I have held back no water in its season

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2021194.html

The character: 23-year-old punk singer from London
The time: 1976
The issue: This character needs to have a brief but very vivid (almost LSD-trip-esque) hallucination as the result of being ill. I need to know: what is the most common illness that causes hallucinations?
The searches: common causes of hallucination, causes of hallucination, hallucinations caused by physical illness, etc.
The results: Nothing that told me which the most COMMON is. The best result I came up with was: "The physical disorders that can cause hallucinations include thyroid and parathyroid disease, adrenal disease, Wilson’s disease, beriberi, electrolyte imbalance, and porphyria. Serious infections such as meningitis, encephalitis, or febrile illness may precipitate hallucinations" (http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/163/5/781). I then looked into these different illnesses, but I still couldn't figure out which would be the most realistic. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Great as always, folks! Thanks!

http://ursulav.livejournal.com/807900.html

I am a spiteful, spiteful woman.

Klimt's Mushroom

I had a very long day today.

( Details for you. )

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2021005.html

Setting: Middle Ages, Ninth Crusade (1271–1272)
Searches: 'Speed of communication/travel in middle ages', 'medieval travel/communication', etc. Mostly I keep getting information about the printing press and tourist packages. Also poked around the Middle Ages tags around here, but nothing fit.

Premise: A group of young men from landed families are bored living on their manors. They've heard that the prince is gone to the Holy Land and decide that going on Crusade sounds like a good idea. They make the necessary preparations and set off to the Middle East.

Questions: How long would it take to get to the Holy Land from England on foot/horseback (barring injury, illness, or death along the way? Conversely, how long would it take information to disseminate across the same distance, but starting in the Middle East? Would it be feasible that boys could reach the Holy Land but after all the fun stuff is over, or would messengers/word of mouth catch them somewhere en route?

Alright, so if you're on LJ and interested in original fiction shenanigans (as well as some Real Life and fannish glee) I'm now hartfully over there. *G*

Fanfiction and the majority of fannish glee will still be posted here on IJ. Just, for original fiction, I feel like I have to go where the market is and where I can get my name out the best. :)

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And then two versions of another picture.

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I am a vibrancy freak.. an icon that isn't vibrant usually gets another version of it with the saturation yanked up because I like colour, lots of it.

THESE ARE FREE TO BE GANKED! TRUFAX!

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2020830.html

Basically, I want to give a character Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or a disease fairly similar to CJD. I'd like the character to contract the disease by ingesting human blood or raw flesh, but as that's not exactly the most common way to get it, I'm having trouble finding the information I need. I know prions can be passed through eating human brains, and I found a few instances of vCJD being contracted through blood transfusions, so I'm assuming that drinking the blood directly could also cause it (I could be totally wrong on this point). But, my specific questions are:

1) Would the person whose blood/flesh he consumed absolutely have to have already had the disease for him to get it, or could the victim be a relatively healthy person?

2) How much blood/flesh would he have to ingest to get the disease? Could it be a one-time occurance or would it have to happen regularly?

3) About how long would it take for him to start showing symptoms after he contracts the disease? (I've found information that ranges from a few months to fifty years, and I realize it depends on the exact type of disease he has, but some kind of approximate range based on how he contracted it would be helpful.)

I've searched various combinations of "blood", "cannibalism", "creutzfeldt-jakob", "cjd", "prion disease", and "kuru" on Google, as well as looking at the Wiki pages for CJD, Kuru, and Prions, the CJD Foundation, and a few medical articles about Kuru disease.

The setting is modern-day, in a well-populated urban city -- country unspecified, but basically it's not Third World. It's fantasy enough that I don't mind fudging things if I have to, but I'd like to be as believable as possible.

Thank you in advance for anyone with any input!

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2020448.html

There's a fanfic I'm planning with a teenage pregnancy plot. It's set in Tokyo, Japan.

I've been searching everywhere for info on attitudes toward that sort of issue in Japan, and all I've found is that most end in abortion and they're kind of lax about it. (And that birth control is hard to come by over there without medical reason, so if you're unwed and running around with it you tend to come off as a whore or something.) In what I'm planning, the girl chickens out on the abortion and decides to keep the baby and raise it with her boyfriend.

