Bits of the Strangely Newsworthy...

While I've been busy digging through Akron history, here are a few of the more bizarre (and slightly morbid or preternatural) news stories I missed from around the world.

Exterminating Self-Extermination...

Euthanasia can be controversial, but what about the right to do yourself in? While assisted suicide of terminally-ill patients is fine in Oregon, the state's House of Representatives has decided it's not right to cash in on someone else's desired death. A bill was passed on Monday making the sale of "suicide kits" illegal. California woman Sharlotte Hydorn has been selling asphyxiation kits for $60 each (plus shipping) to would-be final clients for some time, but now might face up to 10 years in prison for selling her wares (called "exit kits") to people in Oregon. I guess for those down-and-out souls on the rainy, dreary coast, it's back to the tried and true methods like arsenic, hand guns, and hangings.

File Under V for Vanished...

Many people have complained about the blacked-out portions of US military records dealing with unidentified flying objects. It could be worse; they could have disappeared. So seems to be the case in Australia where, after an exhaustive two-month search, the records housed by the military related to UFO reports (or "X-Files") are AWOL. The case files were recorded up until 2000 and a newspaper recently requested copies of the old documents, at which time the disappearance was discovered. Officials say they must have been lost or destroyed. Another government cover-up of alien contact? Or the cleaning crew doing overtime? One thing is for certain: no Aussie cattle are safe.

Recalculating the Apocalypse...

We can't blame Harold Camping for miscalculating the Rapture. Of the thousands of years of human time, narrowing down that one single day when the good Christians of the world would be beamed up to heaven must be a daunting task. After apologizing for his error, Camping has announced the real date of the end of the world: October 21, 2011. It's time to get those new billboards and signs prepared and enjoy the last few months before demons rise up and slaughter the wicked. Luckily for him, the new date falls much closer to Halloween. If you want to show the streets of the United States filled with ghouls, devils, and monsters, there's no better month than October.

Presidential Tomb Raiders...

The days of corpse theft are still alive and well . . . at least in the Mediterranean. Last month, three men were convicted of stealing the body of Cyprus' late President Tassos Papadopoulos. They planned to use the deceased as a bargaining chip to negotiate for the release of one of the men's brothers who was serving two life sentences for murder. (Luckily for him, not for the murder of the president.) Papadopoulos died of lung cancer in 2008; his body was stolen less than a year later. Desecration of a grave is a misdemeanor in Cyprus and the men were sentenced to 18-20 months in jail. While they may not have freed the convicted murderer, at least they won't have to wait to visit him behind bars.

Politics are Cutthroat...

We may think that politicians are insane fools, but in the republic of Kyrgyzstan, they certainly can be creative. It seems that Parliament in the former Soviet Central Asian country was having a lot of trouble. Obviously, it couldn't be caused by all the disputes and troubles caused by living people. It must have been the work of evil spirits. So they took it upon themselves to go back to their roots by asking, "What would our ancestors have done in times like this?" The answer was a eureka moment: Let's sacrifice some sheep! To appease the "evil spirits," rams were led to the green lawn in front of governmental headquarters and ritually slaughtered. According to Kurmanbek Osmonov, a member of Parliament, "This is a popular ancient tradition, carried out in order to avoid a repeat of last year's tragic events and for peace and harmony to triumph." Only time will tell of the sacrifice worked or, for that matter, if the trend will catch on and make politicians far more amusing.

In the Shadow of Death...

As time ticks down for me to embark on following one of my dreams it should be a cheerful time. But it's not. I should be excited and elated. I am in part, but not wholeheartedly. It's difficult to be so happy about something in the wake of so much sadness across the nation. Sadness in the form of so many people younger than myself who will never get to experience so many of the wondrous things the world has to offer.

There have been an alarming number of suicides, predominantly among teenagers, in the past two months involving gay individuals. The most recent happened on Friday when 14-year-old Brandon Bitner of Pennsylvania ran in front of a truck to end his life. This follows a long line of other widely-publicized deaths: Tyler Clementi, Justin Aaberg, Seth Walsh, Carl Walker-Hoove, Raymond Chase, and many others. Though teenage bullying was often the culprit there have been others, such as 26-year-old gay youth activist Joseph Jefferson, who had other unknown motivations.

It may seem to reflect an increase in gay youth suicides though it's more likely that media exposure is simply alerting us more to the problem. Benjamin Radford, editor of Skeptical Enquirer, went so far as to say that the numbers are grossly inflated and exaggerated and based on outdated information, even quoting Joel Best from his book Damned Lies and Statistics. (I find it astoundingly obtuse to say that statistics lie... and back up your argument with statistics.) Personally, I don't care if the number is ten or 10,000 suicides. It shouldn't be happening period.

Many people have made a stand on bullying and suicide prevention lately. I want to make it a point to do the same. Teenage bullying is not unknown to any of us. Most of us have suffered from it and survived. But regardless of age, bullying is a real issue that needs to be addressed. Bullying is a cowardly act based on fear and insecurity. It's not okay to taunt, attack, and harass someone for being different. And it's not okay to sit idly by while people attack others for who they are. You never know how far that one act will go or to what lengths it might drive the victim.

In dealing with the paranormal aspect of the world, you're surrounded by death. But it still leaves a major impact. And I'm not so far removed from understanding suicide from all angles. It took me a whole year to come to terms with the suicide of a college friend Chris Stutler who never lived to see his 30th birthday. I once talked a complete stranger (who turned out to be a friend of a friend) out of killing himself. And in my own life I'm a survivor of a failed suicide attempt during my early 20s. I know how it feels to want everything to be over. I also know that sometimes it's only after you do something that you wonder what you just did (and why you did it).

But there is always something more to live for. It's nearly impossible to accomplish everything you could possibly imagine in the span of one lifetime. Even worse is never trying, not doing it for fear of being unpopular, or simply giving up on everything life has to offer. Never allow someone else's narrow-minded view of the world to color your life and dreams. The experience of life is what you make of it and what you create of it. If you feel the need to end everything talk to someone first. You are never alone. Life is never so bad that it can't get better. Don't let a bully cheat you out of your own chance of happiness. Believe in yourself and chase your dreams, whatever they may be.