On Aerobic Monday

Whew … an interesting weather weekend for Cincinnati. From Friday’s sunny and pleasant day, to Saturday’s sunny, very warm, and muggy, to Sunday’s rains. Then again, that’s April … and for us in the northern hemisphere, April is generally better than March.

How was the weather in your area? What did you do this weekend? Come on now – tell us something.

Our weekend involved an evening of ballroom, taking long walks, working Sunday, ushering at church, attending a wedding, and Quick Step formation practice. Meanwhile, I need to explain Quick Step.

For those remembering a geography trivia question in the last Opinions in the Shorts, see Stamford, go north, south, east, and west, from Stamford Connecticut (or Connecticut’s southwestern corner). For my standpoint, List of X was also correct – and as I responded to him, the person who first asked me the question many years ago included “population center” in the question. X – how did you determine your answer?

Celebrations for Your Week

• (Week) Cleaning for a Reason Week, Organize Your Files Week, Medical Labs Week, Human Violence Awareness Week, Laboratory Animal Liberation Week, Home Furnishings Week, Wildlife Film Week, Consumer Awareness Week, Money Smart Week, Infant Immunization Week, Park Week, Police Officers Who Gave Their Lives in the Line of Duty Week, Administrative Professionals Week, Bedbug Awareness Week, Coin Week, Fibroid Awareness Week, Oral-Head-and-Neck-Cancer Awareness Week, Crime Victims Rights Week, Environmental Education Week, Infertility Awareness Week, Karaoke Week, Pet ID Week, Princess Week, Bubblegum Week, Sky Awareness Week, Week of the Ocean, Bike Safety Week, Pan American Week, Boys & Girls Club Week, Adult Films Week, Explore Your Career Week, Science & Technology Week
• (Mon) Cuckoo Day, Food Day, Look Alike Day, Lima Bean Respect Day, Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day, Chinese Language Day, Pot Smokers Day, Medical Marijuana Day, Make a Quilt Day, Volunteer Recognition Day, Get to Know Your Customers Day
• (Tues) Red Baron Day, Bulldogs are Beautiful Day, Rosita’s Birthday (Sesame Street), Kindergarten Day, Jet Passenger Service Day, Surprise Drug Test Day, Chocolate Covered Cashews Day, San Jacinto Day, Tuna Rights Day, Big Word Day
• (Wed) Earth Day, Jelly Bean Day, April Shows Day, Administrative Professionals Day, Global Selfie Earth Day
• (Thurs) Talk Like Shakespeare Day, Take a Chance Day, Picnic Day, Nose Picking Day, Garlic Day, Movie Theater Day, Lost Dogs Awareness Day, Cherry Cheesecake Day, Impossible Astronaut Day, Take Your Kids to Work Day, English Language Day, World Book & Copyright Day, Home Run Day, Shirley Temple Day, Fire Drill Day, Lover’s Day, Laboratory Day, Peppercorn Day

Some commercials are very fitting to start your week with a smile. This one is from across the pond, so our European friends may be familiar with this one. Have a good rest of the week.

Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 237

On Politics
This week’s senseless horrors in Ottawa, Canada is just another reminder of our crazy world. My heart goes out to my northern neighbors.

Not that I don’t think Ebola is serious, but I do wonder how much of the fear and discussion is politically driven.

People are undoubtedly disgusted with members of Congress, and there’s no doubt in my mind that many voters will cast a vote against a candidate rather than for a candidate. Unfortunately, others believe both parties are pathetic, thus will stay home because it doesn’t really matter who wins.

Many of the ads of Grimes-McConnell race for the Kentucky Senate seat focus on coal. Interestingly, the coal industry accounts for 1% of Kentucky jobs, plus has been in decline for over 40 years.

Midterm elections in the US usually don’t get much interest from the voters. Nonetheless, outside groups are spending around $4 BILLION dollars on the election.

This is interesting to ponder, but nothing one can do about it … but still interesting. Given the top leaders in Congress (Boehner, Pelosi, Reid, and McConnell) – If you could get rid of 3 (thus only keep 1), who would you keep? Who do you think I would keep? (My answer next week)

Cheers to The Onion for these election headlines

• New election rules allows candidates to remain completely anonymous throughout campaign
• Populist candidate gaining support among underrepresented corporations
• Bitter concession speeches only thing Americans looking forward to in upcoming elections

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion
Man coasting through life entirely on benefit of doubt
Hazmat worker sees no reason to throw away all this perfectly good food
Pueblo Indians can’t keep pace with area woman’s appetite for earthenware
New census study finds 40% of US population is filler

The Onion’s infographic about tracking Ebola in the US 

Cake left in breakroom without instructions (photo below)

Photo from The Onion (theonion.com)

Interesting Reads
How to keep your health-care costs in check in 2015
Ebola and the epidemics of the past
(video) Blue eyes: Endangered and on the road to extinction?
How nature sparkles … literally sparkles
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WS) on poverty
The first Olympics games following WW II: London 1948

On Potpourri
I watch my share of CNN, so imagine my surprise when I learned that CNN and HLN are no longer on my system due to contract negotiations.

One of local college basketball players is known for his big hands … hands measuring 11.75 in (30 cm) from thumb to pinky, and 10.25 in (26 cm) from palm to tip of middle finger. Undoubtedly, that’s a big hand!

