"My wife doesn't understand me."

Who are they kidding?  This attractive woman may be an actress, but the message is clearly, "Use Viagra when you visit a hooker". She looks like nothing so much as a very attractive prostitute trolling in a luxury resort. There she is slinky, hot, very knowledgeable about how men get and keep erections and obviously not at this hotel with a man of her own.

Welcome to Wacko World.

Probably the dumbest tourist attraction in America is the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. This 60,000 square foot museum which cost $27 million to build has a number of hilarious displays designed to reaffirm the literal interpretation of the Genesis creation narrative. The "museum" employees 300 people who all must sign a statement of faith. The yearly attendance is over 250,000 which doesn't necessarily include believers. I'd love to tour this place, wouldn't you? Here are things I find odd. Both their Adam and Eve mannikin's are 21st century hot. I find this a little creepy for a holy display. Also Adam has a very contemporary nicely trimmed beard. Why did God give him a beard? Did he need one in such a perfect place as Eden? And how did he keep it so trim? Now the museum has many dinosaurs, which apparently were pets and modes of transportation since some have saddles. If Noah took the dinos with him, what happened to them? Did God kill them during one of his fits of fury? I personally approve of the Creation Museum because of the thousands of kids who tour this absurd collection of illogical displays, many will come away ready to embrace atheism or at least ready to eschew fundamental beliefs. And they'll really have a laugh when the multi-million dollar Noah's Ark project is completed. So thanks, Ken Ham, for doing so much to disparage magical thinking.

Before you read this, say this number out loud.

Did you say "twenty" or "twenny"?  I ask because most Americans no longer pronounce certain T sounds?  Is it ignorance or just laziness? Are they unable to recognize the spelling of a word? Or are they so used to others' mispronunciation, they just imitate it? For instance the Internet has a T near the front, which means it's not innanet. And our Eastern coast is on the Atlantic Ocean not the Atlannic. We don't have an innacoastal highway, watch celebrity innaviews, or find certain subjects innaresting. Not only do these incorrect pronunciations make one sound like they never "ennered" a college,  but they weaken every word denied of a T.  A person with a gentle nature sounds a whole lot classier than one with a gennil nature. I think this epidemic misuse of words greatly weakens our wonderful language. And what's really discouraging is that the misuse is widely represented in the broadcast media. The nightly news is rife with words in which the T is missing. And I cringe every time I hear a promo on ABC for their program "Twenny Twenny".

My first ever Centrum post.

This is just one of the many, many commercials in which the writer seems to think that "first ever" is somehow different from "first".

Dead again and again and again.

Today, June 27th, HuffPost has run a death notice for actress Elizabeth Pena. Which is really strange. Because not only is this the fifth time they have announced her death in Los Angeles, but she died in October of 2014. They include no explanation for this bizarre obituary and no apology for constantly pointing out Ms. Pena's problems with alcohol. While I like HuffPost, I also think it is a very unprofessional on-line news sources. They run all kinds of inaccurate or naive articles, have some really stupid headlines, are shockingly chauvinistic for 2015, and one suspects their writers are mostly under 18. I wonder how many more times I will hear the sad news that Elizabeth Pena has died.

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrinnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg.

Most of the phone calls I receive on my land line and cell are irritating sales calls. Just as almost all the snail mail I receive are ads or pleas for money from lots of charities and political groups. As far as the phone goes if there is the slightest bit of dead air when I answer, I know it's a robot call and hang up. As far as the e-mail goes, you can click on the damn message then demand to be removed from their spam list. The most annoying thing about that is the wording. It reads, "If you wish to unsubscribe to this service, click here." Since you never subscribed in the first place, this is infuriating, especially since once you click you still have to type out your e-mail address. So you're taking orders from some slimy
losers in a boiler room to have them stop sending you crap you never wanted in the first place. Ah, the price of technology.

Wake-up call.

My new health plan is Medica. Like my old plan they send too many letters and notices and booklets, most of which I don't read. This morning they were particularly annoying. They rudely called me at 8 am on a Saturday. You would think any reasonable company would know people like to sleep late on the weekend. But no these morons not only called then, but when I didn't answer they left a long and loud message telling me to call 1-866-686-2504 TTY711 for an important message. After finally getting up at ten, I called for this important message and was told "The office is closed. Please call back during our regular business hours."This is how a health plan gives you high blood pressure.

