Wouldn't it be cool if OUR bodies could prevent offspring from "forced matings"?

Geez, Camille, where've you been? I'm younger than you are, and I remember getting sent to "Vacation Bible School" (i.e., keep the kids out of Mom's hair) during summer vacation when I was 10 years old. It was a Babtist bible school that the kids down the street went to, and I guess my Mom figured we could hang out with them. All I remember was the "arts and crafts" (bookends with a picture of Jesus that we had to make, which I kept after removing the pictures) and the film we had to watch one day about how the Baptist missionaries were in Italy, converting all the Catholics. "Dopo la battaglia, we will wear the crown in the new Jerusalem"--I can't spell all the Italian, but I remember the tune and the translation. My family, of course, was Catholic and I asked the reverend or whatever they call them in Baptist churches afterwards why they were converting Catholics. Then I went home and told my mother all about it.

And she immediately took me out of there. Thank GOD--it was sooo freakin' boring.

Or if you want a more recent example, check out the fabulous Jack Chick tract "Why is Mary Crying?"

It seems remarkably naive of you, Camille, to find it "shocking".

I've been to Coldstone exactly twice. The first time I ate all my ice cream and felt like exploding, and I didn't understand the singing at all. The second time I vowed never to go back when I realized why all the singing--I'd pay them NOT to sing. My friend's order wasn't correct because the person smooshing the ice cream couldn't hear him over it.

It really wasn't that good, either.

Which doesn't necessarily involve the removal of clothing.

Was on the the couple's property out in the country. We all wore casual clothes, and the invite said "bring your dog!" The couple said their vows in a barn, we canoed on the pond, played softball, ate make your own burritos and gumbo, and drank beer, and had a great time!

I know someone who eats the canned food--a person, and a Fromm's rep--who's suffered no ill effects. And it actually DOES look like the advertisements.

People need to educate themselves on what the markings on the pet food bags mean. For instance "with XXX" means that there is a miniscule amount of XXX ingredient in the food--not that it's actually made FROM that ingredient. It's easy enough to find online resources that will tell you what different food additives and the order of the ingredients mean.

As someone intensely involved in dog sports, I've paid very close attention to what my dogs eat (and their relative health) for years, and in general you do NOT want to buy from the grocery store! (A possible exception is Bil-Jac frozen, which many would avoid due to "beef by-products", though I personally feed it along with Fromm's). If you want to buy commercial dog food, buy from an independent feed store (they need your business!) and look for HUMAN GRADE ingredients! The first (and probably second) ingredient should ALWAYS be meat. Generally, high-grade dog foods don't use wheat or corn as their primary grain (usually barley or rice). You're going to want to avoid any gluten at this point. And honestly, you can feed some table scraps (dogs become DOGS due to their ability/willingness to scavenge from humans!) Training treats are usually some kind of cheese, or bits of meat.

My dogs generally get a mix of high-quality dry food with human-grade ingredients, wet food--again, high-quality--and a little yogurt or something on top. Contrary to popular belief, most dogs can take some variation in their diet, and I have never had a dog have a problem with an ABRUPT change of food as long as it was a high-quality, human-grade food (my elderly dog does not do well with raw beef bones, however, and usually gets diarrhea from those). They get raw chicken wings or beef bones occasionally, but raw to me is too much work and I don't have any allergy problems or other problems with my dogs that would justify it.

I've had 5 dogs over my life. #1 lived to be 16 eating mostly crap, #2 lived to be 17 eating high-quality food, and the current dogs are 12, 5, and 1. I believe that MOST of this is genetic (as it is, I believe, in humans) rather than environmental.

WRT cost of high-quality food, look closely at your dog. You should be able to feel ribs EASILY. Some breeds, you should be able to SEE ribs easily. Most of the dogs you see at AKC shows are too fat (Labs, Rotties, Bulldogs--that Bull Terrier who won Westminster a year or so back was WAYYYY too fat). There should be an obvious tuck-up (waist) on a dog. You may find that you need to feed less of a high-quality food, which will help with the cost.

Now, the safety of OUR food? That's another discussion altogether...

But if I get lost ONCE on a trip, the next time I make that trip I have no problem finding where I am going. OTOH, if I rely on a human navigator telling me what to do, I never can remember how to do it.

I have no problem reading maps, but I never have any idea which direction I am going (NSWE) unless there is a sign in front of me. If I am given directions now, I prefer to be told in terms of L/R turns rather than East/West.

I put it all down to left-handedness. I had trouble with left/right well into high school, and used to have to pick up a writing utensil to remember which was which.

My also left-handed boyfriend has the same trouble I do, and while we regularly get lost together on trips, we ALSO understand the other's navigational problems and there is never any nagging or recriminations.