World View: etc!: Tom says it all.

Today's Tids Issue 5,702

Wacky is as Wacky does:

Maybe this afternoon President Biden will pardon Donald Trump. There is an element of truth to that observation as whacky as it sounds. But that is the world we live in now.

“That's the last time I pet a lion,” Tom said offhandedly.

Meanwhile as Americans honor Jimmy and watch in horror as California burns.; as we buy more than we need, yet always find something in our hearts to help others,... China, Russia, Iran and the rest are plotting away to make life difficult for the new president of these United states. As the old saying goes, nary a day passes when some evil mind is concocting a devious scheme. You never heard that old saying... Hmmmm.

The Question:

What is the story behind the phrase “Crossing the Rubicon”? Bonus: What is meaning and origin of the phrase “I'm all sixes and sevens”? Extra Bonus: What were the first five southern states to secede from the Union?

The Headlines:

--Trump Sentencing Today Will Set in Motion His Appeal; Judeg Sentences him to “Unconditional Discharge”. Sentence Brings no Penalties but has Him Entering White House a Convicted Felon; Trump Lawyers Initiate an Appeal. (See word whacky above)

--Markets Uneasy; Jobs Report adds 256,000 December Jobs Blowing Past Expectations by 100,000; Strong Showing has Markets Pulling Back as I high-Interest rate Fears Reemerge.

--LA Fires to Resurge today as Santa Ana Winds return with Velocity.

--Tesla Board Members to return $919 Million to Company In Settlement of Lawsuit Claim that Directors Overpaid Themselves; Minnesota Judge Orders My Pillow's Mike Lindell to Pay DHL Delivery Service $778 000 to Cover Unpaid Invoices.

--Macys Names 66 Stores Set for Closure.

--Notre Dame Kicks its way Past Penn State in Final Seconds; ND to reach National Championship Game; Irish Rejoice.

Up in Minnesota’s Rice Lake will see large groups of fish named Large Mouth Buffalo Fish. Growing to over 50 pounds, they are teh longest living fish, many reaching over 100 years. The cool part of the story is that they seem to get healthier as they age!! Maybe there's a fountain of youth in there somewhere. I'll always keep a bottle of LM Buffalo Fish Juice next to my Cheeto bags.

“I've lost a lot of weight,” Tom expounded.

After the very nice service for Jimmy Carter, Trumps said Everybody there liked me.” That wasn't the point of it.

The Tids Pickers as you may have read earlier this week just missed by a smidge crossing into a 70%-win rate. But upon reading results for national experts, the TidsPickers were on Top. There are some good games this first “Wildcard” week of the playoffs. Farnkly, I think it is the best weekend of football each year. Tomorrow, we have two good games with the Chargers at Houston and the Steelers at Baltimore. The Texans have looked iffy to me. So, I'll pick the Chargers who have looked sharp lately. The Steelers were a great story, but their flaws have been showing. As good as Pitt's coach can be, Baltimore looks like a world beater and possible SB participant. I'll take the Ravens. Moving to Sunday games we see another great story in Denver playing against Buffalo and superman Josh Allen. I think this will be closer than you may think. But I have to stick with the Bills. Will the Eagles’ Hurts be there for the Green Bay game? That is key. He looked sharp on Wednesday when he returned to practice. I have to pick the Iggles. Tampa Bay and Washington is a tossup to me. The Commanders are another story book team. The Bucs have been up and down. Somehow in the hunch side of my brain I see a win by Tampa Bay and Baker Mayfield. On Monday we have the Rams and Vikes in a game that has been moved to Arizona form LA because of the fires. I view this as a tossup too. The Rams have gotten stronger as the season wore on. And et Vikes managed to find wins when needed but seemed to struggle too much in key situations. I'll go Rams.

“I keep shocking myself,” Tom said revolted.

Harlan Coban’s Mysteries have all been very good on Netflix. His new one “Missing You”, though not critically acclaimed is now the number one show globally on the big Streaming machine. And I am enjoying the complexities.

Hey... thanks to a great old friend, music lover, sports nut, wit and creative quipster for leading me into Tom Swifties land today!

“I thought there were 50 cookies in this jar,” Tom recounted.

The Answer:

Crossing the Rubicon” is an idiom meaning “passing the point of no return.” Julius Caeser crossed the shallow border river separating Rome from Gaul illegally brought an army into Romes's provinces automatically starting a civil war. It had observers uttering another idiom, “The die is Cast.” which refers not to pouring molten metal into a mold, but to another Roman past time, “Casting the dice in a c game of “Chance”. Bonus: “At Sixes and Sevens” means at in a state fo confusion, disorganized; at odds, disagreeing. Shakespeare used it in Richard the II -- “All is uneven and all is left at six and seven.” It is also perhaps the result of a British Medieval Trade Guild squabble over which member should be sixth in line. Extra Bonus: South Carolina was first to go. They were followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama and Georgia. The rest of the 11 in order are Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee. Florida? I always thought that state was too laid back to do anything rash in those days.

I was going to end this Tids with “Georgia on my Mind" in honor of Jimmy Carter, But frankly, despite Kudos for Ray Charles, I never really liked that song.