

Jim Flanigan Looks at the World
Turning the Mundane into Fundane Since 2015
I’m following up my last Cheesy Post with a syrupy post. I had no idea it was a very special time of the year until I saw this on my walk through my neighborhood today.

Are you thinking it is the season when trees pee blue into buckets placed next to them? No, but close. This pic should make it clearer.
Continue reading “A Syrupy Post”As I did a recent Twitter scroll to get caught up on world news, I stumbled across this pic with excellent advice on enchanting women. Single guys in particular, take note.
Continue reading “A Cheesy Post”I’m pretty upset about the war on Ukraine, and then I get this email.

I use Gift Tree to send business Christmas gifts to valued customers, so very few. I guess they now want me to send overpriced gift baskets to people for their birthdays. That is not going to happen. But I opened their email because I want to know why owls give birthday gifts as teased in the subject line. However, nowhere in their email do they explain why owls are birthday gifters. This is driving me crazy/crazier. Why DO owls give birthday gifts? Because they give a hoot? That’s weak but all I could come up with. I googled that riddle and came up empty. Can someone help me? In the meantime, here’s some Owl City to inspire you to come up with an answer.
I posted my last post when I was sleepy and upset about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and I made a grievous error. Rather than 2016, I typed 2020 in this section …
“Ukrainians elected a comedian as president. How could they be taken seriously? Yes, a similar argument can be made about the USA in 2016, but that’s a blog post for another day that has already been written by many and read by millions.”
Yeah, 2020 in there sure changes the meaning and might piss off a lot of friends. I have a good mind to hire an editor and fire them immediately over such a mistake. So, sorry if that error got your undies in a bundle. It was unintentional. Thankfully, readership of this blog is low!
Just a few years ago, before Donald Trump asked Ukrainian President Zelenskyy for an infamous favor and brought the spotlight on Ukraine, this is how I viewed the country.
Things have changed for me.
Continue reading “What Ukraine Means to Me”
I realize that some of you may not be able to or may not have the desire to translate. Right mite ends with, “Freedom!” Left mite replies by saying, “Mite Be Patriotic,” although it can also be translated as “Tick Be Patriotic,” which doesn’t work quite as well. The bottom line is that we support Ukraine as they are invaded by Putin’s army.
If you wish to donate to relief efforts, please do. I’m as much of a pacifist as anyone, but I want to arm the Ukrainian military. That’s what Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has requested – money for armaments. Why the USA has not flooded Ukraine with weapons is beyond me. But here’s how you can donate directly to the Ukrainian military through the National Bank of Ukraine.
Bank transfers are easy. Just visit with your banker and bring the details from the above link. Freedom for Ukraine!
My wife and I were proud parents last weekend as we got to see our middle daughter dance on Broadway. That’s right, after graduating from the university with one of her degrees in Performance Dance, she made it to Broadway less than a year later. Unfortunately, that would be Broadway Ave. in Chicago at the intimate Edge Theater. Regardless, we were thrilled with seeing her do what she loves to do. Here she is with the rest of the dance ensemble at the end of the show.

What a coincidence that our daughter was standing directly under a big white arrow when they took the pic. And yes, we are a transracial family with our three youngest children being adopted. I don’t want any readers confused … or more confused than usual after reading one of my blog posts.
It always makes a parent feel good to see their child doing something they love. We love watching our middle daughter dance, especially when no poles are involved. Unfortunately, the dance ensemble our daughter is in is more focused on art rather than profit, so our daughter has to work 3 other jobs to make money. I did point out to her that there is a professional dance team located very close to us which probably pays well as they dance to entertain the great citizens of the USA. Take a look.
Continue reading “Broadway Bound!”Why can’t I speak Truth? Because they won’t let me into Truth Social, the latest Trump social media experiment. I missed Trump’s last social media experiment, a short-lived blog that lasted all of one month. My blog has (amazingly) lasted about 8000% longer. I think I did the math correct, but it’s not like you’re going to check. Anyway, there was no way I wanted to miss this new Trump social media foray. I signed up for the app, and received this message.

Ugh! That was a few days ago, and I am still locked out. Estimates are the end of March for the app to be fully functional. It reminds me of this famous Michael Keaton movie scene.

