Archives---April 2010
April 26, 2010
...Another long week begins early for Suttle World this morning, leaving the gentle surfer abandoned to only SOTD updates through at least Thursday. As always, the gentle surfer is admonished to check back in the event of breaking news.
April 25, 2010
...The AP headline reads "Sandwich-board job hunter finds work after two years." As most gentle surfers are aware, the sandwich-board industry had been struggling for some time---a circumstance that only worsened with the onset of the Great Depression 2.0. So props to Paul Nawrocki for finally landing a gig in the biz up NYC way.
...Suttle World appreciates the frustration of most of the good citizens of Arizona, but believes the Grand Canyon State's recent statutory effort to reign in illegal immigration has serious flaws. Suttle World has difficulty believing that courts will uphold the "you don't look like you're from around here/show me your papers" test.
...The Hawks looked dreadful from the opening tip last night, losing to Milwaukee 107-89 in a game three during which they trailed almost entirely by double digits. Atlanta still leads the series 2-1, with game four set for Monday night. On the ice, the ever inept Suttle World staff provided false data for yesterday's update. Regardless, the Pens advance with an OT win over Ottawa. Props to the Blackhawks who forced overtime by scoring with an empty net, a man in the penalty box and only 14 seconds left on the clock against Nashville. Chicago gets the winner from Marian Hassa at the 4:07 mark of OT, and now leads the series 3-2.
...The record will show that the area in and around stately Roberts/Suttle Manor 2.0 did experience steady light rain (which as the experienced gentle surfer is well aware, has a third fewer calories than regular rain) yesterday afternoon, but that did not interfere with Little League play. Actually, conditions remained playable, while speeding along the two completed games to which Suttle World was assigned.
..."Financial reform" would appear to be the "hot" topic of the Sunday morning talking heads. Memo to Washington: greater transparency and oversight keep markets honest, and, therefore, successful environments to accumulate wealth and capital. Heavy handed regulation stifles such activity.
April 24, 2010
...It has been a long and winding week for Suttle World. First a bit of housekeeping: Suttle World sends its most sincere thanks to each and every gentle surfer that went out of its way to extend best wishes on Suttle World's successful completion of another orbit of the sun. Suttle World was humbled by the outpouring of good cheer from all. While in the birthday aisle, a big time Suttle World shout out to nephew Ridge who today celebrates his 20th birthday. Bride of Suttle World made her regular Thursday commute back to stately Roberts/Suttle Manor 2.0, and, at present is supervising the daily morning ritual that is the letting of canine effluent. Presumably, this leaves evening duties to Suttle World itself in forecasted rain---a circumstance Suttle World would welcome in that such conditions would postpone a scheduled twin bill this afternoon. Suttle World's druthers is to leave the blue gear in the closet today. Onward.
...To much fanfare, President Obama and the First Family arrived in nearby Asheville yesterday, ostensibly for a weekend getaway. Though the phone call has yet to be received, Suttle World is confident the President will contact Suttle World while in the hood to accept its most gracious offer to accept the soon to be vacant seat on the Supreme Court.
...Doing his best Ken Dryden imitation, Canadians goaltender Jaroslav Halak stood on his head most of Friday evening, and stymied the Capitals 2-1---forcing a game six in Montreal Monday. Meanwhile, the defending Stanley Cup Champion Penguins face possible elimination tonight against Ottawa (7:00 - Lumberjack Channel). The Hawks take a 2-0 lead into Milwaukee tonight in their quarterfinal NBA playoff series (7:00 ESPN). NBC will make Chicago and Nashville their marquee NHL game today, while TNT provides a triple header of NBA playoff action.
...The most remarkable sports story of the day is that literally hundreds of thousands will remain camped in front of their boxes for a THIRD day of the NFL draft. Suttle World could almost understand the tedium of sitting through the entire first round, but when, per usual, interior linemen are the prized picks, even that scenario seems maddeningly mind numbing.
...More
sports---sorta. Suttle World and bride of Suttle World decided to behold
the glory that was supposed to be the NCAA Women's Bowling Championship Thursday
night. Being one of the internet's most ardent bowling backers, Suttle
World was most disappointed to find the competition format to be one that mad
e
old skool, girl's basketball rules (with six chicks per team, one of whom was
the "rover") seem compelling. It was a hideous spectacle that
was quickly vanquished. Men's college bowling may well use identical
rules, and why do men and women compete separately in bowling in the first
place?
