Mad Men

In the era of Mad Men, Madison Avenue was saturated with advertising agencies. One such had as a client a Japanese auto manufacturer. One Friday afternoon as Happy Hour beckoned they received an urgent message from Tokyo and the CEO called his creative staff to a meeting. It seemed the client had designed a new model and they wanted a "name" for it  - and they wanted it by Monday morning Tokyo time. A voice from the rear called out "DATSUN?".......Happy New Year!
tjs

I'm The Greatest!

The caption is a quote (repeated often) by Muhammad Ali who left us in 2016 at age 74 after battling Parkinsons Disease and various pugilists in the boxing ring. He was a colorful and controversial athlete. He was also a poet spouting "float like a butterfly - sting like a bee!" Some years ago a friend was in Manhattan for March Madness and was lobby hopping and encountered Ali in his hotel lobby. Ali was housed in the penthouse and my friend squeezed on the elevator with him to witness a constant line of patter from the champ. After reaching penthouse level my friend begged Ali to ride down again and keep the moment alive. Said the champ "Brother, when I reach the top I ain't never going down again."
tjs

The Twelve Days

You know that inflation is under control when the cost of sending twelve days of gifts to your true love is only 1% higher than a year ago i.e. $44,002 including shipping. It seems that partridges became plentiful but there was a shortage of turtle doves. There was no change in the prices of swans, calling birds, geese or French hens. But pipers and drummers got an increase  - they must have been in the union. Lords are still leaping if they are not sleeping in the back benches of Parliament. Twelve days later you will get the bill and it will certainly be an Epiphany!
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/22/business/economy/cost-12-days-christmas.html

Pole Dancing

When I worked in NYC in the late 1970s I rode the Lexington Ave. subway and the only quadripeds I shared a ride with were mostly comfort dogs for the afflicted. But recently on a 3AM ride into Queens on the N line there was witnessed a rat climbing up and down a pole doing a "pole dance" - this was copied on video by a brave fellow passenger. But to allay your concern I have been assured that the new extension of the Second Avenue subway, soon to open on 1/1/2017, is currently rat free, at least until the first passengers arrive.
tjs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYUBo2FnRr8&app=desktop

O, Canada!

Montreal is celebrating its 375th anniversary and some folks had an idea to have a Christmas tree taller than that at Rockefeller Center which their research told them the average height was 74 feet. So they duly found a 78 footer in Ontario that was amazing. But in November they learned that the 2016 tree in Manhattan would be a 94 foot Norway spruce. Undeterred they scrambled to find a balsam fir in Quebec but on arrival it only measured 88 feet, was slightly misshapen and had a flat top. A tree only Charlie Brown could love. But the citizens are coming around to appreciate this "naughty fir". And the Rockefeller tree is gorgeous.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/world/canada/in-montreal-an-ungainly-and-unloved-christmas-tree.html?src=me&_r=0

On Dasher, On Dancer etc

Arctic reindeer are getting smaller due to climate change having lost 12% of their body weight over a sixteen year period. Because there is more rain than snow their lichen food gets encased in ice. They will need more than Rudolph to help pull Santa's sleigh. Climate change deniers take note.
P.S. Can you name all eight of Santa's deer?
tjs

Christmas in Catalonia

Please excuse the indelicate material appearing in the press during the Christmas season. But the Spaniards in Catalonia (think Barcelona) have a peculiar practice of depicting Christmas figurines in a squatting or crouching position. They are called "caganers" which translates to "poopers" and they are placed among the characters in a Nativity scene. They say it is an irreverent tradition harking back to a time when human waste was used to fertilize the fields. Just wanted to clarify that the aroma emanating from the stable scene may not come from the animals.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/05/world/what-in-the-world/caught-with-your-pants-down-must-be-christmas-in-catalonia.html?src=me&_r=0

Cue the Librarian

Most presidents when leaving office usually deposit their books and papers in a presidential library often attached to a university for research by scholars and historians. While Donald Trump has not yet been in office it may be unfair to ask "Can you have a library when there are no books?"
He could set it up at the ephemeral Trump University but I think the logical choice would be a nook off the lobby of Trump Tower where a few shelves might contain the following:
- A Gideon Bible  - a copy of The Art of the Deal, Midas Touch and Time to get Tough and a Treasure Trove of Twitter Tapes. (I do love alliteration) - believe me!
tjs

Primarily Political XXIII

The other night the President-elect introduced his incoming Sec. of Defense, General James Mattis a four star Marine officer. They say the General is well read - which his boss is not - and that he even quotes Plato. The only association Trump might have would be his frequency at Plato's Retreat a swingers club in NYC circa 1970/1980.

