EVEN ESPN GOT IT WRONG!

BULLETIN:  LANCE STILL HAS HIS TITLES!!!!
It turns out that Lance hasn't lost his titles and, probably, won't.  Read the story here.

ANOTHER SIGN OF AUTUMN

I walked over to Walgreen's to pick up pills and strolled through the Viterbo campus on my way home.  It's a beehive of activity.  Move-in and orientation day.  Let the classes begin!

INTERESTING NEW POLL FROM GALLUP

Gallup asked folks, across America, which industries they hated the most.  The top three were:

#1 OIL AND GAS
#2 BANKING
#3 HEALTH CARE

I LOVE IT!

Check this out TERPSTRAS BAR AND GRILL I think I need one of these!

DONNIE'S ON THE BOTTLE AGAIN

"About twice a year I buy a fresh bottle of rum, trying different brands.  The local Wimberly, Texas rum had to be thrown out.  I went back to the tried and true caribe this week, buying Grand Reserve Plantation Rum from Barbados, possible the first place, in the new world, to produce rum."

SHOULDA BEEN A NANNY

Just reading a story about what this divorce is costing Tom Cruise.  One figure caught my eye.  A good nannie for a celebrity kid can make, anywhere, from $100,000 to $1 million a year.  I'll take that job but you should know, right up front, I don't do diapers.

I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT......

IF ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG,

WHAT DOES THAT SAY

ABOUT SENIOR CITIZENS?

A SPECTACULAR MAP

You folks in hurricane country will enjoy this interesting map showing 150 years of hurricanes.

WHAT'S BEHIND THE PICTURE?

I'm happy to see that "A quiet spot on the river" is the #1 favorite post of the past few weeks.  I like that picture too, even though it's a bit deceiving.

One would think it was on one of the little islands in the river or tucked away in a backwater location.  Actually it's right at the north end of Riverside Park in downtown La Crosse.  Amazing what the perfect lighting and a little cropping can do.

AN UPDATE ON LA CROSSE FOOTWEAR

Know anybody who worked at La Crosse Footwear when it was still based here in La Crosse?  They might be interested in this article (click here) about what's happening with the company in its new location, under its new Japanese owners.

LIFE'S A HOLIDAY

Today is Banana Split Day.  It's also Whiskey Sour Day.  That sounds like an interesting lunch.

WHICH DOOR IS THE BIRTHDAY CAKE HIDING BEHIND?

Monty Hall is still making deals and celebrating his 91st birthday today.

BEEP BEEP

Look at the neat Roadrunner that popped into Donnie and Linda's yard!

IT JUST WON'T GO AWAY, HARRY!

Now the girls are telling their side of the story of their party with Harry.  Henry VIII would have loved this!  Our current Queen?  Not so much, I'm guessing.

WAS IT WORTH $200.00?

What was he thinking?  22 years old.  Old enough to know better.  Police say he didn't test positive for alcohol.  Be that as it may, the young man said yes when friends gave him $200.00 to try to swim across the main channel of the Mississippi River this afternoon.

A boater came by when the tired swimmer was about half way across the river.  He was more than ready to get in the boat.  He's one very lucky guy.

Don't try it folks!  You're NOT going to make it, no matter HOW much money they offer you!

I'LL BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW THIS

There's an ancient Roman Column standing in Burnham Park in Chicago.  It was given to the city by Mussolini to commerate Italo Balbo's flight from Rome to Chicago for the 1933 World's Fair.  The column is inscribed with the words, "In the eleventh year of the Fascist Era."

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING

New York is #1 in the nation for the least affordable day care.  That I can understand but when I hear that Wisconsin and Minnesota tied for #2 least affordable day care states.  That I can't understand.  The cost of living in this part of the country just doesn't add up with the average income.  WKBT reported the story.

SQUIRREL MYSTERY

Here's an interesting article from the CHICAGO READER that wonders where the squirrels have gone.  The windy city is normally overrun by squirrels in the summertime but not this year.  The big question is WHY?

TV NEWS??? WHAT NEWS???

3 or 4 people wounded and the shooter killed in front of the Empire State Building shortly after 8 AM (CDT).  I happened to be on Twitter, at the time, and the tweets about the shooting started coming within minutes.

I turned on the TV and watched CBS doing "happy talk" with little jokes and giggling.  As far as I could figure out just killing time.  NBC and ABC both had rock bands on which were performing and being interviewed.  I kept watching for  a good half hour and never did hear a word about the shooting.  Saw a hell of a lot of commercials, however.  By now, the story was ALL OVER the internet.

