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This week's feature: Sarah Maas' humorous response to a streaker at Wimbleton.

So I was watching the Sharapova/Dementieva match, when this naked guyran onto the court. He jumped around and did a cartwheel. Then securityguys took him away. The commentators remarked so calmly on it that Irewound and watched it again to make sure it really happened.

Theredoesn't seem to be a Janet Jackson/Super Bowl uproar and backlashhappening over this, and this was way worse than her wardrobemalfunction. I saw a completely naked man do a CARTWHEEL. I saw thedark side of the moon, people. Man parts that wouldn't usually see thelight of day even if he strolled outside in the nude.

And it was all flopping about, too.

People in the audience were laughing and cheering. Dementieva wassmirking. I could be wrong, but nobody appears to be suing ESPN orWimbledon, saying that unsuspecting families were watching, childrenwere traumatized. Because you know what really traumatizes thechildren? Their uptight parents making a big stink about it, reactingas if it is horrifying and shameful. So far everybody seems prettyeasygoing about the whole thing. Yay for tennis fans.

You can also find this bit of cultural commentary on the Letters to the Editor page of this week's Seven Days.

I got a lot of feedback about my missile silo story, most of which came in the form of emails to me, and I'd like to share some of them with posterity. Here's a sampling:

I spent four years working on the Titan II from 66-70. The world was a different place then. The Russians had vowed to take over the US and it was our belief that
the only way to keep them from using their weapons on us was to be so stong as to make them know that they would be destroyed if they attacked and vice
versa... I like to think what we did kept my family safe while I gave my country four years of my life. I
am still quite proud even thou those years the military people were spat on. Thanks again for a very interesting piece  God Bless our troops.
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It is always kewl to see someone else interested in these missile sites. I run www.nebraskasilos.com and would be interested in talking with you sometime via phone just to chat a bit about your adventure.
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Re: the Riverview site, #7
I drive by that site quite often.  As of last week the cable which normally blocks the road was down.  I've flown over that site in a helicopter, and you're right, it's a real mess. 

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What is it with people who ignore "no trespassing" signs?  Have you no respect for private property rights?  I own a Titan II site in AZ and I'm always chasing people out and/or finding evidence of their "visits." Sometimes the signs are placed to prevent people from entering
hazardous areas.  Then you want to sue because you got hurt after you ignored the signs.  I'm not surprised, you're a "journalist."
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I remember visiting a site in the Plattsburgh area in 1973. This was eight years after the Atlas F's were deactivated. I can't remember which site it was but, I do remember we found an air conditioning cooling tower that was riddled with holes. Then as we were walking topside we noticed pieces of wooden boxes that appeared to be burned. All around there appeared to be what we thought were M-1 rounds. Some intact but, most had holes in the side of the brass with melted lead attached. If this was a disposal site they didn't do a thorough job.
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And then there's this guy:

They [the missileers] were out of the loop on the real story behind the politics involved and the technical facts. It's absolutely true that most of [the missiles] (if any) would not have gotten off the ground. I worked at Vandenberg during their test phases and only 1 out of ten ever lifted off and those that did were mostly destroyed when they flew off course. Once actually hit the base when I was there and destroyed a housing area. We were told to keep our lips sealed. I did. The problem was the volatile fuel system and the lack of training of the people. The AF knew they would very unreliable and kept them only as a gap-filler until the solid-fuel minuteman was ready.

These old timers that served on crews just never knew the whole story (the pentagon kept it top-secret) and now they live in their memories as if they had saved the world.

A lot of the silos had no missiles in them ever.....the crew members were told to pretend that all was normal including changing shifts and actually telling them to talk in public like everything was OK.

I had an uncle who was a quality control inspector on the nuclear weapon and he told me that only about 20% of the missiles ever had an actual bomb on the top. The reason was that there were only a few bombs that passed electrical and mechanical tests. (some didn't even have all the parts). The Russians never knew the difference, I guess and the crew members knew nothing. It was a total pretend game called ATLAS. Their accuracy was never determined since they had so few that ever flew a full test course and most of these were tens to hundreds of mile off target.

