Angel >> Ken Kesey The original Merry Prankster, '60s acid guru and author passed away this weekend at age 66, an icon of American literature. Not only world-famous for his novels, especially One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Sometimes a Great Notion, Kesey and his cohorts were also the focus of Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Unlike many icons of his era, Kesey never became an embarrassment, living his life quietly on a ranch in Oregon and staying true to his ideals. His work remains well worth reading.

Insect >> New video-lottery terminals Loto-Québec will be spending $200-million on the next generation of these nefarious, highly addictive devices. Although the selection committee, made up of Loto-Québec officials and government bureaucrats but no health or addiction experts, say the new machines will include so-called "responsible gambling" safety features, no one knows what they are or how effective they'll be. Meanwhile, addicts continue to kill themselves (dozens per year--and 60 per cent of suicides linked to gambling are related to VLTs) and blow fortunes--over $1-billion of which goes to Loto-Québec each year.