Is it, or isn't it?

Today's Tids Issue 2803

Opening Stuff:

 

Well, here we are in the month of showers that bring the flowers to give to Mom in May; On that first day of this beautiful month where everything written may, or may not be true. The month up here in the North where you start mowing again, and look for those early bloomers popping through. And yes, the baseball season begins the long marathon til October. The ups and downs, the dashed hopes; the tears and the smiles that grab your heart. April stands for Anticipation.

Every Sunday our Newspaper The Providence Journal has a Pictorial Review covering mainly H-Wood stars on red carpets or glittering in some public venue. Yesterday's had pics of people great and small from around the world, from a little village in Minsk to a city in China to the Pope at an altar in the Vatican; An impressive array, a moving series titled "Easter Vigils". It was indeed a contrast to that norm, that seemed to define much of the rift besetting our nation, and probably world. Those who believe they are god, versus he who is God.

In Rhode Island, they think that new construction jobs that turn once thriving downtown commercial buildings into apartments and condominiums is economic progress. 

The Question:
Double "Q" Day -- 1. Tiger Woods has dropped to third just ahead of Lebron James on the Forbes highest paid Athlete list? Who passed him by for 1 and 2? 2. What were the last three letters added to the current alphabet?

The Headlines:

--Hillary Announces Nancy Pelosi As Running Mate; Leading Dem Candidate Says, "I'm Using The Biden Model For My Campaign Balance".
--NK Has SK Jittery.
--Markets Awaiting Manufacturing Data; Stocks Down As Early Earnings Reports Indicate lower Corporate Profits.
--Tids Spell Check Sentenced To Death By dictionary For Fraud.
--Anti Keystone Folks Smiling Over Exxon Arkansas Oil Spill.
--Afghan Prez Karsai Sends Fortune To New Pope.; Says It's To Make Amends For Past Sins As War Profiteer.
-- Anti Nuke People Smiling As 3 Are Killed In Arkansas Nuclear Plant.
--Bankruptcy Ruling On Stockton Cal Considered Key To All US Cities facing Financial Woes.
--PETA Files Class Action Suit Against White House For Rolling Unborn Chickens.

I always thought a great Easter song was Hammerstein/Rogers "O What a Beautiful Morning."

The Libertarian think tank Mercatus center at George Mason U has named the most and least free states. The most free states are in order are North Dak, South Dak, Tennessee, New Hampshire and Oklahoma ( Depending on who's your dentist.). The least free starting with worst are New York, California, New Jersey, Hawaii and Rhode Island. The key features of the least free are Taxation and regulation. Over here in RI a new report shows state employees making tons of dough with overtime. For instance a stae hospital laundry worker made $126,000 and a senior nurse with a $97K base salary made $178K in overtime for a total of $254,000! Yikes. This is not an April Fools joke. In a talk show discussion a host asked for a five letter word that explains it all. And answers were like Greed and Fraud. But, the winner was Union.

Yesterday, I brought up Google and put in a search, "Intelligent People". It didn't work.

Have you noticed that when you call into one of those gigantic monoliths like Verizon, you can get an answer one day from a nice person, and then get a completely different answer the next day from an equally nice person,,,both reading from the same computer data.

The magazine The Economist, which has long held sacred the theory of rising greenhouse gasses and the fall of mankind, is now thoroughly perplexed that after ten years there is no discernible increase in temperatures, land surface and air. That none of their dire predictions have panned out. Hmmm. I notice also that the predictions of rising oceans wiping out the East coast are in conflict with the lowering sea levels of the Great Lakes. Nature does what nature does. So buried deeply within the Economist article, "the magazine admits that evidence suggests something that global warming skeptics have long maintained: Natural variations in the earth’s climate likely play a bigger role than scientific models have said.".

This may sound like an April Fools joke but it isn't. Yesterday the Google Logo, which typically honors a significant holiday or event or person, picked Caeser Chavez over JC Rising.

For a nice change of pace from the popular masters, Vaughn Williams 5th Symphony is pretty good listening.

And in NCAA land the officials in the college Hockey Playoffs, "The Frozen Four" were probably a little dismayed seeing Yale, Quinnipiac (A stones throw away from each other), St. Cloud State and UMass-Lowell as the best of this years hockey teams.

I'll grant you that fruit displays in supermarkets are more attractive than meat. But then, who am I then, to pick off some fruit and mess up a pleasant attraction for the next customer walking in.

