Starting with the past, working up to the future

I've been meaning to get this blog up and rolling for a few weeks now, but got caught in the trap where I wanted the perfect subject to write about first.

Thought I'd hit the jackpot when I stumbled across a video of a crab riding a giant jellyfish. Many things cross your mind when you see a crab riding atop a giant jellyfish.

For instance, my first thought was: "Oh, my God ... they're teaming up against us! I knew it! We're all screwed!"

My second thought: "Outside of an amphibious shark with feet and opposable thumbs, carrying a rocket launcher, this is possibly the creepiest thing I have ever seen."

My third thought: "The economy is so bad now that crabs have to bum rides off giant jellies? What is this world coming to?"

My fourth thought: "Oh, my God ... they're teaming up against us! I knew it! We're all screwed!"

Then, Swine Flu came along. And anybody who knows me also knows that when it comes to such things as Swine Flu, Avian Flu, snakes, spiders etc., I'm both obsessed about them and petrified of them.

Swine Flu was a natural for me to write about. But did I really want to start this thing off on such a negative tact? I mean, I'm already pretty sure the animals are conspiring against us (see crab riding giant jelly fish video on the right side of the blog).

My take probably would've been that Swine Flu will be the way the world comes to its unavoidable end, and what fun would that be? So, instead of seeking the perfect topic to start my blog I'm going to start with the past by posting some old columns from my days at the Post-Tribune and Times of NW Indiana.

Every once in awhile I'll pull out books from some of my favorite columnists' work and re-read columns that make me react every time. I've been lucky enough to start my own little collection of Brain Droppings (Brian Droppings?) throughout my own career in newspapers, so I'll post a few here for all to read. The next few posts will be archived columns.

Maybe some of you will be reading them a second time. Hopefully they bring a smile to your face. And if they don't ...

... crab on a giant jelly fish. Know what I'm saying?