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Mouth-Drying Imagery

An advertising consultant tells The Wall Street Journal that the death of Wendy's founder, Dave Thomas, could have negative repercussions: "It may prove that any reminder of a man that recently passed away is not exactly an appetite-builder."

Are They Recession-Proof?

From the franchising section of The Wall Street Journal: "Bail Bond Franchises Available Now." Ownership benefits include substantial return on investment, exclusive territories, and innovative marketing strategies.

Were We Reading the Same Book, Louis?

Louis Menand, writing in The New York Review of Books, about the film adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring: "I don't remember The Lord of the Rings as a loud or violent book. I remember it as an eleven-year-old's Proust."

What They Don't Teach at Med School

A hospital regulatory agency, alarmed at the increasing number of doctors operating on the wrong body parts of patients, offers this solution: "Such errors are preventable with measures as simple as using a marker to scrawl messages like `Operate Here' on the patient's body."

File Under "Hmmm"

Ronald Reagan in a recent Forbes ASAP reprint from a 1980 speech, prior to his Administration's decision to ship arms to Iran: "For a nation such as ours, arms are important only to prevent others from conquering us or our allies."

Can't Wait for the Appeal

Evelyn Djoumessi was sentenced to do her own housework for three years by an Oakland County, Michigan, judge for having kept a teenage African as an unpaid servant and nanny. The sentence infuriated prosecutor Cheryl Matthews, who was seeking two years' prison time for Djoumessi: "It's not a sentence. It's a choice. What kind of message does that send about child abuse?"

Conserving Compassion

Rudolph Giuliani tells New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd his thoughts on John Walker, whom President Bush has referred to as "poor soul": "I could feel sorry for someone and still string 'em up."

Now You Tell Us

In a recent interview in Esquire...