Don't do it, Linda.

I haven't a clue what this scenario has to do with regularity. I would venture a guess that it's dangerous for that many people to be bouncing around on a backyard trampoline, and adding Linda to the mix can't be a good idea. And how are they having fiber? Are they popping them like candy as they bounce up and down. And if they're already feeling the results, I think it's time to stop jumping up and down and go into the house. And if they don't do that in time, it's nice to know that Linda has already dragged out the garden hose. What is wrong with agencies today?

"Send the money in unmarked twenty dollar bills..."

Today, like so many happy Florida homeowners, I received the new homeowners insurance booklet and payment plan. If you don't live in Florida, you may not know that this is one of the most corrupt states for home insurance and the premiums are obscenely high. Every lawmaker we've had has promised to reform these ever-skyrocketing rates, but none has. I suspect there are lots of pigs at this trough. Like most policies the one I received is written in a manner that would require a law school degree to understand it. Even though I have reduced coverage, it still costs almost $4,000.00 a year. So far I have been paying premiums for twenty years and have only filed one claim for a fraction of what I've paid in. Really the policy is no less intimidatng than  a blackmail letter or ransom note. Sadly, insurance in Florida is such a ripoff, many homeowners have chosen to go without any coverage because they cannot afford the climbing rates year after year. While the entire policy is offensive, there was one line that infuriated me above all the others. It was at the very end of the policy in the "NOTICE OF PREMIUM DUE" section. The line read Total Balance Due Now. This statement was a complete and total lie since the amount shown is not due until September 15, 2013, which is 46 days from now. I guess they wanted their blood money early.

Golly, Zee.

This is the kind of mystery that continually astonishes me. ABC News is a huge undertaking. It has media stars like Diane Sawyer, George Stephanopoulos, and David Muir, as well as many other big names in news, sports and entertainment.  Among them is their beautiful meteorologist Ginger Zee. Here's the mystery. Recently Ms. Zee has had to cover all kinds of storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods: devastating disasters that left wreckage behind. But night after night, Ms. Zee continually refers to the "rem-a-nents". I find it amazing that nobody in that vast network has taken her aside and said, "The word is remnants. It's a two-syllable word." I wrote to ABC over a week ago and see no change, which suggests that they don't even read letters of complaint. On the other hand Diane Sawyer turns almost every two-syllable word into three syllables, so maybe it's a peculiar style of the network.

Before or after the turkey?

Another lying commercial from Bayer. I don't doubt that this man had a heart attack in his driveway on Thanksgiving Day. (Well, actually I do.) But I certainly doubt that his doctor put him on a Bayer aspirin regiment. An aspirin regimen, yes. But I doubt if he specified Bayer, which is costlier than generic aspirin. But then Bayer has a long history of deceptive advertising and—in recent years— the dangerous propaganda of suggesting that taking an aspirin during a heart attack can save your life. In all their new commercials the Dr. recommends Bayer by name, which seems incredibly unprofessional to me.

The only possible name?

I'm sorry, but I find this commercial pretentious and laughable. The name "Black Silk" for an instant coffee is grand enough, but this over-the-top copy line, "It could only be called Black Silk" is truly absurd. I think there are lots of other things it could be called like "Dark Gold," "Ebony Moments," "Deep Gladness," and any number of other ridiculous names. Folger's has a long history of touching commercials and one of advertising's best jingles. Hate to thing they're going to ruin it now with this silly product name.

Dead, but still being kicked.

The latest news on the Trayvon Martin case seems to be that he hadn't bought iced tea as originally reported but Arizona Watermelon Fruit Juice Cocktail, a significant ingredient in a popular drug called Lean. The added suggestion is that he was high on Lean as he walked back to his father's girlfriend's apartment. Certain news sources, mostly ones I have never heard of like American Thinker and The Conservative Treehouse are reporting this latest news with a sense of glee suggesting that if Trayvon was using this stimulant called Lean, George Zimmerman probably had every right to kill him because he must have been an evil monster prowling the neighborhood. Since I have not see this information reported in any reputable news media, I am not sure it's actually true. And even if it were, it still doesn't justify Zimmerman suspecting someone because they are black, following them when they are told not to, initiating a confrontation and then unnecessarily shooting the suspected perp to death.

