a dozen mediums to keep ‘em happy.

So please folks, while Facebook is indeed an amazing tool for sharing your life with close friends, keeping in touch with long distance friends, and getting back in touch with old friends, when it comes to relationships, the time you spend together in person is what really counts. Don’t get upset over pictures that were taken in the past, but feel free to stare in amazement at pictures taken in the future. Life’s too short to get into arguments over the social network version of ourselves. Virtual will never be real.