How would she be treated in that instance? Would she be sent to a special school for pregnant teens like in the US or would she just get special nurse visit privileges? Would she receive any kind of backlash? (This is a Peach Girl fic, so the protagonist's already seen as a slut - at least in the beginning of the series - for looking like a ganguro.) What about the father - what would he have to go through? How would it stifle them, if at all, besides the obvious reduction of freedom?

Thanks in advance for your help. <3

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2020150.html

I'm sorry if this is off-topic for this lj, but I really can't think of anywhere else to go. I read a certain YA novel a long time ago, and in the way of 'you only remember it later' I think I may need to cite it as an inspiration in my short story, if not having to rewrite the whole story to avoid any plagarism claims, no matter how inadvertent. Problem is, I can't remember the exact title. I've searched Amazon (I'm sure I remember coming across it there once) google, and even wikipedia, but I don't have specific enough details to get any sort of result. I tried my approximation of the title, and various combinations of 'ya novel' 'summer camp' 'parents paid' and 'hitman'. Most of which came up with no result whatsoever. I can't even get a result dated before 1990.

It was a young adult novel published in the early to mid 1980's. Five so-called problem teens are sent to a summer camp specialising in discipline cases, and are sent off on an weekend hike alone. Eventually, they find out that their 'guide' is actually a novice hitman, and all of their parents have paid several thousand dollars to make sure they never come home again. I think it was called 'the killing of group ???' or something similar.

Again, if this is out of the range of questions allowed, I apologise and feel free to delete. If someone can suggest another place to search online, I'll gratefully take all suggestions.

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2019844.html

I have a character who is stabbed with a short sword. The wound needs to be non-lethal, but not in a limb.

I originally had her stabbed just below the ribs, but looking at an anatomy chart, that is where the liver resides. Anyone have any suggestions?

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2019750.html

Setting: modern-day New York City (well, it's set in the future, 2012-2014)
Research: I've tried Googling various terms together: "ice rink" + "disney on ice" + "manhattan", and other various permutations. I've also tried going to ticketmaster and searching up Disney on Ice productions in the New York City/Tri-State area to look for venues.

I'm looking for venues for ice-skating productions like Disney on Ice, close to Manhattan - the closest one I can find is the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, but I'm looking for something closer to the city (not on Long Island), in walking/short cab ride distance from Central Park (if that's at all possible...)

ETA: Thanks so much for all the help, you guys are great :) All the suggestions were exactly what I was looking for! I will probably end up using Madison Square Garden. Thanks again!

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2019538.html

Setting: modern day America, eastern side of the mid-west

Scenario: There is a family, in which father is no longer present and hasn't been since shortly before the birth of the youngest child, ten years ago. Mom has Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSbP), and perpetrates on the youngest child; the middle children (a fraternal twin set), due to the attention given to their younger sibling--and the attention garner from the MSbP before their brother was born and while he was still very young; before they hit puberty--have begun to develop Hypochondriasis; the boy has been diagnosed and is being treated, but still displays a preoccupation under stress. The eldest child, Nico, is actually ill.

During one of their stints at the hospital, Nico gets into a fight with his mom. He's been having aura symptoms all day, particularly having inappropriate outbursts (which, of course, Nico's mother doesn't appreciate). Most of the doctors at the hospital don't think much of Nico behaving like this, because his family is ~*~crazy~*~. When he goes down to the cafeteria to get something to drink, he slips out of the aura--and then goes into a tonic-clonic seizure, which nobody responds to for a minute because his family is ~*~crazy~*~ and they think he just wants the attention (a guy who doesn't know him finally gets that he's having a seizure and drags one of the nurses over to, uh, do whatever it is you do with seizing people? I can figure that out later).

Question: I know that tonic-clonic seizures--that any seizure, really--can be induced due to elevated stress levels, hormonal imbalances, fatigue, and things of that sort. I also know that tonic-clonic seizures are (classically) a symptom of Epilepsy. Wikipedia offered some other epileptic and generalized seizure conditions, but none of them really seem to fit Nico's situation. Are there any other diseases/conditions that produce tonic-clonic seizures that may not have developed until this sudden onset?

