When I skimmed the first few paragraphs of this Indiana Daily Student piece, I thought it was headed toward the typical college-student, mushy-headed conclusion that we have to have pity on the poor criminals. But then the writer got to the heart of his argument:
The general rule is, as we get older, that men get guts and women get butts. But we are so body-conscious these days that even men are worried about their behinds:
Having realised that more and more women are looking at their behinds, men are now giving their bottoms top-of-the-line treatment.
Here's somebody's idea of the top 10 "most evil women" in history. I don't know enough to judge its accuracy, but note the number of serial killers, for those of you who think that is exclusively a male enterprise. One of them is Belle Gunness of LaPorte, Ind., whom I read a lot about when I lived in Michigan City:
Young neo-Nazi Jews?
Israeli police say they have broken up a gang of neo-Nazis who are accused of carrying out attacks on foreigners, gay people and religious Jews.
The eight suspects, aged 16-21, are all Israeli citizens from the former Soviet Union. They were arrested a month ago, but the news only emerged on Saturday.
Police say searches of their homes yielded Nazi uniforms, portraits of Adolf Hitler, knives, guns and TNT.
All those people who referred to City Councilman John Crawford as Hitler for the smoking ban he pushed into existence? Maybe they should have been thinking "Osama":
SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Freshly minted GOP White House hopeful Fred Thompson puzzled Iowans yesterday by insisting an Al Qaeda smoking ban was one reason freedom-loving Iraqis bolted to the U.S. side.
What a shock. Next thing you know, they'll be telling us bears do what bears do in the woods:
VIENNA (Reuters) - Pope Benedict rejected the concept that abortion could be considered a human right on Friday and urged European leaders to do everything possible to raise birth rates and make their countries more child-friendly.
Perhaps I don't understand the meaning of "impotent":
WASHINGTON -- Seemingly taunting Osama bin Laden, President Bush's homeland security adviser said Sunday the fugitive al-Qaida leader is "virtually impotent" beyond his ability to hide away and spread anti-American propaganda.
When journalists, like this AP writer, write about the singularity, they tend to focus too much on specific possible outcomes, like cell-size robots circulating through our bloodstreams and increasing our brain power a hundred-fold or being able to upload our consciousnesses into a computer -- so it sounds more like crazy science fiction than an actual possibility:
I think it's a kind of mental illness:
Steve Fossett's wealth made his epic adventures possible, but his relentless willingness to take risks is shared by other on-the-edge thrill-seekers whose exploits and setbacks have long fascinated psychologists as well as the public at large.
Headline of the day, from a Wisconsin State Journal story: Mosquitoes want your blood. Gee, do ya think?
Everybody I know has been complaining for a week about how bad the mosquitoes are this year. Apparently, they are not just wimpy whiners:
“We know there are an abundance of nuisance mosquitoes. We're getting a lot of calls,” said health department spokesman John Silcox.
Oh, for God's sake:
From former Indianapolis Star columnist Ruth Holliday's blog I gleaned this tidbit about Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning:
Holy cow -- my mother was right:
SCARY movies and TV programs are responsible for almost one third of fearful night-time thoughts experienced by young people.
Somebody yesterday asked me what I do in my spare time.
"Blog, mostly," I said.
"What's that?"
Greetings, fellow members of Economic Growth Region 3. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development has released a listing of the 50 fastest-growing high-wage jobs for each of the state's 11 regions in the 10-year period 2004-2014. Our top 10: registered nurses, postsecondary teachers, network systems and data communications analysts, elementary and kindergarten school teachers, dental hygienists, medical and health service managers, dentists, sales managers, family and general practicioners, surgeons.
Sometimes, after I see the bill for a restaurant meal, my reaction is, "This is robbery!" Little did I know:
ANGOLA, IN (NEWSCHANNEL 3)
Ha. The Indiana and Ohio bottle and can Mafia are running their contraband into Michigan and costing the state a bundle:
LANSING
The fashion police of Southwest Airlines try to kick a passenger off the plane for apparel that is "lewd, obscene or patently offensive” to ensure the comfort of children and “adults with heightened sensitivities.” Her outrageous clothing? A miniskirt:
Ya'll have fun watching John at the coliseum:
A few nights ago I sat down with great expectations to watch my neighbor John Mellencamp on Real time with Bill Maher.
If you've gotten over Restless Leg Syndrome, you can now concentrate on worrying about "popcorn lung," the name given to breathing difficulties thought to be caused by exposure to the fumes from the agent giving microwave popcorn its buttery flavor:
Remember this old joke?
"I have good news and bad news," the doctor says. "Which do you want first?"
"Give me the bad news."
"You have a terminal illness."
"What in the world could the good news be?"
"You also have Alzheimer's."
Yeah, I know, cruel. But real life also has a way of adding insult to injury:
