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Tuesday, May 15, 2001

doubting thomas

"Weed was one of the few drugs that offered relief. It didn't knock me out or speed me up, it didn't destroy my heart muscle or take out my hair, it didn't slow my thinking or slur my speech. It didn't attack my bowels or make my fingers numb.

It did give me some peace.

It did settle my stomach.

It did revive my appetite.

It did not lead to an addiction.

It did not cost a lot of money. (Partly because my mom grew it for me in her backyard.)

It worked."

membership has its privileges

"These days gang members don't always look like thugs. Taking advice from older criminals--some imprisoned, some retired but consulting, some still active--many hard-core gang members have traded their outfits for a more conservative look, a look police say enables them to expand into white-collar crimes without the early warning the old costume set off."

Monday, May 14, 2001

couch potatoes

"WE CAN ALL think of famous figures throughout history who were haunted by the voices and hallucinations of schizophrenia, but how far back in mankind's past can we trace the origins of the disease? British scientist Dr. David Horrobin, author of The Madness of Adam and Eve, argues that schizophrenia signaled the beginnings of modern man: A genetic mutation changed the biochemistry of fat in our brains. This mutation instigated the ascendancy of Homo sapiens, but brought with it the burden of mental illness as well. If Horrobin is right, his hypothesis will change evolutionary biology and the way we treat schizophrenia."

fallout boy

"An avalanche of e-mail to this reporter last week suggests that some people -- many of whom can't stand the new president -- now see the press as conservative. A striking number say reporters just do the bidding of their corporate masters. Some have abandoned the mainstream American media in favor of the BBC or opinionated Internet sites. Above all, they're mad as hell."

age old adage

"NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Are newsweeklies still relevant? "

read em and weep

"Non-readers abound. Ask "Politically Incorrect" talk show host Bill Maher, who once boasted in print that he hadn't read a book in years. Or Noel Gallagher of the rock band Oasis, who has been quoted as saying he'd never read a book. You can walk through whole neighborhoods of houses in the country that do not contain books or magazines -- unless you count catalogues."

suge on top

"No suspect has ever been arrested for the March 1997 murder of multimillion-selling rapper Christopher ''Biggie'' Smalls, the star of Sean ''Puffy'' Combs's Bad Boy Records. His death in Los Angeles was largely believed to be retribution for the killing of rival Death Row Records artist Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas six months earlier. Suspicious observers have chalked the shootings up to a blood feud between the leading East Coast and West Coast rap labels, but it's never been proven."

bean there

"A NASA research mission will use an unpiloted aircraft, known as an "Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle" or "UAV," to aid Hawaiian coffee growers by providing the growers with spectral (or color) images of their crops. From this information the growers will know, down to the day, the best time for harvesting the beans, bringing the best flavor to consumers."

out of my way

ScienceDaily -- Study Supports Out-Of-Africa Origin For East Asians
[link]

rumor has it

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a defeat for the medical marijuana movement, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) ruled on Monday that marijuana may not be given to seriously ill patients as a ``medical necessity'' because cannabis has been classified as an illegal drug under federal law."

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