Today's Tids Issue 3,747
For Never Giving Up:
There’s a little
white flower outside my window this morn. It shouldn’t be there at all, these
frigid dawns. Yet somehow it thrives, unwilling to accept what is norm. Maybe
there is a lesson for us all in those little white petals that spread out as
the sun glows after chilly nights. Maybe what people say we can’t do any more,
is utterly wrong. Maybe we are all entirely capable of doing anything we can,
if we don’t let others say we can’t.
There is one thing
that God did not do so well. Somehow, he overlooked providing humans with the
ability to wash all areas of their backs.
You can think of
Azaleas in April this morning as they have put out the odds for The
Masters tournament. Of course, they rushed these out because of Tiger Woods didn’t
wince during his comeback. So, one odds maker had him moving up from 40-1 to
20-1. On top on several lists are Jason Day and Jordan Spieth at 8-1 followed
closely by Rory at 9-1. Others at the top are DJ at 12-1, Bubba 16-1, Adam
20-1, Ricky 22-1 and Phil and Justin at 25 -1. What!, No Matsuyama, the current
hottest golfer on the planet? He sneaks in at 33-1 just behind last year’s
champ Danny Willet and the always tough Henrik Stenson. But, this is just one
betting service playing around in the wake of Tiger’s return. The odds are all
over the place but the consensus seems to be that it will be between the top
three, if Day is healthy, Spieth closes his eyes at creeks and Rory’s mind
doesn’t wander off to the green hills of Ireland.
The Question:
What
are the Top Ten favorite “Pop” Christmas songs and Hymns?
The Headlines:
--Stock
Markets Open Lower.
--Trump
Sells His Entire Stake In Dakota Pipeline.
--Conservatives
Fret Over Trump’s Talk With Gore; Lefties Worry About Carson’s Realistic Views
On Forced Housing.
--Amazon
Opens Seattle Brick And Mortar Grocery Store Without Checkout Counters or
Lines.
--NSA
Nominee’s Flynn’s Son Right Wing Tweeter Supporting DC Pizza Shop Fake News;
Son Currently On Dad’s Transition Staff.
--India
In deep Morning After Death Of Film Star Politician Jayalalithaa.
--Japan
PM Abe Will Not Apologize For Pearl Harbor.
--Huge
India Navy frigate Flips Over At Dock Killing Two.
I see where
there’s a new TV program debuting called, “The Mick”. Don’t worry, I have
the Irish Anti-Defamation League on it.
You may have
read about that incident where a man reacting to a bogus news item about
Hillary Clinton entered a DC pizza shop with a shot gun. This is a terrible
thing. In fact a good reader informs me of this historic presidential quote:
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is that you can never know if they are
genuine.” –Abraham Lincoln.
Baseball player
Bryce Harper
is slated to leave the Washington Nationals in two years. Today’s rumor mill is
saying that they will need to offer a contract worth $400,000,000 over ten
years. Double Yikes, and two unequivocal Zowies! How crazy is this world of big
money? Basically, I think ticket prices are too high. There’s too much money
around and nobody has it.
Last night, I
enjoyed some of the performances on The Voice quite a bit. In fact. I thought
Josh Gallagher, a real country boy singer was the best in that he sang a
familiar tune, ”Danny’s Song”, very well without all of the staging and backup
singers of the other seven acts. So Josh, a real dark horse, put himself in
position to surprise when they cut down from 8 to 4 tonight. Good ole’ country
singers do well on this program. And ole’ Sundance Head also did very well last
night. I like him personally and last night he showed how well he can sing.
