CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

We remember Mexican-American civil rights leader John Gonzalez at Corpus Obscurum.

THESE DAYS

China has come up with an earthquake prediction system which relies on the behavior of snakes.

University of Washington's Rick Keil and Jaqui Neibauer, using sophisticated laboratory equipment, are tracking the increase in vanilla and cinnamon in Seattle's Yuletide sewage. [via Obscure Store]

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Minneapolis media dude ruminates on Superman III, presidential politics, and comic books in his brand new blog From Minneapolis media dude, with love.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Take the BBC Sex I.D. Test [via Pharyngula]

From Best Week Ever: The 10 Gayest Moments of 2006

Dana Carvey and Stephen Colbert are the Skinheads from Maine

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"He had never been elected period, so I never felt that he deserved to be there to begin with. Later on we became friends and he was a very, very sweet man."

— actor Chevy Chase, on the late President Gerald Ford, whom he spoofed during the 1975-76 season of Saturday Night Live

On December 19 at 10:19 p.m. police officers were dispatched to Burnsville Center on report of an armed robbery. The victim told the cops that a white male wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a bandana over his face accosted her in the mall parking lot. According to a criminal complaint filed in Dakota County District Court, the assailant pointed a gun at her and demanded money. However, the victim did not initially believe it was a real gun. She laughed at him and entered her vehicle. The assailant eventually fled in a vehicle with four other males inside, but not before the woman was able to record the license plate number.

The vehicle in question was subsequently stopped by police officers in the parking lot of a SuperTarget in Savage. There were four juveniles and one adult, Brian Dunn Kelly, inside the vehicle. Officers also recovered a sub-machine gun, a magazine for the weapon, and numerous .9 millimeter rounds. According to the complaint, Kelly admitted attempting to rob the woman at gunpoint. He allegedly told the officers that he needed money for Christmas and that he was shocked when the woman laughed at him. The 18-year-old Bloomington resident has been charged with one count each of second degree assault and attempted first degree aggravated robbery.

The news of the impending sale of the Star Tribune to Avista Capital Partners has generated no small amount of schadenfreude among the newspaper's critics. Naturally, much of this glee arises from the $530 million sale price, which is less than half what McClatchy paid for the paper less than eight years ago. But for "Red Star" haters in the local blogosphere, the most exciting aspect of the sale is the supposed potential for a shift in the paper's editorial policies.

More >>

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Britt Robson discusses the Wolves's fourth quarter woes at Balls.

We remember the organizer of the first World Council of Churches at Corpus Obscurum.

THESE DAYS

About 40 per cent of the world's population is infected with Toxoplasma gondii, a common parasite which can increase a women's attractiveness to the opposite sex but also make men more stupid, an Australian researcher says.

Many German mothers-to-be are reportedly trying to delay labor until after January 1 so their births coincide with a new government initiative that gives parents 25,500 euros to ease their financial burden.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Former St. Paulite Chris Cope lives in Cardiff, Wales, and blogs about St. Stephen's Day, alcohol-infused Christmas goodies, and second-hand Redd Foxx anecdotes at Dancing the Polka with Miss El Cajon.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Fifty things we know now (that we didn't know this time last year)

The hand-fart version of Bohemian Rhapsody

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"It's such a loud recognition that global warming is real."

— Natural Resources Defense Council senior attorney Andrew Wetzler, on the Bush Administration's proposal to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Britt Robson discusses the emergence of Randy Foye at Balls.

THESE DAYS

Nobel laureate Steven Chu is urging scientists to study how termites process food to learn how to produce pollution-free energy.

Former President Gerald R. Ford died Tuesday at age 93.

Italian politicians have condemned the brief appearance of two pairs of dolls representing gay couples in the parliament's nativity display.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Tim and Jayson are a couple of gay Minneapolitans blogging about local theater, dining, music, clubbing, and more at GLBT Minneapolis.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

An existential moment between Kermit the Frog and Peter Sellers (with chickens)

10 myths and 10 truths about atheism

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"For them to say they have some sort of moral regard for their clients is incredible—they're a penny-pinching, conniving company."

— Buffalo '66 actor/director Vincent Gallo, on online payment service PayPal's refusal to be associated with Gallo's website, where he sells his sexual services and sperm

"This controversy has... made people dust off their Constitution and actually read it."

— Representative-elect Keith Ellison, speaking at the annual convention of the Muslim American Society and the Islamic Circle of North America about his taking the oath of office on a Quran

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Britt Robson eulogizes the Godfather of Soul at Culture To Go.

Jack Sparks delivers a Minnesota Christmas card at the Other Side of Country.

We remember the original Lionel Jefferson at Corpus Obscurum.

THESE DAYS

Canadian police arrested a suspect in a nightclub parking lot murder after they posted a clip from the surveillance camera on YouTube.

