“… headed out for blue corn chili pinon pancakes.”
A friend on Facebook earlier this morning.
Author: NewMexiKen
Idle thought
Talk of an all-electric car is all the rage. Is an all-electric airliner technologically feasible?
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
At least it’s looking like a classic Christmas here at Casa NewMexiKen, where a heavy snow began within the past hour and has already covered everything.
Best line of the day, so far
“Compared to their counterparts in the Japanese Parliament, it’s clear that the U.S. Congress is vastly overpaid. With three day work weeks, being out of session half the year, and subsidized pensions and health care, the average senator makes about $3000 per hour…. And for all that, the GOP still turns out shit Americans won’t buy.”
Zodiacal Light Over New Mexico
Click image for larger version and to learn more.
December 14th
Today is the birthday
… of jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player Clark Terry, 88.
Clark Terry performed with Charlie Barnet (1947) and in Count Basie’s big band and small groups (1948-51) before beginning an important affiliation with Duke Ellington, which lasted from 1951 to 1959. During this period Terry took part in many of Ellington’s suites and acquired a lasting reputation for his wide range of styles (from swing to hard bop), technical proficiency, and infectious good humor. After leaving Ellington, he became a frequent performer in New York studios and a staff member of NBC; he appeared regularly on the Tonight Show, where his unique “mumbling” scat singing became famous.
… of Don Hewitt. The producer of 60 Minutes is 86.
… of Patty Duke. The Oscar-winning actress is 62.
… of Gabriella. Vanessa Hudgens is 20 today.
Oscar nominee, for Days of Wine and Roses, Lee Remick was born on this date in 1935. Miss Remick died in 1991.
Congressional Medal of Honor winner Jimmy Doolittle was born on this date in 1896. Doolittle led the daring bombing raid on Tokyo in April 1942. Sixteen B-25s from the U.S.S. Hornet did little damage, but the attack on the Japanese homeland was a major public relations and morale-boosting effort for U.S. forces just five months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
As predicted, Nostradamus was born on this date in 1503.
George Washington died at his Mount Vernon home on this date in 1799 at the age of 67. According to the Library of Congress, his last words reportedly were: “I feel myself going. I thank you for your attentions; but I pray you to take no more trouble about me. Let me go off quietly. I cannot last long.”
Alabama was admitted to the Union as the 22nd state on this date in 1819.
Roald Amundsen and four others became the first to reach the South Pole on this date in the summer of 1911. See the NOAA South Pole Live Camera.
And it’s the birthday of Veronica, one of the two official daughters-in-law of NewMexiKen. Veronica, like the President-elect a graduate of Columbia University, is the mother of Sweetie Sofie, law professor and attorney, and makes an awesome Thanksgiving turkey stuffing. Happy Birthday, Veronica.
It’s a NewMexiKen holiday tradition
It’s time to bundle up all the kids, put some Christmas music on, and make our annual pilgrimage through the neighborhood of Ugly Christmas Lights.
There’s a sample on the right. You know what to do, click to enlarge.
But you really need to make the trip.
Christmas music from a century ago
The Antique Christmas Lights Museum has lots of information about the evolution of Christmas lights, but hidden among its goodies is a page of Vintage Christmas Recordings. The 18 recordings were made 1908-1914 and reproduced on a 1908 Edison Home cylinder player for conversion to mp3 files.
The Economic Crisis Hits the Markson Family Monopoly Board
From McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, an excerpt of Mr. Markson’s letter to his wife:
This brings us to the housing crisis, for which you and you alone, Pamela, are responsible. When you choose a Chance card and Rich Uncle Pennybags orders you to pay taxes on your houses, then, damn it, Pamela, you pay taxes. Instead, you decide you’re not going to pay, because you only have $7 left. It’s just a game, you say. Stop taking it so seriously, you tell me. Well, maybe that’s what the millions of Americans caught in the subprime-mortgage crisis should have done.
