the best thing in the history of the world

I did an online facial recognition thingy which listed the celebrities I supposedly most resemble. I didn’t use a great picture (it’s my passport picture), but it was the only one I had handy that showed me smiling and looking straight ahead. The results are hot hot HOT! The software says I look like Jensen “Eric Brady” Ackles!! And I look like rotund middle-aged comic Wayne Knight, aka Newman on Seinfeld!! SUCH HOTNESS!!!

Here we go:

Okay, actually, I just dug up another photo of myself (more recent) and snagged this:

Awesome! Now I look like Michael Keaton!!! Isn’t he, like, 60 years old?

Meanwhile, here’s something very cool. I learned about it on the Today Show this morning. Apparently researchers can turn a person’s brain waves into music, using a computerized mathematical algorithm. Brain waves are translated into digital music and placed on a CD with a relaxing file (music made from your slower, more relaxed brain waves) and activating file (music made from your faster, more alert brain waves).

Brain music therapy has been used by thousands of patients worldwide to treat anxiety, insomnia, and depression. It alleviates migraine and tension headaches and drug withdrawal symptoms. It increases attention span and improves concentration and productivity in people with ADD. It also helps people with social and performance anxieties. It is believed that it could help pilots who suffer from pilot fatigue syndrome, military personnel who have to function at the optimum level in tense situations, and others who have to overcome the disruption of their sleep-awake cycle (like shift workers). It could enhance athletic performance, too.

And no, it doesn’t sound weird, discordant, or space age-y; rather, it sounds like classical piano music. Matt Lauer’s brain music was played on the air and it was quite lovely!

Each person’s brain wave pattern is unique and therefore each person’s brain music is highly individualized. In double-blinded studies there were two groups: One group listened to their own brain music therapy CD, while the second group listened to a brain music therapy CD of another person. The results showed that individuals in the group listening to their own CDs significantly exceeded the effectiveness of those who listened to other CDs.

How cool is this! More information is here. It reminds me of DNA Artistry, a company which turns your DNA into modern art. Science and art tango so beautifully together!



song heard most recently before posting: Hand in Glove—The Smiths