Meredith, on Jim's moving friends: They're like the A-Team, but all white.

Bart, on Linux: Your website is now being run by a feral cat.

I've finally added my reusable tote bags to my Etsy shop.  Three of my favourites are up already.  I made a small collection of super hero and action adventure bags.  I made an ET tote, Dukes of Hazzard tote and an A Team tote.  I love all of them!

Have a look and let me know what you think!

I want a minivan. I see no shame in minivans. I can't wait to get a minivan.

My wife, on the other hand, refuses to own, ride in, or be caught walking near minivans. I don't understand her  irrational hatred of minivans. To me, it's like someone hating puppies or fresh snow. She'd rather have an SUV, or a Volvo station wagon.

The difference could be that I grew up in the 'burbs in the 80s, where minivans were ubiquitous. Dodge Caravans? Those were like suburban taxis. To me, the minivan is the quintessential icon of raising a family. Driving the kids to soccer practice. Heading over the pass to visit family across the state. My fondness for minivans may be part nostalgia, but also part logic and reason.

I've spoken with co-workers who have multiple kids, and who have both minivans and SUVs. They say without a doubt, the minivan is 10x easier and always the car they choose to take on trips. It's lower to the ground, easier to get kids in and out, the sliding door makes a world of difference when trying to lug a car seat in and out, and situate a fussy baby.

Plus... and I've been saving the kicker for last... What could be cooler than: An A-Team Themed Minivan? Seriously. PROVE to me this isn't the most awesome idea in the world. PROVE IT.

Lo conosciamo per alcune intrepretazioni televisive e cinematografiche 'culto' degli anni '80; il ruolo di Bosco "B.A." Baracus nell'A-Team (Bosco Albert o "Bad Attitude", tradotto "Brutto Carattere", nella versione italiana "Pessimo Elemento") o il boxeur Clubber nel film Rocky III...
Celebre il suo taglio di capelli stile 'mohawk' e la quantità di gioielli in oro che teneva appesi al collo; già, "teneva", perché Mr. T ha deciso di non indossare più catene d'oro dopo aver visitato le vittime del'Uragano Katrina (?).

La sua carriera risulta essere molto variegata e spazia dalle serie tv, cinema, pubblicità, cartoni animati, wrestling, musica e non è ancora finita!
Tra le tante, indosserà i panni del partner di Hulk Hogan in occasione della prima WrestleMania, produrrà nell'84 un album rap intitolato 'Mr. T's Commandments', sarà protagonista di una serie animata omonima trasmessa nell'83 sulla NBC, senza parlare delle tre stagioni della serie televisiva 'T. and T.' e della sua battaglia (vinta) contro il Linfoma T-Cell!

Attualmente interpreta piccoli ruoli in film e si presta come testimonial in spot televisivi come quello che vi propongo oggi in video :)

..."Don't be a culture fool!"

I don't usually ask, but if you agree with this blog, Please give kudos and comment. I want as many people to see this blog as possible.

The following paragraph was written by Myspace user "TPO" as an introduction to his blog that reposted the same article:

"I am posting this to counter the rash of QUACKERY, CONSPIRACY THEORIES, and DOWNRIGHT DECEIT about vaccinations the public has been spoon fed by the mainstream media lately. I've also seen this misinformation posted in forums, bulletin boards and other venues throughout the web and nowhere is it more prominent than here in the MySpace community. Not only is it irresponsible to spread this nonsense, it is downright dangerous to the health and wellbeing of people all around the world. If you agree, then please post this article in a blog of your own or post a bulletin with a link to it.

Peace, love and all that other good stuff…TPO"

-------------------------------------------------------------

VACCINES & AUTISM: Myths and Misconceptions

The Anti-Vaccination Movement

Despite the growing scientific consensus that vaccines are safe and that neither vaccines nor mercury cause autism, a stubborn vocal minority claims otherwise, threatening the effectiveness of this public health program.

STEVEN NOVELLA

Steven Novella, MD, is an assistant professor of neurology at Yale University School of Medicine. He is the host of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, a weekly science podcast (www.theskepticsguide.org), author of the NeuroLogica blog (www.theness.com/ NeuroLogicaBlog), and president of the New England Skeptical Society www.theness.com).

Michelle Cedillo has autism, which her parents believe is the result of her childhood vaccines. In June 2007 they had the opportunity, along with eight other families, to make their case to the Autism Omnibus—a U.S. Court of Federal Claims that was presided over by three "special masters" appointed for the purpose. These nine cases are the first test cases that will likely determine the fate of 4,800 other claims made over the past eight years for compensation for injuries allegedly due to childhood vaccines.

