Lethargic Friday.

Today's Tids Issue 3,738

For a Drowsy Day:

Buurrrrrrp! Success. The great day is over; tummies are filled with all of the great traditional yummies. I dismissed all of my normal nutritional guidelines to dive into everything, and the best part was desert, that incredible, delicious satisfaction in knowing you are loved, the gravy and whipped cream of life.

If you are suddenly startled by a shrill scream, it’s from me after receiving yet one more email about how to survive on Black Friday. The Black attack is back. Alas, alack.

A reader enlivens the Holiday with this “humor”: Su Wong and Lee Wong marry. Sure enough, in a year they have beautiful baby, a Caucasian, white baby boy! The puzzled Lee looks at his beautiful new son, scratches his head and says, “Two Wongs don’t make a white.”

Of course, that isn’t the end of my story. Mr. Wong in response to the nurse asking about the baby’s name replies: It will be “Sum Ting Wong.” If you want to complain, I’ll send you the email address of the reader who sent it in.

The Question:

What was the name of the crazy cartoon character introduced by Walter Lantz in the film “Knock, Knock”?

The Headlines:

--Stock Markets Plodding Forward On Slow Trading Friday.

--US Retailers Have Fingers Crossed.

--Suicide Bomb In Iraq Kills Over 85 Shia Pilgrims.

--European Lawmakers Voted To Put Halt On Tukey’s Accession To EU.

--Jill Stein Says She Has Raised The $1.1 Million Necessary For A Recount In Wisconsin.

--Trump Working To Keep Carrier Plant In US; Has Talked To Tim Cook About Making IPhones In The Country.

--Wilbur Roos expected To Be Named Secretary Of Commerce.

--At Least 67 Killed In China Scaffolding Collapse.

--“European Parliament Prez Martin Schultz To Step Down; Expected To Run Against Merkel In Germany Elections.

I’ll be there tomorrow when The Michigan Wolverines take on The Ohio State Buckeyes. I will be rooting hard for the good ole’ Blue and Gold in a college football game that this year means so much more than tradition. It is a play-off game for sure. Da da, da-da…da da da da…

Who says there isn’t a Big labor industry? Yesterday a local union active woman was elected President of large RI State Employees Union. Her father had been President of American Federation of Teachers, one sister is Obama’s stalled nominee to replace a retiring US District judge, another sister works for the CIO/AFL in Washington and a brother who is with the New York Times. I think the family has it covered. Wait til you hear the screams if you know who’s family joins the admin.

Liberals love to hate inherited wealth, until they get it.

I was lured by the headline into reading about “The Ten Movies I must see before the Oscars.” None of them spiked my interest at all. I did see one, Arrival which was slow, often inducing sleep, and with a premise that was out of this world, if you were indeed able to figure it out at all.

Is Christmas over yet? Yes, our national tendency towards overexposure has ruined the great holidays, the executive office and probably someday Johanna and Chip Gaines.

My opinion on whether or not I really need all of this new technology, some of it which really just replaces some pretty simple mundane tasks, is basically irrelevant. It is going to happen because people can do it, and people’s innate nature to keep up with the Jones will assure its future. It’s just the way it works.

Speaking of that, I was watching a news segment about all of the neat things you can do off of smart devices like Amazon’s Echo and the certain imposters to be. Most of the stuff smart devices can do require fairly hefty expenditures to make it happen like running your furnace from afar, turning on sprinklers and adjusting the thermostat from your chair. Most of these alterations will cost on average $400 and up according to the reporter. Not worth it says I. But I was amused at the application where a device can identify water seepage into a home and call a plumber. The problem is, can Alexi get the plumber to come out to the home? Now if Alexi an Siri and others can get plumbers, electricians and contractors to come out on time, we are talking about something sensational.

In case you are interested, The Ten Movies we must see before the Oscars are: Arrival, Lion, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Manchester by the Sea, Jackie (Yes, that Jackie), Lala Land, Silence, 20th Century Woman, Fences and hidden Figures.

Reading Between the Lines Movie Reviews:

--Moana is looking like a sure-fire winner for all of the Family. This new animated adventure form Disney is good. Moana, an adventurous Oceana Islands teen sets out on a sail to help save her country. A mighty demigod guides her through the treacherous waters that have sopped the greatest of sailors in the past.

--The heavily promoted Allied with Brad Pitt and Marion Cotilliard leads a pack of mediocre releases. I thought that Allied looked good, but the Critics say nay. It’s about two spies now married. The Brit government tells Brad that wife could be a spy for the other side and they set out to entrap her. If successful, Brad will have to kill her. My guess is that instead of settling for what it is, a good thriller yarn, the critics are looking for “Epic” status because of the cast.

--I was never interested in Bad Santa and it appears that nobody is interested in bad Santa II. Same old story with less wit and humanistic pathos.

--Lion is about a five year old boy in India who gets lost on a train ride. He learns to survive on his own and is eventually adopted by an Australian couple. 25 years later he sets out to use his sparse memories and a new whiz technology, Google Earth, to find his parents. Probably a tear or two along the way.

--Rules don’t Apply is really not about Howard Hughes breaking the society norms, but about two deeply religious employees trying to get around one of Hughes own rules: No relationships between employees. It’s a little over the top at times, and rates about a C-. But, frankly, it sounds possibly inspiring to me. Many of today’s critics seem to have trouble with movies with religious overtones.

The Answer:

Woody Woodpecker was always one of my favorites. May the old Lantz gang could make a feature film.

Happy relaxation day!

Love your weekend…E-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y!