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We don’t just report off-beat news, breaking news and digest the best and worst of the news media analysis and commentary. We give an original take on what happened and why. We add lols, satire, news photos and original content.
David Vetter Was The Boy In The Bubble (1971-1984)
DAVID Vetter (September 21, 1971 – February 22, 1984) was the media’s The Boy In The Bubble.
With help from his parents, David Vetter 6, of Houston, walks for the first time outside the isolation bubble he has lived in all his life. David is wearing a germ-free suit called the Mobile Isolator System developed by NASA in cooperation with the Texas Children Hospital at an estimated cost of $20,000. David was born with severe combined immune deficiency. The cart carries a life-support system and a chair for David. (AP Photo/NASA)
In 1970, David J. Vetter III was born. Medics at the Texas Children’s Hospital find that the child has severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). He died aged 7 months.
Carol Ann Vetter Demaret and David J. Vetter Jr.’s first child was a healthy girl named Katherine, born in 1968.
They tried again:
* They look to the team of doctors at Texas Children’s Hospital for assistance. If Carol Ann’s genes indeed carry SCID, there is a one in four chance this child will carry the same disease.
After amniocentesis determines that Carol Ann Vetter’s baby is a boy, doctors explain that he has a one in two chance of being born with SCID. The option of abortion is offered, and refused. Though bone marrow transplantation is in its infancy and requires a near-perfect match between donor and recipient, Raphael Wilson assures the Vetters that the child can be born into a germ-free environment and maintained there until a bone marrow transplant can be performed.
September 21: David Phillip Vetter is born in Texas Children’s Hospital. The hospital staff has made a heroic effort to create germ free conditions. After less than twenty seconds of exposure to the world, the baby is placed in a plastic isolator bubble that will protect him from disease.
He only ever touched another human being in the days before he died.
Little David Vetter, the six-year-old “bubble baby”, gives his mother Carol Ann Vetter, a hug while wearing his new Mobile Isolator System, in Houston, Nov. 4, 1977. The long hose attached to David’s back is a live-support system that pumps air into the suit.
* “Why am I so angry all the time?” he asked psychologist Mary Ada Murphy one summer evening. As he sat in his plastic isolation chamber on the third floor of Texas Children’s Hospital, he could see Fannin Street from the room’s window. But he couldn’t touch that outside world, or participate in it. Whatever I do depends on what somebody else decides I do,” he said. “Why school? Why did you make me learn to read? What good will it do? I won’t ever be able to do anything anyway. So why? You tell me why.”“I can’t say why,” replied Murphy.
No perfect match was found.
By 1983 research in bone marrow transplants had advanced to the point where donors did not have to be exact matches to recipients. There was new hope that David might be able to receive his sister’s bone marrow, generate an immune system, and leave his protective environment. After the entire family discussed the procedure, the teenaged Katherine had her marrow extracted in Boston. Doctors treated it and then flew it down to be donated to David. That Christmas, as a thank you gift, David gave Katherine a sapphire and diamond ring that their mother had helped pick out.
The donation failed. He grew ill. Two weeks later, Dvid Vetter died.
Carol Ann wrote after her second son’s death:
“The decision to have another child came from our hearts and our minds. We were not trying to fill a void, to replace the son we had just lost. We decided to place our trust in God. No matter what happened, to us a therapeutic abortion would have been out of the question. Our choice was very simple: Have a child or not have a child.”
David Vetter poses inside of his bubble in his Houston home in this Dec. 17, 1976 file photo.
September 22nd, 1981, David turned 10:
David Vetter, born with an inherited disorder, which leaves him no natural immunities against disease, is shown in this Sept. 11, 1982 photo in Texas. Now, those closest to Vetter, fear a Walt Disney Studios film about a love-struck boy who crosses the country in a bubble will mock Vetter’s life. “Bubble Boy” is scheduled to be released on Friday, Aug. 24, 2001, by Touchstone Pictures, a division of Walt Disney Co. In 1984, Vetter died from complications of an experimental bone marrow transplant, thought to be his only chance at survival outside his bubble. (AP Photo)
What then?
Doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, have have created a long-term immune function with a technique that uses disabled viruses to get working copies of the defective gene into the body. Of the 16 children who have had the procedure, 14 are living normal lives and the oldest is about to start secondary school. Researchers say in the journal Science Translational Medicine that the treatment amounts to a cure.
“It’s a lifelong cure,” Bobby Gaspar, the consultant in paediatric immunology who led one half of the programme, told The Times. “Some of [the children] continue on medication but others are free of medication and all are free of social restraints — they can go to school, play, swim, go to parties.”
