April 5, 2011
Byron ‘Buster’ Bluth is a fictional character on the US sitcom, ‘Arrested Development.’ He is the youngest son of George Sr. and Lucille, though it is later revealed that his biological father is actually George Sr.’s identical twin brother Oscar (the two share obvious personality traits and a mutual habit for awkwardly giving people shoulder massages). Buster is portrayed by Tony Hale.
Buster is a professional student, having completed coursework in cartography, Native American tribal ceremonies, 18th century agrarian business principles, and archaeology. Archival footage indicates his participation in various university medical studies, such as sleep deprivation studies. As the baby of the family, he idolizes his brothers Gob and Michael.
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April 5, 2011
Neuroticism [noo-rot-uh-siz-uhm] is a fundamental personality trait in the study of psychology. It is an enduring tendency to experience negative emotional states. Individuals who score high on neuroticism are more likely than the average to experience such feelings as anxiety, anger, guilt, and depressed mood.
Neuroticism, along with other personality traits, has been mapped across states in the USA. People in eastern states such as New York, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Mississippi tend to score high on neuroticism, whereas people in many western states, such as Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Oregon, and Arizona score lower on average. People in states that are higher in neuroticism also tend to have higher rates of heart disease and lower life expectancy.
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April 5, 2011
Neurosis [noo-roh-sis] is a class of functional mental disorders involving distress but neither delusions nor hallucinations, whereby behavior is not outside socially acceptable norms. Those suffering from it are said to be neurotic. The term essentially describes an ‘invisible injury’ and the resulting condition. The American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has eliminated the category of ‘Neurosis,’ reflecting a decision by the editors to provide descriptions of behavior as opposed to hidden psychological mechanisms as diagnostic criteria.
Neurosis should not be mistaken for psychosis, which refers to loss of touch with reality, or neuroticism, a fundamental personality trait characterized by an enduring tendency to experience negative emotional states.
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April 4, 2011
A mirror box is a box with two mirrors in the center (one facing each way), invented by neurologist Vilayanur S. Ramachandran to help alleviate phantom limb pain, in which patients feel they still have a limb after having it amputated.
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April 4, 2011
Neuroplasticity [noor-oh-pla-stis-i-tee] refers to the ability of the brain to change as a result of one’s experience, that the brain is ‘plastic’ and ‘malleable.’ The discovery of this feature of the brain is rather modern; the previous belief amongst scientists was that the brain does not change after the critical period of infancy.
Substantial changes occur in the lowest neocortical processing areas, changes that can profoundly alter the pattern of neuronal activation in response to experience. According to the theory of neuroplasticity, experience can actually change both the brain’s physical structure (anatomy) and functional organization (physiology) from top to bottom.
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April 4, 2011
A brain–computer interface (BCI) is a direct communication pathway between the brain and an external device. BCIs are often aimed at assisting, augmenting or repairing human cognitive or sensory-motor functions. Research on BCIs began in the 1970s at UCLA under a grant from the National Science Foundation, followed by a contract from DARPA.
The field has since focused primarily on neuroprosthetics applications that aim at restoring damaged hearing, sight and movement. Thanks to the remarkable cortical plasticity of the brain, signals from implanted prostheses can, after adaptation, be handled by the brain like natural sensor or effector channels.
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April 4, 2011
Gorillaz is a musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn of Blur and Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of ‘Tank Girl.’ The Gorillaz have an extensive fictional universe depicting a ‘virtual band’ of cartoon characters composed of four animated members: 2D (lead vocalist, keyboard), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, keyboard, and occasional vocals) and Russel Hobbs (drums and percussion). The music is a collaboration between various musicians, Albarn being the only permanent contributor.
Their style is a composition of multiple musical genres, with a large number of influences including: dub, hip hop, alternative rock, electronic and pop music. The trio of musicians behind Gorillaz’ first incarnation included Damon Albarn, Del the Funkee Homosapien, and Dan the Automator, who had previously worked together on the track ‘Time Keeps on Slipping’ for Deltron 3030’s eponymous debut album. The song can be seen as the genesis of the musical style that continued into Gorillaz’ first album.
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April 4, 2011
Deltron 3030 is an alternative hip hop supergroup composed of producer Dan the Automator, rapper Del tha Funkee Homosapien and DJ Kid Koala. Their work features many other artists as well, all taking on various futuristic pseudonyms. The group’s debut album Deltron 3030, released in 2000, is a concept album set in the year 3030 that tells of the fight by Deltron Zero (Del’s alter ego) against huge corporations that rule the universe.
The lyrics were written in less than two weeks and are characterized by extravagant allusions to futuristic outer-space themes in the tradition of Afrofuturist works by Sun Ra and George Clinton. Many samples originated with the contemporary French classical composer William Sheller. Del tha Funkee Homosapien’s lyrics veer from serious social commentary to humor to epic sci-fi battles, while producer Dan the Automator creates an eerie and dense atmosphere. Following the release of the album, all three members worked on the Gorillaz’ self-titled debut album. Deltron 3030’s second album will be titled Deltron Event II. Production began in 2006 and is still in progress.
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April 4, 2011
Deltron 3030 is the debut album by hip hop supergroup Deltron 3030. Released in 2000, it is a rap opera concept album set in a dystopian year 3030.
The album follows Deltron Zero’s fight against an oppressive government and powerful corporations, while also battling to be the Galactic Rhyme Federation Champion. Del tha Funkee Homosapien’s lyrics veer from serious social commentary to humor to epic sci-fi battles, while producer Dan the Automator creates an eerie and dense atmosphere.
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April 3, 2011
In music, a concept album is an album that is unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical. Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing to a single overall theme or unified story.
This is in contrast to the practice of an artist or group releasing an album consisting of a number of unconnected (lyrically or otherwise) songs performed by the artist.
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April 3, 2011
‘Dark Side of the Rainbow‘ refers to the pairing of the 1973 Pink Floyd music album ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ with the visual portion of the 1939 film ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ This produces moments where the film and the album appear to correspond with each other.
Band members and others involved in the making of the album state that any relationship between the two works of art is merely a coincidence.
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April 3, 2011
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd, released in 1973.
The concept album built on ideas explored by the band in their live shows and earlier recordings, but it lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure in 1968 of founding member, principal composer and lyricist Syd Barrett. ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’s’ themes include conflict, greed, the passage of time and mental illness, the latter partly inspired by Barrett’s deteriorating mental state.
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