Random Observations

            I’m really, really tired of the post-Christmas commercials that proclaim, This is the sale that everyone’s been waiting for.  I haven’t.

I believe there are various competition categories for work crews on “slow moving maintenance vehicles on area roadways.” They must try and see which one makes the KYW traffic report first and gets credit for tying up the most lanes, creating the longest backup and forcing detours.

Speaking about KYW Newsradio. The station consistently airs stories followed by inappropriate commercials, as in running a story about health risks for elderly poor with inadequate home heat followed by a commercial for leasing a luxury automobile for ONLY $439 a month.

Remember when we’d make up funny names for people like Patty O’ Furniture, Chuck Steak, Art Deco and the like. I’ve always been taken with the names of real people that fit their lives.  For instance:

Fleet Street's newspaper industry recently set aside historic differences to join forces in an unprecedented assault against Rupert Murdoch's proposed takeover of satellite broadcaster BSkyB.  The companies petitioned the British business secretary whose name is Vince Cable.

America’s Transportation Safety Agency (TSA) has agreed to allow pilots to avoid screening and pat downs.  Some pilots have said they wouldn’t be carrying guns as they are pilots, according to TSA administrator John Pistole (pronounced pistol).

A recent action-packed movie called The Warriors Way features a sword-wielding martial arts character portrayed by actor Jang Dong Gun.

The editor of the trade publication PESCA MARINA, in Seattle, WA, is Guillermo Fisch.

Another trade publication out of Chicago, IL, THE NATIONAL PROVISIONER has an editor named Carl Swinehart.

A Nursery trade publication in Fort Worth, TX, GREENHOUSE MANAGER is edited by Mike Branch.

I recall reading a news account several years ago about a British naval destroyer shadowing a Russian submarine that had come too close to British waters.  The British ship was captained by Commander James Bond.

Then there’s the news that a Tel Aviv University team excavating a cave in central Israel said teeth found in the cave are about 400,000 years old and resemble those of other remains of modern man found in Israel. "It's very exciting to come to this conclusion," said archaeologist Avi Gopher.

As Mr. Ripley once said, “Believe It or Not.”