{"id":7882,"date":"2018-07-19T12:00:07","date_gmt":"2018-07-19T17:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=7882"},"modified":"2018-07-19T11:50:45","modified_gmt":"2018-07-19T16:50:45","slug":"lucky-tiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2018\/07\/19\/lucky-tiles\/","title":{"rendered":"Lucky Tiles"},"content":{"rendered":"

The very first Lake Charles Lucky Tiles Mah Jongg Tournament will take place on Sunday, Sept. 16, at the Lake Charles Bridge Club, 1600 W. McNeese St. Now, this may seem a little early for a \u201cmark your calendar\u201d-type thing. But registration for the event only runs through Aug. 15.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never played Mah Jongg, but I\u2019ve heard it\u2019s pretty tough. I guess that\u2019s why those who register for this tournament are required to have a year of playing experience. This initial tournament probably isn\u2019t a session for getting instructed in the rules. If you have a sufficient amount of experience, email jazztats@hotmail.com to register.<\/p>\n

Organizer Vickie Reynolds says that even though the game is played with tiles, it\u2019s similar to rummy (another game I\u2019ve never played). \u201cIt requires skill, concentration, calculation and plenty of luck … Mah Jongg\u2019s a thinking man\u2019s game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Playing Mah Jongg, says Reynolds, stimulates the brain and helps keep it sharp. One has to be able to concentrate and calculate on his hand while keeping track of what his opponents are throwing in order to determine which hand they\u2019re playing.<\/p>\n

Although folks may not know it today, Mah Jongg was one of the biggest fads in U.S. history. In his enduring history of the 1920s, Only Yesterday, Frederick Lewis Allen writes that in 1923, \u201cthe Mah Jongg craze had become so universal that Chinese makers of sets could no lonter keep up with the demand … The wealthy bought five-hundred-dollar sets; dozens of manufacturers leaped into the business.\u201d It was the crossword puzzle book \u2014 which debuted in 1924 \u2014 that finally got Americans to think about something other than Mah Jongg.<\/p>\n

In the United States of 2018, the game seems to be especially popular among senior females. But the demographic is gradually getting younger and attracting some men.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In SWLA, there are weekly Mah Jongg games at the Bridge Club, the Country Club and the Pioneer Club. In private Lake Area houses, the games are apparently played daily.<\/p>\n

For someone who doesn\u2019t feel up to the tournament, but wants to learn how to play, the contact is Gloria Bello at gbello3@suddenlink.net.<\/p>\n

Smith Gets Another Grammy Shot<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mickey Smith, Jr., the area\u2019s top jazz sax player, just missed winning this year\u2019s Grammy Music Educator Award, finishing second. Turns out he\u2019ll definitely have at least one more shot, as he\u2019s made the quarterfinalists\u2019 list for next year\u2019s Grammy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith was one of 188 quarterfinalists for the 2019 Music Educator Award who were recently announced. Those 188 came from a total of 2,800 who were nominated.<\/p>\n

If Smith wins, he\u2019ll receive cash honorariums, as well as significant support and resources to bolster his music teaching at Maplewood High.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s No. 2 finish this year may inspire some on the Grammy team to think of him as the logical 2019 winner. At any rate, we\u2019ll know the outcome some time in February of next year.<\/p>\n

You Can Trust Me<\/strong><\/p>\n

On June 14, the Daily Advocate ran this headline: \u201cU.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise says he won\u2019t run for governor in 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

OK, now something\u2019s wrong with that. What man in his right mind wouldn\u2019t give up one of the 10 most powerful positions on the face of the earth for the chance to become the leader of the poorest, most unhealthy state in the country?<\/p>\n

Scalise will never find a better opportunity to exercise his creativity and problem-solving ability than as governor of Louisiana. What other individual gets a chance to erase a billion dollars of debt every year? Right now, Scalise is a big dog in a governmental body that can just create more debt any time it has a financial problem. Where\u2019s the challenge in that?<\/p>\n

