Daylight Savings Time

It's tonight that we all get to go back in time.

We all get to live the hour from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. twice. So if you die, let's say at 1:30 a.m., an hour later you have to wake up and die all over again.

Time and timekeeping is not a fiction. It is a cold hard fact. Everything depends on the clock. Were we not to have clocks, everything would come to an end.

The Followers You Lose

They're just cannon fodder. No one knows why they show up, no one knows where they go, no one cares.

Halloween Coming

Halloween always comes this time of the year. It's got this little block of time scoped out and claimed.

You go through the stores and see all the orange and black. Some of it's quite elaborate, meaning there's a lot of merchandising artists with good jobs somewhere.

It all has to be coordinated with the layout of the store, which in the case of some of the big ones, they have it down to an exact science. I wonder how far in advance all this has to be done. The Halloween division at the merchandising place cranks up, when? The day after Halloween for next year? I don't know. Then they get to take off from March till October 31, while the printing place is getting all the specs, cranking it out.

I see a piece, a big three panel presentation hanging from the rafters of a big store and wonder about the production angle to it, who all had to sign off on it at every step along the way before I could look up and see the finished product, a spider with some scary font next to it, words pointing me to the candy aisle.

Halloween deserves our best, though, so let's give all those people a hand! And a raise!

The Leaves Coming Down

I love seeing the leaves come down fast ... it's beautiful.

I was at the park today and the leaves were coming down so fast it was like snow. They were piling up everywhere, so there was nowhere to walk but on them.

There were leaves piled up at the bottom of the kids' slide. They hit the top of the slide and slid down.

Yesterday in about the same place but across the street, there were so many leaves coming off one tree it was stunning. The sun was coming from the west right through them and some of them were sparkling like fairy dust.

Tagalong Ted -- Non-Existent Cartoon Strip

Today's idea for a cartoon strip: Tagalong Ted, Fifth Wheel.

I can't think of much more than that. A guy with friends, relationship problems. "Hey, hey, hey," going stag again.

I can envision all the paperback books of collected cartoons. The Tagalong Ted, Fifth Wheel adult games sold at Spencer Gifts, etc.

The Secrets of Inner Beauty

What do I know about the secrets of inner beauty?

I think I know something about them. And whatever it is that I know, that I will delve into tomorrow on Grandma Slump. I'm getting strangely into a thematic approach.

I'm always a little freaked out by the word "delve." It's not a normal word, is it? I always picture sleazy guys saying it, "We're going to delve into the important lessons of life. Amen?"

And the word "glean" has to go with it. "Once we delve into the important lessons of life, Amen? Then we'll be able to glean from those lessons the things we need to know today."

Could someone shout hallelujah?

Laughing Uproariously

We were out to eat today and had one of most moments where something was funny -- so outrageously funny that we both were laughing uproariously, with tears in our eyes.

Except I have some control over this, so I was trying to tamp it down, so that she wouldn't create too much of a scene. It's fairly easy to keep someone laughing uncontrollably once they've embarked on it. But I wasn't taking those opportunities, because the ones around might've thought she was crying and in pain. And there I would be sitting, the mad abuser or something.

What was so funny doesn't sound funny when you tell it to someone else outside the context, of course. But I was still laughing about it an hour later when we left the restaurant.

Here's what it was. There's a display there of two turtles in succession. One's in front, one's in back. And I said, "What's the second turtle saying?" She said, "Don't fart." And I said, "Right, that's the answer." Then I added, in a turtle voice, "Keep a shell on it."

It still seems funny to me ... but I'm not quaking with tears in my eyes at this point.

A Romance Of Two Worlds

I'm reading an old book, "A Romance of Two Worlds," by Marie Corelli. It was published in the 1880s.

I was at a rummage sale and it was there. I passed it by the first day, even though it was only a quarter. It looked like a million other crappy old novels from the turn of the century, so I let it set there.

