Saturday morning coffee

- How many copies of Catcher in the Rye will be sold this week as all of us who had to read the book in high school and college decide that we want to go back and re-acquaint ourselves with the work of J.D. Salinger? Salinger died this week at age 91. The reclusive author has not published anything since 1965 but lived a much-discussed life. His character from Catcher, Holden Caulfield, was the topic of many English class discussions in high schools in America during the 1970s and 1980s, when the book was required reading.

- The Kansas State crowd is bringing it strong on ESPN's College Gameday this morning. The crew of Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps and Hubert Davis is in Manhattan in advance of tonight's key Big 12 game between KSU and Kansas. And, in acknowledgement of the rise of the basketball program in Manhattan, let's say congratulations to head coach Frank Martin for proving the doubters, including me, wrong. The dude can coach...but will he one day spontaneously combust on the sideline? That stare...

- Yesterday morning, breakfast was taken while looking out at the beach and the breaking surf of the Pacific Ocean. This morning, the scenery was much, much different--lots of the white stuff. Ugh...winter.

- Speaking of snow, the trip from the airport last night included seeing two large wrecks being cleaned up on local highways. In both cases, the wrecks had multiple SUVs involved. Hmm...

- Happy Birthday today to 1980s pop maven, Jody Watley. Watley won a Grammy in 1987 for Best New Artist. And, her hit "Looking for a New Love," had the memorable line, "hasta la vista, baby."

- There's an interesting article in today's Wall Street Journal about regional candy companies and their efforts to survive in today's economy. The article shouts out for local companies which produce Valomilk, out of Merriam, KS, and Cherry Mash, out of St. Joseph, MO.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704878904575031093196328372.html