The object in life is not to wind up on top of the world and stay there. The sporting thing is to go back to square one and claw your way back up to the top again. Just look at George Herbert Walker Bush. He went from Congress to the U.N. to the RNC to the CIA to the vice presidency to the presidency. He might just as well have been climbing the rungs of a ladder. And you see what happened. Ever after, he had to jump out of helicopters in a hopeless effort to recover his long-lost sense of challenge.<\/p>\n

I see what\u2019s going on with this story. Scalise is just having some fun and leading these Daily Advocate people down the garden path. You trust me, don\u2019t you? Believe me when I tell you that Scalise will one day be governor of Louisiana \u2014 just as surely as I will one day be the senior gofer of the Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Ding, Dong, The Lizard\u2019s Dead<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know that, as a rule, my readers wouldn\u2019t tolerate my reporting news that\u2019s more than two years old. I hope they\u2019ll make an exception when they learn that the news \u2014 which comes to us via a blog called Operation Disclosure \u2014 is a \u201cVERY VERY BIG HISTORIC ANNOUNCEMENT!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why didn\u2019t the writer put a comma between the first VERY and the second one? Well, I\u2019m guessing that the fact that the news was so BIG and so HISTORIC made him SO excited he just forgot about silly little stuff like commas.<\/p>\n

So, what was the great big news? One sensible way to get into a story of this magnitude is simply to quote the headlines. Let\u2019s do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cTHE OLD LIZARD BOSS IS FINALLY DEAD!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHUMANS HAVE BROKEN OUT AND HAVE NEW EARTH OVERSEERS!\u201d<\/p>\n

OK, so, the way I read that is that the bad news is we people have new bosses. The good news is that the old boss \u2014 whom we never knew existed but who was very bad nevertheless \u2014 is dead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It turns out \u201cthe intergalactic jurisdiction of Earth\u201d has just now been passed down to \u201cmore peaceful aliens\u201d \u2014 I guess more peaceful than the big old lizard was. But the writer warns us that this new batch of aliens has \u201can unknown agenda.\u201d Well, that\u2019s a little worrisome.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, how did the old lizard boss lose control like that? Well, ya see, that was \u201cdue to the immediate destruction of the previous controlling & Earth-residing reptilian alliance operatives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Earth-residing reptilian alliance operatives! I should have known they were involved with this! But just how were they defeated?<\/p>\n

The writer says only, \u201cHuge battle!\u201d There he goes again \u2014 getting so worked up he completely forgets about his subject and verb. How did \u201chuge battle\u201d go down? Turns out the \u201cCreation Lightship Defense Fleet\u201d teamed up with the \u201cSecret Time-Traveling Earth Sovereign Soldiers\u201d to stop the \u201cattempted mass exit\/escape of reptilian criminals and their families!\u201d Are you following all this?<\/p>\n

So, how did the fleet and the soldiers do? Pretty well, it turns out. They \u201cjust stopped cold\u201d this nefarious lizard escape attempt.<\/p>\n

The battle took place \u201call over Earth\u201d on April 21, 2016. We never knew about it, but then again, we never knew about the great big old lizard king, so that\u2019s no thing.<\/p>\n

Now here are some words that may bring relief to concerned readers: \u201cNo other alien races were involved. No prisoners were taken. Their genetics will not be passed on \u2014 even if they looked human.\u201d In other words, if you don\u2019t take any big reptiles prisoner, it\u2019s impossible for the big reptile DNA to get passed down. Makes sense to me.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s little wonder that the writer states, \u201cIt will take a while for this new situation to filter down to us.\u201d I\u2019d say that\u2019s a bit of an understatement. I bet there are some among us down to whom the information will never filter.<\/p>\n

And the reason? \u201cAll kinds of others with their own agendas will probably come in and want to hide this event or alter the information …\u201d Isn\u2019t that always the way?<\/p>\n

