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[Julie]

Hi everyone.

[Julie]

Vibes to Greg's father!

[Julie]

And vibes to John G's friend.

[Julie]

Good morning, all! My left eye feels as though I've scraped my cornea; it aches and won't stop watering. I figure I've gotten around four hours worth of slep last night, thanks to the neighbor above, whose rapid demise I am heartily wishing for. He showed up noisly somewhere between 12:30 and 1:00 am by letting his front door slam shut, which woke me, walked around for a bit on the wooden flloor in heavy shoes which reverberate like mad. At one point I heard the dog's claws tapping on the wooden floor as well. He wasn't alone, because around 1:30 am the squeaky bed began bouncing loudly, interrupted by moments where one of them would get up and walk around a bit. Around 2:00 I turned on the tv and watched the COLBERT REPORT. Around 2:15, I turned off the television. Somewhere around 2:30, i heard the first words since he came in. He asked his partner if she was "ready?", there was more compling around and some time after that they left. That might have been directed at the dog. He returned about 15-25 minutes later, and about 30 minutes after that, all was quiet. The earplugs are not working. Clearly.

So, I wanted to sleep in, but I've got the McGlinnventory, then a trip to the barber, followed by a visit to my doctor. This will be followed with a phone call to my landlord.

I still think you should try my advice of an alarm clock on a stick.

[Julie]

Running out now - WBBL.

[Ron Pulliam]

However I dislike Mr Moore's tactics and one-sided "documentary" film making, that I get mad if I agree with him on ANYTHING, so I don't watch his movies.

Ditto. His claptrap of radical propaganda only appeals to those predisposed to accept conspiracy theories - a limited audience. Those of us he would most like to influence ignore him. He is a candidate for the "Effete Propagandist of the Year" award.

der Brucer

And that is the point-of-view of the radical right -- or, as I like to think of them, claptrap central.  Mr. Moore hits the nail on the head more often than not!  Does he take "poetic license"?  Yes....but he's an artist, not a politician.  The GOP has masters of propaganda that put Moore to shame.  Thank goodness he's out there challenging them.

And derBrucer...no one outside the Republican ultra-extreme right camp will ever qualify as "effete propagandist" of any year.  The GOP has a stranglehold on that title.

[MBarnum]

I don't know enough about the TOD to comment, but I did love the photo of Godzilla and King Kong dancing.

[bk]

FDR's 2nd Bill of Rights sounds wonderful and people, I think, should have all these things.

Question: Who is going to pay for it?

And here you have the party line in a nutshell.  How about 700 BILLION DOLLARS to start?  All it takes is change.  A change in the way the government is run.

[Ron Pulliam]

Awwww...

R.I.P. Merlin Olsen

Yes, that was a sad bit of news this morning.   His obit said he died of mesothelioma, which was diagnosed last year.

I met Merlin Olsen back in the 1980s onboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) during a dependent's day cruise.  He was an invited guest of the Captain.

He came into my TV studio for a short visit.  I entered after him and he turned to see who was walking in.  "Whoa!", I said.  "Did someone send us flowers"?   He laughed.  At that time, he was the FTD celebrity spokesman on all the TV ads.

We chatted about half an hour...mostly about his "Little House on the Prairie" experiences.  He was a genuinely nice guy.

[bk]

TOD:  Here's something that has never been explained to me.  Why do you get bonuses for failure?  Bonuses should only be for success.  If you get them whether successful and not, then it's just outrageously stupid salary.  This idea that people should still get their bonuses for failure is absurd; they should be fired.

The bailout was necessary.  The safeguards and checks and balances that have kept getting rolled back since the Clinton administration are more important and need to be reinstated and have real teeth for violation.

The other thing is that all CEOs should take severe pay cuts.  It used to be a CEO made thirty-to-forty times the average worker in his business.  Now they make 300-to-400 times that.  We've outsourced jobs, cuts jobs, etc.  So the profit margin can be larger and the fatcats at the top can make more money in a year than any ten normal people could spend in a lifetime.   I can still remember when I was on the board of the WGA one year when Michael Eisner walked away with more in salary, bonuses, and stock options than the entire Guild received in residuals for entire membership.

The point is that in the bailout all legal recourse against everyone was specifically precluded - they could do anything they wanted and did. 

[Ron Pulliam]

I don't know enough about the TOD to comment, but I did love the photo of Godzilla and King Kong dancing.

...even better, a photo of Godzilla and King Kong ice dancing would be amazing.

