More Hit & Run

Sanjaya who?
It appears that poor University of Washington is at a loss for a decent commencement speaker this year. As Bill Gates & Bill Clinton (the latter, fine -- the former?) are booked elsewhere, UW has turned to some momentary pop icon from a show few readers can stand for more than a minute, American Idol, named Sanjaya.

So, you get a flash singer to give a speech. She's a singer, & you decide she can manage to motivate students to study hard. Interesting.

USYT
Ignore that the US military is running videos on YouTube -- no doubt it's more for recruiting, than anything else. What interests me is the quote from Brent Walker, one of two mentioned in the article in the Seattle Times from Thursday, a US military Web master & former marine:

   "I think these clips humanize the war for a lot of
   people how only see statistics."

Really? Do people think humans aren't involved in war unless they see it on TV or YouTube? OK.

Kiddie porn
This is just too stupid:

   "Children in Middletown NJ got more than they
   bargained for when they tuned into "Handy Manny"
   on the Disney Channel this week: Hardcore
   pornography. Cable giant Comcast is investigating
   how the porn was broadcast during the popular
   cartoon, which is about a bilingual handyman,
   Manny Garcia, and his talking tools.
   Comcast spokesman Fred DeAndrea described it as
   an "isolated issue in a local New Jersey facility".

Well, that explains everything satisfactorily. But I'm confused what Manny's "tools" have to say, & how realistic it is that he has more than one tool...?

No toilet paper for you
Get this:

   "Walkersville Md is advising visitors to its
   four parks to bring their own toilet paper.
   All paper products were removed from the park
   restrooms after vandals set paper on fire in
   a men's bathroom, Town Manager Gloria
   Long Rollins said Monday. Hand dryers
   will be installed, but visitors will have to
   bring their own toilet paper, she said.
   Rollins hopes the changes will help combat
   vandalism, graffiti and drug use in the parks.

   The Food and Drug Administration Wednesday
   approved at the strongest possible warning for
   antidepressants to alert doctors and patients
   that the drugs could increase the risk of
   suicidal thinking and behavior in adults 18
   to 24.
   -from an article by Denise Gellene, LA Times

   LITTLE ROCK, ark -- Wal-Mart pulled sets of
   baby bibs Wednesday from its stores nation-
   wide after the bibs tested positive for high
   levels of lead, a store official said.
   -from an article by Jon Gambrell, AP