Today's Tids Issue
3,844
For Frugality:
The
good thing about the Sunday paper is that when things
get scary like today with talk of new NK nuke prowess, you can immediately go
right to the comics. Unless of course you are a NY Times reader. No wonder New
Yorkers are so uptight. But seriously, I think that the supreme leader (That’s
NK’s supreme leader) understands the nuclear standoff game. I can’t imagine
that he doesn’t want a lot more parades honoring himself grandly in the many
years to come. I believe his nuke
buildup is to place himself in a more advantageous economic bargaining
position. The questions remains, which is more powerful: Nuttiness or egomania.
I
think the marching by the people of NK yesterday was pretty
darn impressive. It would be much more inspiring, though, if they all knew the
truth.
While
around the country people are rushing to pay taxes,
up here it’s Patriots Day where we celebrate the ride of Paul Revere with the
running of the Boston Marathon and a morning Red Sox game. I have always taken
the day off no matter where I lived, because I am a patriot. I see the Concord
farmers behind stone walls surprising the Red Coats, and townspeople standing
tall against invaders on the Lexington village green. Four years ago with the
bombings on Boylston Street, new heroes arose, running into the chaos, helping
fallen citizens. Yet, it seems that today we need vigilance more than ever.
Patriotism is often ridiculed, demeaned. History rewritten or not taught. Just
last week, a newly minted US citizen, Itmar Waksman, who is member if the UCal
Davis student Senate led the vote to make the display often American at
sessions “optional”. He said, “We don’t have to have this show of patriotism
everywhere in our society.” It seems like a little college incident, but Itmar
and his associates have expressed deeper discrediting of the Flag, and the
patriots; those who have continued to let it wave. So today as in past Patriot’s
Days my heart will leap with joy for the fabled heroes of the past, but I will
worry a little more about the new melting pot that seems to be leaking.
A
lot of people were talking positively about the Chobani
Yogurt Company after the 60 Minutes interview with founder Hamdi Ulukaya. I
thought it most interesting that he was a “Kurd”.
I
think it is good to have abroad range of appreciation
for a wide variety of the human endeavors -- arts and culture, human life
activities, politics, science & technology, business, food, health,
religion, history. It is always good to have an ability to reject and accept
based on our own personal knowledge.
Good
writers casually and routinely include brilliantly
creative lines in their works. The fledgling writer would rob his grandmother
to get just one. Bach did the same thing with timeless melodies buried within
his masterpieces.
If
the US launches a pre-emptive strike against NK,
SK’s LG Electronics will probably want to change its name from Life is Good!
The
Question:
Name five of the great American comedy teams. Bonus: What Are the five leading Marijuana
Companies?
The
Headlines:
--Wall Street Looking For A Brighter Day; Techs And
Banks Lead Higher Opening.
--Key Diplomats And McCain Agree That China Key To
Stabilizing NK.
--VP Mike Pence Reaffirms Support of South Korea.
--21 Shot In Chicago In Just 18 Hours Over The Weekend.
--Manhunt Out For Cleveland’s FaceBook Killer. Man
Kills Randomly And Films Event for Social Network.
--Kelley Says More ICE Border Agents Will Be Hired.
--Marijuana Stocks Prices Soaring, But Top Five Companies
Losing Money; $193 Million Lost On Operations.
--Nine California Students Injured From Shooting At
House Party.
“The
Price is Right” always sucks me in just before lunch.
Speaking
of supreme leaders, Turkey’s Erdogan yesterday won a victory
that would release him from checks and balances. If you want to know what that
may mean for other countries around the region and in Europe, just remember
that all of his most ardent adversaries are in Turkish jails…or dead.
I
reread my Friday’s Easter Tids and found that God
wasn’t about to correct my typos as an Easter treat while I was sleeping.
Tourism
should be just the rich cream gravy atop a solid,
resilient economy.
Many
columnists are heading towards nervous breakdowns,
betwixt between complaining about Trump’s flip-flopping but loving where he is
flipping to. Say a prayer for the beleaguered.
