Meretriciousness

Today's Tids Issue 2,264
Opening Stuff:

As far as I can determine, restraining orders only work if the restrainee is physically restrained.

Isn't it interesting how commercialism can catch on and become a national fad. Like the Drill Sergeant Psychiatrist Geico TV ad. "...you know what makes me sad? You do! Let's waltz over to namby-pamby land and get you some brains you jack wagon!" Have you seen it? Hey, maybe that should be the new mantra for an ever softening US of A beguiled by nannyism and handouts. Wake up America. Do it yourself or die a slow death!!

While meandering through the newspaper this morning I was mesmerized by the headline "Cinnamon Butter Puffs." Actually, I had to lay down to slow my heart.

The Question: 
In the newspaper business, efficiency is increased through the use of "Standing Headlines" -- generic headlines that cover often repeated but not necessarily the exact same event. One example might be: "UConn Women Win By Double Digits." I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.

The Headlines:

--NYC Flights Continue To Play Catch-up In Aftermath Of Storm.
--Consumer Confidence Falls Unexpectantly In December.
--Clueless Lane sees Rosy 2011 As Markets Open Higher.
--Swedish, Danish Police Arrest Five Terror Suspects.
--al-Qaida Says It Killed Iraqi Commander In Mosul.
--Maine's Sugarloaf Officials Investigating Cause Of Chairlift Failure.
--BP Expected To Remain Fiscally healthy After All Gulf Liabilities Are Settled.

Back to More Stuff:
The reason why Patriots' rookie Devin McCourty made the Pro-Bowl is because in his early September days he listened and learned from every rookie mistake... and never repeated them. In addtion to some obvious physical talents, it is his brain that made it work.

Michael Vick didn't look like the same dynamic force last night after Prime Time's phone call to the Eagles. Come to think of it, 0-Man had the same effect on Democrat candidates as he campaigned around the country.

Speaking of campaigns, the mayoral contest in Chigaco is really intense. The Pay-Off for being Mayor must be reeee-ally gooooood!

A well dressed public relations guy wears a flack jacket.

Some doctors on a mission continue to say that "abortion is one of the safest and most common medical procedures." Safe...except for the little child who always winds up dead.

Irony Department:
Hungary the former darling for all of those seeking a democratic style freedom from USSR oppression, has announced a new program that forces people under penalties of giant fines to turn over their "Private" pension funds to the government, curtails the powers of the respected Constitutional court and... corrupts Freedom of the Press by imposing Million Dollar fines for reports the Government considers unbalanced. All this is happening on the eve of Hungary's assumption of the Presidency of the European Union.

The latest global diplomatic squabble is over the conviction of Russia's wealthiest man Khodorkovsky. The Hill and some EU PM's are accusing the Russian government of abusing the "right of law." Of course, accusing Russia is pointing the finger at Putin...the same Putin who likes the Start agreement (The Russian legislature is still sitting on it). Which once again makes you wonder how much more than us the Russians are getting out of this treaty.

The Answer: 
How many times have you seen the following headline...no matter where the discovery occurs: "Newly discovered human remains change the origins of human history." And there is the this one, "Union Backs Teachers", which is good for everything short of murder. And then we have "Democrats Denounce Bush" which is not that much dissimilar to "Comedians Mock Palin". Does a day go by when we don't see: "Senator Says Earmarks Are Critical for His State." Or an athlete saying "It's Not About the Money". Send some of your winning ideas.

The Big Finale.
Then, there is this headline from last week, which I have never ever seen: "Rhode Island to lose $70 Million in Earmarks."! Kind of incendiary isn't it. Is the local paper trying to encourage rioting in the streets ala Greece, France of London? The RI all Dem congressional delgation wouldn't know what to do if they couldn't rob Peter to pay Paul.

Oh, Rhode Island has sunk to a new low. Spell check keeps on telling me that I have spelled "Rhode" incorrectly. Yikes! I just looked out the window and we are still here.. And, as beautiful as ever.

In today's world, too many "truth's" are illusions.

The Loving Eyes of Family.