I remember many years ago I thought Vivaldi composed incredibly refreshing music, lively and creative. So I bought a ton of Vivaldi CD's, listened intently, and found myself tiring of it. Lately I've been digging back in and the creativity of the man is still there (Why wouldn't be?). I'm enjoying it again, maybe more than in the past. I guess it's like a lot of stuff in life. Like the first beer that tastes great. Or the first 25 or so Cheetos that can't be beat. Or a news story that is interesting until it is beaten to death by an overwrought media. Maybe moderation is the key to life.

I was in one of those all too cute bakery cafes yesterday. Walking around I noticed a display of trendy pannini sandwiches and went over to check them out. As I expected from my impressions of the shop, they were vegetarian, all 14  of them. As I was turning back, I noticed another sign to the left, "Meat Panini's". Yikes, the meat sandwiches were gone, sold out. Once again the meatatarians overwhelm the vegetarians. I felt vindicated.

How come Italian food descriptions often employ redundancy pannini sandwiches and shrimp scampi.

Scientists are saying that yachtsmen, fishermen and sailors dumping ice cubes in ocean are off-setting greenhouse gas effect.

The Conscience: Chapter 17 continues.
   Her laughter stopped, and she stared at me. I physically pushed back into my chair. Tensed ready fro her assault. She was beginng to have that effect on me. Elation, expectation, anxiety.  "This is a business meeting Mr' Morgan." Her face was stern, unflinching. Her eyes locked on mine. I was frozen in her gaze. I began to stammer, but then her eyes brighetened. Her lips relaxed into a beautiful smile. "Why thank you Jeff. A good business meeting is always more produtive with a little warmth. It's good I understand American colloquialisms. Yes."
  "Yes it is". I decided to take advantage of my good fortune. "You are not only out of this world, but amazingly intuitive." But, that was plenty. Just enough friendliness.
   "I think we could make a good team Mr. Jeff Morgan. But, all of a sudden there are many obstacles. My grandfather thinks we have to meet my mother and father. You have passed my test but they are the owners, and they aren't as nice as me."
   "What else did your grandfateher say. Who was that man who was with him at the cafe?"
   "Oh, back to questions, already." She raised an eyebrow, that seemed to say there are better alternatives to talking about mysteries.
   "I guess I am boring. Better you found it out now before our relationship goes too far." I thought that was cute.
   "Our relationship won't go to far." That could be positive, I thought.
   "My grandftaher was more disturbed that he looked about the explosion. He like I said earlier believes that nobody here at Biglietto would do that. It bother him that there may be a third party in this," she paused, "negotiation." I just nodded not wanting to interrupted her thinking. The ugly little man at the cafe was a man who runs our production department. He looks mean, and I don't like him.  But he is good at what he does, so I put up with him. I don't think he is a villain. Angelic reached out to pick up her phone and punched in three numbers. "Mama, maybe you you and Papa would like to have lunch with Mr. Morgan and I." She listened for a few seconds and then smiled. "Caio."
    "And?"
    "We will have lunch with them, and now I have lots of work. I will see you here at 1 O'clock." She flipped open her laptop cover and looked, which I guess was a signal for me to leave. So much for relationships.
    I got up, and said one O'clock it is. She just replied, "Good" as she was into something on the screen. As I hit the door I looked back and she was looking at me. She quickly turned her head back to the computer. I was in love, but then remembered I had to call my wife.

The Answer:
Anybody who thinks that boxing is dead should take a look at the new highest paid Athelete list where Floyd Mayweather is number One. think of what he could have made if he wasn't in jail! Number two, Manny Pacquaio, is another boxer. Boxing? Twp women made the Top 100 --Tennis players Maria Sharapova and Li Na. A host of sports were represented including two Cricket legends, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar. You probably never met a Cricket legend before. 2. The last three letters were added in England about 600 years ago. They are w, j and u. The original alphabet which is the basis for ours today was the Roman Alphabet established in 550BC, or and 2150 years before the last three letters. Before the Roman effort, the Greek and Ecrustian alphabets gave us some semblance of A. B. C.

My mind is thoroughly buried in the anticipation of the opening pitch of today's first Red Sox game. of the baseball season two thousand and thirteen. I'm hoping this strange team assembled during the past five or six months isn't an April Fools joke. But you never know.