A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

Happy September, everyone. There's not much to talk about.

...wait a minute, there's plenty! Let's begin with the untimely demise of Steve "Crikey" Irwin. How sad. Before he came along, there were only one or two nature shows - he really helped push the awareness of animals and the importance of nature in general to the forefront (and by the forefront, I mean into the televisions of millions of people around the world). I know one person who was inspired to become a marine biologist because of shows like his (she's probably not wrestling crocodiles, but you get the point). Jungle Jack Hanna called him a "true zoologist." So for all the fun that we made of him, he really did a lot of good for the world.

Kinda fucked up that he died of a stingray bite, though. That's like a gorilla beating the shit out of Jane Goodall, or Jacques Cousteau drowning. What's next - Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets hit by a car? A piano falls on Billy Joel?

And this morning when I was checking out the news, I learned that Paris Hilton got busted for DUI. I laughed and laughed. I know that's fucked up too, but she belongs in the same category as Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, and their child's golden poop. She's an untalented ass-clown who doesn't even deserve my writing about her. One day she's going to do something that she really regrets, like film a sex tape. Hopefully she goes away into obscurity in the near future so that I don't have to read about her every time I open a newspaper or turn on the tv.

Then, the shuttle launch was delayed yet again today. Sucks for my brother - he was in a training session in Florida and today was their last day, so they went to the Kennedy Space center. They had primo seats to watch the action, but nine minutes before the shuttle was supposed to launch, they scrapped it because of some faulty valve or something. Where's their sense of adventure, huh? Hopefully it'll go up tomorrow without a hitch.

Finally, football is back. Not just the Steelers (I maintain that Bill Cowher might be the only man who could out-man Chuck Norris... maybe), but college football. Love the stuff. Notre Dame and Penn State. Ohio and Michigan. Florida and Florida State. Buncha kids looking for their big chance - much more entertaining. Pat Fitzgerald is now the coach of Northwestern's team... I remember when he was one of the stars of the team back in 1996, and I remember an entire stadium cringing when an opposing player chop-blocked him and he broke his leg and ankle and tore every ligament in his foot. But he's the man now, so go Cats!