Vaccines are one of the most successful programs in modern health care, reducing, and in some cases even eliminating, serious infectious diseases. Public support for the vaccination program remains strong, especially in the United States where vaccination rates are currently at an all-time high of >95 percent (CDC 2004). Yet, despite a long history of safety and effectiveness, vaccines have always had their critics: some parents and a tiny fringe of doctors question whether vaccinating children is worth what they perceive as the risks. In recent years, the anti-vaccination movement, largely based on poor science and fear-mongering, has become more vocal and even hostile (Hughes 2007).

Of course, vaccines are not without risk (no medical intervention is), although the benefits far outweigh those risks. Because vaccines are somewhat compulsory in the United States—although opting out is increasingly easy—a National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program was established to streamline the process for compensation for those who are injured due to vaccines (USDOJ 2007). It is this program to which the Cedillo and 4,800 other families are applying for compensation.

In the last decade, the anti-vaccine movement, which includes those who blame the MMR (mumps-measles-rubella) vaccine for autism, has largely merged with those who warn that mercury toxicity is the cause of many of the ills that plague mankind. The two groups have come together over the issue of thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative in some vaccines. They believe that it was the use of thimerosal in childhood vaccines that led to the apparent autism epidemic beginning in the 1990s.

Autism is a complex neurological disorder that typically manifests in the first few years of life and primarily involves a deficiency of typical social skills and behavior. In the 1990's, the number of autism diagnoses significantly increased, from between one and three to about fifteen cases per ten thousand, although the true incidence is probably between thirty and sixty per ten thousand (Rutter 2005). During this same period, the number of vaccines given in the routine childhood schedule also increased. This led some to assume, or at least speculate, causation from correlation—perhaps the vaccines or something in them created this "epidemic" of autism.

We can now say, from multiple independent lines of evidence, that vaccines do not cause autism. For one thing, the autism "epidemic" probably does not represent a true increase in the disorder, but rather an artifact of expanding the diagnosis (now referred to as autism spectrum disorder, ASD) and increased surveillance (Taylor 2006).

In 1998, researcher Andrew Wakefield and some of his colleagues published a study in the prestigious English medical journal Lancet that claimed to show a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism (Wakefield 1998). Wakefield's theory was that the MMR vaccine, which contains a live virus, can cause in susceptible children a chronic measles infection. This in turn leads to gastrointestinal disturbances, including what he calls a "leaky gut" syndrome, which then allows for certain toxins and chemicals, like those from bread and dairy that are normally broken down by the gut, to enter the bloodstream where they can access and damage the developing brain.

Although the study was small and the evidence was considered preliminary, this article sparked a firestorm. As a result of the study and the media coverage that followed (and continues to this day), MMR compliance in Great Britain plummeted, resulting in a surge of preventable disease (Friederichs 2006).

Subsequent to the seminal article in the Lancet, many follow-up studies were performed testing the autism-MMR vaccine correlation. As the follow-up studies began to be published, however, it became increasingly clear that there was no link between MMR and autism. For example, a study in the British Medical Journal found that autism rates continued to climb in areas where MMR vaccination rates were not increasing (Taylor 1999). Another study found no association with MMR and autism or GI (gastrointestinal) disorders (Taylor 2002). Other studies showed no difference in the diagnosis rate of autism either before or after the MMR vaccine was administered (Honda 2005), or between vaccinated and unvaccinated children (Madsen 2002). Most recently, a study found that there was no decrease in autism rates following removal of the MMR vaccine in Japan (Honda 2005).

In 2001, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reviewed all of the MMR-autism data available to date and concluded that there was no association and essentially closed the case (IOM 2001)—a conclusion confirmed by still later studies, such as the Honda study in Japan cited above.

If Wakefield had simply been wrong in his preliminary findings, he would be innocent of any wrongdoing—scientists are not faulted if their early findings are not later vindicated. However, in May 2004, ten of Wakefield's co-authors on his original paper withdrew their support for its conclusions. The editors of Lancet also announced that they withdrew their endorsement of the paper and cited as part of the reason an undisclosed potential conflict of interest for Wakefield, namely that at the time of its publication he was conducting research for a group of parents of autistic children seeking to sue for damages from MMR vaccine producers (Lancet 2004).

