Since there are LOST fans and Serenity/Firefly fans on this board, I thought I should post a link to a press release for the 7th Son podcast novel trilogy.

http://www.jchutchins.net/7Son/Press%20R...E10D2.html

If you want to get hooked on the story, make sure to start at the beginning of Book One: Descent. The first few minutes should suck you in and not let go until the end. It's only part way through book two at this time.

I got hooked on this podcast novel because of a cross-over with "Infection" by Scott Sigler who also did the "Earthcore" and "Ancestor" podcast novel.

7th Son is a fantastic podcast novel. Well-written and even more well read by the author, J.C. Hutchins. It's got everything I like in a story: technology, conspiracy, characters that grow on you, suspense, action, violence and no plot holes that disrupt the enjoyment of the story.

I've been meaning to post about this podcast for several months now, but usually get too wrapped up in the political threads. I can't recommend this story enough. I put it among my top favorite stories of all time.

Although labeled a comedy, Mini's First Time is a film that defies easy categorization. It details the life of Mini, an emotionally disconnected high school senior willing to do anything to capture the feeling of doing something for the 'first' time. She views the world as a playing board and people as markers to be moved at her whim. Her 'need' sets off a chain of events better seen than read.

The movie boasts a great supporting cast including Alec Baldwin, Jeff Goldblum, Carrie Ann Moss and Luke Wilson, but the star is Nikki Reed as Mini. Reed, the other girl from Thirteen, is excellent portraying the woman/child who uses her sexuality for her own amusement.

There were comedic moments, but I thought the film worked better as social commentary about how emotionally distant people are becoming; Mini has zero regard what effect her actions have on others, a growing trend in our society I fear.

I just noticed something

In Hosts, page 78 (paperback) a man surprises Jack and Kate, he states, "A spear has no branches" and then appears to be coming out of a trance.

WOW, amazing what you find when you read previous books again with the knowledge of later.

I am sure someone has posted this before, but I just found it and have yet to see this mentioned.

Even then, the Ally was trying to preen the branches from Jack's spear.

Again this month I didn't receive the monthly RJ newsletter. I'm working on getting re-signed up, but in the mean time would someone email the October one to me?

[email protected]

Thanks loads!

-MarcC

Read the book a few weeks ago, and have been plotting a review here for a while, but have been too busy to get around to it. I'll preface the review with a small bit of personal history, as it is significant to my enjoyment of the book.

When I started dating the woman who is now my wife, her daughter (Cherith) was two years old. She is now the world's most wonderful six year old, and if any of you has ever had a hard time believing just how much you can love someone who in no way owes their biology to you, I'm telling you that ou would do more than die for them, you'd kill for them. So after I tuck her in for the night, I stretched out on the couch to read this book. The daughter that does (fortunately or otherwise) owe her genetic makeup at least in part to me is now a year and a half old, and though she generally prefers to run wild through the house, exploring everything she can posibly open, move, push, pull, or otherwise alter, she does pile up on one arm (and reading a hardcover book with only your left arm when you are right handed is no mean feat) and drift off to sleep.

So now imagine that you are reading the last bit of this book, thinking about the girl who you would kill for sleeping in the next room, looking down at your baby, angelic in her sleep...and my baby's name...Emaline. One of those times when what you tell yourself is a simple adventure thriller story making you choke up. I think something like an hour and half must have passed between Jack in the hospital and the next page, so intent was I in making sure that I remembered, desperately remembered, exactly what holding this little girl was like when I'm 50, 60, 90 years old.

Thanks, Mr. Wilson for entertaining me (again) and thanks especially for making me remember how god damn great it feels to be a dad.

Matt

I'm pretty sure I read on here that there was a dispute over what Jack's real age was, and I'm pretty sure I figured it out, and have proof to thus. The proof (that I think I have) both come from the book "All The Rage."

The first instance that lead me to the conclusion of Jack's age is on page 45 where Dr. Nadia Radzminsky described Jack in her thoughts.

"-midthirties, good looking but hardly dazzling..."

Then later on in the book, on page 98, Jack himself gives the clue to his age.

"..but I'm thinking maybe four or five more years and I'm out. I'll be fourty then."

After looking at both of these, especially the latter, Jack's age comes out to about 34 to 35 years old. Take in account for time changes in the later RJ books and there's your Jack age.

...when we've got stem cells baby!?

