Is 'Altered States' Based On A True Story?

This whole photo flap around Jennie Garth has felt like a messy episode you can't fast-forward through. I've followed her since 'Beverly Hills, 90210', so when purported revealing images pop up I immediately think of the two possibilities: genuine privacy breach or doctored content meant to bait clicks. In the internet age, both happen constantly—celebrities have had real intimate photos leaked, but deepfakes and cheap Photoshop jobs are also rampant. When I try to parse a single image, I look for visual inconsistencies: awkward lighting on skin, blurred edges where someone was cut out, duplicated patterns, or mismatched reflections and shadows. Metadata and image provenance matter too; reverse-image searches can show if a photo has been circulated before or pulled from another source. Reputable outlets nearly always wait for confirmation from the person involved or forensic experts before declaring something authentic. Beyond tech, there's a human side: whoever spread the photos—real or fake—causes harm. If Jennie or her reps deny authenticity, leaning on digital forgery is reasonable. If she confirms a breach, then it's a serious violation. Either way, I try to avoid sharing unverified stuff and prefer to wait for clear evidence or an official statement, because gossip really does have consequences.

I get asked about celebs' smiles more than you might think, and Gigi Hadid's teeth are one of those little mysteries everyone loves to poke into. From what I've followed over the years, her look has evolved — not because of some dramatic overnight change, but through pretty standard dental work and professional styling. When she was younger you could spot a slight gap and a more relaxed alignment; later on her smile looks more uniform and camera-ready, which usually means orthodontics at some point and careful cosmetic finishing like whitening or subtle bonding. Braces or clear aligners can do wonders over time, and many models smooth things out afterwards with minimal reshaping or composite bonding to fix tiny chips or gaps. Lighting, lip makeup, and photo retouching also play huge roles; runway flash and editorial edits can make teeth appear straighter or brighter than they are in person. I also pay attention to interviews and behind-the-scenes snaps — in candid photos you can often see the texture and translucence of natural enamel versus thick veneers. My take is that Gigi's smile is primarily natural structurally, helped by orthodontic treatment and cosmetic touch-ups that are tasteful rather than transformative. It feels like a modern-model approach: maintain natural teeth but polish them to perfection. Personally, I kind of like that mix — keeps the personality but still looks polished for the camera.

If you’re poking around the internet wondering if it’s legal to buy true-crime items, the short practical take is: often yes, but it’s complicated and depends on what the item is and where you live. There’s no sweeping federal ban that says you can’t buy memorabilia tied to crimes, but several important caveats matter. Items that were evidence in an open case, or that were stolen property, are off-limits — police and courts can seize and reclaim them. Some states have laws that aim to stop criminals from profiting off their notoriety; you’ve probably heard the phrase 'Son of Sam' linked to that. The original New York law was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1991 for overreaching, and many states rewrote their rules to focus on victims’ ability to claim profits rather than on pure censorship, so enforcement varies. Beyond statutes, there are ethical and practical issues: human remains and bodily fluids are generally regulated and often illegal to sell; prison rules may prohibit inmates from profiting; and reputable marketplaces or auction houses often ban or limit these sales even if they’re technically legal. I’d always suggest checking provenance, reading local laws, and thinking twice about how a purchase affects victims — it’s legal terrain that feels morally messy to me.

This is a bit messier than a simple yes-or-no. 'gutenberg.ca' is a Canadian-hosted collection of texts that are public domain under Canadian law. That does not automatically mean they're public domain in the United States: US copyright rules are different, so a book freely available on a Canadian site might still be protected by copyright here. Practically speaking, if you're in the US and you download a work that is still under US copyright, you're making a copy that could technically infringe US law. The risk for casual private reading is low in most cases, but redistributing, reposting, or hosting those files where others can download them increases legal exposure. If you want to be cautious, check whether the work is public domain in the US (or use 'Project Gutenberg' at gutenberg.org which curates US public-domain texts), look up the publication date and author death date, or consult the US Copyright Office records. For anything commercial or public distribution, I’d double-check first — better safe than sorry.

Honestly, the trend this year has felt impossible to ignore: a handful of states keep popping up in news stories and tracking maps for rising book challenges and removals. Reports from organizations like PEN America and the American Library Association, along with lots of local coverage, have repeatedly named Florida and Texas as major hotspots, and I've also seen steady coverage pointing to Missouri, Oklahoma, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. On top of that, several Midwestern states — think Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin — have registered noticeable upticks in school district-level challenges. What makes it feel so personal to me is how these statistics translate into community meetings and library shelves changing overnight. Specific districts in Florida and Texas have been especially active, often targeting books that explore race, gender, and sexuality — titles like 'Gender Queer', 'The Bluest Eye', and even classics like 'To Kill a Mockingbird' and 'Maus' show up in lists. Sometimes local school boards or parents' groups trigger waves of challenges, and that makes statewide trends feel jagged and uneven: one county might be calm while a neighboring district becomes a battleground. If you want to keep up without getting overwhelmed, I check the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom updates and PEN America's interactive maps, and I follow local education reporters on social media. It helps me see both the big-picture states where activity is rising and the specific communities where people are mobilizing, which oddly makes me feel less helpless and more likely to actually show up at a meeting or support a library sale.

