The rest of the world does not get much opportunity to punish Americans for their arrogant ways - Iraq, consumption, cowboy attitude, bigotry etc.

Italians, Brits and other Europeans will never get a chance to give George W. Bush et al their just comeuppance.

BUT...when they can get their hands around a Yankee girl who thinks she can get away with murder...of one of their own, no less?...the fur will gloriously fly!

None of this is to say whether the unfoxy Knoxy is innocent or guilty.

It's just that she no doubt represents a means, however small, for the Old World to make Americans eat humble pie for a change.

Just sayin'...

You are NOT a unique flower.

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Why are so many Americans utterly blind to the reality that bucking convention is a form of convention itself?

Arrrrgghhh. At any rate, LW: stringin' two guys along for your own selfish whims?

You are not the only person of that kind. Nor the only woman, for that matter.

I was smothered & sheltered to all hell.

Better yet, my parents use the sheltering they imposed upon me as justification to pathologically infantilize me - i.e. as a reason to never have to grant me the respect a parent graciously affords an adult child.

Hence my mother still asks me whether I eat my carrots and floss my teeth. (I'm 29, by the way.)

How did I respond? Tattoos and piercings at 16. Ran away to San Francisco and lost my virginity to a Thai massage hooker at 17. (Unprotected sex, of course).

I finally stopped my head from spinning in my mid-20's...and accepted the following truths about my 'helicopter parents':

1.) My self-worth has not nearly as much importance to them as their ability/NEED to be in control of me and my surroundings.

2.) Whereas other parents see an adult child leaving the nest as a moment of pride - a job well done by both parent and child - helicopter parents view independent thought, action and functionality with PANIC and FEAR.

3.) The love from smothering helicopter parents is purely conditional; if you refuse to fit their mold, you are not worth their affection.

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I know exactly how I will raise my kids.

And I pray for all the offspring of smothering helicopterers.

Thank you both for your posts.

Asehpe, I think if you treat children with respect (which does NOT mean coddling them, or no discipline), then you are on the right track as a parent. I agree that the "golden middle" ground can be a hard path to detect and navigate sometimes...but if as a dad you are at least willing to seek it, then you're doing a pretty darn good job already.

It's a cliche, but one I believe to be true: kids are a lot smarter and more 'able' than we give them credit for.

Which isn't to say that, I dunno, I'd let an 8 y.o. use a circular saw all by themself =)....

But honestly, folks: If your kids walk in the rain...they will survive. Etc....

In recycling old tunes, I listened to some of the Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, aka defining music of summer 1996.

What struck me again now - as it did back then - was that this was a quintessential rock 'n' roll Double Album: bloated, overwrought, sprawling, uber-ambitious, egomaniacal, alternately epic and awful...in other words, fuckin' glorious!

As worthy an addition to the Double Album hall of infamy as Physical Graffiti and the 'Use Your Illusion' twins.

To highlight the flaws mentioned above would be to miss the point entirely; a lean, tight, focused collection of songs doth not a double album make.

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In that same vein, the joy of Scarface - for me, and no doubt many other fans - lies precisely in Pacino's rendition of the thuggish Latino uber-alpha punk ass.

Look, if you want tasteful, Strasbourg-ian quality Method acting in your arch villian, there are plenty of characters / movies out there to fit the bill. I myself enjoy quite a few of them.

But if you are capable of enjoying a movie which revels in excess all the way up to its deliciously hammy main character, then Scarface is an unadulterated joy whose flaws simply add to its appeal!