Today's Tids Issue 3,435
Opening Stuff:
Instead
of dwelling on Putin In Syria or skullduggery at
Volkswagen or teens killing teens in Chicago, I think it is high time we
focused on the wallflower of seriously excellent taste treats – Butterscotch.
We need to drag ourselves out of the blackness of politics and the hypocrisy of
humans and get real with the perfect topping for ice cream, chocolate flourless
cake, or blueberry pancakes! Frankly, I’d start eating salads with a tinge of
butterscotch. And there is no reason why some fruit lovers would not enjoy the
sweet addition of butterscotch sauce. Doesn’t then world seem to look a little
better now?
That
is,
if you forget about yesterday where we saw another crazed killer robbing at
least 13 innocents of their future. I can’t even imagine the fear, the
helplessness the people felt as Boom! Boom! Boom! decimated the silence, just
the other side of a classroom door. The heart stopping sounds of bullets shredding
the wood; when the first causality fell and blood spewed. When the 20 year old
gunman with lifeless eyes stood inside at the head of the class picking off the
paralyzed. I can’t imagine such thing happening. It doesn’t compute for me. But
it does happen, much too often.
You
knew that there was a mass murder yesterday by race to
the microphones by state legislators and congress, and of course the President,
calling for gun controls. Why do these people always first use the deaths of
children for political purposes? Why do they first attempt to satisfy their own
agenda instead of looking for real answers of why humans have so little respect
for life? Why have visions of death and blood become so common in the minds of
a growing number of potential youthful mass killers? Why are they sometimes
protected by the psychiatric community? What kind of homes, what aspects of
society foster murdering callousness to other humans? I don’t know, but if I
said what I thought I’d be accused of fostering my agenda with the deaths of
innocents. I think I’ll just pray. Then cry.
The
Question:
Double
Q Day: 1.
What is the difference between Butterscotch and Caramel? 2. Who is Mary McLeod? Bonus:
What 10 states have the toughest Gun laws? Bonus
2: The US officials in the discussion of the Syria enigma are probably now
using the favorite expression of the “King of Siam”. What was it?
The
Headlines:
--Americans Mourn The Umpqua Innocent Murdered By
Deranged Shooter; Gunman “Filled With Hate”, Targeted Christians.
--Euro Markets Strong; US Opens Way Down As New
Jobs Report Misses Mark; Asian Shares Fizzle.
--Iran Troops Now Ready To Join Russia Backed
Battle To Defeat Rebels In Syria; US Weighs Possibilities For Aiding Rebels.
--One Trillion Dollars Of US Taxes Deemed To Have
Gone Directly To “Wasteful” Spending.
--Joaquin Pumps Up to 4 Category; East Coast
Battening Down.
C130 Crashes In Afghanistan Killing 11.
--What May Be Worlds Ugliest Animal Found In
Waters Off Scotland; Sofa Shark Ranks Close To Blobfish On Ugliness Scale.
--Bernie Sanders Money Stockpile Growing As Dems
See Refreshing Alternative To Politically Worn Hillary.
A
lot of people I know had grandparents who lived into their
90’s or even 100’s who cooked good stuff in bacon grease, drank soda to the
total exclusion of water and ate lots and lots of meat. Want to scare our brainwashed
young people on Halloween, tell them that. Life is generally based on genes.
Did
you know that 43% 0f American homes are at risk to
natural disaster? I wouldn’t be surprised that if sometime in the future some
bureaucrats will be running around the country affixing giant Red “R’s” on the
front of homes. Of course people who make fun of risky homeowners will be
accused of Houseism.
The
only area in our USA society where bigotry is allowed is
in the use of grammar. It is said to be a way to distinguish negative values
about a person without being racist, sexist or any of the other common ists.
That’s probably because bad grammar is mostly the bane of intellectuals, which
is exactly the group that espoused all of the PC crap in the first place. That would
be true of course if you weren’t criticizing BlackSpeak.
An
artist in Oakland California painting a large
public mural about fighting against violence was shot and killed.
The
Benghazi issue is about why a United States of America
Embassy in a violent land was left bare and naked after a series of reports
warning of impending attacks. It’s not about Hillary, but if she is part of the
problem, than she must be included.
It is quite amazing to see the amount of misinformation on guns that is spewed from the mouths of proponents on both sides of the argument immediately following a mass killing tragedy.
I
tried to make this a sweet and delicious pre-Weekend Tids,
but it’s really hard to do in a disintegrating world.
