A post Passover/Easter greeting to all of you. I seem to be writing with slightly more frequency. Will it continue? Time will tell but I am guessing – yes! I must start by saying that the plethora of bad news is brutal on the psyche. There is no escaping the economic news that is top of minds and newspapers. Crime seems to be up or at least it feels that way. We are getting “fee-ed” to death because local state and city governments budgets are out of balance. North Korea is restarting their nuclear arms plant. Somali Pirates have taken over the North African seas. It all makes a news lover and follower want to never pick up the paper or tune into CNN. When I am uniformed, I feel empty. News constantly fills my brain and perhaps it is the root of my sleep problems.  So today here at Aye Wonder, there will be nothing but good news and entertaining thoughts. Your regularly scheduled, miserable post will be back next week. Same Bat time. Same Bat channel.

☞ I want to start by putting you all in a good mood. I always say that British advertisements are the best. They always are chockablock with humour. In the UK, it seems you can’t sell anything unless it is funny. This ad from Wilkinson Sword takes the cake. It is filled with hillarious sexual innuendo and double-entendres. Sounds like a good start, n’est pas?

☞Mark Fidrych died yesterday. He was a baseball player that played at the major league level for a brief but memorable period in the 70s before suffering a career-ending injury. There is nothing happy about Mark Fidrych’s death but I will tell you this: anyone who ever saw him pitch will tell you that not only was his craft superior, he approached the game like he was 8 years old. He talked to the baseball, he groomed the pitcher’s mound on his hand and knees and he ran out to his teammates when they made great plays. His curly hair stuck out of his hat like the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. You couldn’t wait to see him pitch again. When the newsreel comes on this weekend, watch Big Bird as he was called. It will make you feel young, happy and sad. RIP Mark Fidrych.

☞I have always wanted to go to Cuba. I hear that the food is wonderful, the music invigorating and the culture a throwback to the 50-60s. Yesterday, President Obama made a long overdue policy change that will relax travel restrictions to Cuba. I won’t be the first person in line but I cannot wait to visit. We debated going once while we were in Turks & Caicos but thought the better of messing with the State Department. Cuba will change with a tourism influx so make your plans if you ever wanted to go.

☞I like to share some of the music that I listen to with you. Usually, it is new music but sometimes I like sharing things you haven’t heard in awhile but are likely to be familiar with. Today, you get both! I was listening to an old soundtrack from the 80’s and was reminded what a magnificent frontman and writer Joe Strummer was. This track from the movie Sid & Nancy is called the Dum Dum Club. It got some limited play when it came out but it definitely stands the test of time. See if you agree. The second song is called Easy Beat by Dr. Dog. Dr. Dog is a Philly outfit that immediately sounds familiar but at the same time brand spanking new. Their vocal harmonies are easily reminiscent of the Beatles or the Beach Boys. Easy Beat starts off with a Dick Dale Misirlou surf riff that immediately makes you think that you know the song. You don’t of course, as it goes careening on a different path. I like this band a lot. Check them out.

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☞Guess what? It’s getting close to lunchtime and I am thinking about sandwiches again. Not that I am going to have one, mind you. But since I fancy myself a sandwich artisan, I wonder how you think this sounds? We had a pork roast for dinner on Sunday and I got to thinking about a great sandwich I had ages ago with pulled pork and eggplant. It really is delicious. But what could be better? How about this: pulled pork and melted Fontina cheese with a slight drizzle of maple syrup on a richly cut sourdough bread? Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Thank you very much.

☞I think it is highly likely that Eliot Spitzer will run again for public office, perhaps even the New York Attorney General job. Spitzer, by no means above the law, seems like too good a public servant to call it a day. I really believe that the same people he was investigating are the ones that dropped a dime on his prostitution issues. I hope New Yorkers can forgive (no one ever forgets). David Patterson is a good example of inept public servitude. Spitzer looks like the second coming by comparison.

☞Can you see how difficult it is to come up with good news? I mean, I don’t want to resort to talking about Bo, the new Obama dog.

☞Good News: The Yankees have started the season with 3 wins and 4 losses. Bad News: The Red Sox are 2-5. Are the Sox auditioning for a part on Life on Mars?

☞Now, this is truly great news for us males over 50: a drug, that at the moment goes by the unmarketable name of MDV3100, could halt prostrate cancer if taken daily. It could be ready in as little as 3 years. This is a major breakthrough in the fight against cancer. Lets hope this is the real deal. Read the story here.

☞As I wrap up today’s Aye Wonder, I remember that I failed to give you last week’s quote of the week. I will not forget today. This week I have an old Welsh proverb for you that while the language is dated, the sentiment is not. Just remember this, the press views good news as no news at all. Hang in there.

Bad news goes about in clogs, Good news in stockinged feet.

Aye Wonder what good news today will bring.

And I hope you’re wondering right along with me.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Time for an AWT Good News Edition
• A New Decade AWT – I Feel Better Already
• AWT is on the Record
• The Decade in Review – The AWT version
• An Old Year’s AWT. The New Decade on its Way.