WanderingAmylessly 2.0

It took more than 30 years. At least three police chiefs. Thousands of leads gone cold. And at least 10 dead victims. But they caught the bastard. Wichita's serial killer is behind bars, say police. Whatever you might think about the WPD—whether they're completely inept or simply bafflingly unlucky—the citizens of southcentral Kansas and the loved ones of those killed can rest a little easier tonight knowing a child-killing terrorist's reign has ended. For the latest, most accurate, and most in-depth coverage, go to www.kansas.com. In particular, keep an eye open for bylines from Les Anderson. He is a former Wichita Eagle and Wichita Sun copy editor as well as former editor and publisher of The Ark Valley News , a weekly newspaper that covers the news of Park City—BTK suspect Dennis Rader's hometown. The Wichita Eagle called him in to help with the coverage. Les also was my college journalism professor, employer, mentor, and friend. When I worked at The News , I actu...

A friend and I were having a conversation the other day about how it seems like the whole world's crashing down around us right now. If you've been following my blog, you know that beautful Baby Will lost his battle with the effects of prematurity in January. We know people who have been diagnosed with awful diseases. One of our walking buddy's relatives had a young child die. Several friends, coworkers, and acquaintances are trying to come to terms with the fact their babies may be developmentally delayed, autistic, and so on. We've heard differing reactions to awful news. The people who have strong-as-steel religious faith believe that everything happens for a reason, in God's time and terms, and that we don't always have the ability to understand why, at this moment. Others, who are more jaded and fatalistic, believe—bad things happen, life sucks. Then there are a lot of us, in between, who don't want to simply throw up our arms in defeat OR can't sim...

Less than 90 points. The Grinnell basketball team cracked under the pressure of appearing on national television and only managed to make one-quarter of their three-pointers—traditionally the bread-and-butter scoring play of Coach Arsenault. The team only lost by one point, and it was a last-second nailbiter, so all was not lost. Actually, we had a bunch of fun, meeting up with Grinnell alums ranging from class of '65 to class of '04. One couple even brought their daughter. A future Grinnellian? Could be. Our rugrat stayed with a babysitter, and we enjoyed a night out with friends. Maybe there'll be another opportunity for the Pioneers to show their stuff on ESPN2. How about aiming higher? ESPN. Or pay-per-view...wouldn't that be a kick. In the meantime, I'll jump on the fairweather-fan bandwagon and yell a hearty "Go Shocks!" as my alma mater, Wichita State, continues its winning ways on the court. The Shockers play Illinois State on Saturday night at hom...

When one thinks of nationally televised college basketball games, one thinks of Duke. Kansas. Syracuse, North Carolina. Even Gonzaga. Hey, while we're talking about it...in the latest ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, my alma mater, Wichita State University, got 34 votes—the highest vote tally for a team not ranked in the top 25. But...Grinnell College? Grinnell?? Long known as an academic powerhouse among liberal arts colleges, Grinnell has a reputation as a top school for: academics, hippie liberal viewpoints, an endowment of more than $1 billion, and something called a loggia*. Little did I know of the world's ever-increasing affinity for Grinnell basketball and for the spirited leadership of head coach David Arsenault. Imagine my amazement at finding out that the Pioneers' style of play has taken basketball fandom by storm. (Hell, up to this point, all I knew was that Grinnell didn't have cheerleaders...objectification of women and all that sorta hoo-ha.) Tonigh...

True Colors by Cyndi Lauper You with the sad eyes don't be discouraged oh I realize it's hard to take courage in a world full of people you can lose sight of it all and the darkness inside you can make you feel so small But I see your true colors shining through I see your true colors and that's why I love you so don't be afraid to let them show your true colors true colors are beautiful like a rainbow Show me a smile then don't be unhappy, can't remember when I last saw you laughing if this world makes you crazy and you've taken all you can bear you call me up because you know I'll be there And I'll see your true colors shining through I see your true colors and that's why I love you so don't be afraid to let them show your true colors true colors are beautiful like a rainbow

There are a couple people in my world, right now, who completely annoy me. They have no social graces whatsoever. They have no clue that they're inept. Hey, I'm all for being unique and quirky. But when someone else's lack of understanding for concepts of basic decent human interaction starts interfering with my daily functioning, I want to scream. Primal scream. Stomp and throw things and quit my job and move to a cabin in Canada's Yukon Territory. Perhaps Josh Lyman said it best in The West Wing season four episode, "Arctic Radar." Josh: "I'm a fan. I'm a sports fan. I'm a music fan. And I'm a Star Trek fan. All of them. But here's what I don't do: Let's list our ten favorite episodes.Let's list our least favorite episodes. Let's list our favorite galaxies. Let's make a chart to see how often our favorite galaxies appear in our favorite episodes. What Romulan would you most like to see coupled with a Cardass...