It gets worse. Investigative reporter Brian Deer has uncovered greater depths to Wakefield's apparent malfeasance. Wakefield had applied for patents for an MMR vaccine substitute and treatments for his alleged MMR vaccine-induced gut disorder (Deer 2007). So, not only was he allegedly paid by lawyers to cast doubt on the MMR vaccine, but he stood to personally gain from the outcome of his research.

Andrew Wakefield. (Credit: Tom Miller) [Photo via Newscom]

Further, during the Cedillo case testimony, Stephen Bustin, a world expert in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), testified that the lab Wakefield used to obtain the results for his original paper was contaminated with measles virus RNA. It was therefore likely, Bustin implied, that the PCR used by Wakefield was detecting this contamination and not evidence for measles infection in the guts of children with autism who had been vaccinated, as Wakefield claimed. And finally, Nicholas Chadwick testified that the measles RNA Wakefield found matched the laboratory contamination and did not match either any naturally occurring strain or the strain used in the MMR vaccine—a fact of which he had informed Wakefield (USCFC 2007).

All of this, plus other allegations still coming out, has caused Britain's General Medical Council to call Wakefield before its "Fitness to Practice" panel for review of his alleged professional misconduct (GMC 2007).

Believers in the MMR-autism hypothesis dismiss the findings of the larger and more powerful epidemiological studies that contradict a link. Instead, they have turned Andrew Wakefield into a martyr, dismissing the evidence of his wrongdoing as a conspiracy against him designed to hide the true cause of autism from the public. Wakefield is unrepentant and maintains his innocence (Gorski 2007).

With the MMR-autism hypothesis scientifically dead, attention soon shifted to thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative found in some childhood vaccines (although not the MMR vaccine). There is little doubt, and no controversy, that mercury, the major component of thimerosal, is a powerful neurotoxin, or poison to the brain. However, toxicity is always a matter of dose. Everything becomes toxic in a high enough dose; even too much water or vitamin C can kill you. So the real question is whether the amount of mercury given to children in vaccines containing thimerosal was enough to cause neurological damage.

Author of the book Evidence of Harm: Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic David Kirby (center) speaks as president Harvey Fineberg (left) of the Institute of Medicine listens during an interview by moderator Tim Russert (right) on NBC's Meet the Press August 7, 2005, at the NBC studios in Washington, D.C. Fineberg and Kirby talked about the rising number of autism diagnoses among children and the controversial charges of a government conspiracy to allow mercury exposures from childhood vaccines to more than double between 1988 and 1992. The Institute of Medicine reviewed all MMR-autism data and concluded that there was no association. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images for Meet the Press) [Photo via Newscom]

Proponents of the mercury hypothesis argue that the ethylmercury found in thimerosal was given in doses exceeding Environmental Protection Agency limits. This load of mercury should be considered with prenatal vaccine loads possibly given to mothers, and to other environmental sources of mercury, such as seafood. Furthermore, underweight or premature infants received a higher dose by weight than larger children. Some children, they argue, may have a specific inability to metabolize mercury, and perhaps these are the children who become autistic.

Fear over thimerosal and autism was given a huge boost by journalist David Kirby with his book Evidence of Harm (Kirby 2005). Kirby tells the clichéd tale of courageous families searching for help for their sick children and facing a blind medical establishment and a federal government rife with corruption from corporate dollars. Kirby echoes the core claim that as the childhood vaccine schedule increased in the 1990s, leading to an increased cumulative dose of thimerosal, autism diagnoses skyrocketed.

In the end, Evidence of Harm is an example of terrible reporting that grossly misrepresents the science and the relevant institutions. As bad as Kirby's position was in 2005, in the last two years the evidence has been piling up that thimerosal does not cause autism. Rather than adjusting his claims to the evidence, Kirby has held fast to his claims, which has made him a hero alongside Wakefield of the mercury-autism-connection crowd as he has squandered his credibility.

There have now been a number of epidemiological and ecological studies that have all shown no correlation between thimerosal and autism (Parker 2004 and Doja 2006). I have already mentioned that the current consensus holds that there is no real autism epidemic, just an artifact of how the diagnosis is made. If there's no epidemic, there's no reason to look for a correlation between thimerosal and autism. This has been backed up by The Institute of Medicine, which has also reviewed all the available evidence (both epidemiological and toxicological) and concluded that the evidence does not support the conclusion that thimerosal causes autism (IOM 2004).

