A pleasing and amusing start to one's day can always be had by scanning the headline feed on the Star Tribune site for items like this...
SpongeBob SquarePants 'kidnapped' in Little Falls; ransom note demands Crabby Patties
LITTLE FALLS, Minn. -- He's big, he's yellow, and he's missing.Police in Little Falls are searching for a blow-up figure of SpongeBob SquarePants, taken from his perch atop a Burger King restaurant.
The popular cartoon character was plugging his new movie in a joint marketing deal with Burger King.
Police found a ransom note which reads: ``We have SpongeBob. Give us ten Crabby Patties, fries and milkshakes.'' It was signed by SpongeBob's nemesis, Plankton. And the note had this postscript: ``Patrick is next,'' a reference to SpongeBob's starfish buddy.