THESE DAYS

Blairgowrie resident Gregor Spalding has been shown leniency in Perth Sheriff Court after explaining he was growing cannabis to use the drug to tackle a genital itch.

Authorities charged the director of a Christian boot camp and an employee with dragging a 15-year-old girl behind a van after she fell behind the group during a morning run.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Liberal firebrand Mark Gisleson rattles the political cages on the left and the right at Norwegianity.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

The 10 Most Expensive Paintings of All Time

A poster of Marlon Brando as Don Corleone using the entire script from The Godfather

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"One month from The Anniversary, I'm thinking another 9/11 would help America."

— Philadelphia Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky, recalling the unified America following the September 11 attacks

"The man's legacy is a conservative movement largely discredited and disunited, a president with lower consistent approval ratings than any in modern history, a generational shift to the Democrats, a resurgent al Qaeda, an endless catastrophe in Iraq, a long hard struggle in Afghanistan, a fiscal legacy that means bankrupting America within a decade, and the poisoning of American religion with politics and vice-versa."

— conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan on outgoing White House chief political strategist Karl Rove

"It's too bad the 9/11 terrorists did not patronize Northwest Airlines; they undoubtedly would have been stranded in Logan airport until they all collectively renounced Islam."

— Chuck Klosterman, in a recent Esquire column, attempting to fly from New York to Tulsa in time to see a time capsule containing a Plymouth Belvedere opened during Tulsarama. He was late.

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Steve Monaco has the latest edition of the Monday Movie Quiz posted at Couch Pundit.

Peter Schilling Jr. bemoans the quiet bats and the substandard pitching in another loss to the Angels at Balls.

Check out my Best Of/Farewell post at American Idle.

City Pages has launched our new GOP Convention blog, Elephants in the Room.

THESE DAYS

Johnson & Johnson, the health-products giant that uses a red cross as its trademark, sued the American Red Cross last Wednesday, demanding that the charity halt the use of the red cross symbol on products it sells to the public.

The Bush administration opposes a Democratic effort to restore full educational benefits for returning veterans, according to VA official Keith Wilson.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

We sadly bid adieu to our anonymous Pizza Man. Good luck out there... on those Streets of Pizza.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

A British documentary on sex dolls and the men who love them: Guys and Dolls

When you're done with the documentary, you can check out Academy Award nominee Ryan Gosling and his mail-order friend in Lars and the Real Girl opening in October.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"It took three or four of us to hold her down."

— Seattle bartender Robert Willmette, on an unidentified woman who began shouting expletives and pushing and punching a male karaoke singer when he began performing Coldplay's "Yellow" [via Obscure Store]

THESE DAYS

A Texas man is suing 1-800-Flowers for $1 million after a thank you note from the web florist outed him as an adulterer.

Obesity among women residing in the U.S. has become more socially acceptable, likely in part because more than one-third of women ages 20 and older are obese, according to a recent study.

Pearl Jam is accusing Lollapalooza sponsor AT&T of censoring lyrics pertaining to President Bush from its "Blue Room" Live Lollapalooza Webcast.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Jon Nelson is the host of a nationally syndicated radio program about music and blogs about the same at Some Assembly Required.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Name all of Shakespeare's plays in ten minutes

Napoleon Dynamite in 30 seconds re-enacted by bunnies

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"Nope."

— Jeremy Hernandez, who kicked open the school bus door and helped the children inside to safety following the I-35W bridge collapse, when asked by a Bush Administration staff member to appear in a photo opportunity

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Peter Schilling Jr. mourns the releasing of David Wells by the Padres at Balls.

THESE DAYS

Judy Hagan caused a stir among plot owners in the Uniontown (IN) City Cemetery when she put up a tombstone for her and her departed rat terrier, Shithead.

Last year, the top two advertising mediums were newspapers, at $55.7 billion, and broadcast television, at $48.7 billion. By 2011, overall Internet advertising will become the largest advertising medium, at nearly $63 billion.

A 41-year-old Sheboygan man was charged Monday after he allegedly sold his employer's domain name, sofa.com, for $200,000 and used corporate credit cards to finance international trips with a "stripper" girlfriend.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Erik and Sharra blog about throbbing thumbs, earning gay points, and their all-tile bathroom at Eleven.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Favorable views of the U.S. from 2000-2007 Hey, Bangladesh still likes us!

Rudy Giuliani's Five Big Lies About 9/11

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I'd be a great president."

— GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, when asked at a gathering in Bettendorf, Iowa, why none of his five sons are serving in the military

THESE DAYS

A recent Boston University School of Medicine study links consumption of soft drinks—both the sugared and diet variety—with a higher risk for a range of obesity-related health problems.

A judge Monday granted new trials for two former elections workers convicted of rigging a recount during the 2004 presidential election to avoid a more thorough review of the votes.

