THE SUNDAY FUNNIES: MAY 30, 2010

Hello Everybody! Ms. Waxy Dragon here!

It's the Memorial Day weekend, and although I'm on vacation right now, I did not want to leave all you fine folks without any humor this weekend, so I wrote this before taking off and hopefully our illustrious editor-in-chief will post this on time.

If not, I know where he lives and he knows how much mischief a baby dragon can make! Now then...

A lot of people consider the Memorial Day weekend the start of summer, although most calendars say that doesn't actually happen until sometime in June.

However you look at it, having wings, I seriously saved a bunch of money not having to book a flight on an airplane!

But this weekend does mean that the current school year is coming to a close for a lot of students, so I thought I would present some appropriately educationally themed jokes.

Any readers in Texas need not bother, for what your state board of education has passed for an upcoming curriculum is a joke unto itself!

Without further adieu...

*The teacher asked for an example of a sentence starting with "I".

The student began to say, "I is--" when the teacher explained that is grammatically proper to start a sentence "I am."

So the student said "I am the ninth letter of the alphabet."

*The teacher asked, "Tommy, why are you always so dirty?"

Tommy replied, "Because I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are."

*The elementary school teacher asked the class to write a brief paper about something that the world didn't have ten years ago that it did now.

Everyone in the class wrote about themselves.

*The science teacher asked what the chemical formula for water was.

A student proudly replied, "H, I, J, K, L, M, N, and O."

"Why do you think that's the answer?" replied the teacher.

"Because yesterday you said it was H2O," said the student.

That's all for this weekend everyone! We'll be back next time for more Sunday Funnies!-wd.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: MAY 23-29, 2010

*Clean up and attempts to cap that oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico continue apace.
*The House of Representatives has passed a measure to repeal the military rule about "Don't Ask, Don't tell", in regards to those who love their own gender. The measure still has to be unified with the Senate's version before it can be fully acted upon.
*Although he originally composed it during the last ten years of his life, and essays from it have been released over the decades since; Samuel Langhorne Clemens (aka Mark Twain)'s wish that his autobiography not be published until 100 years after his passing will finally be filled this fall with the first of three volumes comprising the manuscript in its entirety.
*Wal-mart has begun a new price slashing campaign in hopes of regaining its former status as the "low price leader" in the retail market place.
IN SPORTS NEWS...
*The Philadelphia Flyers take on the Chicago Blackhawks for the Stanley Cup in the National Hockey League Championship.
*Philadelphia Phillies' pitcher threw a perfect game (no runs, no hits, no walks) against the Florida Marlins as his team won 1-0.
IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS...
*Lee Dewyze won this season's American Idol competition as show judge Simon Cowell rendered his last verdict.
*Actor Gary Coleman passed away Friday after suffering a brain hemorrhage, while actor Dennis Hopper lost his battle with prostate cancer earlier today.

For more news at any time, just scroll down to the IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: MAY 29, 2010

Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone!
Let's take a moment out of those hectic vacation schedules to remember why the last Monday of every May is a holiday in the United States.

Memorial Day of course is to remember those fallen members of the military who are no longer with us. But can you match the soldier to their most famous battle?
Each conflict will have more than one soldier involved.

The wars:

A. World War 1
B. World War 2
C. The Korean War
D. The Viet Nam War

The military personnel, real and fictitious:

01. Staff Sgt. James Kinchloe
02. Cpl. Walter O'Reilly
03. General William Westmoreland
04. Airman Wayloo Marie Holmes, USAF
05. Sgt. Franklin Rock
06. General Douglas MacArthur
07. Dwight David Eisenhower
08. Private William G. Kirby
09. Sgt. Sam Troy

We'll finish our salute next weekend when we reveal the results of this quiz. Meanwhile, let's drop a quarter into THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results of our video game quiz from last weekend that saluted the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man.

