Dear LW,

I understand where you are coming from. I also have a complicated, love-hate relationship with my family. However, this is not about you. You are being selfish. Your life is not about to be over. Give her a call, tell her that she has meant the world to you. Tell her you love her. Then, get a plane ticket and go to the funeral.

Sheesh.

I have to agree with many of the posters that the video dog feature is dumb and annoying. The few I've tried to watch were just a waste of my time. Two live rabbits with cartoon voices? Are you kidding me? The exception is Scott Bateman, who should be kept on as a cartoonist, or whatever. His 365 days of animation was brilliant and Atom Age Vampire is an unfinished masterpiece.

I am not a fan of David Marchese. His taste in music and his influences are too rooted in the 70's and the Sgt. Pepper's/Journey crap still burns me. However, Audiofile is still a big step up from most of Video Dog.

Also, the recent addition of Paglia is disappointing. Her take on global warming and the election of JFK are fictitious at best and immoral at worst. Someone needs to fact check and edit her, or she needs to go.

My advice is to use what you are paying her to hire two or three bright but unknown writers/commentators and give them a chance.

Better yet, just fire her.

Dear LW,

Using the term "carbon" refers to the fact that CO2 contains carbon and that the burning of fossil fuels is a short circuit of the Earth's natural carbon cycle. (Fossil fuels, which are mainly made of ancient carbon synthesized from CO2 long ago by plants, naturally take millions of years to return to the atmosphere. We are digging and drilling them up and burning them at a tremendous rate. This shifts the global carbon cycle to include more atmospheric CO2.) Additionally, as someone else here pointed out, other carbon containing compounds (such as methane, CH4) are also part of the problem.

If you actually knew anything about this problem, you would understand why the term "carbon" is reasonable. So, as a scientist and educator, it’s your letter that alarms me most about the knowledge and understanding of science and the environment among the general public. The use of buzzwords, incorrectly or otherwise, is a minor issue in comparison.

My pet peeve is people who don't use a comma in a list of things before the word "and." For example, “Today we bought condoms, film, and a bottle of tequila at the corner store.”

In a recent e-mail I received, someone actually said that a quote had been "illicited" from a vendor...

Serai1 asks: "I can only ask them what exactly they're doing..." about the atheists.

I am an atheist and I have done plenty in my 37 years, including tutoring kids in inner city schools, building houses with Habitat for Humanity (along side Born-agains), and lots of other community service. Many other atheists I know also do lots to help the poor and downtrodden. One reason why atheists look down on the religious is that the religious often think that they are the only people in the world doing good things to help others. They think that all atheists must be self-centered hedonists. However, plenty of atheists are actually motivated by their belief that the afterlife is just a hoax and that all we have in this lonely universe is each other.

Don't get me wrong, any motivation for doing good is OK by me. Certainly, I admire MLK, Sister Theresa, and Gandhi, all motivated by religion. However, religion is not the only legitimate motivation to help your fellow man.

hah

I am frankly surprised at all of the fond memories being expressed regarding Tammy Faye. Simply put, she helped defraud thousands of people out of money in the name of religion. She also used the gay community to give herself legitimacy and popularity, while condemning them to hell at the same time. Recently, I've heard and seen parts of interviews with her. My impression is that she never regretted any of her wrongs. For example, she told Terry Gross of Fresh Air that she just didn't realize that her and Jim Baker were spending so much of their followers money and that much of their lavish lifestyle was "given to them" by their board of directors (as if that excused it). Tammy Faye was a hypocrite, a criminal, and the worst of religion in America.

I grew up in the midwest, lived in Boston for a while, and then settled in New Mexico. Have experienced all three, I'd say "go west." Life in the West is better. People are friendlier and far less judgmental here ("that's right, you're not from Texas, but Texas loves you anyway"). Unless you are in LA, SF, or the SV ("27 exits to nowhere"), the cost of living is lower. Here people are less caught up in money and putting on a good show for the neighbors. People are less guarded and more individualistic.

Cary seems to think that you are referring to the west coast. That might be true, but I hope you are thinking about Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Montana, or maybe Arizona. These states have mountains and big blue, sunny skies. The vastness of the open spaces will amaze you.

Don't get me wrong, I love Boston and New York. However, they just don't hold a candle to the West for me.

Also, there are no traffic jams in New Mexico.

Good luck!