Az_

Eh... I would still count Death Note in the Mind Fuck category... It may not be as surreal as FLCL or some others. But it will wrap your head around a large gold brick and try to stuff it through your ear given a chance.

Errrr.... Shin Chan is one of the longest running series around... You gonna be busy for a long time... Plus... a lil Shin goes a long way... Witch Hunter .... coolish. Champloo... very cool. Have... I think. Not so much Mindfuck... but definitely trying a new style... It didn't go over very well in Japan... They were kind of sick of Samurai shows over there. Which is unfortunate cuz it was a good show. If it wasn't for its popularity over seas it would have been canned after the first season.

Ok... thats it... I am starting up Anime night one way or the other. I have full sets of FLCL and Lain... Paranoia Agent not so much... that one just didn't do it for me. Got tons of other Anime but those two are definitely worth while... OOOhhhhh Elfin Lied... thats another one that can mess you up.... yeah.... ooooooohhhhh.

First Unitarian Universalist Church of Detroit www.1stuu.org is hosting an open forum for the candidates of the upcoming election in Detroit. Come and find out who is running, what they stand for, and ask them your questions. This Thursday at 1st UU of Detroit from 6:30 - 9:00.

Damn you! I am short of this money thing too and now they go and publish this thing which must be owned..... *runs and checks to see if its available on Project Gutenberg*

Na. Speaking as your elder ya young punk its not unusual. Its actually more of a sign of building relationships that don't turn into emotional brawls that wind up overwhelming the positive feelings you both have for each other. Instead it is likely that you realize that the relationship is not heading in the right direction and part amicably. I am of course assuming a lack of other neurosis that would account for this behavior. But if the above describes your general break pattern then it is likely you are perfectly normal.

Here is a pic the whet your appetite.

Going to the other side of the planet for this stuff.

It is all about minds. Life is interesting to be sure. But life is everywhere and it does not necessarily rise to the uniqueness that is humanity. Humanity is life to be sure. But it is life combined with identity. A mind. And it is the mind that raises humanity about a cluster of cells. Humanity is worth defending. Or at least that is what our human view of life concludes. So the question becomes when does a fetus become part of humanity? When does the mind arise from the cluster of cells that is quickly becoming part of humanity? When should it be defended? And when should it be considered (sorry for the seeming unemotional connection of this phrase) a parasitic attachment to the woman that she is free to discard? Neurologically speaking we know that a mind cannot arise from a brain until the Cerebrum is formed and functional. This does not occur until some time in the third trimester. But the existence of a Cerebrum does not mean a mind is present and active. It takes time and accumulation of experience before the processing of the brain creates enough interconnections to begin to fathom self and become aware. The Cerebrum is just the minimum biological requirement. But the brain is not just parts. It is parts in action collecting information. So we are a bit fuzzy as to when exactly the mind arises from the brain. A erring on the side of caution suggests we pin it to when the Cerebrum becomes capable of performing the actions that can give rise to a mind. However in my research I have come across mention of the fact that the fetus' connection to the womb via the umbilical cord introduces various chems that effectively neutralize that higher functions of the brain (read Cerebrum) until such time as the cord is severed. My research on this factor is sketchy at the moment. But if it is true then there is not a mind present in a fetus until at least the moment the umbilical cord is cut. Ironically the Jews and early Christians may have had it right when they suggested that the soul (a possible equivalent of the mind) entered the body with the first breath. My current position is that on or about the third trimester optional abortions should be strongly discouraged. If a medical condition requires an abortion then it should still proceed. And if it turns out that there is no mind present until the cord is cut then it would imply that no person is being harmed even until the moment of birth if it is terminated. All of this is of course extremely emotionally difficult to deal with. The mind does not deal with truth as much as it deals with emotions, images, and perception. Anything that looks like a baby will be perceived and emotionally related to as a baby. I myself would find it heart wrenching to perform an abortion on a late term pregnancy. It looks so much like a person that my mind would reel at the idea of it. But our brains can when necessary turn to reason and logic and try to understand what is really going on rather than simply relying on how we feel about a thing. Our nature is to react emotionally. But we can learn to try to discern the truth in even the most overwhelming of emotional experiences.