Friday, November 23, 2018

Black ePistle


Famous First Words: You sure you can't move? --Harpo Marx --his only spoken … silent movie, Too Many Kisses
So, it's black Friday, aka capitalism at its most capitalistic. Actually, Black Friday is for amateurs. Real capitalists shop all the time.
..........Live and let live, love and let love..........Fiorello …..Home Again
Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace. – Buddha
It is a cloudy Friday morning. The sky is covered in wide streaks of gray and narrow stripes of light almost shining between gray. The wind is whipping the willows and tossing the other tree limbs, but 50°F keeps it from feeling cold. There are no birds about and the only sound wafting through the air is a distant trash truck grinding ever closer. Puck and I walk around the block while the sky gets darker and the wind gets higher. It has begun to smell like rain, although no drops have fallen, and we pick up our pace a bit. When we return home, Puck drinks a little milk and curls up on his pillow to sleep as if we had walked miles and miles. I fix myself a cup of decaf with whole milk and artificial sweetener. Umm. And now I get to sit here protected from the morning winds and write to you. There's something to be thankful for.
Hope your weekend is top of the line, ePistliers.
Vacation Annotation – Opening Night: To protect the innocent we will call ourselves Flopsy, Mopsy – friends in high school and still crazy after all these years -- and Harpo, a decade or so younger but a long time friend. We began by watching KU Basketball, (KU: 92, MIS: 87) and election returns. Good thing we were all happy about the results or it might have been a bloodbath right off. Flopsy, of course, is from Florida and had to take teasing for her entire visit. ~~If Florida voted between a million dollars or a kick in the head the results would be 50.1 to 49.9.
How many capitalists does it take to screw in a light bulb? Answer: None, workers take care of all the necessities of life.
..........Shuffle up the cards and find the joker.........Chorus …..Politics and Poker
Trivia Questions: Happy Birthday, Jukebox
^ Who invented the jukebox anyway?
^^ Where does the name Juke come from?
^^^ What 1950s innovations made the jukebox so very popular?
^^^^ How many jukebox brand names can you come up with?
^^^^^ Any idea who still makes jukeboxes?
Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: An opinion without 3.14 is a onion. --Submitted by ksz of ks
Vacation Annotation – Marathon Marijuana: We each brought an oz but we didn't polish that off in our 9 days. Good thing, we'd probably all be hospitalized if we did. But we did make a fair dent. Flopsy had not smoked for a year or nearly a year. She enjoyed herself very much but wasn't always good at communicating it or much else. We had coffee (French Press, Yaucono – delicious) and a joint for breakfast. Then every 2 to 3 hours all day long. Flopsy and Harpo also smoked tobacco cigarettes. It will be 20 years in April since Mopsy has used tobacco – directly - by the end of the week, she was coughing again. She would take the dog out for bathroom runs and walks and smoke would curl out of the patio door and twist its way up between the pine and the oak like a chinese dragon. One toke over the line – extremely understated.
Fake Library Statistic of the Week: If you say "Dewey" 3 times he'll magically appear and mansplain something about library science. https://www.facebook.com/FakeLibStats/?fref=ts
Capitalism is a lot like an airplane in which the pilot announces to her passengers that she has two pieces of news to tell them. The good news is that they are traveling at the pre-established speed of 600 miles an hour and all the systems on the plane are functioning perfectly. The bad news is that they are lost.
..........All these people who look to us for justice........Neil …..On The Side Of The Angels
Moonbeam: I always considered an idle Life, as a real evil, but, a life of such hurry, such constant hurry, leaves us scarcely a moment for reflection or for the discharge of any other then the most immediate and pressing concerns. --Edward Rutledge
Something to Think About of the Week:

Big Hello: Salut / Bună ziua --Romanian https://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/hello.htm
Next Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Congrats Sheldon Adelson on buying your wife a Presidential Medal of Freedom! “He went to Jared!” --Sarah Silverman --Submitted by ma of va
Vacation Annotation – Television: Both Flopsy and Harpo were addicted or at least a little dependent on 24 hour news channels. - not Fox, thank goddess – Mopsy was exhausted. There were only 3 stories and they milked them for 24 hours a day; that works out to 8 hours per story (mostly in a ten minute segment with 2 minutes of graphics repeated endlessly). 1) The world is ending because we don't know who won yet 2) The world is ending because the fires in California are more deadly than ever 3) The world is ending because the new Attorney General is a) illegal b) a crook c) a Mueller firer. Towards the end continued vote counting was giving away to Melania suggested firing a security staffer.