Today's Tids Issue 2,241

Opening Stuff:

On this Eve of the Greatest Holiday of them all, I can only say to the extended Tids family, thanks for reading a word or two every once in a while. If you are in a big family gathering, enjoy every second of every person's presence. Even if mates or aunts or uncles or parents or kids or cousins or in-laws don't do things exactly the way you would like. And if for some reason you can't get to the big family feast this year, remember that you are always in the hearts of of your family and friends no matter where they go; no matter where you are.

Marie Antoinette Department:
My inkling says that most of these hot good-for-your-health food stories are generated by companies who can make big bucks when you change your life style. U Cal Berkley "Wellness Letter" issued this list of food myths: Myth 1: Carbs, mainly sugars are leading cause of obesity. (Eating more calories than you burn cause weight gain.) Myth 2: Sugar makes children more hyperactive. ("0", Nada, No evidence of this.) Myth 3. Sugar in fruit is good; Sugar in Candy is bad. (Fructose over Sucrose? It doesn't matter) Myth 4. Brown sugar and honey more healthful than table sugar. (There is no advantage.) I guess this makes most of that parental anguish and hysterical lawmaking fruitless.

Sign over the entrance to a Chiropractics School: "Welcome Back Students."

Let's hear it for all of the voters who got it right in the end and named Jennifer Gray the dancin' Champ! Sometimes we get it right.. 

The Question: 
A good reader writes to tell me to be thankful for what we have, because a lot of it won't be around in the not so distant future. Name five common, every day conveniences or institutions that will probably disappear fairly quickly.

The Headlines:

--Investors Selling Off Spain, Portugal Bonds As Ireland Infection Spreads.
--World Looks To China For Direction On North Korea.
--New Unemployment Claims Fall Sharply To 407K.
--Second Blast At NZ Mine Kills All 47 Miners.
--RI's Puppet Senator Jack Reed Calls For 60 MPH Limit By 2025; Senator Not Expected To Win Kennedy "Profile In Courage" Award.
--Madoff Trustee Sues UBS For $2Bil.
--Jury Says Germany's SAP Owes Oracle $1.3 Billion.

Back to More Stuff:
I'm a day early on the picks as tomorrow has three games starting a12:30. Interestingly, tomorrow's picks may be the easiest of the bunch, Unless New England doesn't show up against supposed weaker opponent. So, without further ado and before some serious head scratching, I'm picking NE over the pesky Lions, New Orleans which is reganing last years form over Dallas on a mini-roll and the easiest of the day, the resourceful Jets over a deflated Bengals. Some other relatively easy picks should be Pitt, Philly, Wash and Cleveland. that leaves The Disappointment Bowl: Tenn-Houst; Possible NFC champs, Atlanta-GB; The QB Bowl: SD-Indy. Then we have the consolation bracket with losers. SF-Ariz, and St.L-Denver. The other tough picks are Jax-NYG, TB-Balt, Miami-Oak and KC-Seattle. Your guess is as good as mine. OK...Houston, Atlanta, San Diego, SF, SL, NYG, Oak, Balt and KC. Last week's 13-3 brought the TSD to 105-54 (66%).

Strangest Headline of the Day Department:
"District in India bans cell phones for unmarried women." The question: How will they ever get married now?

Scariest Story of the Day Department:
A San Antonio priest hired a hit-man to kill a boy who was about to spill the beans to the authorities about sex abuse he suffered at the hands of the priest. I don't think there are too many people in this world more evil than that priest.

Excessive twittering could have the Supreme Court excluding "Stupid Speech" from the First Amendment protections.

The new slogan for TSA is, "Don't worry, my hands are still warm from the last guy."

Reading Between the Lines Mid Week Special Movie Review:
--Tangled, a new Disney flick based on the fairy tale Rapunzel is an out and out winner. And, not just by a hair. It is loaded with laughs and excitement, all beautifully energized with the best of Disney art. Adults will be first in line to take their kids to this one.

