Does Spell-Chick stop working at minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit?

Today's Tids Isssue 3,285

Opening Stuff:

 

Well, here we are on another Holiday, National Car Sales Day disguised as a day to honor men who have led the nation through crises, and to glory. There have been great and not so great, loved and intensely disliked presidents, but the fact remains that it is a tough job regardless of how each president  views America, or what party they represent. The faces age and the hair turns grey because the Job is just that demanding. Then decisions are enormous, often holding the lives of millions in their mortal hands. It will probably never happen, but somehow we have to become more positive about presidents, not put them into defensive corners. If we don’t like them we can vote them out, but we should find a way to make them productive in office. We are the citizens, the electors, the reason the USA system exists.

 

President Obama must be really bad. Oh, I would never say that about a president, but I as a journalist I am obligated to report honestly what I hear.  No, RI’s puppet Senator Jack Reed who has never uttered a discouraging word about any Dem, said yesterday rather forcefully that he thinks The Prez is wrong to put time limits on wars. This is an historic event. Jack Reed. My God! Have any cows flown by.

 

I don’t care  what the stylish say, I like my pleated, comfortable pants. And that’s about it. Men’s pants are getting so narrow that it looks hard to walk;  I’m expecting that yoga pants for males can’t be too far away. What a ridiculous looking spectacle that would be. Talk about unsightly litter on the streets!

 

I like English Springer Spaniels.

 

Over 1800 media, 540 foreign, have jammed into NYC for the NBA All Star Game, and I have to ask the question, why?

 

The Question:

Name the ten Presidents between former Generals Andrew Jackson and U.S. Grant. Bonus: Name the 8 presidents who never attended college.

 

The Headlines:

--Egypt Sends Planes Into Libya To Retaliate for 21 Christian Beheadings By Militants; Boco Haram Attacks Cameroon Army.

--Bitter Cold Hits Northeast; South Readies For Large Icy Storm; NJ Woman, 66, Found Dead In Snow Just Steps From Home.

--FCC Proposes Drone Rules Which Focus On Safety And Privacy.

--Kiev And Rebels Accuse Each Other Of Violating Cease Fire.

--Apple Planning to Build Car that Would Challenge Tesla.

--Deadline For Greek Deal Looms; Left Government Appears Dead Set Against Continuing Austerity Program.

 

The good news today is that you won’t lose money on Wall Street. The bad news is that your heating bill may match the national debt after today.

 

Some of the unsung heroes of the weekend were those florists who managed get pretty posies safely delivered on Valentines Day , in 15F degree or lower weather,  with snow barriers blocking  parking, and icy paths for the delivery people. But they made it, and there are many a smile and beating heart because of their undying devotion to love.

 

Who says there is no diversity in America? The two biggest Valentines Weekend Box Office movie hits in history are now 50 Shades of Grey which this weekend almost matched the number of the all time winner Passion  Of Christ. Jesus Christ. Christian Grey. Maybe movie goers were confused by the word “Christian”.

 

 In case you’re interested, I’d rate my three favorite Classic piano concertos as Beethoven 4th, Grieg’s In A Minor and Rachmaninov #2. After that I would intermix Brahms D, Schuman, Liszt, Chopin, Tchaikovsky #1 and Beethoven 3, 5 and 6.

 

Speaking of Religion, there are religiously fanatical devotees to Saturday Night Live who will probably speak unkindly of my remarks about Sunday’s SNL love-in. Last night’s really long 3 ½, 4 ½ if you count the mindless red carpet shenanigans, was confusing, loud and more often than not, really not funny.  But icons are icons and the audience was made up of more of them who laughed continuously at themselves. Or was that nervous laughter from the jealous who didn’t get top billing.  It’s hard to isolate any great moments because everything moved so fast.  Or maybe there were no moments big enough to shine through. I never have enjoyed John Lovitz, but I liked the continuing joke about his death. The Blues Brothers were my personal favorites and I enjoyed that segment which could have gone on longer than then tired Paul McCartney. BB’s could have been a show stopper. I don’t know why she was part of it, but I have to say that Miley Cyrus is a really good singer, and probably doesn’t need the modern entertainment accoutrements like sex tapes. There should have been more than quick snippets of the great bands. There were good laughs in Celebrity Jeopardy.  I thought Fallon and Justin Timberlake were very good in the opening. The Chevy Chase segment was disturbing. The “Californians” sucked. The presidential suite was generally good, as were some of the films. I liked that they brought back Jane Curtain as part of the Fey/Poulter show. Dan Ackroyd has been eating too many Cheetos.

 

(Note: Tom Brady was excellent in his host appearances, but was excluded from the sports segment. Is that part of Peyton’s contract?)

 

The May 5 to 17 Volvo Around The World Sailing Race Newport stopover is going to be a superior national event. Unfortunately all of the hotel rooms throughout RI have been sold out! It’s a good day trip opportunity, unless you are from West Va or Texas or Seattle. 

 

Ironically, the home of federal politicians is named after the President “Who could not tell a lie>”

 

Rhode Island legislators think more people employed shoveling snow at good wages is an economy. Tomorrow they are expected to vote on sending a special message to God to keep it going.

 

Ski areas are having problems because there is too much snow blocking roads.

 

Bishop Sheehan once said, “Man blames fate for all other accidents, but feels personally responsible when he makes a hole-in-one.”

 

The White Hosue seems to have an anti terrorist policy of wishing Extreme Islam would disappear over time.

 

I would love to see the Boston Celtics make the playoffs. A lot of yahoos think they should lose to get into the lottery. I have never liked the concept of losing to gamble. The Celts have a lot of promising young players who play hard every night for a very good coach, Brad Stevens. Having them accomplish the first rung towards the big accomplishment in the sky will be good for their experience growth and self confidence – that hard work pays off.

 

I’m thinking that the Ukraine rebels don’t care much for this cease fire, and that Putin knows it. In fact, I think some see this cease fire as a means to restock arms and ammo deliver in trucks marked ”Food for Kiev”

 

The Answer:

After Jackson, Martin Van Buren became the 8^th president, the other nine were WH Harrison, John Tyler, James Knox Polk, Zachery Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklyn Pierce, James Buchanan, Honest Abe and Andrew Johnson. Bonus: George Washington had no formal education. The rest of the no college Presidents are Jackson, Van Buren, Taylor, Fillmore, Lincoln, A. Johnson and Cleveland

 

Note: FEMA in advance of snow storms is suggesting families stock up on discussion topics in case  a power outage knocks out the Internet.  Psychologists will be available in FEMA trailers for children in trances.

 

Maybe I’m not smart enough to find everything in SNL funny.

 

Bundle up. I think my house is doing a better job of warming plants outside than rooms insde.