2002 
2003
Today's Bulletin Board
Posted Sunday, Jan. 25, 2004
THE BAADER-MEINHOF PHENOMENON? Including: Know thyself!
Gregory J. of Dayton's Bluff: "I think this qualifies as a Baader-Meinhof — but as usual, you are the final judge of all things B-M. [Bulletin Board muses: Our life's ambition, realized!]
"On Wednesday, I was looking through a directory of the Payne-Arcade district that was published in 1951 or 1952. I was checking some of the ads to see which businesses were still in existence today. One of the ads was for the Church Book Store on Payne Avenue. Having lived on the East Side all my life (so far), I've been up and down Payne Avenue many times. I didn't remember ever seeing the Church Book Store, so I didn't even bother to cross-check it in the phone book... or books, as the case may be nowadays.
"Less than two hours later, I was reading the Local News section of our very own SPPP. There was an article in it about three boys arrested for [allegedly] breaking into, you guessed it, the Church Book Store on Payne Avenue. It has apparently moved a few doors down since the 1950s, but the last four digits of its phone number are still the same. I'm guessing that means it has been in business for at least the last 50 years or so. Shows how observant I am."
BULLETIN BOARD RULES: The strictest of strict B-M constructionists might say you've queered the deal by (1) your particular interest in all things East Side, which caused you to pay close attention both to that directory and to the Local News section; and (2) your self-observed failure to be observant all these years during your Payne Avenue travels.
But our standards in the B-M department are loosening with the years. As final judge of all things B-M, we say:A Baader-Meinhof, it is!
THE JOY OF JUXTAPOSITION
Writes Poet X of PDX: "Very seldom do I leave a crossword puzzle unfinished, but last Friday I gave up with three blank squares. One was the first letter, followed by 'P' and 'S'; the clue read 'Location finder, abbr.'
"The TV was already on an all-news channel, and — some 10 minutes after I abandoned the puzzle — the newscaster included mention of the Global Positioning System. Aha!
"While I was aware such a thing existed and had heard of it before, I hadn't realized it had that very specific name. And abbr. So it wasn't a real B-M, perhaps, just a masquerading breeze."
SHIRTS HAPPEN
Booklady: "I am an inveterate pack rat, so it seems fitting that one of my favorite shirts is a bedraggled-looking sweatshirt received as a gift from my sister 13 years ago. I still wear it as a 'grub shirt,' especially when I work with clay.
"The message pleads: 'Save the world — we may need it later!' "