Technology wins.
1967: Ohio State University’s Nuclear Reactor Laboratory’s Cigarette-Sized Radiation Checker
FLASHBACK to February 1 1967: what better way to illustrate the marvel of a device for checking levels of cancer -inducing radiation than by comparing it to a cigarette?
Cigarette shows the size of a new portable device Ohio State University’s Nuclear Reactor Laboratory developed to warn employees using nuclear devices of potentially dangerous radiation in Columbus, Ohio on Feb. 1, 1967. Ohio State said it is the first such device of this type, which emits sounds to warn of possibly dangerous radiation.
Posted: 13th, March 2014 | In: Flashback, Technology | Comment
“It’s A Cook Book!” Television’s Five Most Horrifying Alien Invasions
ARTHUR C. Clarke once wrote that “two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe, or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”
In terms of television programming, however, the idea of alien life existing in the universe has far and away proven the more dramatic and oft-depicted “terror.”
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Posted: 13th, March 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, TV & Radio | Comments (2)
Bryan Cranston: Teen Heartthrob
AS hard as it may be to imagine that the dark and intense meth maker of Breaking Bad was once a teen heartthrob, it’s true. In the mid-1980s Bryan Cranston was a dreamboat for teenage girls. So, when I came across the March 1985 issue of Teen Talk magazine, I couldn’t help but share his wonderfully cheesy pictorial. In light of the hardcore image Cranston acquired from Breaking Bad, it’s all the more humorous to see him described as an affable Prince Charming.
The issue also featured the likes of Duran Duran, Ralph Macchio, Prince, and Menudo. Poor Cranston didn’t have enough celeb status to get a mention on the cover. But the future Heisenberg did warrant a two page spread entitled “Bryan Cranston: He’s a Good Sport”. The article begins:
If you’re a fan of ABC-TV’s “Loving” you’ve probably fallen in love yourself – with actor Bryan Cranston. His character, drama professor Doug Donovan, is the resident good guy: sensitive, vulnerable and more than a little good-looking. So when Bryan recently called TEEN TALK and invited us to join him in his work out in Manhattan’s Central Park, we jumped at the chance.
“If you were a bat, could you keep your eye on the ball?” Actually, with those short-shorts, it would be pretty hard not to spot a ball (or two).
The article continues:
To our delight, we discovered that the real-life Bryan is every bit as nice as Doug, and he’s a great athlete, too. “Growing up, I always wanted to be a baseball star,” he told us. In high school, he played baseball, football and tennis. Now acting is his major passion, but as you can see, he spends plenty of time keeping in shape. “I take an hour-long aerobics class that I really enjoy, “he says. (So do all the girls in his class!) “I also love to play sports.”
Last spring, Bryan organized a soap star football game – “Loving” vs. “All My Children.” “It was fun,” he jokes, “but unfortunately, ‘All My Children’ cheated, so they beat us!” Bryan’s next project is organizing a soap star baseball game, with good guys pitted against bad guys. “I’d like it to be for the public,” he says.
We can’t wait for the game, but meantime, these exclusive pictures of our day with Bryan should score high with you.
And so ends this lovely bit of journalism. I never knew Cranston was such an all-around athlete. One minute he’s jumping rope (“Bryan’s got such great legs!”), the next he’s juggling, and the next he’s creating the purest methamphetamine on the planet…. well, that last part comes later.
Hey, actors have got to start somewhere. It’s not uncommon for actors to rise up through the ranks, starting in soap operas and ending up critically acclaimed superstars. However, there’s just something particularly amusing about seeing Walter White as a young buck, hamming it up for a teen magazine.
Posted: 13th, March 2014 | In: Celebrities, Flashback, Key Posts | Comments (2)
1965: The Machine That Revolutionised Wall Street
FLASHBACK to October 26, 1965:
Latest Wall Street reports can be made available in seconds with this device which a New York broker installed in his Frankfurt subsidiary, Oct. 26, 1965. The device is linked directly with a New York computer. Client pushes buttons; a two letter combination stands for each important company Wall street deals with. Scale shows figures asked for. For example high and low course, last dividend, last earnings. (AP Photo)
Posted: 13th, March 2014 | In: Flashback, Technology | Comment
Regret The Error: Brighton Argus Apologises For The Coming Goat War
THE Brighton Argus has publishing an apology to Mr Robinson about a comment the paper mistakenly said he made about the coming war between man and goat:
Hurrah! The CIA Spies On The Senate!
