wildmustard

I found this quite interesting - I lived in Europe for a long time, where people are allowed to drink legally at younger ages, and I think that we ought to consider the ideas put forth in this commentary. Of course, access to decent public transport in OTHER (more enlightened, more civilised) countries lowers the possibilities for drunken driving - another thing we ought to be addressing in this country.

Setting the legal drinking age at 21 years does not seem to have stopped anyone from getting alcohol if he or she wants it, and the staggering increases in clandestine binge drinking (and resulting deaths) ought to give us pause. We need to find a way to help teenagers learn how to consume alcohol - which many of them are going to do, on their way to becoming adults who do - in a way that lets them learn the lessons we all have to learn along the way about the interaction between alcohol and the human body.

From the page: "The banana, however, is a freakish and fragile genetic mutant; one that has survived through the centuries due to the sustained application of selective breeding by diligent humans. Indeed, the 'miraculous' banana is far from being a no-strings-attached gift from nature. Its cheerful appearance hides a fatal flaw, one that threatens its proud place in the grocery basket. The banana's problem can be summed up in a single word: sex."

If I *ever* get my own home again, I am building one of these in the back. One more thing to add to the list of things a potential mate will have to accept about me.

I am speechless. Sheep herding as you have seldom, if ever, seen it.

That'll do, pig, indeed!

Most of the designs featured here are rather banal (exception: computer keyboard parts), but these preserved squirrel feet just captured my heart.

From the page: "Law enforcement sources have told CNN that Fiore was identified through the serial numbers on her breast implants."

I'm not quite sure what to say here.

My son and I are among the American fans of Miyazaki's work: we own all of his available films, and they are the ones we most often watch. To compare him with Walt Disney is disingenuous at best - he's far more interesting and his work more subtle and thought provoking, as well as achingly beautiful visually.

update 08-25-09: wow! saw Ponyo at the weekend and we loved it :-)