...Props to the Hubble telescope, that has amassed innumerable pics such as the one to the right, for 20 years of service. The then nearsighted device was launched April 24, 1990, and later retro-fitted with corrective vision wear to capture some real cool data. "No, its not a proper function of government, but when peeling that onion back one layer at a time, it'll be a while before Hubble is triaged out of the system (Suttle World School of Economics, Government and Politics)."
April 20, 2010
...Upon its 51st successful orbit of the sun, Suttle World has had a sudden correction in its flight plan, that will leave little, if no time for daily morning updates for at least the remainder of the week. Daily updates are improbable, but a full accounting can be expected by the Every Day Is Saturday update.
April 19, 2010
...And so here comes bubba again---hey! a half hour sit down with former President Clinton is a big score for This Week Really without David Brinkley. Among the topics discussed was the coming Supreme Court vacancy, and among Clinton's comments was that the nominee should, along with other qualifications, "be in touch with the people." The gentle surfer is urged to take notes if deemed necessary, as we quickly move along. Now, please consider the results of polling by the Pew Research Center. The survey found nearly 8 in 10 Americans say they don't trust the federal government and have little faith it can solve America's ills. Suttle World finds this encouraging, until it looks a bit further. While majorities in the survey call Washington too big, powerful, and interfering too much in state and local matters, the public is split over whether the government should be responsible for dealing with critical problems or scaled back to reduce its power, presumably in favor of personal responsibility. Time to do the math. Suttle World asks of those who share Clinton's qualification to join the Supremes to "be in touch with the people," exactly with which half the nominee should be in touch? Suttle World has a quaint notion of choosing a sharp jurist who has read the Constitution, but is "in touch" with the difficulty in using such a test.
...The first weekend of NBA and Stanley Cup playoffs has come and gone. On the ice, well, this is going to take a while as each best of seven quarterfinal series now stands at 2-1 or 1-1. Suttle World is heartened that all the big dogs have struggled at home, given the Capitals (a/k/a Choking Dogs) dropped their first game to the Canadians (and needed overtime to even the series Saturday). Buffalo at Boston and Vancouver at LA make up tonight's doubleheader on the Lumberjack Channel. On the hardcourt, its just too early to make cogent commentary, excepting to note the Hawks easy opening win against the Bucks.
...Suttle World hasn't observed more than a total of five minutes of The View, but that may well change with Vice President Biden booked for Thursday's show.
April 18, 2010
...In 1969, then Governor, Ronald Regan, signed the just passed new California Family Law Act that afforded the first ever 13th magical cause for divorce: "irreconcilable differences," and cleared the way for what is now commonly known to the gentle surfer as "no fault divorce." Within 15 years, only New York had yet to enact similar legislation. Fast forward a little more than four decades, and Suttle World would bring the gentle surfer's attention once again to the Golden State, and its whacky, insufferable, yet highly entertaining, public initiative/referendum process. By virtue of collecting nearly 700,000 signatures (about 150,000 more than required by statute, and randomly verified), come November 2nd, California voters will consider an initiative that would make simple possession of an ounce or less of marijuana/cannabis, currently a misdemeanor offense punishable by a $100 fine, legal for anyone at least 21. It also would be lawful to grow limited amounts in one's own home for personal use. 56 percent of Californians surveyed in an April, 2009 Field Poll said they favored "making it legal for social use and taxing the sales proceeds." Ergo, the chances of passage are quite possible. If such is the case, Suttle World wonders as to how long it will take for the other several states to follow?---just like "no fault" divorce. Suttle World is not an advocate for any gentle surfer to burn a fatty while filing their no fault divorce papers, but is a great advocate of the gentle surfer's right to make such choices, sans governmental interference. Suttle World further ponders the notion of vanquishing an inappropriate function of government, one at a time...
April 17, 2010
...The CDC reported Thursday that there were significant drops in illnesses from shigella and the most dangerous form of E. coli. Suttle World understands the number of cases to be down over a turd.
