The James Logan Courier

McClatchy-Tribune News Service
(MCT)

The urge to belch (or burp) is a natural physical response to expel excess air trapped in the stomach. But while a good belch may make a person feel better, it's not always well received by the people who happen to be around at the moment, especially during this season of holiday gatherings.

By Marie McCullough
The Philadelphia Inquirer (MCT)

There are more health-related myths about the holiday season than about any other time of year.

We just made that up, but it has the kernel of reasonableness that helps such untruths endure. After all, the holidays coincide with that other font of mythinformation — the cold and flu season.

How does medical lore get started? Are any old wives' tales scientifically valid?

By Tish Wells
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

WASHINGTON — When more than 200 self-recruited "Star Wars" Stormtroopers march in the Rose Bowl parade on New Year's Day behind creator George Lucas, they'll be demonstrating once again that a loyal fan base can complement the power and staying power of the entertainment that they celebrate.

Two newly released DVD documentaries make this point vividly — and with love.

For "George and Me," Internet broadcaster Sky Wilson interviewed "Star Wars" fans in Great Britain and the U.S. and produced a documentary that celebrates their creativity. It's reflected in "Star Wars"-themed charity work, fan films and customized cars rigged out as X-Wing fighters.

By Frank Greve
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

AURORA, Colo. — Rows of little plastic domes dot the roof of the new Wal-Mart Supercenter here, looking like a marching band of "Star Wars" R2-D2s.

Inside each dome, a trio of computer-aimed mirrors tracks the sun and bounces its light down a reflective shaft and through a milky white lens, illuminating the stockroom below.


Skylights on the roof of a Wal-Mart store in Aurora, Colorado, contain mirrors which help keep sunlight streaming into the store no matter the angle of the sun. The store is an experimental one from Wal-Mart which features numerous environment-friendly features. (Wal-Mart/MCT)

By Bill Radford
The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)(MCT)

Already dragging from the holidays? Looking for something to get you through those long nights of studying for finals?

If you down an energy drink in your need for some pep, you won't be alone. The energy-drink market has exploded into a $3.4 billion business in the United States, growing by 80 percent last year, according to Beverage Digest.

Hundreds of Heads (MCT)

Looking for inspiration to make a change? Here are some recommendations from the book "Be the Change! Change the World. Change Yourself." (Hundreds of Heads Books, www.hundredsofheads.com, $14.95), straight from people who've done it:

"`The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours' by Marian Wright Edelman taught me to extend my hand to those who don't get second chances. Remember the kids who face real monsters every day, the kids whose pictures aren't on anyone's desk. Thinking about those kids keeps me going."
— Diamond Leshane, Atlanta

By Noah Bierman
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

MIAMI — It seems crickets are singing a little less, making cricket love a bit more reluctantly and, basically, trying to keep a lower profile before winter sets in.

You would, too, if there were parasitic flies threatening to chew out your internal organs and take over your body as they slowly killed you.

By Cassandra Spratling
Detroit Free Press (MCT)

DETROIT — The hustle and bustle of Christmas is over, but in the Wardford home one of their most treasured holidays _ the seven days of Kwanzaa — begins Tuesday.

The Wardfords are among many families who celebrate the holiday that centers on principles dear to the heritage and hope of African-American people.

Historian and social activist Maulana Karenga started Kwanzaa 40 years ago in his home state of California. It rapidly spread from a little -known occurrence there to multi-faceted festivities celebrated by millions of African Americans and others throughout America and beyond.

Visit Dr. Maulana Karenga's Official Kwanzaa Website.

By Barry Wood
Washington, D.C., VOA News

The Internet, as we know it, is only 15 years old, but already it has transformed the way people work, communicate and even shop. Still, experts believe the pace of technological innovation is poised to advance at an even faster pace. The San Francisco Bay area and the Silicon Valley are well positioned to maintain leadership during a period of accelerating change.

High tech entrepreneur Kevin Jernigan is convinced that the pace of technological innovation is speeding up. A Harvard computer science graduate, Jernigan says there are computers in unexpected places.

By Rosanne Skirble
Washington DC, VOANews

A new satellite system will give the world's poorest countries unprecedented access to environmental and health data from a globe straddling network of satellites and weather stations.

The new system is relatively inexpensive and easy to use, and should help managers in remote corners of the world to respond more effectively to natural disasters and epidemics.


A view of South Africa from EUMETSAT.

By Alfredo Corchado
The Dallas Morning News (MCT)

CHUCANDIRO, Michoacan — This jolly 240-pound man isn't dressed in red, and he doesn't rely on reindeer to pull a sled. Instead, he drives a pickup and packs a .38 pistol as he delivers toys. And though he looks like a cowboy, he's a man of the cloth.

Meet Alfredo Gallegos Lara, the parish priest of tiny Chucandiro, in the central state of Michoacan, 200 miles west of Mexico City. Dubbed "Padre Pistolas" (Father Guns), the towering, singing priest will deliver toys to the neediest children this holiday season and bring smiles in a region torn apart by heavy migration to the U.S. and a violent turf war between drug traffickers.

By Melissa Vargas
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

FORT WORTH, Texas — Sometimes, it's Mom and Dad who are naughty when they should be nice.

At this time of year, many have relied on the Santa clause: a dire warning that Mom or Dad can notify the jolly man — sometimes even by cell phone — when a child won't pick up her toys, clean his room or stop throwing a tantrum.

Every child knows what that means. No presents.

By Lisa Black
Chicago Tribune (MCT)

CHICAGO — Doctors didn't believe Liz Woolley when she said her son was addicted to an Internet game in which players take on the roles of elves, ogres and trolls.

Sure, her son, Shawn, 21, was depressed, they said, telling Woolley that the 12-hour days of game playing, the social isolation and personality changes were a side effect rather than a cause of the Hudson, Wis., man's mental deterioration.


Melissa and Hudson Akridge in their Hainesville, Illinois, home, where they meet friends online to play World of Warcraft. Hudson, whose "ninja mage" character has magician's powers, said he no longer plays for 40 to 50 hours a week. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/MCT)

By Ray Dequina, Courier Opinion Editor

As the Christmas season draws ever nearer, people will do some pretty extraordinary things to get what they want. They'll max out their credit cards and they'll take on extra shifts at work. Heck, they'll even mortgage their house if they want it bad enough. And while the ins-and-outs of monetary transaction are relatively simple (using children as collateral is only a pen mark away!), actually getting that new toy is another matter altogether. No matter what tickles your fancy, there's always one method of ensuring you get the latest must-buy item. No, it's not patience, that's un-American. I'm talking about the camp out, of course.


The object of Ray's desire.

By Victoria McDonald, Courier Staff Writer

It’s that time of year again; this year’s winter ball is Friday.

This year, however, the annual dance is being called “winter formal.” The senior class is in charge of the winter ball this year and they have decided it’s going to be a little different from years' passed. The dress code for this event is formal and apparently it will be enforced and anyone wearing jeans will be turned away.