Stem Cell Breakthrough Helps 85% Of Type 2 Diabetes Patients
Main Category: Diabetes News
Article Date: 07 Feb 2006 - 4:00am (PST)

A study carried out in Argentina by a team of researchers from a Not-For-Profit Organization called ?Don Roberto Fernandez Viña Foundation' (San Nicolas- Buenos Aires, Argentina) demonstrated that stem cells implanted into type 2 diabetes patients, in direct form into the pancreas, improve the production of Endogenous Insulin, increase the levels of ?C Peptide?, decrease blood glucose levels and glycated hemoglobin levels faster than other treatments. 84% of the patients that had received the autologuous bone marrow cells could also abandon the drugs that stimulate insulin production or the insulin that they had been receiving previously.

There were no complications at all, demonstrating the safety of the technique, since the extraction, the cellular implants and evolution of the patients.

The most likely reason of this improvement is that the implanted autologuous stem cells regenerate the destroyed Beta Cells in the Islets of Langherhams in the pancreas of diabetes patients. It is also possible that they originate new Beta cells which produce the new Insulin.

The study was carried out on 16 type 2 diabetes patients - it is part of the denominated ?Argentinean Protocol to achieve the improvement of diabetes patients with the implants "in situ" of autologuous stem cells, named ?Te-Cel-Di-Ar? (Terapia Celular Diabetes Argentina)

The results of this scientific work carried out by the team lead by Professor Roberto Fernandez Viña MD and Professor Jorge Saslavsky MD, and seconded by Drs. Oberdan Andrin, Francisco Vrsalovic, Oscar Ferreyra, Angelina Classen, Liliana Camozzi, Janaina Ferreira, and Federico Foressi, were presented at the "45 th Annual Meetting of the American Society of Cell Biology" which took place in San Francisco, California, on 10th - 14th December, 2005. You can also read about it in the Scientific Abstracts Journal of the American Society of Cell Biology.

The work carried out by the Doctors and Argentinean researchers, has the approval from the Internal and External Ethics and Science Committees, and was carried out with the knowledge of the Buenos Aires Health Ministry. This design has more than thirty Nationals and International Consultants, and was partially funded with donations from the Childhood Diabetes Foundation, Colorado, USA, through the President of this Not Profit Association, Mrs. Sonia Cooper.

The research team had the scientific collaboration of the University of Gainesville-Florida State-USA, and Professor Bernat Soria´s consultancy (University of Seville, Spain) who was President of the Spanish Diabetology Society and is currently President of the Cellular Therapy European Society - he supervised the Argentinean Clinical Research in July 2005 (by special invitation).

This cellular implant procedure was created exclusively by Dr. Roberto Fernandez Viña and his Medical staff. It consists of directly applying the stems cells through a catheter into the diabetes patient's pancreas through a micro puncture in the femoral artery in the inguinal zone with local anesthesia. The study was carried out in San Nicolas Clinic, San Nicolas, Argentina.

According to some American researchers and diabetologists, this is the most important step toward the cure of diabetes since 1929, when Drs. Banting and Best discovered Insulin.

This new therapeutic modality with the application of Stem Cells could lead to a cure or improve the prognosis of diabetes in more than 80% of patients. 92% of the diabetes patients in the world have ?Type 2 Diabetes?.

Background

The Medical Team that Professor Roberto Fernandez Viña leads has been the pioneer in America in the use of bone marrow cells to repair the heart muscle after Myocardial heart attack in 2003, and they were the first in applying Stem Cells for the treatment of chronic refractory coronary angina and heart failure in patients with chronic coronary heart disease. These scientific breakthroughs have been rewarded twice; in 2004 and 2005, by the Spanish Cardiology Society.

In January, 2005, the team implanted for the first time in the world, Autologuous Stem Cells into the pancreas of a diabetes patient with successful results and without complications. In March, 2005, they implanted for the first time in Argentina and in the Word in direct form inside in brain, Mesenchimals Stem Cells, derived from neurons in a patient that had suffered cerebral infarction.

Foundation Don Roberto Fernández Viña
San Nicolás- Buenos Aires- Argentina
http://www.docmedical.com/fundaciondonroberto
http://www.docmedical.com/robertofernandezvina

This movie was great. I wish I'd seen it in the theater. I can't explain it, but the dialogue is funny because it's so real. I spoke like that when I was 11 and I could really identify with the two boys. And the house was such an original idea (at least to me) and add in Steve Buscemi (how can you go wrong with Steve Buscemi?).

Throw it in your queue. Immediately.

No spoilers, but this is about an Aussie cop who's part of an international internet task force that tracks down sexual offenders. He logs onto a fat fetish website and works it until he finds something possibly illegal as he explores the world of 'feeders' and 'gainers'.

It was a decent flick, worth adding to your Netflix queue.

As far as remakes go, The Omen wasn't too bad. Its been years since I've seen the original and that perhaps increased my enjoyment because all I can remember from the first one are the big scenes, which they updated rather slickly. Everything about it was solid. You could do worse than renting it.