Then you offered a solution—that we dole out my money and resume play. When I heard you suggest a redistribution of wealth in front of the children, I thought my head would explode. What type of example are you setting during Monopoly night, Pamela? Next, you’ll encourage Warren to smoke dope. Or Brittany to get a liberal-arts education.
New NewMexiKen Poll
Fairness
An excerpt from Gail Collins:
But first, the scientific news: Folks at the University of Vienna conducted a test in which dogs were asked to shake hands over and over and over again. If you have any experience with dogs, you will not be surprised to hear that they were absolutely delighted. And they didn’t care about being paid! The opportunity to perform the same trick endlessly with a stranger in a white coat was reward enough.
Then the researchers brought in new dogs that were given a piece of bread as a reward for every handshake. The uncompensated dogs watched, lost their innate love of mindless repetition and grew sullen.
When the Cars Go Away
In the summer of 1956, the once-mighty Packard Motor Car Company closed its doors. Its headquarters and chief production complex still stand here, though, and their slowly decaying remains serve as a symbol for the fall of American manufacturing in general and the degradation of the auto industry in particular. The Packard plant sits on East Grand Boulevard on Detroit’s east side. It is immense: 3.5 million square feet of space in 47 connected buildings. The campus stretches for almost a mile north to south.
Read more about the Packard plant from Op-Ed Contributor Bill McGraw.
December 13th
Today is the birthday
… of Dick Van Dyke. Rob Petrie is 83. Nine emmy nominations, four wins.
… of Christopher Plummer. Captain Georg von Trapp is 79. More recently Plummer has been in A Beautiful Mind, Syriana and The Lake House. Six films in 2005, a couple more in 2006, four in 2007, three more in 2008 and a handful in production.
… of Ferguson Jenkins. The baseball hall-of-famer is 65.
Canada’s first Hall of Fame member, Fergie Jenkins used pinpoint control and effectively changed speeds to win 284 games. Cast in the same mold as finesse artists like Catfish Hunter and Robin Roberts, Jenkins forged an impressive 3.34 ERA despite playing 12 of his 19 seasons in hitters’ ballparks – Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. A diligent workhorse, Jenkins used an easy, uncomplicated motion to reach the 20-win mark seven times and capture the National League Cy Young Award in 1971. (National Baseball Hall of Fame)
… of Ted Nugent, 60.
… of Wendie Malick. Just shoot her, she’s 58.
… of Ben Bernanke. The chairman of the Federal Reserve is 55. He probably feels 155.
… of Steve Buscemi. The actor who portrayed the creepy Tony Blundetto (Tony Soprano’s cousin) and the even creepier Carl Showalter in Fargo is 51.
… of Johnny Whitaker. That would be Buffy’s brother Jody on Family Affair. He’s 49.
… of Jamie Foxx. The Oscar-winner is 41.
… of Taylor Swift, 19.
And, of course, Sweetie Mack is 8 today. Happy Birthday, Mack!
Cliff Diving
Check out the oil price graph at Calculated Risk.
Oops
MyFox Washington got more than they bargained for at the McCain Campaign garage sale:
When we charged them up in the newsroom, we found one of the $20 Blackberry phones contained more than 50 phone numbers for people connected with the McCain-Palin campaign, as well as hundreds of emails from early September until a few days after election night.
Best line of the day
“To help prevent theft of holiday displays, many houses of worship are embedding GPS devices in Baby Jesus, menorahs, and other figures.”
Who the hell steals Baby Jesus?
Summing up
Just in case you doubt what stopping the automakers rescue was all about for the Republicans, this from “an e-mail circulated among Senate Republicans on Wednesday” as reported by the Los Angeles Times:
“Republicans should stand firm and take their first shot against organized labor, instead of taking their first blow from it.”
Hey Coach
As NewMexiKen was leaving the restaurant this evening, newly hired New Mexico Lobos football coach Mike Locksley was walking in — Albuquerque is a small town and it’s a well-known restaurant.
Anyway, it was too sudden for this season ticket holder to react, but I wish I had.
“No damn screen passes, Coach.”