Playing the popular Chinese tile game mahjong can lead to seizures, Hong Kong researchers say, calling the phenomenon "mahjong epilepsy." [via Undernews]

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Christopher Tassava blogs about the bridge collapse, toppling toddlers, and suspicious bananas peels dotting the roadways at Blowing & Drifting.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

The Ten Best Bands that Never Existed

President Bush's visit to the I-35W bridge site as imagined by Mr. Fish

Minesweeper: The Movie

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"He's a control freak who micro-manages decisions, he has a confrontational character trait and picks fights just to score points. He is the last thing this country needs as president right now."

— Jerome Hauer, New York's emergency management director from 1996 to 2000, on former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, in the Telegraph

THESE DAYS

A Florida man stockpiled 20,000 cubic yards of horse manure on his property and was charged with running an illegal composting operation.

A man named Johnson underoges a vasectomy in exchange for getting permission from his wife to purchase an iPhone.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Shyestviolet blogs about Harry Potter 7, being a pure nerd, and the Sass of the Week at Is That All You've Got?

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Learn about Charley, the cat with cerebellar hypoplasia

Chart of where all the 2008 presidential candidates stand on issues like abortion, wiretapping, civil unions, etc.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"We will have to look for other stronger purgatives now."

— Kolkata detective Ajay Kumar, on forcing a thief who swallowed a $1,300 necklace to eat 40 bananas in order to hurry the digestive process. The plan is so far unsuccessful.

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Steve Monaco has posted the latest edition of the Monday Movie Quiz at Couch Pundit.

City Pages writers, freelancers, and readers have contributed to a photo gallery depicting the terrible events surrounding last week's collapse of the I-35W bridge. Visit our gallery section to view the photographs.

THESE DAYS

County health officials say they're stepping up enforcement at Angel Stadium, where they've found 118 vermin violations at stadium kiosks and restaurants over the last 2 1/2 years.

Iraq's electricity grid could collapse any day because of insurgent sabotage, rising demand, fuel shortages and provincial officials who are unplugging local power stations from the national system, electricity officials said on Saturday.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Four more days until the Vikings battle the St. Louis Rams in the first pre-season game of 2007. Keep up with the latest news at Purple Pride.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

Mail-order burro [via BoingBoing]

MSNBC has an interactive map showing "deficient" or "obsolete" bridges state by state

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"We will recognize Vick for being an outstanding human being."

— Southern Christian Leadership Conference President Charles Steele, announcing that Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, awaiting trial related to dogfighting charges, will be honored during the August SCLC conference

THESE DAYS

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he is ready to help Minneapolis build a new bridge over the Mississippi River, and he'll help the state find $250 million for the work.

With the the bulk of the nation's highway system having been built in the 1950s and 1960s, MIT professor John Ochsendorf predicts incidents like the I-35W bridge collapse could become more common.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Metroblogging Minneapolis is posting traffic changes, an open thread, and other updates related to the bridge collapse.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

(NOT) TIME WASTERS

Slate Explainer: How do you check the structure of a bridge?

How you can help the local Red Cross

2005 report card grading America's infrastructure

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"The bridge was collapsing. The car bounced on the pavement. It was bouncing. Then we finally stopped in that position, right on the edge. We got out, and there was a car actually wedged underneath my car. The road in front of me disappeared. There was nothing but cars, but then there was nothing in front of me."

— Houston resident Dennis Winegar, recalling to City Pages the collapse of the I-35W bridge

THESE DAYS

In New Zealand, "vegansexuals" who refuse to eat meat or animal by-products are choosing not to be sexually intimate with non-vegan partners whose bodies, they say, are made up of dead animals.

British police are hunting a drunk man who sexually assaulted a woman who was performing as a living statue during a corporate event in a marquee in the grounds of the De Vere Hotel.

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

Tom Bartel blogs about the Ellison/Reichstag controversy, how China handles government wrong-doers, and the similarities between Par Ridder and Paris Hilton at the Read Menace.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

The Housewife Orchestra performing "De Klinkende Pannen"

Squid, ox tongue, corn: 101 Frightening Ice Cream Flavors from Around the World

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina."

— Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo (R-CO), in a speech at the Family Table restaurant in Osceola, Iowa, on deterring terrorism by threatening Muslim holy sites in retaliation

CITY PAGES BLOGS AND NEWS

Peter Schilling Jr. looks at the Twins' play-off picture at Balls.

Check out Jayme Halbritter's photos of the local all-ages scene in our gallery section.

THESE DAYS

After asking nearly 2,000 people why they'd had sex, psychologists at the University of Texas at Austin have assembled and categorized a total of 237 reasons.

The Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Base has come up with a money-making scheme that turns droppings from the endangered species into odor-free souvenirs ranging from bookmarks to Olympic-themed statues of the animals

MINNESOTA BLOG OF THE DAY

MSP senior editor Adam Platt blogs about awkward grocery shopping experiences, the worst romantic songs of all time, and parenting at, appropriately enough, Adam Platt.

[Minnesota-based blog directory]

TIME WASTERS

From Cracked.com: The 25 Worst Rapper Names of All Time

A clip of Mr. Rogers playing Donkey Kong

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

"As great as it is, it can be so much better."

— CKX Chairman Robert F.X. Sillerman, announcing a $250 million overhaul of Graceland to include a new visitors center bigger than a football field, a convention hotel, and high-tech museum displays