Viral Vicissitudes

"It was just an act!" True that... as in one at a time. That, given how many she did each day, after day, that added up to...a flood of testimonies, of lives touched... Faith healer... an attribute I failed to mention, in my previous two posts regarding her other redeeming features. Not in the traditional way that so many "look at me on stage" snake charmers, who try to charm a few dollars right out of our wallets. But through acts of kindness, selflessness, and compassion, went a long way to restore my faith in the power of one, to make a difference... Acting out... in the field that I primarily practice in, "acting out" has gained a fairly negative association, with antisocial behaviors. Whereas when she did it, we usually didn't hear or see it right away, but the kind that are associated with what one's true character are measured by, done without fanfare, as in offstage... Time for us to act...  no time to waste, given the big pair...of shoes t...

Taylor got you tongue tied? Tying up some loose ends...  Like she’s resorted to cross training lyrics… from a “Taylor made double play…⚾️ “ to a whole range of plays attributed to Taylor…from the one that calls for “run it up the seams…” to the drawn up “button hook” pattern and only a Taylor would remind…”check your fly, Kels…” as in a pass pattern that is also referred to as “fading” - get the pattern here? For added affects- “they’ve just about sewn up a victory, otherwise known as zipped up.,,he really threaded the needle with that pass…” It’s all about transitioning from summer to fall wear, where Taylor will likely be seen, wherever the KC Chiefs and her special K can be found…sew it seems.  …”are you ready for some 🏈?!” Well, then, lace 'em up nice and tight or else it could result in a Swift kick...😖

"Welcome to the ball room!" There's one in every park... so it appears. Based on what's been showing, given the right conditions. And it also appears most are of the BYOC variety, given how they seem to be custom made, to fit their personality. Which is pretty much how it's being presented to the paying customers, whether in person or on scream...as in playing dress-up, in the dugout... MLB... which now, at least in the current context, More Long Ball... so that they can, between innings, provide us with some more entertainment, as a diversion, assuming they can fit it in, between all the required commercial breaks...that are the major source of revenue for these actors... at least what the league is touting as a way for them to act out a little, have some fun, especially after running around the entire base paths. Suggesting the game may have been getting too serious. Are YOU  serious, Mr. Comish?! You must have missed all the goof balls masquerading as relief pi...

“Dis-emvoweled!”  So much for.. forget about what made the Great Lakes great, as in naming after what came closest to what was native to the territory, well before we started sailing on these bodies of water… Wun, undun … as in taking the most important element out of “HOMES” which has helped US who live and enjoy the water ways, but even more so, saving our STM for memorizing other “Diddly Squat” stuff, what the local pundits say he knows about the subject of Geography. OK, you can call me... A septic, but I smell a rut, as in what will be left if this land developer, whose appetite is insatiable and only surpassed by the thirst, of his golf courses… Life can be a ditch …”Watch out Lake America!” Weird watered-down facts .. that “Diddly” actually started out as “doodly” - there goes another vowel, Vanna… A war torn fact... that the Bureau of Indian Affairs was established in 1824 under the War Department and transferred to the Department of the Interior in 1849, is likely assembli...

“Back together again”  After all has been said and done… as in “They’re all mine now…” Along with “Lift and separate…” and all the other self-effacing humor she, being full of both country pride and humility… Bosom Buddies… when was the last time you heard them referred to this way, even together in the same sentence. Well, it’s what you get when you put two country bumpkins together, eh Carl…”Well, I don’t know about impertinent but she sure is purty, don’t you agree?”  Anything less, would be impolite. Values worth emulating, if I don’t say so myself.  (no false front here: despite not being seen in public much, they managed to keep it together for 50plus - now THAT’S a winning pinup: Dolly + Carl = TLA😍)

Pretty in Pink Loosely Translated... whereas the more literal "Life in Pink" (“La Vie en rose”) took a trio of writers to capture. and became the signature song of Edith Piaf. But it is the unmistakable pipes of Louis Armstrong, and the lyrics (poetic license here) that best capture what who she came to represent."you gave your heart and soul to us... the world is more beautiful…La Vie en Rose” Coming in at a close second “What a Wonderful World “ 🥰 🎶 and another runner up “Hello Dolly!” following close behind. But watch out, as in the finale… Any proper send-off of Dolly would be incomplete without a shout out to Jolene: “Y’all better watch out…she’s a-coming for ya!” 