A few weeks ago President Obama made his 23rd visit to Walter Reed Medical Center at Bethesda Naval Hospital to visit our injured veterans. This was while Trump was planning his victory lap. What a contrast!

As to the incoming Prez. I can only paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld: "He doesn't know what he doesn't know."
tjs

A Wall Too Tall

We know about Trump's two golf courses in Scotland but he also purchased one in Ireland on the west coast in Doonbeg in County Clare. To keep the Atlantic Ocean at bay they want to build a wall but local environmentalists are protesting its effect on the dunes and the habitat of the whorl snail. The developers are in a hurry so they have revised their plans to include shorter barriers. The headline reads "The snail prevailed"! or you might say "Escargot -go - go".
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/business/international/britain-ireland-trump-golf-snail.html?ref=world

Lest We Forget

Today, December 7th, is the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. I was twelve years old when we heard the news on a Sunday afternoon but none of us knew where Pearl Harbor was. We quickly found out. Panic ensued on the west coast and blackouts were instituted from Seattle south. Back home mobilization commenced and Chrysler quickly converted from autos to Jeeps and tanks. There were scrap metal collections, ration books, Savings Bond drives and consumer shortages in a full wartime effort. Twenty years later when visiting Honolulu I took the tour boat to  the USS ARIZONA memorial where many of our sailors are entombed. The vessel cut engines and the silence was deafening. Back then they collected our cameras before entering as this was still an active naval base. I shall always remember that day.
tjs

Give Me Liberty

During the recent political "season" I learned a new word. No, I don't mean Alt-right - the slurred word is "biglig" - and now I read where Jerry Falwell of the Christian Liberty University wants to go "big league" and make his football team a power house. To do so he has hired as athletic director a man who recently departed Baylor U. under a cloud of scandal. What caught my eye was Falwell's statement: "He is a good man who found himself in a place where bad things were happening and decided to leave." And who will throw the first stone?
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/03/sports/ncaafootball/baylor-liberty-university-sexual-assaults.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fsports&action=click&contentCollection=sports&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

A Sterling Development

Anglophiles Alert! You thought Brexit was a surprise! Now the Bank of England has revealed that the new five pound note (having printed 440 million to date bearing the Queen's likeness) contains a small amount of tallow in the polymers used in the printing process. Tallow is a fatty substance usually made from rendered beef. So now the vegans  and vegetarians are outraged and want their "pound" of non-flesh. There are also 800,000 Hindus in the U.K. who consider cows sacred. They might have to trek to Scotland whose five pound note is free of animal products. The sentiment seems to be anti "Quid" and not "pro"!
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/30/world/europe/new-five-pound-note-uk-vegetarians.html?ref=world

Ghostwriters in the Sky

Attention! Grammarians!
Donald Trump, in announcing his forthcoming press conference about divesting his properties, used a triple tweet (140 x 3) and not a word misspelled for a guy who types with his thumbs. At his conclusion he used the word "hence" which I didn't think he had in his lexicon. Of course, I didn't expect him to say "ergo" - more likely "so".
It all leads me to suspect he is not writing all these lengthy messages but has a ghostwriter lurking somewhere up in that tower.
tjs

A Beverage of Choice

The current photo of Trump & Romney at dinner revealed the beverage of choice as H2o with a slice of lime, although I suspect Mitt would like to see the wine list. It recalls a story from WWII when U.S.Lines vessels were delivering supplies to the North African campaign via the Egyptian port of Alexandria. Many ships had to sit at anchor awaiting a berth and this day our captain was ashore and the mate was in his bunk in his underwear bearing up under the stifling heat. Now the British General Viscount Montgomery had a habit of visiting the ships at random and this day he selected our vessel. The mate heard the activity as Monty and his entourage came up the gangway and he sprang from his bunk and broke out a bottle of Scotch to greet the visitors. But Monty didn't drink and none of his leftenants would dare accept a wee dram even though their throats were parched. Fast forward and poor Mitt had to settle for H2o - but it might have been sparkling Perrier.
tjs

