The state of the culture

Well, this certainly helps me make up my mind:

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Much of the hip-hop community seems to be embracing Sen. Barack Obama in the race for the White House, but rapper 50 Cent may prefer the Illinois Democrat's chief rival.

Listen up, young ladies. The life you save could be mine, and you could help the whole human race in the process:

Older men who shack up with much younger women keep the Grim Reaper at bay for the human population and extend our species' lifespan, new research claims.

Yikes -- more information than I want to know:

The gender gap has widened when it comes to hygiene, according to the latest stakeout by the "hand washing police."

One-third of men didn't bother to wash after using the bathroom, compared with 12 percent of women, said the researchers who spy on people in public restrooms. They reported their latest findings Monday at a meeting of infectious disease scientists.

Another incisive story from a Great American college newspaper:

The University's Office of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Affairs plans to pick a new name by the end of the semester in an effort to be more inclusive.

We all know that standards have relaxed so much that we are more tolerant of sex and nudity in the popular culture. But this suggests we have taken a further step:

Two decades after a nude photo scandal helped cost a Miss America her title, Americans may be adopting a more ho-hum attitude toward people who bare it all for the cameras.

My current hero:

(CBS4) FORT LUPTON, Colo. Violaters of the city of Fort Lupton's noise ordinance were in for a big surprise this past Friday. The city's judge sentenced citizens who have been busted for being too loud to 1 hour of listening to unpopular or unusual music.

In a courtroom with mostly young adult offenders, Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" played loudly on a boombox.

It won't be as easy as the Patriots think to "put all this" behind them:

"It's over. We're moving on."

So said New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick during Friday's televised news conference about the videotaping dirty tricks used against the New York Jets. The tactic cost him and his team $750,000 in fines. The Pats also lose a first-round draft choice if they make the playoffs, a second- and third-round pick if they don't.

We've all heard jokes about the "fashion police" going after so and so for what they wear. Now the jokes have come true:

It's a fashion that started in prison, and now the saggy pants craze has come full circle — low-slung street strutting in some cities may soon mean run-ins with the law, including a stint in jail.

Build them and we will walk?

Nearly one in four people in the Atlanta area are exercise enthusiasts stuck in neighborhoods without sidewalks or other walking amenities, according to a study that illustrates a problem for many Americans.

Researchers said the findings point to the need for more exercise-friendly places to live.

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.