Articles that Make Me Lose the Will to Live

. . . like this one.

No Books For You!

One in four Americans did not read a book last year. Sigh.

Safety First

Freedom of Assembly

And we all wonder why Bush seems utterly unaware of how terrible he's doing. Read this article to find out why.

Brush!

Just a friendly reminder of the importance of oral hygiene. Either that, or this pic cracks me up. You decide.

Rated G For Everyone!

My blog is G-rated! Thanks to my wonderful sister, I found out that I am officially reading material for everyone. Where did I go wrong? I mean, Will It Blend? That's not a website you'd want just anyone to stumble upon. And the subversive cartoons? Really? Hmm . . . must think of ways to get that rating up. I'm friggin' Sesame Street!

Bringing Down the Blog

Usually, I try to keep the blog upbeat. A little Will It Blend? here, a little mayo margarita there, and I call it a day. This afternoon, however, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to bring the mood of the blog down a bit.

As a college journalism major, I realize that my feelings toward the media and interest in the media is greater than the average bear. However, I hope it's not just me and a few media nerds (hi Joni!) who are interested in the online evolution currently underway in the land of newspapers.

I should preface my comments by admitting my bias: I think television news is crap. I avoid it like the plague, and I can't remember the last time I chose to watch any news programs on television (with one exception).

As such, I think newspapers are bastions of information in this country, and I hope they remain more or less above the political fray. That is why I've been a good bit concerned about online newspapers. I'm worried that popularity of stories will win out over importance, which is why this article on today's Washington Post website was interesting.

Obviously, I know print newspapers are being administered their last rites as I type. I'm just curious to see how online will shake out.

Bartender, Another Round!

What could be more refreshing than one of these?

For the Cheap Ones

The Washington Post online has a new Monday morning column in which they list that weeks free events. Although a more complete list can be compiled with a little digging, it's nice for those who are cheap and lazy. And who doesn't love that combination?

Underground Sociology

Do you know what Google Suggest is? When you type search phrases into Google, it creates a list of likely searches based on the most popular choices for the prefix both in your own searches and all of Google. It shows you what other people are Googling most.

You can read more about it in this Slate article. The article mentioned Google won't perform the service for certain body parts, lewd words, etc. It also linked to this list captured by a blogger, that Google subsequently killed, when people type in the words "blacks are." Good to know racism is dead.

Finding Religious Freedom

On July 13th I linked to a story about the first Hindu prayer read before that day's Senate session. Unfortunately, predictably, the prayer was interrupted by three Christian protesters. In today's Washington Post the gentleman who delivered the prayer, Chaplain Rajan Zed, wrote a thoughtful response to the protests. Here is an excerpt that particularly struck me:

Bhagavad-Gita, one of the ancient Hindu scriptures, says: “In whatever way and path, humans worship Me, in that same path do I (meet) and fulfill their aspirations and grace them. It is always My Path that humans follow in all their different paths and journeys, on all sides.” It further says, “Whatever form (of the Divine) any devotee with faith wishes to worship, I make that faith of his steady.”