A NEW BOOK, SOME FAVE MUSICIANS, AND "GO, REDSKINS!"

Fifteen individual musicians or groups that I liked who I wish were still popular and/or still alive:  Roy Orbison, James Brown, Chicago, Three Dog Night, Joe Walsh, Roy Buchanan, Phil Collins, Supertramp, Journey, Jefferson Starship, Norman Greenbaum, The Clash, Duran Duran,  Greg Kihn Band, and Blondie.  There are more but you get the point.  The music of today can’t touch the old stuff……….For anyone who is wondering, the answer is no, M. C. Hammer didn’t have a chance to make the list……….What would you do if you were Amanda Knox?  She was guilty, not guilty, and guilty again.  If I was her I would cancel any vacation to Italy and buy some glasses with the nose and mustache attached and head straight for underneath Funk and Wagnall’s porch………Here is a shocker:  NBC and their cohorts at MSNBC have reached the top of the list of networks that people don’t trust.  Gee, really? They always seem so open minded and classy!……….Great line sent from my buddy Allen in New Hampshire:  “Hmmmmmm….and yet another day has passed and I didn’t use Algebra once. Very interesting.”  I flunked it twice in high school but they gave me a “D” the second time since I showed up for class every day in summer school.  I’m glad I never needed it!..……….One has to wonder how Carnival ship cruises stay in business.  Another one had to scram back to port in Houston last Friday because of a virus outbreak that had everyone spewing from both ends.  Last week a Royal Caribbean ship had the same problem and I don’t know if they ever did get that cruise ship off its side in Italy a couple years ago.  With these incidents I think there are some good cruise deals out there but you may want to take your own provisions and a good life vest………If you know much about past American presidents you probably know that Calvin Coolidge was one of the quietest guys to ever live in Washington.  The man who was the pride of Vermont simply never had much to say but the nation grew fond of his peculiarities and often exaggerated them.  In one often told story it is said that a woman sitting next to Coolidge at a Washington dinner gushed “Mr.  President, my friend bet me that I wouldn’t get you to say three words tonight.”  Supposedly Coolidge replied, “You lose.”……….That story comes from a fine book by Bill Bryson that anyone who appreciates the history of the United States will enjoy.  It’s titled “One Summer, America, 1927”………Here is some good news:  NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the Washington Redskins nickname has been ''presented in a way that honors Native Americans.''  I hope that statement puts a stop to the nonsense that the name “Redskins” is demeaning to the Native American culture.  Some people need to acquire a sense of humor and not take themselves so serious.……….This response to Obama’s State of the Union is from Robert Robb of the Arizona Republic:   “The speech itself, however, demonstrated what a spent political force Obama has become.  He may as well have been wearing a sign saying “I’m a lame duck.”……….Finally:  If you live near Cave Creek, north Scottsdale, Grayhawk, Carefree or anywhere in the vicinity of those places where the Images AZ  magazine is in store racks or mailed, I have a story in the February edition about a interesting bit of history in north Scottsdale.  Check it out if you can.  See ya!