Vagaries.

Today's Tids Issue 3,801

For Whims:

My new goal in life is to become less non-descript.

Immigrants learned one thing about the USA last week – Business is not government. When you decide to skip work in a business you are not protected, you can be fired.

I think what Trump needs more than just about anything is an Office of the Factschequer.

One of the great things about fading vision is that your mind compensates by creating pleasant scenes out of what your eyes misrepresent.

If political opponents begin cutting Trump off at the knees, we’ll have a Trump stump!

There is word around that the rise in gas prices for the summer will start early this year. My guess that Trump will declare oil companies a country and send out our Sec Of State Tillerson for some jawboning.

The Question:

Name five leaders of the Protestant Reformation. Bonus: What was the first 3D movie that got people talking. Extra Bonus: I believe there are four Classical symphonies that feature an organ. Name Three. Extra Super Bonus (Easy): What unknown at the time actor stole the stage from Cybil Shepherd in her TV show Moonlighting?

The Headlines:

--US Sends Warships On “Freedom Of Operation” Trip Through South China Sea.

--US Markets Open Higher, And Drift Into Mid Morning..

--Europe Leaders In Brussels Skeptical Of Pence Reassurance That US is With Them; Concern Is That Trump Will Not Pack Up VP.

--George Soros Betting Big Against The Stock Markets.

--Mattis Assures Iraq That US Is Not There To Steal Oil; Iraq Begins Operation To Drive Out IS.

--Chris Wallace Of Fox News Says Trump G=Has Gone Too far with News Attacks.

--Kraft Pulls $143 Billion Offer Off the Tabel; Unilever Shares Slip.

--IN Defensive Gem, West NBA All-Stars Beat East 192-182; Pelicans Anthony Davis Scores 52 To Obliterate Old Record Held By Wilt Chamberlain.

To tell you the truth, I never did understand the appeal of Yoko Ono.

Have you noticed that the big new competition in Supermarkets is the veggie department? Routinely I notice the appearance weird looking new fruits and vegetables poised to be the next hot food fad. Clerks are busily chopping and cutting up pulpous produce and fleshy fruits to produce gaily colored arrays on the shelves and in bins. In fact, it all looks so beautiful that I pass by quickly into the meat department, not wanting to mar the display by buying something. Seriously, a lot of effort is going into offering broader selections at mass merchandisers to attract younger and so-called healthy eaters, and it is probably one of the reasons why higher priced Whole Foods is having problems.

“Hey Buddy, would you drive down to NJ and pick up 2,000 boxes of Huggies for Me, Department:

How great is it here in this state mired in stagnation and legislative waste, that the big news story is “the Diaper Caper? Every evening on the nightly News we see new reports about more diapers found after a truck heading for the huge New Amazon Distribution Center was hijacked by…the driver! I bet Amazon’s glad they moved here.

Talk about waste, the brand-new Chief of the State Police had as her first official decision approving $225,000 for a study on diversity. She should know diversity, as she leaped over seven, count em’, seven more senior male officers to grab the top job. $225K for study to see what’s in front of you. God help us.

Have you ever heard more convoluted logic than that in support of people breaking the laws to get into the USA?

By the way, ICE reported Friday that the hysteria over deportations under Trump should have been reserved for the number sent home under Obama, which was “350%” higher! (Note: This % is based on activity from equivalent incidents for both admins.) Trump definitely has a case about biased reporting as long as he can keep fake Conway off the tube.

 

Now that the good ole’ German Shepherd has won the big Westminster prize, will people be trading their labs for a Shepherd. You know people. I had a dog once that looked like a Shepherd, which was supposedly bred as a mix of a Shepherd and a Lab. It was great dog, regardless of gene finagling. In fact it used to bring us flowers every morning, from the cemetery up on the nearby hill.

“This is not a restaurant chain for people who eat nuts and bark” Those are the words of rejected Secretary for Labor Andrew Puzder. And that is one reason why I believe America is losing out with his denial. The other reason that big Labor hates him, which means he must be doing something right and is good to go for me. But, alas we will not see that man who believes that “people make better wages by working for them and not by legislating it to them.”

If Puzder had ever looked at the RI biz climate he must have laughed. He has said back in his home state of Missouri,“…If they want to attract companies to come here they are going to have to talk about more than what a nice place it is. Because you’re not going to get companies for the weather (RI Coast).” And, if you think Puzder is just anti-government and labor, he also has no use for MBA self-appointed geniuses from Wall Street, who, he says, can real screw up a good company.

I think a better term for “Fake News” would be “Misrepresented News”. Typically, it is the omissions, reemphasizing and reordering of facts is what changes the implications of news events. Why just this past Saturday I went to a lecture about the current admin which was informative, non confrontational and quite enjoyable. On Sunday I read a lengthy article by a reporter in attendance and wondered if she was at the same place I was. Everything she quoted was indeed said, but the way she emphasized and placed her quotes combined with what she omitted altered the tenor of he talk to apparently reflect her emotions.

