By Judith Meyer Managing Editor/Days When Chip Loan was a youngster, he spent plenty of time playing “Asteroids,” chasing what he remembers as “that obnoxious UFO around the screen.” As an adult, Loan favors more realistic gaming, and is looking forward to the November release of “Modern Warfare 2.” For Loan, games aren’t a casual […]

DEAR ABBY: Lately when I’m upset about something, I have been snapping my wrists with rubber bands. It seemed harmless at first, better than cutting, right? But I have noticed that now I have red lines that never go away and the welts take longer to disappear, and I’m constantly having to cover them up. […]

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Colin Farrell, 33; Brooke Shields, 44; Lea Thompson, 48; Sharon Gless, 66 Happy Birthday: Don’t give in to ultimatums or demands. Added responsibilities will hold you back or stop you from following your own dreams. Balance your personal and professional lives. This is a year of completion. Action will speak […]

My gripe: People who try to fill in spring pools on their property. They should find out if the pool is a vernal pool and, should it prove to be, not kill the diverse wildlife within. Vernal pools provide a home to obligate species such as fairy shrimp, wood frogs, fingernail clams and spotted salamanders. […]

By Susan M. Selasky Detroit Free Press Sniff the air. Smell those sizzling ribs or burgers? Outdoor grilling season has arrived. Three out of four households own a grill or a smoker. In 2008, more than 16.7 million grills and smokers were shipped – an 18 percent increase since 2003, according to the Hearth, Patio […]

Twitter gives rise to a network of amateur comedians Images By Rex Huppke Chicago Tribune (MCT) CHICAGO – For about 20 years, Joe Schmitt kept his wit and off-kilter observations largely to himself, occasionally cracking up his wife and friends, but sharing little with the world around him. Then came Twitter. The social networking Web […]

Friends don’t let friends drive hung over Maybe you should get a designated driver – for the morning after, according to the June issue of Good Housekeeping. In a British study using a driving simulator, people who had drunk heavily the previous night drove 10 mph faster, switched lanes four times more often, and committed […]

College food is certainly better than its reputation of years ago. A case in point, the café at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn Campus. A student needs a variety of good food at decent prices, and this place has it all, including meal combo options, breakfast items and a la carte choices like fresh-made […]

Good morning. I have been awoken every day for the past two weeks by bird song. If you have to get up, at least that is one of the loveliest ways of doing it. The rosy grosbeaks have been warbling up a storm as have the goldfinches and the myriad other little dudes flying about. […]

Twitter Tees: Threadless launches T-shirts with sayings written by the Twitterati By Colleen Mastony Chicago Tribune (MCT) CHICAGO – Threadless-the Chicago-based company that supplies ironic T-shirts for the hipster crowd – has launched a new line called “Twitter Tees.” Each shirt, on sale for $18, bears a tweet such as, “I’m huge on Twitter,” “It’s […]