I
saw an incomprehensible number today that said the
average annual income of people in RI between the ages of 18 and 34 is a mere
$14,500 (+-). That is really hard to believe, but if true it is not good news
for the future growth or even stabilization of home prices. Or the stumbling RI
economy. What makes the number shady is that if you take $10/hr as a new low
end norm, for 40 hours/week you get an annual wage of $20,800! It must be all
of those people who earn big money on tips and don’t report them.
Some
stock market technical analysts are seeing a turn to
bullishness in our future, but are also being cautious in light of the risks
that are still apparent. So that’s kind of good news for a column that started
with Butterscotch and spiraled downward into human depravity. And, I.m not just
talking about politicians.
The
Parking Lot: Chapter 18.
Nancy was
in her small cabin planning her next moves against the town council and casino
owners when she heard what sounded like several loud blasts across the lake in
the direction, she thought, of her home. She ran up to a point where she had a
northern view. She saw nothing, but heard one more blast. And then, nothing but
the eerie silence of rippling waters. Now she was certain that the sounds had come up the lake in the
direction of her place. She wasn’t about to jump in boat, though, and roar
towards the noise. Why would anybody be shooting up her place? Her cell phone’s
ring interrupted her thoughts.
“Hi
Nancy, this is Jared.” There was silence. “Remember me,” he plead, “the old guy
from the parking lot.”
Of course
she remembered him. But why was he calling? Was he the shooter? Had she misread
his motives.
“Beth has
been hurt, and I think I killed two guys.” Now Jared was beginning to sound a little
panicky as reality started to take over his mind.
“Killed
two guys? What two guys? Were they big and mean looking?” she hoped.
“Yes, I
think they were the two you told me about and who I have seen before too. They
were roughing up Beth, maybe to have her say where you went. And I just found
this shotgun near your place, and started firing.” He was rambling.
“Ok, Ok
Jared. Calm down.” Nancy was starting to feel a little more relieved, secure
now that the two oafs who truly scared her were gone. But that wouldn’t be for
long she thought, These guys are serious. “How’s Beth?”
“I think
I stopped them before they beat her too badly, but she is scared, and I think
hurting a bit. I have her on the porch now…”
Nancy interrupted
and told Jared where he could find a key to her house. “Take care of Beth,” she
said. “I’ll be there shortly.” She pressed “off”. I think it’s time to begin
the offensive she thought. She smiled, realizing that hiding was not good for
her.
Reading
Between the Lines Movie Reviews:
--The Martian sounds quiet intriguing and should
be good if it isn’t too preachy. The premise of an astronaut being left behind
is a little shaky to me, but then I watch The Zoo on TV. Matt Damon as the
spaceman is very good as he stays cool and builds a life to save himself on an
utterly barren Mars. It gets even better when NASA learns of his living there
and try to come up with solutions. I’d go. It could be alternately titles Tom
Hanks on Mars.
--Sicario, which means Hitman, is a very good drug
cartel movie starring Emily Blunt as an FBI Agent, Josh Brolin as Gov Task
Force official and Benicio Del Toro as a consultant with a questionable past.
It takes place on the lawless US/Mex border. The trio sets out to help fight
the escalating war on drugs, but Emily questions everything and is seen as
fighting for survival at every turn in action. It is cerebral and adventurous
at the same time. Looks like a good one.
--The Walk is a scary real life tale of a dreamer
Phillippe Petit and his recruits as they battle authorities, close calls,
physical obstacles and overwhelming odds to walk a high wire between the old
twin Towers in NYC. It is hold your
breath all the way.
The
Answer:
1.
Dull brown Caramel is made from white granulated sugar, while the delightfully yellowish
Butterscotch is from brown sugar and lots and lots and lots of way more lots of
butter. 2. Mary McLeod is a nice
looking older woman from Glasgow Scotland who started making shortbread in her
shop in Toronto Canada. She now sells a broad array of cookies and related
products. Her latest product is called “Shortbread Butterscotch Crumbs”
designed to enhance the output of all bakers. Bonus: Starting at 10 and going down to #1 we have Pennsylvania,
Illinois, Rhode Island, Maryland, Hawaii, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts,
New Jersey and California #1. Bonus 2: Of course the King of Siam in the R&H musical
always said “Tis a Puzzlement”. I can see Valerie Jarrett and the guys dancing
around the West Wing now.
While
you enjoy the comforts of your stress free weekend,
wallowing in your favorite sweet dessert lavishly topped by warm butterscotch,
here a little reminder about not forgetting the old Tidster, because I will be
back to haunt you next week:
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