Weekend America

Cartoon Scare

A guerilla advertising campaign caused panic in Boston this week. Light-Brite style circuit boards with cartoon figures were hung up on public structures, like bridges and Fenway Park. Authorities thought they were bombs and parts of the city came to a halt. Turns out it was a promotion for "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," a Cartoon Network show. So in this post 9/11 world, was the reaction reasoned? We talk with two security experts, Bruce Schneier, a security technologist in Minneapolis, and David Stephenson, a homeland security consultant who lives in Boston, where the events unfolded.

Not Just a Number Anymore

We discovered a really strange video last week. It was an infomercial that invited people to come to rural Tennessee, where guests can enjoy a variety of recreational activities. But it's not a resort, or a sports camp, or a spa. It's a privately run prison called the West Tennessee Detention Facility that's owned by the for profit company "Corrections Corporation of America." The video was an attempt to persuade inmates in California to volunteer to transfer there. And they might because the prisons in California, like in many states, are incredibly overcrowded. We wondered about selling one form of captivity over another? We asked Bill Sessa of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to help us understand.

Avenue C

This past Thursday was a special day for American poet Galway Kinnell. He turned 80. Although Kinnell is a Vermont resident, many poetry lovers associate him with his epic about Lower East Side life, called "The Avenue Bearing the Initial of Christ into the New World." Independent producer Pamela Renner took a walk in the neighborhood with Galway Kinnell on the afternoon before his big birthday.

The Dish on the Bowl

Gideon Roberts and his good friend Joe Deangeles have been waiting their whole lives for this weekend. Roberts is a huge Indianapolis Colts fan and Deangeles roots steadfastly for the Chicago Bears. For years the two suffered and commiserated through a number of losing seasons, but now of course everything has changed. Independent producer Charlie Schroeder recently got these two very excited men together and listened to them talk about rivalry, betting, deep dish pizza and Superbowl XLI.

Toboggan Championships

This weekend in Camden, Maine, more than 300 teams are competing in the 17th Annual U.S. National Toboggan Championships. The name is probably a bit overstated. Anyone with the right kind of sled can take a ride down the 400-foot, ice-covered chute on Ragged Mountain. And they will. Men and women, old and young, people in costumes with no chance to win and people who take this really, really seriously are all competing. And there is one man who helps make it all possible. They call him the "chutemaster." We sent Keith O'Brien to talk to the man who makes it all happen.

Paper Concerto

Even in this digital era paper comes in handy. We use the stuff to write grocery lists, to print out receipts, but what about making music? Chinese composer Tan Dun wrote a piece called "Paper Concerto" and this weekend it will be performed on an assortment of paper goods by the Fort Worth Symphony. Weekend America's Alex Cohen dropped by a rehearsal to listen.

Minimum Wage

This week the Senate voted to increase the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 over the next two years. However, the bill still has to return to the House of Representatives to find a consensus. We talk about minimum wage with people in Kansas, Tennessee and Illinois to find out how an increase could impact their communities. Also, we look at the correlation between happiness and wealth with Enrico Marcelli, an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts.

Good News, Bad News, No News

Good News, Bad News, No News

Our panel of non-experts review the week's events in a parlor game to gauge what kind of week America had. Weighing in is Weekend America's John Moe, Nancy French, the author of "A Red State of Mind," and Yale literature professor, Amy Hungerford.

Colts vs. Bears

No, we're not talking Super Bowl. In our long tradition of uncovering the hidden truth about furry critters, Weekend America's John Moe asks a question that's undoubtedly popped up to anyone contemplating this weekend's match up: What would happen if a real live horse colt took on a real live grizzly bear? After much investigation, John Moe finds out that it's not the bear cakewalk one might think.

Personal Space

Astronaut Leroy Chiao lived at the International Space Station in 2004 and 2005. For over six long months Chiao shared around 1500 square feet with his Russian cosmonaut counterpart, Salizhan Sharipov. That's not a lot of space. Chiao wrote about his experiences in a journal and the journals, kept by astronauts at the ISS, are being reviewed by a researcher in California. The analysis will help NASA prepare for even longer missions in the future. We talk with Chiao about his diary entries and about personal space, in space.

Last Chance

There are parts of American culture that our grandchildren may never experience. The Florida Everglades are submerging. Montana's Grinnell Glacier is receding. Some experts predict that well before the end of this century, most of our seafood will be farmed instead of caught wild, and the oyster industry is already getting there. Independent producer Lawrence Lanahan heads out with a waterman who catches oysters in the Chesapeake Bay, to experience a vanishing way of American life.

Life of a Dealer

The Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase is underway in Tucson, Ariz., this weekend. It's the largest in the world and "rockhounds" are there from around the world. It's their chance to check out one another's wares and dish some dirt. The whole affair is stranger than you might think. Reporter Julia Barton spent a day with the people who deal in treasures of the Earth.