..."You think man can destroy the planet? What intoxicating vanity. Let me tell you about our planet. Earth is four-and-a-half-billion-years-old. There's been life on it for nearly that long, 3.8 billion years. Bacteria first; later the first multicellular life, then the first complex creatures in the sea, on the land. Then finally the great sweeping ages of animals, the amphibians, the dinosaurs, at last the mammals, each one enduring millions on millions of years, great dynasties of creatures rising, flourishing, dying away -- all this against a background of continuous and violent upheaval. Mountain ranges thrust up, eroded away, cometary impacts, volcano eruptions, oceans rising and falling, whole continents moving, an endless, constant, violent change, colliding, buckling to make mountains over millions of years. Earth has survived everything in its time. It will certainly survive us. If all the nuclear weapons in the world went off at once and all the plants, all the animals died and the earth was sizzling hot for a hundred thousand years, life would survive, somewhere: under the soil, frozen in Arctic ice. Sooner or later, when the planet was no longer inhospitable, life would spread again. The evolutionary process would begin again. It might take a few billion years for life to regain its present variety. Of course, it would be very different from what it is now, but the earth would survive our folly, only we would not. If the ozone layer gets thinner, ultraviolet radiation sears the earth, so what? Ultraviolet radiation is good for life. It's powerful energy. It promotes mutation, change. Many forms of life will thrive with more UV radiation. Many others will die out. Do you think this is the first time that's happened? Think about oxygen. Necessary for life now, but oxygen is actually a metabolic poison, a corrosive glass, like fluorine. When oxygen was first produced as a waste product by certain plant cells some three billion years ago, it created a crisis for all other life on earth. Those plants were polluting the environment, exhaling a lethal gas. Earth eventually had an atmosphere incompatible with life. Nevertheless, life on earth took care of itself. In the thinking of the human being a hundred years is a long time. A hundred years ago we didn't have cars, airplanes, computers or vaccines. It was a whole different world, but to the earth, a hundred years is nothing. A million years is nothing. This planet lives and breathes on a much vaster scale. We can't imagine its slow and powerful rhythms, and we haven't got the humility to try. We've been residents here for the blink of an eye. If we're gone tomorrow, the earth will not miss us." - Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park/Congo). Happy belated Earth Day to each and every gentle surfer. Suttle World must now commence to discharge a full can of hair spray while eating a cheese burger in front of stately Roberts/Suttle Manor 2.0.
April 16, 2010
...The geezer who's former hideous USA column inspired the format of the Suttle Security Council Daily Briefing, Larry King, is headed for divorce court for the EIGHTH time. Yes, there was a time when Suttle World believed it to be on the Mickey Rooney fast track, but ceased and desisted long before becoming octa-spouse...You just can't beat a good schnitzel...Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, you're on the air...
...Being a card carrying, certified Political Scientist, Suttle World will break down this tea party deal for the gentle surfer. This is the point where, typically, Suttle World would whine about the constant onus of having to do such things, but is well aware that the material round these here parts hasn't been exactly sterling the past few months. Anywho, those growing number of citizens that identify themselves as Tea Party members, are a very loosely knit, increasingly large bunch of folks who are mad as hell. Much like any grass roots or populist movement (or candidacy), there are a fair number of previously apolitical folk that are attracted into the fold. Bottom line: a large percentage of those who are mad as hell don't know why. Usually this is problematic, but given the wide array of legitimate things about which to be mad, its a quick study. Yesterday, the New York Times, of all organs, published polling results showing that those who identified themselves as being affiliated with a tea party to be better educated than the general population (a strikingly higher percentage with post graduate degrees), with higher than average incomes---basically being well above average by all the socio-economic areas explored. Efforts to discredit the groups was/is predictable, and, yes, were it an anti war movement, tea partiers would be the lead on every national newscast three nights a week. What now? Suttle World isn't sure---uncertain if the nation is savvy enough for a real third party to go along with the current choice of "paper or plastic." There are multitudes now being united under a basically a single notion/axiom: big time tax cuts are required to both get government's foot off the economy's oxygen hose, and to increase revenue to move down deficits that the current administration says will exceed $8 TRILLION this decade. At present, there are no distractions of "social issues," nor do many seem anxious to bring such things into play. Suttle World has never disagreed with then Senator, and now President Obama in that the nation is in desperate need for change. Just kinda maybe, this large number of disaffected REGULAR VOTERS involved or attracted to this literally populist effort (as opposed to the common parlance where all populist movements are liberal causes), could actually make a huge difference come November 2nd, and beyond. There's little precedent, but great possibility.
