Dymaxion Man - The visions of Buckminster Fuller: Fuller’s schemes often had the hallucinatory quality associated with science fiction (or mental hospitals). It concerned him not in the least that things had always been done a certain way in the past. In addition to flying cars, he imagined mass-produced bathrooms that could be installed like refrigerators; underwater settlements that would be restocked by submarine; and floating communities that, along with all their inhabitants, would hover among the clouds. Most famously, he dreamed up the geodesic dome. [New Yorker]
From Mr Average … to superman: In 16 weeks, Craig Davidson, a Canadian novelist, transformed himself into a hard-as-nails hunk by injecting illegal steroids. He loved his new body - but not the hideous side-effects. In this graphic account of being a ‘roider’, he recounts his hellish journey. [Guardian]
Cancer patient wins £5,000 bet: A terminally ill man, who was told he had a few months to live after being diagnosed with cancer, collected £5,000 from the bookmakers yesterday. [Guardian]
In China, he builds bridges with music: The New York Philharmonic may have played Pyongyang, but they’re not the only ones using the tip of the orchestra to break diplomatic ice. On May 7, Conductor Yu Long and the China Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) traveled to Vatican City to play a special concert for Pope Benedict XVI. [CSM]
June 6th, 2008 at 10:53 am
What I submitted to the Guardian
To whom it May Concern:
I read with disgust “From Mr Average … to superman In 16 weeks” by Craig Davidson, Sunday May 18, 2008
As a writer myself who has been published in a wide variety of magazines on the very topic Mr. Davidson pretends to understand, does your paper have any fact checkers? It appears none were consulted for this article.
You have to read this thing to believe it. I kept waiting for the punch line and him to admit it was a put on. He’s either doing a parody, or he’s purposely fabricating, or both. For example:
“Another sleepless night, a week later, I felt a ridge on my forehead. Cranial swelling - most often a neanderthal-like ridge forming above the brow - is commonly associated with the steroid HGH, or Human Growth Hormone, originally made from the crushed pituitary glands of fresh cadavers. But cranial swelling assumes many forms: in addition to ‘caveman brow’, some users find semi-solid lumps forming on their foreheads. Some lumps grow to the size of hard-boiled eggs, at which point they require surgical removal.”
Cont:
http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/…280111,00.html
There is no such thing as cranial swelling from the use of HGH, and the idiot was not even using HGH (read his cycle) and knows so little about these compounds he calls it “steroid HGH” when HGH is not a steroid, etc, etc, etc. The article is 90% fantasy and fiction, and 10% hyperbole…
Now a known effect of MASSIVE amounts of HGH is acromegaly due to pituitary tumors or genetic diseases and such, but it’s not seen in people using HGH.
There is also a rare condition called Pseudotumor cerebri which is a fancy way of saying benign intracranial hypertension which = big headache…
The amount of misinformation, disinformation, and flat out fabrications in this article are difficult to even count it’s so bad. I suspect it’s beyond simple ignorance, but an active attempt to drum up interest for his novel via hyperbole and sensationalism, and Mr. Davidson does his reputation as an author no favors with this piece of trash article.
I looked for a comment box or contact email to let the guy know what an idiot he was, but didn’t see any.
“Principle is a terrible thing, because it demands not wh