Thursday, October 31, 2013

Halloween Arguement

 

The images from David Lynch's collection of Halloween photos circa 1875-1955 may seem creepier than Halloween costumes now, but why? It could possibly be the vintage, eerie format of the photos, but the meaning runs deeper. Media now uses these horrific ideas from the past and morphs them into movies that haunt our culture, whilst Halloween now doesn't have the same scary effect. Halloween has become a fashion show, to see who can be the most creative. The mystery behind the mask also adds to the scare factor. Simple and basic designs, yet it gives the ominous feeling of "who could be behind that's mask? What is behind that mask?".

 

Monday, October 28, 2013

Chapter 7 Stiff Summary

In chapter 7, Mary Roach explored the realm of crucifixion experiments on cadavers. Two scientists in specific were Dr. Barbet and Frederick Zugibe, who both devoted their lives to finding the cause of the famed double flow marks on the Shroud of Turin. Roach goes into detail on how Barbet experimented with cadavers, nailing them and sometimes just parts of cadavers (he used anything he could get) to a homemade wooden cross in various positions. He did this in order to find the exact spot where Jesus was nailed to the cross. After years of experimenting though, it was Frederick Zugibe who disproved Barbet's theories, one by one. Zugibe constructed a cross in his garage, and began experimenting, although not quite like Dr. Barbet. Instead, Zugibe strapped live human beings to his cross, all willing and wanting to feel how they believe their savior had felt on the day he had been crucified. After spending time in his lab and at home "crucifying" religious followers, Zugibe finally came to a conclusion that the double flow marks on the shroud had come from the angle in which Jesus' Palm was nailed. Roach ends the chapter with her explanation that alleviation should not cater to enlightenment, but rather to pain, unlike Dr. Barbert's beliefs.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Factoid Friday #8

It was Dwight D. Eisenhower who got the phrase "under god" formally added to the pledge of allegiance in 1954

Monday, October 21, 2013

Stiff Chapter 6 Review

In chapter six, The Cadaver Who Joined the Army, Mary Roach focuses on scientific testing involving weapons. She discusses in depth the processes used when testing these weapons on cadavers (and ballistics) and how ethics creates a barrier in further research with cadavers. Starting with the history dating back to 1892, Roach tells the story of Captain Louis La Garde. She tells that after and experiment of shooting cadavers to test the physiological effect of different guns on the human body and how Garde influenced a movement on ballistics work on cadavers for a more humanitarian approach on gun battle. He proposed that stopping someone opposed to killing them weas a better option, otherwise know as incapacitation. Another main point brought up in this chapter is the psychological theory- the idea that people who know they have been shot act more accordingly, falling the ground quickly while animals and some Native Americans can continue in battle long after being shot. Opposing the psychological theory, the neurological overload is also believed to be the reason of the stopping affect some people get after being shot or harmed. This is explained that the reticular activating system is to blame, when rcieving signals of pain, it shuts certain muscles down (including the legs) which cause the collapse.the neural overload can also be caused by the "stretch cavity", the point of entry of the bullet in the body the stretch causes an overload in the circuits of the body, temporarily causing the body to shut down.. Pigs are used for this research instead of cadavers for the ethical reason and also because pigs have very similar organ structure. To test this, scIentists shoot animals until they stop moving and record levels of chemicals in the body. Roach also experiments with ballistics gelatin, a resource that is muscle-like and can display similar reactions that a human body would make. This is often chosen over real cadavers so people do t have to hear if their relatives bodies being used as a shooting dummy, the material a are easy to retrieve, and also the a cleanup is a lot easier. The last experiment explored by Roach is the testing of armor for the military. Some organizations risk losing their funding if they use cadavers because it is considered disrespectful, but one organization in Houston, Texas has taken the courageous leap to test footwear for the military in land mines. Granted, it may become an emotional distress lawsuit, this organization experiments in good faith, trying to find the best gear for our soldiers. This chapter ends with Roach's personal preference of donating her body to be a cadaver. She believes that using her body for science is beneficial and she wouldn't mind if she was used to be shot at or blown up.

 

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Factoid Friday October 18th

The original Pldege was

"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Cliches

A post a minute keeps the friends at bay

Digging yourself in a trench

I'm back in the saddle...wait. How do you ride a horse?

Abandon ship...into the life boats!

Cry all the way back from the bank