Viral Vicissitudes

3 yards and a cloud of dust - "Can you dig it?!"   Spring, clean-up! "Kids, what better way to put, into force... all the physics of spring training?"😁 Clean-up, this awful mess! "And keep your chin-up..." while doing so...simultaneously “keep your nose to the grindstone!” 😩 I've got the dirt on you! "You're gonna' have a lot of work..." to dig yourself out...😟 Clean-up this yard, waste!"  “Hey now, look at what we’ve already accomplished in 100 daze, after coming into this waste deep. And with a little help from my friends, the army of MAGATS, this garbage dump is in a heap of trouble!" The days of (Woody) Hayes: Fun football field fact - the "3 yards" amounted to a full frontal attack, on into what's known these daze as the "red zone" 😡 Strong finish  - a statement which sounds more, like a question as in “Alex, what’s really in Jeopardy here…” As in The Who is ultimately responsible for “Teenag...

  Sad Sap When the... exalted,  slowly halted... (talking even "slower, than molasses...") Whence these trees... once tapped, completely zapped... (as "we're sick, and tired...") Instead of going down... the price brings a frown... Instead of playing nice... Mother Nature brought ice... Wait till next year... becomes our local cheer... Where Lend, Leaf program… "O, Canada, can you just spare a cup, of maple...?"   Is followed by... "( hard)  Cider House Rules"  here, and so does " Apples to Apples " Got to do with what you’ve got, when you're about tapped out. Of maple syrup, that is.  Sour-full state of affairs. 

  The Swiss, and their Vatican Watchers   A position of neutrality  - if standing at attention at the Vatican’s pearly gates qualifies… Not without complications -  horographically speaking …coming and going like the finest of Swiss watches…(did ya' know they, the finest of "perpetual calendar" watches are also defined as a "series of complications")? Only thing more accurate would be a Swiss banker 😉So, it only makes sense they would be selected for such a papal purpose... Grantors, of an audience - prior to being in the audience of a Cardinal or on up the steps of the Vatican…it’s these that are truly positioned to either grant or…”scram, go on home…!” Wouldn't even, give me the time of day... En Garde 24/7  Ever Ready and auto re-winded... Tourist trap tip: If you want to at least get them to crack a smile “OK, now say Swiss….!  How could they choose a different official cheese for the Holy See?😇

End trees for Dearth Day - D real reasons...   De-forestation nation: The one currently ranked #1 in the world, as the culprit, celebrated at other times as providing the materials... End treaties: Well, that, based on my deductive reasoning, which was in turn influenced by a major Influencer..."This news update from the British Broadcasting Company..." which first discovers, covers, and then...provides their own commentary..."Nothing's out of the question, is within reach..." All those cease fires, controlled burns, treaties, being discussed but where else... Add a Leaf: Was the conclusion I came to after..."nothing's off the table...heavy discussion around the table...elbows, leaning on...(given the mostly male come-panions here)...lack of manners exposed..."  Dearth, un-Earthed... The real reason for the season...Arbor days, why we need to supplant so many that have been allegedly been cut down, in order to "table that..." Let alone th...

A failure, in (facial) recognition... "I can hardly recognize..."   Me Selfie...as I gaze, through the haze, of my new lenses...everything old's been (re)made Gnu again - over and (make) over… "Open your eyes..." At least try, given the heaviness in the eye, lids that cover the eyes that were already bigger than the pocketbook, as the saying goes... "As plain as the nose..." Yeah, but where does one end, the other begin...wish I would not have given in to the other urge, to cut off my nose to spite my face...And the tummy tucker, I mean gut buster saying... "Paper or plastic...?" (how do you intend on paying for this?) Given that insurance companies will not, except under the most extenuating circumstances, pay for all these "elective" otherwise termed, cosmetic surgeries... "Take some tissues..."  A common phrase in my office and, as it runs out, in that of a particular cosmetic surgeon, as well...the one ("in dept...

"Feeling a draft...?"    Where Casinos are Kings "Simply pull up another sheet..." Once your mock draft has been thoroughly shredded, even before the first  round is far from over...already (un)well....into the night... "Feeling exposed...?" Well, then, it's time to get (psyched!) up, come back inside… "Close the window..." Well, it's at least getting close, to being closed...the opportunity to re-work your sheet, before the next round of the NFL begins... "Get warmed up..." Not only germane to the game of football and all...but how else can you feel after "leaping over the competition..." "swapping out your position..." "grabbing the opportunity..." "film clips" (oddest wording of all, given the penalties given out for such action)... "off the clock" Words you may, not want to hear, depending on where you 'sit' in this round...but if you're a true bettor, a so-called...

