What I'm Reading 4.21; Bear Affair, iPhone 4, Franny Boyle and Lady Gaga, $100s, Alf

Never before have I thought about the thought of wondering how and where carnivals come from.

Today, as I made my daily trek to the stop to catch the MITS bus, a system that has been running as consistently as well, I have, trailers carrying 'Bear Affair' and part of a Ferris wheel passed me by. It was as if the 10' tall bears were waving at me as they passed by in their blue cover-alls and red caps.

I then thought the occurrence and why it occurred and where carnivals come from. It's not that I doubt the existence of carnival-equipment-storage facilities but I surely had never thought about it. The bears passed and with them, my angst for riding the bears that were built to spin, and spin they will - without me inside of them, of course.

I like to keep my greasy-sugared pastry and lemon shake-up inside my stomach.

And that's the thing I hate about carnivals anyway. Most of the rides go round-and-round, rather than up and down, which now sounds like a sexual inuendo or that stupid song by Dead or Alive. I am also terrified of carnies; circus/carnival folk. Like modern-day gypsy's they load up rides, get drunk, put together rides, and travel city-to-city - not necessarily in that order, but come on really, ever met a carnie you weren't a little frightened of?

And back to bear affair, now pictured above, I'm scared to death of any animal that is supposed to be fierce and wild but doesn't look to be fierce and wild. Where does that wildness go, as I load into 'bear affair' for the, now defined, last time, full-bellied and ready for fun.

No fun, however; just remnants of carnie-made-deep-fried-overpriced and heart attack-causing food - now on my chucks.

Go away carnivals, hide in the abyss of wonderment I'll now dive into, on a regular basis.


What I'm reading!:

An Apple employee - Gray Powell - apparently had a few too many and left the next-generation iPhone (4g) at a bar only to have a 'random drunk guy' pick it up, eventually figure out it wasn't a regular iPhone and Gizmodo got ahold of it. So here is a page dedicated to the next iPhone and the continuing saga, as Apple has formally asked for it back. And now, more accusations.

The NFL schedules are out and Worth-lis-berger is out 6 games. WOO HOO!

One young lady I had the chance to meet on a recent mission trip I attended made CNN for her choice to choose chastity in college. Excellent story. Check out the headline of the huffington post's blog: Lady Gaga, Franny Boyle (my friend) Choose Chastity! Awesome.

A new $100 bill. Who cares; it's not like I ever see one of those.

Quadruplets from New York have chosen to go to the same college.

ALF outtakes.

What I'm Reading 3.31; Easter, Kidney(s) and Steeler stupidity

Quickly approaching is Easter, a holiday once known for Jesus' resurrection but now known for plastic-imitation-chicken eggs and over-sized rabbits.

Funny how Easter - like Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. - is celebrated in varying ways by different families. For instance, I don't hunt eggs anymore, some older people do.

And on fasting; how did it go for you? I gave up meat and I stuck to it. And, I even liked giving up beef, chicken, lamb, weasel, etc. so much, I might not go back.

In Easter news: The Easter bunny may save your life, critics say avoid giving rabbits, chicks as gifts and a list of the largest egg hunts in the U.S.

Away from Easter, a new study finds that many people (including me) would give a kidney for a quick buck.

Airbags on airplanes?

Before you eat from McDonald's again AND more importantly before you buy another 'happy meal' for your kids, take a look at this. This guy is celebrating the one-year anniversary of a happy meal he bought, set out and watched NOT decompose over the course of the past year.

A history maker in our midst, despite what you or I think of him.

Another attack in Russia.

The Obama overhaul of the student loan system could come at a huge benefit to interested parties.

A new version could mean the end of a iPhone-less Verizon wireless network. Good news for me!

Remember all the talk of earmarks? Here is a state-by-state map of earmark allotment.

SPORTS

Things are looking good for the Steelers; first Big Ben, now smokin' Santonio, again.

The University of Conn. women's basketball team has won 76 games in-a-row and are headed to another Final Four.

Aroldis Chapman set to begin season in minors for the Reds. No big surprise.

If you haven't heard about Pat Venditte, check him out. Venditte is an ambidextrous pitcher in the NY Yankees farm system. He got his first spring action yesterday.

Reaching into the vault, Sports Illustrated has the story that proceeded the 1975 World Series.