Bruise Control

Swollen Heads - Kim Jong-Il

First There Was Vibe, Now There's Vice

Vibe was the hip, urban music magazine of the 90s, and MTV virtually owned the television youth culture a decade ago. Today we have Vice Magazine, a Brooklyn-based project that writes about the underground music scene, extreme sports, and all things counterculture.

There television counterpart is VBS.tv-Rescuing You From TV's Deathlike Grip.

Late last year, the Viacom-owned MTV Networks Music and Logo Group made a deal to start VBS, with financing from MTV and content from Vice.

According to The New York Times, "In return for its investment — which is not mentioned on the VBS site — MTV gets a low-cost laboratory in which to experiment with Internet video programming as it struggles to adjust to a world where online content is chipping away at television’s dominance....

"They gave me a pitch of '60 Minutes'-meets-'Jackass,'" said Jeff Yapp, the executive vice president for program enterprises for the MTV Networks music group.

Who knew that the likes of Foreign Policy could turn me on to a documentary mashup about North Korea with a decided subversive edge?

Bruised Wrist Breaks Heart

Bruised Heart, But Unbroken Spirit

An activist grandfather stands alone on a street corner most days holding a sign:

God Bless America! We Support Our Troups! They Gave Their Today That We Might Have Our Tomorrow.

Alexander Kohanowich took his signs to the Obama town hall meeting and stood on the median across from the War Memorial Auditorium in Greeensboro, SC. It wasn't his usual spot, but the motorcycle cop gave him the okay.

Mr. Kohanowich, 78, still adheres to "Old World" sentiments. When a police officer asked him to move, he turned and placed his left hand on the officer's shoulder, as is his custom.

The next thing he knew, we was on the ground roughly being handcuffed.

A minor misunderstanding, a little hearing loss, a public road breached.

His biggest worry is not his broken heart, but about our country losing its humanity, its empathy, its brotherly love. An honorable action becomes a dishonorable arrest. Sad.

For complete details, read "A tangle with a cop and an achy heart."