Hi Shane - big ol' 12 here. Thanks for your succinct, and strangely resonant, summary of my Hawks v Darth Vader & his Cheating Band of Cheating Cheaters. Each with a strange haircut! One place you lost me: why is Allen a dirtbag? Now I hate MS as much as the next gal, but. Paul's a fellow crazed scuba diver, rich as…

I have a confession, I didn't actually look for Zealand on a map.

Zealand is the largest (7,031 km²) and most populated island in Denmark with a population just under 2.5 million representing about 45% of the country's total population.

I call bullshit. I can't even find the original "Zealand" on a map; you're trying to convince me there's a "new" one too?

Hey don't fight! Japan's socialized healthcare, safety, and traditions make the weird subcultures possible, maybe? Because when you aren't worried about getting shot or not being able to get normal medical care, you can focus deeply on crafts, eccentric hobbies, and community life (this is my potted summary of life…

Personally, I think my socialised healthcare, my overall high level of safety, and my friends are the best part of Japan, but YKMV (your kilometerage may vary, Japan doesn't have miles).

Normally, I'd just dismiss a comment like this, but I'm responding because, sadly, even non-trolls often have very twisted views of "weird" or "gross" or "perverted" Japan, and I want everyone to see my response.

Olympic officials prefer that Canada wins medals because they know that when they award it they will actually hear "thank you".

I love you.

Was that at the London Olympics?

And it sure looks purty when it is lit up for the holidays.

Carl Sandburg never even won a World Series when he was with the Cubs. Boring :)

Harry Potter.

that's basically why i drink wine - it tastes pretty good and it's cheap as hell for what i'm looking for (bottle for a good night out, glass to put me to sleep after a long day, to cook with, watch Drag Race marathons, whatever).

I'm honestly willing to argue that Trader Joe's is single handedly responsible for this.

A friend of mine has an upside-down version of this that's a bit simpler: four sticks bolted together; the stick blades form the base, and a couple of standard hanging hooks are screwed to each shaft.

Try to find Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier, it is probably the best beer i have ever had, and I don't care for most beers. It tastes great and not much bitterness at all.

Weissbier and fruit Lambics are the only styles I can stand. Only beer I've had that I would actually stock my fridge with is Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Dunkel. Good stuff. Only one place for miles that has it on tap.

You were lucky. We lived for three months in a paper bag in a septic tank. We used to have to get up at six in the morning, clean the paper bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down t' mill, fourteen hours a day, week-in week-out, for sixpence a week, and when we got home our Dad would thrash us to sleep wi'…

pah...luxary///////