Quote of the week

 With respect to the claim of "bringing back jobs", Warren Bennis, a management consultant observed "The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment." Presumably, the robots are on their own.
tjs
(Quote from NYT Thomas L. Friedman 11/23/16)

Rivalry

Thanksgiving weekend usually marks the scenes of football rivalries i.e. Penn vs Cornell, Army vs Navy, Harvard vs Yale but the one that comes to my mind is that between Boston College and Holy Cross, two Jesuit institutions in Massachusetts. In 1942 Boston College was a powerhouse led by all-American Mike Holovak and they were heavily favored to win, so much so that their supporters planned a victory celebration at the Cocoanut Grove Night Club in Boston. But Holy Cross upset the favorite and the B.C. celebration was cancelled. That was the night of the tragic fire that consumed the night club resulting in the loss of over 400 lives. Mike Holovak and many of his team mates then went off to WWII to face another fate.
tjs

Poor Butterfly

Poor Butterfly - from the song of the same name. A large contingent of Monarch Butterflies make their nesting place in central Mexico adjacent to avocado groves. But as the demand for avocados grows, to keep pace with the demand some farmers will be planting and encroaching on the nesting places. It is said that we Americans each consumed seven pounds of avocados in 2015 double that of five years before. Holy Moly! or should that be "guacamole".
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/18/world/americas/ambition-of-avocado-imperils-monarch-butterflies-winter-home.html?_r=0

The Bottomless Keg

A job at Labatt, one of Canada's major breweries, came with an unusual perk - free beer for life. But now the retirees have been cut off. By contrast, current employees get a free case every other week and bonus cases at Christmas in lieu of a turkey. I always knew there was no free lunch but now it has extended to the after party. Alas, we shall have to let those old folks cry in their beer - as long as it lasts, eh!
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/world/americas/canada-labatts-fee-beer.html?src=me&_r=0

A Personal Credo

The late Kenneth Clark was the Director of the National Gallery in London during WWII. His personal credo is below which will help to wipe away the current funk:
-I believe that order is better than chaos.
-That creation is better than destruction.
-I prefer gentleness to violence, forgiveness to vendetta.
-That knowledge is preferable to ignorance.
-And I am sure that human sympathy is more valuable than ideology.
Words to live by!
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/books/kenneth-clark-biography-james-stourton.html

Lost & Found

Bailey, won't you please come home? Yes, a tree can grow in Brooklyn and a dog named Bailey can get lost there too. But thanks to social media and concerned neighbors the missing canine did return. Some years ago I had a conversation with a retired Army officer who when on active duty was assigned at the Brooklyn Army terminal processing G.I.s on their way to Europe. A certain recruit arrived in town with his dog which he placed in a local kennel while he tried to drink Brooklyn dry. He was poured aboard ship and after arriving in Germany he wired his congressman seeking his help in locating his pet. My friend, then a Lt. Col., found a large envelope in his in box bearing a large stamp "M.C. (member of Congress) reply in 48 hours." Thereupon, three officers found themselves paging thru the Brooklyn Yellow Pages in an effort to locate this dog. Such is the power of Congress - and they didn't have Social Media.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/nyregion/world-or-at-least-brooklyn-stops-for-lost-dog.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fnyregion&action=click&contentCollection=nyregion&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2
pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

The Great Beyond

Robert Weber, a witty cartoonist for the New Yorker Magazine died recently at age 92. A few years ago he was asked to list "three things you haven't done yet." He replied:
1 - Voted Republican
2 - Fallen out of bed.
3 - Turned down a glass of champagne.
And he did all his work with charcoal.
tjs

William Tell

Last Saturday's matinee at the Metropolitan Opera was a performance of Rossini's William Tell. During an intermission a man was seen sprinkling a white powder around the orchestra pit which caused alarm and a cancelling of the remainder of the opera. The perpetrator explained it was the ashes of a friend and opera lover and part of his deal with the deceased to leave bits of him in all the opera houses he would visit. When I hear the William Tell Overture I think of that masked stranger on the white horse who might have "unmasked" the sprinkler and dissuaded him before he made an "ash" of himself.
tjs

Primarily Political XXII

Have you noticed how everyone is picking on Donald Trump?
- A man with a sledge hammer  - defaced his star on the Hollywood Walk of "Fame".
-Joe Biden offered to take him behind the gym.
-The media is accused of bias.
-And now we learn of his data operation in San Antonio code named "The Alamo" - does he realize that The Alamo was not a winning battle?
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier!
tjs

Hang on, Snoopy!