Week of the Week: National Bible Week (11/24-12/1) --I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older; then it dawned on me... they're cramming for their final exam. --George Carlin
I am convinced that all corporations are evil, but Bruce Wayne says free market capitalism is the only thing can that can save the world.
..........Oh, gosh, life is so complicated.........Dora …..I Love A Cop
^ In 1890, Louis Glass and William S. Arnold invented the nickel-in-the-slot phonograph, the first of which was an Edison Class M Electric Phonograph retrofitted with a device patented under the name of Coin Actuated Attachment for Phonograph.
Almanac: It is Friday, November 23, 2018. The moon is full (Beaver) tonight and is in Gemini. It is Dr. Who Day, Family Volunteer Day, Fibonacci Day, National Adoption Day, National Cashew Day, and National Survivors of Suicide Day. Japan celebrates Thanksgiving and Labor Day while it is Repudiation Day (1765) in Maryland.
Among those born on this day were Edward Rutledge (1749), Franklin Pierce (1804), Billy the Kid (William Bonney, 1859), Boris Karloff (William H. Pratt, 1887), Harpo Marx (Adolph, 1888), William E. Brock (1930), Steve Landesberg (1945) and Bruce Hornsby (1954).
On November twenty-sixth the horseshoe manufacturing machine was patented (1835), the Female Medical Educational Soceity was founded (1848), the first jukebox was installed (1899), Life issued their first magazine (1936), the Coast Guard Woman's Auxiliary (SPARS) was authorized (1942), Fiorello debutted on Broadway (1959) and the Chinese People's Republic was seated in the UN Security Council (1971).
Night Sky, 11/23: Now the Moon shines closer to Aldebaran than yesterday, and on its other side. Watch the Moon draw farther away from Aldebaran through the hours of the night. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/
Max Picture of the Week: Max celebrates Thanksgiving

This Week: Saturday, November 24 – Small Business Saturday & Celebrate Your Unique Talent Day
Night Sky, 11/24: The bright waning gibbous Moon rises around the end of twilight and climbs high through the evening. It's now below the horns of Taurus: Beta (β) and fainter Zeta (ζ) Tauri.
Sunday, November 25 – International Hat Day & Crystal Skull World Day
Monday, November 26 – Cider Monday
Night Sky, 11/24: Capella shines in the northeast as soon as the stars come out. As night grows darker, look to its right by about three fists at arm's length for the frosty little Pleiades cluster. It's the size of your fingertip at arm's length. Orange Aldebaran climbs up below the Pleiades. By about 8 p.m., depending on your location, Orion is clearing the horizon below Aldebaran.
Tuesday, November 27 – National Craft Jerky Day & Giving Tuesday
Wednesday, November 28 – National Package Protection Day
Thursday, November 29 – Square Dancing Day & Electronic Greetings Day
I'm not sure if the housing bubble was real or an invention of the super-rich to justify a new class war by austerity.
..........can turn into heartless misbegotten misers.........Fiorello …..Unfair
^^ Jukebox is apparently derived from the familiar usage "juke joint", derived from the Gullah word "juke" or "joog" meaning disorderly, rowdy, or wicked
'Nother Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: Snow in November happens because people prematurely decorate for Christmas. --sd of co
Vacation Annotation – Fake CNN Statistics: 93% of women anchors and commentators on CNN have the same hairdo. A couple have the same hairdo but with one ear showing (never both ears). 89.6% of these women are blond and 97% of the blonds use the same color of hair dye. Feminists will be pleased to note that female anchors are capable of asking questions equally as stupid as their male counterparts. Occasionally they would interview women with real hair. Mopsy was silently screaming...fuzzy hair, fuzzy hair, somebody with fuzzy hair, please. ~~A free press needs to be free not only from government control but from corporate profiteers as well.
