Auld Lang Syne: Old Long Since, Long Long Ago, Days Gone By, Old Times.

Today's Tids For The New Year, Issue 3,497

Opening Stuff:

Let’s be perfectly clear, lots of words rhyme with year. But some are like drear and fear. So I looked to rhyme happy, which tended to make me daffy. Now onto new, where I have a clue. So long as it isn’t blue. I could say I’m glad it’s through. And certainly I love you, true; you are my glue…and such a delightful view, to name just a few. But this is getting a bit sappy, which brings us back to happy. And that reminds this pappy to say something snappy. Which turns out to be an extraordinarily sincere -- Happy New Year!

And going forward try not to ingest too much brew or bite off more than you can chew, or you may turn Happy into crappy.   

I’m still wondering what they were smoking at the NCAA HQ building, and thought it a good idea ot play the only two important games of the Bowl Season on New Year’s Eve Night. It would be ironic, though, if at 12 Midnight a player “drops the ball” in the end zone that would have won the game. “Should old acquaintance be forgot…” Or, is that shot.

The Question:

30 years ago today a pretty popular singer and an even better known sibling on a well known radio-TV family show died in an airplane accident. Who was he? Bonus: Who wrote the words to Auld Lang Syne, and when?

The Headlines:

--Icy Night Contributes To Danger And Discomfort Of Flooded Out Missourians.

--Dow Down Near 150 IN Last Day Of Trading; New Jobless Claims Rise By 20,000; Euro Stocks Ok For Fourth Year Of Gains.

--Security In Key New Years Eve Celebration Cities Around The World.

--Belgian Police Detain Six Named In Alleged New Year’s Eve Terror Plot.

-Former Clinton Buddy And Advisor Dick Morris Predicts That Sanders Will beat Out Hilary for Nomination.

--US Expected To Name New Sanctions On Iran After Rocket Test.

--Syria Forces Launch Attack Against Rebels In Golan Heights Near Israel.

Lot’s of Cod are running south of the island here this December. Winter fishing has been great and you never know when a friend or relative will drop by with a package of fresh fish. Here an easy and tasty way to prepare the old New England staple. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt 3 tbs butter in a glass baking dish that fits size of fish. Take the boned, skinned filet and smoosh it around in the butter then turn over and douse it with ladles of the yellow nector. Sprinkle with pepper and a little salt (Seasoned variety if you like). Bake for 10 mins. Remove. Liberally squirt with lemon juice, then douse with a fruity chardonnay til about a ¼ inch of total liquid in bottom. Cover fish with bread crumbs. Then gently ladle liquid atop. Bake for 10 more minutes. Hint: Use liquid in bottom to smother veggies and they even taste good!

Excuse me, it’s that time again. In fact it’s the last regular season Pickum’ Thursday. I hate the end of seasons. Last week we were 11-5, bringing our final year’s result to a less than hoped for record of  156-87 (64%). Next year 70%. This is the week that has a lot of meaningless games. Making it even more complicated are games like the Pats-Dolphins which means nothing to the Miami team but the #1 seed to NE. Will the Dolphins give up enough to allow a win for the injury riddled Pats? Yes. Others like that are Pitt-Cleve, Houston-Jax, Tenn-Indy, Balt-Cinn, Oakland-KC and Jets-Bills. Pitt must win, and Cleveland is a long time rival that gives them a hard time. I have to go Pitt. The Jets must win unless Pitt loses, but Buffalo is pretty evenly matched and fighting for dignity in this NY State battle. Buff upsets. Cinn needs to get back a little mo going into the playoffs, but Balt wants to rescue terrible season. Cinn at home. Indy must win to keep hope alive and will over Tenn. Houston must win to make Indy’s effort fruitless. Jax is a fighter and getting better…and are the home team. Houston will not let the playoffs slip by. Oakland is playing very well, though out of it. KC is great at home. Of the really, truly nothing games I pick Wash over Cowboys, Detroit over Chicago, Atlanta over NO, Giants over Eagles, SL over SF and Carolina over TB. In the big games between good teams I’m picking Arizona over Seattle in a real war. Denver needs a win and SD will give them a battle. I like Denver’s “D” to rise up and keep SD down. And then there is the one for all of the NFC North championship marbles. GB is at home, But Minn is playing better. Yikes! I go Vikings.

