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by Brent Kellogg
See photos  Photos of Gail  Photo of Brent and his sister
Music that got Brent beyond the worst of grief and keeps his head clear today.

FRIDAY, November 6, 2009 -- Thanks to the reader who told me I had it right the first time. It's "Linda and I," not me. Thanks to the same reader too who told me the state bird of Florida is the mosquito, but she thinks I'll like being there in the Winter. My apologies to those of you who have sent email and not received a reply, I've been, shall we say, preoccupied. A real woman can do that to a man.

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Since I can remember whenever I've been asked for my last name I've said, "Kellogg. Like the cereal." But this week when asked I felt ashamed because the Kellogg company has become quite the embarrassment with its latest claim of immunity system protection on products like Cocoa Rice Krispies, and it's boasting of vitamins in cereals which at best provide 25% of the recommended daily allowance. You may know that the RDA is often below what is needed to have any benefit. For example, the RDA for vitamin E is 400IU. But the amount needed to be of any good to your body is double that. Same for vitamin D.

And while this week Kellogg said it's knocking off the immunity claim, due to the public outrage which ensured, the company will "continue to provide the increased amounts of vitamins A, B, C and E" (25% RDA) in its cereals because, "we are committed to communicating the importance of nutrition to our consumers."

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Seen the new ads for Tyson chicken by-products? Kids home from school are looking for something good to eat. They scour a kitchen to no avail until up pop three different varieties of microwave, probably loaded with sodium, Tyson chicken snacks which I'd guess are only slightly better than eating those pizza things. Meanwhile back at the chicken factory, Tyson has been found guilty of deliberately violating worker safety laws, leading directly to the death of a worker, and has been ordered to pay $500,000 and serve one year of probation.

$500,000 is a cheap price to pay for a human life, but it's the maximum penalty allowed by law.

"Federal laws require employers to undertake steps that limit exposure to dangerous substances like the gas that killed Jason Kelley," said John Cruden from the U.S. DOJ. "Today, Tyson Foods is paying the maximum fine for failing to abide by these laws. The Justice Department takes its enforcement responsibility seriously and companies that ignore these laws and risk their employees' lives will be prosecuted. Now who wants some Swine Flu vaccine," Cruden did not say exactly.

Need more proof that human life ain't worth shit?

A Connecticut woman disfigured and blinded by a rampaging chimpanzee wants the State to cough up $150 million. The AG said the amount asked for is "unprecedented in size." The woman lost her nose, lips, eyelids and hands when she was attacked by a trained 200-pound chimpanzee named Travis. Hmm, so let's see. Loss of hands. Not worth much. Loss of nose. Who needs a nose? Lips? What are lips good for? I can attest to the lips being pretty much worthless when they're sealed.

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Hope they're not all old people overdue for their naps, 1.9 million drivers have had accidents or near-misses over the past year because they were driving while sleepy. A study - from the National Sleep Foundation - (Yikes! There's a sleep foundation?) reveals that more than half of drivers surveyed admitted to driving while nodding out behind the wheel.

Oh god, another survey shows that a shorter, more intense course of whole-breast radiation works as well as the traditional six-week course. And why shouldn't it? You can zap me now with deadly radiation, or you can zap me later, I'll probably die anyway.

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Heard the word 'buggery' recently?

It's when a South Carolina man has sex with a horse. No, really. Rodell Vereen, 50, has been sentenced to three years in prison for pleading guilty to buggery with 21-year-old Sugar (the horse) for the second time in two years.

"I'm sorry about what I've done. I didn't mean to do it," Rodell said, but what he probably meant was he didn't mean to get caught.

Sugar's owner said, "There's a lot of ridicule and jokes going around [...] a person can only take so much."

A person? What about the poor horse? A better question might be: Can a horse get pregnant from human sperm? And what would the off-spring look like? Don't say unicorn.

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Here's a great story about 60-Minutes. Facts? You mean we gotta have real facts?

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A few years too late, the FTC is out with a must see video. You paid for it, so you might as well watch it at least once.

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Desperate for tax revenue, what do they piss the money away on? Vallejo, CA., wants to tax residents for sending text messages and using Internet-phone services. You know, the way we're being taxed to death, it won't be long until they try to tax us based on the amount of oxygen we consume.

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What's happening to the bears? Could it be there's "something in the air"? More