things to share

1. I've been in a bit of a slump lately. The Peace Corps medical staff expects this, and warns you that in months 11-17, the average volunteer tends to be cranky, disillusioned, and constantly complaining. Check. Here is a nice passage that just about nails it.

"With that instinct which prompts one, when depressed, to wallow in every circumstance of gloom, Peter leaned sadly upon the hurdles and abandoned himself to a variety of shallow considerations upon (1) The vanity of human wishes; (2) Mutability; (3) First love; (4) The decay of idealism; (5) The aftermath of the Great war; (6) Birth-control; and (7) The fallacy of free will. That was his nadir, however."
-Clouds of Witness, Dorothy L. Sayers

2. However, I have found an out- www.cuteoverload.com. It has amazing therapeutic effects.

3. I also may have lost my moral compass. I no longer see anything wrong with wearing fur, and I know that I used to. I figure if I eat animals (which both I, and other animals, do), why shouldn't I wear them? Especially if it's rabbit or lamb, which could very well get eaten. Any suggestions before I go and actually purchase one?

4. I also have just determined that the word 'shlong' comes from Russian. Sure, it may have come via Yiddish, but whatever. Шланг means hose and also has the same slang meaning, try persuading me otherwise. (I realize this may not be the most dignified of contemplations, but I need some incentive to study. Besides, it's totally a cross-cultural moment.)