Billy Gilman once again got people, to their feet with Celine Dion’s standard, “I
Surrender”. Wow, how does he hold those notes so long. I personally liked Christian
Cuevas, but he had a few ragged moments last night. Ali Caldwell stood up tall and
did a crowd-pleasing version of the great Whitney’s Houston’s “I will always
love you” We McDonald has a great voice, but I personally didn’t think her big blockbuster
song choice was a good one. Brenden Fletcher was not good last night, but his
puppy dog eyes may make him a contender too. Voting has always been more than
about talent alone. And then there was Aaron who shouldn’t have been there in
the first place – talking about something else besides talent. He was dreadful,
but I have said that before. So, who stays. Yikes, that’s tough this year, I
have to feel that Sundance is a lock, and perhaps Billy G. Ali seems to have a
decent following and she didn’t lose points last night. We Mac sometimes misses
and she could be the surprise miss. Christian’s tears may keep him in. And then
there is Josh and the big country voting bloc.
We’ll see.
Oh, here’s last
night’s ITunes
downloads, which can affect the voting positively for those ranked in the Top
Ten: Billy Gilman is #1 followed by Sundance at #2. #4 on the ITunes Charts is
Josh Gallagher and he is followed by Christian at #8. Those are the Top Ten
singers. #11 is Fletch, and he is followed by We at 12, Ali at 15, Sundance
again at 40, Aaron at 45, Fletch repeats at 53, Billy G again at 58, Christian
again at 78. That’s all of the top 100 downloads this week. The next highest is Sundance again at 143.
Maybe I can jump
off the cliffs in Acapulco, but I’m not planning on joining the La Quebrada
Divers!
If you are a
real sports fan,
you have be waiting for the women’s basketball matchup between Notre Dame and
UConn on Wednesday. ND has been #1 since the beginning of the year, and UConn
#2. Perennial champs UConn doesn’t like that. This morning they snuck by ND to
gain back #1 and on Wednesday in a screaming maniacal gym in South Bend they
have to hold it. Be ready for a battle.
In case you are
interested
in great spy flicks, the latest Jason Bourne movie is now available for home
purchase.
The consensus is
that Jill Stein
is involved in this recount to raise money and her visibility for her 2020 run.
(Note: Her request for dough states that the funds aren’t earmarked.) If she
does run, she’ll be up against current VP Joe Biden who yesterday said he is in
it against Trump, just before he hedged his remark. The next race is beginning before
the inauguration! Shoot me.
There are some
new rules that will allow common folks like me to get in on the ground floor
with future hot stocks. Remember how you had to have a relative at the underwriter,
or a billion in loose change to get a piece of the craved for IPO’s like Google
or FaceBook? No more. Through a new kind of crowdfunding system you too can get
in on the ground floor of cool startups and be on your way to becoming an
instant billionaire without buying a lottery ticket at your local convenience
store.. Or perhaps, losing your shirt with too many bad picks. The “Startups
Act” of 2012 just took effect in 2016 and there many companies which are portals
to your wealth or bankruptcy – Equity Net, Fundable, AngelList, Crowdfunder.
Somewhere in those under the radar hot futures there is another Amazon, or not.
While amateur social
media news people make up news out of whole cloth, real journalists
adjust the news to misdirect the uninformed. In both cases, minds are
dangerously altered.
The Answer:
Remember
I said “Pop”. Number One is an oldie, Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song”. #2
Is even older, Judy Garland’s “Have yourself a Merry little Christmas”. The
rest of the Top Ten are John Lennon and “Happy Xmas”, “Rockin’ Around the
Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by Bruce
Springsteen, “The Little Drummer Boy” by Bing Crosby and David Bowie, “All I Want
for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey, “White Christmas” by Der Bingle, “Do
they Know it’s Christmas” by Band Aid and “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues
and Kristy MacColl. “Fairy tale in New York?” Some others in the top 20 are “Christmas
Time is Here” by Vince Guaraldi from the Great Charlie Brown Movie, “Jungle
Bells” by Diana Kroll and “Silent Night” by Jackie Evancho. I could go through
the Top 100 but I’d run out of ink. Celine Dion’s “O Holy Night” is 22 and
David Seville’s The Chipmunk Song is still hanging tough at 30. Number 100 is
“Deck the Halls” by Rza.
Stay warm
Midwesterners,
and drive safely. Snow is acoming again.
The Pogues and Kristy
MacColl?
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