Christmas.

Today's Tids Issue #2,494
Opening Stuff:

Linus, dragging his blanket, walked to center stage.

"Ahem."
"And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shown around them! And they were some afraid...And the Angel said unto them, 'Fear not. For, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all my people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the King. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly Host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, and good will toward men."

"That's what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown."

Santa's Sack:

While the RI Governor was declaring it a "Holiday tree", employees throughout the Statehouse were erecting creches and menorahs. In fact there are this morning (Pre ACLU) over twelve scenes of the Birth of Christ, each representing one of the many ethnic groups in RI. You can pass the edict but you can't take the truth our of the heart.

Former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Brayton Edwards has become known for some of his off-field antics. But it should be his off-field heart that gets the notice today. About six years ago he told youngsters in schools across the city that if they worked hard and achieved a 2.5 GPA, he would give them $10,000 towards college. Yesterday he made good on that promise giving 79 kids a head start to a better life. In case you are multiplying, that's about $800,000.

The Question:

What is the more popular name for "Account of a visit by Saint Nicholas"? Who wrote it? When?

The Good News:

--New Polls: APgF Poll 1 On Christmas Says that 71% (Up From 58%) Of US Moms Believe In The Magic Of Santa Clause, For Themselves And Kids. Men Also Believe. Adults Says Big Guy Reminds Them Of Trust; APgF Poll 2 - 77% Of Americans Believe In Angels; 92% Of all Adults believe In God.
--Teen Comes Out Of Coma And Miraculously Heads Towards Regaining Full Life; Boy Had Been Prepped For Organ Donations; Docs Amazed.
--House Agrees To Continue Reduced Social Security/Medicare Contributions.
--Christ Church New Zealand Hit Again by Strong Quakes.
--Paul May Run As 3rd Party "Antiestablishment Candidate.
--Violence Continues In Streets In Lands Of Christs Birth.
--November Retail Sales Mediocre.

Lets hope all of those people who were pushing each other around on Black Friday find piece on Christmas day.

Melanie Amaro winning the X-Factor last night restores my faith in the judgement of mankind. And Josh Krajcik taking second place is a great choice too.

As a Christmas gesture, I promise to say nothing about Obama's inept leadership today.

Reading between the lines movie Reviews:
--You may have seen War Horse before -- Lassie, Black Beauty, Flipper. But none of these bring history to lefie as does tis picture abotu boys horse going off to World War I. This is very well done as we follow the boy's search for his best friend, the horse.
--Hollywood actually did a great job keeping the authenticity of the resignal The Girl with the Dragon tattoo alive and well, and exciting and tense. In fact the only difference is the absense of sub titles. I saw the original and loved it.
-- We Bought a Zoo won't do well with the critics I hear, and frankly I wasn't captivated by the trailers. But, I have a feeling that families with kids will like it a lot. Just so long as they don't overdo the animal rights thing. It's predictable and the title is the plot.
--The Adventures of Tintin is an English classic tail of a cautious reporter and his dog snowy who discover a model ship carrying an explosive secret. The bad guy Sakharine has him in his sights bu snow saves the day. Better than average Kids movie.

Almost Near: Chapter 55 continues. --That felt strange thought Tucker as he walked into the hotel.He normally felt comfortable, very comfortable with Audrey. I'll have to do something about that he thought.
His mood was interrupted by the flickering of lights to his right. He smiled immediately at the gigantic Christmas tree before him, with red and blue and green and yellow lights. With everything going on, he had totally forgotten about his favorite day.
He stopped, and sat in one of those cozy, leather lobby chairs and just exhaled at the view. His mind raced back to those childhood days in New Castle. And most prominent in those scenes he now created in his mind, was a smiling, laughing, beautiful Samantha. How he loved that girl of 12. He thought back pleasantly at how they grew together in love until that fateful day ten years later, when she walked away. Just said good-bye and walked out of his life. But, he thought Samantha will never be out of his life.
"Hark the Herald Angels Sing..." Tucker looked over at the carolers now singing robustly of good cheer, stood and started to sing along, remembering how beautiful his life used to be.

