news… some evil, some not so much

DON’T ASSUME ANYTHING
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In the U.S., Yoga is hotter than ever. More than 18 million people assume the positions on a regular basis. But the activity’s rapid increase in popularity may have left many people bending and twisting at the behest of an unqualified Swami.

LET’S DRINK ON IT…
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While it has long been rumored that wine drinking leads to better health, a new study questions whether healthy and wealthy people just tend to drink more wine.

Decline in the number of Americans developing and dying from AIDs appears to be coming to an end.

Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi makes a controversial visit to a shrine that for many symbolizes Japan’s militaristic past.

Twenty South Korean men cut off their pinkies in protest of the Koizumi shrine visit.

Condit fires back at newspapers calling for him to quit.

After meeting with Rumsfeld, Russia’s Putin shows no sign of being moved on ABM treaty issue.

Emotional marking of the fortieth anniversary of the building of the Berlin Wall.

Peace accord signed in Macedonia.

The eight year-old shark attack victim goes home. It could be a year or more before doctors know how extensive his brain injuries are.

According to a recent survey, women in Italy are too busy for sex.
The average Italian woman has just one hour of sex every 15 days.
I’m doing the math in my head here, but according to my numbers that comes out to about 3 times a day, right?

Hobson-Jobson & suasion

suasion SWAY-zhun, noun:
The act of persuading; persuasion.

Suasion comes from Latin suasio, from suadere, “to present in a pleasing manner,” hence, “to advise.” It is related to suave, “gracious or agreeable in manner.”

Hobson-Jobson HOB-suhn JOB-suhn noun

Adaptation of a foreign word or phrase to fit the sound and spelling patterns of the borrowing language.

From the title of a book of the same name.

Examples –

Juggernaut from Sanskrit Jagannatha.
Plonk (cheap wine) from French [vin] blanc.
Mary Jane/Mary Warner/Mary Jane Warner for Mexican/Spanish marijuana.
Hocus-pocus from Latin hoc est corpus.

Just don’t hit random.

Surfing for no good reason other to procrastinate. after reading 5 random journals in a row, I shake my head, and crack open the message sealed in a light ceramic coating that has ejected from the spy slot of my machine.

l uhdoob hqmrb fubswrjudskb… hyhq wkh vlpsoh vwxii!

I gaze at it for a moment, and nod my head in agreement.

The decoder ring was right… I only have one choice. The laptop case folds open and the hairs on my arm stand on end as the pulse laser starts to prime. There’s a blinding flash of light, a sharp crack of rended air… and the mean folks, their journals, and a good chunk of the posts they make are reduced to the faint smell of ozone and a few swirling wisps of smoke. Gone are the trolls, the ignorant posters, and those that write things to deliberately hurt or insult others, sent to a better place, left to (in the vernacular of Mr. T) jibba jabba amongst themselves, and allow me to read something I’d enjoy reading instead.

Or at least that’s what would happen if the world were the way it should be.

Agent Scottobear, Out. I will return in the morning. Don’t make me have to call in an airstrike.

Thank you, my friends for being of entertaining, informative, and kind demeanor. So many rare jewels out there… I appreciate you all the more when I trip over journals about being racist, terribly cruel, or just plain dumb.

*big hugs to you folks*

Rule of thumb. Forget the random feature, and browse the friend’s lists of your friends. Odds are better that you’ll find something to your liking. Even better than interests lists, I think.