Cornucopia

Latest stats from my newspaper on SARS say that cases and deaths reported so far include: Australia ? 1 Canada ? 151 (6 dead) China ? 1,190 (46 dead) Hong Kong ? 708 (16 dead) Taiwan ? 13 France ? 4 Germany ? 5 Italy ? 2 Ireland ? 2 Romania ? 3 Singapore ? 98 (4 dead) Switzerland ? 3 Thailand ? 6 (2 dead) UK ? 3 US ? 69 Vietnam ? 62 (4 dead) Total ? 2,320 (78 dead) So, in terms of numbers, SARS is nothing much (yet), especially compared to the Asian/Hong Kong flu in the 50s and 60s (4.5 million killed) or the Spanish flu in 1918 (50 million killed). But, this baby?s clocking up serious air miles.

*enters ?psychobabble? mode* I think you?ve reached the core of the problem here. The reason you act so mean to your crush is because of fear. You?re scared of being rejected, so you?re hurting him before he can hurt you. But don?t worry, this is quite common human behaviour (says a lot about humans, though, doesn?t it). IMO, you have four options: 1. Make a leap of faith and be nicer to the guy. You don?t have to declare undying love for him right away. You could gradually try to befriend him (just be yourself ? don?t worry about what kind of girl he likes. You want him to like you, not you acting like someone else), then see if he likes you (or if you still like him). 2. Carry on doing what you?re doing. Then in a couple of months realise the mistake you made. Learn from this, try to change, and become a happier person. 3. Carry on doing what you?re doing. Never acknowledge the mistake, and become an evil sadist. 4. Let your fear take over, become a hermit and see how long your fingernails can grow in 50 years. *comes out of trance* Good God, I?ve got to stop watching daytime TV. :cross:

I like the Pixies too, but not quite as much as Semjaza :). To my shame, I?ve still never heard Doolittle. I tried to get it a few years ago, but I couldn?t find it in any shops, so I gave up looking and forgot about it (nothing like persistence). I?ve always thought it strange that, among Pixies fans, the consensus is that Trompe Le Monde is their worst album. It?s one of my favourite albums ever. So vibrant ? loud and fast, but super-melodic, too. I love listening to it while driving. I?m surprised so few people have heard of the Pixies over in the US. Even for a ?cult? band, their reputation remains strong in Britain. There was even a TV documentary about them last year (David Bowie came across as the biggest Pixies fan ever, which I thought was pretty cool). Ah, well ? no accounting for taste, eh?

It seems to be human nature to want to believe in something else ?out there?. Unfortunately, it?s also human nature for people to exploit others? willingness to believe ? hence the ?footage? of the Loch Ness monster, Big Foot and all the UFO/alien hoaxes. Of course, this creates a 'Boy who cried wolf' situation, whereby if/when real 'evidence' is found, it'll probably be buried under an avalanche of skepticism. Personally, I?m with Transtic Nerve in believing the universe is too big for us to assume there?s no life anywhere else. As for aliens visiting us, though ? I can just picture this Simpsons-esque scenario: Inside their spaceship (hovering in space with Earth in view), Kang and Kodos are watching George W Bush on a monitor. Kang: They?ve chosen this guy to be leader of the free world? Kodos: Agh! Run away, run away! (OK, so that last bit was more Monty Python than The Simpsons)

I think 'luck' is just a heightened awareness of coincidence, a state of mind. If you think you're unlucky/lucky, you probably focus more on the bad/good things that happen.

When I was at college, I used to get the same bus home at the same time every night. One week, there was an old lady who would get on my bus every night and ask the driver where it was going. It was always the wrong bus for her, and I just assumed she was a little crazy. One night, though, we were the only ones at the bus stop, and she started talking to me. My natural instinct was to think ?Oh God, how can I get rid of her?? But she was persistent and introduced herself as Alice. We soon got to talking about The Beatles (one of my favourite bands), and it turned out we both loved John Lennon. It was fascinating to talk to someone who was actually around at the time, and still had a passion for that era without being a boring old hippie. I was also a bit stressed about college at the time, and we talked about this. When we finally departed (she still got on the wrong bus, though), she had left me reassured and confident about my work. Funny thing was, after seeing her every day for a week, I never saw her again after we talked. This made me think a lot about destiny, and I even wondered if she was some kind of guardian angel (even though I don?t believe in that kind of stuff). This was a defining moment for me, as I realised how easy it is to have a positive influence on someone else's life - even a complete stranger. Sometimes, all it takes is a few kind words.