When Did Sneakers Get So Weird?

It's just before 5pm that I always ponder the deepest mysteries of our universe. This afternoon I'm harkening back to the retail experience I had at lunchtime, when I purchased a new pair of sneakers.

Naturally, I went for some dark, bland running shoes, the kind that old white guys like me change into before running to catch the train home. But I couldn't help but marvel at the array of strange athletic shoes spread across the display wall.

When did sneakers become do decorative? In my lifetime they've evolved from white or black shoes with a round circle logo on the side to strange, garish swirling things that would frighten Ziggy Stardust.

It's not that people don't wear garish shirts, pants, skirts and leather pumps, but sneaker designers seem to truly challenge each other to redefine loudness with each new model. And customers have bought into the idea that they should look like Bozo the Clown or Dorothy with the ruby slippers if they want to be with it. In fact, they pay dearly for the right to shine. Sneakers (I mean, athletic shoes) run anywhere from about $80. to $250. these days.

I guess all that orange, silver and green polyurethane has to be used somewhere.

WikiLeaks About To Whack Some Large Banks

It's tough to avoid feeling a bit conflicted about WikiLeaks. I can't applaud the release of information that endangers anyone's life, but as a child of the 1960's, I hesitate to stand up in favor of government secrecy.

The recent release of diplomatic messages, in truth, seems a bit comic. We're provided with "revelations" that Vladimir Putin's prime minister Dmitri Medvedev is a puppet, that Italian head of state Sylvio Berlusconi is vain and useless, that Saudi Arabia wants the U.S. to attack Iran but won't do any of the dirty work itself and that Angela Merkel is uncreative - and we're expected to be surprised in some way. Anyone who wasn't already quite aware of the above must have spent the last ten years on a foreign planet.

The one overarching insight that seems to emerge is that everyone in the middle east is so apprehensive about Iran that even old enemies seem inclined to join together to try and resist it. It all confirms the grand mistake the U.S. made by starting the war in Iraq, and creating a regional power vacuum that Iran has clearly exploited.

The next revelation, delivered by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in an interview with Forbes, is that WikiLeaks has a trove of emails from a U.S. bank that will be released shortly, which "could take down a bank or two." He adds that some "flagrant violations and unethical practices" will be revealed in the emails. Can anyone feel sympathetic toward the bankers about the be outed?

The Angry Birds Peace Treaty: Hilarious Satire

I suppose this Israeli-produced comedy bit is a satire of the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians, but it could apply to anything from Northern Ireland to the Republicans versus the Democrats here in the U.S. Childishness knows no borders. Just remember, the victims of Halloween did not die in vain!

Choose Wisely When It Comes To Going To School For Criminal Justice

Criminal justice is a cool-sounding specialty. But the truth is that for every highly paid FBI agent, there are alot of airport security guards who do stressful, repetitous work and don't earn a whole lot of money. Here's a overview what kind of career benefit you can actually get if you go for a college degree in this specialty, what the limitations are, and how you need to pay close attention to who is going to be able to hire law enforcement officers in the future before spending time and money on criminal justice degrees.

Glossary of Courses in Criminal Justice Programs

Gone are the days when police learned on the job. Today's law enforcement candidates have to get degrees involving a dizzying array of concepts like victimology, international law culture, criminal justice ethics, forensic biology and more. Check out this interesting glossary of criminal justice course descriptions.

"Move Over" or pay the most whopping traffic ticket you ever saw

Every heard of the "move over" law? If you haven't it could net you one of the highest tickets you've ever seen.

Under this law, if a police car is pulled over at the side of your road, you are required to slow down to 20 miles an hour and move one lane away from the parked car. It actually applies to any emergency vehicle at the side of the road. The law is well intentioned - police offers have been struck and killed while making traffic stops all too often. But the implementation is a bit questionable - particuarly in the view of this New Yorker. Here in the Empire State, the fine for not moving over is more than $750. for the first offense, plus three points off your license and a mandatory appearance in court. New York state, looking as always to soak every dollar they can from anyone and anywhere, has done a masterful job of not getting the word out about this law. But it probably exists in your state no matter where you live. Only two states in the U.S., Maryland and Hawaii, do not have similar laws at present. Find out more here.