...Suttle World is far from a frequent flyer, but has logged enough hours on the big silver bird to have heard most every lame excuse for flight delays and cancellations. "I'm sorry sir, we have cancelled your flight because of volcanic ash." Suttle World's not buying this, attributing the current interruption in European air travel to be some sort of wildcat work stoppage/Euro weenie "we demand 18 weeks vacation" kinda deal.
...Suttle World has no reason not to believe that former Governor Palin is a nice lady, but Suttle World just doesn't get it---believing her to be a middle weight, at best.
April 15, 2010 - Show Us Your Papers Day
...Karl Marx wrote in his
April 13, 2010
...It has been nearly a month since we last heard from cuzin Matt, and it turns out there was more than a hectic schedule involved, as Matt briefly explains.
April 12, 2010
...Props to Phil on adding a third ugly green jacket to his wardrobe with a brilliant 67 Sunday to win The Masters by three strokes. Res ipsa loquitor.
...A belated almost AMF to Justice John Paul George and Ringo Stevens who has announced his retirement from the high court at the end of the current term. Memo to President Obama: Suttle World will gladly accept a nomination to the Supreme Court, assuming the feds pick up the moving tab.
...Another belated note...Sunday, April 11 marked the 40th anniversary of the formal break-up of the Beatles.
...Also made official over the weekend, Andy Shernoff is on the road. First, The Master Plan (Andy along with Fleshtone buddies) begin a tour of Spain later this month, and then Andy hits the road with his solo act beginning with gigs June 4 and 5 in Nashville and Memphis, respectively. Several Canadian dates follow, before the whirlwind tour ends back home in NYC. A full list of show is here for the clicking.
April 11, 2010
...Suttle World will not attempt to recreate what may have been the greatest moving day in Masters history yesterday, and will advise the gentle surfer not aware of Saturday's happenings to rely on more thorough news organs. Perfect conditions await the field again today, with the leaders teeing off at 2:40. CBS begins live coverage at 2:00.
...Props to Boston College on their second NCAA hockey championship in the past three seasons, with a 5-0 shutout of Wisconsin last night in the final game of this year's Frozen Four.
...AMF to Texas Stadium that was imploded in Dallas yesterday. Unfortunately Jerry Jones nor any Cowboys were inside when the button was mashed.
...Coming to a beer display near the gentle surfer this November will be an offering from a Scottish microbrewery, BrewDog: Tactical Nuclear Penguin, a brew that weighs in at 32% alcohol/64 proof/six times the alcohol content of the average beer. A warning label on the Tactical Nuclear Penguin bottle does state: "This is an extremely strong beer; it should be enjoyed in small servings and with an air of aristocratic nonchalance. It is exactly the same manner you would enjoy a fine whisky, a Frank Zappa album or a visit from a friendly yet anxious ghost."
April 10, 2010
...Many a gentle surfer took in Friday's coverage of the Masters, and are left wondering how a mere 10-15 MPH prevailing wind could possibly make such a difference. Suttle World has been most fortunate to walk the grounds of Augusta National several times, and Suttle World doesn't get it either. Its the same deal with greens that are faster than asphalt tennis courts. Suttle World has come to two inescapable conclusions over the years: 1) A little pitch and putt around the course would be necessary to get it; and 2) Suttle World has no anticipation of being afforded the opportunity to get it anytime in the near future. As to yesterday's play, conditions didn't allow the nostalgia fest to continue in full force. Tiger is exactly in the position he wants to be---before or after his infamous return. Conditions should be ideal today. albeit with increasingly baked greens/tennis courts. CBS picks up coverage today at 3:00.
...Its truly a big sports day prior to tomorrow's third of 2010's five High Holy Days of Sport. Also on tap Saturday are two Derby prep races in the form of the Blue Grass Stakes from Lexington and the Arkansas Derby (that one would be in Arkansas). Tonight, the NCAA hockey championship will be decided in Detroit between Boston College and Wisconsin. All the aforementioned events will be televised by ESPN.
...Suttle World really though Pollock jokes went out with Lech Valenza in the 80's. Now overnight, Polish President Lech Kaczynski, the army chief of staff, national bank president, deputy foreign minister, army chaplain, head of the National Security Office, deputy parliament speaker, civil rights commissioner and at least two presidential aides augur into the ground in Russia aboard the same beat up plane!!??? In all, 96 are dead in the crash, and Suttle World well recognizes the tragedy. Suttle World is also stupefied that every major Pole in a leadership position would ever be on the same flight.
