Today's Tids Issue 4,809
There is sun up there somewhere beyond the clouds:
Happy New Year everybody. I won’t be up late enough to tell you that at 12:00:01. That’s for sure. But it’s been a good year fighting weird and strange together. It’s been fun each day for a couple of hours typing a wide variety of nonsense that may make you laugh and smile, think about the thrill of love, a sports teams, political lunacy, and some days stand up and shout so all can hear, “I cannot read one more bad pun.” I have found this screwball year that sitting inside is not as stimulating enough for a creative Tidster mind as walking around outside where the real ideas are found. You know, from real people. who are doing real people things, in a real people world? Not inside where everything is programmed for attainment, and is pretty repetitious. So, that’s what I have learned this year, that fresh air is better for a fresh Tids. Though fresh air is no cure at all for typos! So that’s what I learned this year. Get out and look around. You’ll be amazed at the wonders you will find.
“To the world you may be one person, but to one person you maybe the world.” --Doctor Suess.
I never realized that Doctor Suess was so smart.
Just in case you are interested, on today a year ago the health department of Wuhan China reported that 27 people were ill from a new strain of Viral Pneumonia which was traced back to a particular fish market. Yup, now you know the rest of the story.
Cartoon of the day is by Don Landgren. It shows the numbers 2021 with the Covid symbol as the Zero saying, “Who’s the new guy on the block?”, referring to the “1” at the end which is a hypodermic needle.
Isn’t giving $2,000 away to people for doing nothing kind of like getting people used to socialism? Or bribing people to vote?
The Question:
It’s hard to believe that some people don’t like cheese. But obviously it is true just like there are likes and dislikes for everything. That’s why we are individuals and should never be all lumped together. According to a large group of gourmets, what are the Top 10 best cheeses in the world? Bonus: Who replaced Boris Yeltsin as Russia President in 1999? Extra Bonus: When was the first NYC Times Square gathering for New Year’s Eve, and how many people were there?
The Headlines:
--Last Day Of Trading For 2020 Bland But Steady; New Jobless Claims Are Lower To 787,000 But Still Far Above Pre-Pandemic Average Of 200K.
--Senator Ben Sasse Calls Repubs Who Want Congress To Invalidate Millions Of Votes In The Recent Election, “Institutional Arsonists.”
--Pelosi Names Rear Admiral Margaret Grun Kibben As First Woman House Chaplain
--28 Dogs Dies After Eating Food Made By Sportmix Products.
Well, the NFL Picks are bound to be weird today because it’s hard to tell who had given up and who is still working to earn their salary. Last week The Tids-Pickers wee good going 12- 4 even with surprises losses by Cleveland and Washington. We are now at 168-68-1 (71.2%) This week could be a disaster with teams like Pitt and KC resting players, other’s like the Browns in a must win situation losing key players s to Covid. First lets get rid of the games that mean nothing. Minn will beat Detroit, Las Vegas will beat Denver, Mahomeless KC will lose to the LA Chargers and I am sad to say that my mighty Patriots will lose to the Jets which is actually looking like a team now. (The Patriots are in a meaningless game?)
A lot of teams are playing for seeding. Tampa Bay seems sharp now and should beat Atlanta, a team that has shown that it can beat anybody if the games were about 6 minutes shorter. Also looking to maintain a seeding is are Seattle, winning over San Fran and New Orleans I pick over Carolina. Green Bay is playing to retain Number one seed against team Chicago that needs a win makes it to the playoffs. I’ll pick the Bears. Baltimore needs victory to play later and will beat Cinncy. Dallas wins the lame ND FC East with a win over the Giants and a Washington loss to Philly. Sorry Dallas, you will win but so will Washington. Buffalo wants to keep their high seed and Miami wants in. I think Buffalo will win a very good game. Arizona v. LAR is interesting. They can both make it with a win. I pick Arizona to be in and knock out the Rams. Tenn has the edge on Indy if they win over Houston, which they will. They’re are in even if Indy beats lowly Jax, which they will. One of the most interesting game is Cleveland meeting Pitt. Cleve had it but surprisingly lost last week to the Jets. This week the Browns are still light with Covid outages. I think they suck it up with old fashioned Cleveland City fortitude and take Pitt; finally getting back to the playoffs after so many years.
Movie and theater people pride themselves on being called “actors”. With the rise of robocalling and digital scamming, actor is a pretty derogatory term. Actors can be anybody they want except themselves, and will anybody ever know them as people.
A wise friend of mine sent me a note with a little life’s parable that said, to teach at your best each day. you do not humiliate along the way.
Here’s a little story that you can think about. Around here, a Stop & Shop caught two women shoplifting five days before Christmas. They called the police after they saw the pair with two young children self-checking out but not scanning much of the purchases. When the young police officer came, she told him she needed food for her kids and that she had no job because of Covid restrictions. The Policeman, just a regular guy on the force thought the children reminded him of his kids, and bought the groceries and also good meal for Christmas. That’s a nice story. But it sparks lot of thoughts in these days of pandemic controls putting good people out of work. Like Jean Valjean going to jail for stealing a loaf of bread. But, what do you think of it? Should she be punished for breaking the law? There are food banks everywhere. Why didn’t she go there? Or is this just a nice story about a policeman with a big heart, that during this painful economic time, too many not due to their own selves are struggling just to survive. Do we need more blind eyes to laws? Or better enacting to provide for an intense short term economic emergence. Where is that vaccine to help the economically afflicted?
Georgia is in the process of coming down to $2,000 stimulus checks and nothing else.
I actually saw a headline this morning that said, “December 31 is the last day of 2020.”
The Answer:
#10 best cheese in the world is Pecorino. #9 is Parmesan (the king is Reggiano) and then moving upward we have Mozzarella, Gruyere, Gouda, Cheddar (English Cost), Camembert, Brei and at #2 Bleu ( All Bleu’s are not created equal). So what is Number 1? I think it is a bit of a surprise, but I love it – Asiago. Bonus: Vladimir Putin replaced Boris Yeltsin 21 years ago, and is now firm as Prez for the next 16 years. Extra Bonus: In 1904, 200, 000 gathered in Times Square to celebrate New Year. Today it will be empty.
In this land of plenty there is sadness. Covid has changed the balance sheet for many too many. Yet the world revolves to find another day, when the sun shines brightly once more. Let’s hope for every single person who somehow can’t see the sun above always there beyond the clouds. I wish you all a reprieve form the Covid sentence to home confinement. I feel quite bright myself, but I cannot stop thinking, feeling for those who have been hit so hard by this mess beyond their control. It’s one thing to sit and feel bored inside. It’s another thing to sit and wonder where the next meal is coming from.
I wish I could think of a funny joke. But, this time it was an entire year that was the joke on us.