A photo op, with Iggy Pop An eye popping... a Chemical Romance, you could say. While mine has a few (skin) tags, his totally sags. Mine has several wrinkles, but his looks as if it could use some ironing. Worth the price of (backstage) admission, to benefit, by comparison. Thanks Iggy, at least someone is hitting home runs at our home park.  (could not have asked for a more perfect performance duo, prior to my post on "ball rooms") 

“Got you covered”  The hole story… which, based on our collective experience, is usually full of them. Ranging from the strong trend over the past several years..."rabbit holes"...the ones that a hookah smoking caterpillar warned US about (just ask Alice) to the ones that make us squirm, made by a worm, and on to the hugest and scariest of all, that are "man made" - - that have the whole country trying to dig themselves out of, that just makes it deeper... In sharp contrast...in racing terms, making a hairpin turn (aka doing a 180)... Fully funded…  pre-race agreement that the Penske people and their pit crews, as it were, would be responsible for un-welding what they had been slammed shut. This. as a pre-cautionary measure to make sure the cars, which are capable of sucking them up, due to what’s called a vacuum effect… Which could, if loosened up, create even a bumpier road, given how the drivers feel every little imperfection due to being so close to the surface....

On the crest of a wave... Is how I felt... when, just after posting about the You tubers, about 24 hours past, and about a week after breaking ice (figuratively), I came upon, was (literally) welcomed aboard... "Whatever floats your boat" was one of many meta-fours that I reflected on, by lending a hand (by simply staying out of the way) in collecting mail from a passing ship, while aboard the J.W. Westcott II) which still stands as having the only floating zip code.... "Row, row, row..." while he may not have been the original author of this tune, he ("J.W." to his friends, which grew in number, every time) must have sung it while approaching the tall ships (as far back as 1874), to deliver the mail, prior to... "Motorboat, motorboat..." a pool game we used to play, which included varying speeds. And, occasionally, like I experienced yesterday, a back-and-forth motion, during five consecutive approaches, it took, for the deck hand, to finally ...

"Ahoy, You tubers...!"  Next time... before you think about taking a deep dive, via those hand held devices, perhaps you could take a more basic, even a floatable variety, that could give us a clue of your coordinates, so that we might better coordinate a search party. You say it was just walk in the woods but sure looked like you couldn't see the forest for the trees. Here, put this in your pocket and quit listening to Alexa, Siri, and all those other video voces...this is what's called a compass -- when you're due home and it's otherwise time to come upstairs for dinner, it has a positioning system called "due north" dude! ♬"Merrily, merrily...life is but a stream...I could just scream!"      

Superior State of Mind: a watered-down version of the tipping point.  Cleansing action… but still strikes me as weird that they want to beg, borrow, or otherwise our water. Given that the whole country is already drowning, up to its eyeballs in debt…symbolic of the amount of freshwater Lake Superior would, if it was somehow released, as in Bingo! do a coverall of the entire (contiguous) United States. The problem, with dipping your toe...into such cold water, is that eventually one can get numb to the rising debt. The captain of the tour boat also pointed out people who were enjoying the (sand) bar, while standing perilously close to the drop off -- if that doesn't get your attention, America, there were the few who were standing on slippery outcroppings on Lover's Leap who..."could, if they're not careful, easily end up...a marriage on the rocks!" To reach the states of Alaska and Hawaii, it would, of course, require the bailing action of Mr. Musk (not that he...

A twiple crown, that fell in my lap How could I forget... to include, in this series of female reporters, interviewers, the one that, if anyone was going to be the best to send off this couple, it would be the one that loved the Woyals, the most. The one whose reporting was only eclipsed by the famous ones she interviewed (including "Opwa"), and even more so by her pronouncements of her well-rounded R's that masqueraded as W's. - - the target of one of 'gentlest' of parodies on SNL by Gilda "Wadna" when came out as "Baba Wawa" - which then became her trademark. That is, unless you were an S/L expert ("Speech and Language" in this context), it became thereafter difficult to discern whether she began embellishing what was heretofore a so-called challenge of articulation. But if she were here now, I would be the first to tune in to her bidding adieux to "Pwince Hawwy" and "Megan Mawkle, you still look Mawvlus!" Ba...