Especially damning for the thimerosal hypothesis are the recent studies that clearly demonstrate that early detection of autism is possible long before the diagnosis is officially made. Part of the belief that vaccines may cause autism is driven by the anecdotal observation by many parents that their children were normal until after they were vaccinated—autism is typically diagnosed around age two or three. However, more careful observations indicate that signs of autism are present much earlier, even before twelve months of age, before exposure to thimerosal (Mitchell 2006). In fact, autism expert Eric Fombonne testified in the Autism Omnibus hearings that Michelle Cedillo displayed early signs of autism clearly visibly on family video taken prior to her receiving the MMR vaccine (USCFC 2007).

Meanwhile, evidence is accumulating that autism is largely a genetic disorder (Szatmari 2007). This by itself does not rule out an environmental factor, but it is telling that genetic research in autism has proven so fruitful.

Mercury alarmists, in the face of this negative evidence, have been looking for rationalizations. Some have argued that the thimerosal in prenatal vaccines may be to blame, but recent evidence has shown a negative correlation there as well (Miles 2007).

What we have are the makings of a solid scientific consensus. Multiple independent lines of evidence all point in the same direction: vaccines in general, and thimerosal in particular, do not cause autism, which rather likely has its roots in genetics. Furthermore, true autism rates are probably static and not rising.

A demonstrator carries a sign protesting the use of mercury in vaccines past the U.S. Capitol in Washington July 20, 2005. Some three hundred people marched demanding that mercury not be used in vaccines anymore amid concern that it is the cause of autism and other neurological diseases in children. However, numerous studies show no correlation between Thimerosol and autism. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images) [Photo via Newscom]

The only researchers who are publishing data that contradicts this consensus are the father-and-son team of Mark and David Geier. They have looked at the same data and concluded that thimerosal does correlate with autism. However, the hammer of peer-review has come down on their methods and declared them fatally flawed, thus rendering their conclusions invalid or uninterpretable (Parker 2004). Also, like Wakefield, their reputations are far from clean. They have made something of a career out of testifying for lawyers and families claiming that vaccines caused their child's autism, even though the Geiers' testimony is often excluded on the basis that they lack the proper expertise (Goldacre 2007). The Geiers were not even called as experts in the Autism Omnibus hearings.

The Geiers are now undertaking an ethically suspect study in which they are administering chelation therapy to children with autism in conjunction with powerful hormonal therapy allegedly designed to reduce testosterone levels. Chelation therapy removes mercury, and so it is dependent upon the mercury hypothesis, which is all but disproved. Moreover, there is no clinical evidence for the efficacy of chelation therapy. The treatment is far from benign and is even associated with occasional deaths (Brown 2006).

With the scientific evidence so solidly against the mercury hypothesis of autism, proponents maintain their belief largely through the generous application of conspiracy thinking. The conspiracy claim has been made the loudest by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in two conspiracy-mongering articles: Deadly Immunity published on Salon.com in 2005 (Kennedy 2005), and more recently Attack on Mothers (Kennedy 2007). In these articles, RFK Jr. completely misrepresents and selectively quotes the scientific evidence, dismisses inconvenient evidence as fraudulent, accuses the government, doctors, and the pharmaceutical industry of conspiring to neurologically damage America's children, and accuses scientists who are skeptical of the mercury claims of attacking the mothers of children with autism.

Despite the lack of evidence for any safety concern, the FDA decided to remove all thimerosal from childhood vaccines, and by 2002 no new childhood vaccines with thimerosal were being sold in the U.S. This was not an admission of prior error, as some mercury proponents claimed; instead, the FDA was playing it safe by minimizing human exposure to mercury wherever possible. The move was also likely calculated to maintain public confidence in vaccines.

This created the opportunity to have the ultimate test of the thimerosal autism hypothesis. If rising thimerosal doses in the 1990s led to increasing rates of autism diagnosis, then the removal of thimerosal should be followed within a few years by a similar drop in new autism diagnoses. If, on the other hand, thimerosal did not cause autism, then the incidence of new diagnoses should continue to increase and eventually level off at or near the true rate of incidence. In 2005, I personally interviewed David Kirby on the topic, and we both agreed that this would be a fair test of our respective positions. Also, in an e-mail to science blogger Citizen Cain, Kirby wrote, "If the total number of 3-5 year olds in the California DDS [Department of Developmental Services] system has not declined by 2007, that would deal a severe blow to the autism-thimerosal hypothesis" (Cain 2005).

