Thalamus

The thalamus (from Greek θάλαμος, "chamber") is a midline symmetrical structure of two halves, within the vertebrate brain, situated between the cerebral cortex and the midbrain. Some of its functions are the relaying of sensory and motor signals to the cerebral cortex, and the regulation of consciousness, sleep, and alertness. The two parts of the thalamus surround the third ventricle. It is the main product of the embryonic diencephalon.

Anatomy

The thalamus is located in the forebrain superior to the midbrain, near the center of the brain, with nerve fibers projecting out to the cerebral cortex in all directions. The medial surface of the thalamus constitutes the upper part of the lateral wall of the third ventricle, and is connected to the corresponding surface of the opposite thalamus by a flattened gray band, the interthalamic adhesion.

Morphology

The two halves of the thalamus are prominent bulb-shaped masses, about 5.7 cm in length, located obliquely (about 30°) and symmetrically on each side of the third ventricle. Both parts of the thalamus, in the human, are about the size and shape of a walnut. These are about three centimetres in length, at the widest part 2.5 centimetres across and about 2 centimetres in height (comparable to an unshelled walnut, with the nut-shell joining in the horizontal plane).

Thalamus Ltd

Thalamus Ltd (also known as Thalamus) was a British computer game developer that published titles for a number of 8-bit and 16-bit platforms during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

History

Genesis

Thalamus Ltd was created in 1986 as an in-house software publishing label of British magazine publisher Newsfield Publications Ltd, to take advantage of their leading position publishing computer game magazines, such as Crash and Zzap!64, during the mid-1980s. Ex-Activision PR Manager Andrew Wright was assigned the position of Company Director and Newsfield staff writer Gary Liddon was appointed Technical Executive. The company was initially based in Canonbury, North London, in an office shared with staff of Newsfield's newly launched lifestyle magazine LM.

First Titles

Thalamus capitalised on the success of the Commodore 64 gaming scene by releasing their first batch of titles on this platform. Having established numerous contacts within the C64 development scene through the popularity of their Zzap!64 gaming magazine, Thalamus were able to sign up Finnish programmer Stavros Fasoulas to develop their first three titles, Sanxion, Delta and Quedex. Sanxion was the first release to bear the Thalamus name, and it garnered a Sizzler rating from Zzap!64 - this led to accusations of favouritism from rival publications, in particular Commodore User, despite the game deserving the award - it was technically competent, visually attractive, and ran at breakneck speed for its time. Legendary C64 musician Rob Hubbard came on board to provide the music for the first two titles, while Matt Gray provided the music for Quedex. "Thalamusik", the loading tune that accompanied the C64 version of Sanxion proved to be so popular amongst fans that Zzap!64 later included a full synthesised version of Rob Hubbard's classic tune on one of their cover cassettes.

Hangover

A hangover /ˈhæŋoʊvə/ (medical terminology: veisalgia from Norwegian: kveis, discomfort following overindulgence, and Greek: αλγία algia, pain) is the experience of various unpleasant physiological and psychological effects following consumption of ethanol, which can last for more than 24 hours. Typical symptoms of a hangover may include headache, drowsiness, concentration problems, dry mouth, dizziness, fatigue, gastrointestinal distress, absence of hunger, sweating, nausea, hyper-excitability and anxiety.

While the causes of a hangover are still poorly understood, several factors are known to be involved including acetaldehyde accumulation, changes in the immune system and glucose metabolism, dehydration, metabolic acidosis, disturbed prostaglandin synthesis, increased cardiac output, vasodilation, sleep deprivation and malnutrition. Beverage-specific effects of additives or by-products such as congeners also play an important role. The symptoms occur typically after the intoxicating effect of the alcohol begins to wear off, generally the morning after a night of heavy drinking.

The Hangover

The Hangover is a 2009 American comedy film, co-produced and directed by Todd Phillips and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha, and Jeffrey Tambor. It tells the story of Phil Wenneck (Cooper), Stu Price (Helms), and Alan Garner (Galifianakis), who travel to Las Vegas for a bachelor party to celebrate their friend Doug Billings' (Bartha) impending marriage. However, Phil, Stu, and Alan have no memory of the previous night's events and must find Doug before the wedding can take place.

Lucas and Moore wrote the script after executive producer Chris Bender's friend disappeared and had a large bill after being sent to a strip club. After Lucas and Moore sold it to the studio for $2 million, Philips and Jeremy Garelick rewrote the script to include a tiger as well as a subplot involving a baby and a police cruiser, and also including boxer Mike Tyson. Filming took place in Nevada for 15 days, and during filming, the three main actors (Cooper, Helms, and Galifianakis) formed a real friendship.

Hangover (Psy song)

"Hangover" is a single by South Korean K-pop musician Psy, featuring American rapper Snoop Dogg. Its music video debuted on the June 8, 2014 broadcast of Jimmy Kimmel Live!As of January 17, 2016, the video has received over 240 million views on YouTube. The song serves as a follow-up to Psy's two international hit singles "Gangnam Style" and "Gentleman".

Production

In January 2014, YG Entertainment confirmed that Psy's upcoming album will feature the American rapper Snoop Dogg, along with K-pop singer G-Dragon. On March 12, 2014, it was revealed that CL of 2NE1 would also appear in the video.

According to YG Entertainment, the music video was produced in January 2014 during Snoop Dogg's visit to South Korea. In an interview with CNN, Psy revealed that the video was filmed over the course of 18 hours at 10 different locations near Incheon International Airport.

Reception

Critical response

Time magazine described the music video as "delightful", while Spin magazine compared the music to "cacophonous EDM-rap" that is "unlikely to ease a hangover", but the end result is "still a curiously enjoyable five minutes".