The Answer:

Of course I'm talking about Clement Moore's "Twas the night before Christmas", written in 1823. Moore's house is up the hill around the corner from here. It looks like the perfect Christmas house! Wtih frilly gingerbread woodwork on evry of the 12 eaves.

Merry Christmas everybody. What "Moore" can I say. Oh yeah... "And to all a good night!"

The US of China.

Today's Tids Issue 2,477

Opening Stuff:

The only things more irritating than calling a Christmas tree a "Holiday" tree, are the convoluted explanations that follow to justify the irrationality. We used to come together as a nation to celebrate a special day -- C-h-r-i-s-t-m-a-s. We celebrated the Birth of Christ on Christmas. And the C-h-r-s-t-m-a-s Tree was a treasured symbol. And now we are getting Materialism Month, and anything goes. Sanctity be damned. Christ? What does he have to do with anything? To many seem to be able to cede the meaning of Christmas to others. Out of "Fairness". Too many have become more interested in celebrating the growth of the China economy. Count me out.

Speaking of fading American substance, today we learn sadly of the closing of the Steuben Glass Factory, one of the last remaining symbols of true American craftsmanship. I guess the new mantra today is, if you can't cheapen it effectively or make it in China then it's bye-bye -- To grand traditions and the master craftsman employees.

The Question: David Mamet, one of our great theatrical writers, has won numerous awards for plays and movies. For which Tony Award winning play is he best known. Name five other of his more famous works -- in movies and theater.

The Headlines:

--Central Banks In US, EuroZone, Canada, Switzerland, Britain and Japan Take Action To Avoid Global Liquidity Crunch.

--Wall Street Jumps At Central Bank Action; DOW Near 400 At 10:30.

--Islamist Apparent Victory In Egypt Poses New Problems For US.

--S&P Downgrades Credit Rating Of 15 Big Banks; Action Will Add To bank Costs.

--Private Sector Adds 206K Jobs IN November; Biggest Jump Since December 2010; 564,297 Year-to-Date Job Cuts Higher Than 2010.

--UK Expels Iranian Diplomats.

--200 OWS Arrested In LA; 50 In Philly As Cities Try To Clean Up Mess.

--Nutcracker Begins At Newport's Rosecliff.

Black Friday Turns Red China Green Department:

226 million Americans spent $52.5 Billion this past weekend and the happiest group on earth are the Chinese workers and growing middle class in that humongous country. Over fifty percent of all products, including Apple, were made in China factories, while another large percentage of the most popular gifts came from Korea, Japan, Europe and India. There was a time when retail sales were just the tip of the deep American economy. Now US retailing is the indicator for a global economy.

I get Omaha Steak emails all of the time. You know the ones that say "Prices Slashed". So I decided to take a closer look. What a rip off! For instance, 10 6oz Tenderloin steaks for $165 reduced to $114 is reducing a $44/pound steak to $32/lb! No steak is that much better. I mean a well trimmed superior tenderloin in a supermarket may be around $16/lb. Omaha has done a brilliant job of creating the illusion of perfection. Maybe they should start making them in China!

Speaking of agendas, the RI PUC keeps pushing the ocean windmill project, which would produce electricity at a cost "3 times" higher than gas generated or that from other common sources. And nobody in officialdom seems to care that the company that would be hurt most is one of the biggest employers in the state. This in RI with the 6th highest unemployment in the nation and well above its five New England neighbors.

By the way, if anybody is thinking of giving me a gift certificate for the new chi-chi Providence Restaurant - The Dorrance - forget about it.

Somebody is always trying to slip it to us. The little folks with agendas, like changing "Christmas " to "Holiday", use the media to plant subtle messages disguised as humorous asides. For instance, last night on the crime show Body of Proof, a tired Meghan Hunt comes home only to find she must now do battle with her annoying precocious daughter, who in a flippant manner strolls through the kitchen, peeks at her moms meal and mutters "Meat is Murder".

By the way, did I say "Good Riddance" to Barney yet. Despite the fawning of the liberal press, American will be a better place with his retirement.

