NO FOO FOO UMBRELLA DRINKS FOR ME

Big decisions have been made in advance of our trip to Cuba. I will only drink Cuban rum on the rocks--no mojitos or pina coladas for me. And I have decided (after much intra-family discussions and voting) that I will smoke one big fat hand rolled Cuban cigar. Probably on the last day we are there. I continue to be very hesitant about the last sentence given that scare I had some years ago which put my cigar smoking on the permanent sidelines of my life. But I have to believe I can handle one Cuban cigar. No more input please. We are both really really excited about the trip and already believe 8 days may not be enough. But it is better than nada (that's me practicing Spanish)and Fidel is still alive--perhaps I will bump into him and we can discuss why we each gave up cigars. Fascinating and as important as all the socio-political stuff.

And so, the Mitter won Iowa and NH. Now the other boys (Michelle has gone bye bye) are really after him. Honest to god, when you see them lined up for their debates, you need sunglasses so that the glare from their red ties does not blind you.
What will Ron Paul end up with except perhaps some language in their platform which no one except policy wonks really care about? I would love it if he took the Mitter on and actually won but I think not. The decision is in on Mr. Santorum. He is a nasty person with nasty ideas and deserves his place on the cusp of drop-out-ville.
Meanwhile, it is worth remembering that Romney got no more or less votes in either state than 4 years ago. And, equally important to the Republicans, the 2nd and 3rd finishers in each state had the same total when combined as Romney. That does not bode well for him.

Speaking of Iowa, my circulation has increased yet again. John has joined us and represents the most western outpost of readership even if it is just Michigan. Welcome, John.

Unemployment continues to drop ever so slowly. But say the drop is just 1/4% a month, Mr. Barack could be looking at percentages in the mid 6's by election time which would be a big break. Have not heard from or seen Mr. Boehner (he of the perpetual tan) or Mr. Cantor (he who is a member of my tribe) in awhile. But I have seen a lot of Jon Stewart who has been terrific with this primary shit. I remain convinced his staff must be the best group of researchers and writers on the planet. The behind the scenes folks just come up with fact after fact after fact about all public figures. Two nights ago, he skewered Gingrich using Gingrich's own words. Oh my.

So the voters here in the Bay State, being THE MOST ENLIGHTENED IN THE COUNTRY AND THE MOST LIBERAL, decided a couple of years ago to ban greyhound racing. I actually could not care less since I hated betting on those fleet animals--a fly on their butt and they fell over. Anyhow, no greyhound racing. But there were a bunch of greyhounds requiring homes and they were adopted--apparently by every other household in JP. Lovely sight, these beasts freezing their asses off while they are walked around the pond. But ahhh--each has his own blanky. My questions is if racing is so bad, how about cold and why do all of them have hand sewn blankies. Maybe their owners go to that knitting store on Centre street and have a group sew which allows for dog blanky discussions.

FYI--Read the Patti Smith book about her relationship with Mapplethorpe. It was ok but not great. I found it most interesting how she ended up in the circles of so many important 60's cultural and musical figures--among them Hendrix, Dylan, Warhol, Ginsberg. It goes on and on. Amazing.

SPORTS TALK

Michigan finally won a bowl game thanks to the largess of Virginia Tech. Their BB team is not bad either. Dennard Robinson still is erratic but hey: GO BLUE.

I still think James Harrison should be in jail for his hit on Colt McCoy. How is it that local policia (there I go again with Spanish) frequently want to charge hockey players with assault but it never happens in pro football. His hit, in a losing effort at Denver, on their wide receiver was cheap but not the same as his head butting. And by the way, Pittsburgh really blew the coverage on the TD in overtime. Nobody was home back there.

The Celtics continue to look old and the media up here think Garnet looks the worse. I'm not sure how this will play out but is is not pretty.

Tebow sucks and Tebow mania makes me sick. He should just shut up and his maniac followers should get a life. He could also make me throw up should his team upset the Pats. Lets be honest here--the religious thing going on around him is kind of like the Tea Party/Santorum crowd on steroids.

That's it.
Hasta La Vista.