There's more, but you get the idea.

Some stuff I left off my link dump yesterday:

Casey on Screech: (Solidstate) My friend Dark Lord Casey Rea, 7D Music Editor, recently saw Dustin Diamond perform at a comedy club in CA, and recounts the experience. Diamond played Screech on Saved by the Bell. Ugh. Casey went to see him so you never have to.

Baruth Talks to T.J. Donovan:  (Vermont Daily Briefing) I can't remember the last time I read an in-depth interview with a candidate for local office, and this is a good one. Philip Baruth talks with T.J. Donovan, who's running for Chittenden County State's Attorney. Baruth is a partisan creative writer, not a journalist, but don't let that stop you. If you make it through Baruth's rambling T.J. Hooker-focused intro, you'll get to some interesting observations about the Dismas House and restorative justice. This is definitely worth reading.

Sights on sites worth a look:

Backyard Balloon, etc.: (Runs with Scissors) The one from the Montpelier farmer's market is surreal. Anybody know anything about this?

Pride pics: (Beauty is in the eye of the storm) Great shots like this one (right) from Kelly G.

New comic: (As Seen in VT)

Fourth of July slide show: (Bloggle) Great small town 4th photos from Doug Cadmus, via a Flickr slideshow.

On the road: (DTWOF) Alison Bechdel has returned from her cross-country treks. She's been documenting them on her blog. Check out these pics of her with various women cartoonists, like Nicole Hollander of Sylvia fame.   

Who's who at the Blogger BBQ: (What's the Point) Niel Jensen captures a bunch of blogger talking and eating in the meatspace (yep, including Bill Simmon) and Scudder Parker playing ball. I don't see any dead governors, though...

Truck accident photos: (iBrattleboro) From citizen journalist Frederic Noyes.

Hey, they had that blogger bash yesterday at North Beach. I was sorry I couldn't attend. I took advantage of my last day of vacation to do some much, much needed housecleaning. I would rather have been at the BBQ, but my very patient partner finally threatened to toss the contents of my home office in the trash if I didn't clean it by last night. So it goes.

I was surprised to read Odum's account saying that only Shay from the Vermont Guardian showed up to cover the event for the "traditional media." I wonder if the organizers sent out press releases to let the media know they were having the event?

I would have thought the Burlington Free Press would have given it at least a few words, especially since they just launched that new politics blog. (BTW — why don't they sign their infrequent posts? You can't always tell who's writing what. And though the header says it has three authors, one of their recent posts was apparently contributed by Ashley Matthews, who's not one of the three).

But Odum's not surprised by the lack of press turnout. "I would've been shocked if any had showed," he writes. "The TM guys really really really have little use for bloggers. Buncha amateurs steppin on their toes."

I'm not sure that's true, but it's clear from the candidate turnout that the pols are recognizing a new, growing constituency. And once that happens, I bet the press will come 'round.

It also occurs to me that as far as blogging goes, the guys at GMD and VDB are the pros. The traditional media are the amateurs.

Early tomorrow morning, Ann-Elise, Graham and I will board a plane and begin our trek to Garden City Beach, South Carolina. We're going to spend a week or so hanging out in a couple beach houses with my large extended family. It's good times, as you can see from this photo of my goofy father that I snapped during last year's beach week.

This will be my 31st trip to Garden City. It's not a place I would normally choose to visit — I'm not big on fireworks, or air conditioning, or sunscreen, or the heat, or spending money, frankly — but I love being with my family. Garden City is where they go, so that's where we go.

I'll post here if anything terribly interesting happens, but don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for a few days. I'll be off eating junk food, reading books and playing with my baby. Maybe I'll cajole one of my relatives into babysitting, so Ann-Elise and I can go see a movie. Any recommendations?

The Daysie contest will end while I'm gone. Don't forget to vote by Monday at 5. Can't wait to see who wins.