crazy, silly, interesting, dumb, nice, weird stuff...

I keep a folder full of things I think I want to say something about. Today I'm cleaning out the folder so this will seem really random. Oh, it IS really random! Here goes;

Have you seen this photo? It went "viral" a couple years ago;

It's such a sweet photo, don't you think? Here's the story, in case you don't know it;

6/19/13

The original image, captured by photographer Hannah Stonehouse Hudson, featured the dog and his owner, John Unger, sharing a peaceful moment in Lake Superior. As the Pioneer Press reports, Unger, of Bayfield, Wisc., began taking his then 19-year-old pet into the water to help soothe the dog’s joint pain from arthritis. The buoyancy of the water, he found, helped lull Schoep to sleep. Unger’s friend Hudson, who wanted to capture the pair’s relationship, snapped the now-famous photo one evening and posted it on Facebook. The touching image soon swept across the web, turning Schoep into a canine celebrity. The original photo has been shared more than 214,000 times over the past year and helped raise funds for the elderly dog’s care. Animal lovers from across the globe donated more than $25,000 to cover veterinary bills, laser eye treatments and medications not just for Schoep, but for other aging dogs from low-income families in need of special care as well.

 

How about this crazy story;

Jury awards $37.5M to family of Florida smoker

Updated: Aug 02, 2013 6:36 AM EDT

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA -

R.J. Reynolds says it will appeal a Florida jury's decision to award $37.5 million in damages to the family of a smoker who died of lung cancer in 1995. 

Laura Grossman of South Florida died at age 38. 

Attorneys for the Grossman family argued that as a teenager, Grossman was targeted by tobacco companies. 

R.J. Reynolds' lawyers said Grossman knew the dangers of smoking because cigarettes had warning labels when she started. 

The case is one of thousands filed in Florida after the state Supreme Court in 2006 tossed out a $145 billion class action verdict. That ruling also said smokers and their families needed only prove addiction and that smoking caused their illnesses or deaths.

Wow! This is a nightmare! You know it's not going to go anywhere but no wonder our legal system is so clogged up.
 

This next blurb falls into the "whaaat!" category. This guy is writing a series of articles for the local paper called, 25 Things I Love About _______" , and he's picking different communities/towns/cities to write about. This was the beginning of one of the essays;

Opinion editor Tim Swarens, in the fourth entry in our series of photo essays about things we cherish in Central Indiana, celebrates the diversity, community spirit and, of course, the food that make Lafayette Square one of the most entertaining and enlightening neighborhoods in Indy. Yes, the area has far too much concrete, too much crime and too many empty strip malls. But business owners and residents are working hard to change that.
In the meantime, an afternoon in Lafayette Square offers the fun and adventure that come with exploring other cultures.
Swarens, a Far Westside resident for the past 16 years, shares 25 things he loves about Lafayette Square.

Note the highlighted line. Yeah, I want to spend the day there!! Right.

 

Also locally, this drives me NUTS!

…first of all, isn’t it interesting that it’s name changed to “summer celebration” from "Black Expo"?  Also, (you know I’m not that observant) I just noticed for the first time this year that the outline of the state of Indiana has an outline of Africa in it. NONE of the people that went to the “summer celebration” are from Africa. Good grief!

And last but not least, as if I wasn't already feeling older...here are some highlights from the annual Beloit College Mindset;

When the Class of 2017 arrives on campus this fall, these digital natives will already be well-connected to each other. They are more likely to have borrowed money for college than their Boomer parents were, and while their parents foresee four years of school, the students are pretty sure it will be longer than that.  Members of this year’s first year class, most of them born in 1995, will search for the academic majors reported to lead to good-paying jobs, and most of them will take a few courses taught at a distant university by a professor they will never meet.

1.   As they started to crawl, so did the news across the bottom of the television screen

2.   Having a chat has seldom involved talking

3.   Gaga has never been baby talk

4.   They could always get rid of their outdated toys on eBay

5.   They have known only two presidents

6.   Rites of passage have more to do with having their own cell phone and Skype accounts than with getting a driver’s license and car

7.   A tablet is no longer something you take in the morning

8.   The Pentagon and Congress have always been shocked, absolutely shocked, by reports of sexual harassment and assault in the military

9.   Thanks to Megan's Law and Amber Alerts, parents have always had community support in keeping children safe

10. With GPS, they have never needed directions to get someplace, just an address

11. Olympic fever has always erupted every two years

12. The U.S. has always imposed economic sanctions against Iran

13. They have never attended a concert in a smoke-filled arena

14. As they slept safely in their cribs, the Oklahoma City bomber and the Unabomber were doing their deadly work

15. Their favorite feature films have always been largely, if not totally, computer generated

16. A Wiki has always been a cooperative web application rather than a shuttle bus in Hawaii

17. They have always been able to plug into USB ports

18. Washington, D.C., tour buses have never been able to drive in front of the White House

19. Their parents’ car CD player is soooooo ancient and embarrassing

20. There has never been a national maximum speed on U.S. highways