Give me flesh and squishy brains.

Today's Tids Issue 3,753

For the preservation of Humans:

Have you noticed how parents hover around children at school bus stops, and then leave them alone at home on a computer device where they can explore a world fraught with all kinds of trouble.

If Rhode Island had a bigger population, Billy Gilman may have won. The Voice! But, as it was, I thought Sundance was the best in many ways all year long. I loved the ending and the comfortable, happy crowd on the stage; Sundance hugging Mom and former singer Dad (Had the biggest hit of 1965 after “Yesterday” – “Treat her Right”) and of course his wife and kids, all while singing his new hit “Darlin’ Don’t Go”. We McDonald can really sing, and could have also easily won. These contests are all about constituencies after you get down to the final talent. BTW, the duet between Josh and Cam was the best musical event of the evening. And, for the 1,000 plus crowd up in a Providence concert hall watching the finale, Billy Gilman is still their hero, the greatest.

I think the MVP for the New England Patriots should be O-line coach Dante Scarnecchia.

The confirmation of Trump’s cabinet is certainly looking like it could be the most raucous in history. These Trump haters, or at least haters of anything that isn’t left, are already ganging up on the nominees for reasons wherever they can find them. This generally routine approval process will not be rational. We seem to have lost rationality forever.

Strange as it seems, at this point Charles Schumer is looking like the voice of reason in Congress.

The Question:

How old was George Washington when he died? Bonus: Israel seized the Golan Heights form what country in 1967. Super Bonus: The Trump admin may have as its bible a book from the author aligned with the notion: “In society, there are makers and takers, and that the takers are parasitic moochers who get in the way of all morally superior innovators.”

The Headline:

--Fed Expected To Raise Rates 0.5-0.75% This Afternoon; Market Watchers Awaiting To Measure Tone Of Trump Tweet On Yellen; Stock Markets Down As Fed Sits.

--Alan Thicke Dies At 69 While Playing Hockey With Son Robin.

--Trump Meeting With Titans Of Tech; Comment From Industry That Manufactures Heavily In China Expected To Be Very Interesting.

--Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi Joins Trump Economic Team Despite Angst And Tears Of Pepsi Employees Over Hill Loss.

--Wall Street Whispers: Bulls Talking of Corrections In 2017.

--Syria Celebrates Victory in Aleppo; Executions Mount In City; UN Says Raids On Aleppo Likely A War Crime.

--Hillary Team Taps Abedin As Latest Culprit Who Lost Election.

You may never have noticed, but biting into a puffy Cheeto releases a kind of pent up energy in the form of a warming heat. It‘s almost as good as cocoa after a long walk through a cold meadow.

I personally think that this world full of robots they are promising will be much too mechanical.

Did you see after the meeting between The Leonard and The Donald that DiCaprio said, “I think President elect Trump is going to be Ok on climate Change.”

I remember in the 80’s when the gurus in big finance were telling us in manufacturing that the USA’s industrial destiny was in “Service”. In other words, they’re opting for new style industries that don’t pay so much which means more of the inflated revenue will drop to the bottom line. So, how’s that working out for the Country?

I think what is fueling some of this intense weeping and gnashing of teeth over the Trump victory is the potential loss of funding for the giant social services industry. Let’s not fool ourselves, the non-profits and government adjunct businesses are huge in this country. Everything is about money, even anymore, kindness to others.

And service -- where is it? Think about what you got before, for instance, automated gas stations – window washing, oil checks, pumping in fierce cold storms…and smiles. Now you get “Why-am-I-here” looks on faces.

Headline writers love the alliteration, “Dump Trump”

The next time somebody complains to you saying “I wish I was in a warm and steamy place,” tell them to go to a laundromat.

I’m getting a little noise about the recent rather lengthy absence of the Tids serial novel, “The Parking Lot”, which had been going smoothly in the, until I had a plot fork in the road. I discovered that I had developed too many options, and too many characters to whom I gave too much relevance. As the old saying goes, the plot thickened, and it actually confused the author. This is not a god situation. But I vow to get back to the excitement.