Some of you skeptics out there may be wondering how we can know this really happened. Well, first, we are told, the story was reported on BBS Radio. That\u2019s a talk radio network headquartered in Paradise, Calif. Second, \u201cAmbassador Ron Amitron himself reported it from first hand knowledge.\u201d Note that that\u2019s Ambassador Ron Amitron himself \u2014 not some other Ron Amitron nobody ever heard of.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And who is Ambassador Ron? Oh, nothing much; he\u2019s just the guy who \u201cexperienced conscious communications, guidance, assistance, attunements and\u00a0 <\/span>Divine Intervention from the Lightship.\u201d He observes \u201clife on this planet and report[s his] findings back to the Creation Lightship.\u201d He has \u201cthe ability to instantly bi-locate to the Creation Lightship and communicate with the Divine Light Beings and Ja-ne-na, Commander of The Healing Arts University\u2019s Fleet.\u201d He is now living on planet Earth for the first time in 3,000 years! And here\u2019s the kicker: he\u2019s an MC on BBS Radio!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to know more, Google these terms: Reptilian \u201cMass Exit\u201d Attempt. You\u2019ll get at least two video reports as well as the official \u201cCLS Military Report.\u201d And if you want to read the truly fascinating story of MC Ambassador Ron, you can find it at bbsradio.com. Oh, and just to be safe, you might want to watch out for any really ginormous supersized lizard wearing a crown.<\/p>\n

Answer These Nine Orders<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a box on BuzzFeed News, I saw this message: \u201cAnswer 9 Questions And We\u2019ll Tell You 9 Books To Read.\u201d I almost never click that sort of stuff. But I\u2019m kind of a book guy, so I got a little impulsive and gave it a look.<\/p>\n

The first question wasn\u2019t even a question; it was an imperative: \u201c1. Choose a TV show.\u201d And I was given a choice of four TV shows.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d never heard of one of them. I probably should have stopped at this point. I guess I figured I might be able to recoup with the other eight \u201cquestions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second imperative was: \u201c2. Choose a movie.\u201d This time I\u2019d heard of one of the four choices I was given: the movie Bridesmaids, which is pretty damn funny. I could answer at least one question. I was making progress.<\/p>\n

For the third step, I was told to pick a concert I wanted to see. I had no idea who Carly Rae Jepson or Haim were. I did know the name of Janet Jackson. So, I guessed if I had to choose a concert, I\u2019d pick that one (although I\u2019d really rather just watch a few of the 1980s videos).<\/p>\n

Step four. I was supposed to pick one of four podcasts I\u2019d most like to watch. Sad to say, I didn\u2019t know anything about any of the four.<\/p>\n

There I was nearly halfway through my questions and I only knew about three of the 16 things I\u2019d been asked to choose from.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though I was being quizzed about books, I was once again asked which of four TV shows I preferred. This time, I at least recognized the name of one show: Westworld.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At some point, I gave up taking the quiz. I wasn\u2019t disheartened. But I did start to wonder if it\u2019s possible that at the age of 60 or 61 or whatever it is I\u2019ve finally reached the stage where I\u2019m no longer cool, or with it, or hip, or in, or mod, or sick or dope. Maybe I no longer have my finger on the pulse of John Q. Public. And now that John Q. Public does nothing but hold a smartphone, I\u2019m not going to be able to get my finger where it needs to be to take a pulse.<\/p>\n

Wrong<\/p>\n

\u201cMan Will Conquer Space Soon<\/p>\n

\u201cTOP SCIENTISTS TELL HOW IN 15 STARTLING PAGES\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Cover story for March 22, 1955 issue of Collier\u2019s Magazine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The very first Lake Charles Lucky Tiles Mah Jongg Tournament will take place on Sunday, Sept. 16, at the Lake Charles Bridge Club, 1600 W. McNeese St. Now, this may seem a little early for a \u201cmark your calendar\u201d-type thing. But registration for the event only runs through Aug. 15.   I\u2019ve never played Mah [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":270,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[38,37],"yoast_head":"\nLucky Tiles - BestOfSwla<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2018\/07\/19\/lucky-tiles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lucky Tiles - BestOfSwla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The very first Lake Charles Lucky Tiles Mah Jongg Tournament will take place on Sunday, Sept. 16, at the Lake Charles Bridge Club, 1600 W. 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