Have you ever noticed how face-like objects are eye-catching? They draw attention to themselves and away from other things... like the road ( Read more... )

Originally posted by squid314 on January 21, 2012I have spent the last month on a some-expenses-paid tour of the nation's psychiatric hospitals ( Read more... )

I was the very model of a modern Arab autocrat ( Read more... )

Originally posted by theuglyvolvo, here.My track coach was one of those terrifying people who was always telling you to “run through the pain.” This was the late 90’s, when “No Fear” T-shirts and Nike slogans had taken over and people became fond of sayings like “Pain is weakness leaving the body” and “Second Place is the First Loser,” and no one was more fond ( Read more... )

As part of my Fourth of July celebration this year, I decided to actually learn something about the history of the American revolution. It started off with getting together with a couple friends to watch episode two of the HBO John Adams series, which spans the time of the revolution. There's a little bit in it where Abigail Adams meets Henry Knox ( Read more... )

My goals for my week in Haiti have shifted from "bring medical care to some of the neediest populations in the world" down to "avoid having tarantulas drop on my head when I am asleep." I think this started either when our driver pointed out the "tarantula field" as a landmark on the way into the compound, or when the program director described the ( Read more... )

On June 7, 1983, near the end of my life, I stumbled through the back door of a storefront in a Fort Worth strip mall. I tried to appear inconspicuous as I helped myself to a cup of coffee, but didn't notice the carafe was still filling. The hiss of hot java hitting the hotplate immediately identified me as a newbie. A burly grey-haired guy with ( Read more... )

Originally posted by theuglyvolvo, here.So the best thing about the Galapagos islands is swimming with baby sea lions. You were going to ask at some point, so there-that’s it, I’ve told you. The best part is having them swim up to your snorkeling mask, twitching their whiskers, having them bring you a piece of kelp the way a puppy would bring you a Frisbee or ( Read more... )

You can come if you like, but it is not the best time ( Read more... )

Originally posted by rm, here.

We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
What might save us, me, and you
Is if the Russians love their children too.

It's a testament both to my age and what a weird news week this has been (Russian spies???!) that I'm starting this entry with a quote from a Sting song I used to sing a lot when I was a teen, ( Read more... )