What In The World

Here is my take on some "news making" stories today.

The future queen of Sweden announced her engagement yesterday. Her fiance is...a gym owner. Not exactly what I would expect for a future queen but it just goes to show you that princes are hard to come by. She has been dating him for like seven years and he's been living with the royal family for a while now. (So much for the storybook virgin princess thing, huh?) Hey, the monarchy ain't what it used to be. And there is nothing like a royal wedding to boost the economy. I like Sweden, the home of Ikea, H&M, Volvo, those delicious little meatballs and yummy pancakes. And apparently they aren't so snooty that their crown princess can't marry a gym owner. (I don't think owning a gym is a bad thing, it just brings some funny visuals to my mind of a dainty queen and some sweaty muscle guy in one of those funky 'armholes-too-long-pink-wifebeater' type gym shirt and black bicycle shorts. It would make a great sitcom.) Anyway, congratulations to the happy couple. And if you need wedding planning assistance, I'm getting really good at it.

Okay, I am not one to make generalizations or encourage racial stereotypes. But this story made me laugh. A woman in South Korea has failed the drivers license exam 775 times. Boy, the jokes you could make about female or Asian drivers. Apparently it is her dream to get her license so she can buy a catering truck or something. She has spent more than $6,800 just taking the test over and over again. She refuses to give up. I admire that kind of dedication, but seriously, at what point do you say, 'hey, maybe I'm just not meant to pass this test'? Now we are talking about the written portion here. I'm thinking that by the time you have taken the test say, four or five HUNDRED times, you should have it memorized. Then you go home, look up all the answers, memorize them, then go back and re-take it, and voila, you pass. Maybe the test is really, really hard and I'm not giving her enough credit. But seriously, 775 times? Maybe she could just buy the truck and have someone drive it for her?

It's Fat Tuesday! (Yes, they named a holiday after me.) It's the day before Lent begins. Traditionally you eat pancakes (to use up all the foods that you are giving up for Lent) which is why IHOP is giving away free pancakes today. It's also the last day of Mardi Gras in New Orleans where revelers drink, party on Bourbon street and women flash their breasts to obtain plastic beads worth about two cents. I'm not exactly sure how you tell Mardi Gras from any other day in New Orleans, except maybe on a regular day there aren't parades. (I used to think that New Orleans was exactly like the French Quarter area of Disneyland, which is clean and safe and contains no strip clubs. Then I went to New Orleans and boy was I shocked.) Since I love the cuisine of the Big Easy, I'm making Jambalaya for dinner tonight. I actually planned it for before I realized it was Fat Tuesday but now it's even more appropriate. Oh, and I don't give up anything for Lent since I'm not religious. But I applaud and admire those of you that do.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the economy is suffering a 'severe contraction'. Really Ben? 'Cuz from where I'm sitting it looks like a full fledged epileptic seizure. But what do I know? I don't have advanced degrees in Economics. But I could see that there was going to be a housing crisis. I knew people whose credit ratings were in the low double digits, who were buying half million dollar homes with interest only mortgages. Hmm, potential problem maybe? It was a house of cards fueled by greed and it had to fall down eventually. So yes, when it all came crashing, it brought us to this 'severe contraction'. But hey, I sit here in a good position. I'm already unemployed and I pulled my money out of the stock market and into a nice federally insured account just in the nick of time. Tonight the President will give his state of the union address. I don't envy him, it's hard to pretty up "we're in a world of s**t right now". He's going to offer details of his plan for economic recovery (gosh, I hope it doesn't involve everyone collecting cans and bottles to sell to recycling centers, that was my vacation, er, stay-cation, fund plan.) But we are Americans and we always have hope. That's what is going to eventually get us through. But until that happens, I think I might give up something for Lent after all...watching the economic news.

I'll stay on the lookout for more stories to keep you in touch, informed and um, er (the only other 'in' that is springing to mind right now is incontinent but that's just not right). Stay smart, Loyal Readers!