02:50 p.m. - do you believe in Chupacabras? how about things that are even worse than them? here's an article that takes a look at past moments of mass hysteria. this one, Nigerian Genitalia Vanishing Epidemic of 1990, hit me as most odd even as it comes from the last decade: [from Skeptical Inquirer]

"During 1990, an episode of "vanishing" genitalia caused widespread fear across Nigeria. Native psychiatrist Sunny Ilechukwu (1992) said that most reports of attacks involved male victims. Accusations were usually triggered by incidental body contact with a stranger in a public place, after which the "victim" would feel strange scrotum sensations and grab their genitals to confirm that they were still there. Then they would confront the person as a crowd would gather, accusing them of being a genital thief, before stripping naked to convince bystanders that their penis was really missing. Many "victims" claimed that the penis had been returned once the alarm had been raised or that, although the penis was now back, "it was shrunken and so probably a 'wrong' one or just the ghost of a penis" (95). The accused was often threatened or beaten until the penis had been "fully restored," and in some instances, the accused was beaten to death. Ilechukwu (1992, 96) described the scene in one city:

Men could be seen in the streets of Lagos holding on to their genitalia either openly or discreetly with their hands in their pockets. Women were also seen holding on to their breasts directly or discreetly by crossing the hands across the chest. It was thought that inattention and a weak will facilitated the "taking" of the penis or breasts. Vigilance and anticipatory aggression were thought to be good prophylaxis.

Social and cultural traditions contributed to the outbreak as many Nigerian ethnic groups "ascribe high potency to the external genitalia as ritual and magical objects to promote fecundity or material prosperity to the unscrupulous" (Ilechukwu 1988, 313). The belief in vanishing genitalia was not only plausible but institutionalized; many influential Nigerians expressed outrage when police released suspected genital thieves. A Christian priest even claimed that a Bible passage where Jesus asked "Who touched me?" because the "power had gone out of him," referred to genital stealing (101-102)."

Ilechukwu, S.T.C. 1992. Magical penis loss in Nigeria: Report of a recent epidemic of a koro-like syndrome. Transcultural Psychiatric Research Review 29:91-108.
---. Letter from S.T.C. Ilechukwu, M.D. (Lagos, Nigeria) which describes interesting koro-like syndromes in Nigeria. Transcultural Psychiatric Research Review 25:310-314. "

02:30 a.m. - A recent other side article about Hitch, the "THOROUGHLY MODERN MIND," from an anti-hitch, pro-roman perspective brings up the issue again as to whether he is pro or anti- choice [but you'll have to read it to get in that discussion with yourself], but this clip is here to only spark your interest:

"Here is a secular man willing to use the word "evil" and to condemn, as a Stalinist device, the practice of condemning a protagonist’s motives instead of his arguments.(2) Given this, we might reasonably hope for him to be a respecter of truth and an adherent to the rules of rational debate. However, when it comes to the Catholic Church the fine sentiments dissolve and we are faced with yet another proponent of the respectable form of anti-Semitism; anti-Catholicism."

01:30 a.m. - fundamentalism is something that I grew up with. the basics. The Law. The Knights In Satan's Service lectures (do they realize that they are the ones who taught me about necrophilia?). the rules. The lack of shellfish and pork. The no makeup and dresses only cloaking of the body. The anti-anything-tainted-by-the-world. The looking for the Messiah to hit the Mount of Olives any second now approach to the future. and the weirdness of men like Zola and I'm not talking Emile here [btw: my brother and his son were great pals through the late 80s]. I've spent 10 years trying to put that whole thing in perspective after I removed myself from and stopped accepting it. Dr. Wacker gives a little perspective on its Rise. This is from the Divining America site from the National Humanities Center.

11:59 p.m. - There's Ester Dyson again on the dang t.v. (Stars lost boohoo). I've been wondering if she did anything but pontificate to whomever would pay her the most (in between her daily swims). Now that she's making asinine IBM commercials, and releases her releases, perhaps people will realize that she had something to say and now she's saying it over and over and over.

10:15 p.m - From TechReview.com (and Steven Pinker's site)

"Third-millennium futurologists should realize that their fantasies are scaring people to death. The preposterous world in which we interact only in cyberspace, choose the endings of our novels, merge with our computers and design our children from a catalogue gives people the creeps and turns them off to the genuine promise of technological progress. The constancy of human nature is our reassurance that the world we leave to our descendants will be one in which scientific progress leads to delight rather than boredom, in which our best art and literature continues to be appreciated, and in which technology will enrich rather than dominate human lives."

01:15 a.m. - Yes! Yes! Yes! Stars Stars Stars. Time to hit the hay!

12:54 a.m. - go Stars! and I can't believe that I just saw Ester Dyson in an IBM commercial where they place Samoa somewhere near Ottawa [yuk yuk]. 3rd overtime and I can't believe it! what a wild ride!