Let us now praise fatuous men.

If anybody regularly reads my blog (I hope) they will know by now that I have very little respect for the network news. It seems to be it is a honey pot for mostly attractive, highly overrated, obscenely overpaid and incredibly lazy commentators. With few exceptions—like the war correspondents—these people are more worried about their hair and makeup than trying to explain the world's latest developments to their viewers. In fact, in most cases, they think the world's latest developments are Lady Gaga's latest gig, who won the Lottery, and which movie made the most money over the weekend—in short, any story that doesn't require research and any kind of specialized intelligence. But of all the idiocies of which the media are guilty, I think the worst is giving fame and significance to irrelevant persons. Today, for instance, they quoted Ted Nugent, a cipher in both the political and entertainment world. Apparently he said, in his charming racist manner,"If a Dalmatian has been biting children in the neighborhood, I think we're going to look for a black-and-white dog." Now what would possess any news medium to quote such an unnecessary comment for such a worthless person? Nothing. Except to create anger or hatred. Ted Nugent is a man of absolutely no value or character. Yet, he—along with other equally superfluous idiots—is assured by the lazy, indiscriminate media of being quoted no matter what insane thing he says  Tell me there isn't something wrong about that, Diane and George and Brian, etc.

"Remember that guy in 420 B.C. who cheated on his wives?"

Theists get certain benefits that we atheists don't. They get the smug satisfaction of believing with their whole heart something that is obviously not true. For instance, we know there is no actual retribution. So when juror 29 says that Zimmerman got away with murder, but he will have to answer to god, we know that means Zimmerman got away with murder. How ridiculous is it to think there is a supreme being who keeps track of every human action? So he's going to make Zimmerman answer for murdering Trayvon Martin. When? Right after he scolds an ancient Egyptian for stealing a loaf of bread in the marketplace?  Does Bundy get more time on trial than O.J. Simpson?  Are the Nazis tried all at once? The whole concept is absurd. And, really, what's the reward. Eternal happiness is some sort of golden Sandals, which nobody deserves. Or burning in the fires of a never-ending hell, which nobody deserves. How arrogant is man to think that he is even worthy of eternal bliss, but a hard-working mule isn't, or a loyal dog. Besides I wouldn't even want to be a heaven that didn't have animals.

America's saddest newspeople.

Who are they? Anyone at Fox. While it's true that most of them are pretty damn vacuous, notably those three morons on Fox and Friends that spout endless inanities, others probably are not. There must be men and women working as Fox commentators who studied journalism, who took pride in their reporting talents and their good fortune in being telegenic, who imagined illustrious careers. Then they sought out broadcast positions and ended up at Fox where they can never be impartial, never gain any credits for trenchant comments, and intelligent insights. They know that spewing out blather will not impress anyone in power at the  major networks. They are merely psittacious ciphers repeating the party line, being lumped together with creatures like Sarah Palin and Alan West, and, of course, mostly not being paid as well. Many of their liberal friends, which I am sure they have, must look down on them for their obsequious kissing of Roger Ailes ample and bigoted buttocks.  And heaven forbid their children grow up to become liberal thinkers and realize what an unfulfilled puppet their mother or father was for snapping to it for such  a propagandist organization.

Note: Shepard Smith, above, is one of the saddest cases at Fox, though he may not think so. As a gay man, one can only imagine the bigots that surround him at Fox. And, he must appreciate that if he hadn't sold his soul to the devil, he probably would be a major force on a respectable network.

"Just doing my thing, man."

There's no question about it: Anthony Weiner is a jerk. He had a good position, the respect of the community and the admiration of his wife. Then he screwed it all up with his taste in sexual narcissism that I don't understand and I don't need to. But just as idiotic as him in my mind are all these priggish moralists like Chris Matthews who are so offended, so outraged, so morally indignant you'd think Weiner was part of their family. The very fact that they waste so much news time discussing his shame is annoying as hell. There are more important issues than this. I couldn't care less what Weiner does in his spare time as long as he's not hurting any person or animal. Even if he had a high political office, I wouldn't care if he did his job. We are the most uptight and prudish county in the western world.