Where do you get gopher wood?

Kentucky is constantly working towards winning the title of the most backward state in America. Their newest run for the title is an all-wood replica of Noah's ark. The construction for this 510-foot-long exhibit has already begun. Unfortunately it can't be completed by some old guy and his family members like the first one. No, this takes a complete construction crew and millions of dollars. This future tourist attraction, scheduled to be completed next summer,  is call Ark Encounter and will supposedly be the largest timber-frame structure in the world. The man at the helm, Ken Ham is sure that millions will flock to this Williamstown, Kentucky, attraction which will house three stories of exhibits and a restaurant. Considering how many evangelicals are running around loose, that's possible. On the other hand when the children of these zealots see that even this massive absurdity can't possibly contain two of every animal in the world, especially since Ham has added dinosaurs to the passenger list, he might find himself inadvertently turning out a whole new generation of atheists.

The things you have to put up with!

One of the few benefits of living in Miami, the Hades of America, is that seniors, like myself, get free public transportation. Being an ungrateful resident, I was annoyed to know that I had to go downtown to renew my Golden Passport transit card. How dare they give me free transportation for seven years, then require me to go downtown to renew! I knew exactly what I was in for: slow-moving bureaucrats, more than likely long lines, a million questions, and having to wait for the damn place to open because somebody didn't show up on time. Well I did show up on time. 8 am on the dot. And, surprise it was open. Still,  I wasn't surprised to see several rows of chairs where I was sure to wait for at least an hour after seeing the lady at the front desk. I knew it. I knew it. She asked questions, demanded to see my I.D. and expired transit card, then told me to "wait over there". Well I had no sooner sat down, then this other bureaucrat called my name and handed me my new card. Hmmm. I noticed the new card doesn't have an expiration date. Good. I couldn't go through that again.

Major League moron.

Here's a great example of how one-sided and blind the news is. Apparently yesterday a spectator at Wrigley Field watching a game between the L.A Dodger and Chicago Cubs caught a pop-up ball in one hand while he was feeding a baby in the other. News reports praised this remarkable catch without ever mentioning that this idiot should not be taking a baby to a ball game. Nor do they point out that the infant could just as easily been killed by the same errant ball.  Imagine if the child had been hurt, we would have nothing on this news this week but reports on the dangers if major league sports to children and of course updates on this bozo's arrest and upcoming trial.

There's no way to stop it.

Imagine if almost every day of your life, you had to spend time in the company of persons with whom you shared nothing in common. You had to listen to them even though you found them boring and strident. And they were everywhere. In every store, restaurant, mall, doctor's office, sometimes on the street. You couldn't get away from them because they were everywhere you needed to be and in many cases they refused to be ignored. Since you couldn't silence them, you were forced to listen to every meaningless and mundane thing they said even when you were trying to concentrate on welcome conversations or the pleasure of a book. And what they said they constantly repeated. If you complained about them, many other people regarded you as a mal content. How could you not enjoy the company of these very popular people? This is how I feel in today's society that scores our entire lives with mediocre and repetitive songs sung by third rate singers blasting over  pitiless sound systems.
Amazing that Americans, who are normally so independent, surrender their will and  let someone else decide what kind of music they will listen to everywhere they go, even when they are footing the bill. Surely I cannot be the only person who finds this situation detestable. I'm apparently the only one who speaks up.

"I'm going to be sick."

I guess a lot of people find seeing children licking ice cream cones very charming. I find it disgusting. In fact I find this commercial absolutely repulsive. If you disagree click no comments and let me know.

A wild dog without a leash.

While campaigning in Iowa only days after the Charleston shootings, Rafael Cruz joked, "You know the great thing about the state of Iowa is, I'm pretty sure you all define gun control the same way we do in Texas--hitting what you aim at."  Obviously, being an idiot, this foot-in-mouth moron didn't learn anything from his ill-timed joke about Joe Biden at a time when the Vice President was in mourning for his son. What the news doesn't report, and what I would like to know, is what was the reaction of the attendees at that town hall. Did such a shameful statement receive the disdain it deserved?  Or being the kind of people who would turn to see this cretin, were they amused?

Kudos for a killer?