Maybe robots should pay taxes of the humans they will replace.

When you are trying to be a writer, you are always looking for new and original characters. One place to find them is on a ski hill where humans are incapable of disguising their inadequacies no matter how hard they may try. I find in particularly humorous watching a woman, a good skier, trying to teach her hunky big guy how to ski. I see a guy wo would rather be anywhere but here on slippery snow standing on two boards. You can see in his eyes him saying, “Why the hell am I out here freezing to death and scared S---less. Is she worth all of this agony?” But he never stops smiling and she is always urging him on. He behaves admirably, thinking what do I get for all of his torture. He smiles broader. But, what he doesn’t realize that after battling a hill for 3-4 hours, he’ll go in to have a drink with her by the fire, and immediately fall into a deep comfortable asleep. She’ll realize he is useless, and run off with the head ski instructor.

A lot of people on the left are warning about the possibility of a police state in America. Who should know better than the left who continually try to legislate away people’s ability to live their own lives, make their own decisions like drinking soda pop or using plastic bags to carry home groceries.

Puzder on Government edict to display calorie and fat content: “Totally unnecessary. People who don’t realize that burgers are high in calories and fat must be living under a rock”

The Parking Lot: Chapter 78 continues…

    The Howland boys, Joshua, Samuel and Aaron, started shouting, “Indian Lovers, Indian Lovers…” and there were murmurs from other coastal people outside, but nothing as violent as the boys. “Who of you inside here are willing to join us to standup to the Hicks and their Indian loving friends.”

   Noah and several of the men rose to move towards the back of the room. The shouting stopped, but none of the farmers seemed to be motivated to join the Howland trio. Or, at least had the nerve to stand against while amidst their friends.

   But Martha was worried that a message ha been sent. She knew that some of the farmer who wanted to expand their lands heard it. Several had been griping about not being able to enlarge their holdings by taking more Wampanoag’s tribal lands.

  She now moved quickly, and had no idea what was pushing her to move through the men to the head of the group. Within seconds, she found herself within a few feet of the three boys. She stood firmly, not looking at all like the happy young mother and good wife. The Howland trio saw it two, and there body movements displayed a reluctance to continue their aggression.

   Martha took a step forward bringing her to within inches of the Samuel who she thought the leader and most belligerent of the three. Under her breath she began, “You have no idea what you are getting yourself into.” The other two boys turned towards the two. “Remember Big Howland who was a big problem for getting along. But when he tripped and killed himself, we enjoyed harmony here for 30 years.” She smiled a smile that went to Samuel’s gut. “And both sides prospered.”

   He was surprised when she quickly grasped his arm and applied pressure. “You should be careful,” she whispered. You know how ugly we Indians can get.” He started to resist and brought up his hand to smack her away, but she moved in closer and jerked his wrist, squeezing harder, surprising him with his strength. He winced, and she said now louder so his people and hers could hear. "Samuel and I have come to an agreement, and I believe we will all find a way to get along in a peaceful town once more." She leaned her head forward and kissed him on the cheek.

The Answer:

Martin Luther began the schism from the Catholic Church, which was continued by John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli. They are the big three. The general period for the reformation is 1517 to 1648. Prior to Luther, attempts at reform were brought by Jan Hus, John Wycliffe and Peter Waldo. (Peter Waldo disappeared after his attempt hence the expression “Where’s Waldo?”) There were hundreds of reformers, and many splinter religions’ like Moravians, Mennonites and Huguenots. Some other prominent leaders in reform were Johannes Buganhagen, Henry the VIII, Oliver Cromwell, John Knox, Cardinal Richelieu, Erasmus, Jan Laski. Well known reformists like the founder of Methodism, John Wesley, had their day well beyond the official years of the Reformation. Bonus: The first 3D movie that had people looking for lions jumping out of the jungle was Bwana Devil. I remember a lot school hallway talking about that one! Extra Bonus: The best known of them all is the Saint Sans 3^rd Symphony which not only features an organ finale, but is a joy from beginning to end. Another is Tchaikovsky’s off the beaten path symphony, The Manfried. And there are two more by Alexandre Guilmant – Symphonies 1 & 2 for Organ and Orchestra. Extra Super Bonus (Easy): It was easy to see there was something special about Bruce Willis, stardom in his future in his role as David Addison Jr. on Moonlighting.

The whims, fancies, notions, moods, quirks and idiosyncrasies of people should keep this Tid mess moving along until my fingers become locked by arthritis. By then I’ll be able to have Siri or Alexa…or Zelda from the ChatType app type it for me. I wonder if I can learn to speak in typo.

Seeya tomorrow!