Whimsical, whacky and wonderful!

Today's Tids Issue 3,584

Opening Stuff:

Hi my friends, this delightful day. 

When I touch you next it will be May.

So whimsical, yes that’s its norm.

And just two months until its warm!

You’d think that after all of these years I could have learned not to put away my plaid flannel shirts just because there were two luscious days in early April.

Big Pre-Weekend Political Observation, Department:

Donald Trump exclaims ad nauseum that he has won millions of votes. And he has, about 10 million. All he needs now is about 50 to 60 million other USA citizens to appreciate his whimsical run and vote for him in the general elections. In other words, in this is one crazy election year it isn’t over until the fat lady sings at the inauguration. He says he is an uniter. Can he unite Tea Party types without backtracking from his excitable core? People seem to have forgotten the Tea Party, yet it still seems vibrant judging from their power as a major player in congress. American voters are currently about 45-49% Independent, 34% Democrat and about 24% Repub. So what has Trump been doing this past year? He’s been tapping into the largest party in the US – The Non-Party. At this point it appears he will definitely not get 100% of Repubs, but there is a chance he will do well with Dems who’s minds are in the independent column. My guess is that Hill will certainly do well with minority and poor Dems, but perhaps not so much with many of those old time union affiliated Dems. There are so many dynamics in this new era of America and technological communictaions, that virtually anything can happen. Prince could win with a write-in vote.

As you analyze, remember that in many states independent and cross-over party voting was not allowed. That’s why Bernie looks better than Hillary in the national polls, and why Trump may have more left in the tank when the real race starts.

The Question:

Today marks the anniversary of the opening of the counterculture musical, Hair. Name three of the songs from the show. Bonus: Name one book written by JFK’s favorite economist John Kenneth Galbraith. Extra Money Bonus: Who invented the zipper?

The Headlines:

--Flash: Supreme Court Denies Bid To Block Texas Voter ID La.

--Dow Off Triple Digits; Struggling To Hold April Gains.

--Assad Expected To Overrun Aleppo At Any Moment.

--Rhouani’s Iran Reformist Allies Ready To Gain Seats In Parliament.

--20 Zanies Arrested At California Trump Rally.

--Indiana Governor Endorses Cruz.

--ICE Under Fire For Releasing Thousands Of Illegal Immigrants With Rap Sheets

--Obama To Push For Smart Gun Restrictions Despite Genuine Concerns.

--California Shoots Down Law That Would Honor John Wayne; Basically Leftist Lawmakers Say He Was Too Consevative.

--GQ Hits Rock Bottom With Cheesy, Spiteful, Condescending Story On Mrs. Trump.

Whatever happened to Michelle Pfieffer?

Win now, or plan for the future, Department:

Everybody up here in New England is quivering at the thought of the Patriot’s first four games without Tom Brady. Frankly, I’m kinda looking forward to seeing what replacement Jimmy Garofalo can do as the main man. After all, Brady won’t be with us forever, and It is getting towards that time when we should be looking at seeing what we got in the stable.

I think my computer Grammar Check was out drinking with Spell Check last night.

No love, Department:

One of those moral dilemmas that seem to contribute the anxiety of our new twittering world of anything goes is what to do about big sports celebs who are lower than the proverbial whale excrement. Bob Hewitt was thrown out of the International Tennis Hall of Fame for molesting young girls in Australia. Jerry Sandusky is in prison for molesting boys in the Penn State athletic department. Former Speaker Hastert is on the way to prison for the same deplorable activity as a wrestling coach. Yet up in the Tennis Hall is a society icon, a chic social lion and absolutely great tennis player, the “Babe Ruth” of his sport – Bill Tilden. Yet “Big Bill”, as he was called, had gone to jail several times for molesting boys around 14 years old or so. The quandary among devotees of various sports is, do we deny the greatness of sports achievers because of their human weaknesses and uncivilized behavior in society, or put on blinders for the good of investors. This question seems easy to answer considering that Hewitt was axed from the Hall a couple of months ago having the same ugly pastime.

Actually, the Tilden decision should be easy in this new world of pro sports – he isn’t making money for anybody so dump him. Hey, I think I had a Bill Tilden tennis racket. I’d better go wash my hands.

I wonder what Roger Goodell would have done about Tilden?

Actually, punishment comes quickly in the new world of idiot twittering. Minutes before the start of the NFL draft, a college football player named Leremy Tunsil posted a video of himself “smoking through a mask equipped with a bong” (I only think I know that that means!). Many teams saw it almost immediately and his previously off filed suspect antics were instantly magnified and he tumbled down the draft list costing him millions of $$$$. Johnny Mans=ziel is barely that stupid.

