The Ballad Of The Little Blue Lab Rat... Neccessary Evil? ... Or Just Plain Torture?

This Little Guy (or Girl?) Just Breaks My Heart. From University of Rochester Med Ctr.: After Suffering Intentional Spinal Cord Injuries, Rats injected with BBG not only regained their mobility but temporarily turned blue...
And... then What? They Were Thrown Out? Composted? Fed to other still-needed lab animals?

Initially, when the first murmurings of this story were trotted out, it sounded Terrific!

What was that?!... The Blue Dye found in drinks like Gatorade, when injected into the damaged spines of lab rats immediately after they were injured, resulted in them being mobile again... albeit with a limp?

Oh my Gd!... It's a Miracle!... The Cure for spinal cord injuries has finally been discovered!... albeit, in a bottle of Gatorade. (smirk.)

And, it only took mauling a few dozen lab rats' little spines and then immediately injecting the blue stuff (BBG) into the injured area.

When do the Human Trials Start? (No, I'm not volunteering.)

What?... You're kidding, right?

What do you mean, "...this method would not be practical for use with spinal cord-injured (human) patients"?

Of course, no one would "... want to put a needle into a spinal cord that has just been severely injured". But, how about intravenously?...

Oh, the compound that you used, the oxidized ATP, "... cannot be injected into the bloodstream because of its dangerous side effects."

Well, then... I have only one question.

You say that the research team isn't calling BBG a cure for spinal injuries, that, "... instead it offers a potential improvement in patients."... That's all well and good...

But, if you can't/won't inject it into the spines of humans who have just been injured (like you could/did to the rats)... and you can't introduce BBG intravenously, either...

Then, why the F*%$ did you do it to the rats?!

Just for fun?... Just to see if they turned Blue? (they did. See above pic.)

What was the freaking point? Please Explain it to me.
You may read the whole story in the article at cnn.com.


But, my op-ed piece is a good synopsis.

Aargh!

Peace.... Especially for the Lab Animals of the World.

L.

I'm In Love W/David Duchovny Or, How "The X-Files" Saved My Life

Here's something that I wrote recently and I thought I'd share it with you.

It's my personal review of "The X-Files" TV series. I originally wrote it for TV.com. I was feeling great pressure to produce something there. The 'Level' that they had assigned to me was "Sweathog" - as in Vinnie Babarino - and I just couldn't leave it at that.

So, with that explanation, I present my latest work - Entitled:




"How The X-Files Saved My Life"

The X-Files may have saved my Life.

In the inimitable words of Sarah Palin: "I kid you not.".

I owe Chris Carter, The X-Files writers, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, etc. a sincere debt of gratitude...

For me, "The X-Files" stands alone as a modern classic of science fiction. It is terrific storytelling. The X-Files is Folklore mixed with Legends mixed with Campfire-Stories mixed with Ghost-Stories mixed with some Ripley's mixed with pinches of The Truth... here-and-there.

When The X-Files was at its scary-best - It was Cover-Your-Eyes/"I Can't Watch!"-Scary.

Most every episode - as well as the continuing storyline - was written with a sharp wit and sense of humor. The dialogue was intelligent and thoughtful. The interactions of the characters felt genuine and and there was plenty of mystery, action and hold-your-breath suspense.

The casting of Duchovny and Anderson was brilliant, as they shared great on-screen chemistry and displayed great acting chops. Agents Scully and Mulder - as characters - were beautifully written and were fleshed-out. They weren't one or two-dimensional pseudo-superheroes. They were utterly human - with all the positive and negative character traits and the frailties of two human beings.

I love "The X-Files" and I will always love "The X-Files". I'd recommend it to anyone with a brain - particularly if you have any interest in unusual phenomena/extraordinary experiences. Or, even just to watch something several notches above (and much more interesting than) so-called "Reality" shows.

In my humble opinion, "The X-Files" is Extraordinary Television.

What Was That?
Oh... How did "The X-Files" save my life?

Well, it's kind of personal. Between Chris Carter and I...

O.K., O.K. ~ Let's just say that - a few years ago -I went through a very harrowing experience that was also experienced by a character in one episode. (I won't be more specific than that.)

But, there were two distinct differences between his horrible experience and mine:

In the show, the character's period of torment only lasted about a month/30 days.

Lucky bastard... My real-life experience - on the other hand - went on for years.

The second difference was the clincher for me.

The tormented character - having reached the absolute limit of his ability to deal with his experiences - finally cracked up and murdered someone.

Hmmm... Well, I'll admit that I did - occasionally, in my more desperate moments and at my wit's end - consider taking my own life. But, I would never consider taking someone else's life because of what I was experiencing.

It made me feel so much better about the way I was dealing with those events.

"Hey, at least I haven't killed anyone."

To someone, like myself, who has the occasional extraordinary experience, "The X-Files" was not just thrilling entertainment... Watching the scenarios play out in the series helped me to both deal with and to feel better about how I dealt with the unsettling experiences in my life

It also showed me - at a time when I was suffering and felt utterly alone in the universe - that - Wow! There was someone else who knew about things that I experienced (even if their version was fictional)... that I wasn't entirely alone.

Thank You, The X-Files, you're a Life Saver.

Betsey Johnson?! I Must've Bumped My Head...

Greetings & Salutations, Beautiful People!

I'm not feeling particularly politically or socially outraged at this moment...It's about 12:45am on Monday... Er, No... Make that Tuesday.

So, in lieu of my usual Blog M.O.... Here's something I hope You (or, at least Some of You) Really Like:

A Spectacular BETSEY JOHNSON Black & White Dress!

It is Brand & New/Unworn. I bought two dresses at a Betsey Johnson store recently... Gd, I must've bumped my head or something... And, now that my mental clarity is returning, I've decided to keep one and sell the other.

It's available on my eBay page. Seller ID is: vintage_u_luv.




Cheers!

Peace.

L.