September Madness

Last week was very sad, as we relived the events of 9/11/2001.  In spite of that horrible memory, life goes on.  I wonder if the hi-jackers received their promised virgins.. if so, I hope that they experience continuous post-coital depression until the end of time.

What makes some "human beings" believe that good will come out of killing innocent persons? Could there actually be a Satan making them act that way?  But everything I've ever read about Satan tells me that "Old Nick" is only concerned with amassing souls, not killing little babies.  (Wait a minute!  That's not a picture of Satan; it's a picture of a satyr!  Do you remember that old magazine:  the Satyr Dairy View?)

Of course, these hi-jackers were only amateurs when compared to famous mass-murderers like Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot.  Does Dante mention a spot in Hell for people like these?

Basta!  Let's jump to other topics in the news.

01.  The Bruins lose.

NPR reports that a bear broke into an automobile, somehow got it into reverse, and crashed into a tree.  I'd like to read that insurance claim.

The Week reports that when a dog owner saw a bear trying to tear her dachshund into edible pieces, she got mad and punched the bear in the nose.  The bear knew that he had met his match, dropped the dog, and ran for the hills.

02. Why is Fluffy crying?

You've heard of the Reader's Digest?  Well, some cat food apparently contains something called ''Animal Digest".  Years ago, that great magazine, Consumer Reports  contacted a cat food company service rep who said that "Animal Digest" is just is a combination of treated pork and chicken livers in powdered form, regardless of what flavor the package wording might indicate. Check it out.. I'm going to start reading the ingredients listed on SuZee's food, because I want her to get all the fish and meat carnivores like her deserve.

I read somewhere that if your house cat was bigger than you are, she would sooner or later be hungry enough to eat you.  Look at what happened in the Sigfried and Roy show. 

Also, have you ever noticed little insect legs on your carpet in the morning?  Apparently, cats like to eat crickets, but not their legs that have sharp barbs.

Speaking of crickets.. during the recent flooding rains, some crickets sneaked into our garage to avoid the water.  For a few days, they kept up a symphony of sounds.  I didn't bother them.. I couldn't find them anyway.. until the symphony stopped.  Their bodies can be found now.. apparently, they died of starvation.  Sad.

03. Lee sez:

"It never rains but what it stops."

04.  Justice

A jailbird is suing the Guiness Book of Records for not listing him as the person who has initiated the most law suits.  (over 4,000)

05.  Ideas

I don't remember where I got these ideas from, but I think they are designed to make life easier for persons with disabilities.. or older folks.

a.  Cut button holes in napkins.  (a great idea for anybody who keeps losing their napkins)
b.  Glue a knob onto a ruler (to make it easier to work with)
c.  At a restaurant, ask the chef to cut up your food.
d.  Put hooks on high cabinets.
e.  Use bungee cords for belts.. or, cut down, for shoe laces.

06.  Thought for the day

"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness... and just be happy.

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918)

07.  Ho Hum!

Why do we yawn?  I had always heard of two theories:

a.  We are simply tired and our bodies need more oxygen to be able to function. But why is it contagious?

b.  It is a warning signal that some problem is near, and the warning must be passed on, which is why yawns are contagious.

Now there is a new theory that yawning keeps people alert by cooling their brains.  In a test, people who held an ice pack to their foreheads when observing others yawn, did not get the urge to yawn.

Also, people who breathe exclusively through their nasal passages are supposedly immune to yawning contagion because blood vessels in the nasal cavity carry cooled blood to the brain.

08.  Words to live by

I think I have mentioned that in my youth I attended Quaker meetings and Baptist services.  In fact, at the age of 13, I was baptised at the First Baptist Church in New Bedford, Massachusetts.  The Baptists were rather strict, as I have outlined earlier in one of my blogs.  Someone once gave me what they called The Baptist Moral Code:  "Don't drink, smoke, or chew; and don't go with girls who do."

I recall that as soon as the services were over at the First Baptist Church, the men could not get out of the building fast enough so they could light up their cigarettes.  Go  figure.

09.  Politicians

Today, as I waited for my car to be serviced, I watched their big screen TV.  They had it tuned to CNN and Governor Perry of Texas was giving a lively speech to the students at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University in Virginia.  You remember the Governor.. he seems to me to be trying to be a carbon copy of George W. Bush.  Sounds like him.  Also, he says some things that are questionable, at least to me.  For instance, he says that Social Security is just a big old Ponzi scheme. 

You know.. I would be willing to bet that when the Gov turns 62, he will file for his Social Security benefits just like everyone else.  And.. it will still be in existence.. and the big earners will still be getting a free ride on the taxes on most of their big salaries.

Do you really think that people believe what the current crop of politicians say?  I believe it would be a sad commentary on the intelligence of our population, if that were true.

10.  Caught

I don't know where I read it, but it was reported that 27 well-known unfaithful politicians since President Clinton have said:  "I'm sorry!"

11.  All the news...

I haven't heard about what happened to Maryland Senator Ben Cardin's newspaper revitalization legislation.  This law would have given  non-profit status to newspapers.. to save them financially.  Newspapers are having trouble surviving, and this would supposedly help them.  I must admit, I am having trouble understanding the rationale for this. Newspapers in France are subsidised by the Government, but  I can't see that ever happening in the U.S.

