Marquess of Queensberry

They say that "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!" But last Saturday night there was a "bout" in a hotel arena matching a martial arts athlete versus a forty year old "boxer". The martial fellow was handicapped as he was not permitted to kick with his feet. After waltzing around for nine plus rounds the referee stopped the contest. Dan Barry writing in the NYTimes called it the "fleece of the century" further commenting "The match belonged here - deserved quarantining here!" But the contestants embraced each other as they clutched their million dollar checks. Apparently, the odor didn't stay in Vegas.
tjs

Wine Tasting

For $4000. you can accompany the infamous Sheriff Joe of Arizona on a European tour of Normandy and the Champagne Region of France. I didn't know the gunslinger had such expensive tastes. He could return with an educated palate and become a sommelier in an Arizona saloon if he is not in jail. Oh, pardon me! It reminds me somewhat of the glory days of U.S.Lines when each year our London V.P. (Guvnor) would be invited to visit the Burgundy Region and after much fanfare and tasting he would be honored with the title of Chevalier du Tastevin with a chain around the neck and suitable paperwork. Our Yankee bosses loved it.
tjs

Two Points of View

The following two articles appeared in the same edition of the NYTimes:
-About 71% of Americans over the age of 20 are overweight or obese.
-Sugar arrived in Japan from China in the eighth century and for nearly a millennium it was treated like a controlled substance, hoarded and administered like medicine.
And I thought it was their fish diet that kept those Asians svelte. We could learn from them.
tjs

Brexit Remorse

NYTimes writes that more than 10,000 pigs are exported from Ireland to Northern Ireland every WEEK! That's a lot of hog bellies! I guess this may be reflected in the old saying "Irish as Patty's pig." The flow was smooth when both countries were members of the European Union. Now that the U.K. has "exited" the Union taking Northern Ireland with it, there is a problem at the border and the pigs have become a trade issue. As the roads back up it is too bad that pigs can't fly!
tjs

Total Eclipse

The total Solar Eclipse will occur on Monday August 21st. While the total exercise will take about two hours, the maximum period of darkness will be 2:41 minutes in downstate Illinois with lesser time as the phenomenon proceeds from Salem, Oregon to Charleston, S.C. Since I  can't be in Illinois  I will settle for Cape May N.J. with best viewing around 2:26PM. With darkness you might observe the following:
-Many animals appear baffled.
-Deer become restless - sheep stampede and bleat.
-Birds scatter and screech - mosquitoes emerge.
-Crickets and owls begin their concerts.
-Biological clocks are affected.
-Temperature may drop as much as 13 deg. Fah.
-A sudden shift in wind direction.
Special eclipse sunglasses are recommended.
Lastly, that halo around the eclipsed sun is called a corona, which happens to be the eclipse beer of choice. Don't miss it but pray for clear skies.
tjs

'Tis an Ill Wind...

The founder of EBay, who has some property in Hawaii, would like to create a dairy farm on the island of Kauai about a mile and a half from The Grand Hyatt Resort. The hotel folks are complaining to the EPA fearing flies and odors wafting on the wind in their direction and a serious negative effect on tourism. Each dairy cow produces ninety pounds of manure per day x 699 cows and Hyatt's lawyer says "That's a lot of manure!" To ameliorate the situation the dairy folks plan to introduce "dung beetles" to help process manure. That is one beetle this city boy is not familiar with. (Sorry to end on a preposition)
tjs

Overcrowding.

You've heard of man-spreading on the subways - now we have Beach-spreading at the Jersey shore.
When I was a youth the only irritations at the beach were the green head flies and an occasional sea gull dive bombing on you. Now the crowds come with their tents and cabanas - tables and grills and block the views of folks on their towels and chairs. It came to a head last year in Seaside Heights when a guy brought a wooden coffin on to the beach containing his food and drink. He was banned due to an absence of a corpse.
tjs