Here's a great article in a European newspaper, titled "Nations drift apart, cultures converge", offering sympathy to shamed Americans. It offers a great little pearl of wisdom that everyone, in every country, should remember. People should not be judged by the government they live under but should judge the government they live under.

Articles here lately (except for the previous one) have had a bit of a international aspect to them. I'm going to continue that theme. This time, the topic of food will be the soup du jour. Part of the excitement in trying new, exotic food is the uncomfortableness. There's a feeling of adventure in an otherwise normal daily activity. That said, I'm certain that particular foods are much more difficult to acquire a taste for than others. Then, there are things that are just plain weird that humans should not be eating. I decided to search the web and find some of the more quirky and freakish things people eat and where it happens. - Rotten Shark | Iceland Shark is supposed to be dangerous to eat so it is buried deep in the sand, usually far away from and houses to keep the smell away. It results in both soft and hard pieces of shark (skyrhakarl and glerhakarl) which is cut and served in small cubes. According to Learning Space, "the tough glerhakarl is recommended for beginners, as the soft skyrhakarl can cause an involuntary gagging reaction due to its texture." - Fritto Misto alla Piemontese | Italy This lovely dish features beef testicle(s) ...

"Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees." -- David Letterman "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." -- Winston Churchill "I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." -- J. R. R. Tolkien "In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is." -- Jan L.A. van de Snepscheut "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." -- Oscar Wilde "He is one of those people who would be enormously improved by death." -- H. H. Munro (Saki) "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve immortality through not dying." -- Woody Allen "America's health care system is second only to Japan ... Canada, Sweden, Great Britain ... well, all of Europe. But you can thank your lucky stars we don't live in Paraguay!" -- Homer Simpson "As governor of Texas, I have set high standards for our public schools, and I have met those standards." -- George W. Bush "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is ...

Window on the World Inc. is a firm that helps "employees to become worldwise". They offer an online reference guide to cultural behaviors. Their purpose for this guide is to assist people conducting business around the world. However, I think it is important for everyone to read in order to improve understanding of other cultures. Some are quite funny and others just make you wonder. I think this advice, when presented in this "matter of fact" way, can seem very silly but very appropriate. Here are a just a few excerpts (of the very many from the reference guide) along with my unedited, culturally-biased, instinctive reactions: - Do not touch anyone's head in India. The head is considered sensitive. That just wouldn't fly with me. As an American, I need constant head touching. - In Italy, burping is considered extremely vulgar. As this wasn't listed for any other country, please feel free to belch freely anywhere else. - Russians stand close when talking. Makes me think of the "close talker" episode of Seinfeld. - Never hug, kiss or touch a Finn. Are they all diseased? - Punctuality is not particularly important in Greece, but foreigners are expected to be on time for business meetings, even though ...

I know several EdgeCurve readers love their Xbox 360's. And while this is not a video game website, it is about pop culture and video games are a part of that. The following is a list of soon-to-be-released games for the Xbox 360 that I'm super excited about (along with hordes of others): Guitar Hero III Guitar Hero II should be on this list but Guitar Hero 3 is going to be the one to get with its awesome setlist and gameplay tweaks. Halo 3 The next (and final) installment of the Halo series. Some predict this to be the biggest game of all time. Grand Theft Auto IV The game people love and love to hate that will challenge Halo 3's "biggest game of all time" title. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga Fun for kids and adults alike. This one has all 6 movies. If only they would expand the Lego video game series... Lego Indiana Jones I can't find a link for this but it's coming, I just know it. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Back into Infinity Ward's capable hands and taking place in modern times. Already amazing based on the demo alone. Rock Band This one takes the Guitar Hero concept further and will involve more people. The ...

"A quote is a controversial and banal literary form invented by an editor trying to fill up space in his newspaper." -- Unknown "Who says nothing is impossible, I have been doing nothing for years." -- Unknown "Wisdom is a comb given to a man once he is bald." -- Irish proverb "Outside of a dog, a book is a man' best friend. Inside of a dog, it' too dark to read." -- Groucho Marx "A cheese may disappoint. It may be dull, it may be naive, it may be over sophisticated. Yet it remains cheese, milk's leap toward immortality." -- Clifton Fadiman "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." -- Gandhi "It's no exaggeration to say that the undecideds could go one way or another." -- George W. Bush "What luck for rulers that men do not think!" -- Adolf Hitler "I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability." -- Oscar Wilde "The best way to keep one's word is not to give it." -- Napoleon Bonaparte "It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper." -- Jerry Seinfeld "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, ...

By far the most popular section of EdgeCurve is the Captions Game. Thousands of captions are submitted every round by players around the world. We thought it would be fun to get to know some of the players that have either been playing for years now, or have an exceptional talent. Today, Q&A's with the one and only, Jeff Green. Say hello to Jeff in the comments below. Mr. E: Hello Jeff, please introduce yourself. Jeff: The mythical Jeff Green. Mr. E: What part of the country do you live in? Jeff: Dallas, TX. My apologies to the rest of the nation for G.W. Bush. Mr. E: What do you do when not playing the Captions Game? Jeff: Walk my dog, enjoy the great Texas sunsets, screwdrivers at the pool, magic and juggling and blackjack. Mr. E: How did you first hear about EdgeCurve's Captions Game? Jeff: Years ago there was another site that had a caption contest no prize but still pretty funny. I went looking for it about a year later and found EdgeCurve with a Google caption game search. Mr. E: How else do you flex your creative muscle? Jeff: Word and logic puzzles and Spam sculpting. Mr. E: What sort of items have you bought with your ...

By far the most popular section of EdgeCurve is the Captions Game. Thousands of captions are submitted every round by players around the world. We thought it would be fun to get to know some of the players that have either been playing for years now, or have an exceptional talent. Today, we talk with Dave Mattingly. Say hello to Dave in the comments below. Mr. E: Hello Dave, please introduce yourself. Dave: I'm Dave Mattingly, frequent runner-up at EdgeCurve. Mr. E: What part of the country do you live in? Dave: I live in Louisville, Kentucky, the 16th largest city in the US (although we cheated by merging our city and county governments, so that the city took up a lot more area). Mr. E: What do you do when not playing the Captions Game? Dave: I program computers, publish roleplaying games, edit magazines, lead church service, clean up after my son, and surf the web. Mr. E: How did you first hear about EdgeCurve's Captions Game? Dave: I first started playing the caption game way back in 2001, so it must have been by carrier pigeon. Mr. E: How else do you flex your creative muscle? Dave: I write books, play games, and pretend to be busy at ...