Still More Odds and Ends

It's Monday, I'm not quite awake yet, and I'm still feeling full and happy from the excellent dinner Agnes and I had last evening courtesy of our friend Nadja ...

This was a wonderful Alsatian dish - four types of fish served with sauerkraut, potatoes, and beurre blanc sauce, washed down with a superb Riesling wine. I needed a wheelbarrow to take me back to the car. Having friends who are beautiful and can both cook and dance is a great thing.

Now that you're jealous, on to a few random observations to start off the week ...

Historical note: it was on this date in 1929 - a day since known as "Black Thursday," that the US Stock Market crashed, marking the beginning of what we now call the Great Depression. Around 13 million stocks were sold off in one day, and by the following Tuesday the market had lost almost 26 billion dollars of value. Banks failed, individual investors lost their savings, jobs vanished, and the country entered a period of social and economic misery that lasted until the greater misery of World War II. Many of the safeguards that were designed to regulate the stock market and keep the economy in check were instituted as a result of the crash of 1929 and its aftermath ... today, of course, there are those who argue that those regulations are a stranglehold on legitimate economic activity and should be lifted. I'm sure that would work out well ...

Did you watch the first episode of Once Upon a Time last night? It looks like it's going to be a great show. Just what I needed ... another must-watch show that will soak up my limited evening time. Sigh.

The population of the world is estimated to reach and pass seven billion sometime this month. This means that if you are one in a million, there are at least 7 million people out there who are exactly like you. Comforting thought, isn't it?

Okay, that's enough for now. I promise that I'll be back to the usual hysterical ranting tomorrow. For now, it's time to get ready to go back to the Enchanted Forest (otherwise known as Disneyland-on-the-Potomac) and spend another day working toward the happy ending that may or may not be economically feasible any more.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo