Role Models + Spotlight on Fish + Kudos to Police + Anxiety & Depression

Whimsical Wednesday

Whimsy

From Omaha World Herald (2/9):  "Thanks to Peyton, Bud's a winner, too . . . After winning the Super Bowl on Sunday night, perhaps his last game before retiring as one of FB's most accomplished quarterbacks, Denver Broncos' quarterback Peyton Manning said--twice--that he planned to drink a lot of Budweiser in celebration." [I was going to comment on Cam Newton's immature & petulant performance at his post-game press conference. Then I read this article. The word "shallow" might have crept into my mind.]

From Readers' Digest 'World of Medicine' (Dec '15/Jan '16):  "Surprising Perk of Sarcasm. A caustic coworker could improve your creativity. Participants solved problems after hearing sarcastic phrases, like an insincere 'I am sorry,' in a study in the journal Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes. They were three times more creative than a group hearing sincere messages. Sarcasm forces the brain to think abstractly, boosting innovation. [Dept. of Imaginary Conversations:  ME: I'm having trouble w/my blog tonight. I'm not feeling very innovative. LOIS: I'm sorry. ME: Wait a second...Here we go!] 

Food for Thought

From Lincoln Journal Star (1/24/16):  "'Trash fish' get new brand. Dana Bartholomew is banking on college students warming up to 'Sharck Bites.'
        "Ipswich Shellfish, of Massachusetts, for which Bartholomew oversees sales, is offering that product--nuggets of dogfish coated in a gluten-free, allergen-friendly crust. Bartholomew, who believes so-called 'trash fish' such as dogfish are part of the new wave in New England seafood, already has a couple of colleges on board.
        "Bartholomew's fondness for dogfish--a species of shark that East Coast fishermen catch millions of lbs. of every year year & sell for just pennies at the dock--is part of a growing trend in fish markets around the country." [Already available throughout the Midwest at Lenten fish fries.]

Tagline from Drudge Report (2/9/16):  "Man throws LIVE GATOR through WENDY'S drive-thru window . . ." [I can neither confirm nor deny that customer was angry because Sharck Bites not available.]

Criminal Minds

Also from Drudge Report (2/9):  "Massive brawl on flight after passenger urinates on traveler . . ." [And that's where I stopped reading.]

From Norfolk Daily News (1/29/16):  "Phones in trousers. British police have arrested a suspected thief w/38 mobile phones stuffed down his trousers . . . The 30-yr-old & a second man, who was also arrested, were spotted at the venue w/their trousers taped closed at the bottom." [No comment.]

There Is No Place Like . . . 

Alabama!

Also from NDN (2/8):  "Birth on highway. Expecting to write up a ticket for speeding, an Alabama State Trooper end up helping a woman give birth. Danny Lowe of Huntsville said he was driving his pregnant wife, Shawna, to an Athens hospital SUN morning when he was pulled over by Trooper Michael Kesler for speeding. While being questioned, Shawna Lowe began going into labor, & the 2 men helped her deliver a baby along U.S. 72.
      "'He was awesome,' Danny Lowe said of the trooper. 'He settled me down.'
      "After delivering the baby, Kesler helped clean the baby & keep mom & her newborn son warm until an ambulance arrived. [Take that, Beyonce.]

Mental Health MON . . . Special WED Edition

Reasons for Anxiety?

Also from Drudge Report (2/2):  

• "Outbreak of female 'vampire' attackers in New Zealand . . ." 
• "Is your fitness tracker spying on you? . . ." 

Political TUE . . . Special WED Edition

SEE "You Don't Know What Obama Said at the Mosque," by Dennis Prager in National Review Online.

SEE ALSO "Heroin:  Blame It On American," by Ann Coulter.

[Both of these commentaries are wildly partisan, but you would expect them to be. On the other hand, our POTUS is also wildly partisan. Read, ponder, react. I dare you!] *
* It was a toss-up as to whether I included these items here or as a subheading under Mental Health MON, Reasons for Depression.