Uber Service

Recently, we ordered our first Uber  - one driver was from Ghana and the return fellow was from India. Both short hauls and both prompt - be aware they do charge for waiting time. Just read where Uber is expanding in Africa.  Lagos, Nigeria is a city of 20 million built on a lagoon with incredible traffic jams. So Uber is considering a water service - close your eyes and think you're in Venice. And don't forget your motion sickness pills. A bit of salt air should give you a LYFT.
tjs

Ah, Peoria!

Peoria, in down state Illinois, is famous for Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and Caterpillar, but it is also the birth place of the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.
In 1948 we bought our first 12 inch black & white TV set to watch Milton Berle on Tuesday night at 8PM. On an opposite channel, then Bishop Sheen, he of the piercing eyes, was reciting his message in front of a blackboard. We had to choose between Uncle Miltie and Uncle Fultie. Now, forty years after the Archbishop's death, there is a movement to relocate his body - intact - to his birth place in the Diocese of Peoria from his resting place in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. I say "intact" as that was not always the practice. St. Catherine of Siena is enshrined in Rome while her head is revered in a basilica in Siena, Italy. And St. Francis Xavier is entombed in Goa, India but his right arm is in Rome. When my time comes I hope there is no squabbling over my body parts. tjs
(NYT 6/12/19)

The Week in Review

 -What do Siri, Alexa and Cortana have in common? Well, they are all "visual assistants" - moreover, they have all been assigned the feminine gender. This has ruffled some feathers- "The more that culture teaches people to equate women  with assistants, the more real women will be seen as assistants." NYT 5/23/19

The State of Washington has passed a law permitting the compost of human remains. For about $5000. a company will turn bodies into compost and return the soil to loved ones to be spread on a garden or to help grow a tree. For you statisticians this practice can produce approx. one cubic yard per person. NYT 5/23/19

Quote of the week: "Bill Barr is as duplicitous as Rudy Giuilani but not as good looking."(Adam Schiff)
tjs

The song is ended...

....but the melody lingers on. Another icon has fallen. The late Kate Smith has been singing "God bless America" at all Yankee and Flyers games. She was even adopted as the Phila. Flyers mascot. But it seems that in the 1930s she recorded a racially tainted song and now pays the price as banishment from the current scene while she is not around to explain the circumstances. Over the years artists were "required" to present second rate material to fill out side B at the direction of the recording studio. Kate's theme song "When the moon comes over the mountain...." is on UTube in all its clarity as I remember as a child listening to her on the radio. So the Flyers took a "slap shot" at her, wiping out a part of their history, threw a sheet over her statue and moved it from in front of their arena. Move over Joe Paterno!
tjs NYT 4/20/19

It's Fashionable

A line of clothing is seeking trademark protection and the case has reached the Supreme Court. Applicant goes by "Friends U can't trust." - with the brand name FUCT. It is aimed at the youth market. Several Justices are wringing their hands. But Justice Ginsberg said that the 20 year olds targeted might not find the term shocking and suppose that such a niche market might find the name "mainstream"! RBG cuts to the core.
tjs
NYT 4/16/19

How To.

Sunday's NYT did a  thoughtful article "...Unlearning How to Hate." This alluding to a spate of Swastikas appearing in our schools. In a much lighter vein, the theme reminded me of the fellow who wanted to improve his status with the ladies and visited his local library in search of some suitable information. Moving down the shelves he found a title "How to Hug", thought this might provide some interesting suggestions and stuffed it in his coat and took it home. It was then he found it to be the fifth chapter of the Encyclopedia Brittanica "H O W to H U G". Please don't hate me for this one.
tjs
NYT 3/10/19

The Olympiad

If we can turn away from the 2020 political fervor for a moment, let's remember 2020 is also an Olympic year - this time in Tokyo, Japan. I just read where they want to add break-dancing as a competitive sport. That one has my head spinning!
Last winter they gave us "curling" in prime time - a "sport" where opponents wield brooms. We were also asked to stay awake for the badminton matches, noted for their dexterity and wrist movement. Don't be surprised if someone lobbies for "darts" - that would clear out all the pubs. Somehow, I don't think this is what the Greeks had in mind.
tjs