Why don't the "big three" just turn out the lights and go home?

ROLL 'EM!

The patent to make motion pictures possible was submitted by Thomas Edison on this date in 1891.  The Library of Congress has a brief history that's quite interesting.  Especially when you keep in mind that motion pictures on film are now quickly becoming extinct.

It's also interesting, as you'll see in the above history, that it wasn't actually Edison who made the whole thing work.  He just put his name to it.  Real history isn't always as interesting as the history we make up.

UPDATE

Several months ago, I mentioned that Donnie and Linda had sent some St. Ive's products to see if it would help my dry skin problem.  I use their liquid shower soap and intensive healing body lotion and, I'm happy to say, I haven't had any dry skin problems since.  It's good stuff!

RAIN UPDATE

About 5:45 it started raining so hard I had to shut the windows.  Just about the time I got the windows shut it stopped raining.

THE IMPORTANCE OF WALKING

WALKING CAN ADD MINUTES TO YOUR LIFE.

THIS ENABLES YOU

AT 85 YEARS OF AGE

TO SPEND

AN ADDITIONAL FIVE MONTHS

IN A NURSING HOME AT

$4,000 PER MONTH

IS THIS THE AIRLINE HORROR STORY TO END ALL HORROR STORIES?

Here's a couple with two kids stranded for SIX DAYS AT THE AIRPORT because they kept getting bumped off flights.  READ IT AND WEEP HERE.

DID YOU HAVE YOUR WAFFLE FOR BREAKFAST?

This is the day to celebrate Cornelius Swartwout, the man who invented the waffle iron.

Cornelius got the patent for the waffle iron on this date in 1869 and it caught my attention because it was designed for the old wood burning cook stove like grandma had in the kitchen.  Click here to see pictures of the actual iron.

THE BEST TWEET OF THE MORNING

"I've finally accomplished my dream of winning the same amount of Tour de France as Lance Armstrong.  Zero."

JUST THINKING

The world would be a much better place without hypocrisy.  For starters, no hypocrisy would mean no politicians.

LAND VALUES RISE IN LA CROSSE COUNTY

La Crosse County was one of only seven counties in the state to see land values rise.  While our land values rose 1.2%, most of the state saw a drop of 3.2%.

THE DAY STARTED WITH A BANG

Loud claps of thunder started the day, along with a little rain, around 2:30 this morning.  According to the National Weather Service, this is an early morning thing and most of the day will be sunny with highs in the upper 80's.

BIG WEEKEND FOR THE FOLKSY FOLKS

The Great River Folk Festival gets underway today at UW-La Crosse and runs through Sunday.  CLICK HERE TO SEE WHOS APPEARING at this 37th annual even.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SKYCAM LOOKING WEST OVER LA CROSSE

GROAN....IT'S DOCTOR TIME AGAIN

I got a reminder this morning.  A week from today I see my primary care doctor and The bi-annual tour of doctor visits and tests begin.  That will keep me busy through most of September.  I'll be glad when that's over for another six months.

ISAAC EXPECTED TO BECOME A HURRICANE TONIGHT

TASTY WINE

Wisconsin wine makers didn't get as many grapes, this year, as last year due to frost and drought but they say the flavor of the grapes they did get is very good.  That means good wine to come from Wisconsin!

FAIR TIME

 

The Minnesota State Fair opens today and I was surprised to see the "old guys" are the most expensive tickets of all the acts scheduled to appear.  Best seats, in the grandstand, to see KISS and MOTLEY CRUE are going for $81.00 and seating is already very limited.  I suppose that's not too surprising considering the two groups have sold nearly 200 million albums during their very long careers.

YES, VIRGINIA, THERE IS SOME GOOD NEWS

If you're walking down the street and you see someone grinning from ear to ear it's, probably, a realtor.  Home sales, in La Crosse County, in July, were up close to 30% over last July.

THE HEAT IS BACK ON

Our high today and tomorrow will be near 90.  There's a chance for a thunderstorm, now and then, right through the weekend.  We need the rain.  We could do without the heat but look at the bright side.  Think of all the money you're saving on firewood.

LIFE'S A HOLIDAY

Today is NATIONAL SPONGE CAKE DAY.  What's the difference between a sponge cake and angel food cake?  In the sponge cake recipe you use the whole egg.  In the angel food recipe you only use the egg white.

FORBES LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG

Forbes Magazine says German Chancellor Angela Merkel is the most powerful woman in the world.

Up until now, Rita had Roger convinced that she was.

HARRY HAS LEARNED A ROYAL LESSON

What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas.....if you're a prince.

