Employee of the month

A man in his 60s who worked in a Finnish tax office died at his desk last week, but no one noticed for two days. His dozens of co-workers assumed he was simply "quietly poring over tax returns."

Tuesday: "Hey, Joe! Working late, huh? Well, don't stay too late!"

Wednesday: "Hey Joe, we're going to get some lunch. Want to come? No? Man, you're really into your work."

Thursday: "Hey, man, I found some great internet porn. Come on, take a break and come see this. Hey motherfucker, are you dead or something? Hey, don't be an asshole... Oh, holy shit!"
 

In other news:

NPR says it still needs donations, even after Joan Kroc last year gave NPR $200 million. "The truth is that the Kroc gift will have no effect on the financial needs or the fundraising efforts of NPR's 750 member stations. Instead of receiving financial support from NPR, these stations have to pay for NPR programming," says a Christian Science Monitor article.

The new mayor of San Francisco appointed a Chinese-American woman as police chief Saturday. Heather Fong, 47, went through SF's police academy back in the 80s and rose through the ranks to become the first female deputy chief a few years ago. I think San Francisco is the second-largest city to have a female police chief, after Detroit's Ella Bully-Cummings.

American Jews under 40 are "rebranding their image," writes Naomi Wolf in the Sydney Morning Herald. "The hip new brigade of "Hebesters" listens to Jewish rap music, watches edgy Jewish theatre and wears tight-fitting T-shirts with the word "Jewcy" proudly emblazoned across the chest." Yes, eventually everyone will apply the Queer Nation template to their religious, ethnic, geographic or quasi-national group.