Leapin’ Lizards

It’s one week into my ‘four-score and two’ venture called life. So far so good. This morning the coffee tasted great (this must mean that I don’t have Covid). The taste thing (actually the lack thereof) seems to be about the best gauge on whether or not a case of the recent ‘scamdemic’ is active.

Change – I’m saying that since change is afoot. Yesterday it was announced that the 5-day Covid isolation rule is now history. If you remember the little blue mask things are merely but a nightmare from long ago (although I do see a few folks still use them as “drip/drool-catchers” under their chin). Here and there the 6-foot distance rule signs and directional floor arrows are being photographed before they disappear completely.

Finally, reason is catching up to the fiasco we experienced over the past few years. Although, in our state we did not get near the bureaucratic claptrap many others did. In a sense, I feel that common sense caught up to what my curmudgeonly self-espoused for most of that time.

Kaleidoscope —

“Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.”

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift.”

~ Mike Whorf (1932 – 2020) producer and host of the documentary/narrative radio program Kaleidoscope

In case you were a rabid Mike Wharf Kaleidoscope listener, and have missed him dearly, I have a surprise for you. Thursday, while I drove to the north end of town and listening to a local ‘retro’ radio station they happened to play one of Wharfs segments from the 1980s. Driving Marcia’s (now vintage) little Corolla with its original radio I did a little recording. So, apologies for the road noise. Even so, it’s evident just why that program was as passionately popular as it was, so, enjoy:

Celebration — Almost all our gang celebrated my ‘four-score’ plus thing with a Barbeque thrown by Adrianne and Tevita (he is a master at it). The barbequed Steelhead Trout made with soy, ginger, and chili was to die for. As a gift from Adrianne and Tevita we all then headed off to town for a hockey game; our Cyclones versus the Iowa Heartlanders. It was a delightful time! Thanks, you guys!

Leap Year – from where I sit it seems Leap Year 2024 was celebrated with much less hoopla than years ago. But, did you know that way back in Roman times the month of February was once marked with 30 days? Yep, inserted as a leap year every 4 years between the years 45BC and 8BC.

At that time there was a lot of bouncing around with odd lengths of months. This period used the Julius César Calendar. Eventually, centuries later, the Gregorian Calendar (After Gregory XIII) adjusted, and February received the 28-days plus 1 every four years as what we celebrate today.

Whoops, not quite. The Russians had a wrinkle in February during the 1700s. And in 1712 February had 30 days in Sweden as they adjusted their calendar. It’s enough to give one a headache, isn’t it?

Auto Kroger – is the real thing! These days Marcia doesn’t care to walk all that much, and she refuses to have me push her in one of those plastic car shaped shopping carts. Efforts to have her go online by me would have initiated an automatic “poo-poo” comment from her. Adrianne came to the rescue, and it only took a single lesson, as Adrianne had Marcia place her very first food order.

The next day, at the appointed time, the Kroger truck rolled up. At the front door I accepted 5 plastic bags filled with groceries and lugged that inside. It seems like 5 or 6 minutes later everything had found its rightful pantry or refrigerator place; a glass of Malbec could then be poured.

Marcia has now placed two more orders – totally on her own. Searching for stuff not readily displayed is quickly managed. The payment process she smiles through. To date, no errors delivering the selected items. All selected and ordered shopping done in well under 15-minutes. There, shopping done! Then it was just, sitting back waiting for the appointed delivery time. She LOVEs it!

Tests – Marcia required a test. You know the drill, no food, nothing to drink with the syllable stressing ’this includes coffee’. This all makes for a tough morning. Nevertheless, 10am Thursday, we made it to Good Samaritan hospital.

Then it got interesting. Her test comes in two parts. Phase two was at 2:00pm. What to do, what to do. First on the list was people watching; ok, done that. How many derelict houses redone to ‘waaaay’ beyond any past glory TV shows can anyone watch – each TV set in the place carries them. Next was cafeteria time. Now, that was a winner. Good Sam has the type of cafeteria Marcia would head for on date night. We wondered out loud why this food selection was not even hinted at to the poor schleps laying in beds in their rooms waiting for the tray.

Anyway, we both had a hand-crafted Rye sandwich, absolutely thick loaded with Boar’s Head ham and cheese. Add coffee as good as anything supplied by an upscale joint with a barista. Then came the ’cherry on top’ – the hefty senior’s discount. I do believe that after such a lunch, that any test would have been worthwhile.

Echoes from 1860 – The time is chaotic and scare. It was the lead up the our Civil War or by many in our region; “The War Between the States”. This was part of what I learned at my class Thursday evening.

Here is what was going on. Since we live in 2024 and it’s difficult for us to look back, think of these happenings from 1860 and think of today:

** Free speech is dangerous

** Political enemies were arrested

** Immigration for political power

** Presidential candidate kept off the ballot

** Many Americans refused to accept a President

** Distrust of public institutions.

** Recklessly partisan press

** Rising violence in Washington DC: Charles Sumner caned Preston Brooks in the Senate chamber

** Attempts to kill Abraham Lincoln before he was inaugurated

** State vs Federal conflict escalated.

And so forth it went, and so forth it is – right into 2024.

As mentioned, mid-week I attended a class at EmpowerU where the previous editorial writer (40 years) kept the citizenry of our region informed; Peter Bronson.

Pre-Sale – magic words I heard on the radio. I’ll suffice by giving you a hint. I followed through and quickly got two tickets to an event in late summer, And, being rapid on the draw, I got a pair of great seats at our Riverbend Music Center. Here is the photo of the performers. Figured out who we’ll be seeing yet ?

Jacket weather again but low 70s in a few days. Our de facto gauge, our local Dairy Queen, spring re-opening is now official. Yes it’s Springtime!!!  Punxsutawney Phil was dead on with his prediction.

May Peace prevail! Shalom. And a most Happy Birthday Dinah.

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Yesterday it was National Peanut Butter Day. The question now is; which is the largest National Brand?

1)      Smucker’s? 
2)      Skippy?
3)      Justin’s?
4)      Peter Pan?
5)      Jif?
6)      Laura Scudder’s?

Movin’ on Up and Along a-Walking We Go

I woke up with a loud tocsin (in my head) this, the first morning of my very own New Year. And by being the eldest member in my family, it’s as the (paraphrased) song goes; “I’m not Abel, I’m Cain, (occasionally) I fell in the rain” even so I’m still on top of my game. And Marcia had already started the morning coffee!

Since this will be a somewhat busy weekend for me, I started the weekend right. Last evening Marcia and I went for dinner at one of our regular haunts, Quatman’s Café. And no stop at Quatman’s would satisfy without a steaming cup of Mock Turtle Soup.

No Birthdays for some – Back in the earliest days of the 1900s, a passionate believer in eugenics, Margaret Sanger, started and fought for Birth Control (abortion), especially for the minority ‘Negroes’ and ‘less-fit’ sectors of society. Just so we’re on the same page, Eugenics is defined by genome.gov. as: “the scientifically erroneous and immoral theory of “racial improvement” and “planned breeding.”

As an activist, Margaret Sanger founded the American Birth Control League in 1921 which became Planned Parenthood in 1942.

