There has to be a better way to slaughter cows than some medieval torture device that leaves the beast scrambling in its own blood. The problem is that cows are huge, heavy, dumb beasts. Perhaps a guillotine? The fear pumped into the meat as they wallow to death can't be good for the beef.

Chickens, meanwhile, are fairly simple creatures. While it does seem a bit cruel to cramp them into boxes as egg laying machines, chickens, if left to their own devices, will kill the weaker bird, equating to a loss of potentially thousands of eggs. Genetically altered wingless chickens seem like a really good idea--their wings are useless anyway.

As for giving old chickens a retirement home? That just seems silly; Henrietta has served her purpose, we don't need Farside chickens smoking cigarretes on their retirement farm.

The one-for-all of Utilitarianism has always been a bit maddening. Protecting two strangers over your own daughter? Yeah, right. That works in theory, but I'm willing to bet you'd kill two people before you'd let harm come to one of your own children.

I eat meat, vegetables, and organic food, and organic food is a sham. Vons has the "O" brand now, which is the equivalent of generic Oreos. If you want to make the world a better place, do your homework and make the right choices; chances are there's going to be something wrong with everything.

Soy beans, for instance, were one of the first genetically modified food items, and they're supposed to be the healthiest and most viable alternative to a carnivorous diet. GMOs are bad too. What's a human to do?

If a man doesn't want a woman who wants to jump his bones, he's considered gay. If he later begins to chase women, he's hard up. If he actually beds a few, he's a slut. You just can't win.

As for limp dicking a chick—hell, it happens. It sucks, it's embarrassing, and at the time it feels like you might as well just shoot yourself in the head (the thinking one), but it's better to laugh.

It's like failing the first test. Hopefully you'll do better on the midterm or the final. If not, pray that you signed up for pass/no pass, and consider that this particular girl just wasn't triggering your genetic richter scale.

Then again, the tongue always works, and if a guy's afraid to reciprocate because of the nappy dugout, they've got to consider their package ain't exactly ice cream bon bons.

The whole Christmas theme seemed a bit tacked on, since there was zero indication in the streets that Christmas was happening, and yet we're left with an orange-yellow scene that just makes you want to smack somebody.

I have a feeling the next batch of episodes are going to be brutal. "The calm before the storm" indeed. So many people could die for so many reasons.

The FBI guy informing Tony was weird, and who does it serve? My brother and I have quibbled before over who will end up with the family. Christopher is the obvious choice, but he's a junked out nincompoop. One option was for Meadow and Anthony Jr. to cohelm, but brohyme just doesn't have the instinct. Meadow would be a good option, which would hearken back to the lady leader in the Italy episode, but Meadow's ideals would obviously clash.

Whatever. Chase is definitely toying with us. The whole series has had the underlying psychological current, where the nutbag mob boss goes nice guy, but underneath could still kill his own son if it was necessary.

The saccharine elements of this season will be vindicated in the next episodes. You don't reinvent television only to end it with caramel coated smiles. This is not Sex and the City, or Felicity: this is The Sopranos, where things are weird, absurd, and events transpire that makes the viewer get that look on his face that Christopher gets: the wide eyed, questioning, did I just crap my pants look. Heads will role.

At least I hope so.

If nothing else, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a brilliant rhetorician. In a debate, he would most likely mop the floor with Bush--jacket bulge and all.

Given, denying the Holocaust, or even questioning the validity of it, is crazy talk, but you have to respect the guy's intelligence.

Yes, he's a spinmaster, but so is our president. "Peace" is a big word, and our efforts at peace in Iraq are so far falling far short of what my definition of peace is. Maybe the Iranian Pres. has a better plan than the West?

I wish I could say more, but I'm a bit of a novice on the subject, and Salon conversations tend to leave my head hot. The interview was top notch though, and besides the "such as" question in the beginning, concerning the upcoming soccer game (which sounded like a high school interview) the bulk of it was invigorating.

Thanks.

Ah. Such refeshing vitriol.

San Francisco is a wonderful city. Santa Barbara, on the other hand, no less wonderful, is jam packed with hotties, but they're all under 21. SF, meanwhile, is jam packed with hotties, and they're all mid-twenties, and just spanking with self-confidence and success.

I'm not sure where that was going. Television does suck, though, especially when you've Tivo'd all the shows you think you'd want to watch, and still, there's nothing on.

Better to just get on the Internet and read Salon.

That had me for the first ten seconds. Quite good.