Catching up on the overnight mailbag, and I do see we finally have a WINNER on last week's quiz!!
Yes indeed, you are correct buoldtimer (and BTW my condolences to you and my many BU friends for the plague that's descended upon your school's reputation, due to the rise of recent BU alum AOC). Here is a recap, for those of you keeping score at home:
As of a (Friday), 60.8% of all deaths in 5 locations:
NYC: Mayor Bill DeBlasio (bonus points NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo)
New Jersey: Gov. Phil Murphy ((bonus points Newark Mayor Ras Baraka)
Michigan: Gov. Kay Whitmer/ (bonus points Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan)
Louisiana: Gov. John Bel Edwards (bonus points New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell)
Washington: Gov. Jay Inslee (bonus points Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan)
As our winner, buoldtimer will be receiving a free year's subscription to the now-infamous
Effingwoods Hockey Almanac, and an invitation to our upcoming podcast (more on that just a little later), plus a guided tour of the WIS Estate in the bucolic hamlet of Effingwoods NH - The Way Life Should Be.
… but into every day, I suppose a little rain must fall. And this morning, from the wrong side of the border, we have long-time USCHO poster rufus who comes out with this little "how do you do" ...
As the "Church Lady" would be known to say in moments like these back in the day … "Well, isn't that special?!?"
Guys like acs64, walrus and rufus have been almost like extended USCHO family, and I'm pretty sure one of them probably posted the phrase that initially led to the adoption of my "WIS" moniker. Sure, we've had back-and-forths about asterisks ( * ) and chokes, with a little retroactive financial aid on the side from time to time … but I always felt it was a fun thing, and I've met more than a few (including wally - not sure about acs64 or rufus, apologies if I've forgotten?) during treks to the Downeast. It's clear we all have different views of the world, but no one ever let it get in the way of rambunctious fun on the USCHO boards...
… until last night anyway, rufus had to be the a-hole who peed in the punchbowl, apparently threatened that someone might have the gall to disagree with his view of life. See, this is what identity politics does to you, boys and girls. And I was about to say "You get one old white guy calling another old white guy a racist" … and then it occurred to me - I never for a second gave thought to "What color/race is rufus?" Because I never cared. Technically, the percentage of folks I "know" on these boards that I've never met in person is pretty high, so I don't know those answers, either. And I don't care, frankly. But it seems like we've veered from the following quote, and NOT in a good way:
I have a dream that my children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
That's hardly the only great quote that Dems used to believe in, but no longer behave like they do. We'll revisit additional ones as circumstances dictate. In the meantime rufus … blow it our your a%$#.
On a lighter note, this one comes from Darius, who also took the identity politics route, but in a more entertaining direction ...
<s>We all</s> I got a good laugh out of that one, Darius - well done!!
Finally … as seemingly promised weeks ago, but actually only since the end of last week … in times like these, sometimes you look for guidance from unusual places to try to gain insight into the events of the day, and how it will impact the world. My personal go-to-guy in such circumstances is none other than
Nostradamus, whose spirit has been a frequent visitor to the WIS Estate over the years. Mike (as friends call him) allowed me to share his visions for 2020 via the following link:
https://wisehoroscope.org/nostradamus-2020/
Highlights, presented in a non-partisan way (FWIW, Mike is as middle-of-the-road as you get):
(1) Big War in the Middle East (still in play, as seemingly always);
(2) Economic Crisis in 2020 (Mike's reasoning is off, but bottom line is nailed);
(3) President Trump will Win Again (his words - not mine);
(4) Prophesy of a Plague (you see, this is why Nostradamus is Nostradamus);
(5) Wildfires on a Staggering Scale (Australia? Mike nails another one);
(6) A Great Empire Will Fall (British leaving the EU via Brexit?);
(7) England Will Have a New King (probably like the Middle East War thing - still in play);
(8) Record Number of Storms (still early - no data - one for the climate cultists);
(9) Sea Level Rise (another for the climate folks - see, he's pretty objective, no?); and
(10) Destructive Earthquakes (always in play, especially along the Pacific Rim "Ring of Fire")
Lots to chew on there. And before you folks scamper off to make sure you've got QE2 listed in your "death pool" (ditto Prince <s>COVID-19</s> Charles), please note that I'll be inviting Nostradamus to the first-ever
Effingwoods Hockey Almanac podcast live from the WIS Estate sometime in April, and chew over his amazing posthumous ability to write vague quatrains for modern day folks to interpret in highly flattering ways. I'll be asking Mike to weigh in on other lighter issues, including what we can expect from the Hockey East 2020/2021 season. Enjoy, and be back later!!
