Today's Tids Issue 3,550
Opening Stuff:
Any
day when you just become plain exasperated from seeing or
learning about more and more “Made in China” on everything you buy or even eat,
take a walk down Main Street. Yes, there are still good ole’ Main Street areas
and even better, invariably you’ll see that you still have a local candy maker
or Ice Cream Shop full of homemade stuff, with clerks who like nothing better
than seeing the eyes of customers light up at the sight of creative chocolate
creations, and an array of creamy frozen treats. I do it all of the time and
I’m diabetic! But, almost always a happy soul will overcome the drear of a
tired body. Let’s see dark chocolate bunny of butterscotch ice cream. I wonder
what the polls are saying.
My
eyes were firmly fixed and focused on Florida over the
weekend. Yup, it was one hell of a great golf tournament! Now that’s a game I
can watch, and where the stomach tension feels good..
A
reader, TB, writes to say that the hour we lost for
Daylight savings time was the one he had planned on using for a visit ot a gym.
Life is disconcerting.
The
financial magnifying glass is beginning to focus on
sub-prime auto loans as payment defaults string out in a dangerous trend. Who’s
been bundling thse loans to whom. It’s something new to keep an eye on. Well,
we know it isn’t Lehman Brothers.
The
Question:
Name five of songwriter Quincy Jones greatest
hits. Speed Bonus: Quick now, What
was the name of the animal in Born Free.
The
Headlines:
--Maryland Police Officer Murdered In Unprovoked
Attack.
--Oil Price Slide Pushes US Stocks To Lower
Opening; Morgan Stanley Cuts S&P Target As “Recession” Word Creeps Back
Into Street Talk..
--In Wake Of Brutal Bombing, Turkish Airplanes Hit
Kurd Camps; In Ivory Coast, al-Qaida Group Seen As Targeting A US Official There
-- Asst. Secretary Of Commerce Marcus Jadotte Was Leading A Group Of Recruiters
From University of Florida.
--New Poll Has Rubio Dropping To Third In His Home
State.
--Brackets Set: Many Question the Absence Of
Monmouth, St. Bonaventure, Valpariso and Drop Of Michigan State to #2 Seed’ Did
The Pac 12 Deserve 7?
Ok,
ok, let’s get it over with. Here’s my “Elite 8”: Kansas, Villanova, Baylor,
Oklahoma, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Virginia an Michigan State. Possible
Cinderella’s – Seton Hall, Texas A&M, Cal and Miami. Big one upset, North Carolina.
The “Final Four” is Kansas, Okla, Kentucky and Michigan State. Kansas will be
in the finals. The biggest task is picking between Kentucky, loaded as usual and maybe maturing at the right time, versus
Michigan State with the greatest playoff coach and super team leader in Denzel
Valentine. But, I think it will be a K squared final with Kansas winning. Or is
it the surging Kentucky? Hint: Pick the opposite and win office pot. In
reality, this entire year was a year of mediocrity with “top” teams routinely
knocked off. This is great for the playoffs because there is nothing that
attracts a bigger audience than the emergence of upset minded smaller schools.
Maybe it starts with Yale over Baylor.
How
did the “Melting Pot” become the “Pepper Pot”?
Remember when the pride of America was being able to seamlessly meld differing cultures
into one. To understand differences while tempering dislike. Standing in my
little sheltered universe, I’m looking at a culture that has become just the
opposite. If you don’t take sides and stand for something often beyond
rationality, you’re deemed weak and malleable. By being sensitive, reasonable
and rational, your voice is muffled. Unless you have a sneer and a vitriolic
voice, you can’t get near the mike. Of course I exaggerate. There are many calm
voices with microphones, but nobody listens.
A
lot of people who simply enjoy a good Burger are getting
tired of all of these new burger joints where chefs try to outdo each other
with creative ingredients. Gimme good meat and regular cheese and a good bun.
The
comic strip Lil’ Abner was pulled from the
Scripps-Howard newspapers in 1940 because of Al Capp’s satire of the US Senate.
Scripps Edward Leech said: “ We don’t think it is good editing or sound
citizenship to picture the Senate as being an assemblage of freaks and
criminals…boobs and undesirables”. I guess, the senate will always be the
senate no matter how we try to make changes.
If
you ever catch me watching another debate, call the men in
white jackets with butterfly nets. I’m a goner.
