The Panthers of NBC's Friday Night Lights Some sweat out the work week waiting for collegiate match-ups on Saturdays or Sunday's NFL madness. But there's another cadre of football fanatics who count down the hours until the titanic clashes that take place every Friday night across America. It's high school football that gets their blood boiling. Forget about going to a movie or dinner -- save Friday night for the game. Maybe it's the lively pep rallies, the snappy marching bands, or the hand-painted banners. Maybe you're watching your kid bang helmets, or you hope to spot emerging talent. Whatever the reason, in big cities and small towns across America, crowds converge on local high schools each week to watch the big game. High school football has it all: rankings, dominant teams, and legendary coaches. There's even a Pick 'Em game for the avid fans. And unlike its pigskin cousins, prep football has its own TV drama, "Friday Night Lights," and reality show, "Two-a-Days." Friday nights are definitely not the night to stay in. Suggested Sites... Sports Illustrated: High School Football - the latest on the best teams and players in the high school game. NFL High School - keeping an eye on future talent. Student Sports: Football - ranking and school information. Rise Magazine - glossy coverage on teen athletes. Friday Night Lights - the guys, the gals, and the coach. Oh, the intrigue!

Directory categories: High School Football, High School Football Teams, High School Sports

Archived under: Football, High School Football, Sports, TV

Post a comment (0) | Email this posting

John Mark Karr (Reuters photo) A heinous crime is committed. A suspect confesses. An open and shut case -- guilty, right? Not necessarily. You may wonder why anyone would risk jail time or a death sentence by confessing to a crime they haven't committed. Confessors could have an obsessive need for attention and notoriety, especially in a high-profile case. Possibly, they desire to be punished for dastardly deeds that only take place in their guilt-ridden minds. Even more disturbing are confessions obtained through interrogation tactics involving false evidence, intimidation, and coercion. As in the case of 14-year-old Michael Crowe, 27 hours of questions, isolation, and threats ended in an admission of guilt, later dismissed. Other suspects, feeling cornered, plead guilty hoping for reduced charges in a seemingly hopeless situation. In 175 cases where DNA testing later exonerated the accused, one fifth involved false confessions. Videotaped interrogations may help alleviate the problem, but it's clear some serious reforms are in order. Suggested Sites... False Confessions: Scaring Suspects to Death - how police interrogators turn suspects into victims. How to Get a False Confession - like pages from the Spanish Inquisition playbook. Scientific American Mind: True Crimes, False Confessions - Saul M. Kassin and Gisli H. Gudjonsson explore causes, consequences, and prevention. The Innocence Project - case profiles of exoneration through postconviction DNA testing.

Directory categories: Wrongful Convictions, Law Enforcement, Torture

Archived under: Civil Rights, Crime, Psychology, Society and Culture

Post a comment (0) | Email this posting

Captain Underpants, banned! The week of September 23 to 30 opens another chapter in annual Banned Books Week. All we can say is, "It's about time!" There are so many books being published (10,000 a year -- and that's just the fiction!), we can't keep up. Following the list of taboo tomes offers us the opportunity to get rid of some books and writers we just can't stand. So, away with you, "Ulysses"! No one understands you, anyway. Dr. Seuss: all that rhyming, what's the use? "Scary Stories in the Dark," "Christine," and "Cujo"? Who wants to spend money to be scared? "How to Eat Fried Worms," "James and the Giant Peach," and "The Grapes of Wrath"? These books are totally lacking in wholesome nutritional advice. "Where's Waldo?" We'll tell you where he is: on the junkpile! Goodness! This is exhausting! But the price of liberty is eternal vigilance, and it's better to err on the side of censorship than to find that someone's mind has been irreparably opened... Right? Suggested Sites... American Library Association: Banned Books Week - celebrating the right to read. Banned Books Online - books that have been the objects of censorship or censorship attempts, from Ulysses to Little Red Riding Hood. Banned Books and Authors - find out who's been banned, and why. Comic Book Legal Defense Fund - comic books are books, too! Protecting the rights of graphic arts creators. The Onion: Nation's Teens Disappointed By Banned Books - they may have been banned, but they're not really dirty.

