Underwhelming at best.

Today's Tids Issue 4,288

Go to bed early:

Well Tidsters, it is the last day of 2018. Of course, nothing changes when we begin a new one tomorrow, but hupersons seem to love demarcations., So, on it goes. 2018 was a bit topsy-turvy to say the least. Maybe more topsy for some and more turvy for others, but, when you think about it, that is basically how all years behave. In life in general there is so much more good than bad. And if everybody looks forward and upward, instead of inward to the retention of grudges and hate, the negativity tends to fade. Accomplishments ever so small build upon one another. Giving love almost always begets receiving it in return (Or, is that sympathy?), or at least softening a bitter heart. The world goes around, as they say. We have real disruptions and serious concerns and we have man-made self-rewarding disruptions. We tend to get by the immensity of natural disasters. Somehow the sprit always adjusts, though many tears may be shed along the way. So, if we can deal with the immensity that is real, we should have no problem overcoming the malevolent that is self-serving. So the year is at an end, and the next one will offer more challenges and always new rewards. There we are, right in the middle of the same place we were before champagne was hoisted.

A New Year’s Resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.

“Each device that connects to the internet becomes part of it.” That’s not very comforting.

Arthur Guinness began selling his precious, pleasantly dark nectar in Dublin Ireland on New Year’s Eve in 1759. Now that was probably a pretty good party. Also, in the ironic NYE fact book we learn that the big lighted ball may actually represent something pretty significant. (Although the promoters may not know it.) Yes, it was new Years Eve across the Hudson River in NJ when Thomas Edison first illuminated 40 incandescent bulbs. The incandescent bulb inventor is probably in Mayor DeBlasio’s Hall of Shame.

The Question:

What was Yvonne Elliman’s biggest hit? Bonus: It’s time once again for your favorite “Who are these people?” -- Celebs you have seen but probably don’t know. Or at least I don’t know. Well, at least, it’s fun for me. Jennifer Ehle, Michael Cudlitz, Patricia Clarkson, Barbara Steele, Shawn Hotosy and Patrick Fishler. New Year’s Day Bonus: Around this time in 1942 thousands of teens and young women stood in line to await the performance of Frank Sinatra at Times Square’s Paramount theater. T=What were teen and young women music fans of that era called?

The Headlines:

--Better News On US/China Trade Deals May Make Last Day On Wall Street A Happy One; Strong Opening Continuing Through Mid-Morning.

--Senator Graham Says His 2 Hour Meeting With Trump Was About Potential Shut Down Compromises; Trump Softening On Syria Pull-Out.

--Elizabeth Warren Announces She Is Forming And Exploratory Committee To Determine Possibilities of A 2020 Run; Warren Is First Dem Potential Candidate To Go Official.

--Economists Becoming Deeply Concerned Over The Ocasio-Cortez “Green New Deal” Which Among Other Things Would Immediately Close All Fossil Fuel Plants; Dinosaur Supporters Outraged.

--Amazon Announces Whole Foods Expansion; Sears Narrowly Avoids Liquidation, For ow.

--China Factory Economy Tightens; “R” Word Bing Mumbled For Possible Appearance In 2019.

--Bomb Explodes Outside Philippine Shopping Mall; Dozens Injured, Two Killed.

“Youth is when you are allowed to stay up late on New Years Eve. Middle Age is when you’re forced to.”

Why stay up til midnight to watch a 3-4 second ball-drop. I guarantee that somewhere there will be a cable news station repeating the event many times the next day. You can watch it all after a good sleep and sing Old Lang Sine to yourself. Perfect.

Why the “PC” movement will never work, Department:

A lot of people may want others to be just like themselves, and will chastise the others if they aren’t. But, almost all people would rather be who they are, like the happy guy in the new State run 102 screen legal sports gambling parlor who said yesterday, “There’s nothing like being in a room like this full of degenerates.”

Some people love helping others, like the Great Roberto Clemente who died on New Year’s Eve when a plane he had hired to deliver food to the needy crashed.

I don’t know about your state, but RI politicians are in deep panic mode as they face the real probability of losing a congress person due to population stagnation. Solution: Make the state affordable and livable to lure back all of those seniors and others who have established residency in Florida or other people friendly states. Easy-smeasy, right? But, I doubt if that has a chance. It is far more likely they will just try to get illegal immigrants certified as citizens.