I was back the next day and decided to look through it. It seemed remarkably different on the pages I was sampling. It seemed like it had a religious, spiritual, even mystical bent to it. So I considered it a quarter well spent, and still do.

I'll write more about it when I get it read. I'm up around page 220 and it's a good read. It's old fashioned in lots of ways, of course, but still has an interesting theme and works it out in a memorable way.

There's a guy who seems to have super scientific/mystical powers, because he's tapped into the electricity within the inner person. He's come up with liquids that help induce mental or soul travel in the heavens and to Heaven itself. Naturally these experiences impact the lives of those who make the journey. Plus with regular attention to developing their inner electricity, they continue to prosper here on earth.

I just wanted to mention a few flaky things about it, though, tonight.

In the main character (the narrator's) journey through the heavens, she's briefly on a few of the planets in our solar system that are inhabited by happy people who don't have problems and don't doubt -- not one of them -- the Creator's existence. The planets include Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn. The rings of Saturn are some kind of electrical field that helps them have happiness. (Electricity is a force for great spiritual book in the book.)

The other flaky thing -- that I can think of -- is where the scientist (Heliobas) explains that the moon isn't really there in space. That it's an "electrograph," a kind of lingering electrical picture up there that we're looking at. It used to be there, but now it's not. I don't know why Corelli would've included something flaky like that. Or to say that the sun was a planet at one time where the people have now gone into its center. Hmm.

The book is very good though in other ways, at least I'm finding it interesting enough to keep reading it!

Adam Lambert's New Single

I hope Adam Lambert's new single is burning up the charts. I haven't looked it up.

I saw it was Number 1 on Amazon singles downloads the first day, but it's gone down since then.

It's called "Time for Miracles," and is from the movie 2012. It's got some good vocal pyrotechnics in it, which Adam is known for.

I'm looking forward to his album, which I think comes out Nov. 23.

I'm a little reluctant to advance order it, because I heard there was a deluxe version too, which I haven't seen information on yet. It might be one of those deals where you have to buy it three or four times to get all the songs. I hope not.

Bonnie Bramlett Albums

I listened and recorded two Bonnie Bramlett albums tonight, LPs.

I've never really paid any attention to her. I remember seeing the old Delaney and Bonnie and Friends albums, and hearing their hit, but that's about it.

But tonight I was looking through my albums, which I've gotten here, there, and everywhere -- thrift stores, garage sales, etc. -- and there were a couple of hers.

I read about them on All Music and they seemed to rate fairly well. These are "It's Time" and "Lady's Choice," which are albums in sequence, in that order of release. I don't know where I got them or how many years it might've been ago. But they're both promo releases and in really good condition.

Anyway, they're quite enjoyable to hear. The All Music people give "Lady's Choice" some demerits for the song selection and the duets. But I guess my ear isn't as jaded as musical experts. I enjoyed it quite a bit. When they said she turned it over to these other singers, I didn't realize it was duets. Until I saw the liner notes.

Good stuff.

Congress Crushed By Calls

Hmm, I hadn't actually heard of this. There was some organized effort to call Congress, everyone the same day. And today was the day, and the report is that Congress.

They met their goal of 100,000 calls and went on for 200,000.

So that's good news. I hope it does some good. It's stunning how obstinate Congress is, especially the guys on our own side, the Democrats, who we voted for. If I carried on my life like these guys do, turning their back on the people, I'd have a hard time showing my face in public.

I can't figure out the White House and President Obama, why they don't seem to be putting the screws to Congress for something we want. Wasn't it the President himself back in April who was ballyhooing the public option? I know it was.

All the "playing nice" I don't get. The Republicans are out to massacre us in 2010. They're not opposing this on philosophical grounds or for any good reason. It's all political posturing, hoping it will fail so they can take advantage of that. We need to massacre them first by being united and getting something done.

