I Don't See Dead People

So my friends and I watched that seance that sleepy-eyed Derren Brown performed live on Channel Four yesterday. It was interesting in that he revealed so many tricks of seances; the mind manipulation, auto-suggestion, etc.

He also suggested that people get together in small groups and attempt a oujia board. So, little letters and a wine glass later, we waited with our fingers expectantly on the glass as he called out on TV, "if there is a spirit here, please let yourself be known."

Then OMG WTF the wine glass started to move. It was the oddest sensation-- you were barely touching it-- certainly, nobody seemed to be putting any pressure on the glass, and yet by the end of the 'seance', it was almost swinging wildly from letter to letter.

No, before you start with the 'dude, you're silly' replies-- I don't believe a spirit was pushing that glass. What intrigued me is his explanation that the human mind can cause us to push the glass yet not really see that we are, hence the hysteria and the reason why people in Victorian times were genuinely convinced a spirit was trying to communicate with them. I have no idea how the mind does it, but it rocks.

kristoferllama then 'phoned and said he had been feeling sorry for the (fake) dead woman they 'contacted' in it. Heehee! But that's the thing-- it seems a few people did genuinely believe in it, perhaps wanted to. Hell, I suppose even I wanted to, because, if nothing else, it'd be interesting. I suppose we're just as gullible as our stiffly-dressed ancestors.

For what it's worth, if we did have a ghost, it was dyslexic. H,Y,V,N,I,V,H. Eh.

Hurrah! Euphenisms! (And Bush-bashing)

Was rather amused at reading today's Metro and coming across a wee quiz that I shall be lazy and reproduce here. Try it out and see how good you are in Newspeak.

Identify any three of these actual US government euphenisms.

1. Security contractors

2. Poorly buffered precipitation

3. Controlled flight into terrain

4. Ambient noncombatant personnel

5. Pre-dawn vertical insertion

6. Low-yield, clean thermonuclear device

7. Permanent pre-hostility

( The attempts at a peacable solution...AKA The Answers )

A Severe Case of Deja Vu

In other news, Chris is trying to force me into going to Paris this August. Well, okay, the conversation went something like this:

Chris: Hey, Spak.
Becky: Hey, Spak.
Chris: I want to go to Paris this Summer. I'm going to Paris! With or without you!
Becky: ... whoah, thanks for the ultimatum.
Chris: I mean it.
Becky: COUNT ME IN! :-D

Eh. May as well take advantage of Easyjet, right?