...AMF to Rep. Bart Stupak (Idiot-MI). Suttle World believes it now counts 16 Democrats in the House who have already thrown in the towel. Suttle World continues to believe that a number of Stupak's colleagues will not have such a luxury if they wait until November, and be reduced to a mere concession speech.
April 9, 2010
...Of course Fred Couples holds the lead after the first round of the Masters. He's a decade younger than 60 year old Tom Watson. Save for an hour or so of gusting winds, Augusta National was there for the taking yesterday, with a quarter of the field posting a red number. Tiger made an unremarkable return if the gentle surfer doesn't count completing his first competitive round in five months at three under par---Woods first ever sub-70 first round in his storied history of the championship. ESPN cranks up the coverage at 3:00 this afternoon.
...Props to Boston College, who, after advancing to its 9th Frozen Four in the past 13 seasons, once again finds itself in the final game---set for Saturday evening in Detroit. The Gold Eagles advanced following a 7-1 beatdown of Miami in yesterday's semi-final game, and will face Wisconsin that whopped RTI by a similar margin. Suttle World will pull mightily for BC, so that the NCAA hockey championship can remain in the Atlantic Coast Conference where it justly belongs. ESPN 7:00.
April 8, 2010
...Yes, Suttle World took a rare day off Wednesday, as it ministered to a medium sized dose of general ick, but returns rested, not so tanned and ready for action.
...The first group puts its pegs in the ground at 7:50 this morning at Augusta National, and by doing such will begin the first major of 2010. Tiger makes his much too anticipated return at the Masters this afternoon with a 1:40 tee time. Amazingly, Tiger is a truly prohibitive favorite by a factor of THREE! Woods is listed at 4:1 with Phil the next closest at 12:1. Yes, Eldrick can win this tournament, but not with Suttle World's money behind him or any other member of the field. At 90:1, Stewart Cink would seem to be the best value on the board.
...Props to Don Nelson, who, now in his 31st season pacing the sidelines of the NBA, became he winningest coach in league history last night as his Golden State Warriors defeated the Minnesota Somethings 116-107. Nelson picks up win number 1,333, and mercifully displaces the insufferable Lenny Wilkins at the top of the heap.
...Suttle World has long been the news organ with all the midget news fit to publish, and does not fail the gentle surfer this morning by pointing out the outrageous success of "Dwarf Empire," a theme park that opened in September in southwestern Yunnan province. The park features the more than 100 dwarves -- known in China as "xiao ai ren", or "little small people" -- who range in height from 79 centimetres (2 feet 7 inches) to 1.3 metres. (Insert joke here).
April 6, 2010
...Mike Krzyzewski and his Duke Blue Devils capture their fourth national title in his 30 year tenure by winning an atypically thrilling championship game last night in Indianapolis. Props to Butler that could return all five starters next year, and no longer be a surprise for any gentle surfer, especially those unaware that the Bulldogs were ranked in the top ten by most pre season polls.
...Suttle World and bride of Suttle World endured what was the prototypical DMV experience yesterday as both successfully obtained drivers' licenses from the Tar Heel state. Timing is everything, and the first full day of spring break is probably not the best time to embark on such an exercise. In all fairness, not only was their a standing room only crowd, but after a three hour wait, the powers to be with which Suttle World dealt were professional and apologetic for the long line. Now licensed to drive and registered to vote, both denizens of stately Roberts/Suttle Manor 2.0 are ready to take on NC.
April 5, 2010
...The record will show that 42 years ago today that the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., PhD was killed by an assassin's bullet while standing outside his room on the second floor of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.
...OK---lets makes sure Suttle World has this straight. The Redskins have traded in a young quarterback who just couldn't quite get it done, for an aging quarterback who just can't quite get it done. Memo to Daniel Snyder: doesn't the fact that someone in your own division is willing to trade you their starting QB, give you some pause for consideration? Alas, one works with what one has, and the franchise looks forward to the 2016 draft when Washington will enjoy their first pick since the end of the George Allen era in 1977.