Directory categories: Banned Books Week , Banned Books, Censorship, Literature, The First Amendment

Archived under: Banned Books Week, Books, Censorship, Children´s Literature, Civil Rights, Government, In Character, Law, Literature

Post a comment (4) | Email this posting

(Photo by Larry Lewis) If we saw a man wandering along the road with bare feet, dressed in rags, and wearing a saucepan on his head, we'd probably cross the street to avoid him. But, as we learned in elementary school, Johnny Appleseed was a welcome sight in pioneer days. In school, we thought it a bit strange that a man would dedicate his life to planting apple trees on other people's property, but maybe he was just a nice guy. A nice guy who really liked apples. Since today is his 232nd birthday, we thought we'd walk in the footsteps of the legendary apple-lover. It turns out that he was a really nice guy: He planted and maintained orchards across the Ohio Valley to help settlers survive harsh winters in remote and hostile places. He sold, traded, and gave away his apple trees and even the clothes off his back, choosing to live an extremely simple and nomadic life. His inspiration was more than just a love of apples, though. He was also a missionary of sorts, living by the principles of the Swedenborgian faith, a new Christian denomination at that time (and it still has a small following today) that emphasized good deeds and charity to all living creatures. That explains the stories of Johnny's kindness to animals, vegetarian diet, and refusal to graft apple seedlings, but we can't quite understand his mercy toward mosquitoes. Suggested Sites... The Story of Johnny Appleseed - a profile of John Chapman from the Swedenborgian Church. Johnny Appleseed Festival - Fort Wayne, IN - Johnny's final resting place honors him with a festival each year. This year's is over, but there's always Applefest 2007. Johnny Appleseed Festival - Sheffield, PA - there's still time to catch this one, held October 6-8. Appleseed Alley - includes a Chapman family tree, resources for teachers, and plenty of links. Johnny Appleseed - A Pioneer Hero - a scanned article from the November, 1871 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine.

Directory categories: Johnny Appleseed, 19th Century U.S. History, Environment and Nature, Apples, Swedenborgianism

Archived under: American History, Apples, Environment, Food and Drink, History, Religion

Post a comment (0) | Email this posting

Huo Yuanjia kicks a challenger in Jet Li's Fearless "Jet Li's Fearless" brings to the silver screen the story of Huo Yuanjia, the legendary Mizong kung fu master. The story of China's hero is inextricably connected with China's history and culture. Huo lived from 1869 to 1910. In his time, the First Opium War, rise of foreign concessions, and waning Qing Dynasty sapped the dignity out of the Chinese. But, the ultimate humiliation came from a self-proclaimed strongest man of the world. The man, a Russian whose name is unknown, publicly called the Chinese "asian weaklings" -- since none of them had the will to fight him. The foreigner jeopardized the country's cultural pride in martial arts expertise, until Huo defeated him in 1901. This was one of many challenges he overcame, but his final leitai match proved fatal when he beat a Japanese Judo expert who subsequently poisoned him to death. Yet before his last bout, Huo established the first civil kung fu organization, Chin Woo Athletic Assocation, which preserves the art of wushu through practitioners and descendants still practicing today in China and around the world. Suggested Sites... Huo YuanJia's Offspring Asks for Apology from Jet Li - descendants of Huo Yuanjia say fabrications in "Jet Li's Fearless" dishonor the martial artist’s legacy. Western Australia Chin Woo Athletic Assocation: History of Chin Woo - follow the true tale of an ill Tianjin villager who became a national martial arts hero. U.K. Chin Woo Athletic Association: History - what are the principles and concepts of Huo Yuanjia’s martial art?

Directory categories: Jet Li's Fearless, Wushu Organizations, Kung Fu, 19th Century Chinese History

Archived under: History, Martial Arts, Regional

Post a comment (0) | Email this posting