It's going to take a lot of T-Day hope get over this raft of headlines I saw this morning: "Pentagon says Afghan insurgency growing and The Taliban dominate more territory"; "NK attack dramatically escalating differences between countries"; "Fed Trading inquiry widens to largest Hedge and investment firms"; "Western Officials learn that insurgent leader partner in Afghan peace talks was an impostor"; "Euro down to $1.34 as Irish debt contageon increases". But, then I got to thinking...you can cancel out the bad taste of just about anything with the proper application of lots rich, creamy gravy. Even squash.

In case you haven't been following her, North Kingstown RI's super swimmer phenom Elizabeth Beisel now a freshman at U. Florida is tearing up the South East Conference. She was just named "Swimmer of the Week" there for the third consecutive week. It has never happened before. And on top of it all, she is a great person.

I'm wondering if RI Governor Elect Chaafee's inseistance on rescinding a logical E-Verify Executive Order is because he has lots of his own illegals running his stables.

A good Professional bronco rider will always get a few bucks.

A story today reported that a Massachusetts man killed 3: "His 6 months pregnant wife, his sister-in-law and then shot himself." As an after thought the last line reads, "...the fetus also died". I would have written the Headline: Man kills Four -- Wife, Wife's Sister, Unborn Child and Self.

The Answer:
Get ready to say Bye-Bye to The Post Office, Checks, The Newspaper, The Book, Landline Telephone, Network Television, Music and Privacy. Also your world may become so virtual that you may not own lots of stuff that you can feel and use, like photos or CD's or Books. Even if you download them, they will not reside on your computer hard drive to use at your descreiton, but they will reside in a "Cloud" for which you will have to pay a monthly rental storage charge. You will not own you photos! But, it is the loss of privacy that bothers me the most.

Enjoy!
One of my favorite little taste treats at Thanksgiving Day Dinner is cauliflower with cheese sauce. Hope you all enjoy your special treat too!

Where have you gone Adam Smith?

Today's Tids Issue 2,168
Opening Stuff:

I think that a positive outlook can help beat the heat.

Some new economic research is saying that depressions/recessions are deeper and more painful ever since the Government started getting into the business of trying to save the situation. That the intrusion of the Feds in 1929 has essentially stolen the spirit of true capitalism from America. The clearest example being the recent the bailouts that exonerated bad decision making. With no bailout, the need for new Fed Fin regulations would have been totally unnecessary. Pure capitalism is self regulating. And Government intervention at any level is contamination.

Just as too broad a government safety net steals the human soul. And condemns the lowest levels of society to eternal bondage.

When some clown thinks it’s a good idea to set off a few fireworks after most neighbors are snug in their beds, I think twice about it and am thankful I don’t live in a neighborhood with drive by shootings every night. But he/she is still an irresponsible dolt.

The Question:
Most of know Nancy Davis as the person with her eyelids sewn to her eyebrows. But, in the forties and fifties when her eyes were aflutterin’, she was an able actress. Name five of her best known films. Bonus: Who did she date before Ron?

The Headlines:
--Unstable Stocks And Rickety Bonds Have Some Worried About Next Dip.
--Heat Smothers US.
--World Markets Up As Europe Gobbles Up Last Week’s Pummeled Stocks.
--Obama And Netanyahu To Hold Fence Mending Talks.
--Stoudemire First Of Big NBA Free Agents To Fall.
--News Light This Morning As Hot Weather Neutralizes Hot Air From DC.

Back to More Stuff:

As the larger than normal sun bore down, I noticed the bristling of leaves in a large hydrangea bush out side the window. Aah!, I thought, a nice breeze stirring to counter the high heat. But, no, it was bees darting from flower to flower doing their daily work. No complaints about the heat. Just doing what they gotta do.

I don’t follow hot dog eating contest champions.

The local paper keeps printing a news item “More of state budget allocated to prisons than education.” Maybe if the schools had been doing a better job, the prisons wouldn’t be so full. But then we give education too much credit. First, it has been fairly well proven that increased funds does not a better education system make. We also know that home and neighborhood environments are more likely the root cause of habitual criminal lives. So the headline may be a clever idea for those who released the story to the newspaper. But, it is a disservice to the public for the newspaper to publish it without thinking.