It is beyond imaginable that any organization would honor war criminal George W. Bush, the president responsible for the deaths of thousands of young Americans.  But this past Thursday at the New York Hilton hotel, mass murderer George W. Bush was one of three men honored as "Father of the Year" by the National Father's Day Committee.  The fact that Bush actually accepted the award shows how little shame, guilt, and responsibility he feels for all the deaths he has caused. The fact that his daughter Barbara presented it to him shows how little awareness this idiotic family has for the monster among them. Surely this obscene event cannot go unnoticed. I am surprised that the hotel wasn't stormed by protesters. I am disappointed that the other two recipients didn't decline their awards rather than be in such offensive company. I am amazed that not one of the fathers of the thousands of soldiers who died in the Iraq War wasn't there to protest honoring the man who sent his son or daughter to die. I am shocked that this committee or council, or whatever the hell it is, is not being lambasted in the press for such an ill-conceived, tasteless, and contemptible act.

Moore is less.

It's amazing the number of people who seem to be respected when they are actually brain-dead idiots. Economist Steve Moore is such a person. For whatever reason people seem to think he thinks, when actually like so many other obsessed Heritage Foundation refugees all he can do is vilify Obama with half-facts and full-out lies. It is fun however to watch him on talk shows spit and sputter and get all worked up in his fantasies and trapped by his own lies.  If you see him on such a show, you will soon recognize his most obnoxious characteristic: a pathetically fake laugh which he toothfully chortles every time he's cornered with one of his moronic statistics or transparently hateful attacks. One of these days I'll have to decide who I hate more: him or Ron Christie. Ooh, that's a tough one.

Not the scariest predator.

Sadly this week two young people each lost a limb from a shark attack. In each case the shark was swimming close to shore. This seems to be happening with increasing frequency, and my guess is that it  isn't the shark's fault. Like global warming, I am sure man is doing something that is changing the nature of the sea. Not long ago the U.S. Navy had, and may still have, some kind of sonar project which upset sea life, not that the Navy cared. So today, the Navy, or fisherman, or hunters, or polluters or all four are doing something that is forcing the sharks to seek food closer to shore. And when swimmers have an unfortunate confrontation with a misplaced shark, the lazy news media will only cover the attack itself and never look any further for other possible causes.

Catholics take note.

As you know the Republican party is denying climate change. The reason for that is that so many Republican industrialists save lots of money when they can pump emissions into the air or dump them into a nearby river or field. And they depend on their Republican congressmen to make sure that convenience continues. So when someone like the Pope comes out and admits the climate is changing because of this carelessness, the GOP goes cuckoo. Now they can't come right out an say that the Pope is wrong, so they do something worse: they scold him. Treating him like an ignorant child, they encourage him to stay out of the argument, even though he is more scientifically based than they are. Of  course the Pope is annoyed because after all the Republicans are dictating birth control, marriage, fidelity, and what God does and does not like, and the Pope sees that as his area. I think Rick Santorum and Jeb! Bush, two Catholics, just may have started a Holy War.

Dumb Mentos commercial.

You can always tells when some agency has hired some moronic art director and copywriter. They always produce commercials like this: a supposedly comical situation in which one friend selfishly betrays the other, (usually the less attractive) or steals something from him, or whatever. I guess unsophisticated boobs think that betrayal is hilarious. Now the newest trend among the juvenile and untalented is thinking they are incredibly witty by writing a line that makes you think of something else. In this idiotic case its, "What the fresh." Get it? Isn't that witty. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

P.S. That unrealistic gorilla suit weny out in 1949 with with Abbot and Costello in Africa Screams.

More tell, less sell.

In the 1950s, there were far fewer commercials on television. Many of the leading programs like Kraft Television Theater had two or three breaks with one-commercial each. But at a certain point the powers that be in TV convinced Americans that the would have even fewer commercials if they agree to spring for pay TV. We did, and now we have networks like HBO which have their own commercials, and a zillion cable networks that have more commercial time than program time. Tonight, for the hell of it, I counted the number of commercials on ABC News with David Muir. How many do you think they're were? There were 22, and that's not counting the 12 shown between the local and national news. I would guess if you tuned into any cable show randomly, you are more likely to see a commercial than a program. (Try it.) But oddly enough, it's the one abuse that Americans never seem to complain about. I don't know why. Even just before the Super Bowl, the network news tells you how incredibly expensive each commercial is to air, then deluges you with dozens of them. Sucker.

Let's face it.