Well, five years after the removal of thimerosal, autism diagnosis rates have continued to increase (IDIC 2007). That is the final nail in the coffin in the thimerosal-vaccine-autism hypothesis. The believers, however, are in full rationalization mode. David Kirby and others have charged that although no new vaccines with thimerosal were sold after 2001, there was no recall, so pediatricians may have had a stockpile of thimerosal-laden vaccines—even though a published inspection of 447 pediatric clinics and offices found only 1.9 percent of relevant vaccines still had thimerosal by February 2002, a tiny fraction that was either exchanged, used, or expired soon after (CDCP/ACIP 2002).

Those who argue for the link have put forth increasingly desperate notions. Kirby has argued that mercury from cremations was increasing environmental mercury toxicity and offsetting the decrease in mercury from thimerosal. The Geiers simply reinterpreted the data using bad statistics to create the illusion of a downward trend where none exists (Geier 2006). Robert Kennedy Jr. dodges the issue altogether by asking for more studies, despite the fact that the evidence he asks for already exists. He just doesn't like the answer. Kennedy and others also point to dubious evidence, such as the myth that the Amish do not vaccinate and do not get autism. Both of these claims are not true, and the data RFK Jr. refers to is nothing more than a very unscientific phone survey (Leitch 2007).

The Autism Omnibus hearings have concluded, and while we await the decision due early next year, I am optimistic that science and reason will win the day. Just as shown in the 2005 Dover trial of intelligent design where the full body of scientific evidence was given a thorough airing in court and subjected to rules of evidence and the critical eyes of experienced judges, science tends to win out over nonsense. By all accounts, the lawyers for those claiming that vaccines caused their children's autism put on pathetic performances with transparently shoddy science, while the other side marshaled genuine experts and put forth an impressive case.

But the stakes are high, and not just for the 4,800 families. If the petitioners win these test cases despite the evidence, it will open the floodgates for the rest of the 4,800 petitioners. This will likely bankrupt the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and will also risk our vaccine infrastructure. Pharmaceutical companies will be reluctant to subject themselves to the liability of selling vaccines if even the truth cannot protect them from lawsuits.

Thimerosal still exists as a necessary preservative in multi-shot vaccines outside the United States, especially in poor third-world countries that cannot afford stockpiles of single-shot vaccines. Anti-thimerosal hysteria therefore also threatens the health of children in poor countries.

And of course a victory for the anti-vaccination activists would undermine public confidence in what is arguably the single most effective public health measure devised by modern science. This decrease in confidence will lead, as it has before, to declining compliance and an increase in infectious disease.

The forces of irrationality are arrayed on this issue. There are conspiracy theorists, well-meaning but misguided citizen groups who are becoming increasingly desperate and hostile, irresponsible journalists, and ethically compromised or incompetent scientists. The science itself is complex, making it difficult for the average person to sift through all the misdirection and misinformation. Standing against all this is simple respect for scientific integrity and the dedication to follow the evidence wherever it leads.

Right now the evidence leads to the firm conclusion that vaccines do not cause autism. Yet, if history is any guide, the myth that they do cause autism will likely endure even in the face of increasing contradictory evidence.

References

Brown, M.J., T. Willis, B. Omalu, and R. Leiker. 2006. Deaths resulting from hypocalcemia after administration of edetate disodium: 2003–2005. Pediatrics. 118(2):e534–36.

Centers for Disease Control. 2004. MMWR Weekly, November 12. 53(44):1041–1044. Available at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5344a4.htm.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization. 2002. Practice Records of the meeting held on February 20–21, 2002, Atlanta Marriott North Central Hotel. Available at www.kevinleitch.co.uk/grabit/acip-min-feb.pdf.

Citizen Cain. 2005. Slouching Toward Truth—Autism and Mercury, November 30. Available at http://citizencain.blogspot.com/2005/11/slouching-toward-truth-autism-and_30.html.

Deer, B. 2007. Andrew Wakefield & the MMR scare: part 2. Available at http://briandeer.com/wakefield-deer.htm.

Doja, A., and W. Roberts. 2006. Immunizations and autism: a review of the literature. Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences 33(4):341–46.

Friederichs, V., J.C. Cameron, and C. Robertson. 2006. Impact of adverse publicity on MMR vaccine uptake: a population based analysis of vaccine uptake records for one million children, born 1987–2004. Archives of Diseases of Children 200691(6):465–68. Epub 2006 April 25.