Time moved on and for the longest time abortion was touted as being primarily for women’s health and to be used sparingly.

Currently non-Hispanic Black women are the racial group undergoing the largest percent of abortions in New York City; in 2019, accounting for 35 percent of the total (Charlotte Lozier Institute). 35% out of the 49,784 abortions reported by the city equals 17,424 murdered Black infants in 2019 – a VERY far cry from abortion only used “sparingly” as touted for many years.

Those disparate NY numbers repeat throughout the nation.

A few days ago my walk led me into the city core and past the city’s Planned Parenthood center, our sole abortion clinic. It’s located conveniently in the black urban core of town. Looking at the size of the place, human destr uction under the guise of ‘health’ seems to be a thriving business.

Just saying mind you, but I believe that Sanger’s early efforts to control the “negroes” and “less-fit’” has borne fruit (pun), even exceeding her expectations.

Incubator – As in one of the top 10 incubators in the world, Alloy Development Co’s Growth Lab. One of the real joys in changing my exercise walking routes is discovery. Seldom a week goes by where something new and different comes into view. https://alloydev.org/growth-lab/

A week ago, I went down a middling run-of-the-mill dead-end street with a walking-path cut through. It’s tucked in the back of the small neighborhood town of Norwood. At the back end of this short street consisting of small single-family homes dating back to the 1950s was an attractive new modern multi-story building. Alloy Growth Lab – it’s apparently one of the top business incubators in the world. Who ‘woulda thunk’.

****** There, I’ve finished Act I of The Ramblings and now for Act II. This move does beg a question best answered by a playwright on how to transition; “Does the character cross a threshold and enter a new world?” So, as your main character, one who is now crossing over another “threshold” with one more year, let’s turn the leaf. Act II begins *****

Animals – Well, well, something I’d never seen before. Our evening news showed a galloping horse running on the high-speed lane in Philadelphia. Personally, years ago, I got stuck in Chicago traffic as people ran between the cars trying to ‘corral’ a loose pig (full grown); but never a horse.

So, we’re trying keep animals out of our cities, meanwhile in the Province of Alberta in Canada a young gal is trying to allow for her and her horse to remain in town.

Animals & Climate? – Somehow several things I read this week mentioned animals. The human involvement in the climate-changing scam playing its usual part.

Over the years the old “loss of the Polar Bear” ‘saw’ keeps cropping up. Apparently, the latest numbers show that these creatures are actually doing just fine. And, of course, curmudgeonly Pitts had to interject. I just happened to record his rant:

Cyclones (oh no, again?) – Rather than do the eat out routine, this weekend the clan will gather and do a barbeque dinner. Actually, it’s Tevita who will do the grilling. Tevita buckling down and totally focused at one of his grills reminds me of a musician lovingly slaving over a Hammond or Lowry organ. Much like Garth Hudson, last remaining member of The Band (jump to the 4:15 portion of the YouTube below):

How do you appreciate the way I segwayed from grilling to port you into a ‘bit’ on music?
After our dinner barbeque we’re off to town to watch a bit of hockey; the Cyclones slap away at the Iowa Heartlanders. All of this promises for a outstanding evening.

Question — Earlier this week I passed by the nearby Jewish Cemetary. Here is the question you can look up the answer to: why do many of the grave markers in Jewish Cemetaries have stones placed on them?

I made it outside this week – in shorts. A couple more chilly days early this coming week and warmth will prevail. Can you believe it, our local Dairy Queen spring re-opening is in 6 short days!

May Peace prevail! Shalom. And cannot forget wishing Commander the WH ‘wonder dog’ a happy life on the ‘farm’.

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:
Going back in time today, way back. What is the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Ares?

1) Mars?
2) Vulcan?
3) Jupiter?
4) Apollo?

between silence and commotion

The week began at a normal pace. The temperature kept climbing and eventually crossed the 55-degree mark. Events also exploded. Earlier in the week it was a 6.8 mile walk and on Thursday I came back through the front door at 9.75 miles.

But wait there’s more. Marcia and I went to bed early after my marathon-level walk, had just fallen asleep, when we both heard a loud thud and the whole (3-story brick) building shook.

More on that in a moment; first my very first sip of morning coffee – the best!

The Cyclones – If this seems a bit disjointed this morning I have an excuse, Cyclones hockey. Last evening, with a 7:30pm puck drop, I began watching our gentlemanly team, the Cyclones, take on the Toledo Walleye ‘goons’. More on that below.

Quote: “Den dat little man in black dar, he say women can’t have as much rights as man ’cause Christ wa’n’t a woman. Whar did your Christ come from? From God and a woman. Man had nothing to do with him.” “Ar’n’t I a woman?” ~ Sojourner Truth, black slave – huge on the abolitionist and woman’s rights lecture circuit, never learned to read or write, issued a series of books, met with the likes of Charles Dickens, President Abraham Lincoln, and she hobnobbed with Uncle Tom’s Cabin author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Nearly six feet tall and she spoke Dutch!

Sojourner – Sojourner Truth ‘s story is truly remarkable and yet, today, is barely known. born enslaved as Isabella Baumfree sometime in the late 1790s in New York she later changed her name to Sojourner Truth. It didn’t take her long to become a leading character in the abolitionist and woman’s rights movements.

Her fearlessness and humor gave Sojourner Truth an immortality on the popular speaking circuits of the day, she was so popular that in 1986 her face was on a US postage stamp. Anyway, do yourself a favor. Click HERE and read a little deeper from the linked Smithsonian article, or grab yourself a copy of her Autobiography HERE, it’s worthwhile.

****** Ok, that’s it for the ‘A’ side. A small break for you and I’ll also grab another coffee and flip The Ramblings over to the ‘B’ side. See you there! *****

Alright, that was painless, the needle is tracking beautifully, so here we go!

And the winner is? — Aldi’s. What? Yup, Marcia’s favorite is officially the fastest growing Food market in the country. Aldi’s is beating out the likes of Kroger and Publix. It’s a no-frills discount place where almost 90% of the items are private labels. And, this is critically important to me, each store has a ‘weird’ item aisle.

Marcia views the groceries ‘bag-it-yourself’ event as a challenge. She also thinks they’re paying her every time she replaces the shopping cart, and it hands her a quarter.

The reason I mention all this is that in the next few months Aldi’s is acquiring about 400 Winn-Dixie and Harvey Supermarket stores from Southeastern Grocers. This proves that Marcia won’t have to worry that Aldi’s is going to disappear anytime soon.

THE Corner – of course I am talking about The Corner of Chaos and Mayhem. Our little seven-unit condominium’s structure has withstood the test of time – for 100 years to be exact. Storms, the winters of ’77 and ’78, the Great Depression of the ‘30’s, riots, you name it and nary a scratch. Last evening we had a first.

About 10pm, already in bed, a large pickup truck blew into the building. The whole building shook. A later review shows that large pieces of stonework from the 100 year old foundation and some of the brick wall were knocked loose and all busted up.

I saw the truck work its way back into the street, hood curled up, horn going off nonstop, but somehow still driving. In the meantime, I was on with 911 dispatch and shortly saw a couple of cruisers scream around the corner. By the time I got outside Fire was already on site, and down the road a ways the cops had the driver standing next to his truck.

