I &heart; Windows Live Mobile Search. The new version looks even better than the first (surprise surprise) including GPS, Movie info, Traffic info, and more!

The Mobile Search team has released V2 of the rich client application for Windows Mobile, as well as a major update to the browser based interface. Whether you have a J2ME (Java) phone, Windows Mobile phone, or any other device with a mobile browser, Live Search has you covered with maps, directions and business search

[ Virtual Earth / Live Maps ]

Do your phone/pda a favor and download this puppy now! iPhone and Sidekick users need not apply, those platforms are locked down too tight.

Muslims are taking over San Diego!

Here's what I'm confused about:

1. 7^th and 8^th grade in an elementary school? (Seems unlikely)
2. Is it a "period" an "hour" or "15 minutes"? Islamic prayer generally takes about 5 minutes, 1 hour seems a bit over the top.
3. The teacher claims "Ms. -" lead the prayer, but that isn't consistent with Islamic tradition, and she left before anything even began.
4. The American flag was "rolled up"? Why the would any Muslim do that?
5. Why is closing the blinds without direction so unnerving? If you do anything on a daily basis, wouldn't kids just do it?
6. Has anyone heard of any Muslim complaining about Catholics "doing" rosaries ever?
7. Assimilations? How is changing your religious practices "assimilation"? I wasn't aware that being American was a religion.
8. Doesn't everyone understand yet that Arab does not equal Muslim? And they can't remotely be interchanged?

I also see that the 2006 enrollment was 290 and they state in the story that there is "100 Muslim students" or more than 1/3 of the school, and according to their ethnic breakdown it seems impossible that those 100 Muslim students were "Arabic".

When did people stop learning the details before freaking out? I remember a day when it was considered good practice to check sources and site references, and I long for that day to return.

Update: Apparently in September a nearby "charter" school was merged with Carver and that charter school had an Arabic immersion program. Apparently it happened days before the school opened, and they had no chance to update the curriculum or syllabus. And apparently it is a predominately Somali (not Arab) student population [ San Diego Union-Tribune ]. Apparently the class is all female as well, so my points 1, 2, and 3 above are all cleared up and now make sense. It also seems that the student population has grown to 415 [ Union-Tribune ] due to this merger so we're talking about 1/4 of the school being Muslim.

Update: On the Religion Clause website there are a few comments that I find hard to believe, are there really places in this country where the students are forbidden to say "God" or "Jesus" or carry a bible? In my high-school in an English class we studied the language used in the bible by using bibles that the school owns. I can't imagine that my schooling experience was that radically different (though I have just moved back into Montgomery Country because of the excellent school system). I would recommend anyone who has their child arrested for carrying a bible to school move and move quickly.

Sushi Damo, originally uploaded by cafechimp.

I got lunch bento with salmon, Yaty got bento with tofu. Zaza just looked on and drooled. Here's a run down of my bento:

1. Sushi Rice (in a star) - perfect
2. Daikon with nutty sauce and cooled deep fried fish cake - this was the chef selection for the day, and yummy
3. 1/2 Cali roll - very nice, though I like mine spicy
4. Traditional ginger dressed salad - very nice, good greens
5. Salmon and veggies - perfect

All in all a nice lunch, waitress was super nice too - though Uzbeki and not Nihonjin. Iman will be quite pleased the next time she makes honor roll, cause we'll be going to Sushi Damo!

Not necessarily so good for the wallet, and some may argue that eating out isn't the healthiest either. I don't have the ability to cook all the variety that I can eat, and even what I can cook the professionals do better, but if there weren't good restaurants around I guess I'd eat at home. For some reason I was under the impression that the restaurants near me just weren't all that, not like where I previously lived in Alexandria. I think Grossberg has dispelled that rumor, and with a quick listing out of "regular spots" (which doesn't include the few expensive spots or good recommended places that we just don't frequent - nor does it include Taco Bell or Potbelly) I now see the reason we're tempted so often.

[ live.com Maps ]

We still miss Yamazato and Sakulthai, and we still haven't decided on which of the great Indian places need to be on this list (except Bombay Bistro, they're on the list for sure), but if you have any suggestions, shout them out. (And yes I've done the Cuban Corner and the Jamaican place next to it. The first didn't impress, the second is way too fattening)

The following is a first crack at an ostensive definition of 'American culture'-- things shared by the vast majority (let's say 90%) of native-born Americans. Many of these won't sound 'cultural' at all to Americans; they'll sound like just descriptions of the way things are. But each one of them would be contested in one or more non-American cultures.

[ American culture ]

I'm impressed with this list. I'd say it may even be closer to 95%. Of course there are a few that just don't apply to me, and a few that even I am unsure how the rest of the world works, but I think this is a good primer for the new folks, and for us Americans to remember that the truisms on this list aren't.

[ LEGO.com SpongeBob Homepage ]

I remember G$'s first day at Doceus very well. Typical of our style then, lunch the first day was on the company, and it was previous to the Georgia Browns fiasco which limited the lunch selection to "the list". Due to my many years of love with Greek food, I kind of forgot that it wasn't something that everyone knew about, but I think all parties enjoyed the meal. A few years later, however, and Mykonos closed. Or did they?

….and that's how the first Mykonos opened in Washington DC in April 1990, a few years later Mykonos Grill in Rockville was established.

[ Mykonos Grill > Our History ]

Hot Dog, I live in Rockville now! And more than that, the food is better than I remember. I think I've found yet another favorite, which is odd to find in a city known for having a crappy food scene.

"'Muslim terrorism' - have you ever read anywhere 'Christian terrorism'? - as if Islam propagates violence, but you have never spoken about what happened in Northern Ireland as Christian terrorism," he said.

"Fundamentally there is no faith that I know that propagates violence, that says it's a good thing to oppress anybody."

[ Tutu calls for better media reporting of religion|Breaking City News|Reuters.co.uk ]

But who's heard of this Archbishop Desmond Tutu guy?

If you are uncertain of the types of plastic in your toddler's drinkware, check the bottom of the cup, which may state it as a number. 1, 2, 4, and 5 are OK, but 3 and 6 are not, and 7 usually is not, either. If the number is not specified, you can call the company or simply replace unaccounted-for plastics with known safe alternatives.

[ Z Recommends: Sippy Cup Showdown: Safer, BPA-Free Drinkware For Toddlers ]

Toddler's drinkware? How about everyone's everything? Babies and toddlers are known to lick things, and who can keep track of kids 24/7? I need to commit 3, 6, and 7 to memory and make sure I avoid these newly found to be poisonous (and hormonal) plastics. I see aluminium is an alternative, but I thought that could cause alzheimers...

2007 SI Folklife Festival!

• Mekong River: Connecting Cultures
  Introducing visitors to the diverse cultures of the Mekong River
• Northern Ireland at the Smithsonian
  Highlighting the rich history, living traditions, and distinctive customs of this beautiful region
• Roots of Virginia Culture
  Exploring the roots of Virginia's contemporary cultural traditions

[ 2007 Smithsonian Folklife Festival ]

“If you could fast-forward 10,000 years and do an archaeological dig…you’d find a little line of plastic,” he told The Seattle Times last April. “What happened to those people? Well, they ate their own plastic and disrupted their genetic structure and weren’t able to reproduce. They didn’t last very long because they killed themselves."

[ Best Life Magazine: Travel & Leisure: Our oceans are turning into plastic...are we? ]

Great tip, Death Bringer!

New this week? Rolling over:

That means we're just about to be forced into... Baby Proofing!