Work interrupts play.

Today's Tids Issue 2,492
Opening Stuff:

Happy Hanukkah Everybody! A lichtigin Chanukah. L'Shanah Tovah.

Americans have been occasionally susceptible to some pretty outrageously silly fads. But, you have love the "Layaway Angels" -- Anonymous good people who walk into stores and pay the remaining bills for the layaway items of those less fortunate. It's a national trend. And one of the nice things I have heard is that a few of the recipients of the kindness are passing it forward, donating some of their paid for layaway items to others in need. Gotta love the American heart.

This is that great day of relief for all of those who miss Summer. The days are getting longer again. Feel warm!

I had a great day yesterday. but not such a hot start this morn. They forgot to deliver along with the paper the comics section! Aaaaaaaaarrrrgh!

I was looking for a good recipe for Christmas day, and I came across a moderately complex lobster dish. But, it was so smothered with herbs and foreign substances that I felt it sacrilegious to offer it to you. Anything that diminishes the pure flavor of fresh lobster with butter is not worth repeating.

The Question:
Give me five funny lines from Ray Romano.

The Headlines:

--Kim Jung un To Share Power With Uncle, Military.
--Stocks Open Down After New Eurofears Rise; Oracle Down 13%; Tech Stocks Following Oracle Down.
--Trump, Paul Among Repubs Considering Third Party Challenge; Divide Would Assure Obama Reign Continuation.
--Wal-Mart, Oracle Earnings Shortfalls Shock Investors; Oracle Disappointment Has WS Worried About Tech.
--ECB (European Central Bank) Lends Banks $639 Bil For Three Years; To Shore Up Financial System Now Under Pressure.
--Nor'Easter Could Make Northeast White For Christmas.
--In Japan, Olympus Offices, Exec Homes Raided By Black Garbed Investigators.

Think about the ills of the world, the hunger and the pain; the people battling outrageous, uncompromising diseases and family losses; Brave men and women dying for the good of others. Compare that with an asshole apoplectic over not having his comics in the morning.

So far, about 20-22 new books about the end of the world have been announced for publishing for 2012. The "End Date" is December 21, a year from now. Expect a rash of doomsday everything for the next 12 months, including preachings, movies and TV programs. Travel companies will be promoting "Bucket List" Get-Aways. Restaurants will promote "Last Meals". It could get crazy. And the crazy will make maddening.

I'm still waiting for somebody in Congress to stand up and say, "Hey, wait a minute"...this tax we're agonizing over isn't really a tax, it's a contribution to the ailing Social Security Pension system."

There are lots of things wrong about Big Time Football. But, I bet you never thought it contributed to lower grades, GPA's. And I'm not talking about "Scholar"-Athletes. In an exhaustive study, the U of Oregon has determined that a winning football team brings down significantly the grades of male students. Their euphoria over the bouncing ball has them studying less and partying more. Talking too much about the game-to-come rather than the square root in a Political science problem. Oh well, the Alums are enjoying it.

The most useless section of our local newspaper is the one that brings us quotes from Our Washington DC congressional delegation. US Senators "Puppy Dog" Reed and "Limo Lib" Whitehouse echo religiously the sentiments of the 0-Man and the Dems. Reps "Who me?" Cicilline and "Hey I'm Here Too" Langevin just float along upon a rain cloud, the huge State Dem majority. There's not an independent, original thought in their brains.

Almost Near: Chapter 56 continues. --"You two talk about when I was gone."
"Only that you were a fool. And weird!'
"Oh good, you still love me. So, what do you two think. Is he going after Samantha?" Tucker looked out the window at a man passing by. "Rudy was a bad guy. He deserved to die."
Audrey looked at Tucker sharply. "What makes you think he was a bad guy?"
"He was, wasn't he. You figure somebody gets bashed by a shovel that somebody's mad at him."
Audrey continued to looked at him. "I'm not sure that Barton is serious about Samantha as a suspect. The necklace is incriminating, But, a lot of the other evidence says no."
"Like what?" Audrey chose her words carefully.
"He thinks it is more likely to have been a man. I don't know the details." She knew the details, but she just wasn't ready to tell Tucker everything she knew.
"Why don't you drop me off at the hotel. I'd like to clean up. Where are you going to be?"
She didn't answer. "Barton wants to see you again."
The car came to a stop in front of the Hotel. "I figured." Tucker reached into the back seat and picked up his small bag. He turned his face to Audrey. "You are a beautiful woman." He squeezed her hand, opened the door and stepped out to the sidewalk. "I'll call you at home," he said over his shoulder.
Audrey watched him walk into the hotel. Then she let go of all the emotions she had been holding inside. Her hands were shaking.

The Answer:
On golf: "I love hitting into the rough. It brings me closer to the people." "My wife gets all the money I make. I just get an apple and clean clothes every morning." “I feel like this is a dream - and I apologize for how I dressed some of you.” "If my father had hugged me one more time, Id be an accountant." "Every parent knows that for a kid, a car is chloroform." " For the sake of you marriage, Get a King-Sized bed. And if you really want to stay marries, get two." "I'll be spending the holidays with my family. Nothing special, just some light bickering and biting sarcasm."

If you don't think about what's going on in the world, then the world is a pretty great place.

8 More days to Hanukkah.

Today's Tids Issue 2,485
Opening Stuff:

Friday, Connecticut courts sentenced the second savage who in 2007 brutally raped then murdered a mother and two daughters in their Cheshire Connecticut home. It took four years and two trials, millions of dollars, and the repeated psychological assault on the lives and minds and hearts of the remaining, loving relatives. Why? I don't get law sometimes.

