A Dead Soldier's Thoughts On War....And Other Finds

It's an average name: Mike Smith. It appears as today's second-burstiest person in BlogPulse's key people because Smith, a U.S. soldier, was killed in Iraq this week in a mortar attack. Bloggers are linking to a November entry in his LiveJournal blog, , which probably sums up how a lot of soldiers feel about their "mission." (And now that WMD's officially have not been found, has anyone clearly redefined exactly WHAT the mission is? And how we'll know when it's accomplished? Isnt' that issue more pressing than Social Security reform?)

Speaking of soldiers, WWI veterans aren't too happy with Prince Harry, who showed up wearing fatigues and a swastika at a party...and has apologized for it. (Reminder to young royal family members: not cool).

On the celebrity front, actor Dennis Quaid is getting kudos from Napoleon Dynamite fans for appearing in a "Vote for Pedro" T-Shirt on Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show." Pedro's campaign, and issues such as wolverine hunting in Alaska, are key themes of the quirky movie. Also getting traction is "Law and Order" star Elizabeth Rohm, who apparently has been written out of the script, an act that took her to the top of the today's Bursty People list.

Other tidbits in today's Blogosphere:

Journalists learn early that "dog bites man" is an everyday occurence while "man bites dog" means news. So in that vein, we turn to the "Mammal Eats Dinosaur" headline from recent archeological findings. Velociraptor, anyone?

TRAVEL TIP: If you plan on visiting North Korea, see your stylist first. You've been warned.

And I see that the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, in issuing new eating guidelines, has stolen my idea for a best-selling weight-loss book, tentatively titled "Eat Less, Exercise More." I just assumed no one would buy a two-page book. (Page 1: "Eat less." Page 2: "Exercise more." The End.)

BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: It's awards time again in Tinseltown.