01. What are the names of Pac-Man's enemies?
The green ghost was called Bashful. The red ghost was known as Shadow. The pink ghost was known as Speedy, and the orange ghost was known as Pokey. But they were more commonly referred to by their nicknames: Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde.
02. When Ms. Pac-Man came out in 1981, she faced her husband's enemies, but one was replaced by an alternate. Who?
Clyde was replaced by another orange ghost named Sue, with no nickname.
03. Once again, when the next sequel, Junior Pac-Man (the son of the first two) came out in 1983, the three enemies common to the first two games were joined by an alternate. Which one this time?
Sue was replaced by another orange ghost named Tim, again without a nickname.
04. Believe it or not, the concept of video games was experimented with as far back as the late 1940s! But what was the first true arcade (coin operated) game?
The first arcade game period was called "The Galaxy Game", developed at Stanford University in 1971. The first massed produced arcade game was Atari's "Pong" in 1972.
05. Mario has become the Nintendo icon. What was his first appearance ever?
Originally called Jumpman, Mario first appeared as the hero in "Donkey Kong", circa 1981.
06. When did Mario's brother Luigi first appear?
Luigi joined the scene in 1983's "Mario Brothers", originally implying that Mario was their surname. The actual last name of Mario and Luigi has yet to be revealed/confirmed.
07. The original video/arcade games were all black and white. What was the first arcade game in color?
"Space Invaders", 1978.
08. What was the first home video game in color?
Provided you had a color TV at the time, Magnavox's Odyssey system, first released in 1972.
09. What video game features players riding on either an ostrich or a stork?
"Joust!", a 1982 release from Williams Electronics. Player 1 was on the ostrich, while Player 2 rode the stork.
10. What was the big surprise at the end of 1986's first "Metroid" video game for the home Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)?
That the lead character, Samus Aran, was a woman! Until then, ladies in video games were always depicted as either in the background or as the proverbial damsel in distress.
11. What was the company we know today as Nintendo first manufacturing before they got into the video/arcade game business?
They started their corporate existence as the Nintendo Playing Card Company in 1889!
12. When did the company we know today as SEGA enter the arcade market?
In 1981 with their first game: "Eliminator!"
13. When did SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog first debut?
1991.
14. Who did Sonic replace as SEGA's mascot?
Alex Kidd.

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES: MAY 23, 2010

Hello everybody. Ms. Waxy Dragon here!

It's open mike time here at The Free Choice E-zine. So just kick back, relax, and enjoy the jokes.

The Census worker asked Mrs. Jones her age.
Mrs. Jones asked, "Have you talked to Mrs Hill yet?"
"She's next."
"Oh, all right. I'm the same age as Mrs Hill."
The census worker wrote on the form, "Mrs Jones: as old as the hills."

I forgot to tell this one back at the beginning of the month, but that's never stopped me from telling a joke before. Did you know that the day before Cinco de Mayo was International Star Wars Day? May the Fourth be with you!

People may complain about the economy, but it's always the same. Any pay raise is just large enough to increase your taxes and small enough to have no effect on your take-home pay.

But do you really think money really can't buy happiness or are some people just unhappy that they don't have the money to find out for sure?

I think I have finally figured out why circuses have people riding a bicycle on a tightrope. It's nice for the audience to see someone ride somewhere safely with no traffic!

If anyone ever opens a business on the moon, how do you think it would fare? I'm not sure a restaurant would be successful up there. After all, what would you do for ambiance? There's no atmosphere.

And remember: if anyone asks, Mr. Bigger's son is bigger than Mr. Bigger himself because after all, the kid is a little bigger!

Okay everyone. Unfortunately I'm out of room, so we'll see you next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!
wd.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: MAY 16-22, 2010

*Full details are sketchy since this tragedy happened just this afternoon, but an Air India flight crashed in Margalon, leaving only 8 survivors.
*The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues, as tar balls begin to wash ashore upon the Florida Keys and President Obama has appointed an investigator to examine how the incident happened.
*A finance reform bill has passed through the Senate. Now it will be compared/contrasted with the House of Representatives version to present one unified version to President Obama for his approval.
*The state of Texas has approved changes to their educational curriculum for the upcoming school year. But instead of updating, the current administration says they are undoing the 'skewed agenda' of the past state legislatures, since the educational policies come under review only once every 10 years. Changes include referring to America's government as a "constitutional republic" instead of a democratic government; downplaying the importance of the civil rights movement; and requires students in the higher grades to "evaluate the efforts of global organizations, such as the United Nations, to undermine the sovereignty of the United States as direct threats to individual liberties and freedom"!
*After the Roman Catholic Church rescinded its decree of heresy, the remains of 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus has been reburied with full honors. The original verdict was because he claimed that the Earth revolved around the Sun instead of the other way around.
IN SPORTS
*Major League Baseball began the first round of Interleague play for the 2010 season this weekend, with many matchups featuring "crosstown" rivals.
IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
*This weekend marks the 30th anniversary of the Pac-Man video game. Google is celebrating the event with an interactive (PLAYABLE!) Pac-Man based logo on their home page and this weekend's Puzzle Corner below features a video game themed quiz.