10 children, 16 grandchildren, 29 great grandchildren, one great-great grandchild, 73 years of marriage, and they died 28 hours apart. Read this touching story about a Cincinnati couple.

Here’s an update on the two local athletic stories that are getting national attention because of cancer. The Bengals have sold about 15,000 jerseys of Devon Still’s #75 … that’s $1.5 million dollars to fight pediatric cancer. Across town we find Lauren Hill, the college freshman hoping to play in one college basketball game before she dies from the inoperable Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). Her small college accepted Xavier University’s offer to use their arena for the game, and Tuesday the public responded by buying over 10,000 tickets less than an hour – that is a sell out. (Story)

I anticipate reaching a milestone sometime next week. Stay tuned!

We saw the movie Gone Girl this week. Whew .. talk about two people deserving each other!

Speaking of next week, I hope to raise the curtain on Act 11 of Life: The Musical next week, which also means I will announce the theme in the next Monday Morning Entertainment.

No Saturday Morning Cartoon this week because I don’t have one ready! 😦

Your weekend celebrations

• (Fri) Food Day, Bologna day, Sour Day, Black Cat Day, World Development Information Day, UN Day
• (Sat) Cartoonists Against Crime Day, Chuckie the Notorious Killer Doll Day, Pasta Day, Make a Difference Day, Greasy Foods Day, Sourest Day, Pit Bull Awareness Day, Punk-for-a-Day Day
• (Sun) Mother-in-Law Day, Mule Day, Visit a Cemetery Day, Privacy Day, Mincemeat Day, Horseless Carriage Day

Last weekend was the first of two weddings for us to attend, so those events made me think of this rock song from the early 80s … White Wedding (Billy Idol). Have a safe weekend and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 216

On Politics
The Senate Conservative Fund (SCF) has endorsed the primary challenger to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). To counter SCF, Sen. McConnell (who has a nasty side to him), vows to attack all their endorsed primary candidates: “I think we are going to crush them everywhere. I don’t think they are going to have a single nominee anywhere in the country.”

Cheers to Congress for not being in session.

I’m looking forward to voting in the May 6th Ohio Primary. The ballot is short and not many people will vote, but I will officially make my statement at a new precinct.

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion
Determined restaurant patrons tough it out on chilly patio
Parent surprised cruel teen daughter hasn’t pushed classmate to breaking point yet
Biologists confirm God evolved from chimpanzee deity
Area man mystified by layout of adjacent town’s grocery
Last living California Raisin dies of prostate cancer

Interesting Reads
Misery among MDs (Thanks Mouse for this, and thanks Carrie for approving)
Science and the word theory
Dog sex
Ten biggest earthquakes
Interactive map of U-2 boats in WW II

Bonus Reads: The week marked the Titanic’s 102nd anniversary, so here’s a collection of related articles.
Fascination with the Titanic (Smithsonian)
The Departure (Titanic-Titanic)
A news story before the movie (Newsday)
Queenstown: The last stop (Real Clear History)
A letter: a first-hand account (Telegraph)

On Potpourri
Earlier this week I saw a review of the book Why Science Does Not Disprove God. Although I am Christian, I absolutely agree – plus add this – science cannot prove God either.

As many we watching this week’s Blood Moon, snow clouds blocked Cincinnati’s view. Here’s an article from National Geographic about lunar myths from around the world.

Upon seeing a recipe with marshmallow earlier this week on a blog, I couldn’t resist asking if they used natural or synthetic marshmallows in the recipe. The blogger kindly responded synthetic – but all its ingredients are natural.

The grocery store headline from The Onion (above) reminds me how the growth (in size/space) of grocery stores over time. Cincinnati-based Kroger, the nation’s largest grocery retailer, recently published these stats regarding their average store size
1930s: 2,000 sq ft
1960s: 12,500 sq. ft
1980s: 42,000 sq. ft.
2000: 53,000 sq. ft.
2013: 61,000 sq. ft (their largest store in our area is 123,000 sq. ft)

This week marked the 35th anniversary of The Beast, a classic and the world longest wooden roller coast found at Kings Island amusement park near Cincinnati. After watching the report below, anyone wanting to take a ride can click here.

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In my musical events hear (such as Life: The Musical), I enjoy listening to the songs readers submit … thus encourage others to do so. Many thanks to all!

The Easter weekend means the handbell choir playing. Three songs this year, but here’s good recording of cheerful tones of Enduring Joy.

Given a major holiday weekend, the Saturday Morning Classic Cartoon series resumes next weekend.

Here are your weekend celebrations

• (Fri) Golf Day, Pet Owner’s Independence Day, Amateur Radio Ray, Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day, Animal Crackers Day
• (Sat) Auctioneers Day, Amaretto Day (Yes!), Husband Appreciation Day, Garlic Day, Hanging Out Day, Record Store Day
• (Sun) Spring Astronomy Day, Look a Like Day, Plum Pudding Day, Food Day, Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day, Lima Bean Respect Day, Go Fly a Kite Day

To send you into the weekend, here’s a flashback to when I was in elementary school – the year is 1964, and the hit is Glad All Over by the Dave Clark Five. Enjoy, have a safe weekend and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.