12. Dick Cheney

I am reading In My Time by Dick Cheney.  It's an easy read, and not too controversial just yet.  I am at the part where he is telling how he gained more and more influence in the White House over the years. It seems to me.. and this is, of course, my opinion.. that he and his boss at one time, Don Rumsfeld, were "Loose Canons".. lots of power and not much concern with how it would affect John Doe.. I could be wrong.  I like one part where a big shot (read the book and find out who) had an Air Force plane fly a long distance to deliver some magazines that he wanted to read.  Mr. Cheney, to his credit, thought that this was a bit much.

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Curating the news?

The Union representing Boston Globe workers gave in at the last minute to demands by the New York Times corporation on the matter of job guarantees. Now the Boston Globe will continue to publish. Papers like the Globe are having trouble because of a number of problems: people are leaving print media for what they can find on the Internet, advertising revenue is down because of the Recession, the cost of print supplies is rising, monetary promises to retired workers are getting hard to honor, etc.

Senator Kerry will be holding a hearing today about the future of printed newspapers vs Internet news. Perhaps, someday, we may have to kick-in a few bucks to be able to get our news via Yahoo, Google, or some other Internet source. (Right now, I have a computer start-up screen that gives me news from all of the major sources. Actually, it gives me all the headlines and I pick which stories I wish to look at in greater detail. Also, I get TWITTER and FACEBOOK new information. All of this is FREE... and I ought not need to read a print newspaper... but of course I do. I wonder how many young people ever read a print newspaper.)

I believe that Senator Cardin will be pushing legislation that would make print newspapers non-profit entities. I wonder if that legislation has a chance of getting anywhere.

And.. there is talk of a "bail-out" for newspapers, similar to that for the auto industry.

I've heard that France has a newspaper subscription subsidy program that doesn't seem to be working very well.

Do we in the US want the Government subsidising newspapers and probably telling them what to tell their readers? Haven't we already had a taste of that? Where were the pictures of returning coffins from the Gulf Wars?

Probably we are heading to Sunday only print newspapers for the major sources. Local newspapers will probably survive.. I hope so.

Many newspapers no longer have the money to go after stories on their own.. or do investigative journalism. In fact, according to what someone said today on the Diane Rehm show, newspapers in 27 States have no representatives in Washington, DC and have to rely on what their National feeders tell them.

Give yourself a treat and view It Happened One Night, the famous 1934 movie with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Besides showing what life was like 75 years ago during the "Great Depression", it also depicts how newspapers worked in those days.

Back to local newspapers: Most of the groups I'm involved in, like NARFE, AARP, SSAA, etc., have come to the conclusion that my picture has been shown too often in local Carroll County (Maryland) papers... so, that will no longer be the case (except in rare situations). I know, I know, my many fans will be protesting this decision, but they must realize that other notables need to be seen from time to time and Joe Vaughan has had enough publicity already. ;0)

Basta!

Newspapers

For some time, Carroll County, Maryland had Eagle newspapers.. the Westminster Eagle and the Eldersburg Eagle. They were nice little free sheets with local news. They have now been subsumed by the Baltimore Sun and one must get a subscription to that paper to see what is now called the Carroll Eagle. (I did so, and now I don't have to miss the column by Kevin Dayhoff.) I am pleased to see that Jim Joyner is still the editor.

Each month, I submit AARP meeting notices and I will have to learn if I can still do that. The issue for the Week of April 19th came today and I was surprized to see that there were no pictures of me or Edith Keeney or Don Champ. ;o) Our pictures have been dominating all of Carroll County papers for some time. Now its time to give others a chance.

I read that the Boston Globe may fold. That is almost unbelievable. When I lived in that area (many many moons ago) I had to get two daily fixes: Half and Half Coffee, and the Boston Globe.
That may just leave the Daily Record and the Christian Science Monitor for a metro area of many millions. I could be wrong.

The Baltimore Examiner has left town. I think that they had even built a skyscraper downtown in anticipation of making lots of money here. It was a free paper, dependant on ad revenue, and I guess the Recession got them.

A long time ago, I spent almost 4 years in Germany. My English language news came from the Stars and Stripes and the New York Herald (Paris edition). One of the writers for the Herald was Art Buchwald and I was privileged to meet him at a bar once in Paris.

When I was a kid we could not afford to buy toilet paper and instead used newspaper pages. (A whole lot cheaper. But really rough on the butt.) Sometimes, the newspapers used shiny paper and that was a bit tricky to manipulate.. the same as paper from magazines. Thank goodness things have changed since then.

Time for some humor: (I forgot who told this story.)

I was reading a newspaper while riding on a train. My eyes got tired, so I put down the paper, but I didn't want it to blow away or fall on the floor, so I sat on it. After a few minutes, I felt a tap on my shoulder and a man asked me: "Are you reading that newspaper?" .. Seeing a comedic opportunity, I said: "Yes, but I'm finished with this part and now I'm going to read the sports page." I stood up, folded the newspaper so that the sports page was showing up, and sat down on it again.

See ya!