For more news at any time, just scroll down to the IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: MAY 22, 2010

This weekend marks the 30th anniversary of the Pac-Man arcade game, that classic hungry yellow circle eating dots, various other objects, and chasing ghosts whenever digesting a power pellet.
Google is celebrating the anniversary with an interactive (PLAYABLE!) logo this weekend, and the Puzzle Corner joins the festivities by presenting this video game quiz.

01. What are the names of Pac-Man's enemies?
02. When Ms. Pac-Man came out in 1981, she faced her husband's enemies, but one was replaced by an alternate. Who?
03. Once again, when the next sequel, Junior Pac-Man (the son of the first two) came out in 1983, the three enemies common to the first two games were joined by an alternate. Which one this time?
04. Believe it or not, the concept of video games was experimented with as far back as the late 1940s! But what was the first true arcade (coin operated) game?
05. Mario has become the Nintendo icon. What was his first appearance ever?
06. When did Mario's brother Luigi first appear?
07. The original video/arcade games were all black and white. What was the first arcade game in color?
08. What was the first home video game in color?
09. What video game features players riding on either an ostrich or a stork?
10. What was the big surprise at the end of 1986's first Metroid video game for the home Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)?
11. What was the company we know today as Nintendo first manufacturing before they got into the video/arcade game business?
12. When did the company we know today as SEGA enter the arcade market?
13. When did SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog first debut?
14. Who did Sonic replace as SEGA's mascot?

We'll drop a quarter in the coin slot and fire up the results next weekend.
But for now, let's look into THE ANSWERS BOX for the solutions for last weekend's Puzzle Corner.

COMMON BONDS
Long time Free Choice e-zine reader Roger Stegman said the following words had three things in common. Do you know what they are?

{assess, banana, dresser, grammar, potato, revive, uneven}

Besides the fact that they all have at least two double letters and their unique constant/vowel arrangement, if you take the first letter of each and put it at the end, you have that word backwards!

REBUS
How Green Was My Valley?

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES: MAY 16, 2010

Hello Everybody! Autumn the Puppy here!

And I've dug up some interesting information about dogs in the comics!

Did you know that the Tribune Media Services is ending the (Little Orphan) Annie comic strip on June 13 with a cliffhanger? Apparently she is only in about 20 newspapers right now, hence the cancellation, although the Tribune stresses that they are NOT killing off Annie, and hope to bring her back somewhere soon.

Okay. That's good for the little red haired girl, but what about SANDY?

That faithful canine has been with her for the entire 85 year run of the series, and not one report about the cancellation I've read ever mentioned him!

Whenever Annie returns, Sandy has to come back also!

Meanwhile, that 'great' dane Marmaduke is getting his own movie, due in theatres June 5th. At least us dogs are making some progress. That dang cat Garfield has been all over the place in the past couple of decades, and for better or worse the Underdog movie bombed at the box office, so it's about time us canines got a break. We've been getting the short end of the stick ever since Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang decided to take a well earned break.

Of course there's still (Red and) Rover, Buckles, Sarge's Otto from Beetle Bailey, Dennis the Menace's Ruff, and a few others. Yet Snoopy was definitely top dog.

But now, to prove I've totally haven't lost my sense of humor, here are a few canine based jokes.

How come, if dogs have to have a license, we can't drive?

What do you call a beagle in an igloo? A chilly dog!

I find it insulting when a human says they're 'as sick as a dog'. How would you like it if I took you to the doctor and they stuck a thermometer where it's not supposed to go!

Well, that's all the space I have for this weekend.

Don't go barking up the wrong tree. Think twice before you decide to chase a car or go after the mail carrier, and be back next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!

AtP.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: MAY 9-15, 2010

*Unfortunately, the oil spill from the British Petroleum off shore rig continues in the Gulf of Mexico, although clean up efforts continue in earnest.
*Elena Kazan, President Obama's appointee to the Supreme Court, is in the early stages of her confirmation hearings before the Senate subcommittee.
*What may be the last shuttle mission is under way as the space shuttle Atlantis launched May 14 on a supply run to the International Space Station.
*16 year old Jessica Watson of Australia is the youngest person to completely sail around the world on her own.
*The Tribune Media syndicate is ending the (Little Orphan) Annie comic strip on June 13, 2010 due to low readership. At the moment, the strip is appearing within only 20 newspapers across the country. The Tribune stresses that they are not killing off the character, despite the fact that the series is ending in an unfinished cliffhanger, because they hope to revive the character within other media.