  'net flicks, and their flocks Flicker frenzy  (well after woody and his woodpeckers, became our favorite deforest-station...), came the foreign films, dubbed "Disaster Dinosaur-US, giant tarantulas...!" all, dubbed in...hard to take serious, as in not much "Jump!" to their collective scare.... Slasher  "Scream" fest...too much made of it, that we became a byte de-sensitized (the tech psych term), when combined with films that were not impressive, could find their budgets...slashed... Screaming, then streaming ...to other formats, AKA safe havens, and then, as in a normal developmental cycle, cutting the umbilical (cable) chord... Net prophets... as in throwing a wide net at a larger target audience, with a pleasing array of menu items...complete with those you might consume before, during, after dinner...based on the amount of "tariff proof" financial returns, Netflix reported earlier in the week... Pre-screening... an industry wide strateg...

An Ex-pert, panel of Pro-viders: A Psychologist, a Meteorologist...ends up, with a Proctologist🙄... Opinions divided among them: Pro-portion-ally...along the lines of their respective professions...along with... Con-temporary contemplations: On what's traditionally called the state of their occupational domains...and what a "Dose of their own medicine" might taste like... So, as the story goes..."in walks a psychologist..." (OK so I'm taking what's called "editorial license" about the setting, which is usually a bar) "It's one thing to be told I can't practice without a license when professional ball players are actually out playing, without any such things, but now  come to find out my knowledge is rated as out of date (CEU - PU!) and furthermore, the longer I practice the harder it is to impress all these narcissists- the ones that just LOVE self reflection…who needs ME anymore... Enter the meteorological prognosticator…”They ga...

  Supply chain...reactions. 'High'... demand Low...s upply Importing... snorting, extorting... The nose knows... sniff test... Self pollen-nation... intra-nasal...Up Yours! at break-neck speed... Don't go... blowing it, all in one place... Increase in speed... along with blurred vison, that is causing (economic) "slow downs" ahead... CRASH!  No wonder there's so many pile ups, free weighs that are no longer...free of debris... Traffic and its congestion... due to the increased ingestion...of 'Coke' and its distant cousin, 'Speed'. When Crack up... no longer a laughing matter. Pre-cautionary #2: "Skunk, in the school yard...PU!" Coming soon, to your safety post.

  Those who call Rome, home... “To the Vatican, as fast as you can!” Collage of Cardinals - while one may seem to simply merge into another, when they’re in what’s colloquially termed a 'collective’ you can’t miss them (you will when in the “Conclave”)  - something about the grand design seen elsewhere as a color-less Crayola collection, vestments in “blood red” (symbolizing their expressed willingness to lay down their lives…)  In the coming haze-  what’s termed elsewhere even on this Earth Day as a “controlled burn” will soon have a mass of humanity in the confines of St. Peter Square lifting their eyes to the sky, to see what hue it gives off…to see which Cardinal is called to leave the nest… "A Saint I ain't"  Despite his own protestations to the contrary, in the form of asking almost immediately to be lifted in prayer…signaling, essentially and symbolically “I’m just one of you…” which the world came to embrace, what he brought to the world stage in the ra...

New knews, in brief, from those in the know... On behalf of the unknowing. Also, for those immersed in religious observances, and the other “unwashed” (charitably “uniformed”)… In the briefest of moments, the temporary cease fire in the mid-east region of the world…giving new meaning to “temp”… Speaking of military and fronts, isn’t a knew twist to see a secretary of defense be put in the defensive due to his error raid signals that he has been putting out there at high frequencies… And another foreign service server informs us that plenty of add Vance notice was given in order for JD not look too conspicuous, given his mixed religious observances in his own home, to first visit the home of the pope to be followed by a fly bye to India, where he will just by convenience extend a hello to his wife's extended family (whereas her parents are professors in residence in San Diego --  talk about all knowing😔 -- all on what could soon be our “last dime”, given the thinning of minting out...

