VBVW for August 3, 2007:
Zapped

• The Very Best

Could Germans be hipper than Americans? No. But Berlin has earned major points for naming a street after Frank Zappa. Street 13 became Frank Zappa Strasse thanks to efforts by the owners of a factory where Communist films used to be made. The building is now a huge rehearsal center for young European bands.

The warden of a Philippino prison has a novel approach to reforming criminals: let ‘em dance. The sight of over 1,000 orange-clad inmates doing choreographed routines of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Queen’s “Radio Gaga” are not to be missed. Shake it, sister.

Researchers believe that tobacco may be useful in fighting sexually transmitted diseases. Don’t smoke it, though; the hope is that tobacco plants may be used to cultivate antibodies that fight gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes and even HIV. Tobacco and good health — friends at last.

• The Very Worst

A bridge collapsed at rush hour in Minneapolis, spewing humans, cars, and trucks into the water below. Now for the really bad news: the American Society of Civil Engineers reports that more than 100,000 bridges in the U.S. are in a state of serious disrepair.

Oil prices hit an all-time record high price of $78.77 per barrel. In July 2006 light sweet crude had hit $77.03.

Household fixtures and items stripped from the home of Jerry Garcia are going up for auction, with proceeds to benefit the Sophia Foundation. Last year, one of Jerry’s toilets brought in $2,500. The Grateful Dead music he crapped out was not included.