I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in "Cheers & Jeers". For example .....
OK, you've been warned - here is this week's tomfoolery material that I posted.
ART NOTES - an exhibition entitled Jacob Lawrence's Genesis Series is at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland through April 13th.
GLAD to hear that Tony Abbott - the relatively new right-wing prime minster of Australia - is the first to have squandered a political honeymoon (which can last up to two years) in less than four months, according to the Nielsen firm (looking at forty years of data).
HAIL and FAREWELL to the poet, author and playwright Amiri Baraka - born as Leroi Jones - who has died at the age of 79 ..... and to Ronald Reagan's press secretary Larry Speakes - the best name ever for a presidential spokesman, methinks - who has died at the age of 74.
THURSDAY's CHILD is Benny the Cat - a Nebraska kitteh abandoned on an expressway ... but who was rescued by a Good Samaritan and has since been adopted.
SCIENCE NOTES - new research suggests a genetic susceptibility to diabetes in Latin America among other factors.
ABOUT TODAY's POLL - there are a lot more than fourteen candidates for this week's (dis)honors, so I may have missed one-or-two. I've also had to leave some out, who may appear next week (if it's a slow week). We'll see.
SEPARATED at BIRTH - Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and NFL quarterback Eli Manning.
GUESS I MISSED THIS during the holiday season: but our old friend David Duke was deported from an Italian village near the Austria border ... who was initially overlooked since he used his middle name (Ernest) on his visa application.
BRAIN TEASER - try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC.
FRIDAY's CHILDREN are Ruth the Cat and Idgie the Dog - a disabled kitteh and a dachshund who were found abandoned together ... and were adopted by a spa owner, noting how inseparable they are.
THE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a look at the veteran musician Gary Burton - one of the pioneers of jazz-rock, a 7-time Grammy winner and long-time educator at the noted Berklee College of Music .... whose life changed twenty years ago when he (nervously) admitted his sexual orientation to a question from Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air.
SEPARATED at BIRTH - TV/film star Steve Carell and musician Alice Cooper.
......and finally, for a song of the week ............... between working on my musical profile for this week's Top Comments diary and (sniff) nursing a cold ....... no time for a full musical profile. Instead, a song from a few years back that showcases the late Phil Everly.
Bill Medley (the surviving member of the Righteous Brothers) invited Phil Everly and Brian Wilson to join him on one track from his 2007 album Damn Near Righteous - and although the credits indicate that there are two other male voices (presumably younger) .... it's nice to hear Phil Everly one more time .... on this Brian Wilson classic.