Remember marbles. The boulders and pee-wees; aggies, keepsies, knuckle down, poison. Your favorite shooter. The lunch break and recess clusters of kids, on knees, thumbs poised. I remember. Bringing home my loot for the day, pouring out puries, steelies, allies from my mom-made bag and laying on the floor staring at the beauties, the color combinations and picking favorites, for hours.

Losing our collective minds, Department:

We have to start whittling down governments, or getting rid of them all together. I’d start with the UN, which isn’t exactly a government, but is starting to think like one. Too many countries are ceding authority to this unaccountable organization. But, here is the latest travesty. A petition that reads in part, “There is too much suffering in the world as it is (Without that voice again)…” collected 4,500 plus signatures and has been sent to the United Nations to stop Phil Collin’s comeback! The originator of the drive has pulled back his effort saying it was pure sarcasm. But, it appears many of the signatory want it to go forward. Really. If there is a government people will use it. It there is a bigger government, more people will use it.

What do we want in the New Year? Hillary and ISIS defeated. Our favorite sports teams to win championships. Less junk news. More understanding between divergent factions. Entertainment for entertainment’s sake. More responsibility and less government. Lots of hugs. Loving smiles.

The Answer:

I have to say that Ozzie and Harriet with the boys David and Ricky was my favorite radio program in those days when radio was king. Ricky was good on TV and did movies like Rio Bravo with John Wayne, but eventually focused on becoming a pretty good singer with hits like: Be-Bop Baby. Poor Little Fool, Hello Mary Lou, My Bucket’s Got a Hole In It, I’m Walkin’, Travelin’ Man and You’re My One and Only Love and many others that reached the top of the charts. He died in the crash going to perform at a New Years Eve celebration. Bonus: Robert Burns wrote the poem Auld Lang Syne which was sang to the music of a folk tune in 1788.

“The New Year lies before you like a perfect tract of snow. Be careful how you tread on it. for every mark will show”

I was going to end with an old clip from Ricky Nelson or Phil Collins, but a good and wise reader sent over this version of Auld Lang Syne. The quote above, and plenty of love, is also found in the video below: http://youtu.be/Rtajxo8d7js

Well, that’s it. Another 260+ Tids which is about 5,200 Tidlets or approximately 7,800,000 words. And no arthritis in the fingers, yet. I promise to make more of the words more interesting next year. More that is new; with quality I will not eschew.

Have a perfect New Year E-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y! Whew!

Candidates come, thirteen strong; but I’m not touched. Can I be wrong?

Today's Tids Issue 3,496

Opening Stuff:

The heart is a wonderful thing. Oh, not because it keeps the blood flowing and life growing. It just seems like such an amazing repository of all things beautiful. The smiles you keep. The emotions you feel. The flowing tears of happiness it turns on. The swelling you feel when love is near. The beating to a crescendo! (when reading the Tids?). The quiet comfort from a pleasant memory. It’s all in there, alive and stimulating. It is us.

While nobody was paying attention, the national unfunded state and local government pension fund liability has grown to $1 Trillion. Can you say, The Big Short?

More often than not when reading about the sailing race between Sydney, Australia and Hobart, Tasmania, I sit frightened; yet in awe of the crew and skippers. It is a daunting stretch of seas; 648 miles of unforgiving waters. This year, 38 boats quit the race and the 3 leaders limped across with serious damage.

Pitchers and catchers report in 50 days.

The Question:

Name 10 adjectives often used to describe Chocolate?

The Headlines:

--US Says Iran Launched Highly Provocative Rocket Test Within 1,500 Yards Of Our Fleet Of Ships.

--Mississippi River Levees In Missouri Threatened As Old Man River Turns Angry; Flood Waters Surging; Levees Around St. Louis Beginning To Crumble..

--Cosby Officially Criminally Charged In Pennsylvania; Comedian Accused of Drugging And Assaulting Woman.

Oil Pounded; Stocks Decline In Second To Last 2015 Trading Day; Yhere are Some Signs From Arabia Of Oil Bolstering In Future

--Members Of US Congress Caught In Obama’s Secret Netanyahu Spy Net.