Almost Near: Chapter 51 continues. --"Well Samantha, ready to do some heavy lifting." Sparrow stopped, looked around. Her chair was empty. He walked towards the table, placed one cup of coffee near her place thinking that she was probably in the Ladies room. He notice the open folder and a large color picture of her father staring up at him. Uh-oh, he thought. He pulled out his internal communications device. "Jessie, have you seen that woman who was in here with me. No?" He slammed the cover shut, and ran from the room to his assistant. "Angie, go into the ladies room and see if there is a woman in there. She's good looking, about five foot four, brownish hair, wearing a dull orangy top.
 "Dull orangy?" Angie smiled at him and seeing is concerned jumped up and ran into the ladies room. He heard the stall doors slamming. Within seconds though she came out, hands extended, palms up, "Nothin' boss."
  Sparrow looked worried now. This was a fragile woman, he knew. The photo of her dad must have triggered something. His phone rang, The desk Sergeant Jessie was calling. "I think I seen her John. She ran out the front door."
  Before Jessie finished, Sparrow was running. His leather shoes slid as he tried to take a corner too fast. He awkwardly stumbled into the front room where Jessie was pointing to the door. "always chasin' the women, eh John." But Sparrow wasn't laughing.
  Hhe opened the door, squinted at the bright sun. And then nearly tripped over Samantha, who was lying on the bottom step. A little blood tickling down her scalp. Sparrow knelt. "Samantha, Samantha."

The Answer:

Of course, Glengarry Glen Ross was his best know play, and a very successful movie (With a fantastic performance by Alec Baldwin). He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow and oscar nominations for one of my favorites The Verdict and Wag the Dog. Some other early plays were American Buffalo, Sexual Perversity in Chicago and one with a great title Keep Your Pantheon. He wrote the screen plays for The Postman Always Rings Twice and the Untouchables. He directed movies -- House of Games, Heist and The Spanish Prisoner -- all about con-men and the games they play.

Chinese checkers anybody? I know where you can get some cheap.

Jingle Bells.

Today's Tids Issue 2,467

Opening Stuff:

Welcome to the Tids Annual big Christmas edition. Rudolph, Santa and all the elves generally show up and regale our readers with tales of getting the goods made and out to you, and....What?...It's not Christmas. But what about all of those decorations up a month and the Santa comercials...and the panhandlers with "Happy Holiday's" signs. I thought we had already passed Thanksgiving...Oh, that was advertised in August? Oh well, I guess that means there really is still time to put Christ back into Christmas. Sorry folks, back to the regular crap.

It looks like Rhode Island's new genuine hero Gina was not too fond of yesterday's remarks by Chafee-Lite, calling the surprising comments political sniping. This is a critical time for Rhody and its effort to pass a pension reform act, and Treasurer Raimondo emphasizes that all parties driving to fix underfunded pension debt must bond together as a unified force in the face of the typical unrelenting Union opposition. If the legislature can bore down and find the guts, the passage of this bill will assure RI as the first state in the USofA to get runaway pension costs under control. Well... sorta under control...for a political entity.

The OWS protesters held a sign yesterday that read "You can't evict an idea." And, what exactly is that ide?. Comon, help me on this one.

The Question:
Who was just named "Sexiest Man Alive" by People mag? Name others who have won.

The Headlines:

--Oil Up; Stocks Down.
--Bullet Found In White House Window; Mentally Deranged Man Suspected.
--Social Network Generated Boycott Of Kardashians Gaining Steam; Petition Signers Tired Of Program's Emphasis On Vanity, Greed, Promiscuity, Vulgarity And Over The Top Conspicuous Consumption.
--Prez Ok's Permanent US Military Installation In Australia; Strategy Designed To Control. Emergence Of China.
--Man Gets $500K In Pirates Gold At Storage Unit Auction.
--FaceBook Fighting Flood Of X-Rated And Violent Spam; Hackers Finding FaceBook Good Way To Pass Around Viruses Through Friends.

