On Tasty Wrinkles

Hey hey hey … another weekend is done and gone. Tell us something about your weekend?

I had an evening of ballroom, dinners with sister-in-law and father-in-law, a going-away party, work, and Quickstep formation practice. We also attended a Reds baseball game. It was eventually cancelled due to rain, but we received our bobble head commemorating the 25th anniversary of the last time the Reds won the World Series (1990).

Meals: The Musical returns this week, but this act may be the most difficult. Act 3 featuring Sides, which means side dishes for the meal. Because of the broadness, there is a wide opportunity for creativity, and the producer understands that he needs to be somewhat flexible. Because the producer is the way he is, below are a few guidelines:

• The producer still has discretion
• Vegetables, which includes tomatoes, corn, and beans
• Grains, products of grains, nut, kinds of nuts
• Pastas, Soups
• Unacceptable: Fruit, any fruit, meat and any meat, any dessert, any beverage

I admit that I’ve been anxiously anticipating the opening act. Curtain time will be Wednesday, 9:30 PM (Eastern US).

Celebrations for Your Week

• (Week) Karaoke Week, Lingerie Week, Mattress Turnover Week, Air Quality Awareness Week, Library Preservation Week, Jewish Heritage Week, Reading is Fun Week, Forest Week, Intergenerational Week, TV Turn-off Week, Volunteer Week, Consumer Protection Week, Playground Safety Week, Teacher Appreciation Week, Big Brothers/Sisters Appreciation Week
• (Mon)  Drug Take Back Day, Tell a Story Day, Babe Ruth Day, Mantanzas Mule Day, Morse Code Day, Prime Rib Day, Woody Woodpecker Day, Childcare Professionals Day, Playground Safety Day
• (Tues) Biological Clock Day, Day for Safety & Health at Work, Workers Memorial Day, Blueberry Pie Day, Brave Hearts Day, Kiss Your Mate Day, Poetry Reading Day, Astronomy Day
• (Wed) Dance Day, Zipper Day, Peace Rose Day, Guide Dogs Day, Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare, World Wish Day, Shrimp Scampi Day, Rebuilding Day, Greenery Day, Gnocchi Day
• (Thurs) Bugs Bunny Day, Jazz Day, Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, Poem in Your Pocket Day, Honest Day, Animal Advocacy Day, Sarcoidosis Day, Oatmeal Cookie Day, Mr. Potato Head Day, Hairstyle Appreciation Day, Raisins Day

Honoring the last celebration listed above and the Act 2 of Meals: The Musical, here are three classic commercials to jump-start your week. Which is your favorite? Have a good rest of the week.

Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 221

On Politics
For those you think the Tea Party is dead because of its unsuccessful showing in Tuesday’s primary, think again because if nothing else, it has shifted the party to the right.

As Washington examines issues at the Veterans Administration (VA), comments by members of Congress demonstrate to me that they are more interested in political gain than solving the problem.

Speaker Boehner’s (R-OH) new conference came on the radio as I was listening today, and I changed the channel. Later, I returned to find Minority Leader Pelosi’s (D-CA) new conference, so I changed the channel again.

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion

• Congress reluctant to cut funding for tank that just spins around and self destructs
• Revealing spring attire reminds man he’s nothing more than weak, hormonal ogre
• High school student, teacher applying for same summer waitressing job
• Paleontologists unearth earliest known dinosaur stickers
• Experts recommend breaking down crushing defeats into smaller, more manageable failures
• Ohio replaces lethal injection with human new head-ripping-off machine

Interesting Reads
Leadership lessons from Dancing with the Stars
Columnist Ruth Marcus on politics and money
Interesting interactive sorting state (US) data
Learn to love your doppelgänger
The real Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Interesting infographic on man-made structures
Nutella in America

On Potpourri
Meryl and Maks were very deserving champions of Dancing with the Stars. Although some complained about co-host Erin Andrews in her debut season, but I say bring her back.

Taken April 22, 2014

I took this picture about a month ago after getting some gas.

Thanks for the wonderful music in Act 4 of Life: The Musical. I love getting different genres of music!

With Monday being a national holiday (Memorial Day) in the USA, I will not have a Saturday Morning Cartoon Classic post this weekend. I know … this pattern is too frequent, but I’m still digging out of my hole from the move.

