lookin

Of course, it's always nice when someone likes his job so much that he can't think of anything to gripe about. Most folks I've met, though, usually have one or two suggestions for things they'd like to see improved.

Sure, for two hundred bucks I'll put a hot dog in it!

Funny stuff! Thanks. Was curious how it came to be and here's some background. Apparently, the process begins with the President's own speechwriters, in particular a chap from your alma mater named David Litt. President Barack Obama meets with Cody Keenan, right, Director of Speechwriting, and Presidential Speechwriter David Litt in the Oval Office, April 30, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Very nice summary, Suckrates. I missed the interview but now feel I haven't. Thanks.

Try this. If that doesn't work, try this. Or this. Or maybe this.

Once again, I think you've given me credit where none is due. I liked the lines when I read them, and knew nothing about the man who wrote them. Now, freshly informed, I'll stick with him as a parfait example of your many fine qualities. Walpole apparently intended the 'inspired idiot' soubriquet to reflect Goldsmith's exemplary literary work as well as his dissolute lifestyle. I expect your Tales from The Web alone would turn him green with envy. And any residual umbrage you've taken I hope will be returned in a plain brown wrapper as Samuel Johnson wrote Goldsmith's epitaph and called him a man "who left scarcely any style of writing untouched, and touched nothing that he did not adorn. Of all the passions, whether smiles were to move or tears, a powerful yet gentle master. In genius, vivid, versatile, sublime. In style, clear, elevated, elegant." If Oliver Goldsmith were posting here today, I bet I'd have to keep checking avatars to tell you two apart.

And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew That one small head could carry all he knew.

I can take you one at a time, boys!

Sadly, my last foray into Amsterdam's nightlife was back in the days of the now defunct Blue Boy/Why Not? clubs. If you don't get any better tips, here's a list of bars in the gay area. I'd suggest popping in for a pop and asking one of the locals. I've always found the Dutch to be friendly, multilingual, and helpful. Best of luck!

Perhaps a bit more worried than the rest of the world. Yesterday's Gallup poll, Rating World Leaders, gives the nod to the good ol' US of A, as it has for most years of Obama's presidency, with both Clinton and Kerry as Secretaries of State. You'll have to go back to the last year of Bush's presidency to find us scraping bottom in the eyes of the rest of the world. Perhaps you have better info that will show how poorly we're doing but, until you're willing to share it, I'll stick with my own modest optimism.

This one maybe? KiWi WeeWee© (the wonder down under) an OZ release

Make mine a double.

Well, they're not the only ones. I'll match my snooping paranoia with the best of 'em, but even I don't believe you need to be James Clapper to read somebody's tweets. In fact, he may be one of the few people in the world who know how to escape them. And, once you've read one, what do you do about it? It will probably take our twitchy ol' world some time to figure it all out.

Perhaps you could use it as a headrest.

I think the semtex would move it from the gyro category to the arms category, and then his Second Amendment rights would kick in.

Honestly! I wish she and Bush would each just get a note from their respective PAC's saying that they're the nominees and spare us all the next year of aggravation. Of course, the news media would have to find some other way to fill the bandwidth for the next fifteen months. Perhaps something like - oh, what the hell - news.

Well, as sick old dog myself, I find it goes best with a new trick and a nice big bone.

I hate when somebody does that! 'Kiss my ass' can be so vague.

A bad case of fissures plagued Bill So he figured he'd charge for the thrill Folks would travel for miles Just to look at his piles And he watched as the cash filled the till

Saw The Blue Angel on TV a few months ago and was surprised to learn that they shot the German and English versions concurrently. I think it was also Germany's first major sound film. I guess while they had everything in place, it didn't take that much longer to reshoot the scene in English. As long as they kept track of which version they were doing. I'm ready for mein Großaufnahme, Herr Sternberg

Betty's Boundless Buffet®, I'll bet.

Sadly, no, but here's a Photoshop while we're waiting.

And, according to the article, two kitchens! As with all else, she may have kept kosher in style.

I was afraid of that.

Pretty amazing, the fantasies you can create with computer graphics. Things weren't quite as realistic in my day.