April 4, 2010 - Easter
...And a happy Easter to the gentle surfer from the very spring like stately Roberts/Suttle Manor 2.0. Due to union rules and the like regarding holidays, Suttle World will keep this short and sweet.
...One great game, and both favorites move on to Monday night's NCAA basketball championship game in the form of Butler and Duke on the second of 2010's High Holy Days of Sport. This has a chance to be a great final, unlike so many others that fall to Super Bowl levels of interest. The championship will be followed three days later by the start of the Masters/return of Eldrick that will culminate next Sunday on the third of 2010's five High Holy Days of Sport. Oh happy day.
...Enjoy the holiday, roll them eggs, and remember: guns don't kill people, Peeps do---those hideous little awful tasting pieces of chewy air.
April 3, 2010 - High Holy Day of Sport II/V
..."On the first sixth dayeth of the month that displayeth Miss April (give or take), let there be hoops of great glory!' (Wooden 2:17) ...and so boys and girls that's the true meaning of why we celebrate the second of the five High Holy Days of Sport today, and every year at this time. The gentle surfer is also admonished that the Easter Bunny did not die for your ability to watch the Final Four doubleheader tonight! And while in the NCAA tournament in general aisle, Suttle World is adamant, damn it (clever, no?): more is not better! Yes, Suttle World is fully aware that the tourney has expanded a number of times over the years, just as Suttle World is aware that the NIT once was the crown jewel of college hoops, with a four team NCAA championship played as an afterthought. That said, as currently constituted, March Madness (sue me) is far and away the greatest spectacle that American sports has to offer. The adage about not fixing things that aren't broken is generally true. Not fixing things that are perfect is axiomatic. Alas, a 96 team tournament appears to be a done deal, perhaps allowing GW to lumber in at some future point.
...Now for a Suttle World breakdown of both games...Suttle World doesn't have a clue as to who'll do what to whom, and will simply pull for close games, and a Butler-Duke final on Monday night. Despite dealing with the anticipation of a fourth grader on Christmas Eve, Suttle World is not at all enthusiastic about lining up at the betting cage. First, as the gentle surfer is well aware, Suttle World doesn't do basketball point spreads, and is equally disinclined towards college wagering altogether (not putting one's hard earned shekels on 19 year olds). The best value Suttle World sees, is getting even money (=$100) taking Butler on the money line, and Suttle World is, again, none too keen on that particular play.
...Since Suttle World and the gentle surfer are
leaning against the rail, our newsprint stained hands from The Daily Racing
Form crammed into our poc
kets,
holding a beverage of choice, Suttle World ponders aloud...One of the hardest
hit areas in the real estate collapse, if not the hardest, and one of the
reasons why, if there is a God, Harry Reid will lose his Senate seat this
fall, is Nevada---Vegas in particular. It grew way too fast too
soon, and was the epitome of a housing bubble. Anywho, while pro sports
are far from immune from an economic downturn, Suttle World wonders as to
whether the bust in Vegas affords a sigh of relief for owners and commissioners
alike by taking the city out of the expansion or franchise move picture for at
least the next decade. Yes, all are aware that anyone can get action in
any Starbucks on the planet, or the comfort of one's own home, via the
internet. Regardless, the notion of a big league franchise of any sport in
Vegas has always made the powers to be a tad queasy. Paraphrasing the
late, great George Carlin: "thinking about this stuff is the
reason I never get anything done."
...The past three days at stately Roberts/Suttle Manor 2.0 have seen an average daily temperature range (low to high temp) of 42°---the average is 23°! That, my gently surfing friends, is climate change, and RADIATION is the culprit!. Hide the women and children, as a fourth such day is expected again for the 2010 Second High Holy Day of Sport, though a chance of the prototypical April showers this afternoon may hold temps down into the mid to low 70s. May flowers, and all that...
...Suttle World typically mocks such things, but does perceive potential great efficacy in the iPad---the greatly hyped roll out of which happens today. Suttle World isn't going to buy one anytime soon, but sees the new fangled gadget as the coffee table book of the future---only one that'll actually be used.
...Just because Suttle World hasn't brought it up, doesn't mean that Suttle World doesn't view the current civil unrest in Greece as a preview of coming attractions.