--ISIS Terrorists Caught Planning New Years Eve Attack In Turkey.

The Hillary History “What does the shadow know?”, Department:

In case you have forgotten since the 1990’s, here’s a list of associated occurrences and people that may best define the real Hillary: The WH Travel Office, Craig Livingston, Zoe Baird, Kimba Wood, National Health Insurance Chief, Janet Reno, Lani Guanier, Web Hubbel, Vince Foster, William Kennedy, Bimbo Eruption defense chief, Rose Law firm records, Ken Starr, White House china artwork and Furniture, “I don’t recall”; “I have no recollection 56 times”. And this all before she became Secretary of State. The Tids promotion department is busy creating fridge magnets so you can keep Hillary fodder handy.

By the way, a local Newport, world class sailor named Ken Read won the Australia-Tasmania race.

Ok, let’s get into the race for the Presidency, which is also basically on stormy, uncharted seas. --Trump is saying straight forward what lots of people feel, but is weak on policy and not real deep. I personally don’t like him.  --Bush looks good in scripted commercials, but not so hot when on his feet adlibbing. He has been a disappointment. But, I have never thought another Bush could be elected, anyhow. --I like governors for President, so Christie leaps forward for me. I don’t hold the Obama handshake against him in the least. He may be too gruff for some, and NJ has some financial woes. The other Governor Kasich is running his state well, but he is not connecting with the public. He’s been around too long for so many Americans looking for real change for their country on a dangerous track. --I liked Carley and think she had a great grasp on stuff that should be done; expresses it well. But, she does not connect with far too many who may see her as stiff and cold. I’d vote for her. –Ted Crews is a smart guy and at times I like him quite a bit. Moderates will be reluctant to vote for him, and that includes Dems unhappy with the prospects of only having Hillary. Frankly for a conservative, he vacillates for votes, often confusingly. –Ben Carson says lots of stuff that I agree with whole heartedly. Then he gets weird, and that is what has him in an unrecoverable decline. –Marco looks real smart and appealing, but too often he displays a little of the Carley coldness. He doesn’t seem comfortable to me, but always sounds confident when speaking – which is a great asset. –I like Rand Paul, mainly because of his views on reduced spending and less government. –Rick Santorum is very conservative, but his policies never waver and he expresses himself very well on all subjects; comes across to me as very knowledgeable. Some Dems generally disregard him as a religious nut, but I think he is surprisingly good. He doesn’t have a chance. –Huck delivers the best one-liners. -- Overall, I believe there is a tone of moderation in the country which is saying – “we are all tired of the hatred and extreme animosity between the people.” The Repubs win if the Moderate Independents and conservative labor vote big for them. At this point though, I have no favorite cause there is too much yet to happen.

Some guy who owns a company called “Impossible Foods” has as his lifelong ambition the replacement of meat. He has lots of meat substitute concepts in the oven, like his chicken strip product which is made from smooshed peas and some other unknown non-animal but living plant, and canola oil. Smooshed peas? Get me outta there.

Actually I see a lot of “progress” coming down the pike that might be very happy to miss.

BTW, I would put the Big Short on top of my favorites for Oscars’ list.

When you think about it, to exist effectively, unions must necessarily condone irresponsibility.

I have always had a lot of admiration for third basemen. They just have always seemed so rock solid defending the hot corner. And so many of them could hit for power, and in key moments. My prototypical favorites were guys like Brooks Robinson, George Kell, George Brett, Kenny Keltner among several. But one guy who always possessed a firm spot in my baseball heart was Boston’s tenacious Frank Malzone. Talk about a rock and clutch hitter. Frank died last night…yet another of my heroes of yore, gone.

The Parking Lot:

    “Hi Freddy boy.” Fred looked around d the room at Rackovic, Jerry and assorted replacement thugs. He didn’t like the tone in the greeting, which made him even more tense than he already was. He nodded and looked for a chair. “You can stand Fred.” Rackovic wasn’t smiling.

    “So what’s going on?” Fred tried to appear casual using all of his superficial political skills to mask his fear.

    “Not good, Freddie. That’s why you’re here, to solve the problem.” He looked around the room at nodding heads. “Your woman is a pain in the ass. One minute we think we have her, and then she disappears, just like that. But even more disconcerting, is that one minute I have two or three really tough guys out there to help her see our side of the story, and poof, they disappear too. Is she some kind of magician?”