Load Bearing   "I first came to fear…IT" That is, what caused me to look the other way, even go, into hiding... "I can't wait to hear IT" I mean, we've been longing for some "Good News" for what seems EONS...B.C. "Now that I'm near IT" I come, to realize, IT’s the best news ever, that You came, to lighten my load..." "Time to come out of hiding, and start abiding, with Me" Happy Easter

Pilate Project - How are you bearing up? "Safety in Numbers...(?)" A saying, concept commonplace to contemporary sociology, individual psychology, and even the practice of law...which we learned about growing up, that if you are about to do a mis-deed, you may want to consider recruiting, a few "accomplices😉" -- some "unknowing😟" what your true aims might be. Actually a throwback, to the great wanderers...the ones that, even as they approached what was promised to them as the "Promised Land" were both exhorted and add-monished about themes of convenance, obedience, and consequences of rebellion... "Bearing resemblance..." The other side of the equation where, in order to prove your innocence, you declare, even decry...a public denouncement even..."I don't recognize, never met, no, no....NO!" (How many times do I have to tell you...?!) One of the earliest cases, now that I reflect on it, of 'over-compensation' and...

Die casting - the coroner retorts... "Just, what if..."  You came, to find out, upon reaching the Proverbial “judgement day” that the state of your fate, was die-namically related to the pace of your grace…that you granted others?   "OK, how about trying this...?" Just one day, free of judgement. (could have freed up a lot of your days) "Judge not, lest ye be..." 

Press passing precipice post What, who, where we went... so we've been told, about "Freedom of the press" and its access, to well as its initialized "FOIA" which..."ensures public access..." to all kinds of docs... An awful alliteration …if you ask them...a-bridged, freedoms, that is. What used to be free, encumbered access, now have us having to go through a press secretary, whose purse-onality matches that of the parsimonious press pass President...   "Pssst!"   How did this press person pass us up…guess we’re going to have to go old school and get a hall monitor who can yank their passes…secret service servers, they are… De-pressed : Press released, by a secretarian force…let’s just Leavitt at that. 

  Letters from your Great U.S. - posted the day after. B.S.S. = "Back so soon...?" AKA "Come on back, we've got some unfinished biz..." AKA "Audit😟 B.F.F. = "Come on back any time" In the case of overpayment...😁 TFD = "Not quite nyet..." As in it's still a weighs away, as in June 12th this year...the day your tax burden of all the collective taxes have been accounted for and you are now working....for your selfie. In any case: "Don't be a stranger, feel free to pay me a visit, any day of the year..."😉 Uncle Sam, I am 

Taxes and their collectors - a tour of Uncle Sam's house Color-full: As in both exterior and interior all painted in green, as it is, after all, the most Pay-triotic...  First thing first: Prior to entering what's now, in many homes, called the "Great room" - the "Hobby Lobby" - where all the pics of those who lobbied for what has traditionally been euphemized as "Tax reforms" which has essentially euthanized our pay-check..."Just a reminder kid, of what got U.S. to where we are today...as in our debts and debtors..." Collector room: Everyone has or should have...as in "have" and "have knots"..."Look over there at those shelves...see all the precious metals...and the ones next to them, sitting empty, which is a simple reminder of all those coins that we used to mint, and now are considered use-less so, now just collect dust bunnies..."  Ad-jacent: "Come on in but be ready for action, as this is what we c...

Boo! Stir seats; Paws, for affect; Score, boreds   Cause for a pause: To catch our collective breath, put our wallets on pause, following a period of pride in our home team(s), parading in, and out -- where curiously, the one where the game is susceptible to inclement conditions is out, and the other, is in (the one that can and should , for us purists, be played out, on the field of play), in our hometown... Paws, for affect: As in "Aww!" Almost auto-matic to bring a smile to the face of all ages, and stages of the game...before and after what's called, the "Seventh inning stretch" Whereas the appearance of Paws...here, there, and in almost every section of the stadium, the cause is to get us to claw for every dollar, to willingly pay more for the same number, of innings… "Just caws" Without much other justification...for asking us to shell out, in order for them, our hometown team(s) to sell out... Bigger boreds: With scores of scores and other sensa...