Andrew McAdam of Michigan State University and his colleagues have discovered squirrels can somehow predict which years trees will produce massive amounts of seed, and produce an extra litter of pups months ahead of these unusually large harvests.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Augsburg student Ben Kimball blogs on religion in relation to politics, terrorism, art, and more at Ben's Blog.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

From Pavlov's dog to Dolly the cloned sheep: The Top Ten Animal Geeks, the non-humans who have made outstanding contributions to science

MSNBC's Ten Worst Songs of 2006

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"We need the God-fearing script, the script that really deals with compassion and deals with the word of Jesus and God, and believe me, people will rally behind it because we need it... [In Rocky Balboa] The last thing that (Rocky) hears before he enters the ring is Scripture, and that's what gives him the strength."

— actor Sylvester Stallone, promoting his latest movie in a November conference call to Christian leaders

On December 8, at roughly 11:30 p.m., Minneapolis police officers were dispatched to a residence on the 3700 block of Bryant Avenue N. to investigate a disturbance. Upon arrival the officers attempted to disperse a large group of African American males gathered outside the home. According to a pair of criminal complaints filed this month in Hennepin County District Court, two white males, brothers William Kenneth Saarela and Daniel Jay Saarela, then emerged from the residence and began yelling racial profanities at the group. Officers ordered the pair to go back inside the house, but they initially refused. The police then radioed for additional squad cars. At some point during this confrontation William Saarela stated that he was going inside to get a handgun.

The group of black males was eventually persuaded to disperse. Shortly afterwards, according to the criminal complaints, multiple shots were fired from the rear of the residence. Officers then heard a male voice inside the house hollering threats. "I'm going to fucking kill you," he allegedly screamed. "You're fucking dead." Officers then ordered all occupants of the house to come outside. The Saarela brothers were both arrested after being tased. William has been charged with making terroristic threats, obstructing the legal process, and intentional discharge of a firearm. Daniel faces counts of making terroristic threats and obstructing the legal process.

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Pizzaman counts his automotive blessings during this yuletide season on the Streets of Pizza.

Chihuahuas using pee pads and ODing on cookie frosting: Christmastime with Diablo Cody on the Pussy Ranch.

Today's Song du Jour is by Joe Henry at the Walsh Files.

THESE DAYS

An unidentified CEO of a media company paid $280,000 for an original 1860 handwritten copy of the classic poem that begins "'Twas the night before Christmas" and read it to friends at a party.

A British mother who was criticized by a doctor for smoking a cigarette moments before her caesarean operation has won more than 44,000 pounds for her "hurt feelings."

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Nadja and Sean are blogging their way through the restoration of an old St. Paul home at American Four-Square Renewal.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

5,000 years of religion in 90 seconds

When mathematical constants go on a blind date

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"She says things that come to her mouth, she's not smart, she's crude, she's ignorant and to be honest I look forward to suing Rosie... Rosie's been a loser for a long time. Her magazine failed, she got sued. She folded up like a tent."

— Donald Trump, in an interview with Access Hollywood, threatening to sue comedian Rosie O'Donnell for comments made on The View implying Trump staged the recent Miss USA press conference to help publicize the upcoming season of his show The Apprentice

"I was going to die. You don't have much time to say goodbye. I just said: 'Shit I'm going to die.'"

— New Zealand skydiving instructor Michael Holmes, after falling 15,000 feet when both of his parachutes failed, landing in a blackberry bush, and only suffering a punctured lung and a broken ankle

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Britt Robson blames Coach Casey for the Wolves coming up short against the Lakers at Balls.

THESE DAYS

A dwindling birth rate is expected to cut Japan's population by 30% over the next 50 years, a survey by the government has said.

Starting next month, Best Buy will sell a "ConnectedLife.Home" package that features a computer with software coordinating a high-definition TV, light switches, a thermostat and two remote cameras at a cost of $15,000.

Using data from a national health survey, researchers found that teenagers living in sprawling suburbs were more than twice as likely to be overweight as teens in more compact urban areas.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Surly Dave is a conservative Christian who blogs about his recovery from depression, the joys inherent in handlebar mustaches, and the lousy way the church markets itself at Surly's Soap Box.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

The Top 13 Worst Slogan Translations Ever

The 10 most dangerous toys of all time

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"It is effectively open season on the songwriter."

— "A Whiter Shade of Pale" songwriters Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, responding to a court decision giving Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher a 40 percent share of the musical copyright for his "distinctive and significant contribution to the overall composition" of the 1967 hit

Muslims are overrunning the country. That's the message delivered by Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) to his constituents recently. Proof of this invasion: the election of Keith Ellison to Congress and his stated intention to take his oath of office on the Qur'an. In a letter obtained by the C-Ville Weekly, Goode cites Ellison's victory as proof that the nation's immigration laws need to be radically overhauled.

"The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district," Goode notes, "and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran. We need to stop illegal immigration totally and reduce legal immigration and end the diversity visas policy pushed hard by President Clinton and allowing many persons from the Middle East to come to this country."

Of course there are a couple of flaws in Goode's reasoning, most notably that Ellison was born and raised in Detroit. And as previously pointed out in this space, the Qur'an "controversy" is completely irrelevant given that members of Congress aren't officially sworn in using the Bible, the Qur'an, a copy of Hustler magazine or any other spiritual text.

(Via TPM.)