Moonbeam: Frequently the more trifling the subject, the more animated and protracted the discussion. --Franklin Pierce
Top Ten Late Night Snacks: Top 10 Signs You Won't Be Re-Elected President
10. At fund-raising dinners guests ask you, "Can we have some more butter please?"
9. Whenever you use phrase. "If I'm re-elected" in speech, crowd bursts into 10 minutes of uproarious laughter.
8. Wife keeps reassuring you she can get work as mall Santa.
7. Quayle's on your ticket.
6. When you ask your campaign manager for advice, he shrugs and says, "Beats me."
5. Carvel turns their President Bush cake into "Bushy the Whale."
4. Instead of "Four more years" supporters chant "Six more months."
3. Your pinhead son loses $3 billion in savings and loan scandal.
2. Your State of the Union address is pre-empted by a "Who's-the-Boss-a-Thon."
1. "Other" beats you in polls.
Not So Late Night Snacks: Video games are getting so realistic you might as well just live. --Peter Sagal Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me
One is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but is peaceful, loving, and fearless. --Buddha

..........It's amazing, is it not..........Ben …..Little Tin Box
^^^ ...teens were buying rock ‘n’ roll records at an alarming rate, the 78 rpm record had been replaced by the smaller and more cost-effective 45 rpm record, and new innovations in jukebox technology made the machines all the more accessible and fun for customers.
Worthless Fact of the Week: The largest cashew tree in the world covers about 81,000 sq. ft. and is located in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
Wicked Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: My children are so open to experiencing culture. They'll try anything from chicken nuggets at a Mexican restaurant to chicken nuggets at a Mediterranean restaurant. --Read Housewives of OZ
Vacation Annotation – Mansplaining: Harpo is a mansplainer. He claimed to have never heard the term. He interrupted to explain things you were busy explaining to him. He explained things before he talked about them. He even explained how interrupting you to explain things was how he defined conversation. Can't argue with that logic. Mopsy counted 7 times she simply did not tell her story because she was interrupted. Too bad, those stories would have been hilarious and would have sent us all into gales of laughter.
Weird Word of the Week: Insinuendo – a tasteless word. This piece comes with a health warning: unwise use of this word may seriously damage your linguistic credibility. http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-ins2.htm
Wacky Uses for Common Products: Shine leather shoes. Rub Vaseline Petroleum Jelly over the leather and wipe off the excess with a towel. http://www.wackyuses.com/wacky/vaseline.html
Capitalism humor is like food, not everyone gets it.
...........You think they'll ask for a recount.........Chorus …..The Bum Won
^^^^ Big manufacturers included: Wurlitzer, Seeburg, Rock-Ola, and Ami
Top Ten Date of the Week: July 15, 1992
Vacation Annotation – Forgetfulness: Being old and smoking a lot for a week – interesting what you can and can't remember. Of course there is the 32nd rule: If your story lasts longer than 30 seconds no one remembers what you were originally talking about. If you work together and think hard sometimes you can remember what you were talking about – it is almost never worth it. Then there is the deer in the headlights: Something – a flash of light, a noise in the other room, someone lighting a joint – and the mind is suddenly blank. And the task exchange: You go into the kitchen to get a glass of water. You get to the kitchen and wash out glasses, put on water for coffee, clear away the trash on the counter, feed the dog, and return to the living room without a glass of water. This may be a corollary of forgetting why you went into the other room...but that happens to younger people and people who aren't stoned or drunk or brain damaged so I'm not going to cover it here. ~~"Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that is how dogs spend their lives." - Sue Murphy
Science Fiction Convention of the Week: Starbase Indy 2018 – The Next Generation –Celebrating Star Trek's vision of the future by promoting humanitarianism and STEM education today. https://www.starbaseindy.org/
Actual Science Convention of the Week: 7th Annual International Conference on Civil Engineering: (11/21-23, Seville, Spain) http://www.allconferences.com/c/2018-7th-international-conference-on-civil-engineering-iccen-2018-seville-2018-november-21
Puck the Brave Episode of the Week: Here's our fearless Puck doing the Twist in the case of the Dancing Dogs.
