I remember taking the city bus by myself to school, and also to downtwon Milwaukee when I was 10. I was scared, and I carried a knife with me everywhere. A girl had been gang raped in my neighborhood. And that was in the FIFTIES. I made sure my children were more protected. So of course, they called me over-protective. I just didn't want them to feel so scared and unloved.

The Japanese do such beautiful, artistic things with food. If this is an American art form, it's somewhat lacking in esthetic appeal, not to mention gustatory appeal.

That doesn't look like any trout I ever saw, and looks proportionately too wide to be a muskie.

It's an interesting blog. I learned some stuff I didn't know about getting rid of junk mail. Thanks for the post.

Darn. I'm too late. It's "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." I must say, it seems a less contrived sentence than some of the other examples.

I can't understand why Mexico City wasn't included. Just pick any intersection there.

I loved MAD. 1964 was the first presidential election I could vote in. Goldwater and Johnson--what a choice!

My day doesn't start until I finish the LA Times daily puzzle. On Sundays, I do the LA Times, LA Times Magazine puzzle and the NY Sunday Times puzzle. Guess you could say I love them.

It is astounding to me that so many ill-informed, closed-minded people read Neatorama. Or maybe only the nuts need to spew their garbage about homosexuality. I'm straight, BTW, but have gay and lesbian friends. I'm sorry there are still so many troglodytes around.

I loved those things as a child. I don't think I suffered any damage.

All my teaching was in inner-city schools. There were burned-out teachers, but they had perfect discipline. Not a word was spoken. Students did busy work (assignment written on board), while the teacher read, did puzzles, talked on the phone, etc. There were young or second-career teachers who were enthusiastic and interacted with the kids. There was generally mutual respect in those classes. Of course, there is always a small percentage of students who will act out under any circumstances.

I think that under Sharia, all Muslims are liable for the death penalty for changing religions.

Why on earth would anybody do that?

I taught mainly immigrant Latino children for years, and almost all of them said they planned to have no more than one or two children. Many of my former students have no children at all. They want a better life for themselves and their children (if they have them), and realize that a family with many children has fewer resources per child.

I have never understood why Valentine's Day is only for the man to give a woman a present. I always gave something to my boyfriend, and later, my husband.