The Danish are donating urine to produce beer at the Roskilde festival.

All this talk about nail polish matching our shoes -- meanwhile there are children and adults who don't even have shoes. I know that's an old and tired sentiment, but it's still true. The cliché does not take poverty away.

My mother (known in her hometown of Chattanooga as "The Purple Lady") lives by what she calls her "Purple Rules: Do unto others and for others." Give graciously and generously to help people without expecting anything in return. Her gift to me was the lesson of being a giving person and not a getting one.

For me, it boils down to this: There are plenty of other things I could do with the money I give away to effective charities each year. But can I think of anything better to do with it? No. It feels like the best possible use of my money. I'm a lot happier giving large than living large.

We live in an age in which our personal interests and activities can be tracked at scale. This enables us to understand our cultural values with a level of accuracy that would before seem unfathomable.

It's time to get rid of your television once and for all.