Monday, April 15, 2013

Today's news round-up

Good News
Bad News

Friday, April 12, 2013

Recent news round-up

Good News
Bad News
Sort of Good, Sort of Bad, News

Monday, April 01, 2013

Today's new round-up

Good News
Bad news

My tenth warning about Walmart

San Jose: Driver attacks Walmart shoppers after crashing into store, police say

Walmart is a dangerous place, even the parking lot. That's two in a row there. So stay away from the whole place.

Micro-movie review

Renoir: C'est superbe.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Today's news round-up

Good News
Bad News

From the Republican playbook: Open mouth, insert foot

GOP lawmaker calls Hispanic workers ‘wetbacks’

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

More bullets fly at Walmart

Man accused of bagging buck from Walmart parking lot

This is my ninth warning about Walmart. It's a dangerous place. Stay away.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Revenge!

As I noted a couple days ago, my Wisconsin Badgers were bounced out of the NCAA men's basketball tournament by Mississippi, and I wanted revenge. Tonight I got it, as Mississippi was defeated by La Salle.

I will also note that four of the teams that made to the Sweet 16 are from the Big Ten. We play in the toughest league in the country.

And by the way, the Wisconsin men's hockey team won the WCHA tournament, assuring them a place is NCAA championship. On, Wisconsin!

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Today's news round-up

Good News
Bad News

Pourquoi, Blogger?

Until I sign in, Blogger thinks my language is French. Je ne sais pas pourquoi.

Friday, March 22, 2013

Today's news round-up

Good News
Bad News

Semi-random thoughts

  • I did not name my blog after the bowling team in this TV show: ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ Historic Reunion on ‘Hot in Cleveland’. And I sort of doubt they named the team after my blog.
  • My college basketball team, the Wisconsin Badgers, just got upset in their opening game of the national championship tournament. My choice, when this kind of thing happens, is either to want revenge, hoping that their opponents lose badly in their next game, or hoping that their opponents keep winning, showing we lost to a superior team. Since I don't think Mississippi is a superior team (we lost because we shot very poorly), this time I'll go for revenge. 
  • The Tonight Show will be returning to New York. For many years I was a pretty regular viewer, even more so after I got my first VCR in 1976, so I didn't have to stay up until 1 am to see the whole thing. I always thought it lost something when it moved to California. The big name guests stayed pretty much the same, but the lesser-known ones changed. Instead of witty Broadway actors we got television actors whose main attraction was how good they looked (Here's a dirty little secret: a lot of Broadway actors, including those in the chorus, are not all that good-looking--heavy stage make-up, and the fact that there are no close-ups, lets them get away with it).

    It will be interesting to see if Fallon can bring back the old vibe. I've seen his show a few times, and he might be able to do it.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Today's news round-up

Good News
Bad News
Misleading News
Ridiculous News

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Plat du jour--guest submission

 I guess s/he outranks Captain America.

Found by Joanne.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Today's news round-up

Good News

Bad News

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Happy Pi Day!


Eat some pie.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Recent news round-up

Good News
Bad News

Amtrak improves--slightly

For years I have been complaining about Amtrak's failure to properly inform ticket holders about changes in the trains' schedules. They have now improved things--a bit. I got an email from them with my e-ticket (a recent innovation) attached. I found this puzzling, because I had already gotten my e-ticket when I purchased my ticket, weeks before. Then I noticed that my return train was leaving 20 minutes earlier than originally.

There was nothing explicit in the e-mail about a change in schedule. Fortunately I remembered when my train was supposed to leave, and noticed the change. They really should have titled the e-mail "SCHEDULE CHANGE."

Well, at least they are now communicating something, which is more than they did before.

UPDATE (April 8): Amtrak is now doing it right, if slowly. I just received an e-mail from them detailing the schedule change.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Recent news round-up

Good News

Bad News

Friday, March 08, 2013

Recent news round-up

Good News
Bad News

Sunday, March 03, 2013

Plat du jour


I kind of doubt the people at the North Carolina motor vehicles bureau realize the literal meaning.

From Wikipedia:
minchia [ˈmiŋkja]: the same meaning as cazzo but notably a feminine name, it originates from Sicilian language;[13] nowadays it is common anywhere in Italy, where [i]t is also used as exclamation of surprise, or even appreciation.

cazzo (pl. cazzi) [ˈkattso]: literally penis, can be used as an exclamation or for emphasis

Monday, February 25, 2013

Football already?

I saw the score Cleveland 14, Oakland 10, and I immediately thought, football already? Then I thought, no, maybe there was a glitch and it was a score from last season.

But it was neither. It wasn't football at all. It was a preseason baseball game. I guess the pitchers aren't up to speed just yet.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Onion or Republican?

Allegedly from www.bipartisanreport.com, though I don't see it there.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Micro movie review

A Late Quartet: Not bad, if you happen to be a classical music fan.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Plat du jour


I wonder how old they consider aged.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Happy birthday Abe!




















I remember when Lincoln's birthday was an official holiday. Then he got lumped in with Washington to make the Monday Presidents' Day.

Monday, February 04, 2013

West African thugs strike

Somalia-based ship hijacking has dwindled to almost nothing, as the counter-measures have proven effective. But west Africa has taken over as the biggest trouble spot. Pirates Seize French-Owned Tanker and Hold 17 Aboard

Today's news round-up

Good News
Bad News

Plat du jour












I was a Tabaholic for many years, until they invented Diet Coke with Lime.

