Ponderances, Perplexions, Puzzlements...

Here are a few things percolating around my brain these days.

• Remember the old hit song about the guy who's calling long distance information in Memphis, TN to try and find the number for his little girl, Marie?
  
  How dumb was his uncle to write the message on the wall, anyway?
  
  
• Whose bright idea was it to remake "A Year Without a Santa Claus" as a live action movie? Amen, sister. I refuse to watch the Grinch or Cat in the Hat live actions as well as one of her commenters does.
  
  
• I went to the mall Saturday afternoon around lunch for over an hour. Probably one of the worst times of the whole season to go to the mall, right? Wrong. People were friendly, it was crowded but not too much. Traffic was heavy but not too bad. I was able to park close enough to not have to hike. Sales clerks were helpful and friendly - not just to me but to other customers, cause I made it a point to watch. No pushing, shoving, raised voices, bad feelings. Where in the world do people actually find these rude holiday shoppers and workers I keep reading about?
  
  I think you bring into situations what you yourself possess, and expect to find. I'm typically a pretty friendly person and I expect to find friendly, good-hearted people. And that's who I find.
  
  
• Why is David Cutcliffe's name not being mentioned in connection with the Alabama coaching vacancy? Should I mention Alabama grad David Cutcliffe? Should this fact in itself give me cause to worry?
  
  
• Isn't the fact that we might be able to put a moonbase on the moon sufficient reason? Does everything have to have a zero sum cost-benefit analysis? Can't we just do cool stuff for the hell of it? I mean, we found 71 trillion dollars to fight the war in Iraq and didn't take a hit, we can scrape up a couple billion and go to the moon to stay, right?
  
  Oh, and...take me with you?
  
  
• Why are anti-global warming pundits always so fired up to repute the facts of global warming, as they understand them? Regardless of whether our coal-fired emissions and auto exhaust and everything else causes holes in the ozone layer and is raising the temperature of the earth or not, isn't it still, like, a good idea to reduce that pollution if we can? So c'mon, lay off it the resistance - even if it's not necessarily going to affect global temperature or whatever, it's still a good thing.
  
  
• Why do semi trucks continue to get free passes to pull out traffic and pull into truck stops around Lovell Road, while blocking cars all over the place? I'm just waiting to get behind a slow-moving semi getting on the interstate and suddenly realize the light's turned red while I'm still in the intersection - and then get zapped by the traffic camera. Not to mention the way they always line up and pull right into your path to go wherever they want to go.
  
  
• (checking the political news) What...we still have functioning political parties in America? C'mon, give it up already!!
  
  
• Why does December 30, 2006 loom ever closer and closer like a big black hole on the horizon, threatening to devour me and suck the ever-loving life out of what's left of my quaking, dessicated limbs?!?!?!?!?
  
  GUESS.