THIS is excellent news really, that the CIA has been spying on the people in the Senate over in the US. OK, in one sense it’s a bit naughty as the CIA isn’t supposed to ever do anything domestically. And the Yanks also tend to frown a bit on one part of the Executive part of government trying to interfere with a part of the Legislative side of government. They’re supposed to be quite different. But this can still be seen as cheering news:
A bitter dispute between the CIA and the U.S. Senate committee that oversees it burst into the open on Tuesday when the committee chairwoman accused the agency of spying on Congress and possibly breaking the law.
Veteran Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said the CIA had searched computers used by committee staffers examining CIA documents when researching the agency’s counter-terrorism operations and its use of harsh interrogation methods such as simulated drowning or “waterboarding.”
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Posted: 12th, March 2014 | In: Money, Politicians, Reviews | Comment
When Home Computers Caused Raptures of Transcendental Ecstasy
BELIEVE it or not, it was a hard sell in the early 1980s to convince people to buy a computer for the home. The contraptions were insanely expensive, and they simply couldn’t do a whole lot. Something as simple as filing recipes was a tall order for an ’82 PC. Of course, we were happy with terrible graphics because we knew nothing better – yet, as enticing as having Pong in the living room did sound, the expense was simply out of the ballpark for most families.
Subsequently, it was time for advertisers to play hard ball. No longer were they selling you something that would be a nice asset to your home office or entertainment center. Those days were over. Now, it was being sold as a piece of equipment that was quite literally going to gob smack your very soul. This wasn’t a simple piece of hardware like a microwave – this was a trans-dimensional gift from the gods, and you will never – I repeat, NEVER – be the same.
The tactic worked, and the masses lined up to splurge their life savings on computers and games. Here are some of the images and adverts during the height of the digital penetration….
Behold the Answer to All Our Prayers. It’s reminiscent of the apes surrounding the 2001: A Space Odyssey obelisk. And notice the Holy Aura surrounding this gift from the Heavens. Never mind the fact that they haven’t figured out yet that it’s facing the wrong way. No matter. Timmy’s college fund was well spent.
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Posted: 12th, March 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Technology | Comments (3)
Office Window Closed: Union’s Fitting Tribute To Bob Crow
A FITTING Tribute to Bob Crow, the RMT Union leader who died this morning: office window closed:
A staff member at the TSSA union office in central London, closes the reception in respect of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) leader Bob Crow, following the announcement of his death.
Picture date: Tuesday March 11, 2014. Mr Crow, who was 52, was one of the most high-profile, left-wing union leaders of his generation, sparking as much anger from passengers hit by rail and Tube strikes, as praise from his members for winning pay rises. He was constantly involved in industrial disputes and campaigns and led a walkout by London Underground workers last month in a dispute over ticket office closures. The straight-talking south Londoner was a passionate supporter of Millwall Football Club. His death caused shockwaves in the trade union movement today.
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Posted: 11th, March 2014 | In: Reviews | Comment (1)
1970: US Soldiers In Vietnam Smoking Marijuana Through A Shotgun Barrel
FLASHBACK to November 13, 1970:
Soldiers in fire support base Aries, a small clearing in the jungles of War Zone D, 50 miles from Saigon, smoke marijuana using the barrel of a shotgun they nicknamed “Ralph” to get high.
Posted: 11th, March 2014 | In: Flashback, Photojournalism | Comment
The Legion of Regrettable Comic Book Superheroes
WE’VE heard enough about The Avengers, it’s time for another group of superheroes to get some recognition. The Legion of Regrettable Comic Book Superheroes is a motley group consisting of the lamest and oddest heroes ever put to print. You can keep your Iron Man and Captain America; I like my heroes with a touch of stupidity. So, bring on Aqua Melvin, Matter Eater Lad, and the rest of the gang – The Legion of Regrettable Comic Book Superheroes has come to save the day! (or embarrass themselves trying.)
MARINE SUPER-CLOWN
Aqua Melvin
Origin: Adventure Comics #242 – Nov. 1957
Aquaman responds to a distress call from a ship and discovers an unconscious Vaudeville clown onboard. If that wasn’t strange enough, the only way to save him is for Aquaman to give him a blood transfusion. Naturally, this imbues him with Aquaman’s powers for 24 hours and insanity ensues.
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Posted: 11th, March 2014 | In: Books, Flashback, Key Posts | Comment
The Guardian Erases Helen Sharman From History In The Race To Praise Tim Peake, The ‘First Brit In Space’
THE Observer salutes Tim Peake, “the First Brit in space”.
Only, he isn’t.