Last year about this time I wrote about the Peanuts gang reaching their 65th birthday. Now one year later we read that Snoopy is being sent out to pasture and will no longer appear on the Met Life blimp as the global insurer is going in a different direction. I hope Met Life gave him an annuity to keep him in dog food for the rest of his life.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/21/business/media/metlife-grounds-snoopy-curse-you-red-baron.html?_r=0

Rosemary & Time

In a small Italian village south of Naples there is a preponderance of citizenry ninety years of age or older.  Scientists have zeroed in on their diet - they use rosemary on everything they cook. Their quality of life is high and incidence of Alzheimer's disease is low. A professor of medicine was quoted "At 95, they have the brains of a 50 year old........and you're still thinking a lot about sex." Mamma Mia!
Dieticians take note!
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/world/what-in-the-world/rosemary-and-time-does-this-italian-hamlet-have-a-recipe-for-long-life.html?src=me&_r=0

Deere, Hear This!

In the Indian countryside there are about 136 million farmers working small plots but unable to own their own tractors. In previous attempts to rent equipment they were subjected to price gouging. Now enter a Uber type company with a smartphone app Trringo which will furnish rental equipment on demand but with internet shortages they will also respond by phone - all for 700 rupees per hour.  So they can put their oxen out to pasture. How now John Deere!
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/18/world/what-in-the-world/trringo-app-india.html?module=WatchingPortal&region=c-column-middle-span-region&pgType=Homepage&action=click&mediaId=thumb_square&state=standard&contentPlacement=9&version=internal&contentCollection=www.nytimes.com&contentId=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2016%2F10%2F18%2Fworld%2Fwhat-in-the-world%2Ftrringo-app-india.html&eventName=Watching-article-click

Primarily Political XXI

Donald Trump's wife, in referring to the Hollywood tape, said she thought he was "egged" on by the host - and she wasn't "yolking."

Stay tuned for the third debate which we really don't need.
tjs

It's No Wonder.

The United Nations has just selected a new Secretary General to serve for five years. HE is a seasoned Portuguese diplomat. His election passed over seven female applicants but as a consolation offering they picked a cartoon character as its mascot: Wonder Woman! This follows in the wake of naming as social ambassadors such as Winnie the Pooh and Tinker Bell. So, while we may see a woman in the White House soon it seems unlikely to also see a lady in the U.N. chair.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/world/americas/wonder-woman-united-nations.html?ref=world

Lox Masters II

As a sequel to Zabar's I had a conversation with a medical professional who related his experience when in surgical training. They were having a session on skin grafting and new techniques were just arriving on the scene. But the old professor wanted him to spend several days in a Jewish deli observing the lox slicers who were truly artisans with the blade. And he did so and was duly impressed.
tjs

Lox Masters

Tomorrow our Jewish brethren celebrate the high holy day of Yom Kippur and Zabar's deli on the west side of Manhattan is bracing for the rush for lox and estimate they will sell 10,000 lbs. in the week prior @$42.00 per pound. The demand is so great that they have to add on extra slicers called out of retirement. A story is told of a fussy lady who asked for several slices, the slicer sliced and paused and she said "Cut, cut!" A few more cuts were made and he paused again. Again she said "Cut, cut!" and he accommodated her. Finally, she said "I'll take those two"! Not recommended when the man has a delicate blade in his hand.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/nyregion/a-high-holy-call-for-lox-and-old-hands-to-slice-it-at-zabars.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fnyregion&action=click&contentCollection=nyregion&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

Potpourri XIII

Dateline - Mumbai, India: The police descended on a telephone calling center arresting dozens who were posing as I.R.S. auditors harassing unsuspecting taxpayers with threats. The occupants were stunned that they were raided. Perhaps insufficient rupees were paid off.

