Um, sorry I was late. I guess I overslept. And what a day I am missing! Day three of being nice! This will be a day punctuated by several punctuation marks!!! Because SDBWM has finally rid himself of that crippling cynicism and loves -- and I do mean loooooooovvvvveees -- everyone!!!

But enough about me! Time for today's must reads!!!

An Interesting Protest Against Terrorism: (Rant-A-Bit) SDBWM votes for Scott Hudson as best new blogger of the summer. This isn't so much a post as a bit of fun that Scott discovered somewhere. And being the patriot that I am, I say everybody needs to join in.

Standing on the corner watching mainstreet go bye bye: (Dakota Today) The Viking goes downtown for a haircut and realizes that small town South Dakota is slowing disappearing. W/Photos. Today's S.D. Watch Must Read.

Power Line Blog News: Like their politics or not, anyone interested in how the blogosphere is changing the world of news will want to check out this popular conservative blog's new newssite. An amazing selection of links to newspapers from around the world. An index of blogs. Cool. Very cool.

Why the Red Delicious No Longer Is: (Washington Post) This story about the decline of the Red Delicious Apple is a cautionary tale about how consumer taste and the cross-breeding of fruits and vegetables for shelf life and sales is changing the way we eat.

Drunk Man Steals Potato Chip Truck: (Associated Press) SDBWM's dumb ass of the day.

Photo Blog: The Fair: (Minus Car) A selection of pictures from the Sioux Empire Fair. The new SDBWM likes pictures. The old SDBWM would have made fun of 'em. But that's not nice. It's a little boring, but it's not nice. RELATED: The No Encore Journey: (The Honorable Steve Sibson) *cough* *cough* Sorry, something got caught in my nice throat. Um, Sibby went to a Journey concert last night at the Sioux Empire Fair and, as you can tell from his photo, didn't get the kind of seats a man of his stature deserves. (Today may be the day that  SDBWM's head explodes.)
Update: Mr. Sibson apparently DID get the kind of seat a man of his stature deserves. Atta Boy, Mr. Sibson. (Someone is a little bit touchy today.)

South Dakota Not Among State's With Big Minority Populations: (Sioux City Journal) In our "News You Already Knew" department, there are a lot of white people in South Dakota. Next in this series of penetratring investigations: big black tree-covered mounds of earth, hills really, attract vacationers to western South Dakota.

Mitchell Corn Palace, Close-up: (Flickr) A myth busting photo of the Corn Palace.