When I first met Dr Elizabeth Loftus, she was both revered by her colleagues and just as much the target of vile namecalling by others ... probably because she was so much in demand back then as the one best experts to put on your witness stand for all sorts of reasons. Ten years later, I think it's good and it's comforting to see her still doing just that sort of against-the-grain science which forces us to rethink the art of our rethinking; it shows there's still some psychologists who will dig in to fight the good fight in understanding who we really are, even if it means having things thrown at you in public.

This new report also really reminds me of another brave and persistent old friend and soldier, Carleton U's late ufo-abduction-crafter Nick Spanos, but that's another story for another day.

For now, and remember this best you can, Science Daily tips us to this UCI piece on how people are led to believe they experienced the improbable. It's a recounting of Beth's recent experiments smoothly implanting life-changing landmark events that spouses can then argue about well into their retirement -- Hmmm ... maybe a Total Recall Boutique is not so SciFi! I smell a whole new genre of neuro-entertainment mall-kiosk business franchise opportunities: Where Nick would give people past-lives and UFO-Abduction experiences, Beth's letting them remember meeting Bugs Bunny ... at Disneyland.

"Step right up! Be Cleopatra, Talk to Mackenzie King's mother! Just Five dollars! Step right this way! Hey! You sir ..."

What a hoot! Can't remember what you did last night? Just go on in, check off the order card and let them fill in the blanks with the blind date of your wildest dreams! That's worth five bucks. Or imagine, on a Saturday night, out with the guys, you get a buddy drunk and drop him off for a regrooving ...

So, hey ... how'd it go? D'ya talk to King's mom?

"Dunno. I think so, man ..."

The future may not be what it used to be, but neither is the past ...