Minimalist poet, minimalist lifestyle

Man discovered weapons, invented hunting.
Woman discovered hunting, invented furs.

Man discovered colors, invented painting.
Woman discovered painting, invented make-up.

Man discovered speech, invented conversation.
Woman discovered conversation, invented gossip.

Man discovered agriculture, invented food.
Woman discovered food, invented diet.

Man discovered friendship, invented love.
Woman discovered love, invented marriage.

Man discovered woman, invented sex.
Woman discovered sex, invented headache.

Man discovered trade, invented money.
Woman discovered money, man was all screwed up after that.

Religious Book Seller Struck By Lightning

HIALEAH A man making a trip from Puerto Rico to South Florida to raise money for his religious education remains hospitalized Monday after he was struck down by a bolt of lightning which flew from clear blue sky on Sunday. He was selling religious materials when he was hit.

Hailu Kidane Marian was working with members of his religious group, selling religious materials door-to-door in a Northwest Miami-Dade neighborhood, when the bolt from the blue struck him down.

"I heard a boom, and I looked and the guy jumped back, and he just laid there, stiff," said witness Maria Martinez.

Paramedics say Marian was not breathing and his heart was not beating when they arrived, but they were able to revive him and rushed him to Jackson Memorial hospital, where he was in critical condition Sunday night.

Members of his religious group waited outside the hospital throughout the night for word of his condition.

"He's unconscious, he's in a coma," said Francisco Perez, leader of the Puerto Rico-based group. "It's difficult what happened, you know, but what can we do? Things happen in life, but we still believe in God."

This is the second incident in as many months of someone being struck down by lightning from a clear sky in South Florida.

Last month David Canales, a gardener who worked in the Pinecrest area, was killed when lightning apparently struck him from a rainless sky. Two co-workers standing nearby were unhurt.

CBS4 Meteorologist Jeff Berardelli said 'dry lightning', which can strike even when the sky is clear, can be very dangerous because victims are not expecting it and don't prepare as they might with a storm threatening.

Measurement of lightning strikes in the area Sunday showed only a few bolts compared to the last few days, making Marian especially unlucky to be struck by one of them.

Nobody else was injured when the bolt flew from the sky.

A dog with a cigarette habit is suffering withdrawal following the smoking ban.

Sarah and John Taylor, both smokers, have taken pet collie Archie to their local since he was a pup, reports the Daily Mirror.

Sarah said: "He couldn't get enough of looking at people smoking and if one stubbed out, he switched his attention to another.

"He loved to sniff it and just watch it drift through the air. It's a bit bizarre I know but he seems to be well and truly hooked."

Now two-year-old Archie has gone into withdrawal without his nicotine fix and gets fidgety and snappy at the pub in Shaldon, Devon.

Sarah, 33, added: "A smoke-free pub is going to make him very unhappy.

"The locals have been joking that we'll have to get him a nicotine patch to wear - but I think a type of nicotine dog biscuit would be better."

CHiPs star never passed his bike test

TV biker cop Erik Estrada has revealed he never passed his motorcycle test.

Estrada played highway patrol officer Punch in 1970s hit CHiPs, reports The Sun.

But he never actually had a motorcycle licence for real.

Estrada, now 58, had to hurriedly arrange a bike test when he was assigned to the California Highway Patrol for a new reality TV show.

And it took him three attempts to pass before he could appear on Back To The Grind which gets actors to try their TV jobs.

Estrada said: "I always wanted to be a cop, but it's much harder in real life than when you act."

A Taiwan shopkeeper says his pet dog is so clever she can serve customers.

The dog, named Hello, also goes to other shops to do the man's shopping for him.
Hello sells betel nuts, known locally as penang, in the man's store in Pingdong city, reports the China News Network.
"She knows how to open the fridge, pick up the penang, and put it on the counter, then collect the money from the customers. Many people just come to be served by her," says the owner.
Hello also goes shopping by herself. She carries a plastic bag, containing money and a shopping list, in her mouth.
If there is a queue she waits in line and, when it is her turn to be served, puts her front legs on the counter and drops the bag in front of the shopkeeper.
Her owner says the only problem is that on hot days she prefers to stay in the cool shop rather than hurry home afterwards.
"Every time she goes shopping in summer, I tell her beforehand: "Come home early, don't stay there for the coolness"," he said.