In a story that brings the real world way too close to safely science-fictional events, armed dolphins may be loose in the Gulf of Mexico, freed by hurricane Katrina. This story may be so close to fiction that it actually is fiction, but read on.

Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training exercises fear that as many as 36 escaped mammals could be carrying 'toxic dart' guns. Dolphins, considered one of the species with intelligence second only to man's, now threaten divers and surfers. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing.

My niece, Casey Jones, (yes that’s really her name) is a really gifted young fashion designer fresh out of Philadelphia College of Textiles.  Her first gig is working for L.A.M.B the Gwen Stefani line of clothes that premiered big-time this Friday on the runways in New York.  There was an article in the New York Times magazine a while back that talked about what’s happening to fashion and refers to the L.A.M.B. line.  Seems that clothing lines are being launched that are tagged to celebrities, which is nothing new. What is new is that they cater to an accelerated business cycle where the line is produced in limited quantity, a media buzz is created, and when the sales of the line start to fall, the company is trashed or sold.  What happens with the young people working on the line is that they are given the lowest wages possible and the longest working hours possible. There’s no job security because they know that as soon as the line goes stale they’re out of a job.