Another sunny day with rather low humidity and upper 70's temperature.
"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base." Dave Barry
01. Baseball and other Sports
George Carlin said this about America's favorite sport:
Baseball is accused of being too slow. Here's something that would not only speed up the game but also provide a welcome opportunity for serious injuries. Like most good ideas, it 's uncomplicated: If the pitcher hits the batter with the ball, the batter is out. That's it. A simple idea, but it would make quite a difference."
This reminds me of when I went to the Allen F. Wood School in New Bedford, Massachusetts. I spent the fourth grade there, and some of what transpired has influenced my entire life. I have spoken before about "recess".. the playground was caked dirt covered by rocks of various sizes, some quite large. At recess, the boys would play a game, whose name I have forgotten, but whose rules were quite simple (like Carlin's).. all the boys except two would stand in the middle of the yard, the remaining two would then throw rocks at the boys in the middle, who would try to dodge them. If a boy in the middle got hit, he had to exchange places with the boy who hit him. You get the idea.
It was a brutal game, with lots of injuries.. but a boy would not dare to cry, and would cover his blood with a handkerchief.
02. *Immigrant Kids .. Disease
Tina Dupuy talks about the unaccompanied children at the border, and how some Right Wing windbags are talking on their radio shows about them as though they were "an infiltration of a filthy swarm." Radio host Neil Boortz suggests renaming H1N1, the "fajita flu", and radio host Michael Savage suggests that terrorists could be getting these kids to bring in diseases.
By charging these kids with health problems, it dehumanizes them. Their presence then becomes not a humanitarian crisis, but a public health risk, that needs to be handled as though these kids are carriers of ugly diseases.
03. Cradle to Grave?
Kenneth Rix of Rhode Island writes: "Every entitlement ever granted has been proven to be unsustainable. Free education in Europe, Social Security, Medicare and now ObamaCare are all Ponzi schemes. True freedom will produce wealth. Wealth can do a better job of providing for the needy through charity than government can through entitlements."
How does one respond to Kenneth? Who has the wealth today? Are they keeping it or providing for the general welfare?
04. Caffeine?
The Harvard Medical School writes that caffeine can linger in the body for up to 12 hours. One should avoid caffeine ted coffee, tea and soft drinks in the afternoon, if one wants a good night sleep.
This is very true in my case.
05. *Westboro Baptist Church .. rears its Ugly Head again
The "sterling" spokesmen for the infamous Westboro Baptist Church have said that they are going to picket/protest at Robin Williams' funeral, because he once portrayed a gay man in a movie. I know they now have the right to use their free speech option to make their obnoxious appearances; however, sooner or later someone is going to cause them some harm. We will all applaud such action.. however, the perpetrator will then go to jail for abusing Westboro's Constitutional Rights.
06. Music Trivia
Nick Shave, in reviewing You Are the Music for BBC Music Magazine mentions some interesting facts that the author, Victoria Williamson tells us about:
Music makes the brain grow bigger.
Toscanini memorized every note of 250 symphonies and the words and music for 100 operas, as well as countless chamber works.
A man can be twice as likely to be successful at picking up a woman, if he carries a guitar case.
Mozart's music will not raise your child's IQ. (Oh Oh.. I disagree with that .. it is obvious to me that any relationship with Herr Mozart's masterpieces will automatically take you on the road to becoming a genius.)
07. The Art of Advertising .. Women
In the 1920's and 1930's, advertisers wanted to tackle the female market in the U.S. Some of the statements in Printers' Ink magazine for that era were eye-opening:
"The proper study of mankind is man, but the proper study of markets is woman."
"...most American women lead rather monotonous and humdrum lives... the advertising pages should become the magical carpets on which they may ride out to love."
"Women don't like to think too much when buying."
08. Musical Story
(Victor Book of Musical Fun)
W.S.Gilbert, the other half of the famous team, did not reserve all his wit for his stage plays. On one occasion an acquaintance, a lady of ample girth, attended a rehearsal with Sir William. For a few moments Sir William was summoned backstage to clear up a point in the libretto, and when he came back his guest was missing. He turned to a nearby stage hand and asked where the friend had gone. "Oh," answered the stagehand pointing backstage, "she's round behind."
"I asked you -" retorted Gilbert, "I asked you for her geography, not her description."
09. Gift for the President
On December 22, 1864, General William Tecumseh Sherman sent the following telegram to President Abraham Lincoln:
"I beg to present you as a Christmas gift, the City of Savannah with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition and about 25,000 bales of cotton."
10. More Music Information
(BBC Music) "Though evidence suggests that it may in fact have been developed later, Gregory I is popularly credited with having composed the Gregorian chant that bears his name. Gregory the Great.. c: 540-604: Italian Pope.
11. Corporations! .. The Lowdown .. A Clerical Error
From Jim Hightower: "May 10, 1886, is a day that should live in infamy. that day, a rogue Supreme Court clerk recorded that the Court had ruled that 'Corporations are persons within the intent of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution (providing) equal protection of the laws."'
"Actually, the Supreme Court never said that, but ever since that day, thousands of corporations have exploited this bogus rendition of their legal status."
12. More on Music .. and More on Elephants
BBC Music Magazine says.. through Edward Elly-Gar: "Scientists studying elephant behavior at Belfast Zoo have discovered that nature's mightiest beasts are partial to a bit of classical music. Tests have revealed that pachyderms that are treated at a daily dose of, say, Elgar and Beethoven show fewer signs of stress than those that have to endure their confines in silence."
.........................................................................................
No comments:
Post a Comment