How about those Dems now in love with “Their Guy” General Patraeus. He’s the same guy that the Dem lefties labeled General “Betrayous”. And the Conservatives were up in arms. Of course now, some conservatives are trying to poke holes in the selection of the skillful general. Which proves once again that nothing in political rhetoric is real.

If you don’t move fast in high heat days you’ll remain relatively cool.

Through the Same Eyes: Chapter 81. –Isabelle looked tense as I walked in. Not as tense as I felt after being in the middle of two men who didn’t know what each other was thinking and only completely opposite parts of what I was thinking. I needed to vent, but I decided that this was not the time to be hard ass with izzy. She was clearly nervous. I could get more with a lot of understanding, while still getting across our position.
“Good morning, My friend’ she started as I entered the grander appearing than usual office. Or was I just thinking it looked more luxurious now that she was spending our money? Ah, the paranoid lender. I laughed to myself. Maybe tension becomes me. And I smiled inwardly again. Kent smiles inwardly, I thought.
“And a beautiful morning to you too Izzy.” She rose and moved towards her work table where she had neatly stacks of files. I hate stacks of files I thought. I continued as we walked to chairs opposite each other. “How is BiEm progressing?” I asked the harmless question first.
“We had a good meeting last night and it appears that the Middleton Group is moving forward better than expected with the new Bromsky data.” Interesting, I thought – Better than expected/? That is what Paul thought too.
“Well, as you have probably assumed, it is precisely the Bromsky data that brings me here this morning. Not that, we your Mountain of cash,” I smiled and she smiled nervously back, “don’t like having breakthrough data like that on our side. But, frankly,” Now I put on my best business stare, “Our legal department is worried.” She said nothing, but nodded in understanding. “Have you been talking to your legal department too.”
She moved her right hand to one of the stacks. Ah, the stacks. She was ready. I put up my hand hopefully to stop her from reading some deadly legal terminology. “Just give me a two or three sentence plain English opinion. I paused. “I trust you Isabelle.” She turned back towards me. But continued to withdraw a file and flip it open.

( Note: It is possible that some of you because of yesterday's holiday were forced to miss the latest installment of you favorite novel in progress. Go to the archives to your left anc lick on "Here a hero; There a hero".)

So, you probably heard about the guy who Ran out of gas on a deserted road. While contemplating his fate a bee flew in the window and said. ”What’s the problem?” After telling the happy bee of the his problem, the bee said “Wait a minute” and flew away. Within seconds, a swarm of bees appeared and flew into the gas tank. A moment later the friendly bee reappeared and said “Try it now.” The man turned the key, and sure enough the engine roared to life. “Wow!” said the man. “What did you do?” “It was easy”, said the new bee pal…..”BP”.

Some Americans are smartly taking advantage of lower priced, foreclosed home market.

The government mortgage aid programs simply prolonged the agony of people who had no chance of ever paying anything back. Probably from the first minute after signing the original mortgage papers.

The Answer:
Her best efforts were in East Side, West Side, Shadow on the Wall, The Next Voice You Hear, Donovan’s Brain, Hellcats of the Navy (Some say her best acting job), Night into Morning, It’s a Big Country and Shadow in the Sky. She was typically cast as a “Loyal housewife”, “Responsible young mother” or “The Steady Woman”. Before the future Prez, she dated Clark Gable.

The End:
I don’t think there is a chance in hell that the US can ever restore pure capitalism. All we can do now is dream about what used to be great. Oh, wait a minute, we could close down Congress for five years. Hmmmmmmmmm.

The World is Full of Weirdness.

Today's Tids Issue 2,073
The Stuff:
If America isn’t in it, is it really a war?

Just when everybody was starting to think that it’s probably Ok to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan, Turkey gets ugly on us. It’s coup time again in the EU wannabe. The military has run the show since 1982. They don’t like the fact that the civilian Government is beginning to get cozy with Islam. After learning of aan alleged military plot called “Sledgehammer”, the ruling Government arrested 50 of the highest ranking military including Generals and Admirals. The military plot would include the mass bombing of mosques to create civil unrest, which would require the legitimate call for Marshall Law. Next in this comic book plan, The Military would shoot down its own planes and blame it on Greece! You can’t make up this stuff.

