Obesity has become a real problem in this country; we all know that. I’ve heard a lot of theories about why that is. Some of them make sense, but I have my own theory that I haven’t heard voiced elsewhere. I believe people began getting fatter in direct proportion to the length of commercial breaks on television. Think about it! We all have to do something to fill the one-third of airtime that is now devoted to advertisements. Makes sense to me.
I didn’t say anything about the passing of Robin Williams yesterday, because it was news to me when I was updating this page. I just didn’t know much. Plus, I knew there’d be a lot said by others, and I was right. There was a third reason, maybe. I didn’t want to make any comment that might be construed as negative at such a time. That comment would have been: I have always thought Robin Williams was best as a dramatic actor. Of course, that isn’t a negative thing to say, but with so many emphasizing his original and frenetic approach to comedy, I just didn’t see going into it. Also, let us remember Betty Bacall, who left us yesterday.
334 responses to “Back after This…”
Couldn’t relate to today’s strip, Steve, being single. A cuddle with my puppy is nice, but it doesn’t solve anything. I used to get into bed with The Boss Of My Life when I had nightmares, but I have gotten too embarrassed to do this for a long tome – years!
Dave in Austin – Great story. I believe I am an old southern soul – love, love biscuits. All this darn biscuit talk is making me hungry and I just ate!
However, I have one question about your story. How does the missus one up you? A great story like that *has* to have a great response. 😉
I’ve not yet read most of today’s posts, but doubt any concern the latest TIP blog, ‘You call that a moustache?’ Ilya Repin lived late 19th-early 20th centuries, so was still active into the USSR period. He was lauded as a ‘socialist realist’, which means he could paint what he saw well, and didn’t rock the boat. Mostly he did portraits, battle scenes, and such, but he could have specialized in still-lifes. Note the treatment of ‘crystal’ glass items.
You can see lots of well known Russians and Ukrainians here: Glinka, Mussorgsky, Tsar Nickolas II, Tolstoy, etc. Our wooly pair, unfortunately, are unnamed court figures. The site below says it’s his complete works. They are on p. 10, if I remember.
http://www.ilyarepin.org/
Jackquline – Just for fun, I ran your name through the 1940 census on the LDS site. Perchance, were you then living in the Waynesboro area? If I am imposing, just ignore me.
Heh:”A drink a day keeps the shrink away.”
– Edward Abbey
CEP, not at all. Born in 1944 just after dad was killed in Italy filming for battle of Monte Casino. I will be in next census released. I went to boarding school in PA at the Grier School for Girls, went to a lot of cultural “field trips” at State College. It is not too far away. Used to ride the Pennsy a lot to Altoona.
Just got off phone with daughter about driving thru PA. I said plot a scenic route and keep me off interstate highways!
Love, Jackie
Ooops, I assumed you meant Waynesboro, PA but there are a lot of Waynesboro’s.
Love, Jackie
Wanted to avoid the Penn Tollway and accidentally came upon Shanksville, PA, which is where Flight 93 crashed into a field. The amazing thing was when I was driving up and down the hills from town to the crash site, I could feel the loss of horizon, similar to what happened to plane that day. I visited there the year before the memorial was built, but seeing that field was very unsettling. We were pleased to have made the detour on our way home.
Lilyblack, where my sister and I go to Services, we don’t need a choir because when it’s time to sing, the whole congregation sings. Not only that, what we sing isn’t in English, it’s either in Hebrew or Aramaic.
Sideburns, different strokes. Our whole congregation sings, too, except during the Choral Anthem and the solos, but we are the ones singing the harmony and the ones who can read music and have practiced the hymns. Boy, have we practiced the hymns.. We all agree that it is for all to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. “S/He who sings prays twice” – Charles Wesley
This is what I sang last night. The artwork is from my sister.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxrCiZcqs9A
Jackie – my error. I messed up by thinking you were of 1940 vintage. Sorry.
For those of you out there who are science fiction fans, I’d highly recommend “Ancillary Justice” by Ann Leckie, if you have not already read it. I read it several months ago and thought it was great. Oh yeah, it just won the Hugo for Best Novel, so there’s that, too.
Sideburns, are you Lebanese by any chance? Synagogue? Or maybe Maronite Eastern rite?
I may have told of my daughter marrying into a Lebanese family and converting from Episcopalian to Roman Catholic (Bishop said he considered her a returning lamb I think?) I TOLD her he was Maronite, he went and asked parents, nope, Roman Catholic.
They had to get a Papal dispensation for them to be married in the Roman Catholic cathedral. He was Maronite.
We keep wondering how they intend to finesse my grandson into Roman Catholic, as Maronite Eastern Rite passes with the father apparently? But son in law raised as a Roman Catholic by Italian mother and not baptized I think. Anyway, they got their dispensation and attend Roman Catholic church now.
I wonder how many of us are musical? I play clarinet & bass clarinet in a local volunteer (unpaid) orchestra and am choir director for my congregation. Steve From Royal Oak, MI obviously sings extremely well. Lilyblack sings, but needs to watch her director more carefully. sideburns sings in very old languages. Who else?
Jackie I got my first Rosary a few months back and am contemplating joining the Community of Christ the Sower. I will be made into a Roman yet if it wasn’t for all the Mariolatry.
I sometimes sing in the shower. Does that count?
Ron, I sing, whistle, and play the mountain dulcimer. Love to play and sing church hymns. Eldest daughter is a super musician, sings, plays several instruments. Youngest daughter is musician, plays trumpet.
Ghost– yes.
That was lovely, Steve from Royal Oak. I also help out with music at my small church, so perhaps music is a common thread as TruckerRon just asked. And TruckerRon, I also grew up in a trucking family; my father started a trucking business in 1936 and it was still going strong 50 years later. We are all out of it now except my brother and his two sons – they are carrying on the family tradition.
Yay!
Actually, I sing in church, also. (What?)
I grew up in and am a member of one of those we-got-no-choir-and-everyone-in-the-congregation-sings-every-hymn churches. And no one has shushed me yet. Nor has the church fallen down when I walked in.
No, not Lebanese. My father’s family came from Lithuania and my mother’s from the Ukraine. We’re Conservative Jewish, leaning a tad closer to Orthodox than to Reform, but never kept Kosher. What many people don’t realize is that a number of our prayers are in Aramaic, not Hebrew, the most important one being the Kaddish, which appears in various forms at several places in the weekly services: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaddish Among other things, it’s said as a Mourner’s prayer on the anniversary of a parent or relative’s death, although death itself is never mentioned in the prayer. (Our last uncle died in June, at 96; that Saturday Marcia and I made sure to go to services to say Kaddish for him. He’s survived by two children, but neither of them is religious enough to have felt the need so we did it because it wouldn’t have felt right to us if nobody said it for him. We also say it every year for our maternal grandmother because she lived with us when we were young, giving us in effect three parents.)
I think that what you’re thinking of is Syriac, a form of Aramaic used in the liturgies of several Eastern churches.
TR – lots of things in common! My dad was a trucker… live in southern Ohio but was born in KY and I am “fairly” southern… used to sing in church choirs, but alas, the voice has pretty much gone with age… and – most of all – we all love A & J (and JJ of course)!
And Steve – I LOVED todays A & J. Hugs to – and from – a loved one are precious, and healing…
This is how my old boss has to feed her cat. He ended up with a medical condition after losing a leg, and he pulled out his old feeding tube, so her husband created this contraption. He has to stay in the tube for a half an hour after eating. He doesn’t mind, he even purrs, but he does get bored.
Oh hey, URL would be nice.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/t31.0-8/10517309_10154571124490454_6656230471372986313_o.jpg