First they came for James Comey. Next for Letitia James. You’d have to be a moron not to see they are coming after everyone with James in their name. Etta James, James Earl Jones, James Earl Ray, LeBron James, Sweet Baby James, James Baldwin, James Dean, James Mason, Bill James, Elmore James, James Garner, James Taylor, Jesse James, five Presidents, for sure: Madison, Monroe, Polk, Buchanan, Garfield. And the Jimmies! — they’re all Jameses too! — Jimmy Kimmel (yikes!), Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Carter, Jimmy Stewart, Jimmy John’s sandwiches. Nobody and nothing is safe!!
I ask you, readers – why is this man being targeted?
Did you know that James Taylor has a son named Rufus? That’s him, below, bearded, with JT, his twin brother Harry, and his mom Caroline. Caroline and James have been married for 24 years. It was eleven with Carly Simon before that, and ten with actress Kathryn Walker before that. JT had children Sally and Ben with Carly. Happy Birthday, Whomever! Nice shot, Phil.
I noted yesterday that my note on Rex’s blog (that placing Dolly Parton in the puzzle along with NO BRA DAY sent me running for my heart pills), led Anony Mouse to call me out by posting: “So unnecessary. And juvenile. And offensive.” I get that from time to time, especially when I post a joke or comment that is juvenile and offensive. So it doesn’t bother me (much).
But get this – later in the day, another Anony Mouse came to my defense with the following: “No, no it’s not. Please stop being offended by everything. Please.”
How nice is that? Must be some other drooling old timer who likes big boobs. Thanks, Mate!
At 26A today, the clue was ‘Someone who spends a lot of time baking?,” and the answer was BEACH BUM. (Get it? “Baking” in the sun.) So I shared this (true) story on Rex’s blog:
“The first baseball game my oldest granddaughter ever attended was in Traverse City, MI. The team was called the Traverse City BEACH BUMs back then. There was a triple play – men on first and second, hot grounder to third, step on third, fire to second, then to first. The team later changed its name to the ‘Pit Spitters’ in recognition of the region’s large cherry growing industry, and it’s in a college summer league now.
“We were up in Traverse City visiting my son Sam who was working at his first job — I’ll never forget his saying the five most beautiful words a parent can hear: ‘Dad, I got a job!’ It was a beautiful area and I was a little sad when he left for a better position near Detroit. The Traverse City firm commissioned an analysis of its operations shortly after Sam started there, and it concluded that employee morale was low. The first step they took was to cancel the Christmas party, figuring ‘What’s the point?’ It took him a few minutes to convince me he wasn’t kidding.”
Oy, we better put the whole city of Philadelphia on suicide watch. It was a night of historic lows for the Phillies and Eagles. The 4-1 Eagles flopped badly losing to the 1-4 Jints in Jersey 34-17. The Eags looked like a shadow of their Super Bowl-winning selves. But even worse was the Phil’s season-ending loss to the Dodgers on a dreadful play on a grounder back to the mound in the eleventh inning. The bases were loaded with two outs. Pitcher Kerkering bobbled the ball briefly but still had a easy out at first. Instead, he panicked and threw home wildly — game and (season) over. As LA whooped and hollered (deservedly so), the Phils gathered around their poor pitcher in consolation. The first video, below, shows what happened. The second (just ten seconds long) is a study in contrasts — the Dodgers celebrating as Kerkering settles into despair.
A loss has many fathers, though. Kerkering should not be too hard on himself. Luzardo could have not walked Betts to tie it up in the first place. And Trea Turner and so many other Phils could have gotten hits when it mattered. LA was held to one stinking run — you couldn’t beat them in nine, guys?
At 38D, for the clever clue “Part of a film studio’s overhead?,” the answer was BOOM MIC.
Romance novelist Nora Roberts turned 75 today, kinehora. She said: romance novels “are a celebration of relations, finding love, overcoming obstacles, and making commitments. I think that is something very worthy of respect. They’re not just about naked pirates, although what’s wrong with a naked pirate now and again?”
At 34D, “One of a kind individual” is a RARE BIRD. You’ll find one in this one-minute song by WIRE.
Nick Renouf, of the Dull Men’s Club (UK) tells us: I lost one of my screwdrivers this week. Distraught, I purchased a replacement within 24 hours; one with a longer shaft (stop sniggering at the back) was 15p cheaper than another which was shorter, so that was rather good. The question is, when will my missing screwdriver mysteriously reappear?
Gareth Dunley: When is a difficult question, but you can be certain that you will find it somewhere that you have never taken it, and probably a location with no accessible screws at all. In fact, it will most likely be somewhere you have never previously been. You may also find 15p in loose change along with it.
Rick Bedford: And yea, it was decreed that upon the third day it shall be seen, there upon the bench, behind the holy pot of wd-40 just where you left it. And it was good. And the people did rejoice.
John Stockton: If you want to see ‘screwy’ again leave £25 in unmarked coins in a brown bag behind the third toilet along at…. Oh darn it! You can see my email address…. Just forget about him. He can have a new life here with me.
Avi Liveson: It should have shown up as soon as you bought the replacement. The universe must be broken. Maybe you can fix it with your new screwdriver.
Avi Liveson again: Wait. Is this it?
See you tomorrow! Thanks for popping in.
The Wellington Files 