Of course, RI isn't the only entity with out-of-control spending. The Feds along with the Kardashians have written the book on over spending. But, that's all about to be resolved in the SuperCommittee. Right! Wrong. The Dems can make lots of political gains by not going along with needed reform of the big entitlements. By not compromising with Repubs, Dems preserve their ability to campaign to the nation that the GOP wants to throw grandma off the cliff and preserve millionaire tax cuts. Oh the Dems will posture, but politics will as usual win the day over honest results. It also behooves the Repubs not to agree thus creating the stalemate that would trigger automatic cuts in Defense and Domestic programs. Horrors -- The Repubs are cutting Deefense. It isn't so bad as these cuts won't be implemented til 2013 and are over a ten year period. Many an admin and congressional change will take place allowing Repubs to put back the defense dollars. Oh yeah, a Dem leader on the committee has said he as seen no sign of his guys being able to coalesce over one idea. No matter how you look at it, the Democrats are in control and will be the winners if nothing is done.

Did you realize that within two years of retiring from the NFL, 78% of the players are bankrupt!

I don't know how many of you heard that weird interview with alleged rapist Sandusky. His strange views of the events and his proclivity towards young boys sound like the talk of a man used to getting his way gullible children. He seems convinced that intelligent adults will submit to his fairy tales. Just as the innocent children he abused did.

Retired men often find that shopping is not high on their list of exciting things to do. One creative geezer found ways to pass the boredom in stores like Target. In fact he was barred from the store for stunts like hiding in clothes racks and saying "Pick me, Pick me", or while handling a rifle in the Hunting Department asking a clerk where the antidepressants were...among other inventive diversions. Thanks to NanaDoll for that report.

Science has a new report that says women who have carried and given birth to twins will on average live longer than women who haven't.

I read where 40,000 or so years ago the Homo Sapians arose and because of their much higher intelligence obliterated the neanderthal population that had reigned for millions of years before. But, not so fast. The same report also says that Neanderthal DNA has also been found in existing populations. Frankly, as I look around I think the neanderthal is making a comeback.

But then, if nothing is done by the SuperCommittee, there still will be Political winners and losers. But what about the people and the nation? Does anybody really care, or is everything still just about the next election. It is expected that if nothing happens by November 23, the credit rating of the US will receive another downgrade. But, some politicians will win. Doesn't that make you feel warm and fuzzy all over -- happy Politicians.

The Answer:
A bewildered Bradley Cooper questions hhis choice as Hottie of this year. Others have been Jude Law,, Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Matthew McConaughey, and Johnny Depp. I'm checking out plastic surgeons now.

Life is good today, except for all of the "Almost Near" readers.

I am trying to be nice, Santa.

Today's Tids Issue 2,259

Opening Stuff:

The Christmas season starts to get serious beginning today. Anybody have any good ideas for gifts?

In honor of the Christmas Spirit, I will discontinue any discussion about politics. In fact, politics is probably as far away from the true meaning of Christmas as you can get. Actually, when a politician says he or she is doing something for us in the "Spirit of Christmas", it is probably a good idea for taxpayers and honest people to duck and cover. Realistically, it is probably impossible to stay away from mentioning politics. So I lied. I wasn't expecting anything from Santa anyhow.

Is Santa Claus of today more generous...or are parents of today just leaving bigger tips?

The Question:
Christmas Double Special: 1.Give me five different names for the lovable gent who rides in a sleigh drawn by reindeer and slides down chimney's with a sack full of gifts. 2. Name the 7 states with an eight digit population. The 7 under a million. The states that will lose congressional seats.

The Headlines;

--Drenched California Awaits Even Bigger Storms.
--South Korea Holds Massive Military Drills; Warns North Korea To Stifle It Or Else.
--Mortgage Apps Drop To Lowest Level In year.
--Investors Enter 2011 Riding the Bull.
--Start Vote Set For Today.
--Insurance Industry Says The Kia, Hyundai And Volkswagen/Audi Have Most Safest Cars (9); GM , Ford And Toyota Next With 8; Next In Line With 4 Are Chrysler, Subaru, Volvo, Mercedes..
--Chevy Volt's Millage Claims In Doubt.
--RI Manufacturing Association Files Legal Paper Against Wind Power Company; Says Double The KW Costs Plus Guaranteed 3.5% Annual Increase Would Drive Businesses Out Of State.