Tell me this isn't the face of a drunk. You don't get to look that weathered and blotchy from just relaxing and playing golf. My guess is that Georgie, once out of the limelight, went back to his
old ways. And why does he drink? I can tell you it's not out of regret for all the young Americans he sent off to be killed in his phony war. He doesn't think about them. It's not all the Iraqi children who died or were maimed and blinded. He doesn't think about them either. It's probably something as simple as knowing he's a loser, and his losing is going to make it impossible for his slightly less dumb brother to ever get the presidency to which Jeb thinks he's entitled. Deservedly, in  his pickled heart George knows he's America's worst president and so does every historian.

What's in a name?

Many of the ever-whining Republicans in answer to those who jeer at Jeb! leaving off the infamous Bush name, point out that Hillary's logo also has no last name. And for that the GOP should be grateful. Unlike Bush who lied us into war, which led to the deaths of thousands of young Americans and the ruin of our economy; Clinton was, and still is, a loved president, and remains, like Carter,  a model citizen. Bush, on the other hand, instead of spending his time in jail, where he should be, paints amateurish canvases, watches TV, speaks at venues where he should be banned, and—I suspect—drinks. Ergo: The Bush name is beyond tainted; and the Clinton name has status and positive associations. So let the petty, desperate Republicans bitch about Hillary's logo. No doubt it will prove to be a red hot arrow piercing their collective cold heart.

Pointed criticism.

As the author of several musicals, I was told by a friend to never use an exclamation point in a title as it is now considered trite and super corny. It was fine when Oklahoma! debuted in 1944. But there have been too many since, including Oliver!, Cannibal!, Carnival! Sarafina! Hello Dolly! and Mama Mia! to name just six, not to mention Drat! The Cat! which had two.  In short, for uses other than actual text, the exclamation point is the mark of a amateur. So it is no surprise that Jeb! Bush not only uses one after his first name, but has employed it as his dippy logo. On the other hand when I looked up "exclamation point" (or mark) on Google, one of the definitions was: "An exclamation mark may be used to close questions that are meant to convey extreme emotion, as in 'What are you doing! Stop!'" Since the ever-goofy Jeb Bush doesn't have a shot in hell at the presidency and is further cursed by the Bush name, and he creeps me out, my question to him is: "What are you doing! Stop!"

When are you going to comment?

I hate to whine, but so far I have written 2,414 posts and gotten very few comments. Now I am ashamed to admit that it wasn't until today that I realize how easy it is to comment. All you have to is click the "no comment" words at the bottom of each post, and you can praise, complain, swear, totally disagree, totally agree, whatever you want. Now maybe you knew this all along and just weren't interested in expressing your view. Well that's just fine. One of these days I am sure to write something that will ruffle your feathers, get you riled, or some other outdated expression.

P.S. If you should comment on any post and you know something about computers, please tell me what the hell the "existing normal" is and whether I should save it or not.

There's this guy from Adelaide.

In America we worship many no-talent superstars who would be lost without fireworks, special effects, and backup singers. And while we do, we are generally unaware of international stars who are true talents. One such talent is David Campbell. Have you ever heard of him? I hadn't. I came across him today on YouTube doing a very clever one-man version of "Fugue for Tinhorns" from Guys and Dolls. Not only is this Australian very sexy, but he is a terrific singer and showman. He's also very famous. Not to us, of course, because we are rarely aware of major stars from other counties.  (One sad exception was Amy Winehouse.)  Yet here he is a renowned singer, actor, and director and I'm guessing near-unknown in America. Or is it just me? Anyway, I've included his version of "Mac the Knife" to introduce you to David Campbell.

Always pointing that finger.

Poor Mitt Romney doesn't deal well with rejection. He is so bitter and angry about losing the election that he's obsessed with getting back at Obama. His latest hissy fit took the form of a PowerPoint presentation, outlining his grievances with the president's record on foreign policy. Instead of making Obama look bad, it makes Romney look like the vindictive twit he is. Will somebody take this whining wimp aside and tell him, "Mitt, you lost. Americans didn't like you. They love Obama. He's not a prissy, over-privileged, lying snob like you. Go back to one of your many mansions and get over it."

Another reason to hate Comcast.