[bk]

TOD:  Here's something that has never been explained to me.  Why do you get bonuses for failure?  Bonuses should only be for success.  If you get them whether successful and not, then it's just outrageously stupid salary.  This idea that people should still get their bonuses for failure is absurd; they should be fired.

Many of the bonuses at AIG were "retention" bonuses. These were offers in lieu of salary to many of the managers who were most knowledgeable about the tangled web of financial instruments that got them into so much trouble. Their unique knowledge was needed to unwind the packages and clean up the mess. It is a bit like bribing a crook to tell you where he stashed the loot, but is can be a wise investment nonetheless.

der Brucer

There's only one problem here - it didn't help, it didn't work, and it made the rich richer.  They cleaned up, all right.

[bk]

I had a very good night's sleep.  The sun is shining.

[Jane]

EYE & SLEEP VIBES FOR DR ELMORE!

VIBES FOR GREG’S FATHER!

SURGERY VIBES FOR THE GOOD FRIEND OF JOHN G.

[Jane]

Speaking of eyes, how is yours Ginny?

[Jane]

DR Jose - the Turtle Sundae ice cream was good, but I don't think I'd eat it for breakfast!

To each his own.

Yup, I could eat some right now for breakfast.

[Jane]

TOD:  Here's something that has never been explained to me.  Why do you get bonuses for failure?  Bonuses should only be for success.  If you get them whether successful and not, then it's just outrageously stupid salary.  This idea that people should still get their bonuses for failure is absurd; they should be fired.

Many of the bonuses at AIG were "retention" bonuses. These were offers in lieu of salary to many of the managers who were most knowledgeable

I was going to mention this.

I was basically against  the bailouts. 

[DERBRUCER]

DR Jose - the Turtle Sundae ice cream was good, but I don't think I'd eat it for breakfast!

To each his own.

Yup, I could eat some right now for breakfast.

Well, I'm sure Keith will twist your arm (not the one with the sore shoulder).

der Brucer

[Ginny]

Speaking of eyes, how is yours Ginny?

Much better, DR Jane, thanks for asking.  There's just a little redness and some slight yellowing.  I did call my optometrist's office today, just because I thought they should know about this episode.  The call was very satisfactory and I'm to stop by to pick up some sample packets of artificial tear drops that they recommend for the scratchy feeling.

[DERBRUCER]

... I did love the photo of Godzilla and King Kong dancing.

Want more? GODZILLZ HAIKU

der Brucer

[DERBRUCER]

They probably don't come in Sherlock's size:



der Brucer

Does anybody sill have running boards?

[Jane]

Speaking of eyes, how is yours Ginny?

Much better, DR Jane, thanks for asking.  There's just a little redness and some slight yellowing.  I did call my optometrist's office today, just because I thought they should know about this episode.  The call was very satisfactory and I'm to stop by to pick up some sample packets of artificial tear drops that they recommend for the scratchy feeling.

That's nice.  Ask for more than one type if they have it.  I'll be curious what they give you.  My favorite are GenTeal Gel drops.

[Laura]

Do they make those for teenagers, DerBrucer?

[Jennifer]

I am looking forward to new episodes tonight of SURVIVOR, THE MENTALIST and PRIVATE PRACTICE.

The promos for SURVIVOR look interesting.

[JMK]

My parents and maternal Grandmother were huge Welk fans and I suffered through endless Saturdays watching the show, which I largely loathed.   As some of you probably know, a great many of the Welk "family" were LDS, which only upped my personal animus, LOL.   Years later when I was in high school we got a really cute teaching assistant in Drama, and it turned out she had been hired to be a new regular on the Welk show a couple of years previously, as part of a duo hired to replace those two girls who were on in the late 1960's and early 1970's.  She and her partner did "You've Got Possibilities" (From "Superman") on their debut show, tussling Welk's hair and untying his tie.   Mr. Welk was evidently less than amused and the two were fired after the taping. 

[DERBRUCER]

...artificial tear drops ...

So you can feign sympathy for the defendant?

der Brucer

[Jane]

My Dear MIL was a big Lawrence Welk fan.  She watched the shows over & over again in her later years.

[DERBRUCER]

My favorite are GenTeal Gel drops.

You can use all the Genteal drops you want - you'll still have Jewish eyes!

der Brucer

[Ron Pulliam]

My favorite are GenTeal Gel drops.

You can use all the Genteal drops you want - you'll still have Jewish eyes!

der Brucer

...and thighs, too!   

[DERBRUCER]

Do they make those for teenagers, DerBrucer?

I suspect the ones for teenagers hook to the rear bumper so you don't have to listen to the constant complaining.

der Brucer