The
Trump campaign has been great for professional
protestors with time on their hands. The guy, Thomas DiMassimo, arrested after attacking
the podium where DT stood has a long history of being videoed at organized
protests often while desecrating the American flag. Ironically, it is people like
DiMassimo who helps unite many of the solid Trump backers.
If
liberals are so tolerant about Hispanics, how come if
Trump is elected they are all moving to Canada instead of Mexico?
Will
this apparent “anti-establishment” movement transfer
its energy to the congressional elections? That would really change the direction
of the country…depending which side of the new establishment replaces which
side of the old establishment.
It
is just damn frightening to read those stories over the
weekend about the savage shootings on the Ivory Coast beach and the bloody
bombing of Central Ankara Turkey. And here I was on Saturday morning loving my
Saint Patrick’s Day parade among the tens of thousands cramming the streets,
and finding myself looking over my shoulder more than I can ever remember.
Speaking
of establishment, how many times have we in RI seen a
headline masquerading as news begin with the words, “RI (Congressional)
delegation backs Obama…”?
When
receiving mail stamped “Important”, it generally
isn’t.
The
Parking Lot, Chapter 51.
Jared
felt he made it unobserved to Nancy’s house. As he walked in he felt that familiar,
pleasant twinge that has become so common to him lately. He heard her voice, focused
as only she could on something he couldn’t quite hear well enough to interpret.
“So, it wasn’t
so hard to talk to me as you might have imagined, was it. Maybe you will agree
now that I am the only person you should be talking to.” There was a pause
while Jared, now in the room, watched her listening to whatever was being said at
the other end. She turned towards him as if she felt his stare at the back of
her neck. Her eyes widened and she smiled. She put her finger to her lips. “Of
course I’ll call you back, but I am not sure we can ever meet, mainly because I
don’t trust you yet. But, I have been known to change. So hang in there, Tim.
It may work out well for you and the
state.” She dropped the phone in the cradle, and pulled out the connection. She
put the phone, which she had found among the ruins of her home, back into her
briefcase.
She stood
up quickly and came to Jared and threw her arms around his neck. “I feel good!
Maybe I need a little relaxation,” she said, now softly.
“What did
you have in mind,” he asked, hoping for the only answer he could imagine at
this moment.
“Whatever
is in your dreams,” she breathed up to him, She raised up on her toes and
kissed him hard. Within seconds they were collapsing on the couch. Jared
figured he wouldn’t ask now what the phone call was all about.
The
Answer:
It is hard to imagine a songwriter singer having a
career that spanned 7 decades, But Quincy did. He must be doing something right
and he was recognized for it with 12 gold or platinum albums. Jones first
efforts recognized were in film scores
where in 1968 he was nominated ofr the song The Eyes Of Love. Ray
Charles was his early inspiration that
had him arranging over the years for all the bigs from Michael J to Duke
Ellington. His list of movies is unimaginable. Some of his songs are The In
Crowd, (I can’t get no) Satisfaction, Hard Days Night, A Sunday Kind of Love, No
Corrida, Bossa Nova, Charade, Exodus, Hang On Sloopy, I Hear a Symphony, It’s
My Party, Let the Good Times Roll, Love is Here to Stay, Oh Happy Day, Take
Five and What’s New Pussycat. And, that is just a smattering. Speed
Bonus: Of course you all knew immediately that Born Free was about Elsa the
Lioness raised by George and Joy Adamson.
Oh
Danny Boy, Department:
We had a big time St Pat’s weekend beginning on
Friday in a packed Irish bar with bagpipes droning and drums pounding while
marching in to the loving cheers of happy Irish; to the massive parade that was
better than ever and watched by bigger crowds than I can remember dressed in
everything and anything green; and finally this morning where the papers were
full of the excitement of the day and aftermath including the pages of arrests for
drunken behavior, raucous assaults and urinating in public. It is a real
American week end. And The Day of green is still three days away! Beggorah!
The
way music giants of the sixties and seventies are
passing away, The Tids will be offering musical endings until that time the Tids
passes. Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer was a musical genius who
looked at rock from another direction.. What more can I say. Listen to his,
their (And Copland’s) music. You won’t be hummin’ it, but you’ll be feelin’ it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvXYcQQD1Hc
No comments:
Post a Comment