Balloon Boy's Balloon To Smithsonian

By a 13-12 vote, the directors of the Smithsonian Institute voted to induct the Balloon Boy's historic craft into their museum.

It will join, up in the rafters somewhere, the Apollo 11 capsule, the Wright Brothers' Kitty Hawk Eagle, other great planes, as well as James Stewart's Spirit of St. Louis.

Scholars will be studying it for years, looking for clues as to how such an inexperienced pilot, six year old What's-his-name was able to take it up and bring it back down so successfully.

No Twitter This Morning And Afternoon

That was a long time. Something like from 4 a.m. till (I dunno) 3 or 4 p.m., that either Twitter was down or something between here and there was down. It could be anything.

I got up and checked it like I usually do. A collection of people I don't know and won't know. It makes me wonder why (sometimes) I even waste my time on it.

I still haven't come up with an answer. But that's a good question for all this. Why not read the news, emails from family, family Facebook entries, and let it go at that? The rest isn't doing me any major good, that I know of.

Being off for all that time, I didn't get to Tweet anything. And I usually Tweet a few things. On one of my accounts I'm up over 900 Tweets, which is a lot to me. But being off, I didn't really miss it, and I didn't go and say anything once it came up.

Sick Puppies

I watched Rachel Maddow's story examining why President George H.W. Bush (the smarter one) called her and Keith Olbermann "sick puppies."

I thought Keith seemed to be taking it a bit personally, although he did cut the old guy some slack. It seemed to me that in his quote, the ex-pres was just naming a couple people who came to mind, not that he was necessarily singling them out as someone he has great knowledge of. Like he's heard others mention them, so he's saying their names.

Then Rachel had Ron Suskind on, who seemed to think Bush was actually being critical, between the lines of Fox News, and for some reason put their names in as a way of balancing things out. Like he doesn't really have a conscious and well thought out grudge against them, per se, but it's just shorthand for someone on "the cables."

And since his fatherly beef is with the news personalities criticizing Junior, of course he would likely pick ones who were more Democratic.

I don't know for sure. I'm no fan of the Bushes -- any of them -- but when they're old and crochety, like Senior seems to be getting, I'd take it less as an insult than as a thing to brag about. Out of all the people in the world, the former president called ME a "sick puppy."

I actually am "one sick puppy," but the President has never heard of me.

Finished "The Great Escape"

I was close, toward the end of the movie "The Great Escape," so I just sat and let it play out.

I hate to say anything about the end, since maybe someone else hasn't seen it. But, hey, it's over 45 years old, and not that many people read this blog anyway.

Of course I would've preferred a happier ending. It has a terrible ending, in my opinion. The problem is that it's more or less a true story. The escape and the aftermath actually happened, so there was no way to give it a decent Hollywood ending.

So you're left just admiring (I guess) their bravery and sense of duty in escaping. Never mind the terrible payoff. I have a hard time with that one. Because if they would've just sat tight in prison, they would've been OK and would've accomplished as much.

If it indeed is the "duty" of everyone to try to escape, that's fine. I'd say change the "duty." Once you're in prison, you're out of the game as far as what you're going to do "out there." Just sit tight and let the war end without you.

The building of the tunnel was quite an operation. But it seems like if you were brilliant enough to do all that work, you'd also be brilliant enough not to have it 20 feet short. Come on. I'm amazed that anyone could dig a tunnel surreptitiously, have it completely supported with wood, have a track to run a makeshift train shuttle on, have electrical lighting, and all the rest. Again, if you can do all that, you can measure the thing and make sure it's not 20 feet short!

As for being caught afterward, that was a major drag. Once you're out of the prison, your troubles have just begun.

Got Some Old Books

I got some old books at a garage sale in the neighborhood.

I didn't really need any of them, but they were a quarter each, so I picked them up.