Three cheers, for sensitive ears!    Journalistically speaking… “You may find the following exchange, that was caught off camera, to be a bit heated, even though you’ve been exposed to quite a bit already this summer…” The type of pre-cautionary that pretty much guarantees your listenership will rise, at least temporarily… until those pretty faces who got caught speaking their mind, get fired. Almost all can be forgiven, and recovered, as in "I just saying that reporting the news can a real bitch...the fundamentals of which include the W's as in WTF?!" What can't be forgiven also came out of her own mouth..."Time to grow up" Indeed, Taryn, you can't be so naive to think, after reporting on all those body cams, that what you say off camera, wouldn't be caught... Drama driven, was a given... What I would not have given to see these two paired together, on our local news...Mr. Bill Bonds and his Bonds girl, Taryn Asher - - now that  would make for some ...

A night at the Oprah Reaching back...   the original, starring three brothers "..follows two eccentric friends...help a pair of young...find success in America, while undermining their rivals..." Only later, after they've made out big time, do they find out the one that booked them for a guest appearance, is now "washing her hands..." of these two docs. My own comedic version has her finally realizing one believed all the hype, landed him in Oz, whereas the in the case of Dr. Phil, I had my fill during the first minute of his first appearance, such gross misrepresentation of my profession, the first thing I could think of was to run and wash...She calls it playing the Trump card, whereas the rest of America calls it "turnarounds fair play" as in an act of reciprocity. I mean, haven't you felt the urge to wash your hands when the doctor finally showed up, after reading every brochure you could get your hands on...? Bet you will now.  ("A Night ...

TJ, RIP RIPPED, is more like it...   like "Ripped Off". I mean, come on, how can a guy who may have been the inspiration for "The Replacements" which featured a "washed-up" QB...we're talking about comeback kids, who now even have pre-pros asking for his namesake surgery, whenever they feel even a twinge in their elbow. In order to extend their arm, if not their career. And how could he not  have been the inspiration for the "Second Skin" collection, and the more general line "they move with you" -- given how many times he changed his...teams (six different pairings until he finally found a good fit, I guess). As his unofficial PR man, forget about the Hall of Fame, let's just finally get him the royalties due. I refer you to one of the oldest memes in the biz..."If I only had a dollar for every time they threw their elbows out, on purpose, or threw out an old pair of underwear in order to get the feel of..." Well, Tho...

Flak Jacket, under attack "I had no choice..." But to title this something dramatic, in order to gain your attention. As who wants to hear about good news, or even more so, a dilemma, that is characterized by two, two -- yes, I said TWO attractive alternatives. The kind of "first world" problem we all wish for, that starts with two attractive entrees in say, a restaurant, that results in a slight delay..."I think I will have....want...ugh, can't I have both...OK first thing's first...I'll come back again another day" Sometimes a matter of urgency..."got to go...(in order to delay ordering)," Or just a matter of setting of priorities. This, while most dilemmas in my experience take other forms, such as "I want it...the desert...while at the same time...don't want the calories" Or, what usually starts what are called the most difficult conversations, and the most challenging decisions, as "I really don' t want, ev...

  “Kerplunk, I’m sunk!” The most economically efficient… way for me to weigh in, while incorporating, the closest poetic attempt…a ‘pent up pantameter’ that has been swirling around in my head…which also, talking about dramatic effect, even includes my favorite, the sound effects (Onomatopoeia, for those poetically challenged, out there) - that collectively captures, at least what one in wordsmith biz calls a “smidgen” that rhymes with pigeon — the closest bird that also drops a lot of what seagulls do…and what otherwise gulls me…which, for those who prefer the long, drawn out form…”do they take me for gullible…” Must look too much like a tourist. Which brought me to the sound effects word that summed up the combo of what sound one might hear from birds dive bombing while, on the other hand, putting down the money, that it took to go out and watch them do-do it… To sum it up, based on what I was most affected by…the most economical way to spend a vacation, suffers in comparison wit...

Can you picture this…?! Landlubbers…   rubbing their hands together, rubbing elbows (with their new neighbors, they met only minutes prior to “all aboard!”) and jostling for position…while the salted sailors, even though we were in fresh, calm waters…huddled together, as if hatching a plan, to get off the ship as fast as one can…all the while the captain steering us directly to some of the biggest - - well, at least some of the oldest, rock formations, forming around what is indisputably the largest single fresh water basin (thus, the well- earned name “Superior”). Replete with caves, at least some indentations he offered were a bit “camera shy”.  It’s all about living,  captain captioned “life on the rocks” - - a quip while he made, while passing the prominently featured “lovers leap” and only eclipsed by “if you want pure landfall…go on youtube and see the clip of part of the rockwall cone crashing down…making a big splash on the adjacent kayakers…make you glad you...

