Dreamways

"In marketing as in medicine, perception can be everything,“ Benedict Carey infroms us in his news article "$2.50 Placebo Gives More Relief Than a 10 Cent One“ (The New York Times, 05 March 08). "A higher price can create the impression of higher value, just as a placebo pill can reduce pain. Now researchers have combined the two effects. A $2.50 placebo, they have found, works better than one that costs 10 cents.“ In waking life, not only can sugar pills make us feel better, but the more expensive we think they are, the more curative!

"The Asian carp, which has been working its way north from the Mississippi Delta since the 1990s, is now on the verge of reaching the Great Lakes. This voracious invader, which weighs up to 100 pounds and eats half its body weight in food in a day, has gained notoriety for vaulting over boats and breaking the arms and noses of recreational anglers. Having outcompeted all native species, it now represents 95 percent of the biomass of fish in the Illinois River and has been sighted within 25 miles of Lake Michigan.  read more »

"India’s newest talk show host, billed as the local Oprah Winfrey, hitched up her sari and looked for her stylist’s approval. 'Very feminine. You look gorgeous, like a goddess,‘ he said, smiling reassuringly, as he braided a garland of fresh jasmine into her hair. 'The sari is the most flattering garment,‘ he added, as he touched up her makeup minutes before the cameras started rolling. 'It disguises manly shoulders, take attention away from a masculine neck.‘ “ Manly shoulders? A masculine neck?  read more »

"Poverty in early childhood poisons the brain. This was the opening of an article … summarizing research presented last week at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. As the article explained, neuroscientists have found that many children growing up in very poor families with low social status experience unhealthy levels of stress hormones, which impair their neural development.  read more »

"The language was soaring, the racial elements muted, the mood upbeat even though the road ahead remained unclear. But the end of the speech was all about the political power of belief – belief that the cynics would not triumph, that dreams can come true, that the human spirit is indomitable. Through war, he said, they believed. Through depression and segregation, they believed.  read more »

In his essay about American science fiction novelist Philip K. Dick (1928 – 1982) ("Blows Against the Empire,“ The New Yorker, 20 Aug 07), Adam Gopnik explores the life and writings of this "genre-hack-to-hidden-genius“ writer, perhaps best know for providing the adaptation source for Ridley Scott’s classic movie „Blade Runner.“

"Ajinbayo Akinsiku wants the world to know Jesus Christ, just not the gentle, blue-eyed Christ of old Hollywood movies and illustrated Bibles. Mr. Akinsiku says his Son of God is 'a samurai stranger who’s come to town, in silhouette,‘ here to shake things up in a new, much-abridged version of the Bible rooted in manga, the Japanese form of graphic novels.“ A Nigerian selling the Bible in a Japanese format?  read more »

"Sad People Willing to Spend More.“ So reads the gloomy headline. The brief article that follows warns us: "If you’re sad and shopping, watch your wallet: A new study shows people’s spending judgment goes out the window then they’re down, especially if they’re a bit self-absorbed.“ (The Rocky Mountain News, 09 Feb 08) This is the moral.

"The women’s basketball game at Eastern Washington University on March 8 started out like any other, as the Eagles of E.W.U. faced off against the Montana State Bobcats. But a routine timeout turned into a 1980s flashback, as two men on the sidelines briefly hijacked the proceedings with a popular prank known as rickrolling. They surprised the crowd by blasting the British singer Rick Astley’s 1987 hit song 'Never Gonna Give You Up‘ through the gym, while one, dressed as a look-alike in Mr.  read more »

"5 YEARS OF WAR.“ Thus is the dark anniversary noted on the front page of The Denver Post (19 Mar 08). These bold-lettered words are superimposed over a dream-like photo of a masked and helmeted (presumably U.S.) soldier. The picture is sectioned into four horizontal bands of color. In the first, at the top of the photo, "5 YEARS“ stands on a field of red (the color of blood?). Then comes a strip of "real“ color. On the third band down, "OF WAR“ stands on white (purity?  read more »