This & That, Ceci et Cela

A pint a day keeps the grim reaper away.  Word. A nursing home in Ireland has hit on a cheering way to keep up the spirits of its elderly patients - by providing its own pub. St Mary's Hospital in County Monaghan, near the Irish border with Northern Ireland, believes ready access to a good pint may help its patients - average age 85 - ...

I mean, far be it from me to say our Jap peeps are freaks: "enjo kosai", "enko" for short--sex or quasi-sex with generally middle-aged men in return for cash handouts. "Enko is everywhere," she says. "You just stand there in your school uniform and men'll come up to you, asking for enko." If she accompanies a man to a restaurant or a karaoke box, she gets 5,000 yen to ...

People paying good money for classes on how to be like a "celeb": "On a sunny Sunday afternoon in May, more than three dozen women, most in their 20s and early 30s, took turns sashaying across a small conference room on the 49th floor of the tony Roppongi Hills complex. Chins up, broad smiles across their faces, they were clearly having fun "learning" to walk the walk of stars. ...

Researchers find popular additive triclosan dangerous. Scandinavian experts warn pregnant women against using anti-bacterial toothpaste, and fear the effects of the popular additive triclosan. Toothpastes labeled "Total" contain the anti-bacterial substance triclosan and Norwegian and Swedish experts advise against exposing infants to the substance, newspaper VG reports. The ...

Graphology (handwriting analysis) is apparently an extremely common employment screening tool in Western Europe. The following quote certainly gives food for thought: "While there are some concepts common to most systems of handwriting analysis, there are equally notable disputes as to what the various "signs" mean. Take, for instance, two books by internationally known graphologists that I reviewed: one considers a certain ...

Unveiled in 2004 and now in production, it is expected to hit the US in 2006. Exterior's not bad, but its the interior that absolutely pimping. Its what quilted leather dreams are made of. AND its comes with custom made red leather luggage. In case you need to go somewhere... With top speed of 325km/hr, expected to sell for at least $333,000/CAD $375,000 using an ...