DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

The SF Chronicle Magazine has a cover story on a male-to-female transsexual, an ex-Marine bodybuilder who flew to Thailand for “sexual reassignment” surgery. The article is disturbing, not for moral or religious reasons, but because the author was sitting in the operating room watching the doctor cut the patient’s genitals off. Yikes.

The article is online: No Retreat

Most of the photos are online, too, except for the one that really made me cringe — a scene from the operating room. It’s not graphic, but immensely suggestive, in a bad way. Here ya go.

Patronize these links, man:

• Dr. Sanguan's site
• Samantha's site
• SRS in Thailand

This is a picture of my right eye, approximately 2 hours after application of a .5% tropicamide solution. This drug causes the sphincter muscles of the iris to relax, causing the pupil to dilate to the size of an eggplant, enabling the doctor to peer around the inside of my skull, and also providing a handy place to store my car keys.

Subsequent research indicates that tropicamide passes, in small quantities, into breast milk. It’s a good thing I’m not lactating!

A thriller set in South Florida, The Seventh Sense is a classic page-turner. The story tells of reluctant psychics working together to solve a murder mystery. MacGregor posits the idea that near-death experiences put the survivors in touch with higher planes of existence (sixth and seventh senses); this theme helps hold the story together.

I enjoyed this book even more than MacGregor’s other “supernatural thriller,” Vanished, because the ending of this book is a lot more satisfying.

Patronize these links, man:

• Amazon (paperback)

This is a work of brilliant investigative journalism. I had no idea of the corruption and greed that drives the fast food industry. I am frightened by the apparent degree to which these large restaurant corporations control my government.

Schlosser’s expose is a fascinating, fast read. The facts roll in like waves against the shoreline, relentless and never-ending, building a case against the industry that could fuel a Congressional investigation for weeks. The book’s “Notes” and index constitute 60 pages — about one-quarter as much as the narrative.

Still, for all the rapid-fire detail, the text is engaging, even compelling. Schlosser describes the industry’s origins and evolution, paints a frightening picture of the current status, and concludes with some pointed recommendations on how to fix the things that are very badly broken.

I stopped eating at fast-food restaurants in 1994, and so before I read this book I thought that, as evil as the industry might be, it didn’t affect me. I was wrong. It is impossible to live in this world and not be (adversely) affected by the fast-food industry. For example: fast-food companies target advertising at children, to addict them to the high-fat diet that will keep them coming back for the rest of their lives. (Think about the costs of healthcare for a nation of obese people, e.g. America in 2001.) Another example: fast-food lobbying prevents the government from instituting any reasonable health-safety laws; therefore, meat and poultry processing plants, on average, are infested, unhealthy, disgusting places, and the meat and poultry you eat is likely to be contaminated.

Whether or not you eat at these restaurants, you should read this book. It will open your eyes. And change your diet.

Patronize these links, man:

• Jon Carroll's review
• Amazon (hardback)
• Amazon (paperback)
• Powell's Books (paperback)

Wondering what’s wrong with America? Several of the answers to this question are right here.