Geier, D.A., and M.R. Geier. 2006. An assessment of downward trends in neurodevelopmental disorders in the United States following removal of thimerosal from childhood vaccines. Medical Science Monitor 12(6):CR231–9. Epub 2006 May 29.

General Medical Council. 2007. July 16. Available at www.gmcpressoffice.org.uk/apps/news/events/index.php?month=7&year=2007&submit=Submit.

Goldacre B. 2007. Opinions from the medical fringe should come with a health warning. The Guardian, Saturday, February 24. Available at www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/feb/24/badscience.uknews.

Gorski, D. 2007. Andrew Wakefield: The Galileo gambit writ large in The Observer. Respectful Insolence, July 9, 2007. Available at http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2007/07/andrew_wakefield_the_galileo_gambit_writ.php.

Honda, H., Y. Shimizu, and M. Rutter. 2005. No effect of MMR withdrawal on the incidence of autism: a total population study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 46(6):572–79.

Hughes, V. 2007. Mercury Rising. Nature Medicine 13(8):896–7. Epub 2007 August 31.

Infectious Diseases and Immunization Committee, Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS). 2007. Autistic spectrum disorder: No causal relationship with vaccines. Paediatrics & Child Health 12(5): 393–95. Available at www.cps.ca/english/statements/ID/pidnote_jun07.htm.

Institute of Medicine. 2001. Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism. April 23. Available at www.iom.edu/CMS/3793/4705/4715.aspx.

Institute of Medicine. 2004. Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism. May 17. Available at www.iom.edu/CMS/3793/4705/20155.aspx.

Kennedy, R.F. 2005. Deadly immunity. June 16. Salon.com. Available at http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/06/16/thimerosal/index3.html?pn=1.

———. 2007. Attack on mothers. June 19. The Huffington Post. Available at www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/attack-on-mothers_b_52894.html.

Kirby, David. 2005. Evidence of Harm: Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic: A Medical Controversy. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Lancet Editors, 2004. Lancet 363(9411).

Leitch K. 2007. Autism amongst the Amish. Left Brain/Right Brain. 22. Available at www.kevinleitch.co.uk/wp/?p=5353.

Madsen, K.M., A. Hviid, M. Vestergaard, D. Schendel, J. Wohlfahrt, P. Thorsen, J. Olsen, and M. Melbye. 2002. A population-based study of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination and autism. New England Journal of Medicine 347(19):1477–1482.

Miles, J.H., and T.N. Takahashi. 2007. Lack of association between Rh status, Rh immune globulin in pregnancy and autism. American Journal of Medical Genetics, Part A1. 143(13):1397–407.

Mitchell, S., J. Brian, L. Zwaigenbaum, W. Roberts, P. Szatmari, I. Smith, and S. Bryson. 2006. Early language and communication development of infants later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics 27(2 Suppl):S69–78.

Parker, S.K., B. Schwartz, J. Todd, and L.K. Pickering. 2004. Thimerosal-containing vaccines and autistic spectrum disorder: a critical review of published original data. Pediatrics 114(3):793–804.

Rutter, M. 2005. Incidence of autism spectrum disorders: changes over time and their meaning. Acta Paediatrica 94(1):2–15.

Szatmari, P., et. al. 2007. Mapping autism risk loci using genetic linkage and chromosomal rearrangements. Nature Genetics 39, 319–28.

Taylor, B. 2006. Vaccines and the changing epidemiology of autism. Child Care, Health, and Development 32(5):511–19.

Taylor, B., E. Miller, C.P. Farrington, M.C. Petropoulos, I. Favot-Mayaud, J. Li, and P.A. Waight. 1999. Autism and measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine: no epidemiological evidence for a causal association. Lancet 12;353(9169):2026–2029.

Taylor, B., E. Miller, R. Lingam, N. Andrews, A. Simmons, and J. Stowe. 2002. Measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination and bowel problems or developmental regression in children with autism: population study. British Medical Journal 16; 324(7334):393–96.

United States Court of Federal Claims. 2007. Cedillo v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Transcript of Day 6. June 18, 2007. Available at ftp://autism.uscfc.uscourts.gov/autism/transcripts/day06.pdf.

United States Court of Federal Claims, 2007. Cedillo v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Transcript of Day 8. June 20, 2007. Available at ftp://autism.uscfc.uscourts.gov/autism/transcripts/day08.pdf.

USDOJ, About the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Available at www.usdoj.gov/civil/torts/const/vicp/about.htm.

