Sara, you can have the head in coffee.

All caffeine, all the time.

Jim -- I knew there was a fancy term sitting out there waiting for me to learn.

It would be really hard to swallow coffee if your head was in ajar?

Unless the jar was filled with coffee, in which case you'd quickly get over caffinated. And you wouldn't be able to see anything. And someone might try to drink you, unless they were also a head in a jar, which would make it difficult, and... when it got cold, it would be kind of icky.

;)

But no, it goes back as far as that - basically, if all we can be really sure of is the fact of our own consciousnesses, then how do we know we aren't rains in jars? Descartes frigged it by invoking God as a sort of external certainty. I go with the "so what?" theory - OK, so this whole world is an illusion and I'm a brain ina jar. That doesn't mean that my experience is going to go away, so i might as well live as if t'were real.

It's The Matrix, kinda, isn't it? For me, the interest in the brain in the jar scenario is one of control and perception. If this isn't real, can we see what is? What can we change? What does outside look like?

Exactly. And, actually, that's an even older idea - Plato, we're in an cave, looking at shadows on the wall. And yes, there is the hope - and it's an incredibly seductive one - that you can somehow think your way out of the world of illusions and see the world as it is. I tend to assume it's illusions all the way down, but that's because I read too many postmodernists too young.

BTW, have you seen any Matrix2 reviews? It's starting to sound a wee bit, well, iffy.

And someone might try to drink you.

Uh, there's not a lot of things I wouldn't do to service my caffeine addiction, but I think I can safely say that having someone's decapitated head floating in my coffee would at least make me ask for extra sugar.

I think I can safely say that having someone's decapitated head floating in my coffee would at least make me ask for extra sugar.

Even if they were smiling very sweetly?

have you seen any Matrix2 reviews?

No -- I realised I don't really care. I'm there for such shallow event! reasons, that I don't want to mess with things like talk of plot or characterisation.

You'll have my own personal (shallow) review Friday, though.

Even if they were smiling very sweetly?

Y'know, if I'm drinking someone else's life fluid/coffee, I think they should have the common courtesy not to interrupt me with their facial expressions.

Edited to add random Salvage thoughts:

• Wesley! *sniff* You where this close to making me cry by just lifting an eyebrow, damn you and your expressiveness.

• Everyone and their cousin from England has discovered this before me, but Faith/Wesley? So totally pushing the limits of allowable sexiness. They have rules about this sort of thing, you two!

• Am I the only one who sat through the entire episode pointing at Cordelia and squealing 'Evvvilll!' ? I was spoiled so I've basically been doing that since the begining of the season and you'd think I'd get bored of it, but it hasn't happened yet.

• The final C/C scene was so. damn. funny. 'Connor, I'm having your obviously evil spawn, so we have to make out to this creepy music...mmmkay?'

if I'm drinking someone else's life fluid/coffee, I think they should have the common courtesy not to interrupt me with their facial expressions.

Yeah; but it's different from the drinkee rather than the drinker's point of view. If I was living in coffee, and someone started drinking it, I'd be doing everything I could to interrupt them. Including smiling, sticking my tongue out, and possibly blowing bubbles.