Friday, February 01, 2013

It's always something

My American Express card, the one I use the most, has been "compromised." Their fraud unit caught it immediately and they are sending me a new card overnight. But now I will have to change my card number on a bunch of places where I have automatic payments. What a pain.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Today's news round-up

Good News
Bad News

Plat du jour











I'm guessing this belongs to a Bronx resident born in 1951.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Whining about Facebook

There are two things I really wish I could eliminate from my Facebook feed:
  • Pictures of people's pets
  • Pictures with sayings on them

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Micro movie review

Anna Karenina--Weird depiction of the classic novel. Fantastic costumes.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Go fly a kite!

It's Benjamin Franklin's 307th birthday. Go fly a kite in his honor.

"Transphobic feminist" is an oxymoron. Spread the word.

The above is a quote by my friend Helen Boyd from her blog. She was posting a link to a story on the Jezebel website, "Transphobia Is a Goddamn Embarrassment to Us All," about the latest brouhaha in the feminist world in the UK.

Helen Boyd is very smart.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Today's news round-up

Good News
Bad News

Plat du jour--guest submission






Another one found by Joanne.

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Headline of the day

Yahoo keeps changing the headline of this article. When I first saw it, it was:

Congress more popular than Ebola and the Kardashians

(Ebola and the Kardashians sounds like it should be the name of a rock group.)

Monday, January 07, 2013

Sunday, January 06, 2013

Animal headline of the day

Cat caught sneaking saw, phone into Brazil prison

Four blinking lights!

I have never been so happy to see four little green lights blinking. There they were when I came home a little while ago, blinking away on my cable modem. My broadband connection had been down since mid-afternoon Friday. This was by far the longest outage I have experienced in the 11 years I have been using Time Warner Cable as my ISP. I don't remember it ever being down for more than 3 or 4 hours.

While I still had some internet connection through my cellphone, this was a royal pain. I was getting so desperate I was even considering trying to connect via dial-up. I haven't done that for 6 or 7 years, when we rented a house in the Berkshires for a month in the summer--and that was using my wife's previous laptop, not her current one. I've never done it with my desktop. Fortunately that won't be necessary.

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Plat du jour--guest submission


 










Another one found by Joanne.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Semi-random thoughts

  • My wife was carded when she wanted to buy a senior ticket to a movie. She was so happy.
  • I went to the Leonard Cohen concert at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn. A friend of my wife's invited us to the private suite her brother's company has there. It's very comfortable, but I don't think they should call it a suite--it's only one room.
  • I really like Citibank's remote check deposit via cellphone service, but I wish they'd raise the $1000 limit.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Happy Festivus!

To all Seinfeld fans (and non-fans), Happy Festivus!

BlankTo the tune of Let it Snow:
What a lovely day for Festivus,
a Festivus for the rest of us,
this is the place to hate,
let them wait, let them wait, let them wait.

It doesn't show signs of stopping,
I bought some caps for popping,
aluminum pole's aglow,
let them know, let them know, let them know.

With the feat of strength at hand,
stop crying fight your old man,
so go and drink another beer,
T'is the best time of the year!

What a lovely day for Festivus,
a Festivus for the rest of us,
gather your family around,
cut them down, cut them down, cut them down.

No need for decorating,
as tinsel's too distracting,
all you need is a metal pole,
cleanse your soul, cleanse your soul, cleanse your soul.

With the feat of strength at hand,
stop crying fight your old man,
so go and drink another beer,
T'is the best time of the year!

What a lovely day for Festivus,
a Festivus for the rest of us,
gather your family around,
cut them down, cut them down, cut them down.

No need for decorating,
as tinsel's too distracting,
all you need is a metal pole,
cleanse your soul, cleanse your soul, cleanse your soul.

With the feat of strength at hand,
stop crying fight your old man,
so go and drink another beer,
T'is the best time of the year!

T'is the best time of the year!

Animal headline of the day

Rescued Turkey Thinks He’s a Dog

Micro movie review

Hyde Park on Hudson: The fine story of FDR's meeting with the King and Queen of England in 1939, while simultaneously starting a relationship with a distant cousin. Olivia Colman's portrayal of the Queen is very, very different from Helena Bonham-Carter's in The King's Speech.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Plat du jour--guest submission










Another one found by Joanne. She asks if his other car has MD plates.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Monday, December 17, 2012

Artwork from my life, going into the Met


From the Metropolitan Museum of Art

















I just came across a news article from a week ago, about how Thomas Hart Benton’s mural "America Today" is going into the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I have seen this mural many times.

As the article explained, it was installed in an office building lobby from 1996 until recently. For seven months after 9/11 I worked in a temporary office my employer set up in that building. I went through the lobby frequently, and I much admired this huge work of art.

In recent years I have gone through the lobby monthly, on my way to the meetings of the board of LeGaL--The LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York. Again I delighted in seeing the mural.

Then, they started renovating the lobby, and the murals were covered up for their protection--at least that's what I thought. However, the article tells me, they were actually removed and put in storage, as their owner has donated them to the Metropolitan Museum.

So I will be able to see them again, but not immediately. They will be going into the Met's new space where the Whitney Museum is now, and will be until 2015. Eventually, though, it is planned to move the murals to the main Metropolitan building--only four blocks from my home.

Recent news round-up

Good News
Bad News

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Someone talks sense about prayer in public schools, and elsewhere

This notion that prayer isn't allowed in public schools is absolute horseshit. Ostentatious, invasive displays are not the same as prayer. In fact, the more theatrical someone is about the connection with their god, the more you can be certain of their doubt in their own belief.
--twitter.com/moviesbybowes

I don't know who Danny Bowes is, but he's sure right about this.

Happy (maybe) birthday, Ludwig!

It's Ludwig van Beethoven's 242nd birthday. Maybe. All we know for sure was that he was baptized on the 17th.