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Posted: 11th, March 2014 | In: Reviews, Technology | Comment
Watch Cricket in The 80’s – Rookies, Rebels & Renaissance
Joel Garner (on ground) gets the congratulations of Viv Richards after taking the catch – off Michael Holding’s bowling – which dismissed Alan Knott for nine in England’s first innings in the second Cornhill Test match at Lord’s . Other West Indian players including wicket-keeper Deryck Murray (wearing pads) celebrate Knott’s departure.
IN the 1980s, cricket was violent, thrilling, angry, captivating and utterly fantastic. When the mighty West Indies played England at Lord’s in June 1980, I was by the Tavener’s pitch-side pub. It smelt of warm body, smoke and beer.
A West Indian steward saw me trying to get a view and invited me to sit by the rope. In the bright sunlight, I stepped over the low barriers and onto the grass. Joel Garner was bowling. At 6ft 8inches tall, running in fast with the ball held high in his hand, Garner was the most fearsome, magnificent human being I had ever seen.
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10 Epic Failed Political Photo-Ops
Failed political photo-ops
DAVID Cameron is facing ridicule once again. His latest gaffe was to tweet a picture of himself looking serious and statesmanlike while having a serious statesmanlike phone call with Barak Obama. The problem, aside from the typically patronising pomposity of the gesture, was that he looked singularly un-statesmanlike. In fact, he resembled nothing do much as a perplexed pudding.
Of course, he has plenty of competition in the failed phot-op stakes.
Here’s George Osborne, Chancellor and Chelsea fan, in ‘man of the people’ pose, manfully working late while snacking on a burger and fries. His tweet backfired when said burger was identified as coming from posh nosh joint Byron.
Oh, hello! Talking of burgers…
Hey presto – instant ridicule. What a Gummer.
But frankfurters are even more risky. Republican Presidential nominee Michele Bachmann has been dubbed Palin 2.0 thanks to her numerous factual and logical gaffes. On this occasion, however, she was guilty of nothing more than innocent naivety, and chomped on a corn dog in full view of the press without considering the consequences.
Best to stick with a beer. In Nigel Farrage’s case almost literally so, as he clings to his pint prop as tenaciously as Tony Blair clung to his ubiquitous ‘ordinary guy’ coffee mug. Asked about it, he replied: ‘I’ll tell you something. I work an 18 hour day most days and I think I’m entitled at lunchtime to a pint.’
William Hague famously claimed to have regularly drunk 14 pints a day as a schoolboy, and he wasn’t averse to being pictured pint-pot in hand. But his most risible moment was this fashion faux pas which was intended to make him look cool, but didn’t.
Even without the banana, David Miliband achieves the extraordinary feat of making his brother look normal.
But what the hell – normal’s overrated, right? Just ask Francois Hollande. Actually don’t ask him, as he appears to be a bit sensitive about it. In fact, two French press agencies even took the unusual step of withdrawing this unflattering portrait of the French president.
Ask former US Congressman Chris Lee instead. Or better still, just admire this picture of himself that he utilised in the services of his reply to a sex ad on Craigslist.
Of course anyone can have an off-day. But for one man, it happened to be Groundhog Day.
In the end, you just have to laugh along and rise above it.
Posted: 10th, March 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Photojournalism, Politicians | Comment
Did Mt. Gox Go Bankrupt Or Do They Still Have The Bitcoins?
Dorian S. Nakamoto listens during an interview with the Associated Press, Thursday, March 6, 2014 in Los Angeles. Nakamoto, the man that Newsweek claims is the founder of Bitcoin, denies he had anything to do with it and says he had never even heard of the digital currency until his son told him he had been contacted by a reporter three weeks ago.
MATTERS at the Bitcoin exchange in Japan, Mt. Gox, are getting ever murkier: ever more fascinatingly interesting in fact. For hackers have now broken into the exchange and gobbled up a lot of the internal documents. And, of course, printed them out on the internet. You can see part of it here.
To give you the background to the story. Bitcoin is the new supper must have shiny technology. It’s essentially a new form of money or, if you prefer, a new way of making payments. You really only need on piece of technical information to grasp the point of it all.
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Everyone In Brixton Thinks Exactly The Same, Says Faked Channel 4 News Show
WHAT is Livity? It’s a portmanteau of Living and City. And:
Livity is a youth engagement agency.
The banner above asks Livity users: “How do you unite young people against a common enemy.”
The Guardian says of Livity:
“We’re trying to save the world through marketing,” says Sam Conniff, the co-founder of Livity, and he is not joking.
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