Among the many, many failings of Comcast, they are the champion spoilers of all time. Their crawls for the popular crime series, Forensic Files, read like this: In an upscale Kansas City neighborhood, a woman is found strangled. Her auto mechanic boyfriend is found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. So why watch the show? Many people are fans of true crime because often there are so many possible guilty parties, it's fascinated to see who actually did the deadly deed. What idiot at Comcast decides to provide so much information? They also list as "new" network true crime specials that have been aired several times before.

Yuk!

I'm guessing everyone has someone they despise and detest, you know, someone who makes their skin crawl. With me it's Ron Christie. I know he's supposed to be a government relations expert and Republican strategist, but to me he just seems like a creepy, cross-eyed, right-wing, Bush defending nay-sayer who only lives to attack the Democrats and praise the GOP. He'll come up with an assault on President Clinton at the drop of hat. Besides how decent a human being can he be considering he was a member of Vice President Cheney's staff?  (That's what I call big time Uncle Tomming.) Since he is the perfect stereotype for the mythical bitchy, prissy, catty, queen, I'm delighted to know he is straight.

"We saw your wee wee."

 I always knew Americans were sexually backward. Consider the number of straight men who act as if they've never seen a woman before whenever a attractive "babe" crosses their path. And how about those infantile sex-starved street workers who catcall and whistle at women who regard them as less than monkeys. But I didn't realize that so many Americans and news outlets would go wild at a one-second peek at Le Bron James's penis.  Apparently this glimpse during the NBA Finals on ABC is the event of the day, the most watched item on the Internet. Have so many Americans never seen a penis before? Do they regard it with the same kind of amazed wonder as seeing Janet Jackson's nipple? There's a lot going on the world today. But apparently the lazy media, rather than covering politics or the world's many danger zones seems to be preoccupied, like, 5 years old with having seen someone's winky.

California's nuttiest nut.

As an atheist, I am only annoyed by any kind of intrusion by religion into government. But I am outraged when I hear about religious nuts being part of government.  I mean true mental cases like California Assemblywomen Shannon Grove (a Republican, of course) who suggested that the state's worst drought may be divine retribution from God for providing women access to abortions. As proof that denying abortions will end the drought, this raving lunatic said, "Texas was in a long period of drought until Governor Perry signed the fetal pain bill, and it rained that night." Should I feel sorry for these delusional whack jobs who were inculcated into the absurdity of religion as children and remain so brainwashed they come up with theories like this? No. Shannon, like every person, reached the age of reason, and apparently prayed right through it.

The gifts we left behind.

America is so generous. Look at all the arms, ammunition, Humvees, and possibly even American dollars we left behind for the al qaeda and eventually for ISIS. It made their acts of terrorism so much easier and far more economical. I guess it would have cost too much for us to ship that equipment back to America or destroy it, which might have cut into Halliburton's obscene profits. So, in addition to killing all the Americans and Iraqis with Bush's fake war, we donated the means to kill thousands of more civilians and soldiers and to take over all kinds of cities and villages. Of course we didn't do it alone. Congress and the media helped by not addressing the issue, not complaining, not demanding that we do not arm our enemies, or—for that matter— asking more questions before the dominoes of war even started falling. But hell we were busy with reality shows, video games, and all kinds of fun consumerism. Besides we trusted our president, even though it was obvious he was a moron surrounded by manipulative warmongers. Today, it's scary to think of all that powerful equipment and all those weapons in the hands of violent, murderous terrorists. And I probably shouldn't  be thinking about anything so unlikely, but we're also making China very, very rich by handing over all our companies, giving them the profitable right to make almost everything we need. Such a crowded, overpopulated country. What if they decide, like Germany did, that they need more room, lebensraum if you will. Hmmm.  China is very wealthy, and excellent at manufacturing things, like toys and planes and guns. And it's a counry made up mostly of one think-alike ethnicity. You know, like that other country was in 1941.  Just a thought.

Out of step.

I don't know why we have film reviewers. So often the leading critics see the film completely differently as do the theatergoers. I just watched much of a film I remember hating when I was 26. Today I hated it even more. The film was Finian's Rainbow, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and starring Petula Clark, Tommy Steele, Fred Astaire, and Don Francks who should not have been given a leading film role and I don't think ever was again. This classic 1947 musical has some of the best songs ever written for Broadway, and one of the worst books...some claptrap about a pot of gold and racism. Now some reviewers called it the best film musical of the decade. Others lamented at it being such a disappointment.  The alway overrated Roger Ebert loved it, while the equally respected critic Renata Adler rightly pegged it as a turkey as did most audience members. But I'm sure there were those who loved it despite the pathetic direction, the overacting of Mr. Steele, the children who could have been in The Village of the Damned, and poor Fred Astaire who looked tired and weak. Like I say. I don't know why we have film reviewers.

