War drums and ho-hums.

Today's Tids Issue 3,923

For Largess:

It’s pretty easy to survive the summer if you just stand in the shade. Many problems are not very complex at all.

I’m not liking the drumbeat of negativity coming out of Wall Street the past two days. The markets just came through a pretty successful earnings report season, but the rhythmic beating of the war message seems to be reverberating a little too loudly in the corner offices above the exchanges. And they ain’t dancing! I believe more than a few investors see the market as too high and many may be looking for a little pessimism that could take it down a notch. Many investors appear to agree, except, that is, those who actually need the money.

What do call inchworms in countries outside the US?

One of the most overused and watered-down terms in this era of mass communications is “Breaking News”.

These dog days seem to be taking the bark out of the Tids. I think it is a climate change thing.

Loved watching the Pats play last night. I’m sure you all felt the same if your teams were premiering 2017 on Thursday. 20 days to September.

The Question:

What is a Fanilow? Bonus: What are the top five NCAA Football Teams in preseason ticket sales?

The Headlines:

--Markets Open Lower But Quickly Turns Positive After Inflation Data Comes Out Soft.; Old JC Penny And Newbie Snap Treated Equally Harshly After Poor Performance Reports.

--Trumps Declares Opioid Problem A National Emergency

--Former UN Ambassador Susan Rice Says She Accepts The Characterization That Three Presidencies Prior To Trump Failed On NK Situation.

--Dictator Maduro Looking To Have Meeting With Trump.

--La Governor Edwards Declares Emergency in New Orleans. Says Faulty Pumping System Unable To Combat Flooding.

--Taylor Swift Graphically Describes Butt Grab At Law Suit Trial.

You can tell when an old guy misses out on the cool-O-meter – he tucks his T-Shirt into his shorts. And wears socks with his sandals. Hey. look at me man, I’m cool, I’m hip.

A war against North Korea would be insane. I can’t actually envision the outcome, but it would be horrendous at best.

I tend to lean towards Rory McIlroy because of the curved brim on his hat. I’m superficial that way.

One of our astute Tids readers suggests the PBS series “Tunnel” and the new version of “Prime Suspect” as great TV entertainment.

It appears to me that Alibaba may be one of the strongest companies on the planet. Their biggest problem is managing the whims of the Chinese government.

The good news on the computing front is that complex passwords are not necessary. Aside from the associated headaches that come from trying remember combinations of numbers, letters and symbols, there is according to new research little additional security to be gained. Hackers can crack it if they want to.  

Some phrases you should never use at work, some which can be deemed insulting, others naive while others just plain old and tired: “No Offense”, “At my last job we…”, the stale “Out of the Box”, “With all due respect”, “It is what it is”; a couple of overdone oldies – “Hit the ground running” and the somewhat juvenile “No brainer” should all be deep sixed. You could add to the no-no list the cliché “Bang for the buck”. Some others are “Elephant in the room”, “Low hanging fruit” and “Get the ball rolling” all of which should also be removed from your instant response vocabulary. Personally, I always tied to refrain from using other persons favorite and much too common phrases. One that com so mind was “Rock and a hard place.” Did I say “Deep sixed”?

By now many of you have noticed the national excitement over the NYC restaurant Cheetah, which specializes in Cheeto based gourmet offerings. You are always years ahead of trends by reading the Tids.

Noshing Tip: When plans include eating a bag of Cheetos in public, always wear an orange shirt.

In case you are interested, seven to nine-foot-long bluefin tuna are biting quite nicely this summer. Makes you feel good about the oceans, doesn’t it?

I believe it is good when Wall Street beats down underperforming formerly hot IPO’s. This is what didn’t happen during the Dot.Com fiasco of the 2000.

Reading Between the Lines, Movie Reviews:

--Good Time seems to be in limited release, but it may be worth the effort to find a theater showing this crime drama about a botched robbery that lands the younger brother of the main character in prison. Starring Robert Pattison as the older sibling, it is a fast paced and perilous journey through the NYC underworld; a scary race against a speeding clock to get the bro out of jail before evil deeds take place.

--Critics don’t appear to like the movie from the popular book White Castle. But audiences are enjoying the show. You may know that this is a true story about the life and success of Jeannette Walls after growing up in a dysfunctional family in poor West Virginia. Personally, I don’t like Woody Harrelson (Who plays the father), especially when he is laying somebody dysfunctional. Wait, he’s always dysfunctional!

--Remember “Chucky”? Well there is one freakily looking doll in The Annabelle Creation. A couple loses a child, and while distraught begin taking in children from a local orphanage. Seems upbeat, until the demented doll takes over.

--Ingrid Goes West is a kind of creepy story abo Ingrid an “Unhinged social media stalker” who confuses “Likes” for meaningful relationships. (Doesn’t everybody?). A woman named Taylor is an Instagram famous influencer (Whatever that means, and she becomes Ingrid’s newest obsession. It is called a “savagely, hilarious dark comedy” that satirizes social media.” Sounds good to me.

--Kids and families tend to like any animated film. But critics say that The Nut Job2: Nutty By Nature is really bad. You have been warned.

The Answer:

A fanilow is a term ascribed to all those who adore the singer Barry Manilow. Yes, that is a real group of happy people still hanging onto the old songs. Bonus: Number one in preseason ticket sales is U Michigan. Next is Notre Dame followed by Alabama, Penn State and the Ohio State. Last year’s NCAA champ Clemson is tenth.

It gets pretty bad when the writer of the Tids starts yawning. But, that’s what seems to happen around the Middle of August – ennui.

May your weekend be full of great naps, E-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y!!