er,buddy66,no slight intended.my mom was a professional signpainter for a while,and i fully appreciate the effort and thought that goes into those little touches all over the "parks".if i sounded like it's all a bit tiresome,it could just be i've lived here far too long;it all starts to look the same.familiar as opposed to exotic.

the sign was gone when i lived in ocoee about 12 years ago...but the attitudes that went with it were still very much in force,unfortunately.
and in re: the above signs,the one on the right,while it is indeed from muppetvision,could be from almost any of the central FL themeparks;the print and style are a dead giveaway.

*cough* max fennig *cough* @ #5's x-files character
all that tv-conspiracy-wasted-brainspace aside though,i love this photo.

how is it that there are so many wastes of space in this country,to say nothing of wastes of money,and yet somehow a charming and somewhat singular place like this falls between the cracks?i hope loren receives enough donations to keep going.

well,ours doesn't have wheels,but my son has one of these...it started out as a "water table",then became a sandbox...then he decided to meld the two notions into one lovely atv "mud" course/saltmarsh plastic animal habitat/futile construction site.maybe we should mix in some lentils...

i think my favourite thing on there is that the first story in the sports section is on the mahayana monastic debates... :)

oh those bilderbergers...and the trilateral commission...and the CFR...and the nazca lines...and the sumerians...wait,what?can't ever decide whether this stuff cracks me up or creeps me out.
in defense of reptiles though,my snakes and savannah monitor are much nicer than...pretty much any politician.

in re:this whole difference of perception of what "pleasure" is.i think jake and noen are both accurate.there is pleasure derived from sensate experience;on a basic animal level all your needs being met=happy.
people have other "needs" as well though.needs created by someone becoming inured to certain stimuli.or having zero experience of certain other stimuli.or developing associations between things that aren't actually related outside of that someone's perception.and because of those needs,sex can be about power.if operating from the premise that certain situations in sexwork are abusive,then yes,the pleasure being sought in those situations is no longer about (sensate)sex.it is about power.
and i agree with pipenta that the saudi arabia compare/contrast is irrelevant and unkind.

i concur with antinous.the only part(s) of that picture that are not "lovely" and "beautiful" are the over-obvious human additions to the landscape.

maybe it's just a regional thing.i,unfortunately,had the same initial response to comment #1 as mr. frauenfelder did.where i live (florida) the cockroaches remark would,in fact,be intended to imply something unpleasant about the speaker's attitude towards hispanic people.wouldn't be surprising if that were also the case in california,which is where i think mark is from.

congrats on the book tour cory,and i'd like to second what #31 said...the magic kingdom of the mouse just seems like an obvious choice for you.do drop by sometime!

:) this concept is so charming;recycled,low-to-no-cost,and faery friendly to boot.
must say i'm surprised at all the concern about children consuming this particular piece of faerie real estate.clearly,toxic plant materials=bad toy materials,but i doubt a child old enough to want a dollhouse like this would still be at the "mouthing" stage.

wow. the ballet recital was perfect to begin with,but following it up with the computer's cover version...i love the ineffable.

in re: the seitan worshipers up top,it really is kind of fun to prepare a high protein food that a toddler will not just eat without complaint,but that actually induces them to proclaim that they "love seitan".
the vatmeat million dollar prize,on the other hand,is rather less amusing.although it almost feels like it doesn't even matter;our(meaning most humans)methods and attitudes regarding food are already so irrational and so far gone.

considering the plethora of cheap shirts at thrift stores,it wouldn't be at all hard to achieve more of a themed effect,which would look neater.in both the literal and slangier senses of the word.

:) that was beautiful...(my)childhood distilled;NES by way of ice-cream-truck music.
albeit without the slight creep factor of actual ice-cream-truck music.

TISCWSTaBMUZ is one of my very favorite "weird" films.which is saying something.so i guess i'll have to check out rat pfink and booboo!

ok,this is a bit late,but...
#27,that song choice is so Wrong...that it is absolutely perfect.thanks for the laugh!

what a downer;both the article and some of these comments.
i was homeschooled,and my parents were,in fact,uber-religious at the time.the religion was an awful experience,the homeschooling was wonderful...and my HSing situation was nowhere near ideal.effective teaching and learning are not one-size-fits-all set-ups.there can,and i think should, be as many different ways of educating as there are different kinds of kids.

restrictive,oppressive living conditions are sad,period.but i would submit that these kids being homeschooled has nothing to do with that.

IMHO,steamed buns are such a marvelous food that you could call them whatever the hell you wanted and people would still eat more of them than is really sensible...just sayin'.

well,i for one refuse to be so easily pleased...if it doesn't hover on repulsorlifts,i don't want it.pfft.

this is very cool...(but then,so are librarians).
when i lived in SW nebraska the only thing about the state that i loved was ernie chambers,who consistently enlivened tv coverage of state politics.it's nice to know he's not the only one enlivening things out there.

very cool.
fazil say,a turkish composer/musician,also utilizes an extended technique;reaching his left hand under the lid to flatten the strings while playing the keys with his right hand.his "black earth" is really lovely.

Awwww!
sorry,couldn't help myself :)
congratulations to the whole,expanded and improved, family...and double congratulations on a happy homebirth!