The times, they are a-changin'

The Drudge Report is a valuable and fascinating site. Matt Drudge, founder and operator, dishes up a wonderful and varied mix of news each day, constantly updated. In the political world, he's considered something of a kingmaker (it was he who first broke the Monica Lewinsky scandal).

The fare he offers up is, as I say, a smorgasbord of variety. Every now and then, however, like today, you notice that several items share a common thread. I don't know how to do screenshots, so I'll have to explain lo-fi.

At the top of the page is a story about Britain's parliament giving the go-ahead for scientists to create human-animal hybrids. Then there's the pregnant man mowing his lawn. Two men solving an argument with tasers.

And finally, France mulls whether to ban happy hour in bars. (France?!? Quel horreur!)

The common thread? All of these events would have been unthinkable as little as 10 years ago. The times are not only a-changin', they're a-changin' faster and faster all the time.

Of course, that owes much to the "jumping Jesus" phenomenon. Information itself is expanding exponentially.

But on second look, perhaps it's human business as usual.

The effort to graft humans and animals is motivated by a search for cures for disease. The pregnant man, like anyone else, longs for offspring. The taser dudes were simply using new technology to settle the age-old fistfight. And France's youth, alas, have discovered the dubious joys of binge drinking just like our own here in the States.

Still ... it makes you think. Are we rushing headlong into a yawning chasm of technological oblivion? Or are we simply adapting to business as usual?