Revealed.

In the past couple of weeks we learned that Dennis Hastert is a queer. Now I don't know if the statute of limitations has any effect on his past indiscretions or even if his blackmailer will get off scott-free for his despicable crime. But that isn't the point of this particular post. I personally object to the word queer as an accepted synonym for gay. I think it sounds hard, judgemental and insulting. So I want you the reader to consider what your reaction was with the first sentence of this post. Did you feel it was just an acceptable term for homosexual, nothing more, as so many militant gays insist?  Or did it sound angry and homophobic? The trouble is I won't know because almost nobody ever writes to this blog, and I don't know why.

Every day is a circus.

What fun it is watching all the Republican hopefuls make errors, gaffes, and faux pas after faux pas. Bush keeps praising his war criminal brother. Yeah. Carson keeps revealing his complete ignorance about sexuality. Yeah. Cruz exposed himself as the shallow slimeball he is with a stupid, callous joke. Yeah. Huckabee just admitted that he would love to be in a shower with underage girls. Yeah. Perry is helping to close abortion clinics all over Texas. Yeah. Rubio has been exposed as a shallow spendthrift. Yeah. Homophobic Thomas wants to have a law against gay marriages. Yeah. Santorum keeps spouting his evangelical no-sex-ever-for-anyone agenda. Yeah. Lindsey keeps telling us how much he wants to send our kids to war. Yeah. And you can be sure each of the other Republicans in the clown car will put his or her foot into whichever side of the mouth they happen to be talking from at the time.  Yeah.

Free to kill.

Of all the "huh?" stories recently, the most peculiar is the escape of two convicted murderers from the Clinton Correction Facility, a maximum security prison in Village of Dannemora, New York. Hundreds of local, state, and federal law enforcement officers are now searching for Richard Matt and David Sweat. I am dying to hear the explanation from prison officials as to how these escapees not only secured power tools, but why nobody heard them using them. (I can hear my neighbors power tools blocks away.) I am also curious to know who, besides them, faces charges if they should murder someone on their sure-to-be-temporary escape? Another example of the incompetence of elected officials.

Who won? Who cares?

I didn't watch the Tony's tonight. Partly because very few of the shows interest me, and partly because I'm not willing to sit through eight thousand commercials. But I did peek in every now and then and was surprised. First surprise was the embarrassing opening by Kristen Chenoweth and always-too-campy Alan Cumming delivering material that was truly Oscar show worthy. They began by bragging how profitable a Broadway season it was. I'm not surprised considering the outrageous cost of theater tickets. Sadly Broadway has become an entertainment only for the wealthy or the vacationers willing to spend most of their savings on seeing the latest musical version of a moderately successful movie. The next surprise was discovering a production of a Kander and Ebb musical called The Visit, based on the moderately successful 1964 movie. The scene they chose was unclear and unamusing, made worse by having to see an aging and weak-voiced Chita Rivera. The next surprise was a scene from Finding Neverland, a musical version of the mildly entertaining 2004 Johnny Depp film. I can't imagine why the audience applauded for this loud, chaotic, claptrap whose forgettable song was an poor imitation of music from Les Mis. I can't comment on the other musicals and plays because I didn't see the entire show. I suspect I didn't miss much. Although to be fair, some of these costly shows were based on somewhat more successful films, like 1951's An American in Paris and 1938's You Can't Take It With You. I don't know about you but I expect more than an old movie rehash when the price of admission is $130.00 plus.

A worrisome trend.

