Freedom of expression...

The “Innocence of Muslims” video and the recent cartoons published in Charlie Hebdo have triggered some extreme response from Muslim communities resulting in needless deaths, but what's the alternative to that? Self-censorship and silence?

Absolutely not! People must speak up their minds freely. Yet, at the same time, there's a educational need to send the irrational power of all religions where it should be, that is in the realm of fantasy, myth and non-essential human needs.

This wish seems almost impossible to fulfill as extremists abound in all religions and are well represented in most governments. This said, it could still happen through some creative efforts and novel approach in re-framing religion where it actually belong inside a modern and enlightened world.

The atheist minority has never been able to package its message attractively enough; yet, given the dangerous fundamentalist world in which we're now living, more compelling approaches in debunking these dark and absurd beliefs must now be researched, developed and made available for the entire world to hear.

Is Romney losing the election?

The spat involved with a video recently released by Mother Jones might very well be what killed the thin chance Romney had to win this year's presidential contest. His damage-control back-pedaling shows the candidate's confusion and the incident follows a dismal convention, punctuated by mediocre speeches and Clint Eastwood's disastrous intervention, as well as ill-thought comments made on the Mormon candidate's European trip, earlier this summer.

By now, Romney has showed that he can't safely speak without a tight script and that he's falling victim of a typical rich man's curse: Thinking that because he's rich, he's also smart. While his blunders might be energizing his political base, they're scaring the undecided and angering the opposition, and this will stimulate a higher turn-out from what used to be disappointed Obama supporters.

The princess has (almost) no clothes!

There are times when the Brits irritate me. The last episode involving the Duchess of Cambridge's topless photos is a total waste of the world's time.  From what I was able to see, her boobs are good looking, but certainly not worth all the fuss!

It seems that when one is famous and enjoy that status, one knows that eyes are prying on you at all time, so it's always smart to take no chance no matter where you are. Neglecting this capital rule isn't a sign of being too smart. In today's world, the privileges bestowed upon the Royal Family are totally absurd and the British taxpayers are idiotic for allowing that situation to go on.

My advice? Kate Middleton and her husband should both get a real job, contribute to society, and the world would be a much better place!

Neighborly?

This story is about Jack and Mike. Both are next-door neighbors and Jack owns a small trailer that he rarely uses and that is stored under a deck, in the backyard. The other day, Mike asked Jack if he could borrow the trailer. Jack enthusiastically acquiesced and, at Mike convenience, proceeded to pull it out from where it was parked.

First, the heavy rampgate that closes the back had to be put in back place; the rather awkward operation requires two people and quite a bit of good, coordinated efforts, made a little bit more trickier that time because Jack had recently hurt his hand and wasn't quite as nimble as was required; finally, pulling the trailer out and into the driveway was rather easy because it was almost downhill all the way. 

A day later, Mike returned the trailer, but instead of making sure it would be replaced into its storage location with its rampgate dismounted, he just left it in the driveway, without even bothering to let Jack know. Well, that's often how things work in real life.  When he saw this, Jack sighed deeply, ask his wife to help him and both repeated in reverse the operations required for storing the vehicle. It was just a lot harder, because Jack's wife isn't as strong as Mike and the trailer had to be pushed uphill...

Tired of living?

This is not serious, it's just a joke, okay? We had never visited Twin Falls, Idaho, and we partially did last week. We didn't go to the famous falls, but we just were awestruck when we discovered the Perrine Bridge, which spans the Snake River Canyon north of the city, as you come south from the freeway.  The 1,499 feet long bridge that opened up in 1976 stands at 486 feet over the ground below. We didn't know it, but this is one of the very few artificial structures worldwide where BASE jumping is legal and were a few records were broken: In September 2005 Miles Daisher of Twin Falls set a BASE jumping world record by jumping off Perrine Bridge 57 times in a 24-hour period. In July 2006 Dan Schilling jumped off the bridge 201 times in 21 hours to raise money for charity.

Next time I'm tired of living, I can now rest assured that I have a reliable alternative to the San Francisco Golden Gate bridge, a mere 250 miles away from home!

When ski racing leads to gastronomy...

In Ketchum, Idaho, there's that fine French restaurant that was founded by a former U.S. Ski Coach who came from France around 1972 and ended up training some of the best women skiers the United States ever had on its national team. That's right, once his ski career over, Michel Rudigoz re-invented himself and became a successful restauranteur and has stuck to his new trade to this very day. On the other side of the country, another Frenchman followed a similar career path, heading the Rossignol ski racing efforts and later, the company's sales and marketing, before becoming a gourmet baker and turning some of the finest bread in his Vermont farmhouse, offering workshops and extolling the right way to prepare a delectable bread. Isn't it remarkable that these parallel careers that begun on the ski slopes ended up in a gourmet kitchen for the delight of foodies like us!

Too much of a good thing?

Electronics in cars have invaded the driver's space and life. It's now possible to take phone calls on the fly and totally hand-free or listen to satellite radio in the most remote and god forsaken corners of the Nation. All the engine functions seem “under control” and appear to work flawlessly until... some odd things happen.

That's right, the other day as I was driving down Galena Summit on my way down to Ketchum, Idaho, my dashboard suddenly went berserk as if the end of the world was coming. A few phone calls and an inspection later at a local dealership, I learned that all that fuss came from a “leaking” gas cap that had sent the wrong signal to the engine computer.

From now on, and every time I fill up, I'll have to tighten up the gas cap as if I were an obsessed-compulsive driver. Good thing, I always can pay more attention!