News Round-Up

The blog's been a bit light. Apologies. Life calls, and all that.

To kick off the weekend, here are a few news stories that have caught my eye over the past few days:

--As a part-time horse racing fan, I was interested in/concerned by the news that horses are being cloned. For now, thoroughbred racing officials are wisely refusing to deal with cloned animals, but if they ever change their mind, identical horses will certainly make handicapping even more difficult than it already is. ("I really like the way this horse ran his last race, and how he's been working out; but then again, this other horse is the same horse.")

--A couple of weeks ago, I raved about a play called "Well" that's opening on Broadway. Today, Ben Brantley seconds that emotion.

--My friend Patty sent me a link to this story, and her subject line was: What century is this again? (As much as I'd love to leave it at that, I have to say -- there might be some interest or value in studying the positive physical effects, if any, for those who have some strong psychological attachment to faith, etc., but surely studying whether other people praying for someone does any good is a serious, serious waste of time and money.)

--Finally, there's really only one word for this story: Creepy. OK, two words: Incredibly creepy.