A recent article about Caitlyn Jenner on Huffington Post received lots of responses, pro and con.The ones that were critical of Ms. Jenner were soundly condemned by those who were in complete favor of Jenner's change. These angry rebukes inspired one responder, who I assume is a Democrat, to complain that liberals are becoming as militant as conservatives in their demand that one must agree with all liberal concepts and fully endorse Caitlyn Jenner. In response to his letter, liberal writers accused him of being a bigot, a homophobe and, worst of all,  a Fox viewer. I think all these accusations were totally unjust and made me more aware of the veracity of the writers accusation. They also reminded me that forcing agreement isn't just for bullies and dictators. It can also be the demand of good-hearted and well-meaning people. Later this week Tom Cruise's son, Connor, stated that while he was all for Caitlyn achieving happiness, he did not feel that she deserved the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, nor do I. Despite this sincere belief, he was immediately lambasted in the media and forced to provide an apology. I see no reason for him to apologize for a comment that was his personal belief. I also don't think that what Jenner has done was particularly courageous. Unfortunately the media have practically canonized Ms. Jenner. These incidents have made me think that we—Democrats and liberals— who are advocates of free speech and free thinking and individuality are becoming more militant in our expectations for conformity and political correctness. I hope I'm wrong.

ABC strikes a sour note.

On a recent edition of ABC News they did a feature on underprivileged children whose musical talent made them eligible to play with the New York Philharmonic. We saw these very special children with their musical instruments getting on the bus for the long drive to the demanding rehearsals, performing in front of their proud parents. It was an inspiring and moving feature of children, boys and girls, being immersed in the fantastic world of symphonic music and art.  It was about artistic achievement and amazing skills of these youngsters, that is until David Muir, while interviewing one young boy said in the most annoying, irrelevant and coy fashion,"I hear you also like football." I guess he didn't feel this kid was a completely normal male  individual until he revealing that he also liked sports. 

What a great gift.

Today is my brother's 75th birthday. I called him this morning to wish him a happy birthday and spent about 45 minutes on the phone. I had a lovely talk with him and his wife, and they brought me up to date on their latest experiences.  Now there was something amazing about this phone call. What made is so unique was there was no a single note of guilt or recrimination. From the moment he answered, he was cheerful and chatty and so was she. I think this is unusual when you consider that I visited them in Massachusetts 2 years ago and haven't called since, and before that I hadn't talked to or seen him for over thirty years and had never met his wife. Yet there was no guilt, no, "Why haven't you called?" We spoke as if we had talked yesterday and we'd been friends for all our lives. Happily, my family doesn't know the meaning of animosity. In fact during this call I learned that my oldest brother, who lives in Italy, is still alive. I thought he died ten years ago. I'm sure if I called him today, after an absence of more than 50 years, he would say, "Hey. Good to hear from you. What's new?"

New age philosophers?

One of the most annoying trends today is when advertisers write some pithy line which they think is full of meaning, and basically it's crap. A good example of this kind of dime store philosophy is this absurd line on a poster for Carrera sunglasses.

OUT THERE THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS THE WRONG TURN

Now what the hell does that mean? Nothing. Life is full of wrong turns. So this is a totally illogical headline. And what does it even have to do with sunglasses? Maybe it means, "You're not really stupid to buy our expensive made-in-China sunglasses when you can buy others that are just as good for much less.

Another quickie.

When you consider that nobody, but nobody, in the media can correctly pronounce the word "candidate" why don't they just change the spelling to "cannadit"?

Quickie

Tonight during ABC News they ran a commercial for Yokohama Tires and immediately followed it with a commercial for Firestone Tires. I've always wondered when networks make errors like that, essentially diluting the sponsor's message, do they have to give the advertiser their money back?

Vanity not so fair.

I cannot get over the fact that the media have so willingly, generously, and completely embraced Caitlyn Jenner. She (I'll use she though I don't totally accept it) is being treated as if she were some kind of heroine. They speak of her character, her beauty, her groundbreaking courage. The Vanity Fair cover is being treated as if that is how Ms. Jenner will appear from now on. Now while I don't detest Caitlyn, I also don't like her. It has nothing to do with the alleged change or the publicity. Frankly, I just don't like her. First of all she's a Republican and during her Diane Sawyer interview she made a snide comment about President Obama who has done more for her new freedom than any right-wing bigots. Plus, like most of her family, she is a shallow publicity hound. She has not been a serious spokesperson for transgenders so much as an agent for her own future wealth and fame. Her passion seems to be less about achieving equality for transgenders than it does for being decked in costly jewelry and designer gowns and having cosmeticians make her as beautiful as possible. And finally, I don't accept that a conflicted person who has not had gender reassignment and suggests that "is down the road" has changed his or her sex. Just saying, "I am a woman" does not make you so. So while the media has totally become enamored by this pseudo-transgender person called Caitlyn, I see a wealthy, vain Republican cross-dresser named Bruce.

