Good morning, Friday! With a pale, pale imitation of the Stranger's Slog and the Portland Mercury's Blog Town PDX, here's a tiny news roundup.

1. Rebel college students say, "Fuck your greedy lawsuits, RIAA & ASCAP!" Or more likely, they say, "Hm. I'll just go off-campus to a nice free wireless place and do my file-sharing anyway. And by off-campus, I mean the coffee shop a block away." But here's an idea:
Von Lohmann advocates a system in which universities pay blanket licensing fees directly to record labels to cover their students’ existing download habits.
All right! More fees for students!

2. Bridge rescue dude: The whole country is in love with this guy right now. And I hope that someone, say the Dayton Hudson (aka Target, and no, I'm not linking to them) people, gives the dude the money to get back into that auto mechanic training program he's interested in. You know?

3. Harry Potter is Christ?
Here's a convincing argument that Harry Potter is a Christian series? (Just in case you hadn't noticed how ... oops, sorry, no spoilers here.)
Warning: This column might make you want to read Dante's Divine Comedy. Who says the Harry Potter books aren't gateway drugs? I only wish I could reproduce the crazy Harry Potter/Christ comparison chart I found on Beliefnet. You'll have to go there yourself.

4. Crazy suburban development makes people happy!. Seriously, Oregonian, what in the world is this fluff? I mean, Bridgeport Village?! Oh, oh, wait ... it's all the fault of Californians.

When real estate agent Tom May wants to sell a home in Tualatin, a visit to Bridgeport Village usually cinches the deal. The new, glitzy "lifestyle center" is a big hit, especially with Californians who are excited to see high-end boutiques that are rare elsewhere in Oregon.
...
Yet, residents still don't have a central gathering spot like a community or recreation center. The city's downtown, the Tualatin Commons, holds a man-made lake surrounded by condos and apartments. But downtown has few restaurants and stores, and many people driving through the city do not realize a lake even exists.

5. Small town police are harder on illegal immigrants than Seattle police. What are the consequences?

One police officer says she enjoys working "hand in hand" with ICE. An attorney says, and I quote the article here, immigrants are being turned over to ICE even in cases where local police aren't prepared to bring criminal charges against them.

That's cheery. Maybe I'll end on a cheerier note. For instance, the Saturday Market corn guy will probably be there this weekend, which means yum. I mean nom.

Enjoy your weekends, people!