'Tis The Seasoning

Cooking Can Be a Crock

Mmmmmm-mmmmm Good: Only five days left for all of you folks who think saying "Happy Holidays" is somehow blasphemous. Talk about being sensitive. But regardless of your race, creed, or national origin, this is the time of year when aromas wafting through the air are of things sweet with sugar and spice. So let's do a little varying from our normal poking of fun and discuss meaningful stuff - like chocolate, cookies, appetizers, chocolate, breakfast, brunch, lunch, chocolate, dinner, chocolate, and the like.

Start your day with some of the favorite Christmas ornaments: meat balls, cheese balls, or pastry puffs. Be sure to complement the appetizers with a good portion of eggnog, cider or champagne while you still have room in your holiday tummy. We'll pick one... The problem with living in America is when it comes to food there are too many choices, and the more you move up the socio-economic ladder the more that become available. Maybe the good old days were so good because they were so much simpler. I guess my word of the season is, be a stocking stuffer, not a tummy stuffer.

You Betcha: Are we becoming a nation of wagerers? Or do we simply want the freedom to choose to do what we as adults want to do? Let's take internet gambling. The industry itself is pretty unregulated. So the feds placed a ban on it. A bill went before congress to repeal the ban. Attorneys General from 43 states have come out against the rollback of the ban. Five will get you ten that regardless of the outcome, somebody will make money on the outcome.

That's no jelly, it's a jam: Air traffic in many parts of the country has emulated the LA Freeways especially during the holidays. Mix in a dash of splash (rain) or a sprinkle of powder (snow) and the air traffic system comes tumbling down. LA freeways have meters on the on ramps to control traffic during rush hour and the air traffickers from the right coast have decided to emulate them. The sky will not be the limit at JFK, La Guardia, or Newark during holiday rush hours. After all, paths must remain clear for the fat man with a white beard and a red suit.

Plazas popping up all over: Speaking of Old York's newer relative, if it is unable to spread its cheer aboard as many planes as it would like it can still export lots of other items of recognition. The famed Plaza hotel is said to be planning a building spree around the country starting with the glitter and glamor of Las Vegas. The $ 5 billion Plaza project, of course, would boast the largest Strip casino and sit on the property of the Last Frontier, where a fledgling performer by the name of Ronald Reagan once entertained.

Kiss and make up: Finally, three internet giants have settled a federal charge that they permitted wagering ads on their respective platforms. Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google chipped in an ante of $ 31.5 million to stop the federal blackjack from conking them on the head. Of course, to listen to the giants response, none of them did anything wrong and they all voluntarily stopped doing whatever wasn't wrong.

A little blogging music to get us out of this olio, maestro... How about "Ain't Nothin' Like The Real Thing."

Dr. Forgot