SADLY, THE WORLD LOST THIS WEEK...
*Frank Frazetta, talented sci-fi and fantasy painter
*Lena Horne, the legendary chanteuse (Stormy Weather)
*Doris Eaton, the last living member of the famous Ziegfeld Girls dance troupe
*Phyllis Callow-Hodges Boyce, actress

IN SPORTS...
*Dallas Brenden of the Oakland Athletics pitched a perfect game (no walks, hits, nor runs) on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays. The A's won 4-0.

IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS...
*Although the full schedules for the 2010-2011 TV season will not be announced until the end of the month, NBC has announced that after 20 seasons(!), Law and Order will not be back on their network this fall!
*Now that Betty White has hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live, the Facebook contingent that lobbied for her has turned their attention to a new objective: getting legendary comedian Carol Burnett a turn as hostess on the program.

For more news at any time, just scroll down to the IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: MAY 15, 2010

Greetings puzzle fans!
First up this weekend is this conundrum from Free Choice e-zine reader Roger Stegman that I thought you might like.

COMMON BONDS
"All the following words have THREE things in common," he said. "Do you know what they are?"

{assess, banana, dresser, grammar, potato, revive, uneven}

And if you would like to submit anything to your favorite e-zine dear reader, just e-mail me at leehoustonjr@gmail.com

Meanwhile, here's our other enigma for this weekend.

REBUS
Something familiar is represented by the image below. Do you know what it is?

VALLEY?

We'll have the results next weekend. But for now, let's peek into THE ANSWERS BOX, to see where all those TV ladies from last weekend's MOTHER'S DAY QUIZ originated.

01. Margret Anderson: Father Knows Best (Portrayed by Jane Wyatt)
02. Lucille Bluth: Arrested Development (Jessica Walter)
03. Angela Bower: Who's The Boss? (Judith Light)
04. Jules Cobb: Cougar Town (Courtney Cox)
05. Claire Dunphry: Modern Family (Julie Bowen)
06. Florida Evans: Good Times (Esther Rolle)
07. Kathy "Kitty" Forman: That 70's Show (Debra Jo Rupp)
08. Mary Jenkins: 227 (Marla Gibbs)
09. Ann Romano: One Day At A Time (Bonnie Franklin)
10. Donna Stone: The Donna Reed Show (Donna Reed)

MOTHER'S DAY 2010

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Did you know that the concept of Mother's Day was originated by Anna Jarvis after the passing of her own mother in 1907? She lobbied and petitioned until Mother's Day (the second Sunday of each May) was officially recognized as a social event (but not a federal holiday in the United States) in 1914.
The idea quickly caught on and gained International acclaim, but by 1920, Jarvis grew more weary as her honorable intentions became commercially exploited, and spent the rest of her life fighting the commercialism while trying to get Mother's Day revoked!

One of the hardest jobs a person can have within their lifetime is to be a parent. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to raise a child.
So here's to all our maternal parents!
You grand ladies know who you are.

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES: MAY 8, 2010

Hello Everyone. Editor-In-Chief Lee Houston, Junior here. Ms. Waxy Dragon and Autumn the Puppy both have the weekend off because it's Mothers' Day.
So that just leaves you with me.
Let's see if I can find something funny to say.
Hmm... What's this on Waxy's desk?

Do you think when they're hungry, baby lambs ask their mommies for baa-baas?

Oh boy! I think I better try to tell a few jokes of my own.
But what can I--
EUREKA! I've got it!
Presenting... Things you're mother would NEVER say!

"How on earth can you see the TV sitting so far back?"
"Just leave all the lights on . It makes the house look more cheery."
"Let me smell that shirt. Yeah, it's good for another week."
"Go ahead and keep that stray dog, honey. I'll be glad to feed and walk him every day."
"I don't have a tissue with me. Just use your sleeve."
"Of course you don't dress funny. I picked out your clothes."
"I'd like to be the ideal mother, but I'm too busy raising my kids."
"I want my kids to have everything I didn't in life. Then I'll move in with them and play video games and surf the 'net all day while they work."

