No, it's not a virus. It's a hilarious slam on a few of the world's WORST comics...(click on the next two days on the link, too).

The Morning News has photos from this year's Rattlesnake Roundup in Sweetwater, Texas. I had no idea this sort of stuff still went on in Texas, but I'm not at all surprised. Warning: the photos depict snakes, Texans, and Texans killing snakes.

Wired has a list of the best pranks pulled at MIT. My favorite:

7. 1982: At the [Harvard-Yale football game], students handed out placards to 1,134 Harvard fans, who were told they would form the message beat yale when flashed en masse. The spectators discovered (too late) that they spelled out M-I-T.

I'm sure it was beautiful.

Widely considered a scourge on English teachers everywhere, the instant messenger got some good press for teaching kids the value of the written word. The abbreviations and convenient misspellings in the online banter of teens aren't appropriate for formal composition pieces, but teachers have had success at breaking bad habits. For their part, many chatters have also learned the important role context plays, and can talk differently to friends, teachers, and parents.

There's no sense trying to stifle instant messaging; it's no longer just a fad. I'm glad that some are recognizing the power behind the change and working to empower the chatters to become writers.

The New York Times, Dating a Blogger, Reading All About It:

"It's personal etiquette meets journalistic rules," Mr. Denton, the blog publisher, said. "If you have a friend who's a blogger you have to say, `This is not for blogging.' It's the blogging equivalent of `This is off the record.' "

I don't think UKAZU has burned anybody, and I hope it never does. Any other weblog close calls?

Another week's worth of starting points. More information to follow.

• Noogies, reported at Gawker: Bill Murray walked up to him, gave him a noogie and then whispered into his ear: "no one will ever believe you."
• Bachelor party gone wrong: "Scheidt was unable to consummate his marriage because of 'serious and permanent injuries' he sustained from the dancers."
• Have you seen our tanks? The military loses track of a trillion dollars and, uh, some war stuff.
• Star Wars Kid found; NYTimes takes notice.
• The Christian Science Monitor takes a minute to understand teenagers and their blogs.
• Read a bit about the history and nature of mathematical discovery at Slate.