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2019205.html

Setting: (Small town) Wyoming, USA, modern-era/very near future

Scenario: There's been a murder - the head of a teenage male has been tossed into the middle of a Halloween party. The victim was one of the guests who wandered outside and in the space of minutes (there is supernatural involvement here, hence the speed) was decapitated and his head thrown in through a window, smashing it. His body is found outside, not too far away.

Question #1: What would be the police procedure for dealing with this many witnesses (30+)? All of them were in the room at the same time, and all say the same thing: the head just appeared.

Question #2: Two people did not witness the head's appearance - a young couple "otherwise occupied" out in the hallway. They heard the screams and came running into the main room. People confirm they came in from the wrong direction to be involved. The complication with these two is that the girl has recently become involved with the police - less than two weeks earlier she was mailed a human heart (taken from a murder victim) as a very nasty birthday "present". It's pretty obvious that the events are connected and that someone really doesn't like her. What do the police say/do about her?

Question #3: How long until the body is released to the family for burial? There's not much the body can say except what the weapon was and that it went through the obviously shattered window, if it helps.

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2018851.html

American here, so I'm not quite sure which word would work.

How would an Irish guy address an older woman whom he is trying to be kinda suave to? I had originally used the word "missus" (as in, "most assuredly, missus," like that), but I realize that probably wouldn't be appropriate, since it's not his missus.

Any ideas? He's sort of old fashioned-ish, but not old. Kinda mid-twenties. Oh, and this takes place in present day America.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/freemacware/~3/369166232/

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http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2018750.html

Hi guys. I've been Googling and Wiki-ing for ages ("clink street" + london, "clink street prison", "clink prison museum," etc.), and I still haven't been able to answer this very simple question: in 1975, was the Clink Prison Museum yet built? I'm aware that the prison itself burned down in 1780, and that a warehouse was at some point built on the spot, and that eventually the museum was establshed in that old warehouse--but I need to know when. Any information or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Got the answer! Thank you!

http://ursulav.livejournal.com/807594.html

My weekend report's a little late, but that's because I spent Sunday stripping wallpaper for eight hours. This taught me two things.

A) hanging wallpaper should be banned by the Geneva Convention
B) never ever strip wallpaper for eight hours

Unfortunately I get into this kind of intense fugue state and the end result was that I didn't really feel the time passing until Kevin dragged me out of the room before I killed myself and/or missed Venture Brothers.*  It's this nasty vinyl wallpaper, great for a kid's room because it's easy to clean, but nearly impossible to get off, because even with the little puncture-y dealy, the wallpaper stripper won't soak through worth a damn (and if it does, you have to push so hard with the scraper that you wind up taking chunks of wallboard out with it.) So you have to strip the vinyl bit off by hand, and then the paper backing comes right off with goop. It was sort of viscerally satisfying, rather like peeling a giant scab off the room, but still...eight hours.

I turned to Kevin at one point, bits of wallpaper stuck to most of my available surfaces, and said "We are never, EVER, buying a fixer-upper."

"Oh god no!" He surveyed the wreckage. "Or if we do, we're making sure they include enough money to hire somebody to do this..."

Any concern about the kids' reaction to the changes was blunted when his ten-year-old walked into the wallpaper war zone, surveyed the scene, and said, with great satisfaction "I've hated this wallpaper since I was...mmm....four."

Damn straight.

There were other amusements to the weekend, but the wallpaper largely consumed my brain. Spent Thursday night at the club dancing (i.e. doing something that resembled the mating dance of the Really Really White Crane.) Friday night both of us were wiped out, so we ordered pizza. Kevin came up to the bedroom holding two Dominoes boxes and said "How slack are you feeling?"

So we wound up eating pizza out of the box, on the bed, while watching Pitch Black (I have converted Kevin to the Church of Vin Diesel.) This pleases me. I'd hate to give up my bachelor lifestyle completely.

Saturday I went to a football game--his brother-in-law is a coach, and they were playing somebody in Durham. I don't know crap about football, nor do I particularly care, so I passed the time with his sister-in-law admiring the quality of male ass on the field. (WHAT? The stands are right behind the benches! They all stand around with their backs to you! Wearing spandex! What can you do?!)

And then Sunday...there was the wallpaper thing.

