StringJunky

Why, on Earth, would we want to change a person whose sexual identity is perfectly normal? It will never happen because your premise that homosexuality is some kind neural misconfiguration, or even indeed immorally/societally destructive, is not supported by the evidence. Homophobia is a religious/cultural phenomenon i.e. not based on any kind of objective rationale.

Wonderous Stories - Yes (1981)

Yes, I only appreciated the French films because they were subtitled; which I'm quite at home with. Will have to remember to get the translations for French songs. the films can be quite noir, which the french are pretty good at.

Ooh yes, Jane Birkin, you bad boy. I think this one was popular in the UK. I'll say one thing for the French, they know how to make films about love, sex, intrigue and romance. Knocks everyone else out of the park. I love the existential/philosophical angles the characters often take.

R.I.P.

OK, from my youthful misspent time: Cry For The Nations - Michael Schencker Group While My Guitar Gently Weeps - Jeff Healey

Always On The Run - Lenny Kravitz

Rabbit in your headlights - UNKLE

Morcheeba - By The Sea

Yes,I think it's a bit more visual mentally than most electronic music which is mostly dance orientated, invoking visceral feelings more than anything. Will do.

No.It's the first time I've heard of it. I shall when I'm in chill mode because it seems to suit that state of mind... I am reminded of artists I used to listen to, in that piece, like Enya and Massive Attack.

No link. Here it is... nice:

Found a higher qualilty version; link changed.

Genesis live from Seventies

As very much a novice, I can say this is a biggie and probably very important to get across in some understanble way to those not familiar with them.

If space is just volume, how do reconcile 'quantum foam' or are you intending to make a clear distinction between what GR says and QP says?

If we compare some sodium chloride (table salt) from raw rock salt and sodium chloride made from a sodium + chlorine reaction, the two are chemically identical in every way. I'm not surprised, given the marketing towards organic stuff. but synthetically-derived chemicals.are purer and more predictable; 'natural' products are not. Quite honestly, the 'Organic' industry is just selling a dream for the purpose of making money. Going back to artificial wombs, it's rather hard for us swallow at this time but some decades in the future, society's mindset may well be different.

Regardless of where it's development occurs and the means by which it was conceived, it is no less artificial than baby a born inside a woman. I think of an artificial object as something that is made from something different to the original.

Yeah, it's like 'chemical' vs 'natural' pills... it's ALL chemical, DAMMIT!

A few million... peanuts. Big Pharma spends hundreds of millions on one drug that may take a minimum of 12 years, and only about 1 in a 1000 exploratory drugs get there on the chemist's shelf. Once the essential technological pathway for artificial wombs has been successfully worked out, billions will be invested.

Yes, when thinking about future society, one must be careful not to judge its potential behaviour and practices, by our contemporary ethical standards. You've only got to cast your own mind back a couple of generations - assuming one is old enough - to see clear disparities in generational aspirations.and expectations.

Not by our current measures of what constitutes good care, but societal expectations and standards change over ensuing decades. Given that a not negligible number of women avoid breastfeeding and have Caeserean sections in order to preserve their bodies, I think other, possibly artificial, methodologies will be found to meet the needs of a developing foetus that are found wanting in an artificial womb. I can just picture a device, say the size and look of a water cooler/dispenser in the corner of a typical home; "Darling, can you get some more Baby-Gro tablets from Walmart on your way back?". Think of the photo opportunities: it'll bring a whole new phase of child development into constant view.