TWS141: The End of the Beginning

Promo: The House of Grey book – Only one more chapter remains in this exciting book. That means you can get it all, and mainline it without the wait. And you *will* want to mainline it, trust me! 😉

CQ: We currently live in a remix culture: cover songs, music sampling, movie reimagining, book sequels not by the original author, classic books rewritten with zombies and sea monsters.. Is this just an initial reaction to having all of our culture, past and present, at our fingertips, or is it a sign of diminishing originality? Will it reduce once the initial fervour has passed, or will it hold steady as a significant part of future culture?

On the show this week:

• The Beginning of the End
• Somewhere Near the Middle of the Beginning of the End
• Most Definitely Coming At Least Close to the End of the Beginning of the End

Full list of 85 articles after the jump!

• The Beginning of the End:
  • It’s like pitting Captain Hammer against Mothra.. Or something..: New Scientist – Common cold may hold off swine flu
  • On the one hand, it’s art and impressive modernization; on the other, perhaps dangerous propoganda..: The UK Telegraph – Holy water dispenser combats spread of swine flu
  • I’ve seen this game; just give me the Gravity Gun and let me roll!: The Grailien Report – “Something May Come Through” Large Hadron Collider “Portal”
  • See? The Gravity Gun: it’s a necessary part of future survival.: The UK Telegraph – Large Hadron Collider broken by bread dropped by passing bird
  • It’s fine: I’ll can just use the sand in which the Global Warming Deniers have stuck their heads to bolster the water barriers.: BBC – Greenland ice loss ‘accelerating’
  • I’m more concerned about the giant squid and the megashark, myself..: LiveScience – Frigid Antarctica Loaded with Viruses
  • Ok, *this* time they’ve really found something… again..: NASA – LCROSS Impact Data Indicates Water on Moon
  • (EXTRA) Somehow, I do not worry about humanity’s future, at least as far as baby-making is concerned.. Although this title makes me think that scientists are creeping ninja..: DiscoveryOn/Bureau Report – Scientists inch closer to ‘Three parent babies’
  • Not only is there water in space, but maybe it *all* comes from space..: ScienceDaily – Are Earth’s Oceans Made Of Extraterrestrial Material?
  • I’m surprised that NASA decided to weigh in on this.. It almost makes me wonder if they have a vested interest, somehow..: The UK Telegraph – ‘Mayan 2012 apocalypse theory’ not true, Nasa says
  • I say: let’s make a huge celebration and party. If it’s the end of the world, why not? If it’s not the end of the world, at least it’s a good excuse for a party..: NASA – 2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won’t End?
  • I thought it was the world that lives on top of a turtle?: STV/Reuters – Villagers confine rare turtle, say it is God
  • I wonder if he’s like, “Crap! This isn’t the Vatican – Dad, I need to get better aim!”: Ananova – ‘Jesus appears in pick-up truck window’
  • (EXTRA) Inside, we’ll find tasty Earth melon bits, or a buried prize, perhaps..: Cosmos Magazine – Volcanic activity could split Africa
  • (EXTRA) If anything, it was his thesis that suffered. In fact, if he *had* been working on his thesis, would they still accuse him of wrongdoing?: BBC – Gaming doctor ’caused baby death’
  • Since taxes are collected by government agencies, I can only assume..: BBC – Demon spirits tax Thai airport
  • There’s “hot foot”, and then there’s fodder for the discovery of demons..: Fiji Times – Villager leaves mysterious burnt footprints
  • I’m a gadget-fan, but the idea of using a natural animal as a detector makes loads of sense..: Paranormal Magazine – Watching the detectors
  • (EXTRA) Nothing like macabre tourism to turn the dead into lemonade.. Or something like that..: Ananova – Death plant opens to tourists
  • (EXTRA) Modern technology allows even the most prominent of citizens to fall for mistakes..: Ananova – Dead cat sparks Thatcher rumour
  • One of the real signs of the apocalypse. A television show delivered 140 seconds at a time? 😉: Ananova – Twitter feed to become TV show?
  • (EXTRA) Is over-zealous modern journalism to blame for poor reporting of fringe events? Personally, I find that much of the reporting is very straightforward and even-handed, except when it comes to big newspapers/channels..: Paranormal Journalism – WELCOME TO PARANORMAL JOURNALISM
  • It sounds kinda dangerous and sexy, really..: New Scientist – Will probe’s upcoming fly-by unlock exotic physics?
  • Now *this* is the scary flyby. Yikes!: The UK Daily Mail – Asteroid passes just 8,700miles from Earth – with only 15 hours warning
  • A lot of people are very upset that a movie isn’t real. Really?: The UK Guardian – Close encounters of the faked kind
  • There are few movies which are “inspired by real events” which bear true resemblance to their origins. But a “hoax” seems a bit much.: io9 – “The Fourth Kind” Is A Hoax
