Kinkikali

Noticing Legal Notices

Our local radio station WTPL-FM has a host Jack Heath, best described as a moderate hard right conservative Republican.  He is pro-business and anti-government.  Nothing wrong with that–reading talking points is like parroting teleprompters—just follow the bouncing ball.  Jack loves to compare how we citizens have to live within our means while government can tax, borrow, and avoid facing the fiscal music.

Well Jack. Many citizens live within their means especially those with obese paychecks and those who have the luxury to complain about taxes versus complaining about little things like hunger and homelessness.  But look at the legal notices–once a mere few, now page after page after page.  Just like state, national, and local, on the personal level a great many of NH charged their way into insolvency.  Of course back in the day, a worker could expect and get paid health coverage and a decent pension.  But it was more expeditious to ship jobs overseas—followed by pensions and health coverage.

I think it is fair to say some NH citizens live within their means.  But to say we all do is blind propaganda. Take Note.

Intermission

There comes a time…The world seems to habe worked itself into a frenzy of self-destruction and no win situations where economies have lost all snese of perspective and only now is the worker seen as holding the hope.  And this after racing to bottom and impovering the worker–the engines of the economy.  Last week Peter Christian’s Tavern shut down.  Other local stores are contemplating or doing the same.

The true bright spot is my brother is to be married this fall.  Not only am I invited, but I get to be best man.  The first job offer I’ve had, with lousy pay, but man the benes!!  Thomas, Amy…cheers, cheers, cheers!!!

But why “Intermission”? I feel like taking a break—but will probably ignore myself and soldier on.  In addition to the above—unemployment persists, the winter has reached the “no longer” welcome stage, a recent series of storms that despite wrath amd roar has left Wooglin and my Cardboard Castle untouched and with power (damn miracle)—a close friend of mine who has not been a patient in a hospital in 40 years has found himself facing major brain surgery and recovery.  Heavy, heavy stuff—Dartmouth Hitchcock is first class all the way—especially when your visit includes a helio flight, lengthy stay, and all those tests (I spent a single night at the Elliot a few years back with insurance coverage and the whole bill came to $10,000—$3000 my responsibility).  Good Luck and Best Wishes John!

Andy

Making Haiti (Out of Nothing at All)

Trouble in paradise, real bad stuff.  We all know about–2010 earthquake.  But sure as sap will run, the vaporous minds of TV media will feed on the tragedy like vultures:

Survivor (Haiti): Talk about “reality TV”.  This has streets full of stories.  I am still waiting to hear about the woman selling dirt cakes.  Fox News did a piece on her a while back.

Extreme Makeover (Haiti): Hey Ty do we have a project for you.  How are your urban redevelopment skills.  Why not get all the tool dudes (This Old House, Extreme Makeover, etc,) together lead by Tim Allen to go down and do a celebrity Haiti makeover.  I know someone who can handle the catering.

CSI (Haiti):  A crime scene, a real bad one. Here comes Ducky.  Things will get sorted out.

Your Fired (Haiti):  Great, the Trumpmeister is here.  I think we need POSITIVE feedback here.  Better to get some hiring down here.

Real World (Haiti):  Pretty authentic in my book. Beyond extreme poverty and terrible natural disasters, not much to change.

Lost (Haiti): “Hey man, where are we?” bout sums it up after the land you stand on gives way.  Makes the plane crash seem minor.

Cisco Kids

Cisco (Canada) has a neat technology ad that is worth commentary.  The main piece of the 60 second spot is set in a Canadian classroom—as determined by the flag on the chalkboard.  The kids are 4th graders or so.  A young woman visits.  The kids say they are going to field trip to China.  The young woman looks perplexed.  The big screen YV comes on and there is a room full of like aged kids.  They greet each other in Chinese.

Congrats Cisco Canada—you put together a cute, sharp adverstisement.

But in the ad the kids in Canada were doing their thing in full daylight–as the windows had the sun streaming through in full.  The brief footage showed the Chinese school room where rectangular things also beamed light–also a bright and sunny day in China.  So far so good.  But their is a 14 hour time difference between Canada and China.  Both countries have daytime classes for the schools are normal in every way.  Trouble with the 14 hour difference is that someone has to be the dark.  You can do the math.  The matter is trivial, like scraping an ocean liner against an iceberg.  Maybe Cisco has network systems to change time.  Doubt it.  But someone in their dream factory missed the clock.  Again the advertisement is really cool—your better off doing Canada and Chile—easily in the same time zone.

