Speaking of language, I’m feeling the need to share a pet peeve. I enjoy Rick’s "Travels in Europe" series on PBS. His attitude about travel is mostly commendable. He tries hard to do as the Romans do, and in this spirit, he bravely takes on every language he encounters. I think it’s great to learn a little of the language when you visit a country and not assume that everyone should know English. However, shouldn’t there be a minimal standard of competence here? After 25 years of travel, Rick can’t seem to make a single foreign sound in any of the tongues he attempts. While he gets kudos for trying, his pronunciation is abominable. I seriously doubt that native speakers of the languages he butchers would find any of his lines intelligible. Is there anyone out there besides me that thinks he ought to spend a few minutes learning to say his few lines more authentically? I’ve never heard a worse public example of language brutality.