Always time for a dream.

Today's Tids Issue # 2,059
Opening Stuff:

The air is cold, the wind chill's worse
Good for pneumonia; Then the hearse

You are never too busy to take a chance and dream. There is a pleasant therapeutic elixir gained from ones ability to occasionally move from the confines of harsh reality onto a magic carpet ride. To float into an expansive mind of paths untrod. To release your heart. Untie your inhibitions. And, it’s cheaper to dream than to call a travel agent. And, you never lose your luggage.

The Question:

In Texas since 1973, 446 people have been executed. What do you think are the most popular words used in their “Last Words”?

The Headlines:

--Unemployment Falls Unexpectedly To 9.7%; Part Of Change Due To Reordering Previous Job Loss Estimates; Tids Economists Confused.
--Bomb Kills 27 During Iraq Shiite Pilgrimage.
--Hedge fund Managers Turning Bearish.
--Snow Could Paralyze Middle Atlantic States.
--World Stocks Hit By Fears Of debt Spreading Beyond Greece To Other Countries.
--Large Health Care Insurer Aetna 4Q Profit Falls 15%.

More Stuff:

The Prez/GOP get-together probably would have been more effective if held without cameras. Give a politician a camera and you never get the truth. The media loves transparency because it can fill up airtime. But, does it really help us air out the bad stuff and get to the meat of conflicts when Politicians are playing to the camera? I don’t think so.

Little did Gutenberg know when he invented the printing press that he also invented modern federal governments. Kaching.

Scott Brown had better get to work and stop trying to emulate “Prime Time”. The new and untried senator is in danger of out Obama-ing Obama on TV face time. And there is a huge bunch of the opposition tuning in just waiting for him to stumble.

The Novel:

Through the same Eyes: Chapter 52 continues: -- As Henry and the State Police detectives walked in the front entrance of BiEmbryo, they missed Seymore Bromsky walking out the back employee entrance to his car. Henry strode to the receptionist, “We’re here to for an appointment with Isabelle Phillips”, I said solemnly to Beatrice hoping she wouldn’t start playing her little flirty games. She had that glint in her eyes, but answered in a business like manner as she glanced at the imposing staties at my side. “I under stand she is expecting you Sherriff Boulder”. She stared at me and I could tell she was smiling to herself inside. “Do you know the way? I’ll buzz her assistant.” Thanks you I said. But before I turned I gave her a little wink. As we approached the double swinging doors, Beatrice must have pressed a button because they magically opened before us. Twenty feet down the hall we saw Isabelle’s assistant. She smiled , held out her hand and simply said follow me as she turned. “This is an eerie looking place”, I heard one of the Detectives say as we walked through this almost ethereal world of science. “It takes a whole to get used to it, but the scientists here are still just people like you and me.” I was about to elaborate when Isabelle Phillips, looking very Presidential and self assured, walked out of her office to give us a very warm greeting.

Back To Stuff:

Design and architecture trends come and design and architecture trends go, but you’ll never get me to stop believing that the classic New England colonial home with period furniture is by far the best.

Doctors offices are great places to catch up on the rest of the world by reading magazines you’d never even consider buying. There’s something for everyone out there, and it is a good thing to know what all those somethings are if you are ever going to understand people.

Recipe Department:

I had a chunk of really lousy lasagna the other day, so I thought I’d find a good recipe to help stop the madness coming from chefs who opt for innovation over classic perfection. In a large saucepan over med heat add 1 tbs OO, 1 large onion chopped and 4 cloves gar finely chopped. Cook five mins. Add 2 ¼ pounds mixture ground veal, pork and beef. And cook 8 more mins. Add 44 oz crushed tomatoes, 2 tbs tom paste, 1 tsp dry Ital seasoning, 1 tsp sug, 1 tsp salt and ¼ Blk Pep. Simmer covered 15 mins and uncovered 15 mins. Stir occasionally. Stir in 3 tbs basil. While cooking mixture cook 12 traditional lasagna noodles according to package directions. Heat oven to 350. Spreay 13-9 oven dish. In bowl combine 15 oz ricotta, 2 eggs, 1/3 cp shredded Parm and 2 tbs basil. Spread 1 cp sauce over bottom of dish. Place 3 cooked noodles over sauce. Spoon ricotta mixture over noodles, Add 3 more noods and top with 3 cps sauce mix. Top with 3 noodles and top that with 3 cups shred mozzarella. Top that with 3 noods, 2 cps sauce. Top with 2 cps Ital cheese blend. Bake 30 mins with loose foil cover and 30 mins uncovered til bubbly like the heart of the Tids Guy who is getting hungry.

More Stuff:

Arthur Ashe could have been the first black President. And… a great one at that!

Reading Between the Lines Movie Reviews:
--Dear John will be on my avoid list along with Nights in Rodantha, The Notebook and Message in a Bottle. But for many who loved those they will probably like this, though not as much. It’s about a romance between a conservative “Gidget”, Amanda Sayfield, and a Hunk soldier with dad induced anger issues on leave, Channing Tatum. They don’t connect particularly well. After 9/11, he goes to Afghan and lives on her letters, until time and distance gets us back to the title. Critics give it a “C”, but the folks who went say “A”. Bring Kleenex.
--What ever happened to good international thrillers based on brains instead of over the top explosions and daring do. From Paris with Love stars John Travolta as a bigger than life CIA, trigger happy, loose cannon who breaks all of the rules and sidekick Jonathon Rhys Meyer as a young guy who wants to make it up the espionage ladder but is sucked into a way of crime fighting which opposes his career path objectives. You’ve seen it before.

In the world of sales, Obama would be known as a classic benefit dumper. That’s the sales person who dumps everything he knows on a customer’s desk without ever asking the question, “What do you really need”.

One of the great joys of Winter is the wonderful sensation you feel when thawing out after couple of hours being active in the cold.

Before GM – Government Motors – when was the last time you heard about congressional hearings on carmaker recalls?

The Answer:

“Love" was used 638 times in “Last Words” and far and away the most used word trouncing number two Thanks with a mere 247 mentions. After that, we have “sorry” 211, “God” 175, “Death” 132, “Lord” 130, “Life” 126, “Peace” 96 and “Mom and “Jesus” 86. “Innocent” received 46 mentions, and “not guilty” 12. “Afraid” had 1 mention.

End Stuff:

--This whole TV census promotion looks like a gigantic effort to recruit more Democrat voters which necessarily means sending more tax dollars to communities. --Who has the biggest ego, Obama or Bill O'Reilly? --Other than that, I’m a pretty happy guy these days. I‘ve learned how to do without.