Cruising, for a bruising “Tickle me innerds….shiver me timbers!” "Ran into a bit of trouble..." As in a tough terrain, made up of both seven footers, mixed with was masquerading as fog, coming directly at us, from across the lake...it's why I'm so late, and covered with bruises. It's what happens when winds whip up, out of nowhere, and what explains the deep purple, patches, that took a while...to surface. That pales, in comparison... "Shattered and tattered" which pretty much covers what was even more dramatically experienced by the inanimate objects, that lack a formal spokesperson..."it's one thing to come in with our flag flying at half mast, out of respect, but getting completely de-masted...after our so-called "main sail" was all tattered...but once the salty dogs got to the destination, and got watered down...it's like nothing else mattered....no respect at all. We're talking about neglect of duties, that should have bee...

  "Coach, I'm about to de-commit"  "Oh, you think committing yourself was costly?" As in demanding personal sacrifice of various types... (time, money, sweat equity😰) "Just try a separation..." Otherwise, these days, known as a transfer, after you've identified a portal to transport you through...  "Take it from the prose" Which might take the form of written or spoken words and while "appearing as a plain, dull discourse..." Will at least give you guidance as to the new course you are about to embark on... " I'm going to be up front with you " (so says the scout, to the one being tempted, to transfer) which we investors learn, is a bit of a "come on!" -- the promise of transparency, regarding the "up front" fees, fees that are eventually followed or, in the present context, follow you out the door - - beyond the read between-the-lines, written in finest print available ("could be a small ...

Thunder clapping, poolside..."about time!"  Contemplations on loud ovations…”clear the decks!” "Help me out..." They thought it meant, give me a hand...as in putting them together, "make some noise!" as the sport announcers urge the crowd on. Depending on the sport, it can curiously, like in golf...and even poolside...remind us to be a no noise section, as they "get set..." Could be distracting, get them DQ'd, which is almost  as bad as in hearing the thunderous applause when you are coming in "let's give them a hand, a big reminder its' all about trying, no reason for..."  "Crying out loud!" Out of the mouth of the youngster, who told me, in confidence, that in order to build up theirs, the last thing they want to experience, while coming in dead last is being even more conspicuous. Upon reflection, after experiencing this myself on occasion, when you take more time to finish, it becomes almost like the real thing...

 “ When it reigns, it pours" Catch my meming?   The old saying that the best place to see what’s trending in society, politics included, is your local watering holes… "Pour me a stiff one" So starts an already watered down scene, that was set up by “Three…go into a bar and…” And proceeds to, “they say I’m too uptight and need to unwind…to soften me up, might need a double, with extra starch…” A continuance, that now, based on recent events…”Sorry Charlie, I’m fresh out of fifths of Fauci, as everyone and their brother is calling for another…” Hmmm…perhaps a White Russian…one for my friend Vladdy as well...”Smart selection...it's what's up and coming...coming right up!" Speaking of coming up..."re: surfacing -- about time!" 

  Election and Selection days...getting more so. Selective, that is… I mean, how do we teach them about the electoral college and the importance of electors, when fewer are electing to go...to college? Early and often... is one of the phrases, now called memes, that seem to capture the meaning (of political campaigning, extending to electoral corruption) - - but now, based on current stats, it starts as early as kindergarten round-up. That is, trying to capture, sustain their attention. The span of which, has shortened, based on my math -- I'll spell it out for you -- from two-and-a-half minutes in 2004 to three quarters of one minute today -- that is, by close enough to 70%, to call it a super majority, of what you started with. Which brings a hole new meaning to the old "allow for shrinkage" tag. We know that with aging comes a degree of natural...atrophy, which can be partially off-set by some highly focused (oh-oh) and sustained (OH-OH) strength training. As in "...

"Not sure if I've had the privilege, or the pleasure..."  Proper introductions...  are part of the larger social graces and norms for operating among what's sometimes called "polite company". Not only, as in exclusively, but especially, those who have been well socialized. Sometimes, in my experience a key identifier as to how someone has been raised. A lot has been made in recent years in identifying "people of color" - - more often, in my readings and watchings, by those who are trying to align themselves. In contrast with those trying to distance themselves from being a POP ("Person of Privilege", what else?) - - if you haven't lived it certainly you know of one. Well, while attending the same U-M that he hails from, I met a whole lot of them. And, as he described himself in both his student commencement speech (2007) and acceptance speech a few days ago, as his party's front runner...he may have glossed over how, flash to 2026...

