"The local Minivan newspaper said the man conducting the ceremony was pretending to read traditional marriage vows off a piece of paper, but was instead holding an employment contract for employees at the hotel. 'Various types of insults about the woman and the man, their clothing and demeanour, are being spoken throughout in the form of a running commentary in a sports video.'" Just a suggestion: don't agree to vows in a language that you can't understand. It also makes me think of Roman Catholic practice pre-Vatican II.
Take a look at the photo accompanying the story. In related news, in another town a college student became police chief after no one else was willing to apply.
Seth Godin's rant on reading vs. TV. A brief excerpt: "Many people in the United States purchase one or fewer books every year. Many of those people have seen every single episode of American Idol. There is clearly a correlation here. Access to knowledge, for the first time in history, is largely unimpeded for the middle class. Without effort or expense, it's possible to become informed if you choose. For less than your cable TV bill, you can buy and read an important book every week. Share the buying with six friends and it costs far less than coffee. Or you can watch TV."
Somehow I'm not too surprised - modern "weddings" don't seem to really be all that concerned with actual weddings. That said, it's no weirder than other cases.
The Norwegian government refuses to allow Saudi Arabia to donate to fund the building of a mosque in Norway until Saudi Arabia allows religious freedom. This seems like a reasonable response - they will still allow the building of mosques, just not with Saudi Arabian funds.
I don't know how often this is seen as worthy of a bonus: "His snoring, which registered 70 decibels – the noise of someone talking loudly – earned him extra points."