At the G7 Summit this month, the world trade organizers plans to declare free speech an illegal barrier to trade.
..........Tie some shoes on my Chevrolet..........Marie …..The Very Next Man
^^^^^ Two companies still manufacture classically styled jukeboxes: Rockola, based in California, and Sound Leisure, based in Leeds in the UK. Both companies manufacture jukeboxes based on a CD playing mechanism. However, in April 2016 Sound Leisure showed a prototype of a "Vinyl Rocket" at the UK Classic Car Show. It stated that it would start production of the 140 7" vinyl selector (70 records) in summer of the same year.
Month of the Week: November is National Peanut Butter Lovers Month --I almost had an “I need a guy moment” but then I was able to get the peanut butter jar open
Final Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: November doesn't have afternoons. It has morning until 2, then night.
Vacation Annotation – Maybe: One of the reasons I took up smoking weed decades ago was that it seemed to help be pay attention. “There's a price for enlightenment, what you pay is attention” Stephen Gaskin I have tried to pay attention. I have tried to eliminate things that stole the attention (24 hour news, for instance). From computer programmers I learned to use music to shut out distractions so that I could follow long logic chains. From meditation I learned to be quiet and not interrupt myself. From nature I learned to love the present. From marijuana I learned to take it all in, process it without judgment, and shine it back out as love. 9 days of fun and friends and that all sounds like pompous bullshit. I sure had a great time.
Grammar Joke of the Week: An allusion walks into a bar, despite the fact that alcohol is its Achilles heel.
Today's Peace of History: Today's Peace of History, November 23, 1170 BCE: The first recorded strike took place in Egypt when necropolis workers who had not been paid for their work in more than two months sat down and refused to work until they were paid and able to eat.
Capitalism is like the vending machine. It never works but it takes your money.
..........When did it start, this change of heart.........Thea …..When Did I Fall In Love
Masthead of the Week: Friday ePistle, November 23, 2018, Black ePistle. Online at: http://fridayepistle.blogspot.com/ Peace, Love and Capital. Exclusive editor: Christine Smith. 2511 Morningside Dr. Lawrence, KS 66047
Moonbeam: It's an insane tragedy that 700,000 people get a diploma each year and can't read the damned diploma. --William E Brock
Opps, Found One More Funniest Thing I Read of the Week: White House turkey refuses pardon ... cooperating with Mueller. --David Woods --Submitted by ma of va
Cost of War:
As of 11/22/18 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,874,892,851,413.
As of 11/15/18 Military Costs of War since 2001: $2,872,915,357,746.
As of 11/22/18 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $863,121,565,295.
As of 11/15/18 Homeland Security Costs since 2001: $861,777,513,701.
As of 11/22/18 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $634,724,157,477.
As of 11/15/18 Interest on War Debt since 2001: $633,034,665,420.
As of 11/22/18 Veterans Care since 2001: $299,891,856,148.
As of 11/15/18 Veterans Care since 2001: $299,507,898,994.
As of 11/22/18 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $4,672,631,100,089.
As of 11/15/18 Total Cost of Wars since 2001: $4,667,236,302,558.
To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others. – Buddha
..........Twilight descends, everything ends.........Mitzi …..Till Tomorrow
You know, capitalist jokes aren't funny unless you can sell them for a profit.
Famous Last Words: ¿Quién es? ¿Quién es? --Billy the Kid's last words
May Peace be your coin of the realm
And Joy your profit in hand
prairie mama
christine


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