Some people are never happy even when it's free.

Today's Tids Issue # 2,335

Opening Stuff:

I guess people don't dream as much any more because they just pull out their long suffering credit card and buy a plane ticket

The Libyan spokesman for the Rebels says they are disappointed by the UN help. You can please some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but never all of the people all of the time.

The Question:
What was the name of Dagwood's father? In what town do Blonde and Dagwood live? Bonus: Andre Previn was nominated for 13 Oscars. How many did he win and what were they?

The Headlines:

--US Prepares For Shutdown; Sides Far Apart.
--al-Qaida Is Smelling Blood As Yemen Crisis Deepens.
--Dish Network Acquiring Blockbuster With $228 Mil Bid At Auction.
--Ozone Layer Loses During The Winter.
--Japan Stops Seepage Form Nukes; Now Building Safeguards To Stop, Suppress Explosions.
--Government Decision To Allow Construction Of Massive Nationwide Broadband Network Using Airwaves Next To Those Used For GPS Could Interfere With All Navigation Systems.
--Wall Street Betting That Earnings Will Grow And M&A Will Flourish Has Markets On Upward Track.
--Jamestown Golf Club Hails The First Foursome Of The Year; the Mighty Four Posts A Record Team Total Of 223.

Back to More Stuff:

Obama's budget speech yesterday afternoon was fraught with contradictions...just like any of the other politicians he was ridiculing.

Forget the Mayan calendar. People paying outrageous sums of good money to watch Charlie Sheen do nothing is a sure sign that the end is near.

Have you ever seen so much movie publicity as there has been about naming the cast for the upcoming Three Stooges film. Maybe Sheen would fit right in there.

I see where Bristol Palin made $262,000 about teen pregnancy prevention. Better than going to college. I hear that now men's groups are organizing to sue for equal opportunity. Stay tuned.

Almost Near: Chapter 14 continues: --Samantha talked to Dante as she walked to her car and started the drive downtown to the police station. "Dante! Thanks for calling. I juts spent about a half hour with a woman here in Dalesford who was the neighbor of my parents. It was hard to pay attention to her, but in the end she gave me the name of a detective who could be helpful."
"Can I talk now?" Dante started laughing. "Hey, I think I came up with something too. I was at court when I bumped into an old classmate -- remember Lloyd Cameron?" I don't remember anybody Samantha thought to herself.
"Oh yeah, wasn't he the goofy guy with the black rimmed glasses in the chemistry club?"
"Not even close, he was the curly headed guy on the baseball tema who could pitch like hell." Samantha interjected saying she did remember so he would get to the point. "Well, he is second in command at the police department now, so I asked if he knew anything about the Wilcox family. At first he squinted, then paused. Finally he said 'Why do you ask'?"
"That sounds like something did go on before they moved so quickly."
"He wouldn't talk in the lobby of the courthouses saying he had a meeting. I think there is more to it than that. I'll be seeing after work."
"Maybe we'll both have more juicy stuff by then! Look forward to your report!" Samantha felt good. Kind of. She still didn't really know who she was, or better why she wasn't her anymore.

The Providence Journal has been using this "Truth Meter" idea since the weeks prior to the last elections. The object is noble trying to examine the veracity of political statements and claims. Of course, I worry about built-in bias from a newspaper that told us the best candidates for the two hottest offices were Linc Chafee for Gov and David Cicillini for Congress.

The Answer:
Dagwood originally was the playboy son of billionaire railroad tycoon J. Bolling Bumstead. (Dagwood was so inept as a playboy, that once he got lost in his mansion and had to join a sightseeing tour to find the front door.) With the depression though, a comic strip about a millionaire neer-do-well and a happy go lucky flapper (Blondie) didn't fit the national mood of anguish, so the strip had them married and becoming the ultimate loving family living in Farmville. Bonus: Andre Previn as first nw as a jazz pianist. But his love was classical composition. Along the way he had thirteen Oscar nominations and won four -- for Gigi, Porgy and Bess, Irma la Douce and My fair Lady.

The End:
Have you noticed that the people who get something for nothing are the ones who complain the most?

It doesn't appear that experience in business counts as much as being able to rapidly adapt to new technology. It is probably why middle aged people have more trouble finding better jobs.

As the life expectancy average keeps on rising, I might be approaching middle age again.