"Max Capacity" Primary Lesson from the post-op of "Woodstock"   🎸 𝅘𝅥𝅮" Where have all the...adult children gone …?" when I needed them to clean up the mess, they left behind…whose gonna look after all the new dependents that were created from all the Free Love…it was if, based on the film version, was a “free for all” kind of affair. One that started with good intentions - first name Max (you’d think it should have been Marx, for improved cinematic effect) - sir name “Yasgur” - the combination of which were on everyone’s lips…until the aftereffects of him having to abandon the farm due to a backlash from those in the area, whose adjacent lands were also trashed. Last we checked it has become, according to "Who knows…a teenage wasteland…” (aka a communal commode). Whatever happened...?  After being paid a “paltry” fee to lease his land Mr. Y became an X, ending up having to as the theysayers say “give up the farm” Love them landlords. Especially when t...

From dawn to dusk, with Mr. Musk... A day of yearnings, learnings, and even bigger earnings...    “Just a dust up…” As in crashing a spaceship for a purpose “On the face of it…” What's one more crater, anyway? “Who hasn’t crashed and burned…” Before finally landing...on a winning combination For us it’s called going to the dark side. For him, it's called moonshine We dreamed up the Starship Enterprise. He invented interstellar entrepreneurship   Coming soon to Netflix- Elon and his Spaced out Ex’s

  "Serll out!" The goal of the game. "Fee fa fo fum"  Now we’re talking a pretty sum. That pretty much sums it up. Yet another attempt to sell my seat, from right under me. First came various "sir" charges, that raised my seat way beyond what's becoming stylish "club" level. Then a "voluntold" donation just for the privilege of purchasing season tickets. But how do I compete with 20 B? No matter whether we're talking Euros, pounds, or bucks, it has become a ticket too hot to keep in my two hands... "A clean sweep!" Sweepers and keepers, are there to protect the goal of the game. Which, according to the update, has returned, at least for the moment, until they decide to add on time, to dream up another deal. The so-called "shrewd" investors. Like those who have joined forces (unbeknownst to us and sometimes not even each other, given how much "hush hush" money is involved) to take what has heretofore...

“Go Phish!”  Curtain call … and the first two words that crossed and then connected, in my mind. Word association, along with a fill in the blanks… “What’s in store for Thor…?”  Welcome departure … as in the dis-connect, from “What’s will Skuby do…out in LA without us loyal fans…?” This is where the classic titled the "Odyssey" and baseball box scores came together, this past week, a stroke of choreographic, and marketing genius, followed in kind, when Odysseus ("Ulysses" if you prefer the Latin version) finally made it back...  The Homecoming … of sorts, as in welcoming back a Swedish star - well, technically half Norwegian and the other half tilting to Zimbabwe, he was the closest the casting crew could find on short notice. The likes of which we haven’t seen on the hockey scene since Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Kronwall, Holmstrom, and Franzen, were in the lineup, who got to drink from the Stanley Cup. Which brings us to... Mount Olympus … where else could you have cra...

Doesn't it strike you as ironic... "Like rain on your...🎝" Your coming out...of the game party, as getting a standing ovation, after striking out an umpteen number, the most magical being the first of the day...your 1,000th of your career...That the entire bull pen couldn't stand up to the task of saving the date...hardly a motivator to stay, rather than strike out on your own, in search of greener pastures, at least one without a bull pen fill of bum steers. "This means WAR" A stat that only the most advanced students in stats, known to them and their kind as "Wins Above Replacement" or, to briefly elaborate, "how many wins a player adds...converting all contributions into runs, then into wins..." Diving deeper into what brought us to this moment..."while Peter Brand" is fictional (as portrayed in the heavy hitting "Money Ball", 2011) the real-life inspiration is Paul DePodesta, an econ major who joined the majors as...

"OK Ai...one more try" The following... as in what naturally follows, from the current usage, and increasingly liberal application, of intelligent beings, in your so-called "medical team" which is now teeming with team members, crowding the room...no wonder they have to abbreviate them...ranging from MD's...NP's, PA',s ...Ai -- collectively, in the world of medical practitioners, known as NPI's (National Provider Identifiers) - conveniently identified via ten digits. Here, I will count on three fingers recent examples of what happens when Ai in particular enters the fray of what is already a crowded field of aspiring med students... Case #1 - Patient's primary complaint: I don't want any damn robot in charge of my care..." Ai: "Patient's condition deemed as critical"😠   Room #2 (same room, next bed over): Status - bed side commode empty... Ai: "patient in piss poor condition"😉   Last on rounds, third strike... E...