This year, the Melbourne City Council dumped the $150,000 giant red bauble it usually uses as a Christmas decoration in City Square. The replacement: a 15-metre conical metal Christmas tree. It has stars on springs that come off it in all directions. Every hour, music comes out of it. It cost $369,000. Recently, $20,000 was spent reparing the bauble. Now it is sitting in a warehouse in Hoppers Crossing. Link.

There's been another study released about drug use in teenagers. The gist:

• Recreational use of illegal drugs: Down
• Recreational use of prescription drugs: Up

Thankfully, pot is still the drug of choice for developing adults, though use is dropping.

The Eighth-Graders ought to be congratulated, however, for their efforts in resisting this disturbing trend:

"The eighth-graders generally were the first to show the declines [over the past decade] but their improvements now seem near an end," said Lloyd Johnston, the lead investigator for the University of Michigan, which conducts the study.

Link.

The other day Donald Trump forgave the out-of-control Miss USA Tara Conner (link). Today, in a complete reversal of compassion, he has signed the paper that seals the fate of Miss Nevada USA, Katie Rees. Here are (some of the) the photos that lead to this happening. Any help locating the rest of the photos would be much appreciated.

Better to play a young girl like you would a guitar, or play a guitar like you would a young girl? Link.