Is it my imagination, or have I finally found something worth living for?

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan is banning purses and all other bags from Michigan Stadium for security reasons, and the Pittsburgh Pirates are planning additional screening measures, too.

The University of Michigan said Wednesday it will require written permission from a medical professional before allowing any bags into the football stadium for Saturday's game against Indiana.

Recent arrests in Colorado and New York related to a terrorism probe touched off a flurry of national security bulletins. Michigan said in a statement that "adjusting security measures is the prudent thing to do."

School safety Deputy Chief Charlie Noffsinger said Michigan hasn't received information on any specific threats but acted after consulting with federal officials.

In Pittsburgh, the Pirates are tightening security because of the recent warnings and the G-20 summit Thursday and Friday at the downtown David L. Lawrence Convention Center, across the Allegheny River from PNC Park.

The Pirates play the Reds on Thursday afternoon and the Dodgers on Friday night.

"Even though we do not expect any issues during the G-20 summit, we have boosted the number of security personnel in and around the ballpark," Pirates spokesman Jim Trdinich said. "We will have additional screening with metal detecting wands at the gates for precautionary reasons."

Detroit -- Money problems have forced the Detroit Institute of Arts to cancel three scheduled exhibitions.

A major show, "Baroque 1620-1800: Style in the Age of Magnificence," organized by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, had been booked for the Detroit museum this fall.  But the DIA said it couldn't shoulder the added financial burden after the exhibit's only other North American venue dropped out.

According to reports, the DIA's shaky finances and Michigan's struggling economy also prompted the cancellations of a print show devoted to Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Jim Dine and a show of prints and drawings related to books.

Gotta love Michigan.

The Brighton City Council approved an ordinance allowing police in the Livingston County community to ticket and fine anyone who is annoying in public "by word of mouth, sign or motions."  The measure is modeled on a similar ordinance in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak and takes effect January 2nd.

Paul Newman, the Oscar-winning superstar who personified cool as the anti-hero of such films as "Hud," "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Color of Money" — followed by a second act as an activist, race car driver, and popcorn impresario — has died. He was 83.

 

Newman died Friday at his farmhouse near Westport following a long battle with cancer, publicist Jeff Sanderson said. He was surrounded by his family and close friends.

Let's see, what have I done today? Worked out, showered, went to Starbucks and drank coffee/read the New York Times, went to the library, made lunch...pretty productive, by my standards. I think that allows me to take 3 hours and watch V For Vendetta, because it's going to be on tv at 3:30 and I want to see it.

Two self-styled vigilantes against typos who defaced a more than 60-year-old, hand-painted sign at Grand Canyon National Park were sentenced to probation and banned from national parks for a year.

Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson pleaded guilty August 11 for the damage done March 28 at the park's Desert View Watchtower. The sign was made by Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, the architect who designed the rustic 1930s watchtower and other Grand Canyon-area landmarks.

Deck and Herson, both 28, toured the United States this spring, wiping out errors on government and private signs. They were interviewed by NPR and the Chicago Tribune, which called them "a pair of Kerouacs armed with Sharpies and erasers and righteous indignation."

An affidavit by National Park Service agent Christopher A. Smith said investigators learned of the vandalism from an Internet site operated by Deck on behalf of the Typo Eradication Advancement League.

The misspelled word "emense" was not fixed, Deck wrote, because "I was reluctant to disfigure the sign any further. ... Still, I think I shall be haunted by that perversity, emense, in my train-whistle-blighted dreams tonight."

Got a group of people together yesterday and drove to Detroit to go to the Tigers' game.  I'm not a huge baseball fan, but I had a blast.  It was a really exciting game, and the Tigers came from behind to score 6 runs in the 8th inning and win the game.  It was crazy.

Watched something on 20/20 about the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and I am awed and inspired.  I would LOVE to go to Rome and see it for myself, as it seems absolutely amazing.

I haven't really been paying attention to Michigan's basketball team much this season, but I did see that they lost to Harvard yesterday.  Harvard?  Yikes!  Of all the things Harvard is known for, I don't think its basketball team is among them.  To add insult to injury, Harvard is now coached by former Michigan coach Tommy Amaker.  It sounds like it's not going to be a very great season.

Busy day today.  Going to the football game right now, and then when the game is over I'm going over to the hockey game. 

The weekend has gone by much too quickly. Friday night Lindsey and I went out to eat at Zanzibar, then went back to my place to watch some movies.  Saturday consisted of a couple art exhibits during the day, and then going to Score Keepers to watch the Michigan game.  That was certainly a good time, and nothing I've ever done before.  Good thing Michigan won!  People went crazy.

I slept in this morning and had a nice, leisurely breakfast.  Now I think I might head over to the book store for awhile and just relax.

According to new research, the time of year a woman conceives may influence the future academic performance of her child.

When researchers linked standardized test scores of 1,667,391 Indiana students in grades 3 through 10 with the month in which each student had been conceived, they found that children conceived May through August scored significantly lower on math and language tests than children conceived during other months of the year.

The correlation between test scores and conception season held regardless of race, gender, and grade level.

Read all about it by clicking here.

This makes no sense to me, and is in fact quite sad.  Cities are cracking down on charities that feed the homeless, adopting rules that restrict food giveaways to certain locations, require charities to get permits or limit the number of free meals they can provide.

I would love to know what the reasoning behind this is, because I can't think of one.

Lindsey and I went to the Michigan basketball game yesterday.  They lost to Ohio State, but it was a much closer game than I ever thought it would be.  That was good.  People were crazy since we were playing Ohio State, so it was an especially fun atmosphere.