Full Steam Ahead.

Today's Tids Issue 3,174

Opening Stuff:

 

Even with the Tids, a touch of reality must be considered as fall returns the vacationing pros back into the human race. New sports, TV, school programs and full bodied workforces all return to dominate the scene. Don’t forget the political races now getting serious. And of course, the stock community gets sane once again. The newest view here is that the events of the world crazies haven’t moved the needle down much. Which could mean that the economic basics are still relatively strong even after this protracted surge into uncharted territory. Logic would say that it’s time for a breather, a retrenchment. But, the engine is chugging. Maybe living in a state with no economy skews the eyes of this financial observer. I’m breathing a little easier now. Factories are doing well, and I hear that capital spending is still on a roll.

 

I’m beginning to believe that having a charge card at a major retail big box company is a stupid idea. Actually, the only solution against sudden financial and personal disaster may be paying in cash and turning off all appliances that talk to each other. And keep your clothes on.

 

All of a sudden, Elizabeth Warren (Sen, D-Mass) appears to be getting serious about becoming the Progressive darling candidate to Challenge The Hill for the Dem Nomination.

 

The Question:

For a cultural update, name the 5 current most popular TV shows and 5 current most popular Celebs.

 

The Headlines:

--Tension Over Russia Dominates NATO Meetings Which Also Must Deal With Isis; France Calls Off Shipping New Warships To Russia; Putin Asks Rebels To Stop Advancing..

--Obama, Cameron Trying To Form Coalition Against ISIS.

--6 Of 32 Teens Who Escaped Tennessee Juvenile Detention Center Still At Large.

--Justice Department Opening Civil Rights Probe Of Ferguson Police Department.

--al-Qaida Claiming Expansion Into South Asia, Indian “Subcontinent”; India On Alert.

--Investors Still In Love With Tesla Stock; Apple Has Bad Day As Samsung Announces Deal With FaceBook Occulus Ahead Of Tim Cook’s Big day.

--5,000 Ex-NJ Casino Workers To Apply For Unemployment In Next 3 Days.

--Many Companies Say They Are Becoming Less Confident With The “The Cloud”.

 

The wait is over. The Tids intrepid sports department, bleary eyed, is stumbling out out of their basement storeroom, ready with the First NFL picks of the year. At this time of year without current history, it’s hard to determine which games will be the tougher picks, so we only have a handful of posers: Oakland-Jets, Miami-NE, SF-Dallas, Indy-Denver, NY Football Giants-Detroit and SD-Ariz. I like Oakland to surprise the overconfident Jets and NE will pull one out away and in the heat of Miami. I am reluctant, but I’m giving Dallas a win, especially with some players missing at SF. The Broncs should beat Peyton’s old team in a close one and I believe Detroit is ready to start fast against a rebuilding Jints with a new offense. The mystery game to me is the Chargers and Arizona and I’m going with the Home team Cardinals. The rest are Seattle to begin its march to the SB over GB in a good start tonight. The rest of the winners are St. Lou, Chicago, Washington, KC, NO, Philly, Pittsburgh, Balt and Carolina. So, we’re off!!

 

Has there ever been a tougher job than picking out a paint color other than off-white for a room.

 

It’s time to look at TV for the fall (Note: Just learned that one of my favorite Spring Shows , Fargo, has been renewed for another crazy and intriguing season.) Among all of the new shows scheduled I can only find one, State Of Affairs that Intrigues me a lot. In it Katherine Heigl plays a CIA agent in a political drama; her job is assessing for the President the greatest threats to national security. She also has a sideline, which is hunting down the killers of her fiancé. After that I look at Debra Messing’s new light police show The Mysteries of Laura, NCIS New Orleans and perhaps Stalker, How to get Away with Murder, and Scorpian. I’m definitely going to give the quirky Gracepoint a chance. Some of the promos make me think that “Marry me” could be better than some of today’s sitcoms. The highly promoted Madam Secretary smacks of a Hillary campaign advertisement, but I’m really not watching the story of a super-Secretary because I’ve seen the trailers and it is just too outrageous and unbelievable. Forever, about a cop who never can die and always comes back nude, may be a little too much to take. However, both it and Madam could do well. Gotham has possibilities depending on how it looks at life before Batman. Selfie, The (Loudmouth) McCarthys, The Affair, Blackish, Cristela, Jane the Virgin, Manhattan Love Story, Mulaney (Stand up Comic theme) and Red Band Society are not on my radar screen for a number of reasons, a main one being that I have trouble relating to the new sitcoms. So all of you with young, open minds may want to give some of them a chance.

 

Frankly, I think they need subtitles for British movies too.

 

They picked the final 12 for America’s Got Talent last night and while watching I remembered why haven’t watched much this year. – the inane judges. Last night we had to suffer through some seriously unfunny sketches involving various panel members and the only word that comes to mind is Dreadful. But, now we have the talent which is very good, and I’ll suffer through the antics of the intruders to give you solid reports starting next week.

 

You can always tell how harsh the weather has been by how many times you have to replace a ragged grill cover.

 

This November it is all about the Senate as it is quite certain that the Repubs will hold the House minus 1 or 2 going over to the Dems. Any discussion about the Congressional races must start with Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell/Allison Lundergan Grimes affair where it is expected that $100 Mil will be spent. Currently, the Senate Minority Leader is ahead in the polls and the lead appears to be growing slightly. What is helping the old incumbent with his own low approval numbers, is that Obama is lower and a detriment to Grimes message. Personally I like McConnell. Nationally the chances of the Repubs taking the Senate range from 61% to 82% depending on the Polling and critical observations, with the NY Times being on the lower side and Washington Post slightly higher. With 62 days to go, the newest state by state polling has the Repubs gaining 6 seats and the majority of 51 against 47 Dems and 2 indies. It is miles to the finish, and I never count my chickens. I guess what amazes me most is that Al Franken remains so strong in Minnesota. In closing, I think the weirdness of politics could give us a draw. And, I think Mitch will win.

 

The Answer:

For TV, people like Under the Dome, True Blood, Big Brother, The Bachelorette and the Last Ship. The most popular celebs are Kate Middleton, Prince William, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lawrence and Beyonce. Right now, my favorite TV show is Extant which is soon to be extinct for the season, and I don’t ever have favorite celebrities.

 

I tried to close with something funny from Al Franken. But, I h=guess he’s just an unquotable comedian too. God help Minnesota and the US Senate.