Thou Shalt Not........

Dateline - Little Rock, Arkansas - A monument containing the Ten Commandments which was two years in planning was destroyed when a man drove his car into it and shattered it. I wonder which commandment he objected to or was it all of the above. While this is a sad state of affairs it reminded me of Mel Brooks' tale that Moses actually had fifteen commandments in three tablets when he started down the mountain. On the way he dropped one tablet that shattered and that is why we only have ten admonitions. Moses always said they were brittle.
tjs

A-deer-able.

The diner asked the waiter "What is this fly doing in my soup?" The waiter replied "I think he's doing the backstroke, sir!" Now we read that a homeowner in Freehold N.J. has noticed a baby fawn swimming laps in her pool. A wildlife rep escorted her out but she kept returning, squeezing thru the fence for a daily swim. Who says the planet isn't heating up?
tjs

Ashes to Ashes.

Recently read that for the first time, cremations have surpassed normal burials in this country. With so many ovens cooking it is no wonder the planet is heating up. This has caused unemployment to spike among grave diggers and forget about ornate caskets. One reason given is the mobility of the population. My own burial plot has two "vacancies" and perhaps I should put feelers out on EBay as would hate to have such valuable real estate go to waste.
tjs

The Bluebird

The down side of Twitter:
-Twitter is the political pornography of our time. - Bret Stephens.
-Trumpism is a form of collective gaslighting at Twitter speed. It is founded on the principle that velocity "trumps" veracity. - Roger Cohen.
I could go on but 140 bytes is very limiting.
tjs

Do No Harm.

On a routine visit to my General Practitioner, I was reminded of an earlier visit to a medical professional. We had just moved to New Jersey and I was afflicted with a sinus infection and sought treatment so using the Yellow Pages I located a EENT specialist in a nearby town. As his title indicates he proceeded to probe my ears, nose and throat and when I asked if he would check my chest & lungs he replied "I don't have a stethoscope!" I was flabbergasted! In future moves I learned you really need a referral.
tjs

A Close Shave.

This is the tale of a man-about-town who visited a tonsorial parlor for a shave, haircut and manicure. While undergoing these treatments he began to flirt with the manicurist and suggested they meet later for drinks. She said she would have to consult her husband. He countered "Why do you have to ask him?" She replied "You can ask him yourself, he's shaving you!" I suggest that the hot towels may have caused third degree burns.
tjs

Formal Attire

The NY Times Sunday ran an obit on a zoologist who became a leading expert on the libido of  Antarctic penguins. While they all appear to look alike, in a colony of 30,000, couples can identify each other by their distinct cries, beak lifting and ecstatic flipper-flapping. Their love making can take place under the most adverse weather conditions, including gales of sixty miles per hour! Such sheer determination! (Black tie required.)
tjs
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/17/science/william-jl-sladen-expert-on-penguin-libidos-is-dead-at-96.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront

All That Glitters

Dateline Tokyo: Japanese Customs have noted a resurgence in gold smuggling to avoid taxes and duty. In small amounts people carry it into Japan in pouches sewn in their underwear and in bars taped to the bottoms of their feet. They recently arrested five women in their 50s/60s hiding 70 pounds of gold in their "clothing." The ring leader was a 66 year old housewife. I guess these gals had a "yen" for some pin money.
tjs
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/14/business/japan-gold-smuggling-crime-rates.html?src=me&_r=0

Piling On.

For those who missed it, Trump's televised cabinet meeting on Monday was a bizarre performance as the whole gang assembled around a conference table had to recite their prepared plaudits. The Veep set the tone expressing the privilege to work for his leader. Several said they were "honored" to be on board, others applauded him for his guidance, but the Chief of Staff topped everyone by saying it was a "blessing" to work for POTUS. The man needs adulation and he got it in spades. To their credit the military types avoided fawning. As one pundit said there was so much syrup running that he reached for a brown paper bag.
Fealty to the Emperor!
tjs

Macho Man

This seems to be the season for interviewing Vladimir V. Putin. On the heels of Megyn Kelly's ballyhooed session, we now have four hours of softball pitching by Oliver Stone on Showtime this week. The following Q & A will raise some eyebrows: Stone asks the Muscovite "Do you ever have a bad day?" The answer - "I'm not a woman, so I don't have bad days." I guess Putin isn't worried about losing the female vote!
tjs
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/09/arts/television/review-the-putin-interviews-showtime-oliver-stone.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

Local Flavor

Chris Christie, a native of New Jersey, described Donald Trump's recent remarks as "a normal New York City conversation." Gotham folks have their own opinion. If a panhandler says "This isn't Congress, people, you can pass a bill", that's a normal New York City conversation. A conversation here might be conducted at full volume or in a whisper. New Yorkers stand closer, talk louder and leave shorter pauses between exchanges. Often they talk along with the other person - it's called cooperative overlap. A "normal"conversation is a matter of speed, not content. Maybe this is what Billy Joel had in mind when he sang "....cause I'm in a New York state of mind."
tjs

Primarily Political XXVII

Nancy Pelosi chimed in this morning: "If you plan on joining the White House make sure you know your blood type as you might get thrown under the bus."
On POTUS M.O. - First he charms you, then bullies you, then walks away - and then sues.
It reminds me of the "mushroom treatment" - first they keep you in the dark, then they cover you with manure, and finally they can you. Champignon!
tjs

Upward Mobility.

Thomas L. Friedman reports from China: Chinese newspapers report beggars in major cities have started to place a printout of a QR code in their begging bowls so any passer-by can scan it and use mobile payment apps to contribute to the beggar's mobile payment account. No one carries a wallet or purse - only a mobile phone. We have been dreaming of a cashless society but China is already there. It has leapfrogged the rest of the world. It seems like only yesterday that John D. Rockefeller was handing out dimes.
tjs
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/opinion/trump-china-trade.html?src=me&_r=0

Senate Hearings

As we ready for James Comey to appear tomorrow before the full Senate committee, you can be assured that each member will bask in their five minutes before the TV cameras. But this type of questioning can be disjointed with a loss of focus on the desired outcome. In days gone by much of the questioning was handled by the committee counsel:
-Circa 1950 Rudy Halley made his name as Chief Counsel to the Kefauver committee grilling the fidgeting crime lords.
-In 1957 Bobby Kennedy was counsel to the McClellan committee and went after Jimmy Hoffa with a vengeance.
-And Sam Dash was counsel to the Watergate committee unearthing the White House taping system.
Now it seems the Senators want the spotlight on themselves to impress the folks back home.
tjs

In a Heartbeat.

Science trivia: The heart of a fruit fly beats at about the same pace as yours. So the space folks are sending 400 adult fruit flies and 2,000 eggs up to the Space Station to orbit for a month for an experiment on long term weightlessness. Also, without gravity pulling down, the bones of astronauts turn fragile. They don't want any fractures on a trip to Mars. This obsession with weightlessness recalls the story dating back to the early days of NASA where they were wondering whether an attack of flatulence in zero gravity might propel one thru the capsule and crash against the bulkhead. A weighty subject to ponder!
tjs