Let’s just talk about this.

Today's Tids Issue 4,308

Open Lines:

You all know that those little heart shaped candies with the real stuff of life printed on top – Love Me, Be Mine, Kiss Me – are gone forever. Looks like for the first time in over 100 years Americans will have to use their own imaginations. But, when it’s in the heart, and it’s warm, and the feeling is honest, there’s a good chance the right words will come out.

Yesterday in speech before a women’s group, Queen Elizabeth II said, “As we look for new answers in a modern age, I for one prefer the tried and tested recipes, like speaking well of each other and respecting different points of view; coming together to seek out the common ground; and never losing sight of the bigger picture.” UK’ers saw this as meaning, “Stop the bickering and solve the Brexit problems”. Do you think she knows anything about government shutdowns?

Trump isn’t fighting democrats as hard as he must be building a defense against old friends – Cohen, Manafort and now Stone.

This gas outage here is pretty debilitating, but the utility is doing a great job. Then there is the media. Some are quite good and providing helpful info for the suddenly homeless 6000. Then there are those whose only goal is to find negativity, knowing that the disgruntled forever will hop on their back-cloud bandwagon and turn something that is working very well under trying circumstances into just one more useless protest of some kind. Sounds a bit like the USA today doesn’t it?

The Question:

Who was the mother and the father of Queen Elizabeth I? Bonus: Who was Alexander Graham Bell’s assistant?

The Headlines:

--Stocks Strong As Fed Will Tolerate Much Larger Balance Sheet; Good Earnings Also Pushing Up Equities.

--Trump Associate Roger Stone Incited On Obstruction, False Testimony, Witness Tampering Charges; Is Key Witness On Release Of Wiki Info On Clinton.

--Senate Vote More For Ending Shutdown Than For Building A Wall.

--Trump Says Nancy Was Right, And He Cancelled The SOTU.

--Most Politicians So Confused That Creating News Has Become Difficult.

I can’t tell you how many Laurel and Hardy movie reruns I saw in my youth, and it’s almost impossible to describe how much I loved that duo.

Higher home prices all of a sudden have become a bigger deterrent to sales than in the past. This is the opinion of major home builders. If we look back, we generally see that the slowing of a once booming economy almost always brings along an end to wide eyed spending.

Hoda Kotbe and Jenna Bush just did a Cheeto satisfaction test on TV, and Cheetos definitely won! BTW, see how much more I can bring you sitting in a morning show dominated hotel room! The big question: Will my mind survive? Note: Jenna and Hoda serious Cheeto lovers.)

I’m getting to know the Hampton Inn free breakfast routine pretty well. Now if I could plan it out to cover lunches and dinners, it would be just like being back home again. Well, almost, depending on your creative-imagination-ability.

One of the psychological problems with reading magazines is that I have this constant urge to use my fingers to make the page bogger. “You should see someone about that twitch, dear”.

When in a DWI state, try really hard, really, really hard, not to drive your car into the side of a police cruiser.

Jerk of the Week: Jamal Adams of the New Jersey Jets.

They’re not going to play over the Saints-Rams game regardless of a NFL law that would make it an option. And no Hillary, they’re not going to reopen the 2016 election based on Roger Stone.

Do they actually call participants in those Real Housewife shows, stars?

Reading Between the Lines Movie Reviews:

--I think I already reviewed Laurel And Hardy earlier. Needless to say it could be one of the favorites of the year. I have never seen such high rankings from audiences an critics alike. It tells the tale for the funny duo, the wins and the sins, but most of all, the closeness of their warm friendship.

--Never Look Away ids decent “romantic, historical drama” about the life of admired visual artist Gerhard Richter – from a Nazi dominated childhood to East Berlin where he falls in love with the daughter of a Nazi murderer. Finally, they escape at the time of the Berlin wall, where he becomes part of the exciting new contemporary art movement.

--The Kid Who would be King is a good yarn about a kid who thinks he is a nobody until he stumbles across the sword Excalibur. Alex turns into the leader he could never dream of, and rallies his friends and enemies who become knights who join the Wizard Merlin to take on the evil enchantress Morgana. I might see it myself.

--Once again movie makers turn to the old formula if hiring a bunch of old actors for a film about retired thieves returning for one last big heist at a jewelry store in London. It turns into a nightmare when greed takes over. King of Thieves is based on a true story. Sounds a lot better than it is. You could be disappointed.

--An even bigger cast flops in Serenity. Matthew McConaughey is a party fishing boat captain. His comfortable life disappears when his former wife Anne Hathaway urges him to kill her violent husband by throwing him into shark infested waters during a fishing trip. But, as they say, all is not as it seems. This is another really low rated film. But I could be sucked in.

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

The Answer:

Henry the Eighth and Anne Bolin were QEI’s Mom and Pop. Bonus: “Watson, I need You”. Thomas Watson was his right-hand man and always near to help out with problems. But during the first intercontinental phone call, Bell was in NY and Watson was in San Fran. Yes, that was the day we got Californian politicians.