Ah yes! I'm not sure if this is the source for this exact video, but there's a TV program in Paris that shows amazing performers like this for the New Year. I think they do it every Saturday too - I'm not sure, but it would last for hours and I'd be sucked into it like a trance with my eyes glued to the screen when I lived in Paris.

I think if the Roma stopped pestering people, they would be treated much better. The Roma in France, for example, don't just sit there and beg - they actively cling on to you and, depending on the region you're in, they'll have different methods to try to get your attention or money. If anyone's interested, I can list some - they're pretty interesting, but really annoying...there's a lot of tentative grabbing involved too, which gives a sense of danger, though they're not violent as far as I know (or at least try not to be).

I've always wanted to talk to one, at least with gestures, but it's practically impossible. They either don't expect people to be nice to them, or they don't really care about getting to know everyone else and just want to take their money. Keep in mind, this is only an impression I get... impressions involve generalizing, but I don't expect everyone to be like that. If they want integration, though, that impression on people needs to be changed.

Here is some further information about what I was talking about with diet:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomagnification

& Randi, I completely agree with you. It's sick. I mean, ideally we'd all be vegetarians, but whether that happens or not we COULD avoid eating the animals we don't "need" to eat. What do we benefit from eating a lion? "I ate a lion"? That's it? People are really stupid. And those animals - they're not objects. I hope a lion ends up eating the person who decided to sell lion meat as a delicacy.

jermH,

There is a very clear distinction between meats that are "right" for us to eat as humans and meats that aren't. Eating carnivores is NOT okay. Eating herbivores IS okay. Humans eating carnivores is very close to cannibalism. It has more to do with biology (food chains & the digestive system) than it has to do with psychology.

Hahaha I absolutely loved your description :D

Or maybe it's because it's kind of hard to be sexually aroused after someone randomly makes you sniff a bottle of a stranger's bodily fluid.

So basically taller people live longer since they cover more ground? :/

Sherlock Holmes would LOVE this post.

"wormwood", "mugwort", "vagina", can there be uglier words? And all used together is just... ugh *shudder*

Hahaha I was just about to say the same thing... that made me nearly lmao.

Yeah yeah that wasn't funny :(

Ummm, I'm very female and I hated dolls when I was a child. I really hated them. I'd throw a fit when people bought me dolls because they just didn't understand that I preferred building things and transportation systems like cars and trains. Legos were my favorite.

My parents tried to keep my toys neutral too (equal amount of girly and boyish) so that wasn't what influenced my choice.

Robin - whats wrong with inspiration?

If this is the test then it's pretty inaccurate just because both of these men have different faces in general.

The face of the guy on the right, just the shape of it, annoys me for some reason. I guess he just looks too smug. I really don't think he's attractive, and I chose the one on the left. And I definitely didn't choose it because of skin tint. He just has a better smile.

It's absolutely one of my favorites. I mean, I wouldn't be upset if they were condensed because it's not too much effort to go somewhere else to read them, but I think Steven M. Johnson needs the credit he deserves. These are always so clever!

Hmmm..I have to disagree with #7. I'm pretty sure that's not an optical/texture illusion. When shaved body hair gets longer, it still remains thick and dark.