Wakefield, A.J., S.H. Murch, A. Anthony, J. Linnell, D.M. Casson, M. Malik, M. Berelowitz, A.P. Dhillon, M.A. Thomson, P. Harvey, A. Valentine, S.E. Davies, and J.A. Walker-Smith. 1998. Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. Lancet 351(9103):637–41.

Out of the streets of Chicago Clubber Lang was raised. Clubber never had a handout all his life he had to fight, punching people in there face, belly, and chest if needed. This nigga didn’t have parents he had the streets!! Clubber went to jail for 5 years and discovered boxing, a new drive took over him. He began moving his way up the ladder with furious style and aggression, soon getting the attention of Rocky himself. Rocky was rich getting doe big house and shit he training in a fucking circus it looks like. Clubber in the ghetto sweating, dodging the feens to live his dream! That’s why in the first beef Rocky went down hard, I heard they fought again but I don’t know bout all that. I seen one fight and from what I seen CLUBBER ROCKED ROCKY!

stadsmarinier, nederland, straatterreur, politiek, a-team,

Or this one?

The new Knight Rider just doesn't live up to the old.  Although the car looks impressive, there is one thing the new Knight Rider doesn't have...

 The Hoff!!!

Man, I miss that show...right along with the A-Team.

Personally, I'd rather see Mr. T on the Enterprise.

via Topless Robot

Alec: I stood up, called him a “leprechaun with a Napoleon Complex,” threw my pencil at his head, then chucked a desk at him.

Elise, on Face from A-Team: He just fell off a WATERTOWER! How is he not injured?
Mom: The thick knit of his cable sweater must have broken the fall.

Actualité

- Les films qu'on a vu cet été : Wall-E, Surveillance, L'Incroyable Hulk, The Dark Knight (waoouu !!), La Fiancée de Frankenstein.
- Comme les autres : réalisé par Vincent Gareng, actuellement aux Arcades.
- Le Frère : en cours de tournage sur Alès et la Grand-Combe. Recherche figurants et véhicules pré-1958. Contact : prepafrere@yahoo.fr (photos plus coordonnées).
- Stan Winston : ce grand créateur d'effets spéciaux hollywoodien est décédé le 15 juin 2008.
- Rumba : réalisé par Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon & Bruno Romy. Actuellement à l'affiche (mais pas dans le Gard).
- CinemaRetro : fanzine anglais consacré au ciné des 60's/70's (cliquez sur le nom pour accéder au site !).

Dossier : De la petite lucarne au grand écran

A l’occasion de la sortie au cinéma le mercredi 10 septembre 2008 du film Max la menace, adapté d'une série télévisée (1965 à 1970), petit tour d'horizon des séries télé qui se sont affranchies de la petite lucarne pour passer sur grand écran.

Max la menace : série TV de Mel Brooks & Buck Henry
Agent Zéro Zéro de Rick Friedberg (1996)
Johnny English de Peter Howitt (2003)

Les films (super) nuls

The Avengers - Chapeau Melon et Bottes de Cuir (série : 1961 à 1977 / film : 1998) (Erratum : Cédric s'est trompé, c'est pas McG le réalisateur !)
Charlie's Angels - Drôles de Dames (série : 1976 à 1981 / Film : 2000 et 2003 pour la suite)
Dukes of Hazzard - Shériff fais moi peur (série : de 1979 à 1985 / film : 2005)
Sex & the City (série : 1998 à 2004 / film : 2008)
Bewitched - Ma Sorcière bien aimée (série : 1964 à 1972 / film : 2005)
Starsky & Hutch (série : 1975 à 1979 / film : 2004)
X-Files - Aux Frontières du Réel (série : 1993 à 2002)
Le Saint ; Les Incorruptibles ; Les Mystères de l'Ouest ; Perdus dans l'Espace ; Arsène Lupin ; Les Chevaliers du Ciel ; Les Brigades du Tigre ; Mission Impossible.

