Hot, with a few showers and some sun.
"Truer words were never uttered
Food tastes best when buttered." Anonymous
01. Children .. How are they doing?
Tom Zirpoli reports in the Carroll County Times today about the Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2014 take on the well being of the nation's children.
It was found that the top five states with economic, education, health and family/community well-being opportunities for children were Massachusetts, Vermont, Iowa, New Hampshire, and Minnesota.
It the bottom of the list were: Arizona, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Mississippi.
Maryland was somewhere less than the middle.
Only one state has 99% of the children signed up with health care... that's right: Massachusetts.
The worst state in almost all areas of well-being for children was... that's right: Mississippi.
02. *Chocolate and Walking
(Per Bottomline, Personal) Now it has been found that people who eat some chocolate are able to walk farther than those who do not. Apparently dark chocolate has a high concentration of polyphenols, which seem to improve blood flow to the legs. (A shame I didn't know this when I was having all those problems with my legs.)
03. Steak Time
Today, I visited the Omaha Steaks store in Towson, Maryland. I bought 8 Top Sirloin Steaks for a rather cheap price. Their meat is extremely good. I usually cook the steak in the oven and Elaine and I both like it kind of medium rare.. but actually more rare than medium. Ummmm Good!
04 Hall of Fame
Before visiting Omaha Steaks, I attended the Board Meeting of the Maryland Senior Citizens Hall of Fame, of which I am a member. We are finishing up plans for this year's induction of awardees. It's amazing what Senior Citizens accomplish after retirement to make the world a better place to live.
Our induction ceremony will be in October in Glen Burnie, Maryland. We will probably have 400 attendees to honor 40 or so awardees. Four people will be given the Geri, which is the Senior Citizen equivalent to the Oscar.
05. Longevity
(Bottom Line, Personal) The World Health Organization says that "the average life expectancy worldwide for girls is now 73 years, and boys, 68. The top country for male life expectancy is Iceland at 81.2 years, and females, Japan at 87 years."
I'm sure the worldwide averages are lowered by disease problems in some third world countries. What about loss of life because of war?
06. Inhumanity
On the newsstands today is a full page picture in a New York newspaper of an American who is about to be beheaded. The caption under the picture is: SAVAGES! (Amen to that. This, of course, will make blood boil throughout the United States. I just hope that our feelings do not get us into another unwinnable war, where our young men kill and get killed and accomplish nothing. Shiites and Sunnis and Kurds have been killing each other for centuries.. it is idiocy for us to get back into the middle of the situation. That is my opinion.)
07. Thank Goodness!
I just learned (Bottom Line, Personal) that I may already have coverage in case of volcanic eruptions! It is included in standard homeowner's policies.
08. Really?
(Bottom Line, Personal) A University of Arizona study indicates that Glucosamine, that millions of Americans take to treat osteoarthritis doesn't work any better than a placebo. (Tell that to Elaine, who has been using it for years and swears that it keeps her from debilitating pain in her joints.)
09. Another Poem
Mensan Richard Lederer wrote another poem about pronunciation:
Job's Job
In August, an august patriarch,
Was reading an ad in Reading, Mass.
Long-suffering Job secured a job
To polish piles of Polish brass.
10. College Bound?
Bernard A. Weisberger wrote in American Heritage about entrance exams: (I am editing this a little, but not much.)
France: Youngsters were asked for a four-hour essay on one of three topics:
a. Soviet domestic policies
b. Resistance to the Nazis in Europe
c. Presidential power and the Constitution in United States foreign and domestic policy since 1945.
Germany: Youngsters take the Abitur, which differs in German states:
In Bavaria, three and a half hours were allowed for two essays from six topic areas:
a. German nationalism in the period from 1830 to 1848
b. The Germany of the Kaiser and the Great Powers.
c. The origins of German industrial society
d. The Weimar Republic
e. National Socialism
f. The "Cold War"
England and Wales: two hours for three essays on selected topics in British history from 1485 to 1714:
a. Religious Wars
b. Changes in agriculture
c. Colonization
d. The Rise of Parliament
e. Why did James 1 find it more difficult than Elizabeth 1 to deal with the House of Commons?
All of this was about History... how do you think American High School Graduates would handle questions similar to these about United States history? Would they answer questions like the kids in "Jay Walking" TV episodes? Probably. Hello.... Common Core? Needed?
11. Alas, Poor Andre
(BBC Music Magazine) The Royal Shakespeare Company has revealed that long-deceased concert pianist Andre Tchaikowsky has been appearing on stage in Hamlet. He died in 1982, and according to his will, his skull was preserved until 2007, when it could begin to be used to portray the part of Yorick.
12. Time for Leonard
XM-Sirius radio will be devoting it's Symphony Hall Channel 76 next week to Leonard Bernstein. There will be talks by persons who knew him and of course, a lot of performances of his works... especially music from West Side Story and Candide.
..............................................................................
No comments:
Post a Comment