A while back, I consciously decided to never again wish anyone a safe anything. New Zealand has a very bad case of the cotton-wool-wrapping disease to which you refer; it's very common to hear people wishing each other a safe trip, or a safe holiday, or whatever.

So I wish people fun, instead of safety.

I have also noticed the trend to completely rid one's life of risk (thereby ridding it of value pursuit). I see it all the time with parents. They are terrified their children will get hurt in the gym. Yes, we will always have twisted ankles, bruises, sprains, even broken limbs, but we will also have gymnasts. Today, I was huddled with a group of kids around a dead bird. We were prodding it with sticks, and the children were talking about its feet, its feathers, how it died, etc. A mom called out to her 7 year old son, "Stay away from that bird. It is dangerous." Give me a break. Dangerous? How about just washing your hands after you finish exploring it?! Our culture of fear is stifling those children's minds and bodies.

Kelly

Jeremy Clarkson writes about the incident for the Times.

"Some people are born with a physical need to take risks. Steve Irwin was one. Christopher Columbus was another. And Ellen MacArthur is a classic case in point too. Telling her to stop sailing round the world is as daft as telling a black person to be white, or a blind person to look where they’re going.

But of course, we have a whole industry nowadays designed to do just that. To ensure that nobody ever falls over, that nobody ever hurts themselves, that nobody ever dies. And that if someone does, then the system must have failed and a head must roll."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2372412,00.html

Hammond has been moved out of intensive care already. Fingers crossed, it seems he is going to be OK.

"The Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond was able to talk to family and friends today as doctors said that his condition had improved enough for him to be moved out of intensive care.

Last night Clarkson disclosed that he had made Hammond smile by calling him "a crap driver". He told The Sun: "He was lying peacefully with a black eye but didn’t react so I tried something else. "I said, ‘The reason you’re here is because you’re a crap driver’. He then smiled at me. It was an amazing moment, very moving."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2370525_1,00.html

It's exactly the sort of show you'd find on an objectivist TV network.

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Sizzle my schnizzle

When I heard this news - I thought- fuck first Steve Irwin and then this.

Are all the fearless men going to die now or what? Fortunately, Hammond should be alright. There is talk of brain damage, but that might just mean concussion. A teary eyed Jeremy Clarkson was at his bed-side this morning.

I hope he is back in the program within weeks

Top Gear, is one of the best programs on TV at the moment.