IT JUST KEEPS GETTING WORSER AND WORSER

A lot of airlines are starting to add extra seats on the aircraft.  You know what that means.  Take your knee pads because you can expect less leg room.  Also the seat cushions are thinner on the new seats.  Better bring an extra pillow.

I think back to the luxury on my first Northwest (Orient) flight to New York City about a hundred years ago.  Of course, the young kids have no idea that it used to be NORTHWEST ORIENT AIRLINES.  The "Orient" went out the window years ago.  Then the Northwest went south.

Then I think of the luxury of the Pan Am 747 flight Rita and I took to Panama.  Pan-Am is gone too.

I could never have imagined that the unforgettable magic of flying, in those golden years, could deteriorate to what it is today.

I expected the future to just keep getting better and better....not "worser and worser".  I was wrong.

THEY LIKED HER!

Lisa Marie Presley got a standing ovation after her performance at the Grand Ole' Opry.

RAIN!

We're getting some showers this afternoon.  Every little bit helps.

BAD NEWS FROM SOUTH DAKOTA

Really sorry to hear about the motorcycle accident in the Black Hills involving Wynonna Judd's husband and drummer in her band.

 

Michael Moser lost a leg and also had surgery on his hand.  Wynonna has cancelled some of her concert dates.

 

 

THE FIRE ESCAPE



CLEANING OUT THE JUNK IN MY LIFE

I don't, usually, look at the spam file.  I just let them delete themselves but, today, I decided to see what I was missing.

Maria had "secret chance numbers" that would open the door to love, money and work.  The money might be nice.  The other two?  Forget it.

Another one offered me free samples of my favorite products for women.  There are so many I wouldn't know where to begin.

If I participate in their "program" the Outback will treat me to a free dinner.  Of course, with my diet the Outback doesn't have a single thing I'm supposed to eat.

Another one offered to secure my future.  Are they kidding?  I have a terminal disease and I'm 72.  My "future" has come and gone.  Been there, done that.

A. T. & T. has a new "phone package" for me.......I'll bet the do.

Another company is just gonna give me a new iPad.  I guess 'cause I'm such a neat guy.  I don't even have an old iPad.

Something called the "Resume Bucket" wants me to forward my resume by 11:58pm Pacific Standard Time.  I'm guessing they're the ones that also sent the email about securing my future.

Here's a good one.  I can save up to 50% on auto insurance.  Little do they know I've been saving 100% on auto insurance all my life.

Here's an even better one.  A group called "Christian Mingle" has "discovered  God's true work in their lives" and for a "small fee" the'll hook me up with a Christian to "mingle with".

Publishers Clearing House says there's a good chance I'll be a millionaire by August 31.  That's great.  Then I won't have to pay the fee to "Christian Mingle" because, once they find out I'm a millionaire, I'll have Christians "mingling" all over me.

Here's one that wants to know if I'm seeking a new job.  I'm not seeking any job.  I tried that for nearly 50 years and decided it took up too much of my time.

The list goes on and on and on.  Where's the "delete" button?

THAT'S WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE SOUTH

If you think your city government leaves a lot to be desired, to say nothing about the federal government, read this column in the SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS

These folks would fit right in with the crowd in Washington.

A LITTLE HUMOR (VERY LITTLE) FROM NORWAY

Ole & Lena lived by a lake in Nordern Minnesota . It vas early vinter and da lake had froze over.

Ole asked Lena if she vould valk across da frozen lake to da yeneral store to get him some smokes. She asked him for some money, but he told her, “Nah, yust put it on our tab.”

So Lena valked across, got the smokes at da yeneral store, den valked back home across the lake.

 

Ven she got home and gave Ole his

smokes,she asked him, “Ole, you alvays tell me not to run up da tab at dastore. Why didn’t you yust give me some money?”

Ole replied, “Vell, I didn’t vant to send you out dere vit some money ven I vasn’t sure how tick the ice vas yet.”

A FEELING OF FALL IN THE AIR

FROM DONNIE:
"Temp fell below 70 last night and there's the slightest whiff of a new season in the air this morning."

HOW "SNEAKY" CAN YOU GET???

Here's a great article about the debut of the new Nike Sneaker that's about to be introduced to the public.  It's in the ATLANTIC WIRE and their reference to all this as part of the "decline of western civilization" just about hits the nail on the head.

JUST SO WE DON'T FORGET WHAT SEASON THIS IS....

It's still summertime.  Highs will be close to 90 again tomorrow.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE CAT..WORRY ABOUT THE DIRTY VEGGIES AND RARE STEAK

I'm glad to see that scientists have "cleared the cat" as being a danger for brain cancer in humans.