A little review of ereial novel “The Parking Lot” for you all and of course newcomers: A man sitting comfortably in his home planning a TV series called The Parking Lot, notices a woman in danger, reacts to help, is knocked silly by a 2x4 and is drawn into an incredible conspiracy that began on the docks of Plymouth, England the day the Mayflower sailed leaving one family named Hicks behind. Hey finally arrive a year later and we follow the family, their struggles with the Plymouth hierarchy, their movement West to the Rhode Island bays where, led by Richard Hicks, they become powerful landowners and kind, respected leaders. But all is not perfect as they have another family there who wants the land and the control. The woman in the Parking Lot, Nancy Joachim is a direct descendant of the Plymouth family, and a Wampanoag Chief through the marriage of a Richard Hicks son Jeremiah to the Chief’s daughter Mesatta (English name Elizabeth). The chief is the youngest brother of the infamous King Phillip (Metacom). The Hicks family gained control of much of the land through dealing with that good brother of KP, and by alerting him to British colonist movements during the Bloody King Phillip wars that ravaged tribes throughout New England. In the late 1600’s we see Mesatta kill the tyrannical leader of the enemy family of the Hicks, which tends to bring peace to the area, and a bond that will carry forward to the present day.  The story flits back and forth from the growth of the family’s colonial holdings to the present day where Nancy is finding monster problems of her own. Unknown people are trying to gain access to the keys and secret documents that enable Nancy, relatives and many farmers to control the lands. We have seen Nancy and the man in the lot, Jared (Who is falling in love with the mysterious Nancy), cleverly evade and coldly eliminate assassins and hitmen, all while trying to unravel a growing mystery.  The most recent episodes have the State Attorney General being murdered while marching in the giant 4^th of July Parade, and the reveal of an organized group of influential business people and old Yankees who also have had their eyes on the Hicks’ lands. The murder of the AG has frightened the group who only originally gathered to make fast money on land. A new Character from that group, Alex, finds a way to contact Nancy. She has become leery of meeting anybody, but takes a chance on Alex.

By the way, this story is full of some fairly accurate historical events that impacted the advance of the Hicks and other families who developed the area which is now Tiverton, Little Compton and Bristol R I

I look at things like Amazon’s Echo with Alexa and I am convinced I do not want future personal relationships to be computer voices.

BTW, Cheetos have become an in thing among the young and creative. I have read hat within that society of imaginative youth, that they think the taste treat of the year is frozen Cheetos. Put them in a freezer for about 15 minutes and then let that enhanced taste melt in your mouth. Ambosia! Try that with Kale!

And while we’re musing about heavenly Orange, Burger King has announced a new Cheeto taste creation, Cheetos Chicken Fries. It takes the chicken strips, coats them with a Cheeto flavored batter and fries them. 280 tasty calories, but a reviewer says they could bump up the marvelous Cheeto flavor (Note, tis new dish replaces BK’s “Mac n’ Cheetos”). Cheeto’s the gourmet favorite of fast cooks everywhere.

Yesterday I wrote about a newspaper heading in our local paper, ”Trump Proof Newport”. I learned today that one of the Professors behind this dividing the population movement is a guy who also traipsed out to the North Dakota pipeline protest. In other words, a professional, who actually doesn’t live here (He taught for a brief spell at a local University.) He is adept at looking for communities where he can dupe susceptible people into creating divisions among decent neighbors.

The Answer:

George Washington died in 1799 at the age of 67, slightly younger than Alan Thicke. And, he wasn’t playing hockey.  Bonus: Israel seized The Golan Heights from Syria. I wonder if a newly embolden Syria will start looking south to expand, and take back the Heights? Super Bonus: That was an implied notion of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, of course.

I’d rather think and be wrong rather than be guided by an inanimate product of other people’s thinking.