The Question:
Yesterday was the 65th anniversary of the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima because of that great symbol has been romanticized by many. But many great American soldiers fought equally well on many South Pacific Islands. Name some key WWII island battles.

The Headlines:
--0-Man Reams Out McCain For Asking Question About Bribes To Senators For Earlier Yes Votes; Democrats Asking For Jam It Through Approach As Possibility Of Broad Agreement Wanes.
--Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly.
-- Durable Goods Surge; Most Of Growth Comes From Huge Increase In Civilian Aircraft Production.
--Big Summit is Starting To Look Like Shallow Media Event; Both Sides lining Up For Post Summit Action.
--Killer Whale That Killed Trainer Has Attacked Humans Before.
--Hummer To China Deal Fails; Brand Axed; Only 364 Hummers Sold In 2009.
--Stocks Tumbling On Economy Fears.

Back to More Stuff:

In response to last week’s Tids call for best home cold remedies, one amateur physician recommends a brandy/honey cocktail with emphasis on the brandy. Boffed on brandy is a sure way to mask those pesky cold symptoms.

Isn’t it interesting that the civilian aircraft industry had a surge in production the same month that Wall Street bonuses went up 17%! Now that‘s a stimulus package.

Some ex Military are saying privately that while the US had to fight in Viet Nam with one hand tied behind their backs, they are fighting Afghanistan with two hands tied behind their backs. Pre-announcing “no killing of civilians”, they say, gave the Taliban their greatest defensive weapon. You will never see a Taliban without his group of civilians close in tow. In addition, the rule that says NATO cannot fire on any Taliban without a weapon, has the enemy firing madly until Americans advance. Then they throw down their weapons, stand up, wave goodbye, and turn and walk away. This is true. The world is a strange place.

I was totally and utterly underwhelmed by the first men’s session of the American Idol competition. Maybe I’m just getting old, but I was only entertained by about 11 of the 120 minutes. For the most part they all sounded the same with bad songs mostly sung badly. The only decent singers I saw were, Casey James, Lee Dewyze and Aaron Kelly. Also somewhat Ok were Joe Munos and Andrew Garcia. In fact I could grow to like Munoz. You could see talent in others like Todrick Hall, Jermaine Sellers and John Park, but they were mediocre last night. And Park might not make it to next week. Over all…I wish I hadn’t wasted the time. But, that’s what Tid’s Guys do for the fans!

The Novel:

Through the Same Eyes: Chapter 56 continues. –
“Isabelle and Kent Middleton are coming out to see you this evening. I think Middleton said he hadn’t had a nice date in a long time”
I smiled to myself.
“Anyhow, that brought down the house because I guess Middleton is not much of a comedian.”
I just listened. I loved listening to other people’s stories about Kent.
“I’ll be up tomorrow sometime. I’ll call in the morning. I am particularly interested in learning more about this Kent fellow. This is a big investment, and somehow I have the feeling we are investing Kent Middleton”.
“Wow”, I said “you’re talkative today. Something big must have happened.” He laughed. “I’ll try to remember what I can about Kent. Maybe I’ll learn more about him tonight”. Did they say why they were coming?”
“Other than for a date?” He laughed again. “I believe that Isabelle thinks highly of you and now wants to make you feel comfortable with the’ family’. You know how that works. If Makes things smoother for our operation, I’m all for it. I don’t why Middleton is tagging along.”
I thought, “I do. Or at least I hope I do.”
“I’ll call in the morning” He hung up. I looked over into the mirror, patted the side of my hair and unbuttoned the top button of my PJ’s.

Back to More Stuff Again:

It’s starting to appear that the best new pick-up technique is having an authorized medical marijuana card! It seems to be working particularly well with the late fifties, early sixties set. Did you ever not think that medical marijuana was just part of the big plan to legalize marijuana?

