A confession I am NOT proud of....

So this morning, as is my custom, I settled in to the....umm...."library" and carefully chose my reading material.  Too late I realized I had already read all the words off of every page.  DOH!  

Then, I must confess, I did something that I'm not at all proud of.  I....I....*gulp* I picked up one of K's ladies magazines and took a peek inside.  There.  I said it.  *Bye-bye Man Card*

It was More magazine, which based on my quick peek inside was short for More Ads, because that's what was in there.  More Ads to look at than anything to actually read.

But among the few articles was one that was really pretty interesting.  It was by Linda Yellin and titled "When did kale get a publicist?"  She wrote that she went to the store to buy a bag of potato chips and instead found an entire section of kale chips.  

And not just plain vanilla kale chips, but in flavors like Bombay curry, zesty nacho, and one scary-sounding variety called mango habanero.

Now please keep in mind that I was born and (mostly) raised in Texas when I ask, "What the #%&* is kale?"  The only "kale" I know spelled it with a "C", and he was an old-school NASCAR driver.  (All hearsay, of course.  I'm not into NASCAR.)

I used to kill stuff growing wild in my yard that looked more appetizing than this.

Even the author said she never ate it because "it's hard to wash and tastes like rubber."  (So was kale the inspiration for Gummy Bears?)  Up until now I always thought the parsley growers had the best PR guy in the business, but now I'm thinking this kale guy has him beat.

Think about it:  With parsley, that little green weed-looking thing restaurants put on your plate so they can get a few "presentation points", all you do is look at it, then immediately knock it off your plate carefully set it off to the side.  

With kale, their smooth-talking PR guy actually gets you to put it in your mouth and chew it (and chew and chew and chew if Ms. Yellin's description is accurate) and eventually swallow it.  

He's GOOD!  But as I see it, any vegetable that needs its own PR guy must be a real loser.  

Like the author said, back in her day (and my day) your mama would slap down a plate of meatloaf and say, "Eat it!"  The food we ate back then didn't need a fancy PR guy.  Just an "enforcer".  :)

S

The King is back!

I think it was Mark Twain who once said "reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated".  I think the same could be uttered by the ghost of Elvis Presley.  Check this:

This is a 16-year-old Canadian young man who does the best Elvis impersonation EVER!  If I was one of the many Elvis-ti trying to make a buck in Vegas, I'd be worried.  VERY worried!

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Civil disobedience, Principality of Monaco style....

The accompanying article said there are 36,000 residents of Monaco, the average income is $150K per year, health care benefits are "generous", and unemployment is 0.  I was thinking about packing up and moving there until I read they have "a stringent policy of barring residency to people whose bank accounts, for example, do not meet the authorities’ approval."

I wonder if they would count the value of my Legends of NASCAR commemorative plate collection*?  If so, then I'd have....let's see....that's 9....carry the 2....aww, the hell with 'em.

S

*  Kidding, I'm not into NASCAR.  :)

Thinking outside the box

Want to put your town on the map?  Don't have the funds to build a new Disney theme park or a NASCAR race track?  Not to worry.  Just follow the lead of Deer Trail, Colorado.  This small town (550 ppl) east of Denver will vote October 8 on whether to issue permits to hunt drones.

The idea started out as one man's symbolic protest against a "surveillance society", but quickly morphed into a plan (?) for the town to pull in tourism....and revenue.

"What do you want to do for a summer vacation this year, dear?  Take the kids to Disney World again?  Maybe the beach?  Or how about we leave the little urchins with your mom and just the two of us take a cruise?"

"Oh, I dunno, Earl.  I'm tired of the 'same 'ol thing'.  I was kinda thinking we could go to Deer Trail, CO, just east of Denver, and plink us some drones."

If the voters approve, the town would issue drone hunting licenses for $25, good for one year.  "They'll sell like hot-cakes.  It could be a huge moneymaker for the town", according to resident Phillip Steel who drafted the ordinance.  