I spent time with the cops in one of the cruisers to give details.

Meanwhile a couple of other cruisers had arrived. Alcohol did not appear to be the issue, drugs more likely.

The driver was yelling up a storm about his; “Constitutional Rights, blah, blah”. I think the additional cops arrived to make certain the guy’s new ‘bracelets’ would go on smoothly.

Yesterday, by late afternoon, a 1-hour response team had secured the damage and boxed in the busted portion. A claim had been filed with our Insurance company.

It almost seems like the shambolic Corner of Chaos and Mayhem is now back to its regular state of normalcy.

Next, we’ll find out just how kindly the Insurance company treats us.

Cyclones (le fini) – Snow event number two unleashed on us yesterday afternoon. For me it was a quick change of plans – drive and park under cover rather than do the bus thing which requires a several blocks of walking. It was a wise move.

The game (I hadn’t been to a hockey game for some time) was great fun. A full house of roaring fans had assembled for a great evening; good hockey, a fight, an ejection, countless saves, boundless ‘in between the periods’ entertainment, plus cheeseburgers with a large craft beer for $8. It can’t be beaten.

The only improvement would have been a win. The final score was a 4 – 6 win for the Walleyes.

My seat was in the third row at center ice immediately behind the team. Perfect!

The guy next to me (friendly but luckily, he soon moved) turned out to be the unofficial announcer; “Hey Ref You Suck, Hey Ref You Suck.” A refrain which then was quickly picked up to become an arena wide chorus.

From my seat I did see the prettiest goal of the game (if I remember correctly, I think it was Walleye’s fourth). I saw the puck whip off the curved blade of stick, then, as if by magic, a clear path towards the goal seemed to open. Our goalie looked self-assured since he had the whole left side of his goal protected. All of it! All except for a small, maybe 6”, open space between the goal and his left shoulder; and that is where I saw that puck disappear into. You must appreciate perfection; I found myself giving the opposition a round of applause.

It sure was a great evening!

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

Just so you remember, our local Dairy Queen spring re-opening is in 13 days! That’s less than TWO weeks! Can you believe it?

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Being a Hollywood aficionado (NO not really), which famous actress collects knives?

1) Angelina Jolie?
2) Halle Berry?
3) Sigourney Weaver?
4) Jenniver Aniston?

‘Foul is Fair & Fair is Foul’

So, says ‘The Bard’, William Shakespeare in Macbeth. With all that’s been happening plus (at what the dear folk at Halmark would say) wishing y’all a magnificent Valentine Day!

Morning all! You’ve probably gathered yesterday as it marked the last day of the Year of the Rabbit, as the next Lunar New Year in the 12-year zodiac cycle starts today.

The real question is just how do ‘rabbits’ celebrate and what are they known for? Hint; expect a baby boom next November. I am hoisting my coffee mug in salute.

The 5K – For people who wondered, I felt great doing the ‘Frozen 5K’ early last Saturday morning. The event was sold out at 5,000 participants. Out of the around 30 or so in the bracket of males aged 70 – 95 I came in at #8 and the first 7 were all between ages 70 & 73.

Cathy’s Brunch – on Sunday morning was one of those ‘couldn’t get any better’ events. Talk, laughter, and wonderful foods.

A great Fat Tuesday happening – was last Sunday. Two hours of fine, traditional Dixieland Jazz. There would have even been singing with some of “Jelly Roll” Morton’s pieces. I say “would have” because we were in a church setting and the lyrics just weren’t conducive to such a setting.

As a young kid, ‘Jelly Roll’ got his start in New Orleans burlesques and bordellos. He explained that piano players were viewed as feminized sissies, so by writing over the top crude lyrics gave him ‘stature’. Some stuff like this.

Bigger than Beyoncé? — When it comes to Black female voices in music, immediately coming to mind are artists such as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, or the likes of an Ella Fitzgerald. But have any of you ever heard of Mamie Smith? Well, let’s explore.

Mamie (1891 – 1946) was born right here in Cincinnati. She began a whole new genre, but first a little bio. She was an African American who sang Jazz and Blues doing the vaudeville circuit. Then in 1920 she became the first Black female artist to sing and record a secular Blues song – “Crazy Blues”.

In one year that record sold a MILLION copies. This importance caused the record and Mamie Smith to; get inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1994 and be preserved in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in 2005.

She became a Superstar earning as much as $3,000 per performance at her height in the 1930s. During her career Mamie recorded over 160 songs. Enjoy the record that started it all. Love the Blues!

Thank you Tucker – Tucker Carlson has the cajónes to do what no other journalist or media company has dared to do. This week he managed to head for Moscow and interview Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin. Click here to view a clip on X.com where he explains his reasoning.

Whatever your thoughts, we have the right to know and the right to try and understand what is going on with the Russia invasion of the Ukraine. And the $$-Billions we are spending on it. For me, to find out by hearing from both sides is a must.

When the likes of Hillary Clinton gets yanked away from her Chardonay and paraded out to utter; “Tucker Carlson Is Putin’s ‘Useful Idiot’ — ‘He’s Like a Puppy Dog”, it means there is more to the story than what we’ve been privy to. Thank you Tucker!

Quote – Here’s a wonderful quote that still resonates today: “We make fine bourbon at a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but always fine bourbon.” ~ Julian ‘Pappy’ Van Winkle, the patriarch of Stitzel-Weller Distillery

Bourbon – Not sure if you know it, but we’re living in the Golden Age of bourbon. Maybe it’s a product of the 1897 law when a Bourbon Purity law was passed. Whatever the reason, since my retirement in 2008 the bourbon industry has doubled (just so you know, that wasn’t all that long ago). The Kentucky Distillers’ Association reports that bourbon is a $9 billion industry with distilleries in 42 of Kentucky’s 120 counties.

This growth has also been reflected in pricing. ‘King of the Mountain’ in the most sought-after, world of Bourbons, is ‘Pappy Van Winkle’. Pappy’s priciest bottle — the 23-year — has an SRP of $300. The current average market price? An absolutely crazy $6,525. As I read; “in the luxury bourbon world distill less than you can bottle, and people will pay”.

Stitzel-Weller Distillery did distill Pappy Van Winkle. Now it’s produced by Buffalo Trace Distillery about an hour+ drive from here, and itself a modern-day bourbon superstar. However, Julian ‘Pappy’ Van Winkle headed up distilling ‘Pappy’ himself till he was 91 years old.

All of this does mean that Marcia and I have participated in both ‘organized’ and self-organized Distillery tours. The last one was with George and Sandy and it was a blast!

Temu – Planning to watch the Super Bowl tomorrow? If so, please make note that the Chinese company, Temu, will announce its presence with nearly $15-million worth of ads.

Rep. Carol Miller (WV) said that Temu markets products made with Uyghur slave labor.

Last June, the House Select Committee on the CCP issued a report accusing Temu of failing “to maintain even the facade of a meaningful compliance program.”

Just thought you’d want to know. Happy watching!

Keeping Score? – OK, grab your Excel sheet. This is the comparisons between Biden and Trump in reference to this week’s special counsel report.

Row XXX: Column A: Biden “TOP SECRET” file stash willfully retaining 18 documents
Column B: Trump “TOP SECRET” file stash willfully retaining 21 documents
Row YYY: Column A: Biden “SECRET” marked papers willfully retaining 36 files
Column B: Trump “SECRET” marked papers willfully retaining 9 files

Racing Season – Locally at Turfway Park the season is well underway. Down the road, Louisville, the hype kicking off the “Run for the Roses” is also about to start. People are beginning to pay attention to Horse Racing. So, I thought I’d share this.

This was the craziest. A young Irish fellow in Brooklyn, Frank Hayes, finally got his chance. A rookie, he got to ride at Belmont (1923) on a barely rated horse named “Sweet Kiss”. Neither rider nor horse had ever won a race (20-1 odds). Midway through the race young Mr. Hayes suffered a hear attack and died.

However, he had slumped over the horse and stayed in the saddle. The horse did have spunk, ran hard, and surprisingly won by a nose, beating out a steed named ‘Gimme’. Frank Hayes was now the only jockey to ever win a race as a dead man and has his place in the Guinness Book of Records guaranteed.

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

Now, watch the lightning-storm move ‘outta’ here and listen to the last of the rain on the windows. All with a  coffee refill. A good way to kick off the Saturday morning!

PS. Yesterday our temp clicked in at 64F and our local Dairy Queen spring re-opening is in 20 days! Now that is perfection!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:
Here’s a “Where’s Waldo;” how many Corporate Logos can you find?

New heights, New temperatures?

Morning all! Last week I mentioned that according to what I had observed, Marcia, while wearing her CD Holter heart monitor for a couple of days, was not to drink any coffee. She protested strongly. I then should have quoted Abraham Lincoln; “Mary Todd, dearest wife, it is surely so since it came from Social Media”.

Anyway, the Holter experience came and went flawlessly. All is back to normal, and I am enjoying a quick coffee before heading into town and my 5K.

Favorite Headline – “Gregg Abbott and the Invasion of the Border Snatchers.”
“We’ve come a long way from the Boston Tea Party. What would happen to “extremists” throwing tea into a harbor today? Independence Hall. Lexington and Concord. The Articles of Confederation. Patrick Henry declaring, “I may not agree with what you say, but I’ll defend to my dying day your right to say it”.
Donald Jeffries ~ Author “I Protest” Jan. 30, 2024 https://donaldjeffries.substack.com/p/greg-abbott-and-the-invasion-of-the

Her ‘la pointrine’ — was on full display during Marcia’s ECHO exam last Monday. The tech was busily working to get her heart in its most fetching pose possible when he noticed Marcia trying to peek at the screen. Soon he had it turned for her to also see – (and the ‘Beat Goes On’ / Sonny and Cher comes to mind.) When Marcia popped out of the exam room the word I heard her use a few times was “fascinating”. I wasn’t certain if it was because she saw her working heart, or if it was the sensation of a massive amount of gel being rubbed all over.

Then as I mentioned above, immediately after the trial by ECHO, Marcia was fitted with a CD Holter Heart Monitor – wearing it for 48 hours. All went well, and lucky me got to return the equipment.

A weekend for the history books – is about to start. Last week the weather turned from weeks of rain to where I got almost 12-miles practice in (plus some limbering up exercises). Now the fun really kicks in.

The, sold out at 5000, Frozen 5/10K sponsored by our Cyclones Hockey Team’s Foundation will start shortly. Then, this evening it’ll be our neighborhood’s Progressive Dinner. Lots of anticipation on that one. A number of the old folk have moved and we’ll see what the new crop is like.

Then comes Sunday. It begins with a Birthday Celebration Brunch for Cathy. She selected a place I hadn’t ever heard of; ‘Proud Hound Coffee – Café and Roastery’. Online it looks appealing. It’s located in an area close to where we spent our younger years, which went through a downturn and is now experiencing a resurgence.

Then Sunday afternoon I am going solo to be part of a Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra performance; Mardi Gras Party featuring Queen City Vintage Vibe”. It’ll be an early Fat Tuesday  fete reminiscent of king cake and beads. On the program are New Orleans marches, music of Jelly Roll Morton, as well as Mardi Gras favorites like “The Saints Go Marching In!” What a ‘topper’ to the weekend!

The Venue – for my Jazz concert is the nearby First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati which offers some wonderful acoustics. What is also special with that venue is that our 27th President, William Howard Taft (1909 – 1913), was a member of this church. Just as an aside, President Taft was also our Solicitor General as well as the tenth Chief US Supreme Court Justice.

In Inches, Feet, Centimeters, or Meters – these all point the same direction. Data shows us that during the 1800s Americans were the tallest people in the world. But the height thing has changed; DRAMATICALLY!

Records show that beginning about 1980 average height started to decline. Currently we are number 47 in the height rankings department (women rank 58th). The Netherlands tops the list.

Professor John Komlos (former holder of the chair of economic history at the University of Munich) states that height is an overlooked indicator of human welfare. “This is especially important from the point of view of human welfare, changes in average height reveal a lot about how well a society cares for its children.”

CO2 – Geologist, Prof. Ian Plimer (Australian geologist and professor emeritus at the University of Melbourne). broadcasts that; “Game over. We are dealing with a fraud.” As he demolishes the “human-induced climate change” hoax. He continues; “No one has ever shown that human emissions of CO2 drive global warming… And if it could be shown, then you would have to show that the 97% of emissions which are natural, do not drive global warming.“

I do believe one of those MUST WATCH Red Carpet shindigs in Hollywood will take place this weekend. I’ll be to busy to turn on the ‘telly’, but you must watch. If not you may not catch a momentous moment such as this:

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

PS. Our local Dairy Queen spring re-opening is in 27 days!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:
What was the concept meaning of EPCOT?

1) Experimental Prototype to Change our Tomorrows
2) Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow
3) Every Patron Challenged Often and Totally
4) Exotic Paradise Countries of Transylvania, Tenerife, and Tuamotus.
5) European Principal Challenges Over Time

Tradwives & Arabica

Morning all! The last days of January and already I am noticing the days getting longer.

I’ll shorten the Ramblings (slightly) this week. I’ve taken note that some of my readers have, Benjamin Franklin style, been required to light more than one beeswax candle to get through the recent page-burners. Part of that is due to the short winter days and long nights thus requiring artificial light; the longer days are a good thing.

Coffee is on our minds this week, especially Marcia as she faces a couple of days of absolute intimacy with an, as yet to be introduced, CD Holter Heart Monitor. No coffee when ‘Mr.’ CD Holter is with her. Excited with anticipation she’ll join me momentarily in our morning, coffee fueled, moments.

This week’s ‘Ramblings’ is written by me, Dirk; pronoun “his-they” (satire, just mentoring you through the bizarre state of our currently woke societal world). What follows are a few quotes/insights gathered this week. I thought I’d post to allow a bit of a ‘peeling-back-the-curtain’ on my interests, reading habits, and patterns. I hope you too will expand your own horizons perusing them and use these as a pathway entry to your own expanding horizon.

This/these also satisfies my keeping the contrarian in me pleasantly cheerful.