 " OPEN", to Influence...  All grown up …but growing short on patience, before I get to “CLOSED” minded, what I really want to do is become an Influence-ER, as in..."er", sorta...kinda...maybe? Ex-sample …if looking at what have become the OMNI- present YOU tubers and other so-called INFLUENCERS that simply model how best to go about…getting around the obstacles…”Level up!” are any indication, our future is in DOUBT…(we're talking Social, Security, hear?) Time, and time again... to get involved and influence our YOUTS…before it’s too late and they are no longer OPEN to our guidance… Passing, on the NextFlix Generation... all the collective wiz-dumb that has been absorbed, stored, just waiting to be broad-casted...more narrowly defined, what our parents feared, would become a whole nation of "Boob tubers!" AKA  the ones of us that enjoyed, before and after our formal education, what became known in many homes as the "idiot box" 😕   Listen to ...

Arabs and their spring...training Game of Gulf: Which we, ourselves, have become accustomed to...as in re-naming things to suit our-selves...but they, way over in what's called the Middle, eastern states...seem to only want to do in over-sized quantities...as in HUGE paydays for not only the winner, but second, third...as in LIV Golf - Roman numerals reflecting the number of holes but which should, based on the sponsorship of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, be $X$X$X!  Bridging the Gap: As in London Bridge, which congers up all kinds of historical images...including when our own version of "futbol" became a matter of interest, and is now played out, on "the pitch" (which may sound more like the game that opened up in what's called the "far east" as in Japan, and the MLB), as in "going long", to "throw out the first pitch"...as in fusion food...fight!   Flagging interest: Rates of, that is. Only rumor that it's pa...

"Hell hath no furry..." Now, that it's frozen over... Just when our stocks and ponds were beginning to warm up... "It's another cold day, welcome to Hell" Weathering blanket tariffs in Hell, Michigan...  

"Giddy Up!" Non cents: Precious pennies, the few that are still left, in circulation. Speaking of... Heart stoppers: As in "make someone excited, to the point of disorientation..." What the "bucking bronco" horse was designed to do, outside the store, the one our "he's destined to be an engineer" grandee had the good sense to avoid, "at all costs" when everyone around him was lining up to put their coins in the... Slot machines: That are themselves, as in both the hard, soft ware designed buy some experienced engineers who have not only studied our hard wiring, what sensations, as in bells, whistles, and such, might attract our attention, then keep us going, even when the going gets rough... Buy...er...Re:Morse: Sam, who along with to no "A. Vail" (the frequently no-name partner) who conceived of a code, which they didn't officially call buy-nary, but under the Wright conditions (woops, a byte or two pre-mature) be tel...

Trade, imbalances; Hate, speech?  "Whaddaya Say?" As in a program, guided practice...in relaxed speech...allowing students to improve their comprehension and pronunciation...of spoken English...both practical and entertaining...both inside and out, of the classroom... "I've said it all..." Where a small, particular detail serves to illustrate clear, plain evidence of a larger issue... Pronunciation, Punctuation: When they come together, they can prove to be an effective way to pause and poise a question. Answers, too: "Talk about imbalance, mine's weigh  out of whack, even before the market opens...got a good recommendation of another place to shop, as in what's called in financial advisor circles...perhaps a safe house?" And as to the second, speech issue, especially those given in public places -known colloquially, as "public speaking"😟 or otherwise aligned strongly with the first Amendment. Most adults endorse it as something they...

Bye, Gone Era - Parcels, and their post-ages.   Partial post - offices and their Guv. workers…  Bye, gone -  to the Amazon, in search of work… Fed up - as in others went to Fed-X - odd that they would give up one fed job for… UPS - short form, text lingo for “Up Yours!” a typical outgoing salute from a disgruntled employee… Going, going, gone...postal.  

  Cabinet co-alition, co-hesive communications: Trump Tariff Two-torial. "Rip off!" So he reminds us, on behalf of our trade imbalance, which took a long time getting here, so it only makes dollars and cents that..."I'll do it one country, continent, island nation and all its (penguin) inhabitants...if it was good enough for Darwin it suits me just fine...tariffs on their tuxedos they all wear..." H&HS: And should else should we turn to in such times, on behalf of the health of the economy, our financial well-fare -- What you say, RFK?   "I agree whole-heartedly (see, I do  have one) with the President...even when something has gone viral, the healthiest thing, is just rip off the band-aid, give it some air, and with thyme..." (Glad that this thyme around there is at least agreement among his secret-airies...)

  Wether update..."Houston, we've got...Cape, countdown..." Depending on, as in the two teams featuring the “Right Stuff” (Houston and Florida) having weathered the field, made it to the final, we should all be treated to lots of launches (3’s and a few shorter orbits) this evening…weather dependent. 