 

There was a news story, last year, that alluded to the fact that you were more likely to get brain cancer if you were a cat lover.  This article which you can read here sets the record straight.  If you don't wash your vegetables or you eat "raw" meat, you might be asking for trouble but don't worry about kissing Thunder!

THE EARTH IS SHAKING THIS MORNING

A 2.5 quake in Southern California and a 2.8 rumble in Southern Alaska.

A TEXAS SUPPORTER OF WISCONSIN CHEESE

From Willard:
"I only buy cheese made in Wisconsin.  That's as "Gouda" as it gets???  Give me a break.

WHAT ROCK DO THESE SLIME BALLS LIVE UNDER?

To deny the valedictorian of the graduating class of Prague, Oklahoma her diploma for using the word "Hell" in her commencement speech is an outrage.  This country is not ruled by a religious dictatorship, yet, but there are too many people in very high places that sure want to see it become one.  Isn't one Iran in this world enough?

Just so you know how insane these people are, the mascot of this school is the RED DEVIL!

FORECAST PATH: TROPICAL STORM ISAAC

WHEN YOU THINK CHEESE, THINK WISCONSIN

The state produced 227 million pounds of cheese in June.  California may produce more milk but, when it comes to cheese, Wisconsin is as "Gouda" as it gets!

A SIGN OF THE TIMES

YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE

There's a good article in the USA TODAY travel section about the serious troubles facing regional airlines such as those serving La Crosse.

There's a good chance that this whole system of using commuter airlines to get from the smaller cities to the larger hubs could come to an end and a lot of smaller cities could lose their air service.

WHERE'S WISCONSIN?

I thought the University of Wisconsin used to be the biggest party school in the country but I don't even see it in the top 10 this year.  West Virginia University came in #1 followed by the University of Iowa??  Iowa's a better party place than Wisconsin??  Hard to believe!

ANOTHER NICE DAY IN LA CROSSE

Looking west over La Crosse

YOU CAN GET A BETTER SEAT WITH A SEASON TICKET

The new seating sections at Lambeau Field have chair backs and cup holders.  You can upgrade from the old benches with a season ticket.

NEW RESTAURANT IN LA CROSSE

The Jade Cafe opened Monday on West Avenue.

A GOOD IDEA

Eva Restaurant in Los Angeles will give you a 5% discount if you leave your cellphone with the host when you enter.  Around 50% of the guests are doing it.

TAP WATER WEEK STARTS TODAY

I keep telling you not to pay those ridiculously high prices for bottled water that the big companies get out of a tap just like the one you have in your home.  But, nobody ever listens to me.  Even though there have been a million articles written about the fact that there is nothing "special" about bottled water, other than the fact that you've been you've been swindled out of your money again, people keep buying it.  That shows you the power of advertising...or shall we say "brain washing"....with bottled water, of course.

BIRTHDAY GREETINGS

Kenny Rogers turns 74 today.  Kenny was born in a town I used to call home, Houston, Texas.  Kenny has had so many hits, it's hard to pick a favorite.  But, if I had to it would be "Islands in the Stream" which he recorded with Dolly Parton in 1983.  The song, by the way, was written by the Bee Gee's.

Jackie De Shannon also has a birthday today.  She was born in Hazel, Kentucky 68 years ago today.  She has, also, had a good string of hits.  My two favorites are "What the World Needs Now is Love" and "Put a little Love in your Heart".  Jackie, for a time, dated another singer you might have heard of....Elvis Presley.

HOW MANY SENIOR CITIZENS DAYS ARE THERE?

I looked at the calendar and it said, "Senior Citizens Day".  I said to myself, "Didn't we just have a Senior Citizens Day"?

I started to do some checking and discovered there are all kinds of different days that are listed as Senior Citizens day.  After doing some more checking, I came to the conclusion that this is the most official Senior Citizens Day there is so we'll celebrate again.  Besides, I'm a senior citizen and every day is Senior Citizens Day.  I can't say I'm all that excited about it but that's the way it is.

Would I rather be 20 again?  Hell, no!  Going through all that crap once is enough.

HOW HIGH'S THE WATER, MAMA?

40 north bound vessels are treading water in Mississippi with the water level too low to continue up river.  That's gotta be costing a ton of money.

FORGET YOUR TROUBLES...COME ON....GET HAPPY!

Donnie says, "An Allianz Life Insurance study of people aged 44 through 75 found that 61% feared going broke more than they feared death itself."