  • Wait.. I thought they were *always* looking heavenward.. In any case, the idea of seriously considering the what-if scenario of aliens and the spiritual implications therein is a very bold and applaudable action.: Yahoo!/AP – Vatican looks to heavens for signs of alien life
  • (EXTRA) Is it possible that mankind isn’t really an ideal vessel for intelligence? I think one would have to first argue that it is any sort of vessel for intelligence..: Tetrapod Zoology – Richard Dawkins and the crappy ‘humanoid dinosaurs’ that just won’t die
  • (EXTRA) So before, so after: will aliens converge on our form? There are good argument for an against the notion that humanoid is the peak of the form. Personally, I tend to think it’s a local minima, and we should rock the species to move out of it.. 😉: Scientific American – Will E.T. Look Like Us?
  • Oh sure! We’ll give *robots* Olympics before “enhanced” humans?: BBC – China plans for humanoid Olympics
  • (EXTRA) Can they even charge you for possession of crap?: Ananova – Customs officers seize rabbit poo cigs
  • (EXTRA) Because nothing brings people out to an event together than wanting to find out how to be separated..: The Chronicle/AAP – Paris holds divorce fair
  • (EXTRA) Well, at least they weren’t dying to get out of that relationship..: Ananova – World’s oldest divorcees
• Somewhere Near the Middle of the Beginning of the End:
  • If dreaming is truly analogous to running, can we say that reading imaginative stories is a bit like riding a bike?: New York Times – A Dream Interpretation: Tuneups for the Brain
  • I think this means that we should quarantine people who make bad decisions.. or is that a bad decision?: ScienceNOW – Bad Decisions May Be Contagious
  • We’ve pretty sure we’ve narrowed down the consciousness to being in some part of the brain, although the solar plexus still looks kinda appealing (given we so often seem to be a slave to out stomachs).: New Scientist – Signature of consciousness captured in brain scans
  • First come, most served. Also: it’s before you’ve drilled away at the follicles in your nostrils looking for nose goblins..: New Scientist – Why smells from childhood mean so much
  • Technically, reality is a very persistent consensus illusion..: New Scientist – The Peeriodic Table of Illusions
  • (EXTRA) I reject your reality, and overlay it with one of my own.: New Scientist – Contact lenses to get built-in virtual graphics
  • I have a feeling that Rock Band et al will be the entryway for future brain expansions.: LiveScience – Music Improves Brain Function
  • I wonder if they will make temporary suppressors that are put into Big Gulps and popcorn at movies…: New Scientist – Suite of chatterbox genes discovered
  • It makes sense that those who are responsible for both keeping their own musical line straight and synchronized with others can pick out lines of conversation.. Drummers can also play Whack-a-Mole really well..: New Scientist – Noisy parties no problem for musical brains
  • Do the implications at the quantum level have any bearing on full-size people? : Scientific American – How Noise Can Help Quantum Entanglement
  • Are quantum effects an inroad for creating telepathy, even if it doesn’t explain how it already might work?: Entangled Minds – Dynamic entanglement in living systems
  • Of all the things I’ve heard of, staring at goats doesn’t seem all that far-fetched, really..: Wired’s Danger Room Blog – Psychic Spies, Acid Guinea Pigs, New Age Soldiers: the True Men Who Stare at Goats
  • The real problem, according to this article, is that Brits are too easy going to be pretty..: Ananova – Brits ‘among world’s ugliest’
  • Never trust a self-selected group to judge based on what you want them to..: Reuters – And the ugliest people are…
  • (EXTRA) Not all Secret Masters of the World are all that good at self-defence..: The Argus – Briton accused of killing man in US
  • (EXTRA) If, by the definition of your membership in an organization, you give preferential treatment to a member of that organization, you have done a disservice to a non-member..: The UK Independent/PA – Anger at ‘cloak of secrecy’ for Freemason judges
  • (EXTRA) Apparently, they have arrested one of the Secret Masters of the Universe.: The Sacremento Bee – Sacramento defendant denies fatal stabbing, offers bizarre tale
  • (EXTRA) At least he wasn’t playing Colonel Sanders..: BBC – Hoaxer impersonates Brazil leader
  • (EXTRA) Everyone knows that impossibilities just take a bit more time and money to accomplish..: The UK Telegraph – Harry Potter-style invisibility cloak could be created after £4.9m grant
  • (EXTRA) Bambi is a mad scientist; Thumper is not amused.: ABC – Researchers Regrow Functional Penis in Rabbits
  • (EXTRA) I’m not convinced it was the same mouse, but Minnie ain’t talkin’..: The UK Telegraph – Mouse on plane cancels two US flights in a month
  • It probably has something to do with a rabbit chasing a black cat under a ladder and stepping on all the cracks..: BBC – Why is Friday the 13th unlucky?
  • (EXTRA) For something under tremendous pressure, it certain does move gracefully; sorta like a dancer working for a strict boss..: BBC – Deep-sea fish captured on camera