Well, that's (thankfully) all the space we have for this weekend. Join us again next time for more Sunday Funnies.-lth,jr.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: MAY 2-8, 2010

*The attempted bombing of Times Square earlier this week has been linked to members of the Pakistan Taliban, according to White House officials. Meanwhile, another possible threat on Friday involving an abandoned ice chest thankfully turned out to be a false alarm.
*British Petroleum and other agencies continue to combat the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, although slicks found on the shores of Alabama beaches prove that the situation has spread farther than originally feared. The leak at the offshore oil platform has yet to be successfully capped. Meanwhile, the full effect upon both the environment and the local economy (fishing and tourism) has yet to be completely felt by states along the Gulf Coast.
IN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
*Iron Man 2 opened to mix reviews and good ticket sales.
*At 88 and a half years old, Betty White becomes the oldest person ever to host NBC's Saturday Night Live. No stranger to comedy, the former Golden Girl has also performed a memorable stint on the original Mary Tyler Moore Show and has been an active actress since the 1950s.
*Actress Helen Wagner, perhaps best known for maintain the record of performing one role the longest thanks to being on As The World Turns since that daytime soap opera's radio days, passed away earlier this week at the age of 92.
*Sadly, actress Lynn Redgrave lost her battle with cancer this week.

For more news at any time, just scroll down to the IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: MAY 8, 2010

Sunday is Mother's Day, whereupon we honor our maternal parent; so appropriately, we have a MOTHER'S DAY themed Puzzle Corner for you.

Can you name the TV shows that featured these mothers?

01. Margret Anderson
02. Lucille Bluth
03. Angela Bower
04. Jules Cobb
05. Claire Dunphry
06. Florida Evans
07. Kathy "Kitty" Forman
08. Mary Jenkins
09. Ann Romano
10. Donna Stone

We'll reveal the results next weekend. But for now, let's peek into THE ANSWERS BOX for the correct responses to our SUPER HERO QUIZ from last weekend.

01. The Metropolis Marvel: SUPERMAN
02. The Amazon Princess: WONDER WOMAN
03. The Dark Knight: BATMAN
04. Ol' Jade Jaws: THE HULK
05. The Wall Crawler: SPIDER MAN
06. Carrot Top (not the prop comedian): ARCHIE ANDREWS of Archie Comics
07. Mrs. Fantastic: THE INVISIBLE WOMAN of the Fantastic Four
08. Shellhead: IRON MAN
09. The Emerald Warrior: GREEN LANTERN (not Green Arrow, who is sometimes called the Emerald Archer)
10. The Fastest Man Alive: THE FLASH (regardless of who is in the costume)

CINCO DE MAYO/MAY FIFTH, 2010

Today some of us celebrate May 5.
Back in 1862, the Mexican Army defeat the oppressing French forces of the time to protect their country.
While this is not Mexico's actual Independence Day (that's actually September 16), it is a celebration of that country's heritage and pride.
So enjoy the party and please CELEBRATE RESPONSIBILY.

Translations provided by the "Babel Fish" website at http://babelfish.yahoo.com/ because I personally speak very little Spanish.

Algunos de nosotros celebran hoy el 5 de mayo. Detrás en 1862, la derrota mexicana del ejército las fuerzas francesas de opresión de la época de proteger su país.
Mientras que éste no es Mexico' Día de la Independencia real de s (that' s realmente el 16 de septiembre), es una celebración de eso country' herencia y orgullo de s.
Disfrute tan del partido y CELEBRE por favor RESPONSIBILY.

Las traducciones proporcionaron por el " Babelfish" Web site en http://babelfish.yahoo.com / porque Hablo personalmente muy poco español.

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES: MAY 2, 2010

Back stage at The Free Choice E-zine offices...

