Happy Lamont Cranston day.

Today's Tids Issue 4,052

For more cool, crisp Winter:

Well, we have 6 more weeks of winter coming our way as the sleepy little ball of fur saw his or her shadow. Actually, I hear that in Florida the Everglade denizens look to see if he pythons see their shadows. The only problem is that cammo skinned pythons can’t even locate their own body.

RCP has all the post SOTU polls, and for now, President Trump is looking a lot better to a lot more folks. Here’s a few: CBS/YouGov – 75% approved of Trump’s speech, with 65% saying it made them feel proud; CNN Snap Poll – 70% said they had very positive or somewhat positive reaction; NBC News/Survey Monkey Poll – 60% say Trump focused on right things, 56% were in the Enthusiastic/Satisfied category. Now the nation waits for the next tweet.

Another new poll says that conservatives are generally more attractive than liberals. Huh. Could there be seismic attitude change erupting over the fault lines of the West Coast.

I like the idea of “To-Go” meals. But, most don’t put enough gravy on the pot roast.

Patriots 32, Eagles 14. It seems that nobody is rooting for the Pats but a few New Englanders who never give up. I have a good feeling, despite the negativity.

The Question:

How big is the world’s largest ball of twine? How long is the world’s longest gum wrapper chain? How many CVS receipts does it take to reach the moon?

The Headlines:

--Reporters And Populace Await Release Of “The Memo”.

--US economy Adds A health 200K Jobs In January; Apple, Amazon meet Profit Objectives, Alphabet Misses.

--Robert Wagner “Person Of Interest” In Decades Old Death Of Wife Natalie Wood.

--Largest ICE Raid Hits 77 Businesses Innorthern Cal.

--Bitcoin Plunges Anew” Crypto Currency Market Confused As Tzos Stockholders Revolt.

--Castro’s Oldest Son Commits Suicide.

--RI Introduced New Slogan: “Fun Sized”.

The chorus heard around beautiful yet frigid Minneapolis is, “Is it Sunday yet?” Yes, Super Bowl fans have set many around the Mall of America walking records, have bought clothes they didn’t need, ate too much ice cream and spent too much time at the piercing pagoda. Now all they want is a football game and a quick ride to the airport. They do say, they people are great.

Has Wall Street gone blind? The opinions of financial leaders coming out of Davos is that nobody but nobody is even sensing the potential of danger signs entering the market place. The hot Tech embryonic companies are given generous greenlights despite potential damaging economic and strategy shortcomings. This week’s malaise maybe a little more than profit taking and could be a sign of an unsettled marketplace for 4 to 6 months. But, unsettled is better than recession.

Remember when Time magazine was the “News Weekly”, but progress turned it into the Opinion Weekly. Newspapers have become “Review Papers”. And N-Cubed --Nightly Network News -- has become Nightly Opinions and Tidbits. (Hey!). Pretty soon, the word “News” will be gone from our lexicon as everything will be old within nanoseconds of it’s happening.

It’s nice to be out of RI and in a place that still has the convenience of Plastic Bags.

A popular Providence Country style restaurant serving American goodies and good barbecue has gone the way of much the US demographics. It is now an upscale taco place. Upscale taco?

Political observers are saying that Democrat hatred of Trump has blurred or even obliterated a vison for their own party. Pro-angry has superseded pro-active even among some of the tried and true democrat warriors and even party leadership. Analysts say Party must get back to being positive as the nation’s people (Especially Independents) are tiring of negativity all the time.

Crazy racist theory of the day, Department:

Shreena Ghandi, Michigan State U Professor, says “Americans who practice Yoga contribute to White Supremacy” Say what? That’s while you’ll never catch me in yoga pants, but maybe snoozing on a Yoga mat.

Reading Between the Lines Movie reviews:

--Winchester starring Helen Mirren doesn’t have much going for it. It is a true haunted house tale featuring a mansion built by the heiress to the Winchester Gun fortune. Scary and Eerie.

--Braven is about a father and son on a hunting and fishing trip, who discover a hidden cache of drugs in their cabin. It is a fearful scene that follows when the criminals show up to gather their loot. Could be entertaining.

--A Fantastic Woman is about a younger woman who must change her plans, table her dreams, to care for her older husband who is rushed to the hospital. It seems to be well liked by all.

The Answer:

It took Frank Stoeber of Kansas four years to create a ball of twine that weighs 5,000 pounds and is 8 feet high. But the real perseverant is Gary Duschi of Virginia Beach Va who took 51 years to make an 89,432 foot gum wrapper chain. If you buy two bottles of Tums, a bag of Gillette razors and four lipsticks you may be approaching the ionosphere after one stop at CVS. 

International Paper stock prices are directly proportional to check out activity at a CVS counter.

Have a great Football Sunday, E-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y!!

Basically that’s all that matters