That dang Internet will never get off the ground:
That dang Internet will never get off the ground:
Kathleen Quilligan, who recently left The News-Sentinel, has landed at The Times of Northwest Indiana with an interesing feature about the coming movie about John Dillinger -- "Public Enemies," starring Johnny Depp -- which will be shot partly in Crown Point:
It didn't work with alcohol, and it hasn't worked with marijuana and other illegal drugs. It won't work with cigarettes, either. But they never learn, so now we have Twinkie Prohibition:
With candy sales banned on school campuses, sugar pushers are the latest trend at local schools. Backpacks are filled with Snickers and Twinkees for all sweet tooths willing to pay the price.
I wonder what Birch Bayh, who has been trying to eliminate the Electoral College for decades, will think of his son's sudden affection for the institution?
In the digital age, medical people can share information about us more easily, but our medical privacy is harder to maintain:
You've seen it in movies and novels and on television: Somebody is buying something from an outdoor bazaar in a foreign country and starts to pay whatever price the seller asks. But wait, the buyer is told by more savvy American friends. You have to haggle. Otherwise, they'll take you for an ignorant Westererner, and they may even be insulted. It's a not-too-subtle putdown of Third World quaintness, looking askance at those who aren't "developed" enough to know that setting the retail price is one of the landmarks of civilization.
Why do people continue to believe they can change what we think about something by changing what we call it?
To soothe the bruised egos of educators and children in lackluster schools, Massachusetts officials are now pushing for kinder, gentler euphemisms for failure.
A suggestion for an innovative approach to urban blight in Indianapolis:
My visit with my brother was designed to coincide with my sister-in-law's vacation with her mother, which leaves the house unprotected from the whims of its three male inhabitants -- Larry, me and Bubba the Overlord. Bubba rules the place with efficient charm, getting what he wants when he wants it without being too obnoxious or obvious about it.
Indiana, having solved all other crime problems, has let its attorney general, Steve Carter, assume the duties of gasoline czar. If you think you are being overcharged for gas, just turn the dealer in. Not everyone is impressed:
In Wimberley, Texas, near where my brother lives, is a wonderful outdoor theater where high school students perform Shakespeare under the Stars, and all kinds of concerts and community events are held. There is also a story behind the place -- there would have to be, with a name like The EmilyAnn Theatre. Emily Ann Rolling was a 16-year-old Wimberley High School student in December, 1996, when she was killed in a head-on car collision.
We haven't had a "research into the obvious" in a while, so here's a good one:
When it comes to what we eat, men and women really are different according to scientific research presented today (March 19) at the 2008 International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in Atlanta, Georgia. In general, men are more likely to report eating meat and poultry items and women are more likely to report eating fruits and vegetables.
Ralph Peters on the fifth anniversary of Iraq:
I cannot help repeating the heartbreaking truth that it didn't have to be this hard, this bloody, or this expensive. This is what happens when war is made by amateurs. Has anyone in Washington learned that lesson?
Guess we should take back every bad thing we've ever said about the way Saudi Arabia treats women:
A source in Saudi Arabia's Shura Council reports that the council has submitted a recommendation to senior elements in the country to permit women to drive vehicles, with the following stipulations:
Bill Clinton's trip to Fort Wayne has been so thoroughly chewed over that I don't have much to add to the political implications that hasn't already been said. This struck me, though:
“I've been looking forward to coming,” Clinton told the crowd. “I never knew Fort Wayne was named for Gen.
You can't have a travel day without passing along a couple of airport stories, however tame:
1. Former Mayor Graham Richard was on the same Fort Wayne-to-Chicago flight I was yesterday morning. He was traveling alone, and I didn't ask him anything, so I have no idea if Chicago was his final destination or not. Feel free to start whatever rumor you wish -- it's pobably nothing more exciting than a Six Sigma consulting gig.
My brother had his house built on 35 acres in Hill Country, Texas, just outside of Wimberley. Here is an aerial view to give you a little perspective. He took it from a neighbor's plane (some people out here have their own runways).
Happy first day of spring -- I knew you could make it without leaving town. Now go hunt up your Easter outfits:
Easter always comes on the Sunday after the first, or Paschal, full moon following the first day of spring.
Today is my travel day. I should get to my brother's late in the afternoon -- perhaps I'll do a post from there. I don't want to make you feel bad or anything, but check out the weather in Hill Country, Texas -- mid to high 70s during the day, high 40s to low 50s at night. Cheer up -- I hear the first day of spring is just around the corner.