China (CHI-nah) for some time has had a policy of one child families - preferably male. Now they are startled to learn of some population shrinkage in outlying districts and are now urging comrades to increase the family size to two children. Another case of Big Brother in the bedroom.

A politician's greatest fears are Email and a "hot mic".
tjs

Brevity in Briefs

No, this is not about boxers vs. briefs - or Speedos!  In the world of legal appellate courts the maximum number of words permitted in a legal brief is 14,000. Some lawyers think it's not enough but let's have some pity on the judges who have to read through this legalese. Considering three briefs per case with a workload of 1200 cases annually, a judge might have to pour through 42 million words connected to his or her caseload. Speed reading might come in handy.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/04/business/dealbook/judges-push-brevity-in-briefs-and-get-a-torrent-of-arguments.html?ref=dealbook

A Prophecy Come True

At Sunday Mass the Old Testament reading was by the little known prophet Habakkuk who lived around 600 BC.  There were several lines that stood out and got my attention:...."there is strife and clamorous discord"....."the rash one has no integrity". Flash forward 2600 years (MMDC) and we find a "rash" individual on the political scene.
But that's what prophets do - they prophesy!
tjs

The Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup Golf Tournament is being contested this week in Minnesota pitting the best of the U.S.A. versus their counterparts from Europe. The late Arnold Palmer played in his first Ryder Cup match in 1961 representing our nation.
He said that when they played our National Anthem he had a lump in his throat and a tear in his eye. Fast forward fifty-five years and we have some American athletes exercising their first amendment rights by refusing to stand for our Anthem. Arnold Palmer died this week and I have a tear in my eye.
tjs

A Wonder Down Under

That map you have of Australia is wrong. The whole country is sitting atop tectonic plates which cause a movement northward about three inches a year although the last adjustment in 1994 was a "doozy" 656 feet. And the Global Positioning System (GPS) notices this. The next adjustment at the end of this year will be about five feet. With the next generation of GPS technology and with the advent of driverless cars, if you are 1.5 meters out you could be on the wrong side of the road. But not to worry, mate!
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/24/world/what-in-the-world/australia-continental-drift-location-gps.html?src=me

A Favorite Son

"Hardball" Chris Matthews was recently in Ireland to receive a Tip O'Neill award. A story is told of O'Neill visiting the land of his ancestors at which time the community was planning a drive to build a new hospital and asked Tip if he wanted to contribute. He gave them a check for $5000. and the next day the local paper announced he was donating $50,000. and while they apologized for the editing error he knew he was on the hook. So he asked them to return the $5000. check and sat down and signed a new one for the $50,000. with one stipulation that he could coin the phrase to be engraved over the hospital entrance. They readily agreed and he wrote "I was a stranger and you took me in."
tjs

Leaning Tower

No, not in Pisa! This one is a 58 story luxury residential building in San Francisco which has sunk 16 inches into its soft foundation which could disrupt the sewage pipes but the real problem may be that it is now leaning six inches toward its neighbor. If it should lean further it could affect the elevators which could render the place unlivable for the occupants of these $2million apartments. Leaners only count in quoits!
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/us/san-francisco-millennium-tower-dispute.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

Waxing Wistfully

Not to pile on but apparently the Pitt/Jolie split has reverberated around the globe. We now read that at Madame Tussauds London emporium "The couples wax figures have been split up and are now featured at a respectful distance from each other." Perhaps too much heat and not enough light. Fame is fleeting.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/21/fashion/angelina-jolie-brad-pitt-divorce.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fstyle-international&action=click&contentCollection=international&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=8&pgtype=sectionfront

Your Leaping Lordship

"Ten lords a-leaping" is a line from "The Twelve Days of Christmas" but the real House of Lords in Britain now numbers 810 - twice as many Lords that can fit into their elegant Westminster Hall so it is fortunate that they don't all show up at the same time. Some are bishops and some are peers with lifetime membership. Efforts to overhaul the House of Lords meets with more noise than change.  But, then, some things never change. Hail Brittania!
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/17/world/what-in-the-world/britain-house-of-lords.html?ref=world

