What I was thinking
In case you're wondering what inspired the fake stories, here are some random bits:
A New Era Dawns for China and Tibet
Making up headlines is surprisingly fraught with controversy! When I wrote this page for fun last year, I had mainly heard the Tibetan side of the story, which is indeed tragic. But I've lately given more thought to the Chinese perspective, which prompted me to rewrite this headline nearly a year later. I have nothing but good wishes for the people of China and Tibet, and I think this headline better expresses this sentiment.
Peace payments to Iraq
Several years back, someone I greatly respect was musing about the cost of the Iraq war. She estimated that if you divided the cost of the war (in dollars spent) by the number of Iraqis, you'd get $17,000. So if the USA had simply given $17,000 to every Iraqi to build a house, educate their children, etc., we'd have a very different situation than the one we're in now.
"AZ solar fields a key source of railway energy"
When I wrote this page in July of 2007, friends of mine were concerned about the proposed construction of a coal plant where they live in Bowie, Arizona. Fortunately, the coal idea was later scrapped for a less-egregious natural gas plant. I still hold out hope, however, that they'll build a solar plant instead, using parabolic trough solar collectors.
President Obama
My first instinct, when I wrote the page, was to do President Obama (since I'm from Illinois). I started typing it but then thought, "Aw, why the hell not?" and typed "President Kucinich" instead. I knew that was impossible, and he's a bit liberal even for me, but it was so amusing that I couldn't resist. When he exited the primary, Sen. Obama nobly stepped up to fill the void.
"A Surprising New Chapter Begins for Health Insurers"
I felt a little bad about the prospect of bringing down the entire health insurance industry with single-payer health care, so I hinted at an innovative and unexpected way to keep them in business.
South India Mahayana Monastic Debates
Buddhism has a wonderful tradition of intense philosophical debate, following strict rules of logic. This tradition lives on in the monasteries established by Tibetan refugees in India, with monks debating late into the night about the finer points of subjective reality, developing compassion, etc. So how could I not put the Buddhist debate updates in the Sports section?
"Chicago Cubs: Could this be the year?"
When I showed my happy news page to a few friends in 2007, my friend Jym said, "That's fantastic, but the Cubs part is hard to believe." Sigh.
Incidentally, the reason the Cubs didn't actually win the World Series (in my universe) was that the page was written in July, and even I have some concern for verisimilitude. It's one thing to have the International Olympic Committee eyeing Gaza for 2020, but it's just plain wrong to have a World Series champion before the All-Star break.
Serenity
I *heart* Joss Whedon! Why oh why won't the studios keep his shows on the air? Why wasn't "Serenity" the big hit it deserved to be? I am pleased to have been able to right this very great wrong.
Harry Potter
I wrote this before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was published, and I was skeptical that J.K. Rowling could really wrap things up to my satisfaction. As it turned out, I was quite pleased with the way things ended, and I am not suffering from Harry Potter withdrawal as feared.
Han Shot First!
I suspect this headline is what makes people assume my husband wrote the page. Why would a girl possibly care about the Han Solo-Greedo blaster switcheroo? I'm reminded of the early scene in "The Matrix," when Neo first met Trinity and blunderingly said he'd assumed she was a guy. Her deadpan reply: "Most guys do."
The good news is that this actually came true, just days after I first posted the page!
Soviet bacteriophages beat superbugs
I read a story about this in the New York Times Magazine some years ago, and I have not given up hope. This is one of my picks for the next one likely to come true.
Debbie Harry, Bruce Campbell, Manatees
Hey, why not?