There
some theories floating around that say we can stop NK missile
launches through cyber retaliation. It appears that most all NK missile parts
are imported from other countries. That the open programming of this equipment is
easily hacked. The US has the ability to see the beginnings of an ignition
process almost immediately and send a signal to assure firing failure. Some say
that is what happened Saturday. I like it. I hope it’s true.
(Note: KT
McFarland yesterday Issued a “No Comment” on whether or not the US sabotaged the
NK missile launch)
Columnists
with a dislike for Trump often open their opinion pieces
with the line, “…Trump stories that won’t go away.” They don’t go away because
columnists repeat the old stories in everything they write.
In
1975, 19 out of 100 MLB players were black (Today they are
African American). Last year it had dropped to 7 out of 100. I don’t think we
need a federal court case though. Latino players have been growing steadily
from 10 of 100 in 1975 to about 27 of 100 last year. Asians have grown from “0”
to 2%. The white percentage has declined to 64%. There were many gifted, super
black players over the years, yet their percentage is declining fairly rapidly.
Are Hispanics that much better? Or have blacks as youths opted for other
sports. Probably. 69% of NBA players are Black, and 22% White, with many of
those Non-American born white. In the NFL, the African-American percentage has
grown steadily to, where now it is 67% of all players. It is pretty obvious
that basketball has become black dominated. There is a pretty practical reason
why many A-A’s are picking round ball over baseball – convenience. Hoops are
everywhere versus playing fields with enough players for two teams. Basketball players
can play by themselves or in small 1 on i, 2 on 2 et. al. pick-up games. So,
somebody will make an issue of the all-time lows for MLB A-A players; somebody
will cry racism but I wouldn’t worry a speck over it. Sometimes things happen because
it is logical that they happen. How simple is that?
One
of the problems with today’s society at large is that too
many people think that life is like the movies.
College
grads may have a whole new economic opportunity
before them – much better than a nowhere’s-ville service job. United redefined
the word “Bumped” when they pulled they Doc from his seat and so forth. You may
have seen something about this. As a result, many airlines are increasing dramatically
bumping payouts. A good college grad with a computer could plot out a bumping
schedule and make tens of thousands and in a month. Or better yet, create the
BumpApp – and make billions from all those willing to play the bump game. Read
the Tids. Make your fortune.
Speaking
of making your fortune, Tesla is redefining the phrase, "pressure to perform:. Tesla’s stock is 271 times 2018 projected earnings.
The
“i before e…” rule is weird!
Some
of the anti-capitalism statements by followers of Itmar,
above, sound similar to opinions Elizabeth Warren.
I
often write parts of Monday’s Tids over the weekend. This
weekend I was doing really well, on a seriously excellent roll; it was going to
be terrific. But alas, Microsoft windows and word decided to update and play
other games with my brilliant efforts, and the word system never captured a thing
I wrote during my hot streak. They acknowledged, “Sorry we have made an error.”.
Yikes! I’m behind the eight ball all over again. Now I can remember most of the
topics, but what is really hard is trying to recapture spontaneous verbal masterpieces.
Spontaneity means of the moment. Moments are fleeting. Alas.
The
Answer:
I always smile when I think back to Laurel and
Hardy, Abbot and Costello, Martin and Lewis, Gracie Allen and George Burns. These
are the duos that first come to the laughing side of my brain. And A&C,
L&H and M&L are in the top of most lists. Some others are Lucille Ball
and Vivian Vance, Crosby and Hope, Bob and Ray, Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, The
Smothers Brothers, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Stiller and Meara, Tim Conway and Harvey
Korman, Sid Caesar and Imogen Cocoa, Laverne and Shirley, Allen and Rossi, and
the Seinfeld foursome – two pairs of two. A lot of people would include Cheech
and Chong, but they never made me laugh – but are a good intro to the next
answer! Bonus: If you aren’t
laughing at those duos, you must be getting a little too mellow! The Top Five
Pot Companies Are GW Pharmaceuticals, Cara Therapeutics, Corba Pharm, AXIM
Biotechnologies, Zynerba Pharm. Lets hope the stock prices are higher than our
kids.
I
get high on words that work. So losing a good phrase or word
usage -- it’s like going cold turkey.
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