The town would also offer a $100 bounty for shooters who brought in downed-drone debris.  Never mind that the only guns "hunters" would be allowed to use would be shotguns, making hitting the high-flying drones (30,000') a "long shot".  *Pardon the pun.*

And just FYI....gubment drones can be fitted out with ordinance that enables them to shoot back.  That ought to add to the "thrill of the hunt".  ;)

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Big changes for fans who attend NFL games this year....they will no longer be able to bring into the stadiums backpacks, fanny packs, small coolers, seat cushions, even women's purses will be banned, all in the name of security.  

On our local (Dallas) news this morning they asked whether these new rules "would deter you from going to see a Cowboy's game?"  Responders to the poll said "yes" by a 71-19 margin, the other 10% asking "why would I want to go see the Cowboys?"

That personally wouldn't deter me.  The fact that Jerry Jones would also be "in the House"....THAT would deter me.

Three cheers for Friday!  :)

S

I believe I hear the fat woman singing....

....and I don't think Mitt Romney likes what he's hearing.

Various polls are now saying Willard "the Mitt" Romney is losing ground in the few critical up-for-grab states that are going to decide who will be our next President.  Sure, there are numerous things that could turn his campaign around, but as I see it, they are all outside his control.

Brick Obama could have a brain fart during the debates, but I think he's too smart for that.  Israel could turn Tehran into a smoking hole, causing them to close the Strait of Hormuz.  Gas goes up to $8 a gallon, and Obama could be sending out resumes.  Who knows?  Unemployment could take a huge leap up, but with holiday hiring now kicking off, that doesn't seem likely. 

So where did Romney go wrong?  As I've said for months, most Americans don't want an "extreme" candidate from either end of the spectrum.  Remember the extremely liberal Democratic Party of the 1980's?  The Republican's ultra-conservative Tea Party of today is that far to the right.  Many middle-class mature voters are turned off by those types.  Why didn't Mitt move towards the center?  

Instead he picked lightning rod Paul Ryan for a running mate, IMO a bad mistake.  Seniors see him as the guy who's gonna mess with their Medicare and Social Security.  Even though Ryan said nothing for them would change, seniors don't believe him.  It's sort of like how, when one company buys another, they always say, "No operational changes are expected."  

Yeah, right.  Six months later divisions have been sold-off, pensions and health care have been overhauled for the worse, and a few more pink slips are passed out every Friday.  That's how many seniors see Paul Ryan.  And just coincidentally, battle-ground states Ohio and Florida are loaded with seniors.

And the "47%" quip, the "my wife has two Cadillacs", and the "I don't know anything about NASCAR but several of my friends own teams" hasn't exactly made folks want to invite Mitt and Ann over for hot dogs and a friendly game of backyard horse shoes.  There's just no "warm fuzzy".

Nope, I don't think Mitt Romney has enough time left to distance himself from the Tea Party "Young Guns" and reinvent himself as a moderate (that he probably really is).  I guess we can read the expert's election post mortem three months from now and see if my analysis was on target or not.  One thing no one can argue with is this has been a ridiculously expensive, nasty election.  Can you imagine the free-for-all in 2016?

S

I think he needs a bit more coaching

I don't think 'ol Mitt gets it.  At this stage of a political campaign aren't candidates supposed to put on their jeans (after they buy some), roll up their sleeves, and mingle with the common folk?  Mitt managed to pull off the first two, but it's the "mingling" part that seems to be giving him fits.


He's in Michigan, blue collar heaven, and he tells a group of auto workers that he drives American-made cars, and that his wife drives a Cadillac, TWO actually.  And when asked if he followed NASCAR, he replied, a little, he's not really an expert, but several of his best friends OWN NASCAR teams.  


Well boy howdy!  Pull up a stool, Mitt, and have a cold one with us.  Or maybe he has one of those false labels he can wrap around his bottle of Dom Perignon to make it look like a bottle of Boone's Farm.  I'd suggest one of those little round cans of Skoal for his back pocket, too.  Yep, "A Man of the People".  That's Mitt.  *Some Grey Poupon for your hot dog, sir?*


S