WEST SALEM, Ill. (AP) — A 5.4 earthquake in Illinois has rocked people awake as far away as Indiana, surprising residents unaccustomed to such a large temblor in the Midwest.

The quake just before 4:37 a.m. was centered 6 miles from West Salem, Ill., and 66 miles from Evansville, Ind.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

For some reason yet to be determined, this young man took a seriously wrong turn in life that culminated in the death of two people, the possible kidnapping of a minor, orphaned children, and friends left in a world that doesn’t make sense anymore—shattered lives all around. What possesses an otherwise normal and well-adjusted person to commit murder?

And yet, what depths of sin exist within all our souls? Is not the evil necessary to commit murder present within us all in one form or another? Is it not only by the grace of God that such evil is restrained?

Although I didn’t see the performances, here’s my highly speculative analysis of why these upstarts who only practiced for six weeks beat teams that have been doing this for years.

1. Youthful energy. They were able to incorporate break-dancing, Irish dancing, and back-flips.
2. Style. They had the least tacky costumes.
3. Hip Attitude. I’ve noticed that a lot of librarians have a terrible insecurity about being considered mousy, uptight, old, bookworms. Therefore, they latch onto anything that counters that image. The UW-Madison team’s choice of the song “Hip to Be Square” by Huey Lewis & the News appeals directly to this desire.

Man jumps to his death from Grand Canyon sightseeing helicopter

When I woke up this morning, it seemed like a normal Saturday. I slept in. When I got up I got a shower. I got a bowl of cereal and sat down in the living room to watch some TV. When I hit the power button on the remote, however, the day changed dramatically. As the screen turned on I saw a bright, clear blue sky, with a white streak down the middle. My immediate thought: “Uh oh… What am I looking at? What happened?” As I soon discovered, I was looking at some of the first broadcast video of Columbia breaking up. I spent most of the morning watching the story develop as new footage from different angles came in, and the first pieces of debris were found.

This is a story of particular interest to me because I have for a long time had an interest in the space program. As a kid I attended all three levels (available at the time) of the Delaware Aerospace Academy (which introduced me to model rocketry, btw). There’s just something special about space travel that captures the imagination.