If cheesy tourist trap T-Shirt stores weren’t selling so much cheesy tourist wear, we wouldn’t have so many cheesy looking tourists walking around town.

Personally I liked Michelle Pfeiffer best in Russia House, Married to the Mob and Tequila Sunrise. But, she made her most money as Batgirl in Batman. She was acknowledged for her work in Dangerous Liaisons, Fabulous Baker Boys and Love field. She is still making movies, and will be seen next in Beat-up Little Seagull with Kiefer Sutherland. So, the good news is, she lives on.

I was never a big fan Of Bobby Knight, but he was a great choice for the Trump Indiana rally, and he did come up with the line that pundits have been searching for to describe The Donald’s success: “I don’t give a crap about Republicans. And, I certainly don’t give a crap about Democrats, But Like Donald, I give a crap about Americans.” The crowd went berserk.

The Parking Lot: Chapter 57.

   Fred was laughing when his door opened and in walked Tom Howland. “You look like you’re feeling a little better today, Fred.”

   Fred momentarily felt a little stab in his heart but recovered quickly to his robust political alter ego. “Why Tom!” Fred walked over and clasped his hand, taking the lead. “Well, thanks Tom, because I do. What brings you to my humble office.?” Fred turned to walk to his seat behind the desk , “Take a seat. Want coffee? Anything?,” he said over his shoulder.

  “No, I’m good.”

  Fred sat, leaned forward, with elbows on desk, “So, your here bcause…you love me. I owe you money…’ Tom was smiling now and looked relaxed. Fred wasn’t, but he was a very good actor.

  “No, no, and no.” Tom adjusted his chair and sat back, looking very comfortable. “I want to pick your brains.”

   “At my age you’ll be lucky to find anything in there. But, shoot.”

   “Well, this casino thing is coming to a head. I’m not personally interested,” Fred wondered. “But as a pretty good real estate lawyer, I get inquiries from many types of characters.” Fred thought, I’m sure he is and he is better than pretty good. “I always classify them as characters’ until figure them out.”

   “I understand completely,” Fred nodded.

   “I have to assume that you as Town Council head guy gets queries too. Did you ever hear of an organization called Southeast Properties. I never did until yesterday. They seem interested in the old Hicks land that is up in the lake district.”

  “Well,” started Fred calmly wondering if Nancy had anything to do with this, because he had heard of some shell operation of the family. “Everybody is interested in the Hicks land,” Fred Paused, “Including you, I’m told.” Tom reddened slightly, but noticeably to Fred.

  

Reading Between the Lines Movie Reviews:

--Mothers Day is a pretty predictable film with big time cast – Kate Hudson, Jennifer Anniston and Julia Roberts – three generations of one family who get together for Mom’s day. Most critics said that they should have read the script before getting embroiled in such a dog. The audience gives it a slightly higher rating, and it will be lightweight entertainment for many people, but probably not me.

--Keanu is one of those new raucous comedies of today which typically don’t impress me. In this one, two funny guys – Keegan-Michael Kay and Jordan Peele --  pose as drug dealers to get back a stolen car. I think you can r]write the script, but it is considered much better than average among the films for this eek.

-- Green Room is a horror thriller that may be the best of the week. A punk band with a gig at an isolated rundown club in the back woods of Oregon witness brutal violence back stage. The depraved club owner Patrick Stewart figures they can easily get rid of this rag tag band and protect his nefarious enterprise. But, what he and his henchmen find instead is a cunning, creative and resourceful adversary. Let the chess match begin.

The Answer.

Of course, “Hair” is one of the best known songs. I also liked Good Morning Sunshine and Aquarius. Some others were Ain’t Got No, I Got Life, I’m Black, I Believe in Love and Easy to be Hard. (BTW, I was a blue suit, young exec on the rise – in my mind -- and had no interest in the counterculture, except how it could be exploited in ads,) Bonus: Galbraith was considered a leasing advocate of the new American Liberalism, Karl Marx among is many influences. His three most famous books are American Capitalism, The Affluent Society and The New Industrial State. He influenced the Presidents who gave us The New Deal, The Fair Deal and The Great Society, for which we are continuing to go into debt to pay. We might call the National Debt, the Galbraith 19 Trillion. Extra Money Bonus: If I had any money I would give you some if you guessed that the modern zipper was perfected by Gidean Sundbeck, a Swedish immigrant and engineer who married the bosses daughter to form the talon company. Actually, in 1851 sewing machine man  Elias Howe got a patent for an “Automatic Continuous Clothing Closure”. Forty years later Whitcomb Judson in Chi marketed the “Clasp Locker”, and formed the company that Sundbeck married into.

Have a great whimsical, whacky, wonderful weekend – E-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y!