Back to More Stuff:

What kind of name is "The Edge"? After the disasters at the big Broadway spectacular Spiderman, this co-producer along with Bono should legally change his first name to "Living on".

What kind of name is Bono?

I predict next year that Bret Farve will sign with the Washing Redskins after the loony Dan Schnyder promises to get get Congress to erect a Potomac River Bridge named after BF.

Have you noticed that when you say "BF" fast it sounds just like "BS"?

And then there are the UConn Women. Talk about team play and hustle. Maybe that's why John Wooden's grandson Greg who attended the game that broke Wooden's record said: "He would have been thrilled. He would have been absolutely thrilled to see his record broken by a women's basketball team. He (John Wooden) thought that in the past ten years the best basketball was played at the collegiate level -- and it wasn't by the men." Of course there are the louts who say it really isn't a record because it was women, and they had no competition. Forgetting that in the UCLA era there weren't many men's teams with the all-star power of the Bruins.

Reading between the Lines Movie Reviews
--Critics are loving True Grit out today just in time for Christmas. I sense that some of this has to do with the fact that most critics adore the Coen brothers. But, this movie about a 14 year old girl hiring a wahed up Marshall, Rooster Cogburn, to track down and kill the murderer of her father is well done. The best acting is by Matt Damon as a Texas Ranger hunting down Rooster and Hallie Steinfeld as the 14 yo. Mattie. In fact she may steal the show, Jeff Bridges is Ok, but somewhat flawed, a little over the top, as Rooster.
--I thought the original Meet the Parents was a one joke movie. I didn't like Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers is a step below that, relying on cheap gags and lowest common denominator humor. You won't see me there even if the popcorn is good.

This is kind of scary for the future of our military. 1 in 4 successful applicants can't pass the entrance exam. Questions are like "2 + X = 4. Find X?" Even more discouraging is that 75% of potential applicants can't pass muster to get to the testing phase because they are either physically unfit, have criminal records or no high school diploma. Those who can't get in become college student athletes.

The new Food Safety Bill signed yesterday looks like another license to steal for Personal Injury and Class Action Lawyers.

And, the immediate effect with all of the added paper work and government compliance tests will be a significant rise in already to high food prices.

Interesting in this lunatic, rush to madness Lame Duck session is how so many Repubs break ranks on some disputed votes. In the two years previous, did you ever see Dems breaking ranks for the good of the people? Of course this is a bit of a concern. Will Repubs acquiesce to Dems as they did in the early 2000's, and thereby defeat the entire  idea behind the 20101 elections.

And how appropriate is that name "Lame Duck"? The attention to detail is "Lame" at best, and anything that passes under these constricting pressures should have taxpayers ducking.

The Answer:
1. Santa is one of the best known figures throughout a sometimes discontented world. He is known as Saint Nicolas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle and Father Christmas. In China he is Dun Che Lao ren (Christmas Old man), France - Pere Noel, Germany - Weinachtsmann, Hawaii - Kanakaloka, Iran (Yes Iran) - Baba Noel, Ireland - Daidi na Nollaig (Old Leprechaun Bearing Bailouts From EU), Norway Julinissen and Poland Sweity Mikolai (Saint Nicholas). 2. California at 37,254,000Mil is the biggest by far, and that doesn't include a couple of million illegals. Next is Texas at a huge illegal-less 25 mil. The rest of thebiggest are New York (19.4 M), Florida creeping up on NY (18.8), Illinois (12.8), Penn (12.7) and Ohio (11.4). The under a mill are Wyoming (563K), VT, ND, Alaska, SD, Delaware and Montana (9989). Ri is a smidge over a mil and after Michigan (The only pop loser) had the smallest increase. States that lost seats are Ill, Iowa, Lousianna, Mass, Mich, Mo, NY, NY, Ohio and Pa. Heavily Republican Texas gained a huge 4 seats.

The End:
I don't know about you, but I'm wrapping stocking-stuffers today. I'll probably have to take a nap.

Beware of organized movements.

Today's Tids Issue 2,254
Opening Stuff:

Usually I grouse about the way things seem to get overdone in our culture. But, I have to say that performances by these Pop-Up singing groups in public places are refreshingly uplifting this Christmas Season.