  • (EXTRA) Not quite so cooperative as the ants, which may be why they’re dying out..: BBC – Bees fight to death over females
  • (EXTRA) Not only that, but they unionized and sued The Big Fingers for war crimes.: LiveScience – Ants Save Mates Trapped in Sand
  • (EXTRA) WARNING: this story also alludes to having a Biscardi sighting, and after last year, that smells bad..: ABC – Does Dauphin County Man Have Bigfoot Footage?
  • (EXTRA) Religion should never enter into casework.. Or into psychic investigations, either..: The UK Telegraph – Police worker fired for backing psychic investigations claims religious discrimination
  • (EXTRA) As much as I have confidence that there are truly psychics and special powers out there, I also wouldn’t bet the farm on them being 100% reliable..: The UK Telegraph – Detectives launch £20,000 murder inquiry after bogus tip-off from mystics
  • (EXTRA) The worst thing that can happen to any area of not generally accepted study is to introduce falsehoods and misdirection..: The UFO Chronicles – Piracy: A Silent Plague on Ufology
  • (EXTRA) Beyond the segment of charlatans, what possesses people to become a shaman? Is there a good reason that spiritual callings happen — and it is not alright to have them?: Eurasianet.org – MONGOLIA: SHAMANISM IS MAKING A COMEBACK
  • (EXTRA) An exploration of the bodiy extrusion wrought by ghosts.: Gaia Community – The Mystery of Ectoplasm – Part I
  • (EXTRA) The point out that it dissolves quickly when disrupted, so I suppose Venkman will never get a sample of it.: Gaia Community – The Mystery of Ectoplasm — Part II (“Absurd, but true.”)
  • (EXTRA) I would be almost as impressed in finding out how they faked any of it as in finding the real thing. Almost.: Gaia Community – Thought Imagery & Ectoplasm (Part III in a series)
  • (EXTRA) I think I shall try this tactic myself. Whoops! I’ve just “broken up” with someone, and have this fantastic date just going to waste! Who shall I get to join me?: Ananova – Woman offers blind date to die for
• Most Definitely Coming At Least Close to the End of the Beginning of the End:
  • (EXTRA) Was it just a harmless prank or stunt, or should we really do something like threaten to deport his wife? At what point does it become disproportional?: The UK Telegraph – Balloon boy parents to plead guilty ‘to keep mother in US’
  • (EXTRA) Unfortunately, in the wake of Balloon Boy, this must be questioned. Somehow it seems more plausible.: Ananova – Teen trapped on floating ice – with polar bears
  • (EXTRA) Once, I could have won this, I think. I’m glad that I no longer would even try..: Metro – Joey Chestnut wins meatball-eating competition
  • (EXTRA) He sounds strangely proud, as if it was something that he can make a career out of..: The UK Telegraph – Doctors pull 1.5lbs of nails and coins from man’s stomach
  • (EXTRA) Prior to the Leprechaun series of movies, would this have been an insult?: BBC – TUV sorry for ‘leprechaun’ slur
  • (EXTRA) “Deep roasted for extra flavour”?: BBC – Hindenburg airship beer auctioned
  • See? Dig anywhere on England, find old crap. Dig deep enough, find the alien civilization..: ScienceDaily – Archaeologists Uncover Prehistoric Landscape Beneath Oxford University, England
  • (EXTRA) Advantage of being a 55′ snake: anything that sees you will likely leave you alone. Disadvantage: anything that doesn’t see you will likely tear you in twain..: Ananova – Photo of 55ft snake shocks China
  • (EXTRA) Actually, it’s really about the things that might get in a skunk’s way. Curiously, they point out that skunks have no real predator other than Nature itself..: ScienceDaily – Skunk’s Strategy Not Just Black And White
  • (EXTRA) These things usually require a definition of “alive” in order to be clear..: The Centre for Fortean Zoology – LAWRIE WILLIAMS: Are Min Mins alive?
  • (EXTRA) It was a pretty good cape, but I felt that the goggles were a bit much for the dog. Don’t ask me where he got the defibrilator, either..: Ananova – Dog ‘revives’ heart attack victim
  • (EXTRA) “And right here, on this spot, something may have happened. Often.”: STV – Call for West Lothian UFO monument
  • (EXTRA) I guess that means its time for her road test? That could be.. dangerous..: Ananova – Woman passes driving theory test – at 950th attempt
  • (EXTRA) I guess the stressed guys are too willing to beat the crap out of him, maybe..: Ananova – Man is punchbag for stressed women
  • (EXTRA) Why do I see fake milltary IDs become a common carrying item?: Metro – Muggers return wallet after seeing victim’s military ID
  • (EXTRA) Dumbed if you do, damned if you don’t!: CBC/CP – Authorities say man stole car to make court appearance on previous auto theft charge
  • (EXTRA) Remniscences on the story of an alternative point of view from an alternative direction out of an alternative person – which might just be up the mainstream wave.: The UK Telegraph – Surfer dude’s theory of everything: the magic of Garrett Lisi
  • (EXTRA) He literally bet his entire life savings on this; where’s that Dragon’s Den when you really need it?: Ananova – Man invents stair-climbing wheelchair

Podcast: Play in new window | Download