Shiloh and the dugongs (2003-01-18)
My 7-year-old daughter and I were working on her first school report, on an aquatic animal of her choice. She chose to write about dugongs, a manatee-type animal that lives in southern waters of Africa and Australia. (I think part of the appeal was that neither of us had heard of it before.) She had to write five sentences about it, and was stuck on coming up with an additional fact. I told her dugongs were mammals. I said we're mammals, what do you think we have in common with the dugong? She looked at me, glanced at my trusty Route 66 mug and said, "They drink coffee?"

Man, I love being a parent.

The Human Consequences of War (2003-01-15)
Photojournalist Peter Turnley share his images of the first Gulf War. They aren't pretty. Said Turnley in his intro to the online exhibition, "War is at best a necessary evil, and I am certain that anyone that feels differently has never experienced or been in it. I have always hoped that true images of conflict give one the opportunity to witness and reflect more fully on the full realities of war."