Random things I wondered about while going about my life yesterday. If this gives you some insight on how my brain works, you're ahead of me.

1) Why are pointy-toed shoes considered sexy? I object to pointy-toed women's shoes on the basis of aesthetics every bit as much as comfort. I just think rounded toes look so much better -- but sometimes they're hard to find. Am I missing something?

2) Why is pomegranate juice so expensive? Is it supply-side or demand-side, or some combination thereof? Are consumers willing to spend more on pomegranate juice than on juices from other fruits? And if so, why? Is there an exotic appeal? Does it taste that much better (I don't know; it's too expensive for me to try)? Does it offer some radical health benefits? Does it deliver radical health benefits? Or on the supply side, is it that much more expensive to produce? If so, is that because pomegranates are less plentiful than other fruits, or is there some technical challenge in getting the juice out of a fruit with all those little seeds?

3) What happens to the "soul" (personal identity, consciousness, whatever -- defining what "soul" means would of course be a big part of this question) between death and resurrection if there is no such thing as a soul? (This refers to Kevin Corcoran's essay, "A New Way to Be Human," in the new B&C. Said essay is not online yet, but will be sometime in the coming weeks.)