incidentally, i'm on a yahoogroup called BLORCH with 20-30 people i graduated with and some friends, and it's generally political discussion with some videogaming thrown in. one thing we do is have a "BLORCH Feel-Good Story of the Day" where every day (well, 4 out of 5) someone posts a news story that's twisted, ironic, funny, sickening, whatever. like "French Businesswoman Gang-Raped in Dubai, Jailed For Adultery Upon Reporting It".
at the end of each November, we gather all the stories and poll to find the "BLORCH Feel-Good Story of the Year". the winner this year was something I think I posted here:
http://www.adn.com/front/story/4110831p-4127072c.html
Bear Lover Becomes Bear Chow ON TAPE
A California author and filmmaker who became famous for trekking to Alaska's remote Katmai coast to commune with brown bears has fallen victim to the teeth and claws of the wild animals he loved.
Alaska State Troopers and National Park Service officials said Timothy Treadwell, 46, and girlfriend Amie Huguenard, 37, were killed and partially eaten by a bear or bears near Kaflia Bay, about 300 miles southwest of Anchorage, earlier this week.
Scientists who study Alaska brown bears said they had been warning Treadwell for years that he needed to be more careful around the huge and powerful coastal twin of the grizzly.
Treadwell's films of close-up encounters with giant bears brought him a bounty of national media attention. The fearless former drug addict from Malibu, Calif. -- who routinely eased up close to bears to chant "I love you'' in a high-pitched, sing-song voice -- was the subject of a show on the Discovery Channel and a report on "Dateline NBC." Blond, good-looking and charismatic, he appeared for interviews on David Letterman's show and "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" to talk about his bears. He even gave them names: Booble, Aunt Melissa, Mr. Chocolate, Freckles and Molly, among others. A self-proclaimed eco-warrior, he attracted something of a cult following too. Chuck Bartlebaugh of "Be Bear Aware,'' a national bear awareness campaign, called Treadwell one of the leaders of a group of people engaged in "a trend to promote getting close to bears to show they were not dangerous.
(story continues on site. the "ON TAPE" part came out a day later, when they discovered there were audiotapes of him screaming and dying and being munched on)
