Soft Targets

Just when I go off on how sick I am of feeling war anxiety, here I am feeling war-prickly again today, with all the rumblings of imminent terror attacks. CIA Director George Tenet says the "chatter" is highly specific and mentions attacks on "soft" targets like hotels, schools, public transportation; and the date to watch for is Thursday - the end of Hajj. CNN story today. That, and the breaking story that North Korea has an untested ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. West coast - and may have two plutonium-based warheads it could lob.

Grrr. I'm trying to distract myself with work but the ruminations creep in like a bad smell - you waft it away, light some incense, but it's still there. We love conflict: black and white, man and women, rich and poor, gay and straight, even manufactured conflict like American Idol, for Pete's sake. But it's not until the real blood and guts of war in all its unknown modern-day horror looms that we all begin to agree on something. Or almost agree, anyway.

This watchful waiting for the next attack is like waiting for the other shoe to drop - on a centipede.

Need something to lighten the mood a bit? Our friends in the UK have come up with a new - yes, competitive - way to make public urination a more enjoyable pastime, at least for half the population. It's called PeeBall(TM)!!

From the Sweetapple.com site, creators of the game: "Peeballs are biodegradable compacted-powder balls that are fantastic to wee on. Every man who has ever used a urinal is already familiar with the basic skills of the game, having played it, unofficially, with disinfectant cubes or discarded cigarette butts as targets.

The genius of the sport of Peeball stems from this essential simplicity and the fact that all a player needs is a Peeball, a urinal and the need to wee.. Firstly, the gentleman removes the Peeball from its protective wrapping and places it carefully in a urinal (single and trough urinals are both acceptable playing surfaces). He then takes aim and relieves himself on the Peeball - attempting to destroy it in the shortest possible time."

"Oi, mates, wanna play some PeeBall?" Them's fightin' words in Texas. Anyway, no need to fret, a portion of proceeds from that soggy game go to benefit prostate cancer charity...presumably, if you're having trouble with that little gland, you're going to have trouble winning at PeeBall.

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