Curious George: Ah, evening(s) in Toronto. Would anyone be able to give a list of great dining spots for Toronto? I'm heading there in the fall, and a good friend is moving there in a month. We'd like to avoid the chains and find the unique or outstanding meals. Price no issue.

I shouldn't check the news before lunch. Yes, from the party who posted the (at the time, low-profile) story of the human-finger-in-fast-food-chili comes another story that should be urban legend. SFW.

I thought these stories were all urban legend... A woman bites into a chunk of human finger while eating Chili at Wendy's.

Take the lesson from the Schiavo case. Read up on advance directives with this one pager, and make sure you discuss your wishes with those who may decide for you (and maybe choose a wider dicussion circle than you may first be inclined to include). Anyone else with good links or advice on protecting oneself? Any monkeys who care to share wisdom from having friends or family in a similar directive/no directive situation?

Marci Hamilton on the Ten Commandments case before SCOTUS. Anyone else notice that there is very little attention being paid to the Ten Commandments case before the Supreme Court? I've seen and heard more about Michael Jackson's court drama while *trying* to avoid it than this debate and the possible impact it may have, which I've been looking for. more inside

Checked out Mental Floss magazine? I've linked to the quizzes here, as I thought others might be suffering the Wednesday funk as I often do. Hate to be a shill, but I became a big enough junkie to subscribe.

Calling creative minds! Boss turns 40 tomorrow, and admin asked me to create a list of "appointments" that she could post to his electronic calendar. I need some creative ideas to add to my short list... note, boss has good sense of humor (not easily offended), but he *is* the fella who pays us. Monkeys?

The "Worst Bridesmaid's Dress" Competition Video link of the Minnesota History Center's fashion show of some of the worst dresses. I have to think the monkeys here had some worse ones... should we win the Star-Tribune's matching contest? If you don't have a photo, at least tell us about the worst one you've had to wear...

The Gallery page of bookplates.org is just one neat page to scroll down. Oh-so civilized even when the designs are, well, not, the bookplate always seemed wondrous to me. Do you have a bookplate? If you don't, what would your design be? Anyone have links to some great ones?

The Golden Jubilee of Tiddlywinks is here! January 2005 will be the 50th Anniversary of Modern "Winks", and will be celebrated by a range of Golden Jubilee Events. Learn the language at the first link, and then plan to attend the "squidge-off", scheduled for 10:30 on January 8th, per http://www.etwa.org/. Should be a hootenanny...

The Truth About Curses "While curses may be real, paying money to remove a curse, if anything, will only make the situation worse..." Thank goodness they take PayPal.

Via NYTimes, welcome to the first nationally noted Bark-Mitzvah. The Admiral, as pictured in this article, wore a bib featuring Stars of David, and atop the piano was a chopped liver sculptured appetizer platter, shaped to look like a bone. (NYT logon: mefi1; password: mefi1 ...save for later use!) more inside

Click through a tour of "quirky" Japan. Skip the "Quirky Japan Photos" for the great section on odd museums, from those celebrating parasites or laundry (complete with Masters paintings of laundry-related scenes). The vending machine photos also improved my mood. For the more serious reader, "Understanding Japanese Buddhist sculpture" at the bottom of the site.