...Don't you love a good gyro...Suttle World breaks form slightly for the ultimate Larry King ellipsis...speaking of Greek riots, Suttle World sends a shout out to its new friends at the cozy and bustling Pita Express, 1034 Greenville Highway, just south of lovely downtown Hendersonville. Nice folks (owners/operators), great authentic food, and very proximate to stately Roberts/Suttle Manor 2.0. "Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Turtle Wax or Carnauba?..."
April 2, 2010
...To the appropriate gentle surfer, Suttle World extends its best wishes for a happy and fulfilling Good Friday. Don Imus: "If Jesus checked into the Four Seasons, he wouldn't be stealing the bath robe. That's what that story's about." Suttle World truly respects the solemnity and spiritual uplifting that Easter affords, but its much too late for Suttle World to cease to desperately cling to its hope that God has a good sense of humor.
...The folks in the lab coats don't seem to agree, but the average of various informed estimates of the total number of cells in the human body is around 50 trillion (that's 50,000,000,000,000.00). While also an approximation, the total debt of the United States government, including future Social Security and Medicare obligations, is now just over $65 trillion (that's $65,000,000,000,000.00). Suttle World has no idea what the two have in common, but it was just one of those morning whacky notions the occurred to Suttle World. If Suttle World were to term it as an existential perspective, Suttle World might look really smart, but being unsure as to what exactly constitutes an existential perspective, Suttle World shall refrain from such.
...Suttle World is long on the record as to having no issue whatsoever with Wal-Mart as a corporate entity. Brother Boortz on his syndicated show yesterday pointed to a Snopes.com piece that generally verifies the mind boggling bullet points below regarding the Bentonville behemoth's behemoth. "Holy save money, live better, Batman!" Suttle World also encourages the gentle surfer to digest the information, and then consider what might happen if the "management teams" of Wal-Mart and the federal government were reversed. How might the two institutions differ from the status quo?
-
At Wal-Mart, Americans spend $36,000,000 every hour of every day.
-
This works out to $20,928 profit every minute! 5.8133333% margin.
-
Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to
St. Patrick's Day(March 17th) than Target sells all year. -
Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot + Kroger + Target + Sears + Costco +
K-Mart combined. -
Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people and is the largest private employer. And most can't speak English.
-
Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the World.
-
Wal-Mart now sells more food than Kroger & Safeway combined, and keep in mind they did this in only
15 years. -
During this same period, 31 Supermarket chains sought bankruptcy (including
Winn-Dixie). -
Wal-Mart now sells more food than any other store in the world.
-
Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 stores in the USA of which 1,906 are Super Centers; this is 1,000 more than it had
5 years ago. -
This year, 7.2 billion different purchasing transactions will occur at a
Wal-Mart store. (Earth's population is approximately6.5 billion.) -
90% of all Americans live within 15 miles of a
Wal-Mart
...Suttle World's favorite quote of the week is a blast from the past stumbled across or heard in the past few days. The attribution goes to the somewhat infamous Alben Barkley, who, while serving as Vice President in the Truman administration defined a bureaucrat as "a job held by a democrat that a Republican wants." Its not quite as pithy as Suttle World's own definition of judicial activism as being a court decision with which one disagrees, but Suttle World really likes old Alben's words as well.
April 1, 2010
...Running in the face of the age old adage, March both came in and went out like a lamb in and around stately Roberts/Suttle Manor 2.0---its just that the departing lamb was kinder and gentler. Sunny skies and temps in the 70s made up the climate for March 31, and such is the forecast for the foreseeable future.
..."(AP) LOS ANGELES – The aging, sand-trapped Mars rover Spirit failed to make a scheduled communication this week...NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Wednesday." Suttle World sees Sprit working. The Martian rover has been shlepping around the red planet for nearly six years. Its tired, and just failed to call in sick, with the full and complete understanding of, "hey, what are they going to do, fire me?"
..."(AP) REYKJAVIK (AFP) – A group of Icelandic chefs this week offered customers a unique gastronomical experience: a gourmet meal cooked over hot lava and served near an ongoing volcanic eruption, one of the chefs said Wednesday." Iron Chef is one thing, Vulcan Chef is quite another. "Careful, hot plate."
...Suttle World has a request. Now that all can enjoy "Blue Ray," can we now please quit? Enough already---both with Faster and Louder technology nobody really wants, needs or can afford after "re-gearing" for the umpteenth time. And so ends today's update. Suttle World has to pick up its Betamax from Emmett at the repair shop.
WORLD 
