I attended Barack Obama's speech in St. Louis on Saturday night. I was among a numerous other people attending -- the press reported that about 20,000 people were present. To get into the arena, those attending had to follow the line for several blocks, leading up to the door. We walked…
For a world-class prank, check this out: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo[/youtube] The group is called "Improv Everywhere: We cause scenes." This group obviously has a lot of fun, yet takes their work seriously. Check out its website -- the right column lists the group's other "missions" (they indicate that they've had about 70…
I just finished with an intense period of work, including trying part of a jury case that ended in a mistrial when the opposing attorney was rushed to the hospital with internal bleeding.
Trying lawsuits can be exhausing work. Really exhausting. My wife (Anne) saw that look in my eyes, and insisted that I could really use a day or two to recover. She suggested that I spend a night at a cabin at nearby Pere Marquette State Park (in Grafton Illinois). This was really tempting, but I thought twice about doing that when I called the park and I was reminded of the cost of $125 for one night. Did I really earn that sort of retreat? Did I want to travel that far to “get away?”
I considered plan B: stay at home. This would offer me the advantage of being with my wife and children, and I’ve really been craving time with them during the many evenings I’ve recently spent at work. But Anne insisted, “You really need to get away and do nothing for a day.”
Then I considered plan C. I visited Priceline for the first time last night. This site gives you a chance to bid what you think a hotel is worth. I got the idea of doing something I’d never done before: taking a vacation in my hometown, in downtown St. Louis. But I didn’t want to spend much. Therefore, I placed a bid of only $40 for one night at a …
In the February 2008 edition of Natural History Magazine (article not available online), you can learn where tigers still live in the wild. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 100,000 tigers living in the wild. Today, there are only 5000 in the wild. 
Tigers now inhabit only 7% of their original territory, which has shrunk by 41% in the past 10 years. Those relatively few tigers that remain in the wild hunt wild cattle, deer and pigs in isolated pockets of forested land in India, Sumatra, Eastern Russia in southern China. Tigers are hunted illegally for pelts and for tiger parts that are used in medicines (such as tiger penis soups).
But did you know how many tigers live in United States? 7,000 to 15,000 tigers live
in private roadside zoos, circuses, sanctuaries, farms and backyards in the US. Owners are often deluded into thinking that they contain the creatures, treating them like house cats, perhaps attracted by the challenge. Yet even house cats, which
have been domesticated for thousands of years will reach out and swat their human companions. What happens when a six month old sixty-pound beast with claws and slicing incisors takes a swipe?
Are these privately owned tigers allowed to run in large open areas and kept in good health? Not likely. Many tigers are kept in cages much too small for them and they are “fed insufficient or inappropriate food, such as canned dog food.”
The Natural History article indicates that tigers …
Here's the announcement by Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut, that the "influential" Mr. Rove will inspire the class of '08 with his words at this year's graduation. Is everyone at the school happy with that announcement? Not at all, as Marty Kaplan explains.