Isreali Airport Security

The Underwear Christmas Bomber brought up all the demons of 9/11.  Fox News, the news channel loaded for bear, globbed on to an immediate solution–do like the no-nonsense Isrealis do.  Nothing beats knee jerk wishful thinking like deep and thoughtful thinking.

Yes, the Isrealis can and do security well–flake jackets and all.  But replication?  Couple of problems—

Isreal, being a tiny country, has a tiny airport infastructure.  They can take the time and effort to watch every Abdul, Elijah, and Hakim get hands on, first person scrutiny.

Here in the land of the free, an average of 25,000-40,000 Americans are airborne in US airspace on any given moment.  What resources could be devoted? Who foots the bill? What delays at the airport would result?

Taking on the “Isreali model” means taking on the “Isreali mentality”.  Going bunker means freaking at every little blip.  We don’t need that now, especially now.  From top down, everybody is on edge.  There is little thought to thinking before reacting.

There are no easy answers, perhaps no practical ones.  But Uzis on the concourse seems too heavy for blow-up briefs.  Back to the hen house Fox. There will be other days.

Motivational Posters

Some may know what they are.  All readers soon will.  Motivational Posters (or mopos) were those cute, annoyingly cute, posters that had picture, title, and subscript. They might portray a mountain climber, with a title “Persistence” and subscript “Gets you to the top”.  The internet and the minds of many have made naking your own mopos easy thus the progression Motivational Posters–Demotivational Posters—Anything Goes Posters.

The above is a recent creation.

For your own giggles, you can word search “motivator” and create your own gratis–though with option to pay and print specialty items.

Good Luck and Have Fun

Andy/Drew

Christmas at the Cloughs

Between the mid 1960s and the late 1980s, we Hortons used to travel to Hollis NH (from Nashua NH) for Christmas cheer. We did on New Year’s Eve and it was the last holiday party.   The drive took about 25 minutes and took place in daylight (usually 2 pm).  The snow was almost always there and the ride over hills and dales.  The Cloughs lived atop a hill with Nashua just barely visible,  There was a little time for ice skating on a pond or man made rink or even sledding on a nice wide and gradual hill.  One could stay outside if one wished as the lighting was good (and full moons helped too).  The Nashua view was chance to reflect on life and the year nearly spent.  Hollis being a gingerbread house town fit the Currier and Ives motif.  The Cloughs tree was still up and illuminating the cold darkness outside.  Icicles decorated the house, some being monsters in size.

Inside was food galores–dips, cakes, shrimp, booze and holiday nuts, brownies and Chex mix.  Music was either WCRB or Christmas music in the adult areas.  The basement was where the football game was watched and the kids set the music.  Dinner was never formal–just graze away.  But come 11pm we gathered together for the final gift exchange of the year.

The Cloughs was where we first played Castle Wolfenstein and had the steel ball on the movable parallel bars–trying to roll the ball back as far as possible.

Christmas would start the night before at the Schlotman’s on Swart Terrace.  then we would do our own on Christmas Day before visiting or be visited by the dear Johnson cousins (unless we were gone to Sun Valley or Disney World).  Christmas week would be spent skiing, sledding, and tearing through our gifts.

The Nashua Country Club

Drove the Old Man to a Nashua Bar Association meeting the other day.  It was nice to be back at the old stamping grounds.  The proceedings were at the Nashua Country Club–a landmark, a place frequented back in the day, a historic piece of Nashua down to the carpets and soft nostalgic music that was soft nostalgic music back in the 1960’s!

The food was visceral, except for the dessert and coffee.  Thank god for short order cooks. Every imagination came back to the Roy Rogers and the cheese and crackers in the little baskets.  Back then our boys were humping the bush and landing on punji sticks looking for Charlie.  Now they are dodging IEDs in Allahallahland and looking at Sarge’s bust.

Here’s to some elegant countinuity. Cheers N.C.C.  Many happy returns.

Salvation Army Recession

The Recession has gone full bore.  The Concord Salvation Army has always been great stuff cheap. Forever and a day the paperback books were $.25 a pop.  Not anymore. $.75 is what it will take you to grab a Michener.  Not huge, but just another of the endless of examples of the Great American Fall.