Let's Build a Wall

In 1653, Peter Stuyvesant, fearing an attack by the British from New England, constructed a 15 foot high defensive palisade across lower New Amsterdam. But the English did not ride down the Major Deegan Parkway, they came by sea and the line drawn by that useless palisade was called Wall Street. How now Dow Jones?
tjs

Primarily Political XX

Has anyone noticed how that showman, Donald J. Trump will sometimes turn to the studio audience for a decision as he did with Dr. Oz - he lets the audience decide. In the bullfight ring it's thumbs up or down that carries the decision. His penchant for audience participation reminds one of the New Testament scene when Pontius Pilate turns to the crowd and asks them "Whom shall I release to you - this prisoner called Barabbas or Jesus Christ?" And he let the mob decide. Is this how he would govern if he ever gets near the oval office? God help us!
tjs

Alphabetically speaking

Donald Trump's medical report reflects an "LDL" level of 94 well within tolerances. LDL is known as the "bad cholesterol". But on Wall Street LDL has a different connotation. In light of the rash of email hackings, when a subject appears sensitive the bankers will type LDL = "let's discuss live." Or perhaps meet on a park bench. So it's different strokes for different folks but not to have that "bad" LDL cause a real stroke.
tjs

A Pipe Dream

Dateline - Bruges, Belgium. A 500 year old brewery in this medieval city has been transporting its liquid gold by tank wagons two miles to its bottling plant causing traffic tie ups. But they have now built a pipeline and went to the internet to develop donors to defray the expense. A modest donation gets you a six pack on your birthday but a maximum contribution gets you "free beer for life" or one bottle of beer a day for as long as you live. A frat boy's dream!
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/17/world/europe/a-two-mile-beer-pipeline-carries-belgiums-lifeblood-to-be-bottled.html?src=me&_r=0

A Sterling Idea

"In for a penny, in for a pound!"....The Bank of England is issuing a new five pound note printed on polymer. This is more durable than paper, more environmentally friendly and more resistant to counterfeiters. And with Winston Churchill's grim face staring back at you, that alone should be enough to scare any counterfeiters. Hail Brittania!
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/14/business/international/britain-unveils-new-5-pound-note-in-bid-to-foil-counterfeiters.html?ref=international&_r=0

Potpourri XII

Quote of the week: "Vladimir Putin is a strong leader in the same way that arsenic is a strong drink!" - Garry Kasparov

Quote of the fortnight: "What is Aleppo?"- Gary Johnson

"It's not her health, it's her stealth!" - Maureen Dowd speaking of Hillary Clinton.

Attention Manhattan commuters: The New Haven Line will be restoring bar cars on their trains but don't expect a seat. This will create an envious thirst by those deprived folks on the Hudson Line.
tjs

Primarily Political XIX

President Obama brought his A game to Philly yesterday on the Parkway and in the shadow of the Art Museum was in full campaign mode. After 7-1/2 years in office he is now at the peak of his approval rating making one yearn for a third term.
After all, Michael Bloomberg arranged it. As Walter Huston "sang" "The days grow short when you reach September."
tjs

Branding

Companies always take a risk when they anchor their brand to an individual. The pitchman for a Mexican beer is known as the "Most interesting man in the world." "His charm is so contagious, vaccines have been created for it!" But now this aging charmer is being replaced by a younger "interesting" fellow resulting in a P.R. challenge.
Closer to home, KFC has hired at least four actors to play Colonel Sanders in the last eighteen months. Gotta get measured for that white suit.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/12/business/media/dos-equis-makes-its-case-for-its-new-most-interesting-man.html?src=me&_r=0

The Hajj

The NYTimes reminds us that the season is approaching when thousands of Muslims make the pilgrimage to Mecca. A young woman journalist preparing for her first trek received the following advice from family members:
-Wear comfortable shoes - but not with laces as when bending to tie them men will grab you from behind.
-Always wear socks for protection from the urine in the pathways.
-Try to avoid crowds so as not to get trampled.
-And buy your figs at a local market as the prices will gouge you at the holy city.
As a non-Muslim I was not aware what these folks went thru to seek and or offer forgiveness.
tjs