Eleanor Roosevelt – “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”

The Blizzard of 1978 – (Friday January 27) occurred while I was making my weekly Friday/Saturday trip to Louisville working on my Graduate Studies. The day of the blizzard had me arrive at school only to find out everything had been canceled due to the incoming storm (where was my iPhone?). I turned around and left for home. This was around 5:00pm.

By 10:00 I was whipped and decided to pull off at Carrolton, KY and look for lodging. The exit ramp was completely blocked by 18 wheelers and the entrance ramps blocked by police – I just continued. I plodded on ever so slowly.

Eventually, around Florence, KY I got ahead of the snow and was driving on ice. At the crest where I-75 drops down to the river the road was completely blocked by stalled traffic. I kept on driving on the shoulder working the parking brake handle between the seats. Eventually was the only vehicle approaching Ohio (a cop passed me heading the wrong way to officially close the Interstate). It was after 3:00am when I walked in the front door. And that’s how I remember The Blizzard of 1978.

‘Tradwife Movement’ — “It’s an acronym for “Traditional Wife.” So far, it resides especially among millennial and Gen Z women. These young women would prefer being stay-at-home wives, keeping house, and raising kids as depicted in ’50s and ’60s movies, TV series — Leave it To Beaver, The Dick van Dyke Show, Dennis the Menace, The Donna Reed Show, I Love Lucy, etc.”
I quoted L. Reichard White, who taught physics and served two terms on the Libertarian National Committee. He emphasizes a change in feminism as espoused a decade ago which highlighted that to be fulfilled women needed to grow and thrive in the workaday world. He posits that the outside working ‘need’ has come about due to the growth of government and therefore the need for a growing tax pool. Thus, for the most part, it has meant the end of the single breadwinner household.

Woke Business Fails – ”Sports Illustrated competes with Bud Light as “Most Woke Corporation” goes broke, and the owner lays off the entire staff. Thank God there are still some business owners left in America who understand that in order to succeed in business one must please one’s customers, not make them want to throw up.”
This quotes Thomas DiLorenzo, President of the Misis Institute, past Professor of Economics at Loyola University – Maryland.

Federal Powers run Amok – “The intensity of our division springs from a federal government operating far beyond the limits of the Constitution — fueling a fight for control over powers that were never supposed to exist at the national level.”
So writes Brian McGlinchy -StarkRealities.substack.com, Journalist. The Founding Fathers were worried about this happening. James Madison wrote at length about the subject; “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.”

All of the growth arose with a 1937 US Supreme Court ruling was due to an ‘overreaching’ reinterpretation of the Constitution’s language, especially two words: “General Welfare” [Article 1, Section 8]. Thomas Jefferson warned/worried on exactly this point.

The resultant wild government expansion is pretty well unconstitutional! Let that sink in.

Audio – Meanwhile, I had a great listen to a Joe Rogan Experience podcast on my walks this week. A whole world of subjects was discussed between Rogan and Sex Neuroscientist Dr. Deborah Soh. Many of the subjects that find me shaking my head in disbelief were explored. From Politics having ruined Academia to debunking Gender Science Spectrum denial.
On audio it’s Podcast number 2082. Here is a short video intro on the current state of Academia:

Did I see plumes of White Smoke waft from:

The Texas flag waving in the wind.

A. The Texas Governor’s office telling his Guard to continue protecting the Texas border.
B. over the two largest, filled, event halls in Edmonton and Calgary to hear Tucker Carlson who told the crowd he was going to rescue them from Trudeau. (watch full speech here)
C. Our capitol building where the Ohio Legislature told our Governor that they were the people’s representatives and that the unborn also had full access to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.
D. From the office of Arizona Senatorial candidate Keri Lake who told the Republican Party head that even for a Billion $$ she couldn’t be bought – he was forced to resign.
E. And from the halls of a University where I learned that, according to the DNA of the coffee I drink, it all comes from one or the other of two species, ‘Coffea Canaphora’ or ‘Caffea Arabica’, and am delighted with both.

Looking back, it was a very good week.

Aging — Last week’s Ramblings mentioned aging as ‘traversing a path’. Next Saturday I’ll try and post early since I’ll ‘traverse a path’ by participating in a 5K with a route running alongside the Ohio river and around the Bengals and Reds stadiums. This winter’s event, the “Cincinnati Cyclones Frozen 5/10K” will benefit youth hockey and will be the fifth time I join in.

A new book – signed by the author, Peter Bronson, no less. I am just starting his latest read; The Man Who Saved Cincinnati. Laying the book’s foundation, he presents a few facts which I had not heard before, and which blew me away.

The importance of this city during the Civil War (1862) cannot be underestimated for two reasons. First, we were positioned with one foot in the North and the other in the South (even though Ohio was and stayed a Northern State).

Secondly is this series of factoids which made having control of Cincinnati critical to the war effort since at that time we were the 6th largest city in the nation. We were: 4 times bigger than San Francisco and twice as big as Chicago, five times bigger than Detroit, Pittsburgh, or Cleveland. Also realize that Indianapolis, Columbus, and Atlanta were mere towns of fewer than 10,000. Even the small city of Covington across the river (and thus in the South) was larger than Toledo or Sacramento.

Control of ‘Zincinnati’ was critically important since we had Medical facilities, a major river route port, manufacturing – including ammunition, clothing, tobacco, meat processing, food stuffs, rail, beer. This area had everything required to fight a war – successfully. And it was all fully operational, including a well-established Underground Railway route providing escape to slaves. Anyway, it’s going to be a great read.

Question? On walks I continue to see yard signs displaying an array of, basically meaningless, feel good progressive, slogans. One that jumps out is the “Trust the Science“.  Reality dictates that Science is meant to be questioned. The Covid (especially the mRNA) jabs are quickly becoming an issue (click on link). But it goes on and on. Remember thalidomide? While in school I worked in a psychiatric facility and assisted patients who had been the recipients of a pre-frontal Lobotomy.  Bottom line — never stop questioning!

Mid-week Cathy enjoyed adding another year to her lengthening list. Happy Birthday Cathy.

And, TODAY, it’s Kirstin’s birthday. While she is seeing U2 in Vegas I hope they sing her; HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

May Peace prevail! Shalom.

PS. Our local Dairy Queen spring re-opening is in 34 days!
Dirk

BONUS POINTS:
Which is the official state dish of Texas?

1) Chicken Fried Steak
2) Chili
3) Barbeque
4) Pecan Pie
5) Texas Gulf shrimp
6) Sopaipilla and Strudel

The Cold Continues

Morning all! It’s oh-so difficult for me these days; the Polar Vortex to be more specific. To be told I cannot continue heading out and practicing my favorite pastime, talk. Staying indoors and quietly sip my coffee – at the same time drive Marcia nuts with chatter. It’s absolute misery:

“Americans told ‘not to breathe deeply or talk’ outside as ‘deadly’ polar vortex causes temperatures to plummet.”

Cherokee – for over 60 years a 42’ sign has been visible advertising a used car dealership. It all began by the son, Walter Schott, setting up a remote lot to sell trade ins from his dad’s Cincinnati based Pontiac dealership. The logo of the era was a formal, stylized image of Chief Pontiac. The sign though was of a huge Cherokee Indian, with flashing eyes and a welcoming waving arm.