Okay, so here’s the short-but-thorough scoop from someone who’s spent a few late nights hopping between PSP ports: you can use save states for 'Dead Head Fred' if you’re running it on a PSP emulator like PPSSPP. Save states are not part of the original game — they’re an emulator feature that snapshots the whole system at a moment in time, so you can jump back instantly. I’ve used them for brutally unfair boss fights and weird platforming segments, and they’re a real lifesaver when the in-game saves are sparse. That said, a couple of practical tips from my own experience: always keep at least one regular in-game save in addition to save states. Emulator saves can become incompatible if you update the emulator version or move between devices. If you ever get a black screen or corrupted state loading 'Dead Head Fred', try switching slots or using a different build of PPSSPP; toggling options like "Fast memory (unstable)" or "I/O on thread" has fixed odd crashes for me. Also back up your savestate files and the PSP memory card file (.ppsspp/memstick/PSP/SAVEDATA) — that way nothing gets lost if something goes sideways. Oh, and a little etiquette: only play with ISOs/dumps you legally own. I like to keep a hierarchy of saves—quick save states for risky experiments and clean in-game saves for progress I care about. Works great for this quirky, slightly creepy title.

Okay, if you're itching to read 'Altered Carbon' on a Kindle, the simplest route I use is the Amazon Kindle Store — that's basically the hub for Kindle editions. Head to amazon.com (or your local Amazon site like amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, etc.), type 'Altered Carbon Richard K. Morgan Kindle' into the search bar, and you'll usually see a Kindle edition listed alongside paperback and audiobook options. Click the Kindle version, pick the device you'd like it sent to (your Kindle, the Kindle app on phone/tablet, or Kindle Cloud Reader), and use 1-Click or the Buy button. It’s ridiculously convenient once your account and preferred device are set up. If you want to save a little cash, sometimes 'Altered Carbon' pops up in promotions: occasional Kindle deals, Kindle Daily Deals, or even included in Kindle Unlimited/Prime Reading for limited times — so check the price and any loan/subscription availability before buying. Another trick: you can buy a Kindle eBook as a gift for someone else, or share it within your Amazon Household if you have family accounts linked. And if you prefer trying before committing, the sample button downloads a free preview so you can see if the prose grabs you. A couple of practical notes: availability can vary by country because of licensing, so if you don’t see it on your local Amazon, try switching your account to another region (careful — that has implications for payment methods and library loans). Libraries sometimes let you borrow Kindle eBooks through platforms that deliver to Amazon accounts in supported regions, so check your local library app like OverDrive/Libby. For me, grabbing the Kindle edition means instant immersion on a commute — the cyberpunk noir vibes hit differently on a morning train.

Honestly, I've poked around Kindle price histories enough to have a mental map for books like 'Altered Carbon'. The short version: the ebook has swung wildly depending on publisher strategy and media tie-ins. When the Kindle edition first appeared it tended to sit near the typical adult SF eBook range — think mid-single digits to low double digits — but that base price isn't fixed. Amazon runs sales, the publisher sets list price, and occasional promos can drop it to $0.99–$2.99 for short windows. Around big moments, like when the Netflix show adaptation of 'Altered Carbon' landed (early 2018), publishers and retailers often discount tie-in novels to capture new viewers, so prices dip or the book is bundled into sales or advertising pushes. I also watch how inclusion in services changes perceived price. If a title goes into Kindle Unlimited or Prime Reading it effectively becomes free to subscribers, which can coincide with temporary price suppression in stores. Conversely, when rights revert or a new edition is released, prices can jump — sometimes back up to $9.99–$14.99. Third-party sellers and paper editions have their own trajectories, but for Kindle it's all about publisher list price + Amazon promos. If you want exact historical data, tracking tools like Keepa or CamelCamelCamel will show day-by-day Amazon price changes. Personally, I set alerts before anniversaries, show releases, or Kindle sales events (Prime Day, Black Friday) — those are the windows when 'Altered Carbon' most reliably drops to the bargain bracket. It’s a small hobby of mine to snag tie-in novels cheap, and that one's been pretty generous on sale days.