One is a signed edition of a book by a guy named August Derleth. I wasn't going to buy this because it looks just like a generic novel from the '40s, "The Shield of the Valiant." But I thought, If I get home and look him up and he's really popular, and I had a chance to get a signed book by him, etc., and I don't do it... I'll be kicking myself, since it was only a quarter. It doesn't look especially gripping, and it's part of a series that I'll likely never own.

Next is "War Sketches and Incidents," with Iowa Commandery and Vol. II on the spine. Copyright 1897, looks to be about the Civil War. Doesn't look especially interesting either.

3rd: "My Four Years in Germany" by James W. Gerard. He was an ambassador to the German Imperial Court. The book was published in 1917. Too bad he didn't look up Hitler and kill him.

4th: "Wings" by John Monk Saunders. this is a book based on a movie by the same name, starring Charles Rogers and Clara Bow. There's a picture of them next to the title page. Clara Bow was the "It" Girl. And looking at the picture, she was very cute.

5th: "Creative Evolution" by Henri Gergson, translated by Arthur Mitchell. I have this book in the Modern Library edition. This book has a bookplate. It was No. 258 in "The Private Library of Charles Harrison Becker," dated Feb. 1918. The bookplate says this as well, "Books Are Among My Best Friends." Mr. Becker purchased this book on Feb. 23, 1918.

6th: "The Gold Rock of the Chippewa" by D. Lange. This is an Indian story, and it looks like D. Lange wrote several of them. Basically for kids.

7th: "Ginger Rogers and The Riddle of the Scarlet Cloak" by Lela E. Rogers, published by Whitman. A kid's story maybe. There's a sexy line drawing of Ginger in bed.

8th: And this book is considerably newer than the others, "Jesus" by Deepak Chopra. From 2008. Hope it's worth a quarter. I will probably actually read this one.

Texas Governor Rick Perry

How does a governor who takes a role in executing an innocent man, then covers it up, have any chance of being reelected? The people of Texas have some sense, don't they?

How does a governor who actually advocated that his state secede from the United States have any chance of being reelected? How can you be considered a patriotic American citizen if you don't want your state to be part of the United States?

Gov. Rick Perry is totally corrupt. He should pay the price for it. Electorally and legally.

Pebbles, Nibbles, Troubbles, And Abbilities

Perhaps I will say a few things. It's not habit forming, they say. And anyway, I can quit anytime I want.

I'll just check in, then I'll be gone. Must exercise some discipline lest I waste my whole day. That won't happen.

Speaking of discipline, I must not eat too much for lunch. That's a terrible thing. Then I get very tired.

But that's a bridge I'll cross when it floats by. Until then, I have this other struggle, my reluctance to get out of this chair.

It doesn't matter, ultimately, if I sit here an extra five minutes. Or maybe it does. If every pebble in a pond changes the earth's course.

I could've spent the last hour reading. I should've. But don't beat yourself up all the time. Good grief. "Could've, would've, should've."

The little pebbles I throw in the pond don't seem to change the earth that much. Maybe I'm not throwing them hard enough.

Technically how big can a pebble be? That might be the problem. I need bigger pebbles.

Boulder-sized pebbles. I could do some real damage with those. Get me one of those medieval catapults, fend off the sheriff and police.

They're going, "We can't stop this guy. He has a year's worth of boulders lined up." What about when he sleeps? "Oh, yeah, that might work."

I must not let it go that far ... I'll just sit here, dangling my feet in the water, playing with this toaster ... throwing pebbles.

The word "nibble" and the word "pebble" are similar. Is there something about "bble" that means small?

If there is, and you have small trouble, it'd be "troubble." But if it's major, leave out a B.

I'm "abble" to do a particular task, but my "abbilities" are limited. I'm "able" to do a particular task if my "abilities" are great.

The more B's you put in, that's the degree that you are "abbbbbbble" or "able" to get the job done.

So a tiny bite when you're fishing is a "nibbbbbbbbble" and a normal one is a "nibble."

A little bit of talk is "babble." Just a nibbling of babbling would need a few more B's.