The Adante Elegisco 3^rd movement from Tchaikovsky’s 3^rd symphony is pleasant listening.

Safe spot stock sectors for 2019 investing are most likely Utilities and Consumer Staples. All of the major Banks are overweighting those defensive investments. In addition, some are calling for overweighting Health Care and Banks. So that’s about it for excitement in a year that could be doubtful.

You may have heard it here first, but new house hunters are opting for galley kitchens over mammoth rooms with islands. You may remember that the Tids Interior Design (TID) editor could never figure out why people who vehemently said they hated galley kitchen always requested islands in mammoth rooms, which effectively created… the convenience of galley kitchens. Kitchen design should always be about functionality, which doesn’t mean more space. (Except on those cases where an ever-present non- cooking mate seems always in the way.) For that I’m writing a new pamphlet: “How to keep your mate happily cooking in the kitchen, by being in the right place at the right time.”

The next thing to go will be garish back splashes. New home buyers walk into a home and say things like, “O this is so 80’s” and then go for a trending, over the top back splash that in ten years will shout out “So 20teens”! Just put in what you like and keep it simple. You’ll like it longer.

By the way, I’m hearing that the new fashion rage in necklaces is the new lopsided style. If you want to appear more sophisticated, say Asymmetrical!

Unfortunately, each year tragedy is always a part of some lives somewhere. Good people stricken or struck down; mass disasters come out of nowhere. I always feel that nudge in my heart. Yet I have realized that the depth of feelings in any tragedy is generally directly proportional to the amount of pure love experienced before. And while deep love intensifies the loss, it also brings memories of beautiful happiness. And that, never goes away

Word of the day: Profundity: This is a noun meaning deep insight of knowledge or thought. It comes from Profound. Some synonyms are wisdom, intelligence, understanding, sagacity, acuity, perceptiveness, discernment, perspicuity and insight. I think it should be the word for 2019.

One thing young people have trouble understanding is how much their gaining maturity will add to a controlled life; eliminating confusion, adding to life’s daily delights.

Tchai’s 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd symphonies aren’t played as much as the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th, but they are worth the effort and your time.

Why can’t Politicians be sued for fraud when their performances don’t live up to the promises and the perfect characterizations deftly displayed in expensive TV commercials?

May all of your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions.” –Joey Adams

The Answer:

Yvonne Elliman, a Hawaiian, was discovered in London by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber and thus became Mary Magdalene in the original Broadway cast of Jesus Christ Super Star. I know her best for singing, “I don’t know how to love him”. Bonus: Jennifer Ehle is a quite accomplished actress having won UK’s Bafta Award for best actress in the BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice. She also has won two Tony’s for best Actress and for best Featured Actress. She is currently in the movie Vox Lux. You probably know Michael Cudlitz better as John Cooper in Southland or Sergeant Bull Randleman in Band of Brothers or Abraham Ford in The Walking Dead. Patricia Clarkson has been nominated multiple times for all of the available acting awards. Her first two roles were in “The Untouchables” and Clint’s “Dead Pool”. You may have seen her quite recently prominently featured in TV’s “House of Cards” and “Sharp Objects”. You would know her if you saw her. She won Prime Times Emmy’s for “Six Feet Under”. Horror film fans know Barbara Steele for many of her best ventures. Like Nightmare Castle and Black Sunday among many. She won an Emmy as producer of Winds of War and War and Remembrance. You have seen her on TV in Dark Shadows and much more.  Shawn Hotosy was Sammy Bryant in Southland and had good roles in many films like “In & Out’< “the Faculty” and “Outside Providence”. He is currently Pope Cody in the TNT series Animal Kingdom. You may know Patrick Fischler best as Jimmy Barrett on Mad Men. He has been in many films like Mulholland Drive and The Black Dahlia. He is also in modern media, video games. He was gangster Micky Cohen in “LA Noire”. It takes a lot of actors and actresses to churn out all those films and series to satisfy the enormous appetites of Netflix and the rest of streamers, which will only continue to grow and seek nourishment.  New Years Bonus: Of course, some of you remember the “Bobbysoxers”!

In some regards, Yvonne Elliman was the Perfect Mary Magdalene. While a very talented singer in her youth, she had little interest in singing. Her hero was Grace Slick and she sought to venerate the White Rabbit singer more by using drugs and living in the cellar, than by singing. But something happened along the way, and she was resurrected.

