Song of the Week

"I Got a Story To Tell" - Notorious B.I.G.
A few years ago, the internet tried to pinpoint the exact date of the good day described in Ice Cube's classic "It Was a Good Day" (SOTW, 4/25/07), and while I never want to let logic and reason get in the way of something so fun and fascinating, the truth is there was no singular "day" where all that great stuff happened. It was an imagined day, or a composite of previous good days. It wasn't literal.
Well now the internet has gone crazy again ever since Dan LeBaturd asked Fat Joe which Knicks player Biggie was talking about in this song.



Sean Combs later confirmed Fat Joe's assertion that the song was about Anthony Mason.

But we should remember, it doesn't mean whatever actually happened, is anything close to what is described in this song, because of course, we know that basketball games don't get rained out.

Whole Lotta Problems

An FDA inspector visited a Whole Foods plant in Massachusetts.
Here are the findings, as recorded in a letter from the FDA to the company:

On February 10, 2016, you were mixing ready to eat pesto pasta directly under an area in the Assembly Room where condensate from ceiling joints was dripping onto the surface below.
On February 16, 2016, you were storing an uncovered rack of ready to eat mushroom quesadilla in the same area of the Assembly Room where condensate from ceiling joints was dripping onto the surface below.
On February 10, 2016, your employee transported uncovered ready to eat vegetables through a doorway, from the Veg Prep Room into the Prepared Veg Cooler. A significant amount of condensate had formed above the doorway and was dripping onto the surface below.
On February 10, 2016, your employee was cutting chives and beets on a work surface directly underneath a leaking condensate drainage pipe in the Veg Prep Room.
On February 16, 2016, you were holding uncovered ready to eat egg salad in large white barrels that were placed in an area below the condenser. Condensate was observed to be dripping at a rate of approximately once per second from the condenser fan bolts in the K8/K9 Room.
On February 16, 2016, your employee transported uncovered ready to eat couscous through an area in the K8/K9 Room where condensate was dripping from an area around the condenser fan bolts at a rate of approximately once per second.
On February 10, 16, & 18, 2016, you were holding ready to eat vegetables, utensils such as cutting boards, mandolins, stainless colanders and yellow plastic totes in close proximity to hand a washing station in the Veg Prep Room. The hand washing station does not have splash guards and is foot operated releasing water from the faucets with significant pressure causing water to splash outside the sink while employees were observed washing soiled hands. Water splashed onto covered and uncovered ready to eat vegetables, utensils and food containers.
On February 16, 2016, your employee measured the strength of peracetic acid from the faucet in the Veg Prep Room with an (b)(4) Peracetic Acid test strip that indicated its strength over 160 ppm (maximum level on the test strip). This concentration exceeds the maximum level recommended by the (b)(4) product information sheet and the maximum level allowed under 21 CFR Part 173.315(a) (5) for use of peracetic acid for surface treatment and soaking and rinsing of vegetables.
On February 16, 2016, your employee was performing multiple tasks in the Pre-Pack Room including filling and weighing ready to eat egg salad in retail packs. The employee was observed cleaning and directly contacting work surfaces and then packaging and handling exposed product without hand washing or changing gloves in between tasks.
On February 16, 2016, your employee in the Bulk-Pack Room was observed assembling bulk cartons while also packaging exposed ready to eat quinoa cakes without hand washing or changing gloves in between tasks.
On February 16, 2016, your employee in the Pre-Pack Room was spraying (b)(4) quaternary ammonium based sanitizer to clean work surfaces while another employee in close proximity was packaging exposed ready to eat mesculin salad. This resulted in the sanitizer being sprayed onto an open colander of salad leafy greens.
On February 16, 2016, your employee’s unprotected upper sleeves were frequently touching ready to eat leafy salad greens as leafy salad greens were packaged into retail packs in the Pre-Pack Room.

So a lot of it is about a drippy air conditioner, and most of it is minor, but I admire the detail. Here's a government employee working hard for the people.

Tom Hanks is Obtuse

A few months ago in response to Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" (SOTW, 2/24/16), JLeary pointed out a previously unknown to me line from "You've Got Mail." Tom Hanks's character says "I could never be with someone who likes Joni Mitchell."



He goes on to quote from one of Mitchell's other big hits "Both Sides Now." He said "it's clouds illusions I recall, I really don't know clouds at all." And then he goes on to ponder whether it's a metaphor for something.

Before I go on, I should say that this is the only (I think) song that has been SOTW twice, once for the Neil Diamond version (SOTW, 12/27/06) and again for Canadian Cutie Carley Rae Jepsen's rendition (SOTW, 3/18/15).

Now back to the clouds. It's not a metaphor. She looks at clouds and sees all kind of neat shapes. Then she looks at them again and ponders their role in weather and how it disrupts her life. But when she thinks back on clouds, she recalls the illusions, the angel hair and feather canyons.

She goes on to take the same incisive view of life and love, noting that like clouds, both have good sides, fun dreamy sides, but also a negative side.

And after all that thinking, she really doesn't know clouds, life or love, at all.