Monday morning I was sore. I am still a little sore. I don't think I was cut out for the hardcore DIY lifestyle. Once I get the studio repainted, I'm done for a little bit.

Well, okay, once I get the studio and that awful uterus-pink dining room repainted...



*I think this might have scared him more than Anthrocon. I get a little alarming when in the grip of obsession, probably because it's so obvious that I will not eat, sleep, or visit the bathroom unless prompted by outside forces. He did exactly the right thing, which was get out of my way, and I think we had dinner at some point, but it's a little hazy...

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2018411.html

When: Present Time
Where: Okinawa, Japan (though some characters involved are fairly American and act the part)

God, I hope I've lurked enough for this.

Currently, I'm working on a rather cheerful piece, as one can see. Might as well hop right into it.

At the beginning of the story, the female main character was discovered, badly injured, by a family member and taken to her family's private physician (which, actually, will probably affect the answer to this question). Upon examination, the doctor finds indications that the main character had been raped. However, the girl doesn't seem to recall anything, possibly because of repression and denial.

First question: What would the doctor most likely do in this situation? Would she be able to inform the girl's family, or would that conflict with doctor-patient confidentiality agreements? Would being the family's private doctor (and a close friend, besides) change this at all? Also, is there any particular way she would tell the family, if she were allowed (what language would she use, would she try to ease them into it, etc)?

Edit: Question posted, removed, the reposted to fit with community standards. I did get an answer, though, after a bit more research revealed everything I needed. Thanks, guys!

Question the second: After a time, it becomes clear that the main character was raped while unconcious. After searching for situations such as this (under "rape victim unconcious" and "coma patients sexual assault"), while I did find a lot of information, there wasn't much available about how this affected the victim's mindset after the fact. In a situation such as this, would the main character possibly feel the after effects of the rape less severely, or would it be roughly the same as if she were conscious? (If this is too broad and character-specific, please let me know).

Question 3A: After finding out what has happened, the main character's significant other goes through serious guilt over the fact that he wasn't able to protect her. Is this common and, if so, does it commonly require treatment to resolve?

Question 3B: What are some common steps a couple could take when one of them is recovering from rape? Specifically, what are the common steps taken by couples who wish to be intimate again? (Again, if this is too character specific, please let me know).

Searched under: rape victim significant other, rape victim significant other guilt

You know what? If any of these are too character specific, please let me know. I know how much of a problem that can be when talking about these kinds of topics.

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2018178.html

When: Now

Where: Okinawa, Japan

Searched: 'okinawa night festivals' 'III MEF band' 'III MEF band performances'

Situation: I know that the Marine Corps keeps a permanent presence in Okinawa. I know that the troops stationed there include a group of musicians. I know that these musicians often perform in public for celebrations/festivals/general party-time, quite a few of which aren't actually military-related engagements.

I have a character who plays the trumpet - for the purposes of this story he's working with one of the smaller, more jazzy ensembles connected to the main MEF band.

Question: Are there any specific public occasions in Okinawa AT NIGHT (it has to be at night, unfortunately) where my character might be expected to play?

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2017884.html

I need a small explosive device that a suicide bomber could detonate while handcuffed. There are no metal detectors he has to go through, and he's been given a quick looking-over for weapons, but not strip-searched or anything. When he was caught, the weapon he was using was so pathetic that they assumed he didn't have anything more effective, or he would have used it.

So, my suicide bomber is being led through an office building of a private security company, on the way to the cells. He's got people all around him, watching him, so he can't do anything that looks too obvious. I would like the bomb to kill him and the people immediately around him, do some damage to the building, maybe bring down part of the roof, and cause a lot of injuries among the folks waiting in the lobby.

I can fudge the details a bit since this is science fiction, but the technology isn't all that advanced, and the bomber probably doesn't have access to military explosives, so he would have rigged it up himself from things your average Joe could get his hands on.

So. What's he got, and how does he set it off?

ETA: Wow, thanks! I think I've got enough to get away with it. Luckily, none of this is from his POV, so I mostly need to know how he's acting in the half-hour or so leading up to the explosion (Holding his hand oddly to hide something, limping because his shoe is full of plastic explosive... that kind of thing.)