WAXY DRAGON: What to do... What to do...
AUTUMN THE PUPPY: Hey Waxy! What's going on?
WAXY: I'm trying to figure out what to do for this weekend's Sunday Funnies.
AUTUMN: Want me to see what I can dig up for you?
WAXY: If you don't mind.
AUTUMN: Hmm.... Well, sometimes I do have to wonder about human beings. After all, they spend good money on bottled water when they can get it straight from the tap.
WAXY: Yeah, or wait until it rains and get it for free.
AUTUMN: Did you ever notice that Evian backwards is Naive?
WAXY: Humans just don't get it sometimes.
AUTUMN: Yeah. When they complain about taxes every April, they're just giving The IRS THEIRS.
WAXY: Thanks good. Say, if Fed Ex and United Parcel merged, would they be FED UPS?
AUTUMN: I don't know. Every time one of those delivery people come into my yard and I start trying to talk to them, my owner tells me to shut up.
WAXY: (chuckles) Yeah. Talking to humans can be weird sometimes too. How come when they ask a question, people don't always like the answer?
AUTUMN: Well, in that case, why ask the question to begin with?
WAXY: Yeah. It's like: if 4 out of 5 people prefer something, does that mean that the fifth person is wrong?
AUTUMN: Not necessarily. It's nice to be your own individual.
WAXY: Well, if 4 out of 5 people suffer from diarrhea, that doesn't mean the fifth one actually enjoys it?
AUTUMN: No. After all, if the first four allegedly enjoy eating out at a specific place, maybe the fifth is just more frugal.
WAXY: Yeah. Here's a poser for you: why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren't they just stale bread to begin with?
AUTUMN: (chuckles) I know. And what happens if sour cream reaches its expiration date? Does it turn good?
WAXY: Beats me. I'm still trying to figure out 7-Up. What happened to the first six? And why up? Did none of the other directions work?
AUTUMN: I don't know. Makes you wonder about other things though. Like, what happened to Formulas 1 through 408 and Preparations A through G?
WAXY: Do you think people who work at tea companies take coffee breaks?
AUTUMN: You've got me. Is that anything like why do humans park in a driveway and drive in a parkway?
WAXY: Yeah. Or like, why do they call it rush hour when nothing moves?
AUTUMN: I don't really know. I've got a dog license and they still won't let me drive when they take me places.
WAXY: You mean like that place where they stick the thermometer where it shouldn't be?
AUTUMN: Yeah. If they wanted to know how I was feeling, why don't they just ask me?
WAXY: Say, you know what?
AUTUMN: What?
WAXY: We've filled the column!
AUTUMN: YEAH!
WAXY/AUTUMN, together: Okay folks! All kidding aside, we love humans! So join us next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!
wd/rs, atp/lhjr.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: APRIL 25-MAY 1, 2010

*It's Free Comic Book Day in the United States of America.
*The 136th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race, the first leg in the annual Triple Crown competition was held today. "Super Saver" won at 2.04.45, two and a half lengths ahead of the next horse. It was close between the next two to cross the finish line, but "Ice Box" placed and "Paddy O'Prado" showed. (Second and third place; respectively.)
*This year marks the 45th anniversary season of the Houston Astros baseball team.
*April 28 marks the 80th anniversary of Nancy Drew, based upon the initial release date of the first book to feature the teen detective: Mystery of the Old Clock.
*After an explosion on an offshore oil platform, a huge oil slick is threatening the Louisiana shore line. Clean up efforts are under way, but are hampered by current weather conditions on the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, British Petroleum officials are participating in recovery efforts while trying to downplay the negative publicity resulting from the situation.
*According to the Associated Press: In New York City this past week, a homeless man saved a woman from being attacked at the cost of his own life. Alfredo Talegadia of Guatemala could have been saved if someone would have been a good Samaritan in return. But video surveillance footage proves that many walked past his prone body, thinking him either drunk or asleep. A sad statement about not just the citizens of New York City, but humanity in general.
*The CEO and other executives of Goldman Sachs were called before Congress to testify this week as the investigation into the financial situation continues.
*Although the Obama administration says that their economic recovery plans ARE working, but "it takes longer to clean up a mess than to make it", all the public seems to be aware of is just the unemployment situation, despite a recent MSNBC poll that says about 85% of those surveyed realize that the current problems facing this country are a result of the previous administration.
*With a cameo in Sylvester Stallone's upcoming movie The Expendables this August, some pundits are wondering what will be next for Arnold Schwarzenegger after his current and last term as governor of California ends.
*Former President George W. Bush has announced that his presidential memoirs, entitled Decision Points, will be published this November. Former First Lady Laura Bush also has a memoir due for release before the end of this year.
*Sony Electronics is ending production of the 3.5 floppy disc.

For more news at any time, just scroll down to the IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: MAY 1, 2010

It's Free Comic Book Day in the United States today, where we celebrate the art form that first developed in the 1930s and has grown into the industry we know it as today.
But while super-heroes do dominate the market, do you know these characters just by their nicknames?
To be fair, all are comic book characters currently in print.

01. The Metropolis Marvel
02. The Amazon Princess
03. The Dark Knight
04. Ol' Jade Jaws
05. The Wall Crawler
06. Carrot Top (not the prop comedian)
07. Mrs. Fantastic
08. Shellhead
09. The Emerald Warrior
10. The Fastest Man Alive

We'll reveal the results next weekend, but for now, let's peek into THE ANSWERS BOX for the results of April 24's Puzzle Corner...

TRIVIA TIME
Despite the name, the French and Indian War was actually fought between the French and the British!

WORD PLAY
ETON, NOTE, TONE