Gwynneth Paltrow

I didn't even see a picture on the news story, and I don't think I remember what she looks like, but hers is a movie name I have actually heard of, so she must be big. I'm sure Ben and Bethany will bring me up to speed on that.

She thinks the table conversation in Britain is more intelligent and civilised than in the US. Well, that could be. Googling around, this is a woman who thinks of Madonna as her big sister and mentor, and who named her first child Apple, so one wonders how she would recognise it if the conversation suddenly elevated, but perhaps I do her an injustice. She might be bright enough but just strange.

The only reason it is worth bringing up at all is because people often make these ridiculous pronouncements without thinking much what they are saying. Making the same judgement in reverse would likely be just as ridiculous. There is a large difference in congeniality and simpatico between groups that you choose to spend your time with and those that you exercise less control over. When I was in college, a friend was trying to prove to me that the girls were much much prettier in Columbia, SC than in Manchester, NH. As evidence, he pointed to two young women walking across the street downtown. He stated flatly "I could go into a half-dozen clubs near my college and every single girl there would be better-looking than those two."

Well of course, you clown. Clubs are where attractive single people go, and they dress for it. He no longer noticed what the average woman in downtown Columbia looked like.

A highly responsible, diligent woman complained about "kids today." She thought that they didn't have the same drive and focus that kids did when she was in school. But the comparison group is her friends, a driven, responsible group. She no longer remembered what the average student at her highschool acted like. I have an advantage here, because I was enormously irresponsible, hung out with a wide range of people - including many who engaged in acts of stupidity and criminality. I remember them. My children's friends were far superior in character.

I get huffy when people complain about stupid and closed-minded Christians, because my mental picture is of my church and my Bible study, and they aren't like that. Well of course they're not like that. That's why I go there. Whenever I get thrown into groups of Christians where I don't have control over the guest list, I always encounter someone stupid and/or closed-minded.