There's an argument to be made for it.

Dog Poop Conjunctions And Coincidences

I feel I can attract more followers if I do a blessing over my ENTER key before sending every tweet. Bless you, dear words as you go. ENTER.

I faced a strange conjunction -- a dozen different coincidences -- involving my dog, neighbors, their dog, and my dog pooping that second.

If any one little thing had been different -- and there were a thousand variables -- it would've never happened. [Bless you, ENTER key.]

I saw the people coming from a block and a half away but didn't realize they were the neighbors, so I crossed the road, which I never do.

This put them coming from the block down, cutting across, and meeting me right at their corner. My dog pooped, then the dogs tangled.

My dog leash is tangled around the back of the woman's legs, I'm meeting the boyfriend in the dark for the first time. And the poop is lost.

There I am then, with a weak flashlight, and enough poop-colored leaves scattered around, making the perfect camouflage for poop.

The only good thing that came out of it...It's an ice breaker at parties? ...I'm looking at my dog. None of that had to happen. My fault.

I'm like The Who smashing their guitars and drums at the end of a concert. I smash my keyboard every night before bed. I have many new ones.

So here goes my keyboard. Goodnight. sadoi32 DKLJWE[ kk e P;DLGFMSDO kjfds dhp32rnl sfsdklsdk12130rgg3fkf03w2 kaput

Unwrapping Little Caramels

It's time consuming to unwrap these tiny little caramels. I need the discipline to make each one last, so I'm not unwrapping so many.

It's weird that you need to unwrap 100 little caramels to make caramel apples. They need to have one big chunk in plastic wrap instead.

Maybe that's what I should invent: "Grandma's Slump Massive One Chunk, Easy Unwrap Caramels," "Quality from our kitchen ... to your mouth."

Caramels are a dangerous thing to eat, though. Thanks to dental fillings. I keep chomping on them hoping I don't notice anything crunchy.

I remember we used to get some kind of chocolate caramels. But all Walgreens had was some weird brand, "Harvest Faire." Never heard of it.

By the way, it's "Walgreens" without an apostrophe. I was sitting there the other day thinking, That'd be a great bit of trivia to tweet.

Maybe not. It looks less interesting in print that it did in the grand sweeping majesty of the imagination I take with me on the road.

The History Channel

You would think a channel called the History Channel would try to restrict itself to facts of what's already happened.

I barely watch it -- not that I don't like it; as channels go it's fine -- but I've seen they have various conspiracy theory stuff on there, Nostradamus, etc.

I was just looking at an article on Mayan mythology, that somehow predicts a time of some significance in 2012. Of course with our apocalyptic heritage, that's being turned into another end of the world scenario.

And apparently the History Channel is getting in on the act.

From the Huffington Post:

Another History Channel program titled "Decoding the Past: Doomsday 2012: End of Days" says a galactic alignment or magnetic disturbances could somehow trigger a "pole shift."

"The entire mantle of the earth would shift in a matter of days, perhaps hours, changing the position of the north and south poles, causing worldwide disaster," a narrator proclaims. "Earthquakes would rock every continent, massive tsunamis would inundate coastal cities. It would be the ultimate planetary catastrophe."

Maybe they should stick to what's already happened and steer clear of these oddball predictions. When we're all still here in January 2013, they can look back on "history" and say they were wrong.

The Cave You Fear To Enter

Someone at Twitter posted this quote, which he attributes to Joseph Campbell:

The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. ~ Joseph Campbell

That's a pretty good quote. I wonder why that would be, though, that the cave you fear to enter would hold the treasure you seek.

But if I think it's a pretty good quote, there must be something about it that resonates with me. It's not a recipe for ham and beans. There's something more there.

The treasure I'm seeking, I'm seeking everywhere. Maybe I'm doing more overturning of rocks than I should. I already basically know the treasure and where it is.

Right now I don't think I'm afraid to enter caves. Maybe I am. I don't want to enter any blind alleys.

President Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize (Could've Been ME)

I was very happy to hear President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. To be perfectly honest, I didn't even know he was a candidate for it.

This is the way the election in '08 should've gone. Instead of nail biting for two years in advance, just wake up one day and it's over.

Winning the Nobel prize is like an eclipse. Some only happen every 500 years but they don't tell you about it till the day before.

I think one of those 500 year eclipses, they ought to tell you a couple years in advance so you can get a decent telescope.

Am I just supposed to have a fancy telescope in the garage on the off chance that the 500 years is about up?

Anyway. This was two extraordinary pieces of news before I was even awake. The Nobel prize and NASA shooting the moon.

May as well go back to bed. Nothing else can possibly happen.

The moon probe was called something like the CENTAUR 5000. They should have named it the ALICE KRAMDEN 1956.

As in "Pow, ZOOM."

So, congratulations on two fronts. To the Moon for being such a good sport. And to President Obama for skunking everyone else for the prize.

When you're a candidate for the PEACE PRIZE you have to be a good sport. You can't be blocking and tackling others who are in your way.

You have to have a Chip 'n' Dale attitude: "No, you first, I insist." --- "No, no, by all means, you lead the way."

As for myself, if I could be a candidate for the Peace Prize, I'd be very mellow in public, but clawing like a tiger behind the scenes.

They'd be saying, "Mr. Kundalini, you have prevailed." I'd be in my study, swishing a snifter of cognac, saying, "Exxxxcelllent...."

Say that 5 times fast, "Swishing a snifter."

I understand there's a cash prize that goes with it. Which of course I wouldn't be interested in having.

Severely Chilled And Sick Feeling

I ate too many chocolate chip cookies today. And I took a nap and tried to have another one with the remains of a Subway sandwich.

I got suddenly queasy, with a sore stomach. Nothing came of it, just a lethargic feeling of unease, like I was in a stupor.

Then I had to take the dog out and it's a moderately chilly evening. We got down the street and I had on my flimsy pants, even though I had on a winter coat. Suddenly I notice my legs getting chilled, then it hits me, that shaking.

I was going "Rrrruuuuhhh," that kind of uncomfortable growling sound you make when you want to be warm. The dog doesn't know about that, so she was getting uncomfortable. Had I suddenly turned into a werewolf?

We got inside and the dog was suspicious when I was trying to take off her halter, while I'm going "Rrrruuuuhhhh" and saying "Good girl." She pulls back. I had to reassure her.

I put a blanket on me and sat here in my winter coat for 20 minutes. Now I just have the blanket and feel closer to normal.

I Got My First Spam In Russian

I should've saved the message since it was so weird.

I don't know Russian but I can tell it's Russian when I see it, all the oddball letters.

I don't think I've ever gotten an email in Russian before. Let me search my mind. No, it's never happened.

But today was a first. So naturally I was curious. Not curious enough to click any links, but curious enough to run it through a Google translation place.

And it was Russian for some kind of adult picture place (or something). The translation looked so flawless. Not broken, weird English. So either that thing did a killer job of translating, or they run it through some kind of grammar thing as well.

That was my first Russian spam, and I hope it's my last.

The Class of '57

I'm listening to a very great old song by the Statler Brothers, "The Class of '57."

I'm a little more wistful about this song as time goes on and the various individuals named in this song are aging. Time marches on. "Tommy's selling used cars, Nancy's fixing hair." Tommy and Nancy are probably retired by now. Maybe dead.

But a lot of the class of '57 are still out there. My parents were from the class of '52, and my mom is still doing well. She's been doing some work in her town with the class records from the old school, photographs, etc. And she has something to do with my late father's classmates, keeping in touch, sort of.

