John King asks that we please stop referring to giant buildings as “icons.” In his words: “But real icons aren’t designed to be icons; they win the title by happening to be in wondrous sync with what a city is all about, or where it’s headed.” Ho*.

Back in body, but sound in mind? Soldiers are returning from Iraq with serious PTSD.

Eco-friendly wines don’t have to taste nasty when they’re made well, and our options as consumers are increasing, a lot. Yippee!

A complex assisted suicide case in Arizona, where a mentally ill woman received some assistance with shuffling the mortal coil. My thoughts on this particular case are mixed, and I encourage you to read the article. Or even…talk about it in the comments?

Allegedly the poverty rate fell in 2006, while the ranks of the uninsured rose. I’m not really sure how, exactly, the poverty rate declined, and I would like to see some more analysis of the data used to arrive at this conclusion, because, in Sixth Sense terms, I see po’ folk.

Speaking of po’ folk, a lot of women have difficulty accessing needed prenatal care.

Harry Potter is also available in braille. Thanks to the efforts of committed fans, the National Braille Press has been able to keep costs comparable to the print editions. Pretty cool.

*The use of “ho” in the sense of “amen” or “I agree” was widespread at my hippie high school.