Archives for August 2022

In a famous passage from Charles Dicken’s classic “A Christmas Carol” Scrooge is having dinner at a local restaurant when he stops the passing waiter:
“Waiter, more bread!”
“It’s a ha-penny more sir” the waiter replies.
After thinking for a second Scrooge says: “No more bread.”

The less insightful reader is left with the impression that the refusal is yet another example of Scrooges extreme frugality.  But the erudite bibliophile understands that the subtext is a message to a nation rocketing toward obesity.  You may have noticed any depiction of Mr. Scrooge shows him to be lean and mean.  Scientists have determined that, for a man of his age, he had the remarkable calculation of 9% fictional body fat.

The message is clear: one piece of bread is sufficient.  It was never about money, it was always about the carbs.

Nicknamed “Granny Jordan” by TikTok users, a video showing Lopez lighting up the court in her small remote town of San Esteban Atatlahuca in the southern state of Oaxaca has been viewed over 1 million times since it was uploaded by her grandson.

It has been estimated that signing her to a WNBA team might double current in-person attendance; the figure possibly exceeding 100 people per game!

The night sky will be putting on quite the show in the next few days. Thursday, the fourth and final full supermoon of 2022 — the sturgeon moon — will reach peak illumination at 9:36 p.m. EDT. And that spectacle coincides with the Perseid meteor shower, the most popular annual meteor shower. The Perseids are typically active from July to September, and this year will peak August 11-13.

Alternatively those of you that know someone named Perseid Meteor can simply go to their home and ask if you can watch them shower.

The answer to your next question is: “Yes, this was the dumbest, most inane post of the year,” although the meteor shower information is accurate. 
It’s called desperation.

From what I’ve heard, most men prefer tulips on an organ over roses on a piano bench.
I disagree.  I feel the roses are much more beautiful than tulips and a Steinway Piano more elegant than a Hammond organ.

What am I missing?

On Saturday, August 20, 10–10:30 AM, join Met experts online to explore the history and modernization of the Japanese kimono. Learn about Japan’s famed weaving, dying, and embroidery techniques along with discoveries from new scientific research. 

So if you know anybody that gives a rat’s ass about such things, be a pal and let them know.  Might be a fascinating 30 minutes on par with watching paint dry or listening to a sermon on abstinence. 

If you have not read an Erik Larson book you need to correct that mistake immediately.  Erik is a journalist and writes non-fiction books in novel form.  The result is a fascinating historical account of past events and eras.  A few examples: an account of the U.S. Ambassador to Germany during the rise of Hitler; the sinking of the Lusitania, Winston Churchill and the London Blitz; and the invention of the wireless.  

The events are often paired with a sensational crime taking place at the same time.  Having grown up in Chicago I was particularly interested in “The Devil in the White City” which details the crimes of serial killer H.H. Holmes against the more interesting planning, building and opening of the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.

The Good News:  Hulu has acquired the rights and it will be an 8 part mini-series starring Keanu Reeves due out in 2024.  We are hoping Keanu, known as one of the nicest and most generous people in Hollywood, will invite us to the premier party.   His agent has not yet responded to my request.  I bet Keanu would be really mad if he knew I was being ignored!

     After discovering her in possession of some cannabis oil, Russian authorities convicted US basketball star Brittney Griner of possession and smuggling of drugs, sentencing her to nine years in a penal colony.
     I have found a way to ruthlessly mete out her punishment: Make her serve her time at the most vile and insidious place in the world: Mar-a-Lago. That would make a most frightening episode of “Scared Straight!”
    Or possibly a prisoner swap; an American athlete for a Russian agent.  Griner for Trump?  That’s what we call a win-win.

Bandit, a 20 lb. calico cat alerted its owner to an attempted robbery.  Possibly rare in other states, it’s no surprise there is a 20 Lb. cat there.  Mississippi is considered the fattest state in the Union with 1 out of 3 adults classified as obese.  Fortunately for his owner this happened around dinner time so Bandit was motivated to get up off the couch and knew to go directly to the kitchen.

The saying from The Land of Oz has taken on new meaning.  Previously it meant that you are somewhere new, unfamiliar and possibly scary.  The beautiful state of Kansas evoked memories of wholesome country living, fresh milk directly from the cow and Grandma’s apple pie.  Now Kansas has added another enviable dimension to their mystique by putting real freedom ahead of self-serving religious fanaticism. 

Thank You Kansas for voting to acknowledge gender equality and protect a woman’s right to control her own body.

Sure, first the Monkeys post all those cutesy videos of themselves on Instagram, playing, running, eating, climbing; doing all sorts of “Monkey Business.”  And then when we aren’t looking….WHAM! A POX UPON YOUR HOUSE!”

Monkeys:  Adorable furry little animals or Sinister Agents of Doom?