To be fair, the only reason I wanted to join is to leave a terrible review and then delete the app. Oh, and maybe leave as my Truth Social legacy a few virulent anti-Trump posts about him being a career criminal, and that would be speaking the truth.
I received a text from my youngest daughter’s school reminding everyone that today is actually twoday. You know, 2-22-22 in the US and 22-2-22 in the rest of the world. I much prefer the symmetry of 22-2-22 and love those even numbers, despite 2 being prime. Thanks, OCD! I will not much like 55-5-55 assuming my kids preserve my brain for reanimation at some point in 2055 and that May has expanded to 55 days by then through an invasion and annexation of part of April.
Anyway, the school is encouraging students to dress with a 2 theme today. You know, 2 socks, 2 shoes, or limiting them to 2 facial piercings & visible tattoos. I think my daughter is planning to wear one of my toupees, or I should say twopees, twoday.
As for me, I have big plans.
Continue reading “Twoday”From my last post, you may have gotten the idea that I would be writing more about interesting topics which would logically not include mite-based cartoons. Well, I workshopped the concept, and I found that my focus group was fascinated by mite-based adventures. I will clarify that my focus group consisted of my two dogs and involved choosing treats to define their blog preferences. But who am I to deny science?
Anyhoo, when last we left this stirring adventure that has generated some film interest, our impavid (go ahead, look it up, it’s a real word) mites were facing starvation trapped in a linen closet. Read on to discover the lackluster conclusion to the Mite Be Funny Laundry Chronicles.

Once again, I am changing course. I had become resigned to sliding ignominiously into retirement over the course of this year as my German product supplier for my small business pulled their product from sales in the US due to some EU regulatory issues. But now, it appears that I have inexplicably brokered a deal to have the German product assembled in the US by a 60 million dollar company located not 30 minutes from my house. Weird. In addition, my small business should still have access to the product to sell. So, I’m back in business, at least for a while. It’s probably for the best as the WordPress WordAds revenue from this blog continues to deteriorate.

Advertisers must be taking the time to read this nonsense. And two other possible sources of income have also dried up.
Continue reading “Whither Goest Me?”I am pleased to announce the good news that there is STRONG interest in turning the Mite Be Funny Laundry Chronicles into an animated short subject film. The bad news is the interest comes only from me, and I am much too lazy to do anything about it.
It was a big day in the US on Sunday with the Super Bowl, and as usual, I thought too much, just not about anything important. Here are some of those random thoughts.
I watched the second half of the Puppy Bowl before the Super Bowl, as Team Fluff tussled with Team Ruff. I came to 2 conclusions after watching.
Don’t just dismiss my laying claim to a Super Bowl ring as more nonsense from me. I will make a cogent argument and compelling case.
Continue reading “Super Bowl Sunday Random Thoughts”When we left our valorous mites last week, they had just survived a tumble dry. Let’s check in on their adventures this week.

The other day, I added air to my wife’s car’s tires using an air compressor that plugs into the car’s 12V power outlet. The use of the compressor plus the cold weather overnight was enough to drain the car’s battery, and my wife was unable to start her car the next morning. After driving her to work, I used a trickle charger on the battery and got it back to full strength.
Yes, I admit I drained the battery. But I do want credit for:
Am I a bad guy?
And now on to my Spotify dilemma …
Continue reading “Twice as Bad Edition of … Am I a Bad Guy?”I was so excited. I was scheduled this week to participate in 2 paid market research studies that involved taste tests. I had found my true calling. It fit my skill set so perfectly. I could sit on my ass, eat and/or drink, use a computer, give my opinion, and get paid for it. I was born for that. I do that at home all the time and never get paid for it.
The first taste test went well. I got to try 2 versions of a berry granola cereal. The first version was skimpy with the berries, and I gave it a thumbs down. The second version was loaded with berries and earned a better rating from me. What I don’t like about berry cereals is the dried berries have a weird texture unless they get softened with milk. It was a timed taste test, so I had to crunch through some of the berries which I didn’t like. I much prefer fresh or thawed frozen berries in my cereal.
At the conclusion, I collected my Visa card loaded with cash and headed home. It sounds like a success, but there was one big problem.
Continue reading “Taste Test Fail”I’m overweight in February and am thrilled. Why? Certainly not because I gained 5 pounds in December which was the maximum I was allowing myself for the whole winter.

They may have gotten the pronoun wrong in that gif, but that’s me they are talking about. As I reported in my last weighty post, my goal for January was to simply hold the line and not gain any more weight in January. Unlikely? Yes. Who wants to exercise and watch what you eat in the dead of winter? Not me. I want to sit, eat, and watch television while my wife, kids, and neighbors shovel my snow. But it somehow happened. I gave it a week into February to make 100% sure, but I continue to hang in at 5 pounds max gained and may even be heading back down just a bit. I’m thrilled!
Against all odds, my steps actually trended up a bit in January. Take a look.
Continue reading “Feeling Fabulously Fat For February”When we last checked-in on our gutsy mites, they were readying themselves for a tumble dry. Let’s see if they survived the ordeal, perhaps a bit dryer but at least alive.
