Thursday morning roundup

Poverty and inequality in Japan. They charge $700 for those school uniforms??? On a lighter note, how Japanese is it to dream of going to "vocational school to become a voice actress for animation"?

Earth Day has come to embrace corporate sponsorship over the years, but environmentalists remain rightly wary of "green consumerism."

The volcano-that-shall-not-be-pronounced begot some memorable road trips. And yes, you absolutely "need to look more closely at things like your food sources”!

Lotus flower. This is a passionate topic. How f*ed up is it that residents of DC still lack voting representation in Congress??

While Virginia's governor continues his campaign to return the state to the dark ages, the state's DMV draws the line.

Another reason I'm glad I have a push mower. One of my neighbors across the street recently offered me his old motorized one that he's no longer using, but I politely declined, saying I needed the exercise.