Heh heh. "Mindful drinking" - is that like knowing the point at which your pool game stops getting better from a drink or two to relax you, and starts getting worse from too much?

Wow. Some great pics of some serious ink, Kate!

Great find, Lola!!

Great round-up, Hal!

I just want to throw in a mention for Newfoundland -- St. Paddy's may not be a national holiday there (since those Republic of Newfoundland types haven't gotten their way...yet! ha), but it *is* a provincial one -- and a huge party.

I know some Irish people hate the way St. Patrick's Day is celebrated around the world, but for me it's one of those really fascinating cultural fusion/diffusion phenomena.

I don't even really see the gaucheness, myself. (Maybe I'm not well-schooled in presidential gift-giving, since... it's never been in the news before! Ha.) But I'd much rather have an amazing collection of classic films than an "ornamental pen holder".

I don't really think any of it matters, but who knows? If it was an insult, maybe it was deliberate. After all, Brown was in the cabinet when Tony Blair served as Bush's chief ally/enabler in the Iraq debacle. (Saddam's 45 minute warning, anyone?) Maybe Obama was saying his respect needs to be earned. :P

Sweet find, DM. Amazing how well it all hangs together. Seems like something a music video director might try to simulate, only it's all real.

Heheh you're right Carlo, I think he's doing hard time in a Yukon labour camp.

(In all seriousness... as I recall he faced possible "assault" charges, but nothing really came of it? Of course, he actually hit Chretien with a pie. At worst, the shoe-thrower should get "attempted shoe assault".)

Great post, Sarah.

And a perfect, powerful photo at the top, too!

The recession really is a wrench thrown into this already bad situation. For instance, in Canada the Big 3 are leaning HARD on the government to introduce incentives for Canadians to buy more new cars (Chrysler has threatened to lay off 9000 workers in Canada if the govt doesn't agree) which is kind of the opposite of what we should be doing right now, right?

Gee, I'm sure glad Iraq's a free country now. ;)