Something strange has been happening the last two days. It is insignificant in our everyday lives, our eating and drinking and working and sleeping lives. Yet, the ramifications of this phenomenon are far-reaching, and hold sway over what

I've found plenty of reasons to be depressed about the general state of affairs of life on planet earth lately. I won't bother you with the details...let's just say that the hoopla over Britney's comeback performance at last week's MTV awards didn't help. Every day seems to bring more ridiculous stories of a member of the human race engaging in some absolutely inane behavior. Not even the sports page in my Sunday paper offers me a respite from the insanity.

Can I get a witness?

But this isn't a post about the collective stupidity of our species. No, this is a post about why- despite evidence to the contrary- there remain some good reasons to grin. Here are people, stories, and art that allow me to hope. The following are probably not going to show up in CNN's Most Popular Stories; which at this moment contain these headlines: Baggy Pants Crackdown Goes National, Man Dies After 3-Day Gaming Binge, and the earth-shattering Older Women and Younger Men, Can it Work?

Lord help us all.