There is nothing new about the Medical marijuana ploy. Back in prohibition days Beer and Whiskey makers had laws passed that authorized the use of certain products like Narragansett Dark Porter as medicinal. Doctors hailed the move for much the same reason that many don't like the new healthcare bill -- they didn't like the government telling them how to care for patients! Nothing ever changes when bureaucratic minds are a continuing part of the process.

A reader commenting to someone's observation about newly descovered defects in Rep Boehner's psycological stability writes: "Could we agree that after seeing the 1,900+ page bill the house came up with to keep the government funded yesterday which includes a reported 6,000 earmarks in it. It shows from both sides of the aisle that these politicians in Washington are either confused about the message they got from the American people on November 2nd or they all have psychological or chemical abuse problems? I don't think we need to focus on just one of the 545 here. They all have to stop the needless, reckless, debt and deficit-continuing spending."

As might be expected, a "Letter to the Editor" complained about the mention of Christ in the just completed "Rockettes Christmas" Performance in Providence. The good news is that several letters have been printed telling the complainer that if she sees the word "Christmas" in the title of a Production, maybe she shouldn't go. But then, when was the last time liberals used common sense?

The Question:
When was the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame created? Who was the first class?

The Headlines:

--Arrests Imminent In Massive Justice Department Insider Trading Investigation.
--Local Economic Indicators Say RI Headed For Double-Dip Recession.
--"Time" Names Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg "Person Of the Year".
--Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper, Darlene Love Along With Dr. John And Tom Waits Named To Rock And Roll Hall Of fame.
--Economy Based Riots Continue In Greece, Italy And Britain.

Back to More Stuff:
While nobody was looking, Yale University has moved to the top of the NCAA men's hockey rankings. I remember clearly when the Ivies were at the top in most sports including Big Time Football. Where have you gone Dick Kazmaier?

The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee could easily be the next hot SUV. The new version is a great ride with all of the creatures comforts of SUV's costing $20.000 more.

How smart is chocolate and fattening things maker Nestle' Corporation? They have announced their intent to buy weight loss company Jennie Craig. "Eat chocolate! Lose weight! We got you. Do you get a $10 gift certificate for Jennie with every Nestle' Crunch"?

I hate it when you tune into the middle of a radio, and sometimes TV, news report interview and it never ends with the host or interviewer saying "That was ....".

I'm starting to see commercials for the beginning of the 2011 American Idol program. That was normally accompanied by commercials for "24". No more, and the obvious vacuum now just seems that much greater. I'm depressed. I'll have to find some hwo wants to watch reruns with me.

The Qatar World Soccer Cup could really get ugly if athletes are found drinking and homosexuals are caught having sex in that strict Muslim land!

It has become apparent that cigarette companies, all legal business entities, can be sued by just about anybody for anything! And...they will probably lose.

So, after that well dries up for lawyers, is it going to be skinny people suing happy people? Are the anti-overweight bigots the sons and daughters of Carrie Nation? Beware of what you wish for.

We should get more because we're Green Department:
People continue to merrily tout the promise of the big, ocean wind power projects up here -- Deep Wind (RI0 and Cape Wind (MA). But the fact that their energy prices are more than double that of current systems hasn't blinded the businesses here. Energy costs have for years put New England states at a competitive disadvantage in luring companies with good paying jobs. So the Pols and the "Green" supporters can pat themselves on the back at cocktail parties while the blue collar people across town leave for good jobs in other states.

The Answer:
Cleveland was selected for the Hall of Fame location in 1983 ostensibly becasue of Clevelander Alan Freed, the first big national promoter of the Genre. (I listened to Freed every night while doing my homework while parents shouted "How can you study while listening to that crap". "Maresy dotes," I replied!) The first inductees were James Brown, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis. I saw Chuck Berry live in a sweaty performance in Mobile Alabama in 1957. Blacks were Ok down there as long as they entertained the good ole' boys. And, believe me, they didn't call them blacks then. My favorite of that gorup was Fats and some things by Berry, Richard and Charles. My least favorite by far was Elvis.

The End:
You have to figure that Time named Zuckerberg Person of the Year hoping it might induce h