Your weekend celebrations

• (Weekend) Mudbug Madness, Polka Weekend, Old-Time Player Piano Weekend
• (Fri) Taffy Day, Wig Out Day, Turtle Day, Don’t Fry Day, Crohn’s Disease and Colitis Day, Heat Awareness Day, Polka Day, Lucky Penny Day
• (Sat) Military Appreciation Day, Brother’s Day, Jazz Day, Morse Code Day, Escargot Day, Scavenger Hunt Day, Mary had a Little Lamb Day
• (Sun) Cookie Monster’s Birthday, Something Day, Wine Day, Tap Dance Day, Towel Day, Nerd Pride-Geek Pride Day

With Saturday being Lucky Penny Day, here’s a question to answer. If you see a penny on the ground with the tails side up, do you pick it up?

To send you into the weekend, let’s celebrate Morse Code Day (Saturday) with this hit from 1967 … Western Union by the Five Americans. (The song starts 1 minute in.) 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. 217

On Politics
My state (Ohio) is one of 15 states with a law against false political statements. Challenge to the law has reached the US Supreme Court has some interesting situations, such as Ohio’s Solicitor General arguing for the law that his boss (State Attorney General) wrote a letter about the law being unconstitutional. Given the high court’s rulings of money is a form of speech, I can see a ruling opening up the vaults for more deception – but time will tell. Here’s a story about the case from respected court writer Lyle Denniston, plus a synopsis with additional resources about the case.

Although I think columnist Charles Krauthhammer is a conservative crank, I enjoyed this column about campaign finance.

Here’s an interesting timeline with various milestones about bipartisan efforts.

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion
Gas station clerk glad to see Pump 2 doing so well today
Fisher-Price designer would like to see 2-year-old try and choke on newest version
White male privilege squandered on job at Best Buy
Casinos getting people to play longer by telling them civilization destroyed
Man with no plans too exhausted to go out
Baseball catcher keeps signalling “I love you”

Interesting Reads
One person’s opinion on the next Ukraine
Surprise birth of the scientific method
Vietnam War Maps
Animated map about the North Africa campaign WW II
Book review about John Wayne

On Potpourri
I tried not to focus on the stats, but I can’t help noticing that the numbers here are tanking to pathetic levels. Is anyone else experience this?

Earlier this week I mentioned the weight of handbells. Think of handbells like a piano key, that is each bell is a single note. Here’s a link showing the weight and diameter of each bell by different manufacturers. You will notice that the larger bells can be aluminum or brass. (For non-US readers, 1 ounce= 28.4 grams, 1 pound (lb) = 454 g, and 1 inch = 2.54 cm)

If all goes as planned, Life: The Musical returns next week. I will announce Act 3’s theme on the upcoming Monday Morning Entertainment. Curtain time will be Wednesday, 9:30 PM (US Eastern)

A Saturday Morning Cartoon Classic is on the docket for tomorrow.

Here are your weekend celebrations

• (Weekend) Satchmo Days, Fiddler’s Frolic, Nation’s Powwow, Interstate Mullet Toss, Mariachi Days, Pie Championships
• (Fri) DNA Day, Plumbers Day, Malaria Awareness Day, Red Hat Society Day, Penguin Day, Zucchini Bread Day
• (Sat) Arbor Day, Audubon Day, Do-Dah Day, Bob Wills Day, Eeyore’s Day, Hug an Australian Day, Dance Day, Go Birding Day, Animals in the Laboratory Day, Hairball Awareness Day, Help a Horse Day, Herb Day, Kids-and-Pets Day, Rebuilding Day, Pretzel Day, Intellectual Property Day, Richter Scale Day, Save the Frogs Day, Sense of Smell Day, Healing Day
• (Sun) Babe Ruth Day, Mantanzas Mule Day, Morse Code Day, Mother-Father Deaf Day, Pinhole Photography Day, Morse Code Day, Prime Rib Day

To send you into the weekend, here’s a flashback to 1971 with headliners Blood, Sweat, and Tears and their hit Lucretia Mac Evil. Enjoy, have a safe weekend and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.