I recently read in a marketing report that apples sold as “fresh produce” in U.S. grocery stores have been in storage for as long as 14 months. Only a small percentage of the fruit remains on trees long enough to ripen. I had commented to my children that the apples I consume nowadays were not as tasty as those I ate when a child. My offspring were amazed that apples existed way back then.
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For the second consecutive year, crimes including assault, robbery, theft, burglary and rape have increased, according to a recent National Crime Victimization Survey published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The two-year ascension ends a two-decade decline.

Violent crimes surged the most – by 15 percent. Perhaps more disturbing, however, is how creative brutality and aggression have become, says Timothy Dimoff, one of the nation’s leading voices in personal and corporate security.
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Was Noah a violent, murderous environmentalist who experienced an anthropogenic apocalypse? Did God hate humans because they destroyed His earth?

Not according to the Bible.

Darren Aronofsky, director of the new movie Noah, starring Russell Crowe, clearly didn’t read his Bible very carefully—or didn’t like what he read.

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As the co-producer and star, with fellow vocalist Pam Van Dyke Crosby, of last month’s Tribute to Cole Porter concert, Cynthia Simmons was looking forward to presenting a few Porter songs to the Jazz Depot crowd. But then, things happened.

“I twisted my ankle the week before the show,” she explains, “and then the day before, when we were getting ready to rehearse, I got ill on top of that. So I had to say, `I need to stay home, Pam. I’m sorry.'”

There were several Simmons fans in the audience who were sorry, too. But if they come out to Cynthia Simmons Presents Jingle Bell Jazz Sunday, they’ll hear her do at least a couple of the tunes she had all ready for the Porter show, including “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” and “Miss Otis Regrets.”
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