NEW YORK – Japanese eating champion Takeru Kobayashi, arrested at a July Fourth hot dog-eating contest, was freed Monday after a night in jail, looking a little weary and saying he was hungry.

Kobayashi, wearing a black T-shirt bearing the message "Free Kobi" in green letters, was freed by a Brooklyn judge after he pleaded not guilty. The slim, boyish 32-year-old said he consumed only a sandwich and some milk in jail.

A contract dispute had kept Kobayashi out of Sunday's annual Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest, but he showed up anyway.

I bring this up, not so much because I actually care about either Kobayashi or the event itself, but because I think that it is horrific that in a country where children go to bed hungry every day that we hold a contest to see how much food one person can eat. I also think that it is worse still that the folks who participate in these events dare to call themselves "professional athletes" and train for the event.

These guys aren't athletes! Athletes play basketball, baseball, football (American and European), not these asshats. Hell, I'd be willing to refer to cheerleaders as athletes before I'd be willing to consider these shlubs as such.

Yep, a typo in one of our most important documents.

What's the big deal you ask, well apparently, the typo just might change the nature of the War Powers Act...

Amerndment 5 (including the Takings Clause):
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Now I don't really know what all of this means, but, well I do find it interesting.

Now you can all go back to stuffing your faces and drinking 'til you puke.

The Perfessor

Spectral analysis of an uncharacteristic ink smudge on an early draft of the Declaration of Independence uncovered a little of the rebel spirit in Thomas Jefferson, the colonist and future president who wrote the document.

About 80 years ago, some archivist sandwiched the pages of Jefferson’s draft between sheets of plastic. When the document was taken out of its permanent display case for a brief analysis last year, Library of Congress research scientist Fenella France noticed an uncharacteristic smudge.

According to France, the different spectral bands of the document, revealed a smudged segment of the document , suggesting that the top word — "citizens" — might be hiding another word under it. After some 10 hours or more of tricky processing carried out over a series of months, France pulled out the masked word: "subjects."

The revision offers a glimpse into Jefferson’s attitude as he wrote the Declaration. He rejected the idea that the colonists were traitors to King George III; they were citizens of a nascent nation.

Jefferson had been copying the phrase from a newly written Virginia constitution that used the word subject. Seeing Jefferson’s rebuff of that characterization “was a spine-tingling moment,” France says.

“With this new technology we never know what we’re going to find,” she says, “which reinforces that preservation of original documents is important.”

Pretty cool, eh?

The Perfessor

You could call Sonora Smart Dodd the "Mother of Father's Day." After all, the holiday, celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, was inspired by her.

Dodd's mother died in 1898 while giving birth, leaving her father, William Jackson Smart, to raise Dodd and her five younger brothers (including the newborn baby) on a remote farm near Spokane, Wash. While attending a Mother's Day sermon in 1909, Dodd decided that fathers deserve the same recognition.

Within a year, she -- along with some help from her pastor, the Rev. Conrad Bluhm, the Spokane YMCA and the Ministerial Alliance -- did it: June 19, 1910, was designated as the first Father's Day. Throughout Spokane that day, Sunday sermons were themed around the importance of fatherhood.

Have fun all you dads!

The Perfessor

As for me, I’m going to be attending the Bronx Heroes Con at Hostos College in The Bronx:

This will be my second year at the con, and the first time that it is being held on FCBD.

So if you are anywhere near there, swing on by and check us out. I’ll be manning the Atlas Unleashed table. I’ll be there with our imperious leader Mark Mazz and a number of other AU creators. Plus we might have some surprise info and cool collectibles for you. Mark & I will also be hosting a panel where we will be chatting with the legendary Irwin Hasen (creator of Dondi & Wildcat), so it is going to be a show to see.

There will be quite a few comicbook celebrity types as well as freebies and giveaways, so I'm sure that it will be well worth your time to check us out.

The Perfessor

Happy Easter Anyway!

The Perfessor

While the origins of April Fools' Day are in doubt--claimants stretch from the ancient Persians to King Charles IX of France (not a joke)--what is certain is that people across the world will be falling for April Fools' Day hoaxes. Everyone from Internet giants like Google to usually serious television networks like the BBC play pranks on their users. And there have been some terrific ones over the years.

One of the first times television was used for an April Fools' Day hoax was in 1957, when the BBC's Panorama featured a story on the spaghetti bushes of Ticino, Switzerland. A distinguished British television host, Richard Dimbleby, narrated, explaining how spaghetti in Ticino is grown on trees and dried in the sun. Many viewers phoned up the BBC to ask how to get their own spaghetti trees.

The gag I always remember is the one Sports Illustrated foisted upon us with Syd Finch and his 103 mph fastball. I was in High School at the time and my older brother had a subscription to SI (which is really the only reason that I knew about it).

Anyways, have fun out there, and whatever you do, be safe.

The Perfessor

The shamrock was “hit hard” by the severe winter weather and “won’t be easily found” this week, said Doogue, who also stated the national plant was under threat because of modern farming methods.

In its place, bogus shamrock plants are being used, he said, stating that he hoped the shamrock that President Obama would receive from Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen would be the real thing.

Now all we have to do now is eat green bagels and drink green beer.

The O'Perfessor