Maybe that’s the New Year’s message: There’s always hope.

Mark Twain: New Years is a harmless annual institution of no particular use to anybody…”

H-a-p-p-y  N-e-w  Y-e-a-r  -- E-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y!! And may you all enjoy the blessings of profundity.

Do not press send.

Today's Tids Issue 4,287

Football and whatever:

Could it be that the stocks are seriously squishy because investors are looking for Tax losses? Could be something there, as reporting for 2018 tax season under the Trump tax program eliminates several deductions like unlimited state and local taxes and mega mortgage deductions, among others. You never know.

Well, this looks like a pretty good weekend for important football games, pro and college. That is if you are a football fanatic like me. If you’re not I commend you for being who you are. There are fanatics of all kinds, and frankly I’m jealous of people with the ability to focus attention on their creative hobbies. I’ve been mesmerized by builders of ridiculously complex gingerbread houses lately and have always been of people who can play music on an instrument. As you can see from the Tids, focus is not my idle name, so I admire all those have extreme patience and those singular directional beams. I am just in awe of all kinds of people making, inventing, creating; of personal favorite pastimes with results that are entirely amazing. Let’s hear it for all those people who do things well and are just plain contented in their excellence.  

Why is it that Democrats think Super-Delegates are fine, but they have a problem with the electoral college?

The Question:

Who was the first US Vice President to reign? Bonus: Who was the Husband/ Wife British Co-Monarchy of the late 1600’s?

The Headlines:

--Stocks Pointed To Higher Opening Following Yesterday’s Near 800 Point Turn-Around, But Dow Fell Into Red During Morning Only To Remerge By Noon; S&P And Nasdaq Sank At Noon After Being Higher Earlier; More Investors Moving To Safety Of Gold.

--Sears Has Less Than 24 Hours To Survive.

--With US Withdrawal, Syrian Kurdish Leaders Looking To Russia And Assad.

--NYC Seeing Noticeable Exodus Of Large Chain Retailors And Food Places.

--Trump Warns That He Will Close Southern Border Entirely If Dems Don’t Move To Fund,; Rep Mark Meadows Suggests Shut Down Could be Very Long.

--Oldest US man, US WWII Vet Richard Overton, Does At 112.

--Popular LA Morning News TV Personality Chris Bourrous Is latest To Fall To Poisonous Drug Use.

I read that novel by Bill Clinton and James Paterson and all I can say is that if I had submitted it to a publisher it would still be on the bottom of the pile and getting buried deeper every day with each new submission.

This is the final NFL regular season week, and it has some critical showdown matches. Probably the best matchup is between two teams with chances – Tenn and Indy. The winner gets a wildcard. If the Texans lose, the winner gets the Div title. Tough pic. The Tenn D is good and they play very well at home. But Mariotta is hurt and Luck is Hot. I’m staying with the Titans. The Texans must beat the Jags to take NFC South (Or have a Colts-Titans tie) and they will make it happen. The Patriots need a win over the rival Jets to keep their valuable first round bye. A loss here would open the door for several teams looking for that precious bye. If KC an LAC lose, the Pats go to #1 AFC seed. They will beat the Jets in a tough one, but KC or LAC will be ahead of them. If the Eagles beat the rival Redskins and the Vikes lose, they will get the WC. The Skins will play tough, but Mr. backup, Foules will guide the Igs to a chance to repeat. Another really big game of the day is between the Browns and Ravens. The Ravens win and they are AFC North champs. But, Cleveland and a super confident Mayfield will push them to the wall. The Browns are playing for a winning season. I have to pick a good Ravens team with their own super young QB at home (But I’ll be rooting for the Browns). The Bears-Vikes is also meaningful, especially for the Vikes, who are at home. If the Bears win, they get the Bye. But if the Vikes win they get in the tournament. I like Chi, but I’m picking Minn. The Steelers till have a chance to make it, if the Browns beat the Ravens and they win at home against Cinn. They will win…and wait. (Note, the Steelers and Ravens both play at 4:25, so there will be scoreboard watching for sure.)

