I continue my impressive record of seeing buzzworthy movies on cable months after everyone else has stopped even talking about them. This gives me the advantage of being able to read a lot of informed comment immediately after seeing the movie, to see if there's anything I missed. And there's little need to worry about issuing a SPOILER alert for anything I might write.
How cool is it that not only did we succeed in a soft landing on Mars, but there was a camera in orbit to get an actual photo the landing?
The one loss that would be felt the most if newspapers went away:
Just what I need the day after Memorial Day -- E.J. Dionne hectoring me on "true" patriotism.
If the 2008 election is to be a debate about the true meaning of patriotism, then bring it on.
[. . .]
Ah, the march of civilization:
EBENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - Members of a small Amish community in western Pennsylvania have to decide by tomorrow whether to challenge a state order over their school's outhouses.
The school sits on Andy Swartzentruber's farm 70 miles east of Pittsburgh. A state judge has ruled that he and the school are in violation of the state sewage disposal law.
Scum of the earth:
The weekend when America commemorates its war dead is a horrible time for a cemetery to be vandalized, but that's what happened at the Leo Cemetery late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
Thirty-five headstones were overturned, and Rich Lengacher, president of the cemetery's board of trustees, said repairing them will cost thousands of dollars. Most of those that were cracked are about 100 years old.
Well, that didn't work out too well:
DARMSTADT, Ind. - As World War I neared its end, a group of German immigrants weary of the war planted a linden tree seedling in southwestern Indiana, declaring it the "peace tree."
Ninety years later, the tree has grown into a large shade tree that's tended by Charles and Beth Skeels, who live in an 1880s farmhouse on the property where the tree was planted in 1918.
Here's at least one good effect of high gas prices:
With gasoline climbing toward $4 a gallon, police officers around the country are losing the right to take their patrol cars home and are being forced to double up in cruisers and walk the beat more.
The gas crunch could also put an end to the time-honored way cops leave their engines running when they get out to investigate something.
Yeah, and they taste worse, too:
McDonald's french fries are now trans-fat-free in all its restaurants in the United States and Canada, the fast-food restaurant chain said Thursday.
Way to ruin one of life's small pleasures.
Happy 150th birthday to one of the true American marvels:
Some 125 years later, the Brooklyn Bridge remains a powerful symbol of engineering might and imagination, and a revered fixture in the landscape of the nation's largest city.
It's going to be a long, long, looooong season for IU basketball fans:
Add Brandon McGee to the list of Indiana University basketball players who will not be returning next season.
IU coach Tom Crean announced Thursday that McGee, a 6-7 sophomore forward from Chicago, had been dismissed from the team for "academic and team guideline negligence."
Stiffed by a Clinton
Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign is now $20 million in debt and some of her unpaid bills are in Indiana.
Clinton's biggest Indiana debt is owed to Indiana University where the Democratic candidate for president spoke at Assembly Hall on April 25.
According to a filing with the Federal Election Commission made this week, her campaign owes I.U. over $19,000. But the university said that's just part of the bill.
I frequently go to Google News and do a search on "Indiana" to see what's happening around the state. Occasionally, an "Indiana Jones" story shows up -- about one or two for every 50 entries or so. But in the last few days, as you might imagine, I've had to wade through dozens of Jones entries just to get a few good "Indiana" hits. Sometimes, even the stories that seem to be about our state really aren't
INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indianapolis initiative unveiled on Thursday aims to combat the city's panhandling problem while simultaneously helping the needy.
Tamper-proof boxes will be installed where residents can give to agencies that reach out to people in need, rather than giving cash to panhandlers, 6News' Julie Pursley reported.
You probably didn't even know there were rules for calling "Shotgun!" but there are, and people who don't know them shouldn't even be allowed ro ride with other people. Here's the most important one:
Why isn't this a big scandal resulting in a call for heads to roll and jail time to be served?
The federal government's long-term financial obligations grew by $2.5 trillion last year, a reflection of the mushrooming cost of Medicare and Social Security benefits as more baby boomers reach retirement.
That's double the red ink of a year earlier.
I don't quite understand the reasoning behind this:
Under a plan announced Wednesday by American Airlines, passengers already forced to pay extra for amenities like earphones, meals and even snacks will have to pay $15 to check a basic piece of baggage.
Way to go, kid:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Quick: Cochabamba is the third-largest conurbation in what country?
Your answer might be, "Huh?" But 11-year-old Akshay Rajagopal answered "Bolivia" to clinch the 20th annual National Geographic Bee on Wednesday.
A conurbation is a large, densely populated urban area — and Cochabamba is the third-largest one in the South American country.
Well, call me skeptical:
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 62% of voters would prefer fewer government services with lower taxes. Nearly a third (29%) disagrees and would rather have a bigger government with higher taxes. Ten percent (10%) are not sure.
