June 4, 2004

In the past year, The Blog of Death chronicled the lives of 1,000 people. The site received positive press in USA Today, MSNBC, The Miami Herald, The York Daily Record and dozens of blogs. I've built up a devoted audience of readers (50,000 people visited in May). These folks left behind more than 2,700 tributes.

In a small way, I've touched their lives. What more could a writer want out of life?

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved."
--Helen Keller

June 3, 2004

One of my new favorite sites is Cinemorgue. A fellow calling himself DeMan has created this morbid database of actors. Click on the thespian's name and see the list of movies in which he or she died, with a brief description of the death scene.

I really wish I'd thought of this.

"All you need for a movie is a gun and a girl."
--Jean-Luc Godard

June 2, 2004

John Schwartz and James Estrin wrote a heart-wrenching story for The New York Times about people who choose to use the rights granted to them under Oregon's Death With Dignity law.

I strongly encourage everyone to read this piece -- it's fair, balanced and incredibly informative. The Voices of the Dying feature that accompanies the story is one of the best pieces of multimedia I've ever encountered.

Yesterday, a federal judge in San Francisco struck down the ill-named "Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act."

The law, which was enacted last November, made it a crime to perform any "overt act" to "kill the partially delivered living fetus." While this rare form of second-trimester abortion is only used when the fetus is unlikely to survive outside the womb or when the life of the mother is threatened, the federal law basically made it a criminal act to perform any abortion in the 12th to 15th weeks of pregnancy.

In her ruling in Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) v. Ashcroft, Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton struck down the law because it placed an undue burden on women seeking abortions, its language was unconstitutionally vague and it lacked a required exception for procedures needed to preserve the woman's health.

Earlier this year, Attorney General John Ashcroft tried to obtain hundreds of confidential medical records of Planned Parenthood clients so he could go on a fishing expedition to find doctors and patients who'd violated the federal ban. Judge Hamilton ruled last March that the Department of Justice did not have the right to view those records.

June 1, 2004

The Princeton University Store experienced such a surge in shoplifting that it was forced to install a cutting-edge surveillance system. Over the past few months, the cameras have led to a dozen arrests.

Who were the thieves? Princeton students.

I know textbooks cost a fortune, folks, but c'mon. Stealing is not an option.

Kenneth Fetterman of Pacerville, Calif., was sentenced to almost four years in prison last week. The 36-year-old scam artist used dozens of fake identities to inflate bids on eBay; his deceptions netted more than $450,000. For his crimes, he will serve 46 months in prison and pay $94,682 in restitution.

Let's hope the other criminals who take advantage of good people on auction sites get what's coming to them.

May 31, 2004

A new Jaded Writings column has been posted. This week, I discuss hit-and-run drivers.

* Colleen McCullough - 6/1/37
* Marquis de Sade - 6/2/1740
* Thomas Hardy - 6/2/1840
* Carol Shields - 6/2/35
* Allen Ginsberg - 6/3/26
* Larry McMurtry - 6/3/36
* Ken Follett - 6/5/39
* Thomas Mann - 6/6/1875
* Wendy Laing - 6/6/45
* Gwendolyn Brooks - 6/7/17
* Amy Sorkin - 6/7/66
* Allison Nazarian - 6/7/71

May 30, 2004

CNN is developing a 24-hour broadband news channel for Internet users. CNN NewsStream Live is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2005. I can't wait! (E-Media Tidbits)

Alton Brown -- Read some high-temperature thoughts from the host of "Good Eats."

Past Afterthoughts