South America seems intent in overcoming the Middle East on the weirdness meter. The Falkland’s, yes those Falkland’s with a population of about 3,000 ( 1K British Military), are a center of a black storm once again. This time the black is oil. Apparently the Brits believe there is a field surrounding their Falkland Islands that can produce 60 Billion barrels of that valuable commodity. Argentina is having economic problems, putting President Christine Fernandes on the hot seat. Argentina does not want to make it easy for the British get rich. For that matter they will dispute the territorial waters again as they did in 1982. Frankly, the Argentineans have hated the British (And vice versa) since around 1840, and is in new mood to help them anyway. This soap opera has become more complex now that Hugo Chavez has promised to send his troops to help Argentina defend against an attack by Britain. The world is a loose cannon. Stay tuned.

One of the interesting sidelights that came out of the Toyota hearings was that the company’s excellent Lexus brand was involved in several of the biggest law suits for unexpected acceleration. Lexus was never part of the recalls, but some of the most tragic accidents involved that beautiful hi-tech car. Maybe the officials were trying to protect their luxury brand? Do you think?

The Answer:
There were enormous battles on Guadalcanal, New Guinea, The Solomon’s, Guam, Tarawa, Saipan, Corregidor, Okinawa, Bataan. Major naval battles were prolific and key to victory – Leyte, Midway, Coral Sea, Philippine Sea, South China Sea, Bismarck Sea. Americans came from e the city in little boats against overwhelming dug in armies, They kept on coming and they never gave in. What di I want to be when I grew up? A Marine on Guadalcanal. As it turned out, I wasn’t good enough.

The End:

Just remember when things seem a little difficult that you could be in a trench on a south Pacific Island waiting for the bullets to stop.

Obama in full campaign mode.

Today's Tids 2/2/10

Opening Stuff:

Ten Congressmen saw their shadow this morning meaning we’ll continue to have bad government for 6 months. After that, it will totally collapse as scared incumbents rush to get re-elected.

As we see “Prime Time” flitting from town to town watching basketball or making short speeches on just about anything, we know that the President is in full campaign mode. In fact he barely left campaign mode after inauguration. One problem…politicians never tell the truth during campaigns!

The Question:

Today, we have the birthdays of Tom Smothers (73) and Graham Nash (68). Name five of the top songs for each.

The Headlines:

--0-Man Blames Out Of Sight Budget On Bush.
--Exxon-Mobil Retains King Of Profits Title Even As Profits Dip 56%.
--New Research Shows That Abstinence Programs Work With Teens.
-- Haiti Food Convoy Attacked By Armed Gang.
--Illinois Dem Primary Today Could Be Another Test Of 0-Man Coattails; GOP Anxious To have Obama Protégé Win.
--Phil Says Winter To Stay.
-- New England Likes Sub Building Portion Of 0-Man Budget.

More Stuff:

New style thicker toilet paper makes a better Kleenex substitute.

0-Man has ridden acidic Bush Bashing to the top, and now wonders why there is so much negativity in politics.

One thing we can all be happy about is that the insurance companies are handling our medical programs and not Verizon.

If you ask me, the eBook business has a lot of sorting out to do before if becomes a stable industry. Amazon’s retreat to McMillian’s pressure is just the first sign of things to come. Apple looks confused as they try to figure out the market for the iPad. The book publishers still own the content, and with it all the power. Amazon and Apple for the present are just distribution channels. You have to think that Apple execs would cringe at the use of an adjective like “Just” as in “mere” in association with their brand. But frankly. All of the cool gadget makers rely on the creativity of others to make their products viable.

A good reader sends along a quiz that helps answer the Question: “Where are you politically.” I like it because it includes as one of three answers “Maybe”. That’s in addition to the usual “agree” and “disagree”. Try it http://www.theadvocates.org/quizp/index.html

This Oregon tax thing is bothersome. Basically it was a teacher push trying to find a back door route into the taxpayer’s pockets after they have maxed out the property tax system. There comes a time in life when you just can’t buy everything you want. It’s going to be a long time before people can adjust to the new world of reality; that we are now a nation without economic borders.

You may have noticed in the news that Rhode Island has reduced the age for blood bank donors to 16. It must be part of that “Twilight” trend so popular with teens.

