Mr.Rat
Rattus rattus. This furry little species with a tail and chicklet teeth has, at times charming qualities. Historically of course they are portrayed in dim light, and charged with events such as the black plague. Perhaps there are some eastern cultures that treat these little rodents with respect, but for the western world, they enter into their 3 year life span unaware of what may become of them.
Imagine the horror of coming back, reincarnated, as a lab rat?!
Caged with hundreds of other squealing rats, swiftly moved around universities and medical centers, unassuming of what mad scientist will claim them for their research. Maybe you will have pink fur or an ear on your back, or perhaps all of a sudden you find your neck precariously positioned under a guillotine. It would also be very bizarre to look around to see exact replicas of yourself after being cloned. The worst however, is a story I heard at work. A neurosurgeon presented research on traumatic brain injuries. The subject: Mr. Rat. The type of brain injury being studied? A diffuse axonal one. This means somehow the mad scientist will need to invent a way to shear a large portion of the neural processes that allow one neuron to communicate with another. The invention? To place a disc on the rat’s head, almost like a little CD, and then to drop a gigantic weight on it with large acceleration force. When that freight hits the disc, on Mr. Rats head, the force of the load is widespread across his brain, ensuring that a diffuse area is affected. Poor bastard. Of course this scientific inquiry can be horrendously beneficial to humans who have similar injuries, I don’t want to minimize advancement of science or medical discoveries, but I was preoccupied the rest of the lecture thinking about the lab rat.
Now that it is the new year, and in my usual state of contemplation for things to come, I for some reason have tipped into pondering not only what is to come in the new year, but also what lies ahead of me, for eternity. If you have ever read Bill Bryson’s book ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’, you will recall the discussion on what happens to you when you die. Decomposition slowly will occur down to an atomic level. You are made of atoms that came from somewhere, and when you pass on, your atomic composition will take shape as energies in other formations of life and things, possibly even galactic at some far off point. But it is feasible you may come back as a lab rat. Of course my imagination goes past just the metaphysical aspects of this topic, and at some level has been affected by the religious doctrines that exist. I emphasize with that damn unlucky lab rat, and hope that my atomic composition makes it to the life of a domestic, well loved house dog! If the religious doctrines are true, I’m going to try to be good this year. The prospect of being punished as a lab rat petrifies me too much!
- Mr.Rat
- by Pamela Hruska
- Published on February 9th, 2008
More from Pamela Hruska:
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Does Your Knife Really Cut it?
Toss those horrific finds from your local department store that are wobbly tinfoil productions. That row of Henkles that you all spend time in searching for your kitchen tools drives me crazy.
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Mr.Rat
A neurosurgeon presented research on traumatic brain injuries. The subject: Mr. Rat. The type of brain injury being studied? A diffuse axonal one. This means somehow the mad scientist will need to invent a way to shear a large portion of the neural processes that allow one neuron to communicate with another.
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The Fountain
Sentiments created and shared through the main characters leave you contemplating your own life, it’s meaning, and challenges you on your thoughts on life and death.
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Nights in Rodanthe
If anything, this movie highlights the fact that in any stage of life, you will not evade the debacle of trying to solidify a really firm idea of exactly what you want. Based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, this film captures the author’s style quite closely.
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What the Squash?
After falling head over heels for butternut squash (I think it looks like beaker off the Muppets without facial characteristics), I moved into exploring the rest of the squash bin!
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How about them Apples?
It was important to select an inconspicuous grocery store for the task, as ringing through 10 different bags of one apple each did not seem to make my cashier very enthused.
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Sónar 2010 – Barcelona, Spain
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Summer Party Naval Styles at Seven RestoLounge
Oysters, like wine are affected by terroir and these Miyagi’s flavor profiles ranged with one showing a cleaner, almost tropical profile and the other being more salty, marine driven. As I was devouring the seemingly endless plates put in front of us, I sipped on a glass of fine sauvignon blanc.
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Invictus
No matter what, the reality of Nelson Mandela is something that deserves screen time. Should this film even remotely intrigue the masses to take interest in this figure, the world would likely benefit greatly from it.