The rest of the games are pretty much meaningless. Dallas plays the Giants at home and the Cowboys have remote chance for a bye if they win. But, the Giants at home may be playing for Eli in his last game(?). I’ll pick the Giants. The Seahawks are playing for seeding and should win. The Cards are playing for #1 Draft pick. The Rams can clinch a 1^st round bye with a win. This could be a better game than it appears as SF has beaten LAR in 4 straight week 17 games. But, not this year. LAR wants that Bye. The Chiefs also need to beat their lackluster opponent for the number one bye. Oakland may give them a tussle but KC will win it at home. The LA Chargers can jump into the #1 AFC position with a win against the fading Broncos and a KC loss. KC won’t lose, and neither will LAC. Truly meaningless games are Bills-Dolphins and I’m taking the Bills. The Pack should beat the fading Lions at home. The Saints are on top and they won’t be budged by the Panthers. The Bucs will leave their Tampa Bay fans happy with a win over the mysterious Falcons. Obviously, there is no hope for the Tids Pickers to salvage this season. After last week they are hanging around a mediocre 6i% at an overall record of 143-94 -1

If Dems don’t want foreigners in our elections, why do they think it is alright for illegals to vote?

I learned early in business to wait a day before sending out an angry letter. 99.9% of the time it never went out.

As more and more people opt for SUV’s and Crossovers, not to mention the dominant Pick-ups. Big automakers are scrapping many, some very popular, long time brands. Among those are Ford Taurus, Ford Focus, Ford C-Max, Chevy Impala, Chevy Cruze, Chevy Volt, VW Touareg, the iconic VW Beetle, Hyundai Azera, Honda CR-Z, Toyota Prius V, Nissan Juke, Cadillac CT6 and Cadillac ATS,

Many people didn’t buy the Chevy Cruze because it was seen as normalizing bad spelling.

The VW Touareg was spelled so weirdly that nobody could pronounce or type it correctly into auto web sites.

The VW Beetle? Aaaaaaarghhh!

There are so many instances about how he mass distribution of information in nanoseconds is bad for an orderly, cooperative, civilized society that they are innumerable. The latest biggie is from none-other than the US president who while in Iraq tweeted out the location and faces of our elite seal team.

And then, there is the power of old-fashioned music. A man stressed by after the separation from his wife barricaded himself in his home and began shooting his rifle several times at the police. After ten hours, he emerged quite peacefully. One Swat team officer sang “White Christmas”. The man Nathanial Lewis said all he wanted was to hear that Christmas Carol. Yes, music doth have charms.

 There is no question in my mind that the states are legalizing marijuana to make money off of taxes. This is not an altruistic movement. Now Marijuana industry people, especially in California, are learning what many business people have suffered for years, the governments can beat business into submission though taxes and regulations. Cal is taxing this industry using their “Triple Sin Tax” formula which after all taxes are added up comes to 34%! Talk about “high”. The squeeze is on.

From what I have seen in polls from several sources, Hispanics are not risiung up in unison against Trump. Yes, many of these new ligit Americans from Central and South America deplore the idea of people entering unlawfully.

Drugs don’t adhere to demographic favoritism to kill.

Reading Between the Lines Movie Reviews:

--Stan Ad Ollie is the career and life story of two of the funniest guys I remember from the black and white tube. I couldn’t get enough of them. This flick tells their tale well. It follows the end of their wonderful career and their realization of how much they meant to each other. It can’t eb bad.

--Destroyers a so-so movie about Nicole Kidman as an undercover cop in a California gang who in the end goes back to face her demons. It is mystery and seems a bit grimy. People in general are not jumping up and down. Critics like it a bit.

--On the Basis of Sex is the story of a young lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It will be adored by RBG fans, but seems lackluster to many who have seen it.

--Veep is the story of Dick Cheney as VP and I suspect it is not kind to a man not highly regarded in glitter city. Frankly it befuddles my mind that somebody thought it worthy of investment. Despite hype for an Oscar, the reaction on the street so far is uninspiring, again. They are calling it “The epic story about a bureaucrat…Reshaping the country and the globe…” I don’t get it. I might see it anyhow.

                                                                                 

The Answer:

John C. Calhoun resigned from the Andrew Jackson Admin because of personal differences. This deep southern politician and orator who was educated at Yale and the first Law School in Litchfield Connecticut, changed from being a nationalist to a state’s rights, minority party, slave-plantation advocate. Bonus: Queen Mary II and King William III ruled Jointly from 1689 until 1694 when Mary died.

Have a great Weekend -- E-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y!!