The attack of the hacks.

Talk about an orginal story idea. Wow. In the new series there's eerie music, concerned parents, and guess what?  a little girl with an imaginary friend. I've never seen that plot before. All right, it's about as cliched and trite as plots get, but since there have been several hundred movies and TV episodes that rehashed this turkey, it just might make it. To make sure the producers in some of their hackneyed commercials have posted the words, "seriously addictive". I wonder how they know that when the first episode hadn't even aired yet.

The increasingly crowded sky.

I saw a commercial last night for a store in Miami that sells drones. They proudly proclaimed that they had every kind of drone from the smallest toy to the largest "professional" use model. First of all, I  don't really understand a hobbyist's thrill with navigating a flying toy. True I always liked balsa wood planes and kites, so maybe it is fun after all. But more and more on the news I hear stories about larger drones crashing into someone's property or person, or interfering with air travel. Since I have a severe fear of flying, adding drones to the list of "what could go wrong" is no problem, (not to mention the recent rash of green laser assaults). It seems every new technological innovation brings all kinds of benefits and, along with them, all kinds of dangers and problems. I like progress, but I felt safer when a drone was a male honey bee.

Is she or isn't she?

I don't get it. While I'm delighted that transgender individuals now have their right to be legally recognized, I don't see where that applies to Bruce Jenner. Obviously the media have embraced him with wild enthusiasm. To them he is now Caitlyn, a cover girl extraordinaire. They politely refer to Caitlyn as she, show her the greatest of deference, and I'm sure a virtual reality show will follow. But in his interview with Diane Sawyer, Bruce said the surgery was down the road and all reports suggest that no gender assignment surgery has been performed. Therefore if he is still a male gender-wise, why is the media bending over backward to recognize him as a woman? It seems to me that he is still a cross dresser who has had a few cosmetic procedures. What am I missing? What is Bruce missing? I am still somewhat skeptical about Bruce/Caitlyn's motives. His interviews in $100 thousand earrings and designer gowns seem a little superficial to me and being endorsed by the Kardashian harem is no endorsement at all. On the other hand if I am totally ignorant about what constitutes being transgender, and if all it requires is the belief of the individual and has nothing to do with sexual assignment, then I apologize to Caitlyn.

Being an atheist, I don't understand why people are so disturbed at the idea that you live a certain number of years; you die; and you never exist again. I'm 72 and that concept doesn't bother me at all. Why? Because I'll be dead. I won't have any thoughts, regrets, longings, anything--dead. The world existed for billions of years before I arrived. I have no memory of any of it. And when I'm gone, I won't have any awareness of the eternity that comes after me. I'll be dead, which is to say non-existent. No, I will not be dragged out my grave on the great come and get it day. I won't have to stand in line with billions of other once-dead people and find out if I'm going to a super-boring heaven for always and ever, or to a fiery hell. I will experience nothing ever again once I am dead. How can that bother me? It can't, because I'll be dead. Which I think is far preferable than that creepy day of reckoning that the super superstitious so anticipate with frightened enthusiasm. What arrogance. To think one is so important that you should be entitled to eternal life. Why? What's so special about you? Nobody deserves eternal happiness, just as nobody deserves eternal suffering. Which is why I am glad there is no such thing. I love living. So much to do, so much to see. But when I am dead, I won't hate it. Why? Because I'll be dead. I won't hate anything, won't love anything, won't need anything, won't be anything.I find that very comforting.

They're out there, like rats.

The worst thing about technology is that it makes life easier for  every grifter and lowlife. Today I got a call, supposedly from the IRS saying that I was being sued and to call them immediately. Knowing it was a scam I dialed the number only to have the phone answered by a gruff, low-brow, scumball who would never work in a government office. I told him what a creep he was and he fired back (so like a government professional). The sad thing is that most educated people who appreciate that the IRS doesn't call you with threats or demand money over the phone. Thus the unsophisticated and naive can probably be easily ripped off by these telephone thugs. Also one would expect a central switchboard to relay your call, not some slob answering the phone. The number they gave by the way was 202-684-6530.

Note: I don't think anyone who reads my blog would be taken in by one of these scams. But I do hope you mention the danger to your elderly neighbors or anyone you think just might take one of these
calls seriously.