The only thing I fear is losing the rest of my hair.

YOUR DINNER IS SERVED

Thunder got a new set of dishes today.  He, normally, doesn' t like change but he seemed to take this one in stride.  He licked the platter clean.

SURPRISE PHONE CALL

Aunt Wilda called this afternoon and I was happy to hear she's doing quite well these days.  She's looking forward to having Derick and Jennifer who are going to be spending a weekend with her.

She also said that Anne called and she may come this way soon.  She's coming alone.  A trip like that is too much for Morgan anymore.

She had also talked to Uncle Bob and he was sounding good.

It's nice to get a phone call without hearing that someone is sick!  I guess that's the way it works when we get old.  Most of the calls you get are about someones latest health crisis.

DOLLS

Have you seen the new Barbie Doll?  Wow!  Wonder what Ken thinks about that?

GOLF

Hey, Golfers, did you see that Augusta National Golf Club has admitted two women???  First time ever!

MONEY

Did you see that APPLE is now the MOST VALUABLE PUBLIC COMPANY IN HISTORY??  The stock, mulitplied by shares hit $623 BILLION TODAY.  Why didn't I buy just one stock, one lousy stock, when they went public?  I'm not sure if I should add that to my "should have done" list or my "too late now" list.

FUNNY

MY KIND OF

WATER COOLER



CATS

This guy has been talkin' to Thunder.

FUNNY QUOTES

Lawrence Welk could be funny, even though he didn't mean to be.  Here's a quote from the champagne music man.  "There are good days and there are bad days, and this is one of them."

A-one and a-two........

TRIVIA

The average price for a hotel room in Moscow is $405.56 a night.  That's the most you'll pay for a hotel room anywhere in the world.  Did you really want to see Moscow that bad?

WEATHER

Boy!  This is a great time of year.  Not, really, summer anymore, not yet fall.  This is the "in-between" season with the kind of weather Goldilocks would call "just right".

We will have sunny skies all week with temperatures in the upper 70's and low 80's. Today's high will be near 74, with tomorrow's high closer to 78. If you've got things to do, outside, before winter hits, this would be the week to do it.

ART

You've got to see this.  The man's name is Pedro Campos and when you first see his work you'll say, "This guy is a good photographer".  But, these aren't photographs.  These are oil paintings on canvas!  See them here at MAIL ON LINE from the website STUMBLE UPON.

HOLIDAY

RADIO DAY

I wonder what

my life would

have been like

without radio?

QUOTE

It was Jonathan Winters who said it but it fits my life so I'll take it for my own.  "I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it."

FOG

Fog along the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers, again, tonight and tomorrow morning and Tuesday night into Wednesday.  It's that time of year again.

BLOG

HOPE YOU

LIKE THE

NEW LOOK!

MARS

Did you see this picture of a mountain on Mars?

DEATH

So sorry to hear of the death of Scott McKenzie.  If you don't remember the name, you'll remember his song from 1967  "If you're goin' to San Francisco be sure to wear some flowers in your hair."

Scott was 73.

RIVER

A quiet spot on the river.

From Willard:
"Debra Paget lived in Houston with her Chinese husband.  She was a customer at a pet shop owned by a friend of mine."

KISS A LOT

LOVE ALL OF NATURE



BIRTHDAY

Remember Debra Paget?  She's celebrating her 79th birthday today.  She was born in Denver and is, probably, best known for her movie roles in "The Ten Commandments", which played, here, at the Hollywood Theater and in Elvis Presley's first motion picture, "Love Me Tender" which played the Rivoli.

In 1964 she married Louis C. Kung, a Chinese American, who was an oil executive and a nephew of Madam Chiang Kai-Shek.

DUMB

It's hard to read any news without running across someone making stupid statements.  I wasn't up an hour before I found one this morning.

The lawyers that took on the cigarette companies and got millions of dollars out of them are now taking on the food manufacturers for fooling the public by mislabeling their products.

You'd have to be brain dead not to know that the big food corporations exaggerate their claims, beyond belief, to sell their junk food to the public.  Unfortunately, if you've spent any time, at all, working with the public you know that the world is, actually, jam-packed full of brain dead (and, oh, so gullible) folks.

So, I had to laugh when I read a statement by  an industry lawyer for the food companies.  She says, it's hard to take, seriously, a claim that a consumer was deceived into believing that a chocolate hazelnut bread spread was healthy for children.

It doesn't take much time working with the public to know that you can find hair brains that dumb, any day of the week, that will believe anything they read in a newspaper or magazine or hear on radio or see on television or read on the back of a colorful carton of crap.