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Zhenren: It seems a Turkish barber working in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, has been convicted of uttering a phrase against you and his punishment might be death under a strict brand of Islamic law.

Selene: Your description is absurd in many different ways. How can an utterance from an angry man against a concept that he created lead to his death? You fashioned me out of your own need to give you comfort. Why then use me as a justification for harming others? You live in an absurd world. Why do you create more absurd conditions than what you have to face by evolution and nature?

I spotted this wine in COSTCO and it had a score of at least 90 by Robert Parker. The price was well under ten dollars so we purchased it. I would score this wine above 50, probably close to a 60. It simply was not that impressive.

Winery: Panarro
Vintage: 2006
Varietal: Blend
Country: Spain
Region: Almansa
Vendor: COSTCO
Price: Under $10
Our rating: 60

Zhenren:  I am often times confused by my own existence.  I some times think that life choices are tests for survival but yet I live a comfortable life.  I read about people who are suffering because they were born into poor circumstances.  I feel that If I make the wrong choice I will fall or fail into situations and become like the less fortunate people I read about in magazines, newspapers and see on the news.   My parents want me to go into business, science or engineering studies in college.  I want to write, take photographs and play computer games.  Nothing seems to fit the way I want.  I am scared to make the wrong move.  The things that my parents want me to do seem logical and offer the best chances for survival but my interests are toward self expression.

Selene:  You are correct, life is a constant effort to survive and for those who live deep inside the modern way of living, might not be seen.  Do not mistake the comfortable life you lead as a permanent situation that I gave you.  You are correct, if you make a mistake in judgment you can suffer accordingly.  You are correct, your level of success depends upon a lot of factors, some you do not have any control over.  One factor for success is to have a passion, an intense interest in something.  It is this passion that can motivate you further than those who do not possess it.   You must always be calculating in your chances for survival and your parents can some times guide you correctly.  Remember, it is best to enjoy life while fighting to stay alive.  Remember, to try to help others stay alive and enjoy this gift we call life.

Remember when milk commercials were clever and funny. Not any more. Now they can be outrageous!

(Just about all the original commercials have been removed from Internet sites).

The story behind this outrageous video:http://www.goodbysilverstein.com/#/work/milk-whitegold-campaignvideo-tv

Got milk?

It has been this web site’s policy to promote exit interviews. We received a copy of this e-mail sent to all UCSB campus employees. We applaud this effort by University of California at Santa Barbara. We wish more public and private institutions would require this process

E-mail sent to us follows:

May 14, 2008

TO: Campus Community
From: … Human Resources

RE: Exit Interview for Separated Career Employees

UCSB is committed to being an outstanding employer!
In an effort to evaluate and improve our employer-employee
relationships, we are interested in getting feedback from career
employees who have separated from UCSB. To encourage open
and candid feedback we have contracted with a company called
The Work Institute (TWI) to conduct telephone exit interviews.
This business partner has been selected because of their
reputation for confidentiality and professionalism. They are
contractually obligated not to reveal identifying data of the
individuals they interview, and will provide only aggregate data
to UCSB. This aggregate data will help us determine the current
nature of our campus employee relations and guide us in making
improvements.

If you are a career employee who is separating from University
employment in the near future, please help us by participating
in the exit interview when The Work Institute calls. The University
will not be able to identify you through your responses, and your
candid impressions will provide valuable information for us. It is
important that as many separating career employees as possible
participate in the exit interview process because a high response
rate will more genuinely reflect employees’ experience at UCSB.

We will be sending out more information to departments in the
immediate future. Please contact … in Human Resources with any
questions or concerns you may have about the exit interview
process. Further information about The Work Institute is available
at <http://www.workinstitute.com>.

Thank you in advance for helping us make UCSB an even better
place in which to work!