We were out at the cemetery a week and a half ago, and I saw the grave of some classmates, friends of my parents. They have their picture engraved on the tombstone. They were from the class of '52, but this particular couple got married secretly in '51, and, according to mom, they would've been kicked out of school if they knew they were married. So good for them for keeping it a secret. But now it's on their tombstone -- their wedding date in '51 -- blaring it out to any school officials who might also be buried nearby.

I might've met this couple in my life but don't remember them personally. Just heard about them numerous times over the years, what they and my parents used to do, where they hung out.

So they were only five years older than the Class of '57.

If you're out there ... anyone from the Class of '57 .... (or '50, '51, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56, '58, '59) ... All the best to you! Keep going! And God bless you!

Letterman Apologizes To Wife

I just heard that David Letterman makes an in-studio, on-camera apology to his wife tonight. Ugh. Let it drop. Apologize to her at home. That's my opinion.

I don't want him just to be apologizing and milking this thing forever. It's not a savory thing.

In other opinions, I saw Letterman walking through a park or somewhere, surrounded by what I took to be staff. They were accompanying him, like Elvis and his hangers-on used to do. Is that what life is for David Letterman?

Lord, spare me from fame ... as you have done nicely so far!

Moon Mullican's Problem With Pork Chops

I got a record by Moon Mullican the other day and was just listening to it. "I'll Sail My Ship Alone / Seven Days to Rock," King 45-5172 from 1959.

I looked up the record, since "Seven Days to Rock" is pretty cool, a rockabilly song. This site says he had a problem with teen record buyers, since Moon was bald and portly.

But the sentence I love is this:

On New Year's Eve 1966, he resolved to cut down on pork chops but died the following day.

But look on the bright side. It couldn't have made that much difference if he was eating pork chops or not. At least it couldn't have made much difference if he would've cut down on them a week before.

Very Short Naps

I took a nap today that was very short. I set the alarm for around 35 minutes. And I didn't doze off at all till there was 15 minutes left. But then, I think, I did doze off. And was rudely awakened by a ring tone I wasn't expecting. My normal one must not be the default. But I got up and felt well rested.

Yesterday I took an even shorter nap. I surely must have dozed off for only a couple minutes. Because the dog was barking and someone was knocking at the door. And I know it was just minutes before, maybe 10 minutes, that I lay down.

Yet I woke up, answered the door, and felt rested enough for the rest of the day. Just one or two minutes of that confused stuff right before full sleep.

Frozen Head Allegedly Abused In Cryonics Facility

If you're ever going to have your severed head preserved in a cryonics facility -- for cryoning out loud -- make sure you pick one you can trust!

Who wants their frozen head being abused by a guy batting at it? Not me.

Such is the sad fate, it is alleged, of the famous baseball player, Ted Williams:

Johnson claims a technician took baseball-like swings at Williams' frozen head with a monkey wrench.

That's the strangest sentence I've read all day!

Dic Youngs Died

I don't know that Dic Youngs -- Youngsie, the Old Youngster -- was well known outside of central Iowa. But at least there, Des Moines and environs, he was a legendary disk jockey, and everyone knew him on KIOA.

He died.

As far as I was concerned, Dic was the voice of the rock 'n' roll in the '60s, since it was his channel that played the hits (along with KSO) and his voice and style was perfect for it. The perfect DJ voice.

Then later, before KIOA became strictly oldies, he had the Saturday Night Oldies Show, which was a throwback to the glory days. We used to listen to that too, faithfully, with Dic giving lots of shout outs to Des Moines businesses and people. Listening to the oldies was special. And the way he did it, with interviews, calling in favorites, Des Moines history, rock history, etc., it had a lot of texture.

He used to be at the state fair all the time. I talked to him a few times over the years. And saw him at a few concerts, music shows. I'm about 100% sure he was the guy in 1967 who was the DJ at the Monkees' concert.

Last time I heard him -- it's been a few years -- I was fairly far from Des Moines, and could just hear the channel fading in and fading out very badly. He was talking about a health problem he was having. I wondered how long he'd last.