7/26 Morning Communiqué

THESE DAYS

Melanie Martinez, the host of PBS's kiddie program The Good Night Show, has been fired after it was revealed that she filmed PSA parodies hailing the health benefits of masturbation and anal sex when she was in her twenties.

In recent years, police have started to use powerful infrared cameras to read license plates and catch carjackers and ticket scofflaws. But the technology will soon migrate into the private sector, and morph into a tool for tracking individual motorists's movements. [via Slashdot]

The ashes of actor James Doohan, "Scotty" from Star Trek, are scheduled to be launched into space (along with astronaut Gordon Cooper's ashes) this October, per his final wish.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Anna Blume vows to floss daily, go to Worldcon, knit a sweater, and read a book a month. Follow her progress here.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Vintage print ads for drugs, from when injectable whole opium was over-the-counter.

Beavis and Butthead in Se7en

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"I can catch poop in my hand and just be like OK."

-- Academy Award winner Julia Roberts, on child-rearing [via Golden Fiddle]