Walter Sr’s son Charles Schott was married to Marge, Marge Schott, the volatile owner of the MLB Cincinnati Reds Baseball team who loved “her boys”, a chain smoker and absolutely no whiskers on chins allowed. Yes, that Marge.

As college aged kids, brother George had spotted a used Ford with some massive V8 (I think it was an old police car) on that very lot. I was dragged along, ostensibly to tell George ‘What a deal this clunker was’. Instead, I talked him out of it. This was all at this very same ‘Cherokee’ motors and happened under that Indian’s waving arm (the arm’s motor was then still working) and standing next to a Brylcreem slathered salesguy.

The years have passed. The sign still stands and is the ‘linchpin’ for the Paddock Hills/Carthage area. In fact, any sane Cincinnatian will, when asked about the big sign, answer without blinking and eye; “Where Paddock meets Vine, at the Big Indian Sign”.

But now, a handful of activists have begun the push to have the sign taken down. This even though a vast majority of the native population don’t give a diddly-doo. What these activists apparently don’t realize is that as soon as the sign comes down it’ll find a new home at the American Sign Museum.

Guess where the American Sign Museum is located? I think you’d be correct if you said, “Monmouth St. in Cincinnati.” Playing with an old catchphrase to now say; “Old Cherokee Indian Signs never die………”

Obstreperous — One owner in our building has a small dog that, when left alone, will bark on and on at anything; this could be a passing dog walker outside, or any slight noise in the hallway. In any case, Marcia especially takes note.

I’ve been tempted to slide a little note under the door advising just how obstreperous the dog is. I finally opted to not do it because no one would understand what “obstreperous” means. There you go, your word of the Day; Obstreperous.

Quote for the Ages; “How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever. How long? Not long, you shall reap what you sow… How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. from his march on Selma “Our God is Marching On” speech – Selma, Alabama, March 25, 1965

Persia vs Iowa – This week, during the ‘snow-bomb’ of the century, Iowa held its ritualistic, first in the nation and absurdly dull CAUCUS.

People representing Trump talked beauty of a proper combover, Haley’s mouthpiece glowed about stylish pumps and cute accents, DeSantis’ stand-in proceeded to draw the outline the State of Florida. For Ramaswamy the assigned speaker wore an inside out sheep hide emulating Cincinnati’s entry in his preferred coat.

Still, it was DULL, no ifs or buts about, it had no spunk!

Especially when compared to the decision-making process perfected by the ancient Persians.
As the Greek historian Herodotus, who lived during the time period (550 to 330 BCE), wrote on the Greco-Persian conflicts; “It is their custom to deliberate about the gravest matters when they are drunk…..If, being sober, they still approve it, they act on it, but if not, they drop it. And if they have deliberated about a matter when sober, they decide upon it when they are drunk.”

Persians apparently loved their wine and drank heartily. And, most importantly, knew how to conduct meetings to a winning conclusion. Are you listening Iowa?

Aging — A bit ago Marcia crossed one of those defining Birthdays. In a few weeks I’ll settle even more comfortably in that same age bracket. And my mental makeup is such that I actually enjoy both the new opportunities and the challenges presented as I traverse this path.

Always exploring, I spend a small bit of time now and then searching how to make maturing the positive part of living that it can and should be. The attached is one of those found ‘jewels’:

A Swan Song – from The Netherlands and via my cousin Karin. This recording goes back a few years and was recorded by Ramses Shaffy at the urging of his favorite collaborator and duet-singer; Liesbeth List. The aging Ramses was nearing a final battle with esophageal cancer – he lived 1933/2009. She and friends began with his song ‘Laat Me’ (Let me be)

It didn’t take long and Ramses found himself behind the microphone and the music took over, ‘Liesbeth’, the other singers, and Ramses. Funny how music can do that.

“Laat me” (English translation) Composed by Ramses Shaffy

Maybe I was born too late
Or in a different country with different light
I always feel somewhat lost
Although the mirror shows my face

I know the pubs, the cathedrals
From Amsterdam to Maastricht
Nevertheless I will get lost every day
That will keep everything well-balanced

Don’t mind me
Don’t mind me
Just let me do what I do
Don’t mind me
Don’t mind me
I’ve always done this this way

I won’t forget my friends
Who I love will be loved by me
And where they live is something I should know
But I lost their last letter

There will absolutely come a time I will meet them
Maybe today, maybe in a year
A would kiss and greet them
Everything will be alright

Luckily I haven’t been anchored
Sometimes I live here, sometimes I live over there
I haven’t screwed up my life
I don’t own anything and won’t disagree

I love the water and the earth
I love cheap and expensive
Never saved up a penny
I just live hour by hour

There will be a time I would die
I can’t change that
I would keep my songs wandering
Furthermore you can find it out yourself

Provisionally I will keep kissing you
Your black sheep, your dearest fan
I would love to stay and preferably any longer
And just let me be who I am

Don’t mind me
I always did it this way

Composer: Ramses Shaffy. From When I Look In Your Eyes, released November 11, 2020

Dolly – yesterday was Dolly Parton’s birthday (born in 1946). Happy Birthday Dolly! But that is not what this is about. Just ‘jawing’ around it was Earl Pitts who segued, somehow, from Dolly to self-driving cars. Here, have a listen to see how masterfully our neighborhood’s gadfly masters the transition:

The WEF at Davos — As the old saw goes; “the future belongs to those who show up”. I do believe that those climate (death cult) aficionados who flew into Davos for the WEF meetings this week, and traveled in their private jets, believe this to be true.

May Peace prevail! Shalom

PS. Our local Dairy Queen re-opens in 41 days!
Dirk

BONUS POINTS:
The history of swimwear is a history of not only sports and fun, but also modesty and fashion. Here are some known new introductions and trend starters.

This is to pay homage to Sports Illustrated whose entire staff were told yesterday that they are getting laid off.

Out of these five – which one is incorrect

In 1920 Janzen Knitting Mills introduced the first iconic woolen one-piece bathing suit.
In 1937 New Jersey was the first State to legalize men swimming “bareback” (topless).
The two-piece Swimsuit Dates Back to Ancient Rome.
The string bikini was invented in 1946 by a French auto engineer.
At the start of the 20th Century women wore bathing corsets designed for swimming

Heavenly

Morning all! Well, well, another se’nnight’s gone by and here we are again. The gift-giving frenzy is over and all sorts of tax hype is being mailed fast and furiously. I might actually say it’s arriving with ‘turbo’’ speed.

This week, and with full apologies, things are somewhat in a ‘hack’, a ‘sniff’, and a ‘blow’. All due to the blanket of a mental fog reigning over ‘Moi’ here in the ‘Nati. I’ve been fighting a sad case of the common cold.

No need to panic, I’m over the ‘hump’ and well on the road to recovery – I’ve even traded in my stock of Acetaminophen. Thursday with temps in the mid-40s I managed a 6.78-mile hike. As an aside, on my walk I listened to Dr. Jordan B. Peterson Podcast interview on Spotify. #412 True Stories From a Soviet Spy | Jack Barsky. Stunningly fascinating and I heartily recommend it.

For a week’s first, my morning coffee tastes like the perfect elixir of old.

