Lend me a dollar; Teddy Bears; Giving up hope

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

LEND ME A DOLLAR--For the Fred Shapiros out there, who might have overlooked this phrase.  From THE STANDARD (Hong Kong), 26 September 2002, pg. 19, col. 1:
_"Lend me a dollar or I won't pay you the dime I owe you"_
(...)  To my way of thinking, rolling over a loan is a new credit decision.  This is the "lend me a dollar or I won't pay you the dime I owe you" approach."
(...)
_David De Rosa_ is a professor at Yale School of Management...

TEDDY BEAR--I know Fred Shapiro has done some work on "teddy bear."  I'll visit Hong Kong's Teddy Bear Kingdom (www.teddybearkingdom.hk) after I write this and see if they mention the origin of the thing.

TIGER CHEESE CAKE; RED BEAN DONUT; CRISPY SNOW MOUNTAIN--Found in the bakery of my hotel.  The tiger cheese cake has an outer coat that looks like a tiger's.

GIVING UP HOPE--This would be about as good a time as any to give up hope.  I had planned to finish my international travels and do more work in the U.S., but with no support and no encouragement, I don't see any reason why I should.
   Even the _slightest_ bit of kindness or understanding--say, Katy Miller would get William Safire to correct "cakewalk"--is too good for me.
   The MacArthur winners are in today's USA TODAY.  Now, I'm sure the Los Angeles artist who works with glass, or the Maryland dance teacher, or the California trombonist, or the Brooklyn novelist, are greater than finishing DARE or the HDAS or even getting a good first draft of the OXFORD ENCYLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN FOOD.  In all the years since 1981 (when the program started), clearly all of the winners were more important than a person like Fred Cassidy.  Again, YOU e-mail MacArthur about this--perhaps YOU'LL get a response.
   I turned on the Hong Kong tv yesterday.  David Letterman was on.  Paul Shaffer (his sycophant band leader) was honored by his home town of Thunder Bay, Ontario with "Paul Shaffer Drive."  Shaffer described the _four hours_ of celebrations for him.  David Letterman said that Shaffer deserved it.  Paul Shaffer Drive.  I got sick.
   It's time to give up hope.