If you need a blueprint for the new economy, take a look at the textile industry. This was the economic engine for the northeast for about a century or so. As unions got tougher there, they closed the plants and moved to the non-union south. Things went well for a while til the wages started spiraling upward ala old NE. Aha, lets go to third world countries. Damn good idea. The third world countries naturally grew economically and…you guessed it...wages went up! Now the search is on for an even poorer nation. And you know what will happen next. Meanwhile the US needs jobs and people will start working for lower pay, and maybe with the help of a growing immigrant population, textiles return to New England which has little economy left other than big government. This is not about whether unions are good, bad or indifferent. It’s just the way things work.

The odds against my retirement plan working just got longer as more states jumped on the Powerball-MegaMillions bandwagons.

Archie Manning was a much more exciting quarterback than either of his two sons. But then maybe it was because he had to scramble for his life playing on poor teams.

24-um:

I feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve each Monday waiting for the start of “24”. Last night I opened the package and got what I wanted. Annie Wershing as Renee Walker continues to give us award winning performances. She is lost, and it appears that next week she comes to Jack for help. I have had trouble figuring out the Dana-abuser boyfriend angle, but now I’m thinking there is something in that warehouse they are robbing other than money. Like uranium? Why do I have in the back of my mind that the new younger aide to the President has something evil on his mind? I left last night with just the right amount of tension in my aging body. Now I have to wait a whole week. KThunk. KThunk. KThunk.

The Novel:

Through the Same Eyes: Chapter 52 continues. –As I sat listening to the very logical mind of Mr. laid-back sheriff at work, I relaxed knowing that Henry had put it together. He was on his way to Isabelle, and of course I should not be there. But, I know somebody who should be on her way up to BiEmbryo with her team. Now Henry’s words became a distant sound as my whole body and mind focused on my Sarah/Maggie. I had to talk to her. I had to see her. I still heard now the drone of Henry as I stood. He stopped and looked up. “Henry, I think you have everything under control. Drop by my office after you see Isabelle.” He smiled. “Thanks Middleton. I see that you still know how not to waste time when the job appears over. But, I may need you join me with Isabelle after I and the state police layout our concept.” My mind was now in the hospital room with Sarah, but I managed to say “No Problem. Then I turned and left. One good thing about having a reputation as a bore is that nobody is concerned when you don’t appear overly friendly. I got in the car, pulled out my phone and dialed Sarah’s room. I heard a weak, raspy reply, “Hello”. Even in a weakened condition, her voice was powerful to me. “Hello my love, it is me.” “I’m happy”, she answered. “I’m coming to see you. But, you should know what is happening.

More Stuff:

This could be a good year for Sandra Bullock as she is a sentimental favorite for Best Actress. Or it could be bad. She is also leading for the Razzie for worst actress in All About Steve. It ios also the fave for worst movie. Personally, I think we need more of a spotlight on Razzies. They’re good for H-Wood humility. As you may know, they have named 10 movies this year for Best Picture. Avatar is a big favorite, but the little dreary piece Precious seems to be in the wheelhouse of Hollywood voters. The others are Blind Side, Up, Up In The Air, District Nine, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds and A Serious Man. Actors are Bridges (Fave), Clooney, Firth and Freeman. Actresses are Bullock, Mirran, Mulligan, Sidibe and Streep.

This squabble among golfers over the new ban on square grooves is another mirror of our society. The real issue is legality versus intent. I agree with McCarron who argues, regardless of the legality of an agreement that allowed Pings before 1990, the intent of the new rule was to get rid of square grooves. The vast majority of golfers agreed. Maybe Michelson is planning on a run for congress next year. He is starting to sound like one of those rascals.

The Answer:

Graham Nash is best known for Chicago and Immigration Man. Others are Simple Man, We Can Change The World, Be Yourself and Better days. Tom Smothers was more of a comic, but he and his brother Dick sang many tunes very well: Tom Dooley, Chocolate, Crabs Walk Sideways, Michael Row the Boat Ashore, Mom Always Likes You Best and Talk to the Trees.

The End:

When 0-Man came down upon the Supreme Court, it sounded a lot to me like his comments calling out the “Stupidity” of the Cambridge Police Department. The Prez has a chance to raise the level of discourse back to statesman, but his emotions keep on belying his claimed intentions.