Double (Dribble) Trouble, Three Point Landings, Foul-ups… The arc of history: "The Nayes have it..." As in Dr. James ("NAY")Smith who, while playing "duck on a rock" (if you haven't played it, you won't fully appreciate the points, of this physics lesson) found it more effective to launch a soft, lobbing shot than a straight hard throw... "Nothing but..." No, not quite nyet, as it (along with the hard, then more flexible rims, to give weigh to the heavy slam dunkers) -- the nets, that get cut down and replaced, after a big win, weren't part of the original...peach baskets. The ones that initially required a ladder, until the game started favoring taller teens... Fast Forward: Which I, along with my "puro pals" that have largely moved on, from watching the game that, while being played on what are referred to as "hardwoods" has become too soft...on defense. Which may be part of the reason that the "shot clock...

Eh? before Eye, anything knew here? as in where most patents, end up-pending...   Dis-rupter: Is the new name, given to lots of tech, that changes the course of things, But, of course, we have had access, as close as the kitchen cabinets, for additional ingredients to spice up the otherwise dull course, on the table, ever since food dyes and such became part of our diets..."it's just not natural...so art-i-fi-cial...YUM!"  Girls and curls: As in "curlers in your hair, shame on you...!" was the caption that was designed to capture your attention, in what was then called an ad campaign, brought to you gladly while oddly by a group of "Mad Men"...which together produced a highly sought after “gadget for Gidget” and other girls next door, who wanted to spend less time with the “muss and fuss” of hair curlers, once the “split ends” were accounted for (requiring yet another product) and… Here We Are! Other-wise experienced these days as "We're b-a-a...

"I Love Tariff in the Spring Thyme...🎵" Oh, don't like the sound, a byte off pitch...? OK, try this... "Send back our Statue of Liberty, and bring home the Arc de Trump..." Still a note or two, percentage points off...? OK... "Watch out for falling stocks...rough patching crews, other obstruction-ists..." (Don't be distracted, by those naysayers...keep your eye on the long road ahead...) "Buckle up" (Part of the "click it or tic toc" campaign😕) "I've removed the barriers, for free trade...the rising inflation rates should allow for a soft landing, but just to be safe..." In case of a market crash… "I'm just the messenger..." One of the oldest safe sayings, under the circumstances...    

T Partiers...Tariff talk, and other stuff that begins, ends with Tease... "Tough it out...short term (i.e. four years and then...perhaps not)" "Tardy...should have been done already...we've been getting ripped off, for years!" "Tear us apart...then put US back together" Who needs "All the King's horses or men, when you got me?!"  Tumultuous term, of events...forget me...KNOT! Trade-offs... "Imports, exports, extortionists...we'll deport them all!"  Tipping point… "Tippecanoe, Mr. Trump, makes two!" (a Presidential slogan up-date) Teed up… "Ten, twenty for every cent...and counting!"  All Toes… "First term we stubbed our toes, COVID style, now I'm dipping my toe..."  Foot in mouth... "call me a toe truck..."  Toll, roads… We, Michi-ganders, avoid Oh-High O at all costs... Late night announcement… gives rise, to early moaning... Starts with tempt, ends in trouble. Hysterical, I mean ...

FREE Billboards! Distracted Drive-ways... Where Freedom Rains: A take-off on what I briefly read, as I whizzed bye, on what we call a free-weigh (which is why, we call them "weigh stations", eh?) and they (our Canadian friends?) simply call them what they are..."divided..."  Free Brit!  A close call to Britney eh? Or, once accomplished, from both a write in campaign, and posting on thousands of billboards, "Cheers for Spears!" On to...  Kill (the) Bill: As in the fine print "Paid for by the Government of Canada" after more boldly stating "TARIFFS ARE A TAX" (with the understated "On Your Grocery Bill")  Bored Stiff: The ones that sit empty, due to being...liberated "Oops, I did it again...!"   

No More fooling, around here... Time to get, to work ... The time... long past The first of the year, was already here ... Calendar magic: Gregorian chants, Julian rants ... "fooled me!"  Tariffic trickster: Only a professional Presidential prankster would see it as im-practical to roll out tariffs on such a day as this..."Wait 'till, tomorrow" is one of his many money mantras (AKA “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”)