By L.A. JOHNSON, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

As paranormal investigator John Lewis stood behind an auditorium stage on the Slippery Rock University campus three weeks ago, he recalls, he felt someone hit the back of his knee.
He and three people there with him reportedly heard a little girl's laughter, then footsteps, as if someone was running away. But there was no little girl.

Few are surprised that Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston, the strapping, hockey-playing father of her 2-1/2-month-old baby Tripp, broke off their engagement last week.

The economic downturn has folks scaling back a bit -- in quality or quantity -- on the guilty pleasures of smoking, drinking and gambling.

Barbie is fashion, daaaaahhhling!
Clothes are largely, though not entirely, the point of Barbie.
She's such a trend-setter that 50 designers paid tribute to her last month during New York Fashion Week. She has been model or muse to more than 70 famed designers including Calvin Klein, Dolce and Gabbana, Vera Wang and Versace.

That's no way to say Happy Birthday.
Just before her 50th, the iconic Mattel Barbie doll faces what some consider an indecent and silly proposal.
West Virginia Democratic Delegate Jeff Eldridge has proposed a bill to ban the sale of Barbie and similar dolls that promote physical beauty to the detriment of girls' intellectual and emotional development.

A handwritten love letter is a keepsake for the heart, a treat for the senses.
The heft of good writing paper, the braille-like feel of writing indentations on the paper's underside and even the occasional scent of perfume or cologne can accompany sweet words from a loved one.

Mia Liu, a Chinese MBA student at the University of British Columbia, wants to speak clear, precise English for business and pleasure.
That's why she's using Carnegie Speech's NativeAccent software to improve her spoken English.

Writing a lively page-turning biography about Michelle Obama is difficult when the subject won't cooperate.That's why Liza Mundy's effort is chock full of facts but at times reads more like a textbook or term paper than an illuminating, you-are-there bio.

From the Katie Couric-Sarah Palin interview and "Saturday Night Live" political sketches to Sunday morning talk shows and the endless presidential debates, political discourse this election season has made memorable contributions to the American lexicon.