There's only one good reason to keep your cell phone on at all times. To call it so you can find it when it's lost.

Britain abstained from the commitment by other European countries to support the losers who are bringing down the Euro, and perhaps the world economy. Britain which at one time was moving towards adopting he Euro has now said, "We're never going to join the Euro, and we're not going to give up the sovereignty that other countries are having to give up." That's the problem with Euro-Style socialism, there always large group more than happy to live off those who do the heavy lifting. In Europe today it seems to be countries willing to give up their proud heritage to rescue not the poor, but the bad decisions makers. It's kind of like society today in General, isn't it? People don't think of the consequences, of the the people around them and the effects of their actions on others lives. I'll just get mine, and if I mess up, I'll just say I'm sorry. Pretty pathetic.

Driving around now-a-days is a feast of colored lights, Santa, reindeer, snowman and of course magnificent creches. The varying displays will draw oohs from many and criticisms from others. But the good, the bad and the ugly all say the same exact thing; people are pouring out their hearts in celebration! They all look great to me.

The Question:

Double day! 1. A boat has a ladder that has seven rungs, each rung being one foot apart. If there are two rungs above water and the tide falls 12 inches every 30 minutes for the next 3 hours, how many rungs will be above water? 2. Name the 2 best known Connie Francis songs.

The Headlines:

--Wall Street Says Friday Jubilation After Euro Summit Agreement Over-Reaction To Minimal Plan; Stocks Look To Go Lower.
--Tebow Amazes The Masses Again.
--al-Qaida Inmates Escape In Yemen Prison Break.
--Obama's New Campaign Tact: Blame Country;s Unhappiness On Republican Mistakes; Signifies Prez Inability To Run On Own Record.
--Newt Survives Fellow Repubs Attacks In Latest debate As Frontrunner.
--Italian Woman Leaves $13.1 Million Fortune To Cat; Meow!

Interesting how the great Jewish observance Hanukkah sneaks upon us quietly, with reverence. Maybe it's because the Jews celebrate it for what it is, its intinsic beauty, and not because of how plays upon the national stage.

I think I spent a semester in college listening to Tchaikovsky's 4th and the death scene from Tristan and Isolde. For fun!

The Tids new working slogan is Maintaining Balance in Life through Sarcasm.

You look at the blood in the streets; the dictators chanting, ranting; the the crumbling houses; the anguish on the faces of the struggling throngs. And then, you look across the dessert to the Dubai Golf Championship. The mystery of the middle east. Amazing how the focus of a camera can change one's view, isn't it.

Mozart often lost his cool during concerts, but was always able to compose himself.

If the world's cameras only focused on our celebrity mayhem, the OWS in the streets, think of what the world would think of the USA.

You can take that to the bank, Department:
You can be sure that the "O" Campaign Team is working overtime to get the jobless rate to 8% before the election. And, considering the last report showing whopping 0.5 drop after a minimal private jobs creation number but a large left-the-seeking-work number, I'm counting on our unbiased 4th Estate to keep us properly informed on any admin finagling. Yeah, sure. Meanwhile 0-Man is firmly affixed in the above the fray mode.

The Unemployment number is one thing, but how about the wealth being lost by families? Over the summer American families lost on average $21,286! Maybe using the word "wealth" is the wrong tact...for that would surely bring down upon the "everyday savers for retirement" the wrath of the white house.

And then, there is Bobby Bonds awaiting sentencing -- the poster child for above-the-laws-meant-for-the-little-person celebs.

That Pats/Skins game in the DC area yesterday looked like it was refereed by government employees.

It is hard to believe that the insular French, and a German nation that started two world wars to expand their sovereignty, are actually willing to give some of it up.

But then, the NFL is becoming as PC as society in general, PC kind of takes the heart out of everything, doesn't it? Especially the truth.

Has anybody figured out yet just why 0-Man won the Nobel Peace Prize?

Did you hear about the guy who while standing at the graveside of the great Ludwig Von Beethoven heard the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th symphonies played backwards? He was decomposing.

Almost Near: Chapter 54. -- "Hi Samantha!" Samantha looked around and saw a smiling Tucker, calm, relaxed staring down at her as she nibbled on an English muffin in the hotel breakfast room. She rose immediately.
"Tucker, Tucker..." she threw her arms around him and buried herself in his. She stayed that way for thrity seconds. "Where have you been? You just disappeared."
"I'm just working to help you."
"How did you know I was here? Why would you look for me here?"
"Oh, it wasn't superhuman mystic powers," he pushed a ways and smiled. "I called the woman in Dante's office. Terrible what happened there." Tucker noticed a certain sadness in her eyes."
"It's awful Tucker. Just awful. He's a pretty nice guy." She moved away his arms and sat. "Want some coffee?"
She pushed the coffee carafe his was, and he poured. "So, why are you here?" he smiled as he added, "My mystic powers aren't that good."
Samantha explained the death of her parents, and how she thought there might be clues to her real life. She didn't tell him everyhting she had learned or what she felt inside about learning more about herself. "Did you know my parents? What were they like?"

The Answer:

1. As we all know the boat goes up and down with the tide, so two rungs are always above water. I know you got that one right away. 2. I never really liked Connie Francis all that much. I probably just hummed along because a girl friend of the moment liked her. Her best known twosome were Where the Boys Are and Who's Sorry Now.

Don't try to measure, define, critique the love in the hearts of people.

I have found that the vast majority of Jews look at the green tree for the season and say, "Of course it's a Christmas tree."