October 2, 2004

The Dog Film Festival will be held this weekend in Albuquerque, N.M., and feature nothing but canine cinema for dogs and their owners. Patrons will be able to purchase popcorn and dog treats at the concession stand.

October 1, 2004

Chuck Bryant is unstoppable.

In 1984, Bryant was injured in a motorcycle accident that forced doctors to amputate his right leg below the knee. This past May, with the help of a prosthesis, he completed his 51st marathon.

Dee Bickley believed in keeping her mind active and exercising regularly. She didn't own a car so she walked everywhere -- to the grocery store, to her sister's house and to classes she audited through the Golden Identification program at the University of Maryland.

At 72, she ran her first Marine Corps marathon. Over the next decade, she ran eight more.

"Being challenged in life is inevitable; being defeated is optional."
--Roger Crawford

September 29, 2004

A new Jaded Writings column has been posted. This week, I reveal the ghosts that guide my pen.

* Miguel de Cervantes - 9/29/1547
* Truman Capote - 9/30/24
* C. Hope Clark - 10/1/56
* Graham Greene - 10/2/1904
* Sting - 10/2/51
* Thomas Wolfe - 10/3/1900
* James Herriot - 10/3/16
* Jackie Collins - 10/4/41
* Anne Rice - 10/4/41
* Vaclav Havel - 10/5/36
* Thor Heyerdahl - 10/6/14

September 28, 2004

My new favorite search engine for finding affordable airfare is Mobissimo. In less than a minute, I was able to obtain comprehensive travel options from 65 different airlines and agencies.

The transport authority in London has decided to discontinue the old-fashioned, red double-decker buses. Turns out they cost a fortune to run; careless drivers occasionally injure disembarking passengers, and they are also too narrow for people with wheelchairs or baby strollers.

To read a fond farewell to these busing behemoths, visit The Oik, a Weblog written by my friend, writer/editor Nicole Howard.

September 27, 2004

* Google's name is a play on the word "googol," which refers to the number 1 followed by 100 zeroes. (Google)

* Pumpkins are not vegetables. They're fruits. (Swan's Pumpkin Farm)

* Former president Bill Clinton earns $350,000 for each speech he gives on the lecture circuit. Former POW Jessica Lynch earns $15,000. (Boston Globe)

* According to the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, more than 100,000 morbidly obese people had gastric bypass surgery in 2003, up from 25,000 in 1998. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

* The best place to watch college football is Michie Stadium at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. Other good spots are Notre Dame Stadium at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., Kenan Stadium at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., Tiger Stadium at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La., and Vaught-Hemingway Stadium at Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

If you haven't heard of the Boing Boing blog, you're truly out of touch. The "Dictionary of Wonderful Things," updated by best-selling author Cory Doctorow, writer/illustrator Mark Frauenfelder, writer/editor David Pescovitz, journalist Xeni Jardin and journalism professor John Battelle, is one of the most popular blogs on the Web.

September 26, 2004

Scrabble is the path to enlightenment. Why didn't anyone tell me? (Thanks Alyssa)

"You know, religious folk would do themselves a huge favor if they just called for a separation of church and idiot."
--Lewis Black

Past Afterthoughts