Locksley is one of just four African-American coaches among the 119 Division I-A schools. He’s more recently an assistant at Illinois and Florida.
Woof. Woof.
Solving the financial mess
Someone I read suggested the best way to solve the credit crisis and bring us out of recession would be to make all the Monopoly money legal tender.
A defining moment for both Detroit and newspapers
The publisher of the Detroit Free Press, the country’s 20th largest paper by weekday circulation, is expected to announce next week that it will cease home delivery of the print edition of the newspaper on most days of the week, according to a person familiar with the company’s thinking.
The publisher hasn’t made a final decision, said this person, but the leading scenario set to be unveiled Tuesday would call for the Free Press and its partner paper, the Detroit News, to end home delivery on all but the most lucrative days—Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
New Feature: When People Don’t Know What They’re Talking About
Give ’em facts.
For example, “The wage gap between U.A.W. workers and workers at other car companies is no longer that big, and labor costs at this point account for only ten per cent of the cost of producing a vehicle.”
The Stock Market Still Hopes For a Bailout
Another instance of the old stock market axiom — buy on the rumor, sell on the news.
Look, for instance, at what happened to the auto stocks today. Ford was as low as $2.12 a share in the opening moments of trading, but as news spread that the bailout might still happen, it rocketed upward, and at one point it reached $3.21. In other words, it rose forty-five per cent in a couple of hours. G.M. needs the government’s money more than Ford does, and so its upward spurt was even more impressive: after being as low as $2.66, its shares reached $4.23. That’s a sixty per cent move. It’s simply implausible to believe that this would have happened if investors were not expecting some form of government intervention.
Best line I heard somewhere
The CEOs of GM, Chrysler and Ford have each agreed to an annual salary of $1 in hopes of getting financial support for their company.
But don’t forget, these guys all have stock options.
That means they’re probably really working for $3 a year.
One more thing while I was away
Sweetie Mack, as noted elsewhere, will be 8 tomorrow. Last Saturday he ran his last distance race as a 7-year-old, a 5K with 4,473 other runners, the Reindeer Romp. He finished 252nd overall (that is, he finished ahead of 4,222 runners).
Even better, he took first place among all boys and girls in his age group (7 and under).
Indeed he finished better than any of the 8-year-olds in the race. He ran the 3.1 miles in 29:10.
That’s him in the photo a few blocks from the finish. Click image for larger version.
Quick trip
Tomorrow is Sweetie Mack’s 8th birthday. Before the NFL season began last year, Mack picked the New York Giants to win the Super Bowl — amazingly he called the long shot. Along the way he became a big fan. To celebrate his birthday (and his prescience) Mack’s dad snagged three New York Giants tickets for last Sunday’s game against the Eagles. Grandpa got invited along.
We drove from Virginia to New Jersey Saturday evening — it was snowing much of the way, but no one slowed down. When we got to the Marriott in Ridgefield, I noticed a man who looked very much like a professional football player. I told Mack, I think the Giants are in this hotel — and indeed they were. It was running back Brandon Jacobs I had noticed. Mack got his autograph and those of Corey Webster and R.W. McQuarters. (Plaxico Burress was nowhere in sight.)
Mack got me up at 6:37 Sunday morning to go down to the lobby and find more players. The Giants, of course, had more sense than to be up that early — and fortunately we had more sense too, and took the morning to go into New York City rather than hang out in hopes of a glimpse of Eli Manning.
I have been to NYC a few times, but never to Wall Street. That’s the New York Stock Exchange in the picture (taken with my iPhone). We were able also to walk around Rockefeller Center (and see the Christmas tree and ice rink) and Times Square before heading back to Jersey for the game.
79,000 other folks joined us at the Meadowlands (attendance was 79,003) on a blustery, cold day. We were in the 19th row on the 20.
The Eagles won 20-14 as the Giants scored their only offensive touchdown in the last two minutes of the game. The only real exciting play was a blocked field goal run back for a touchdown by the Giants to end the first half.
Click the photos for larger versions.