Probably due to a few sips of coffee the fog lifted, and I had a thought. Back in the 1950s the days of my youth (AKA ‘The Days of Yore’) times were different. During that time Guy Lombardo, Tony Benet and Elvis were playing on cabinet sized radios. Ed Sullivan and Hopalong Cassidy were seen on tiny bread box sized screens – Sylvania with the HaloLight was the best.

Now we’re in a new year and in the early part of a new century and all this 1950s technology has morphed into one handheld item – reduced to a mere 6.5 inches diagonal and no HaloLight. But it’s in living color.

We’ve come a long way baby!

As soon as I finish posting I’ll look for my mobile, it must be laying around here someplace.

Which way goeth the Arrow? — Behind this week’s closed-door meetings of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic led by neighboring Congressman Brad Wenstrup, MD, Dr. Fauci admitted that the six-foot social distancing recommendation “was likely not based on any data.”

In response to the YouTube below, and written by some wag on-line, I read; “He was “very, very, very” but not “totally” strongly”.

From the beginning, whenever I was advised that I should be doing such and such to fend off the spread of the Wuhan Flu I would always reply that I was following Fauci’s recommendations. Saying so with confidence, since they seemed to always change or be pulled from thin air. I remember doing so wandering a store aisle going anti-arrow. Remember the masking creep?

I know I may have sounded curmudgeonly, but hey; I WAS CORRECT!

Quote of the Decade; “There’s a distinct anti-science flavor to this.” ~ Anthony (I am the Science.) Fauci

Jazz – is a go-to music style I appreciate. This week I read on Axios where the Gen Z crowd is forgoing the electronic ‘beats’ and fueling a jazz comeback. It seems that every new generation has a ‘new’ something that either dumps or skewers something from the previous generation; no beard – beard, skinny pants—bell-bottoms, tie—poncho, bra—no bra, and the list goes on (I can weather all of these ‘storms’, except for the horrid ‘saggy pants’ phenomena still seen in our urban centers).

Just a little news snipped that brought a smile to my face.

The Heaven’s — and I’m not referring to Bob Dylan’s great Bourbon; “Heaven’s Door”. Actually, his Bourbon is a Tennessee whisky, and I am posting about our neighboring city of Lexington, KY.

Turns out that Lexington has an ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking Convention and Visitors Bureau; VisitLEX, assembling some thinkers and knowers, they planned a welcoming tourist ‘flyer’. Then took it one step further: 40 lightyears further.

The government’s recent UFO discussions and Deep Space imaging with the Hubble and James Webb telescopes pointed their thinking to extra-terrestrials and how they’d appreciate Lexington’s Horse Park. Turns out the nearest area possibly capable of life is the TRAPPIST-1 solar system 40 light years away.

A carefully assembled invitation, using a team of experts, was developed. “Contents of the message range from photos of Lexington to an audio recording from legendary blues musician Tee Dee Young, to a coded bitmap image containing clues to the origin and intent of the transmission.”

The FAA gave its blessing and a special Laser beam set up. Linguistics expert Dr. Andrew Byrd stated: “The bitmap image is the key to it all. We included imagery representing the elements of life, our iconic Lexington rolling hills, and the molecular structure for water, bourbon, and even dopamine…because Lexington is fun!”

A first – serious note for the New Year. Our BMV notified me that my Driver’s License will expire next month. Luckily my eye/retina disaster from exactly a year ago has healed exceptionally well – lingering depth perception being about the only bit of a hiccup. So, it shouldn’t be an issue to renew.

But then, looking into the future, is the issue of age. Our licenses here are good for 4 years. It was Marcia to the rescue, she said that I could get one for 8 years. Eight years, it’s my new goal for the New Year along with a few more 5Ks.

May Peace prevail! Shalom. Happy first true winter weather of 2024,

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:
The National FOP reports that 378 officers were shot in 2023, sadly the highest number since they started tracking the data. Details of the FOP report – which one of these four is incorrect?

60% increase in officers shot since 2018.
Congress passed HR 743—Protect and Serve Act of 2023.
115 ambush attacks that resulted in 138 officers shot.
46 officers murdered by gunfire.

Sots on TV

Morning all! Thanks for spending a handful of your valuable minutes out of the 1,440 you’ll have available today – it’s appreciated.

Now I’ll take a few of my valuable minutes to pour and enjoy my morning mug of Java.

My ‘header’ this week pays homage to CNN’s New Year’ eve fete with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen doing shots (it’s become such a lovely, boozy, tradition).

In and out (not the CA fast food joints) — we had 14 people in and around our place for the whole past week and part of this one. Luckily some of the time was also at Adrianne & Tevita’s, and Jason & Cathy’s. This all made for a grand time and way too little sleep (not in small part due to too few hours of actual sleep). The best part was watching the cousins interact, laugh, chat, and picking up as if they’d seen one another mere hours ago.

Alongside all the table games, we did complete a 550-piece jig-saw puzzle – 3D of Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Kirstin was the master managing the border. Derek was the master orchestrating the middle portions.

The Party — There comes a time, as Clark Gable so famously blurted out; “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” (Gone with the Wind, 1939) when we all become so free as to just blurt things out. Maturing can do that. I did it when I punched through the Four-Score marker. This past week Marcia broke through her number 80. And we all had a blast watching her having a great time enjoying the moment.

With New Year barely in the rear-view mirror her whole weekend event became one grand party. Dinner was held at her favorite grub joint, Gordo’s Pub and Grill – a place, as was sung on Cheers; “Where Everybody Knows Your Name.” It couldn’t have been a better time. And, having every one of the kids and grandkids present doubled the joy and the celebration.

Wink, Wink, Woke, Woke – More and more we read, watch, and see Corporate America go off the deep woke end. Just look at the likes of Disney, Bush Beer, and Target, plus a myriad of other companies – private and public.

Then the government Bureaucracies, State governments, and City Councils got involved. Whoops, don’t forget about education and even the Colleges and Universities (please also include libraries and their colorful tiny-tots trans reading parties) joined in the happy fray of absolute intolerance. I don’t want to begin starting a ‘chapter-book’ of lists of all this nonsense.

Just let it be said that almost everywhere no grant request will even be looked at unless proper genuflection is made to each and every ‘special’ group. All this takes precedence over a minor detail such as QUALIFICATION.

Who would you sooner have close by, someone who breaks out in tears when not referred to by their preferred pronoun of ‘Zirk’, ‘Bzzz” or whatever, or someone like Admiral Jeremiah Denton Jr.? He was taken from his prison cage and interviewed for the world media by the North Vietnamese. Here is what he did, he “blinked his eyes in Morse code during the interview, spelling out the word “T-O-R-T-U-R-E”. He was also questioned about his support for the U.S. war effort in Vietnam, to which he replied: “I don’t know what is happening, but whatever the position of my government is, I support it fully.” (Wikipedia).

Best morning coffee – On a cold winter’s morning with some hearty coffee, three or so hot Poffertjes purchased at Trader Joe’s. Then lightly sprinkled with a little powdered sugar, Marcia’s recommendation!

Marcia noticed it first – I quickly picked up on her thinking. She noticed that I had gone completely bonkers at Trader Joe’s. Whatever could be labeled as ‘appetizer’ or ‘desert’ or ‘snack’ ended up in one of their cute little shopping carts. While I was so preoccupied, Kirstin was likewise hard at work, only she was in the flower department.