   Fred started ot answer, but Rackovic but up his hand that was just a rhetorical question. You know rhetorical, don’t you Fred. Well Im going to ask all the questions, but you’re not going to answer.

   So, Fred, you’ ain’t so good at helping us find her, so you’re kind of useless to us?” he held up his hand before Fred’s lips parted.

   “So here’s the question you can answer: What do you think that woman would do if we sent her a note, ‘come and see us or we’ll kill Fred?” Oh. I see Fred, that you don’t have answer to that.”

The Answer:

In no certain order, people may say sweet, creamy, hard, dark, bitter, brown, while, milky, irresistible, yummy or fantasmagorical. And sometimes it is so f---ing good, you can’t say anything, but just sit there with a gigantic grin on your face.

Hope you have all bought your funny hats and noisemakers!

What does the Shadow know – “The evil that lurks in the hearts of men…and women.”

It’s anybody’s game.

Today's Tids Issue 3,495

Opening Stuff:

The Trumpster is said to be launching an all out media blitz. Just hope it’s more against Hillary, and not a wildly irresponsible neutering all of the rest of the Repub candidates who’s credibility may be essential in the event of a “Brokered” convention. Regardless how much noise Trump is making, there is a solid, large block who want nothing to do with him. His upside limitations, which grow as Indies are left out of the convention, could surely splinter the vote with no candidate getting a first ballot majority. That would throw the convention to the deal makers, and who knows, maybe a Romney or some other non-current player will emerge. Or maybe the only hope will be the candidate least scathed by the Park Avenue hip shooter.

The state of the Republicans reminds me of the two English thugs yesterday who thought it a good idea to blow up a Condom dispensing machine to get free protection. The problem was that the explosion also killed one of the dummies. Not to mention that te explosion destroyed what was in the dispenser! Politics at times is pretty similar to that kind of idiocy.  

Women want it all and it is beginning to look like all may be not exactly what they wanted after all! Yes, there is serious discussion that now that women have be declared eligible for all battlefield positions, the former fairer sex will be required by Congress to register for the draft, just like their male counterparts. Holy Avon Calling, Batman! I mean Batwoman.

The Question:

NYU has a selected the top Journalists of the past 100 years. They have a list of 78 men and  22 women. Name 5 of the women. Bonus: What was the number of Mozart’s last piano concerto? Bonus 2: I laughed a lot at the just deceased Meadowlark Lemon of the Harlem Globe Trotters. Who was the Funnyman who preceded him as the featured star? Extra points if you can ID the dribbler in that earlier version of te world’s most entertaining basketball team.

The Headlines:

--Oil And Natrual Gas Price Rise Carries Stocks To 150 Plus Opener; Consumer Confidence Index Rises In December.

--Mergers And Acquisitions Tops $5 “T”rillion For Record 2015.

--Rom Emmanuel Cuts Vacation Short to Tackle Latest Police Shooting And Accidental Death After Being Called To Domestic Disturbance.

--Iraq Generals Say that Ramadi Is Not Exactly 100% Taken Back.

--Country Star Craig Strickland Missing After Storm Ravaged Hunting Trip; Best Friend Found Dead And Boat Capsized.

The NCAA has been promoting the hell out of the playoff system and then they put one of the key matchups on New Years Eve evening. Crazy. But let’s take a look at the games. I feel they are really hard to predict because they are what’s good about them – playing unknowns. For instance, Clemson is number one, but is the ACC as good as the Big 12. Or, is the Big Ten still the romantic powerhouse of yore? I’m picking Oklahoma over Clemson (I’ll be rooting for the Tigers though) and Alabama over Michigan State. The classic matchup which will probably draw the largest New Years Day national audience is the Fighting Irish versus The Ohio State. An Ohio friend of mine who is a ND alum says he is looking-forward to the game but not the barbs of Buckeye yahoos. I see his point. I’m picking OSU because of their coach. Other good intersectional games to watch could be Michigan-Florida and Iowa-Stanford. They have played about 27 bowl games so far and none of them has been newsworthy.

