Recently in Human Interest Category

Mildly amusing:


Glenn Beck also mocked the media coverage.

To make it even more of a circus the sheriff says that he was playing the media so that he could gain the trust of the media manipulators:

The sheriff, who on Friday had largely dismissed suggestions from reporters that the balloon flight might be a hoax, said that he had, to some extent, manipulated the media in order to gain the trust of the Heenes.

"I bumped against the line of misleading the media," he said. "I hope I didn't cross that line. I bumped up against it by perhaps overstating our assurance or belief that there was nothing behind this."

And he's looking into whether the media may have been involved:

We certainly know there's a conspiracy between the husband and wife. You've probably seen some of the e-mails and things on the internet suggesting that there may be other conspirators. We're certainly examining that possibility, including the possibility that even some of the media outlets may have had some knowledge about this.

I'd be shocked if the media were involved. Dupes, yes but willing accomplices to fraud, don't think so.

No surprise that charges are being filed in the balloon boy incident:

"We were looking at Class 3 misdemeanor, which hardly seems serious enough given the circumstances," Alderden said. "We are talking to the district attorney, federal officials to see if perhaps there aren't additional federal charges that are appropriate in this circumstance."

Evidently, this is a family that likes the attention of the public:

He and his family appeared on the ABC reality show "Wife Swap," and the show's producer said it had a show in development with the Heenes but the deal is now off. TLC also said Heene had pitched a reality show to the network months ago, but it passed on the offer.

I wonder how they like being the newest obsession of the media? No matter how much you want to be in the spotlight, shouldn't the extreme scrutiny by the press of the Octomom, the Gosselins and Joe the Plumber have been a warning against generating publicity?

BTW, here's the "show" the six-year-old might have been talking about.

I wouldn't be surprised. I'm so glad this story didn't take up my evening like it did for those on Twitter and watching Fox News:

The parents of the 6-year-old Colorado boy who was at one time believed to have been soaring across Colorado in a "homemade flying saucer" continue to face questions about whether the entire incident was a publicity stunt.

[...]

But skepticism about the incident was fueled, in large part, by the family's appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live" Thursday night in which Falcon said "we did this for a show."

Toward the end of a lengthy interview, guest host Wolf Blitzer asked Richard Heene to ask his son, who could not hear Blitzer, what he meant by the comment. Heene briefly suggested Falcon might have been talking about the family's two appearances on the ABC reality show, "Wife Swap."

If it turns out to be staged, they should pay for the cost of the search.

You can watch the CNN interview here.

I'm surprised it was the bride's idea since she looked a little shy while doing it and the groom looked like he was totally into it:

(via)

You can also watch them recreate it on the Today Show:

I wasn't really interested in a recreation because it wasn't so much the dance as the surprise of the wedding party doing something completely different, that spoke to the moment and that represented the joy that we should all experience when we come before God and man and say that I want to spend the rest of my life with this person.

Related Post: The video of the dancing wedding party

According to the WSJ Steve Jobs had a liver transplant two months ago In Tennessee (which has the shortest waiting list in the country and no residency requirements):

Adding a new twist to the medical mystery surrounding the world's most famous corporate executive, Apple CEO Steve Jobs received a liver transplant about two months ago, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site Friday night.

Pancreatic cancer (which he had in 2004) usually metastasizes in the liver:

William Hawkins, a doctor specializing in pancreatic and gastrointestinal surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, told the Journal that the type of slow-growing pancreatic tumor Jobs had will commonly metastasize in another organ during a patient's lifetime, and that the organ is usually the liver.

This is, of course, all speculation since Jobs hasn't confirmed what illness he is fighting. Which is smart given people's reaction to cancer. It's an immediate death sentence in the eyes of the public and could mean a big dip in Apple's stock prices and confidence in the viability of the company. Even if Jobs' chances of beating cancer were good, most would assume he wasn't going to make it.

But cancer isn't a death sentence in every case, it can be beat. I'm on the verge of doing just that. I finished my chemo treatment and next week I will be officially declared cancer free (Lord willing). I didn't think I'd make it this far since my grandma never made it into remission (though, the surgeon did promise me I'd be in remission by summer). I'm blessed to be living at a time when there are skillful surgeons and oncologists who can successfully treat cancer patients. And so is Steve Jobs.

I saw this yesterday on the evening news and of course cried. How sweet for the soldier to see the reaction of his daughter to his homecoming. (via)...