All of this is in and by itself not much of a problem, with a couple of exceptions. First, with vase after vase of fresh flowers and just the two of us, does the mental image of Funeral Parlor paint the right picture? Next, all our guests have departed, we’re mostly out of food, but we have a ton of “‘appetizer’ or ‘desert’ or ‘snack’” to keep us fed.

Anyone for a ‘Poffertje’?

While we’re all still feeling so good – about all the joy of leaving 2023 behind and starting fresh with 2024, there is a bit of news that leaked out. Watchdogs reported that last year the Feds made $236 billion in “improper payments.” Remember, this massive Waste will quickly catch up in 2024 – just a thought.

Now, one more coffee with ‘Poffertjes’ while I sit by the window to watch the much hyped first major snow storm of the winter. 1½“of what will quickly turn to slush; but we’re all forewarned and the ‘Nati is fully prepped — possibly the town is filled with conspiratorial ‘preppers’.

May Peace prevail! Shalom. Happy New Year, Dirk

BONUS POINTS:
The National FOP reports that 378 officers were shot in 2023, sadly the highest number since they started tracking the data. Details of the FOP report – which one of these four is incorrect?

1. 60% increase in officers shot since 2018.
2. Congress passed HR 743—Protect and Serve Act of 2023.
3. 115 ambush attacks that resulted in 138 officers shot.
4. 46 officers murdered by gunfire.

Saudade!

Morning all! And a Happy New Year! Our town (actually our piece of the ‘hood), this weekend, seems to be a bit less active than usual – seems it’s in a saudade mood (from my travels, referencing a mood as expressed in Brazil). There, saudade [sau·da·de], your word for our entry into the New Year; 2024.

This holiday week has been great with our whole gang together, lots of food, games, chats, and most importantly, Love. I hope that yours has been wonderful as well.

Oh, before I forget. Yes, the ‘wagons’ did make a stop here at our building, on the corner of Chaos & Mayhem

The Dutchman— For all my friends who have some inkling of the Dutch in you, here is your New Year’s gift from me. For everyone not Dutch, I’m sorry you’re not, but I’ll still gift you this song. Most versions are by Country singers, this one by Celtic Thunder.

Enjoy:

A Resolution – Over my morning coffee I filtered (pun) my New Year’s resolutions down to the one I can actually accomplish. I’ve made up my mind – it’s so recent that I haven’t even shared it with Marcia.

This coming year I resolve to attend the Western & Southern Tennis Open (beginning in 2024 it’ll be renamed “The Cincinnati Open”). There, it’s now news scattered far and wide, so I am on the hook. I’ve always enjoyed tennis. Never a “nutcase” on it but played it a fair bit – marginally. So, the question is, why go?

For the ambiance!

The city nearly lost its Western and Southern earlier this year. After the consternation of the possible loss dust settled, the Cincinnati Open will stay in the area for at least the next quarter century. This tournament is the final run-up of the New York Open. It brings the top players in the world.

The tournament has been around our town since 1899, has over 200,000 attendees, great food, great music, people from all 50 states and, as I’m told, here from 39 countries. Plus, a worldwide viewership of about 130 million. This thing is HUGE! And I want to be part of it at least once, and 2024 will be the year!

The photo shows the Main Court:

Election Update Line –This line from journalist Matt Taibbi: “Democracy Dies in Daylight” and it’s so true, especially as the end of 2023 is priming itself for a stunning start into 2024. Actually, the thinking comes from the Washington Post, when they pledged to save democracy, but now argue we need to be saved from it.

How, you ask?

How about this from Canada. A legitimate author in Canada wrote a book quite critical of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. This past week this journalist/author, Ezra Levant, was fined $13,000 when a Federal Court sided with Justin Trudeau and ruled that his book, The Libranos, was illegal. The guarantees placed in Canada’s Charter of Rights, thus conveniently tossed aside by a small, appointed, and non-elected group.

Remember the adage, “innocent till proven guilty”?  But then, just how easy it is now for one person to erase the primary candidate of their opposition party off the ballot. And do so without any conviction on any charge, just inuendo and a ‘kangaroo’ committee. This was done this week in both Colorado and Maine.

Yesterday an unelected Federal Judge, days before going into effect (January 1). He blocked an Iowa law passed by the legislature last winter. The Law? Nothing to concern yourself about. It merely bans schools from using books depicting sex acts from school libraries and classrooms. It also blocks teachers in Iowa classrooms from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation issues with students through the sixth grade.

Best sentence of 2023 – August 8, 2023: “I wish politicians would look out for miners, and not just minors on an island somewhere.” — Oliver Anthony, “Rich Men North of Richmond”

Movie  – Several of us headed out to the theater to watch “The Boys in the Boat”. It was well done and a was worthwhile watching, although I appreciated the book more.

In line with the whole rowing theme, I spotted this quote: “In rowing, you move forward by looking in the opposite direction, I learned that it’s OK to look back, as long as you keep pushing forward.” –Arshay Cooper, rower, author of A Most Beautiful Thing: The True Story of America’s First All-Black High School Rowing Team.

Button-down Humor – lost a renaissance comedian early this past week, Tommy Smothers, at age 86, one member of a pair of brothers, Tommy and Dick Smothers. It was their mid Sixties, boundary-pushing political satire, which included veiled jokes about drugs, sex and American involvement in Vietnam. It also helped launch the careers of television and comedy institutions, such as Rob Reiner and Steve Martin” (The Hill).

Their anti-war satire comedy on primetime television riled President Johnson to the point where he called the President of CBS. Quickly the Smothers Brothers were told to cut it out. In turn they invited anti-war folk singer Pete Seeger on the show where he sang an antiwar song (the Seeger piece was cut from the show). With ratings on top of the CBS lineup the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was soon canceled.

As icons of the Sixties counterculture, it was Tommy who was invited to participate in the recording of John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance”.

Please No more – Some things need to be put to rest and never to be revived. Some things happened in 2023 not to be repeated in this New Year. The perfect example occurred this past August. Subway restaurants offered a lifetime of Subway sandwiches if you were willing to formally change your name to ‘Subway’.

10,000 weak minded folks jumped on to this ‘amazing’ offer. One was picked. Subway followed up and even paid for the bureaucratic claptrap required to make the name switch.  I’m wishing ‘Subway’ the ‘winner’, a happy life.

New Year’s Weekend –

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup!
And surely I’ll buy mine!
And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

May Marcia have a singularly GRAND time on the big ‘0’ Birthday she’ll be celebrating this week.

And may Peace prevail! Shalom. Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

7 Sentences from news articles which explain 2023; except for one – which one is fake?

1) March 24, 2023: “Well, I lost half a day of skiing.” —Gwyneth Paltrow

2) April 26, 2023: “There’s no failure in sports.” —Giannis Antetokounmpo

3) June 13, 2023: “Sell the team.” —Oakland A’s fans

4) December 1, 2023: “To hell with this place.” —George Santos

5) October 11, 2023: “Same, except exactly the opposite.” —Sam Bankman-Fried

6) February 24, 2023: “Bert Parks, “Miss America” was never the same without him; did he ever win?” —@padretom99