Question: is drinking tea considered effeminate in the U.S.? High tea and tea houses seem to cater to women (especially older women), and when I start talking about tea parties my guy friends start looking nervously towards the exit (not really, because now that I think about it, when I get together with my male friends it is generally over coffee).

It seems like there are different cultural contexts for tea as well. Boba Tea seems to be gender neutral, but race-specific (the shops in the LA area are mostly Taiwanese chains). Can you all think of any others? (Mat�, chai, Zen, etc.?)

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Al Gore (along with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has just been awarded a share of the Nobel Peace Prize. (does this make him the fourth former president of the United States to receive this honor?)

Why this is a peace issue:

Extensive climate changes may alter and threaten the living conditions of much of mankind. They may induce large-scale migration and lead to greater competition for the earth’s resources. Such changes will place particularly heavy burdens on the world’s most vulnerable countries. There may be increased danger of violent conflicts and wars, within and between states.

Why Al Gore deserves a share:

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