Until we heard the news of his recent early morning arrest, most of us had never heard of Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, USA. Now we are scrambling to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. Who is this man? How did his life and career evolve? How did he end up in this mess? Did this planet really produce such an individual or is he an extraterrestrial being? How could a public servant, an elected official, the leader of a State engage in what one US Attorney called a "staggering" level of corruption?

John Lennon was the founder of The Beatles. During his dash of life he achieved fame and fortune. At one point he claimed The Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ. As he traveled the world, he often sat in hotel rooms and watched television evangelists. In 1972, he wrote a desperate letter to an American evangelist. He referred to his dependence on drugs and the ‘problems of life’. He expressed regret for saying The Beatles were more popular than Jesus.

She’s right up there with the best of them. Anne Rice is a world famous fiction writer with nearly 100 million copies of her 28 books in print. (1) The novels that catapulted her into the ‘famous’ author status revolve around vampires, demons and witches. Up until recently, by the author’s own admission her titles have been very dark.

• Interview with the Vampire
• Queen of the Damned
• Vampire Chronicles
• Vampire Lestat

Bare Necessities

In Tough Economic Times

Him: “But dear, we have to make some choices. We’re in tough economic times. We can’t afford everything. We have to say goodbye to some of our luxuries – if I can call them that. Let’s make a list of our bare necessities - the essentials and then have a separate column for the non-essentials.”

What’s happening around the world is down right frightening for many. As the markets gyrate with downward plunges and then partial up-swings the worries are increasing. Things are happening with such rapidity and global complexity that even the most seasoned analysts are not sure what will happen around the corner – tomorrow.

It was just a few years ago, 1999 to be exact when Dave Freeman and his friend Neil Teplica co-authored a hugely successful book entitled: 100 Things to do before You Die. Their bestseller spawned numerous other copycat books as well as a movie called ‘The Bucket List’ – things to do before you kick the bucket – a flippant euphemism for death.

I live in Prince Edward Island – the home of Anne of Green Gables. Our tiny Island is a popular tourist retreat. Every summer thousands of people from around the world visit the red cliffs, white sandy beaches and green rolling hills of PEI. Some come on an Anne of Green Gables pilgrimage – so to speak. They have read the books and watched the movies. Anne fans come from all over the world wanting to tour the mystical island that provided the setting for the popular novels.

Pitt interrupted the conversation by sharing a headline that had just flashed into his mind. "I just saw a dreadful title," he says. "Brad Pitt Talks About His Happiness.' Listen man, it's all up and down. It's all up and down."

“You’re talking to a guy," Pitt begins, "who's always had this kind of congenital sadness. I don't know where it came from. I don't know what it is - the state of the world, the state of yourself. I don't know. I had a very easy childhood, deprived of nothing per se, so, you know.....

It seemed rather abrupt. One weekend to be doing his comedy act at Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas and the next Sunday to be dead. But that’s the way life is. Accolades of praise from his laughing audience around the world flowed in. One of his outstanding life contributions was his Seven Dirty Words comedy routine. Seven words he claimed you would never hear on television. When he first went brazenly public with his profanities in Wisconsin during his Class Clown routine he was arrested for uttering obscenities. That was back in 1972. His admirers refer to that occasion as one of the defining moments of his long career.

In late May, 2008 a complaint was received by the Multi-National Force West in Iraq that a US Marine was distributing to the local people a Bible coin with Arabic inscriptions.

We don’t know the Marine’s name nor do we want to debate the wisdom of distributing a coin with a Bible message on it while on duty.