(no subject)
"They're actually a documented phenomenon in Haiti. In the 1980s, Harvard ethnobiologist Wade Davis studied Haitian secret societies and got to know several shamans, who showed him how they made zombies. First, a shaman slipped the victims a powder that made them appear dead. Once buried, the victims were dug up and fed a psychotropic paste made from datura, a hallucinogenic plant. The datura kept them in a haze, unable to remember where they were or how to escape, but capable of doing menial physical tasks as the shamans' slaves.
Though some scientists question whether Davis's samples were contaminated, his research indicated that the key ingredient in the death powder was tetrodotoxin, a poison contained in puffer fish skin. Tetrodotoxin cuts off the flow of sodium to cells and breaks the electrical connections between nerves and muscles. Thus, the victims become paralyzed, and breathing becomes almost imperceptible, but appearing dead becomes pretty darn easy."
planning a move is weird. there are so many things i need to buy, people i want to see, places i want to go...i want to talk about serial killers with luiza some more. but i'm so excited...so excited, that my reading material for the rest of the month is simply a heavy studying of a subway map.
the korean movie, a tale of two sisters, is frightening, by the way. lots of movies to watch, too. lots...beat street, the corporation, assorted fellini, godard, truffaut, bergman films, asian horror flicks and samurai westerns...i can't keep up with my own expanding interests so shortly before the move.
a portable record player will soon be mine. thus i can bring the vinyl with me to new york and eliminate the feeling that i am abandoning children.