Bob Harmon, my grandfather, was a newspaper man. He was hired in 1954 to serve as a sportswriter for The Advertiser-Tribune, a small newspaper serving Tiffin, Ohio. In 1976, he moved on to other projects- he coached baseball, worked as a salesman and, later in life, discovered a remarkable talent for painting- but the journalism experience stuck with him. Twenty years later, he returned to The Advertiser to write a lifestyle column that would make him a local celebrity. These columns always ended with his trademark phrase: “At least, that’s the view from here”.

It was brought to my attention earlier in the evening that TMZ had posted a post-assault picture of Rhianna that was taken (presumably by the police) shortly after she was assaulted by her boyfriend, Chris Brown. I thought it was disgusting but expect nothing less of TMZ.

President Obama got it pretty much right the first time, before there had been a huge outcry about our President criticizing a police office.  Officer Crowley acted stupidly-and, might I add, wrongly-when arresting Professor Gates.
The important facts are these- Officer Crowley (white) responded to a potential breaking and entering complaint, found Professor Gates (black) in his own home, where had had id proving who he was and that this was his address, and, after not assaulting or in any other way posing a direct danger to Officer Crowley, was arrested …

Well, close to the hometown since Fort Myers Beach is its own very small town that happens to be directly next to (and was formerly a part of) Fort Myers proper. Via Shakesville comes the story that one of the town’s managers was fired because his wife has a history in the adult entertainment industry.
Fort Myers Beach town council voted 5-0 to fire Scott Janke “without cause” after Mayor Larry Kiker called the Tuesday night meeting.
Kiker said he learned that afternoon that Janke’s wife is an adult film star, and …

A federal advisory panel voted 20-17 to recommend a ban on the prescription pain killers Percocet and Vicodin because both narcotics are combined with acetaminophen in their formulation. Acetaminophen, an ingredient in Tylenol and many commonly used over the counter products, is known to cause liver damage with prolonged usage.

Bernie Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years. Unless Madoff has Nicholas Flamel as one of his co-conspirators, that’s going to be a life sentence.

Target Ovarian Cancer, a UK charity group, surveyed 400 GPs (general practitioners) and 1,000 women about their knowledge of ovarian cancer. The results were not promising. Of the GPs polled, only 51% identified “increased abdominal size” as the “most important symptom” and a scant 2% identified “difficulty eating” or “feeling full” (other common symptoms). 93% of the GPs acknowledged that diagnosis is often delayed.

Dina Goldstein’s photo project “Fallen Princesses” was inspired by the Disney Princess obsession the artist saw in her young daughter and her friends. Goldstein decided to take the characters back to their more Grimm roots by setting the cheerfully garbed characters in darker modern scenarios. Snow White (above) has children and a lazy Prince Charming. Cinderella is drinking alone in a bar. Belle from Beauty and the Beast is undergoing plastic surgery. Rapunzel is undergoing chemo. Sleeping Beauty is in a retirement home with her prince. Jasmine from Aladdin is involved in Middle Eastern warfare.

This “I should move to Canada or the U.K.” moment is sponsored by Sebastian of Obsidian Wings:

A shooter enetered the Holocaust Museum earlier and opened fire. It looks right now as if the shooter and security guard were severely injured, while a third person may have been injured in the firefight.