A heart attack places you into what is described by some as a “vegetative state” while family members battle for fifteen years over whether you should be allowed to die or to continue to linger on in the hopes that a miracle will occur. It sounds like the premise of a horror story, presuming that the victim is actually aware of what is going on. But that’s the big question: is Terri Schiavo aware of what is happening around her?
As the legal battle continues about whether they …

As the legal battle continues about whether they should reconnect the feeding tube — and at this point, has enough damage not already been done by the lack of nourishment that it would be more humane to let her go? — I have to wonder about these statements I keep hearing:
If she is in a non-responsive vegetative state…
If she can’t feel pain and isn’t aware of any suffering connected with the lack of starvation…
If she isn’t aware of what is happening to her and doesn’t have the cognitive ability …

This morning on the Today show, I saw a segment about fast food getting “big” again. It’s not surprising to me, really…I knew that the elimination of “Supersize” couldn’t last for long.
Burger King has just introduced a new breakfast item, the “Enormous Omelet Sandwich.” Enormous is right: this sandwich of two eggs, cheese, sausage AND bacon packs 730 calories and 40 grams of fat.
How much is that? According to Nutritionist Heidi Skolnik, for the 18-24 year olds, fast foods biggest customers, the average intake is 2400-2800 …

The story about a Kentucky student arrested after writing what he called a “zombie story” is still inspiring comments, and, as expected, still causing more people to blame the media for the whole thing. I received the following comment on my earlier piece about what constitutes “Shoddy” Reporting?:
The shoddy reporting wasn’t just get two sides. Media is expected to do more than that. They are explected to check facts. (Was there a story? Did it mention zombies? Was it assigned? Was there evidence beyond the journal — Answers: There …

Well this will be my first “Saturday Six” as an Editor’s Top Pick. I suppose I should quickly explain for the newcomers how this works:
It’s basically a set of six random questions. You’ve seen such things in other journals; there’s nothing particularly special about these questions versus the “Friday Five,” for example, except that my set has one more question one day later!
You either answer the questions here in a comment, or you answer them in an entry in your journal and leave a comment here with the …

This morning on the Today show, I saw a segment about fast food getting “big” again. It’s not surprising to me, really…I knew that the elimination of “Supersize” couldn’t last for long.
Burger King has just introduced a new breakfast item, the “Enormous Omelet Sandwich.” Enormous is right: this sandwich of two eggs, cheese, sausage AND bacon packs 730 calories and 40 grams of fat.
How much is that? According to Nutritionist Heidi Skolnik, for the 18-24 year olds, fast foods biggest customers, the average intake is 2400-2800 calories and anywhere …

For the first time since its inception, “Patrick’s Place” has been honored as an Editor’s Top Pick. What’s more, it got the #1 slot. Ironically, an alternate journal, “The Faces of AOL J-Land,” (now defunct), got the second slot.
Thanks to all of those who have E-mailed me congratulating me…I appreciate the kind words and your generous attention each week. To those of you who are visiting for the first time, click the box on the sidebar just above the mailbox and you’ll get a sample of earlier writing I’ve done …

My therapist — yes, I’ve been seeing a therapist for two months now — suggested that I start a journal. (If he only knew…)
His idea was to write about being stressed out, the causes of my stress (if I can identify them) and to give myself a “stress rating” on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most stressed. After my first visit, I did this faithfully for two weeks then went back and took him a copy. He is presumably reading it, or …

Because I work in the media, I hear all the time about how bad a job the media does at reporting the news. In my last post, I updated a story about a Kentucky high school student arrested after writing a story he claimed was about zombies attacking a high school. The update consisted of new information from a court hearing in which a police detective testified about the contents of the story.
I addressed the fact that when the story was originally published, many people automatically sided with the student, …

I found this quiz at Josh’s “Much Ado About Nothing.” I was born a Sagittarius, and generally find that I fit the “typical” traits of that sign quite well. This quiz, however, says I have the personality of a Gemini.
Discover your Zodiac Personality @ Quiz Me
Interesting.

Recently I updated a story about a Kentucky high school student arrested after writing a story he claimed was about zombies attacking a high school. The update consisted of new information from a court hearing in which a police detective testified about the contents of the story.
I addressed the fact that when the story was originally published, many people automatically sided with the student, and accused the student’s grandparents who turned him in and the local authorities of overreacting.
One of the comments I received was this:
Well this definitely sheds new …

I spent the morning volunteering with the animal shelter. Having spent time with some four-legged friends, I realized it was time to spend some time asking six more questions.
But first…
Scott reclaimed his first-to-play status after being beaten by fellow Hawaiian Chris the week before! Congratulations, Scott!
Denielle played for the first time this week, and almost was first to play as well! It was also the first time playing the Six for Ann Marie, Jennie, and Beth! Be sure to visit their journals to say hello.
Now on …