Norman Hsu has been captured in Colorado. Allahpundit will keep you current on the story.

Greg Packer has hit the big-time once again. After Ann Coulter exposed him as “the entire media’s designated man on the street for all articles ever written,” Big Media outlets slowly stopped giving him the time of day.

For example, in 2003 the AP famously circulated an amusing internal memo that read in part:

The world is full of all kinds of interesting people. One of them is Greg Packer of Huntington, N.Y., who apparently lives to get his name on the AP wire and in other media. It works: A Nexis search turned up 100 mentions in various publications.

We ourselves have quoted Mr. Packer while he was:

— visiting the site of the former Studio 54 in New York City in 1996
— the first person in line for a White House tour on George Bush’s inauguration day in 2001
— attending an XFL football game in New Jersey in 2001 (and at many more East Coast sporting events)
— opining in Times Square on subjects ranging from the millennium to the war in Iraq
— sporting a bright green wig and a painted green mustache at New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day parade this year
— the first person in line to buy Hillary Clinton’s book at a New York City book signing earlier this week

And that’s just a handful of the stories. He also shows up in AP Broadcast actualities and in one APTN piece.

Mr. Packer is clearly eager to be quoted. Let’s be eager, too — to find other people to quote.

Oops! Looks like somebody at the AP didn’t get the memo. From an AP wire story from a couple of hours ago, we see this:

Virginia Tech students, faculty and staff cheered, sang along and stayed on their feet through a concert Thursday night that was conceived for them by rocker Dave Matthews in the days after the mass shootings on campus in April.

. . . .

Greg Packer, 43, of Huntington, N.Y., bought a ticket on the Web site Craigslist and rode a bus overnight to attend the concert.

“I just wanted to show my support and express my sympathies,” said Packer, who also wore a commemorative T-shirt.

Uh, and get my name in the paper.

It is heartening to see Packer mentioned in another AP story. After he was first exposed, he started having to settle for appearances in somewhat less impressive publications — like the Norwood News and the Epoch Times. He managed to get himself back in the pages of most of the bigger publications recently, when he pulled the stunt of being the first in line for an iPhone. But it wasn’t the same. For the most part, the Big Media stories about his iPhone line-sitting mentioned his “Man on the Street” shtick.

As far as I can tell, Packer hadn’t truly suckered one of the larger Big Media outlets in quite some time.

He’s back, baby!

(Previous Packer sightings here.)

Luciano Pavarotti is dead at 71, of pancreatic cancer.

Pavarotti has always had one of the most recognizable voices in opera, and along with Placido Domingo is (virtually) everyone’s favorite tenor.

I will be seeing Verdi’s Requiem this Sunday, the day that Pavarotti is laid to rest. Domingo will conduct. On the way home, I heard that Domingo will dedicate the Requiem to Pavarotti (as well as someone else whose name I didn’t catch). It will be a nice way to say goodbye.

[Guest post by DRJ]

[Updated link bumped to the top.]

Osama Bin Laden is in the news:

Osama Bin Laden plans to issue a video message addressing the American people on the sixth anniversary of the attacks on September 11, US-based monitoring service SITE said on Thursday.

“The SITE Intelligence Group has learned that a new video message is forthcoming from the head of Al-Qaeda” on the 9/11 anniversary, said the group, which monitors extremist websites and publications.”

Here are my guesses on the significance of this:

1. OBL is alive, able to send out messages to the world, and in charge of al Qaeda, or

2. Al Qaeda is planning another major terrorist event and this is part of that event, or

3. Al Qaeda is reduced to propaganda efforts after the disruption of its terror cells in Germany and Denmark.

Opinions welcome.

[Guest post by DRJ]

As a public service, here is a rather fishy Endangered Species Act story:

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[Guest post by DRJ]

Fred Thompson announced on the Jay Leno Show yesterday that he is officially a candidate for President of the United States. Here’s a transcript courtesy of NRO’s The Campaign Spot. This was Fred’s best soundbite:

JAY LENO: A lot of the pundits say, “Oh, well, you waited too long.”

FRED THOMPSON: No, I don’t think so. Of course, we’ll find out, but I don’t think people are going to say, you know, “That guy would make a very good President, but he just didn’t get in soon enough.”

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