Les Films Mieux (oui quand même)

Miami Vice - Deux Flics à Miami (série : 1984 à 1990 / film : 2006)
La Famille Addams (série : 1964 à 1966 : films : 1991 & 1993)
Les Simpsons (série : 1989 à aujourd'hui / film : 2007)
South Park (série : 1987 à aujourd'hui / film : 1999)

Star Trek : De la série qui fait dormir Jan aux films qui font dormir Jan

Les séries :

Star Trek (1966 à 1969)
Star Trek - Next Generation (1987 à 1994)
Star Trek - Deep Space Nine (1993 à 1999)
Star Trek - Voyager (1995 à 2001)
Star Trek - Andromeda (2000 à 2005)
Star Trek - Enterprise (2001 à 2005)

Star Trek - les films (de 1980 à aujourd'hui, avec le 11ème volet prévu pour 2009)

Les cas particuliers

The Twilight Zone - La Quatrième Dimension (série : 1959 à 1964 / film : 1983)
Twin Peaks - Mystères à Twin Peaks (série : 1990 à 1991 / film : 1992)
Fame (film : 1980/ série : 1982 à 1987)
Le Président et Miss Wade (1995) / The West Wing - A la Maison Blanche (1999 à 2006)

Les adaptations annoncées pour bientôt (aïe aïe aïe)

A-Team - L'Agence Tout Risque (série : 1983 à 1987)
Dallas (série : 1978 à 1991)
Dark Shadows (1966 à 1971)

La BO de la semaine

Brokeback Mountain composée par Gustavo Santaolalla, extrait du film d'Ang Lee (2005)

Extraits sonores

Star Trek 2 - La Colère de Khan de Nicholas Meyer (1982)
La 4ème Dimension de Rod Sterling (1959 à 1964)
Extrait Musical

Max la menace série TV de Mel Brooks & Buck Henry (1965 à 1995)

Her foregår endring gjennom spontan synging, "levende øyeblikk" og utvikling av relasjoner. Alle har på seg hårbånda til Olav. Rickard har det røde, Dinh har det lilla og Mats har det blå. Himmelsk lys omsvøper englene som synger. Fortsettelse under...

Mats har en bra tilstedeværelse, Dinh har dårlig awareness og Rickard har improvisert dialog med Blu-E.

Sosial konstruktivisme og zen-buddhisme.

Forumteater.

Her nakenfasiliterer vi hverandre på senga til Olav. Bildet er tatt rett før vi når fasen final contact fra modellen 'The Cycle of Gestalt formation and destruction:

*Oppdatering*
Hørt ute i stua:

R: Er det dine sokker som lukter sånn?
M: Nei? Tror ikke det?
*R lukter på sine
R: Ikke mine
*M lukter på sine
M: Ja, det er mine!
*Dinh rister på hodet inne på rommet sitt

---

Check out a couple videos I did: http://tinyurl.com/6haov6

http://tinyurl.com/6rpdvo

Yep, that's supposed to be my face in the vids. Neat!

If you were born sometime before the release of Kindergarten Cop but after the opening night of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, chances are that you will be heading off to college in the next week or two. On the flipside, if you were born back in the days when Animal House and American Graffiti were showing on screens across the country, it's more than likely that you're beginning to forget what it's like to arrange your class schedule so you can party all night and sleep all day. As it turns out, the boys from Old School fall into the latter category, and they might just serve as an example for those of you who think that your glory days have passed you by.

After walking in on his wife (Juliette Lewis) with another man and another woman, Luke Wilson picks up the pieces of his life by starting a renegade fraternity with his pals Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn. Together, they set out to get all of the benefits of college without being bothered with attending a single class. After recruiting a group of less than popular pledges, the house defies the odds to become the epicenter of the university's late-night party scene

The Old School trailer starts with Wilson making a drunken toast at a friend's wedding where he details his wife's exceptional infidelity. It then transitions to Vaughn planting the seed of starting a fraternity as Ferrell swings a hockey stick in the kitchen of Wilson's new bachelor pad. After the success of their first all-night bash, the boys are shown cruising for pledges in their A-Team van and officiating a K-Y Jelly wrestling match between two coeds and what might be the world's oldest living man. From their high points, the trailer then turns to the brothers' difficulties. Wilson wakes up in bed with an underage Elisha Cuthbert, Ferrell succumbs to the alcohol-obsessed beast that rules over his soul, and Jeremy Piven, the dean, sets out to put an end to their debauchery once and for all. During the remainder of the trailer, we get to see the frat's hazing ritual, which involves a cinder block tied to the pledges' junk, while Wilson tries to convince Ellen Pompeo that his crew's exploits have been blown out of proportion. My favorite part of the trailer comes at the end when Ferrell shoots himself in the neck with a tranquilizer gun seconds after it's handed to him by a severely mulleted Seann William Scott.  Old School opened February 21, 2003. Check out the trailer at Zuguide.com.