It’s anybody’s game.

Today's Tids Issue 3,495

Opening Stuff:

The Trumpster is said to be launching an all out media blitz. Just hope it’s more against Hillary, and not a wildly irresponsible neutering all of the rest of the Repub candidates who’s credibility may be essential in the event of a “Brokered” convention. Regardless how much noise Trump is making, there is a solid, large block who want nothing to do with him. His upside limitations, which grow as Indies are left out of the convention, could surely splinter the vote with no candidate getting a first ballot majority. That would throw the convention to the deal makers, and who knows, maybe a Romney or some other non-current player will emerge. Or maybe the only hope will be the candidate least scathed by the Park Avenue hip shooter.

The state of the Republicans reminds me of the two English thugs yesterday who thought it a good idea to blow up a Condom dispensing machine to get free protection. The problem was that the explosion also killed one of the dummies. Not to mention that te explosion destroyed what was in the dispenser! Politics at times is pretty similar to that kind of idiocy.  

Women want it all and it is beginning to look like all may be not exactly what they wanted after all! Yes, there is serious discussion that now that women have be declared eligible for all battlefield positions, the former fairer sex will be required by Congress to register for the draft, just like their male counterparts. Holy Avon Calling, Batman! I mean Batwoman.

The Question:

NYU has a selected the top Journalists of the past 100 years. They have a list of 78 men and  22 women. Name 5 of the women. Bonus: What was the number of Mozart’s last piano concerto? Bonus 2: I laughed a lot at the just deceased Meadowlark Lemon of the Harlem Globe Trotters. Who was the Funnyman who preceded him as the featured star? Extra points if you can ID the dribbler in that earlier version of te world’s most entertaining basketball team.

The Headlines:

--Oil And Natrual Gas Price Rise Carries Stocks To 150 Plus Opener; Consumer Confidence Index Rises In December.

--Mergers And Acquisitions Tops $5 “T”rillion For Record 2015.

--Rom Emmanuel Cuts Vacation Short to Tackle Latest Police Shooting And Accidental Death After Being Called To Domestic Disturbance.

--Iraq Generals Say that Ramadi Is Not Exactly 100% Taken Back.

--Country Star Craig Strickland Missing After Storm Ravaged Hunting Trip; Best Friend Found Dead And Boat Capsized.

The NCAA has been promoting the hell out of the playoff system and then they put one of the key matchups on New Years Eve evening. Crazy. But let’s take a look at the games. I feel they are really hard to predict because they are what’s good about them – playing unknowns. For instance, Clemson is number one, but is the ACC as good as the Big 12. Or, is the Big Ten still the romantic powerhouse of yore? I’m picking Oklahoma over Clemson (I’ll be rooting for the Tigers though) and Alabama over Michigan State. The classic matchup which will probably draw the largest New Years Day national audience is the Fighting Irish versus The Ohio State. An Ohio friend of mine who is a ND alum says he is looking-forward to the game but not the barbs of Buckeye yahoos. I see his point. I’m picking OSU because of their coach. Other good intersectional games to watch could be Michigan-Florida and Iowa-Stanford. They have played about 27 bowl games so far and none of them has been newsworthy.

Chipotle eaters say that if they have to change restaurants the top choice would be Panera Bread followed by a strong showing from Qdoba Mexican Eats. Moe’s Southwestern Grill did well in several southeast states. I have been writing more than necessary about Chipotle mainly because it makes me feel good that it has been determines that Veggies and not meat is the cause of the all the disease. I’m just a vengeful little person that way.

Is there any hope for a country that still listens to Al Sharpton?

The bakers who refused to bake a cake for a gay couple wedding had to pay $135,000 in damages. The country has gone berserk.

No journalists ever seems to report that in almost all cases police are called to a scene because something is going wrong, and often what’s going wrong is very tense and dangerous. The press would lead you to believe that police just walk down the street taking pot shots at blacks. The press is looking more like criminals by tring to incite rather than suppress uprisings.

Here’ my take on the defending super bowl champions, in case you are looking forward to the NFL playoffs. Last year at this time, the Patriots had a young offensive line with two good vets maturing together at the same time at the end of the year when everything counts. This year they have a young offensive line with injured veterans and rotating young players. Two things: 1. I believe that the key to success for football teams is the Offensive line. The QB’s and receivers get the glory, but the O-Lines make it all possible. 2. O-Lines work best when they play together for a long time. The Pats are in trouble.

I saw two movies via Netflix which were quite entertaining. Neither was particularly highly rated by critics, and in fact, one, The Loft, was slammed as worthless. The Loft, about a murdered girl found in the get-away from the wives downtown loft owned by five friends, held our interest throughout and had a pretty good surprise ending. The other, “Best Offer”, was a cleverly hatched film about a high end art auctioneer that led you off in several directions. In addition to giving you a couple of decent viewing ideas, the point here is that the critics are often looking for something way beyond what I look for – simple decent entertainment. I have been let down more often by Oscar winners than by those films treated casually by the elite with the poison pens.

The Parking Lot: Chapter 37 continues...

   Just before the highway overpass, Nancy found her quarry driving along the feeder road southwest. She let Rackovic’s SUV get well beyond the cross street before reviving the chase. A movement caught her eye, and she saw in the rear view mirror another car driving on a cross street towards the route taken by Jerry and his boss. Could be nothing she thought, but Nancy never disregards anything. She waited a little longer than she had planned and then took off, getting glimpses between buildings and highway supports of the newest entry into the chase. As she turned her car onto the feeder road she saw that BMW was now pulled over, stopped on the road behind her.

    She reached over an nudged Jared. “Get the rifle from the back.” She noticed Jared tense. “And, relax.” He smiled at her as he slowly reached over and picked up the gun. He was riding shotgun.

    Nancy did not like the path that Jerry was taking. It was heading into a maze of roads down by river and harbor that could lead to a dead end and potential ambush. If the car behind was part of the Rackovic operation, she thought, whoever was in it has phoned ahead to Rackovic. She was being squeezed.  Maybe she hadn’t been so smart today. She held an advantage in the woods, but these are the thugs city streets.

    She watched the Rackovic car disappear as the road dropped down a hill which would take them to the flats near the water. The car behind had started up again, but was a good quarter mile behind, driving slowly. She quickly made a decision to live another day. At the next road north she made a fast right turn and stepped on the accelerator. It wasn’t long before she had made four rapid turns and got back onto the highway going back towards her home, which she had no intention of reaching.

   Jared looked over, “What just happened?”

   “I just saved your life.” She smiled and put her hand on his thigh.

The Answer:

Here’s all 22: Christiane Amanpour, Hannah Arendt, Margaret Bourke-White, Rachel Carson, Joan Didion, Barbara Ehrenreich, Nora Ephron, Francis Fitzgerald, Martha Gellhorn, Katherine Graham, Linda Greenhouse, Jane Kramer, Adrian Nicole Leblanc, Jane Meyer, Mary McCarthy, Anna Quindlen, Marlene Sanders, Susan Sontag, Gloria Steinem, Dorothy Thompson, Barbara Walters and Ida Wells. Bonus: Mozart wrote 27 piano concerti. Bonus 2: Goose tatum was the main man with all of the antics that made me laugh and Marquis Haynes was the magician with the ball.

Have a perfect day! The sun is always up there somewhere!