"It's the End of the World...

...As We Know It - and I Feel Fine." Remember that one?

I listened to it long ago when I was in college and employed part-time.

Now I'm in grad school, and - heh - well, listening to this song again.

It feels fine.



So did drinking all that wine while bopping to this song.

Catholic Charities Freaks Out

Catholic Charities is in a tizzy because some youths who want to help the homeless are putting on many layers of clothing and then "stripping" them off to music in an obviously humorous romp.

Holy communion wafer, the guardians of virtue freaked out again. No nudity is allowed, but who cares - young 17-year-old virgins are stripping! Oh, please, spare me.

As of Saturday, there were 20 videos uploaded on the "Strip2Clothe" site, which the site claims had generated a total of 51,291 donations.

The top-viewed video shows a man from the waist down shielding himself with drawings of shorts and various undergarments. The video has triggered 327 donations, the site said.

At least in the comments people are pointing out how uptight and self-righteous this society has become. Ever been to Europe? Topless beaches over there, topless women in magazines and on television - and a big ho-hum from the continent's young people. Some of us don't believe that the sight of a naked human body will corrupt the young (not that there are any naked human bodies in these videos, anyway).

The site is still up and calling for videos. And thanks to Catholic Charities, I never would have heard of this effort otherwise, so maybe I'll even upload one. (The videos are cute, and very innocent.) Even Harpo Marx stripped once - down to his transgender Bo-Peep dress - in A Night at the Opera, at 6:23 below.

Twin Cities Leads Nation in Volunteerism

Wow.

Midwesterners are more likely to volunteer their time than are people elsewhere in the United States, according to a government study being released Monday. The highest rates were in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, where more than four in 10 adults volunteered.

“It’s really about Minneapolis’ commitment to the quality of life,” said Michael Weber, president and chief executive of Volunteers of America of Minnesota.

Yesterday I spoke to a woman who's librarian sister had recently gone to Germany. "You Americans are so involved with your libraries," a woman had told this librarian, whereas there was only one library in the region, with a populace of 100,000 people. I was surprised by this.

I encourage everyone to get involved in one issue or program that they believe in. And naturally, I encourage everyone to support their local library!