Today's Tids Issue 2,928
Opening Stuff:

The daylight endures; the shadows lengthen. The colors of nature deepen. Everything shines brighter before long dark shadows. Is it an illusion, or is the world more beautiful, when the sun is lower and the chill crystallizes the air. I wander along paths by cooling seas, ingesting the glory of God's creations. Now, the ultimate beauty just before death. And the starkness of shadowless winter days.

When I report on these massacre events I never include the murderer(s) as part of the total dead.

It is beginning to appear that Maxwell Smart has been put in charge of the NSA.

The definition of a Red Sox fan is: A person fully expecting the worse; A true paranoid who relsihes danger lurkng and ready to destroy dreams.." I believe that there is a good chance the Sox could pull off the biggest collapse in major League baseball history. Just saying that makes me feel great. Alive! Like befroe the Sox won  the damned World Series in 2004.

The Question:
Everybody knows McDonald's, right? Now, Quick, name for breakfast itme snad five lunch items.

The Headlines:
--Senator McCain Writes Blistering Response To Putin's NYT's Piece.
--Chicago Finally Passes NYC; Windy City Now Murder Capital Of The USA.
--Fed Continues Welfare Program For Big Finance; Dow Lower Today Following Yesterday's Blowout Rise; Investors Realize Reality Will Come Someday..
--New Jobless Claims Rise by 15,000.
--Anti-Gun Advocates Forget One Again That The Navy Base Problem Was Mental Illness And Not Guns.
--Single South Carolina Lottery Purchaser Wins $400 Million.
--Weather Service Says Colorado Rains Was A Millennium Event.
--Egypt Army Attacks And Takes Control of Former Morsi Stronghold.
--al-Qaida Using Syria Refugee Crossing To Attack Turkey Border Towns.

I said last week's picks could go either way, and it was proven as many of the games turned within seconds of the ending. 10-6 isn't so hot, but I feel The Tids Sports Department escaped with its record still in positive territory at 22-10 (69%) This week isn't much better with almost as many posers as last week. There are a couple of sure things, primarily Seattle over Jax and Denver over Oakland. Tonight we have a game which could go either way, but I'm picking Phil at Home over the improved, former eagle Coach Reid's 2-0 Chiefs. Cinn is at home, but GB should win. Dallas is already a mystery team, but the are home and will squeak in. Tenn is tough and SD can score. Tenn will stop em'. I like Minn over Cleveland and 0-2 NYG over 0-2 Carolina. New England is fragile but I gotta go with them at home. I'm sticking with the Saints over Cardinals, and with a big gulp I'm saying the Wash will get number 1 over Detroit after Nuh draws a penalty putting the skins in field goal range. I'm going with Balt to upset Houston and Buffalo to win over the Jets inthe battle of rookie QB's. San Fran should beat Indy and Chicago to continue winning over a dysfunctional Steeler group.

Keniche Ebina winning AGT was America getting it right. Franky, although there appeared to be upsets, I wasn't surprised at all. Rose stayed longer because of the traditional huge country vote in these competitions. Williamson connected with the people, even though his last night performance sucked big time. Forte became monotonous in a sensational sort of way. Camy was perhaps #1 in talent, best performer last night, but maybe too sophisticated for the mass voters. And Collins Key was always entertaining right up to last night, but magicians just don't seem to have the reach. It would have been a good season, if Howie Mandel was locked in a closet somewhere, Stern lost his ego and Nick Cannon let us see more of the performers and less of him.

A Berkshire Hathaway Director, Meryl Witmer, suggests that stocks are entering "Bubble" range.

Statistics Clouds Minds, Department
In the paper yesterday a big story began with the sentence, "New numbers from the US Census Bureau onTuesday painted a mixed picture of the Rhode Island economy. The stats said that of the New England states, RI was first in poverty and the reporter expressed surprise that the state was also number one in median average wage growth. Frankly, the numbers are quite in line. It would have been surprising...if RI had the highest median wage. But growth % increases are often meaningless in areas where the begnning number is very low. So having a very high rate of poverty indicates that the RI median wage numebr was probably very low and that growth from the lows generally produce numbers which appear to be quite dramatic. Politicians Like Clinton loved to use such overstated growth numbers. Statistics can be shadows that confuse reality.

We North-easterners have always been told that Mid-westerners  are really, really friendly. So, how come Chicago is the new Murder Capital of the US?

I remember once twenty or so years ago on a pleasant summer's day eating my lunch on a park bench near Fanual Hall in Boston. I was enjoying my sandwich and the bustling crowd when I got the feeling that someone was staring at me. I looked up to see an attractive but severe appearing woman standing there with two kids, plates in hands. As she glared, she bent down and in a voice I was sure to hear, said, "I told you New Englanders weren't friendly". I threw a pickle at her.

New Englanders are as friendly as they want to be.

One of the problems with extending the Fed Give-away program for financial mahoffs is that eventually it will have to stop and we will find there is nothing there to keep the markets from free-falling. It is the old "Emperor's new Clothes" thing all over again.

If you aren't interested in making tough decisions what's better than having it all go away with a shutdown of the US Government. A shadow that creates an illusion.

The Answer:
I'd start breakfast with Sausage Egg McMuffin. Other favorites are Sausage Egg Biscuit, The Big Breakfast, Bacon Egg McGriddles and a hot selling newbie - Steak, Egg and Cheese McMuffin, Oh! I almost forgot the hash browns.  For lunch, The Big Mac comes to mind first; or is it the double quarterpounder with cheese.  And of course a large fry! The there is the Crispy Chicken Ranch BLT, Chicken Nuggets, Filet-O-Fish and the newbies like Sweet Chili Chicken Wrap, Chicken and Bacon McWrap and the McRib! Oh yeah, and the original McDonalds hamburger...but it's not 15 cents any more.


If you've been reading the America's Got Talent Segments (Or skipping to get to the "Q" answer) you may or may not know what I'm talkng about. Check out the video of the AGT winner Kenichi Ebina. I believe you will be amazed!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn-NsWRtaSY