Chipotle eaters say that if they have to change restaurants the top choice would be Panera Bread followed by a strong showing from Qdoba Mexican Eats. Moe’s Southwestern Grill did well in several southeast states. I have been writing more than necessary about Chipotle mainly because it makes me feel good that it has been determines that Veggies and not meat is the cause of the all the disease. I’m just a vengeful little person that way.

Is there any hope for a country that still listens to Al Sharpton?

The bakers who refused to bake a cake for a gay couple wedding had to pay $135,000 in damages. The country has gone berserk.

No journalists ever seems to report that in almost all cases police are called to a scene because something is going wrong, and often what’s going wrong is very tense and dangerous. The press would lead you to believe that police just walk down the street taking pot shots at blacks. The press is looking more like criminals by tring to incite rather than suppress uprisings.

Here’ my take on the defending super bowl champions, in case you are looking forward to the NFL playoffs. Last year at this time, the Patriots had a young offensive line with two good vets maturing together at the same time at the end of the year when everything counts. This year they have a young offensive line with injured veterans and rotating young players. Two things: 1. I believe that the key to success for football teams is the Offensive line. The QB’s and receivers get the glory, but the O-Lines make it all possible. 2. O-Lines work best when they play together for a long time. The Pats are in trouble.

I saw two movies via Netflix which were quite entertaining. Neither was particularly highly rated by critics, and in fact, one, The Loft, was slammed as worthless. The Loft, about a murdered girl found in the get-away from the wives downtown loft owned by five friends, held our interest throughout and had a pretty good surprise ending. The other, “Best Offer”, was a cleverly hatched film about a high end art auctioneer that led you off in several directions. In addition to giving you a couple of decent viewing ideas, the point here is that the critics are often looking for something way beyond what I look for – simple decent entertainment. I have been let down more often by Oscar winners than by those films treated casually by the elite with the poison pens.

The Parking Lot: Chapter 37 continues...

   Just before the highway overpass, Nancy found her quarry driving along the feeder road southwest. She let Rackovic’s SUV get well beyond the cross street before reviving the chase. A movement caught her eye, and she saw in the rear view mirror another car driving on a cross street towards the route taken by Jerry and his boss. Could be nothing she thought, but Nancy never disregards anything. She waited a little longer than she had planned and then took off, getting glimpses between buildings and highway supports of the newest entry into the chase. As she turned her car onto the feeder road she saw that BMW was now pulled over, stopped on the road behind her.

    She reached over an nudged Jared. “Get the rifle from the back.” She noticed Jared tense. “And, relax.” He smiled at her as he slowly reached over and picked up the gun. He was riding shotgun.

    Nancy did not like the path that Jerry was taking. It was heading into a maze of roads down by river and harbor that could lead to a dead end and potential ambush. If the car behind was part of the Rackovic operation, she thought, whoever was in it has phoned ahead to Rackovic. She was being squeezed.  Maybe she hadn’t been so smart today. She held an advantage in the woods, but these are the thugs city streets.

    She watched the Rackovic car disappear as the road dropped down a hill which would take them to the flats near the water. The car behind had started up again, but was a good quarter mile behind, driving slowly. She quickly made a decision to live another day. At the next road north she made a fast right turn and stepped on the accelerator. It wasn’t long before she had made four rapid turns and got back onto the highway going back towards her home, which she had no intention of reaching.

   Jared looked over, “What just happened?”

   “I just saved your life.” She smiled and put her hand on his thigh.

The Answer:

Here’s all 22: Christiane Amanpour, Hannah Arendt, Margaret Bourke-White, Rachel Carson, Joan Didion, Barbara Ehrenreich, Nora Ephron, Francis Fitzgerald, Martha Gellhorn, Katherine Graham, Linda Greenhouse, Jane Kramer, Adrian Nicole Leblanc, Jane Meyer, Mary McCarthy, Anna Quindlen, Marlene Sanders, Susan Sontag, Gloria Steinem, Dorothy Thompson, Barbara Walters and Ida Wells. Bonus: Mozart wrote 27 piano concerti. Bonus 2: Goose tatum was the main man with all of the antics that made me laugh and Marquis Haynes was the magician with the ball.

Have a perfect day! The sun is always up there somewhere!