"High on a hill, stood a lone goatherd...."

Often agencies have the characters in their commercials doing things they consider funny, eccentric or charming. They never seem to consider that many of those actions are insane. Like this old woman (or man) using chickens as puppets in this hard-to-see commercial. This is not cute, it's sick. First of all using food as toys is weird, not to mention wasteful. And, yes, please do use Clorox wipes for the coffee table, but what are you going to do about the possible salmonella? Just toss the chickens? Or feed it to those kids? And you've got to give some serious thought to where you're going to house the old lady (or gent)  before she starts doing her living room act with flaming kebabs.

"Somebody actual wrote those lyrics!?"

I do not consider that I live in a free country, as I am forced to listen to music I  detest everywhere I go. I have absolutely no fondness for (many would call it appreciation of) contemporary music. The songs sound strident to me and the singers discordant and amateur. But those are the only songs that play at every supermarket, mall, restaurant outdoor cafe, Starbucks, and—of all places—Barnes and Noble. Ergo: I am denied the pleasure of silence. In my world there is no such thing as a quiet cup of coffee at some charming bistro. The bistro is charming, but one has to accept what is blaring from the loudspeaker. And if I am not continuously (not continually) exposed to music, or what is called music, I am assaulted by the sound of leaf blowers, lawnmowers, edge trimmers, motorcycles, or some moron blasting the speakers of his car because either he is deaf or he feels this is what the world wants to share with him. I doubt the day will ever come when shoppers at Publix, for instance, will ever experience silence or at least fill their grocery list to The Blue Danube or The Four Seasons. In one of my plays the main character says, "It's so loud in here you can't hear yourself think." to which the female lead replies, "Maybe that's the point."

Was this really necessary?

Just in case you think emergency rooms at leading hospitals are centers of excellence, don't. Last year I had a painful sore behind my ear. It appeared suddenly and I thought it might go away, but it didn't. Unfortunately when I was worried enough to have it examined, it was Sunday when no doctors had visiting hours so I went a local hospital E.R. Luckily they saw me right away, unluckily they took their time attending me. There were the usual 1000 questions, and various persons popping in and out of the exam room. At one point they gave me a brain scan, which seemed unnecessary to me, but what did I know? They also fed me antibiotics intravenously. Especially unpleasant about the whole deal was a very officious female doctor who shouted orders, including telling a private physician on my plan that, yes, he would see me the following day in the afternoon. I was busy that following morning going to back to the same E.R. at their demand. They gave me another brain scan, this time with "contrast" whatever that is. That afternoon I went to an incredibly pleasant doctor at a conveniently located office.  He saw me immediately, summed up the growth as nothing serious, was horrified at the treatment I got at the E.R. lanced the sore, bandaged it, gave me seven days of antibiotics and bid me farewell. The problem has not recurred.  The moral: If you have health insurance, get sick during the week.

So, what else is new?

I can't understand why Americans are interested in wall-to-wall coverage of the royal birth. Then I decided that, for the most part, they're not. While there are certainly some royal watchers, most people couldn't care less. Basically it's just another ruse by the networks to fill time and do less work. They don't really  have to spend much time covering real news or exploring serious issues, not  if they can just sit around waiting for a royal baby to arrive and spend hours speculating on what his or her name will be; tell us how swell Kate looked; use obnoxious pseudo-English expressions like "across the pond" or "break out the bubbly; and misuse expressions like "Brits".  In recent years the news has become increasingly shallow, the nightly news is completely superficial, while the morning shows are moronic. Every day many things happen that affect our lives or the future of our country or the world. But the news only seems to be able to handle one incident at a time: a bombing, a birth, a murder, a trial. This week it was a birth.

Child labor?

I'm not sure how I feel about this commercial for the origins of Mr. Clean. For starters, I am somewhat put out that it is such a ripoff of Superman. Also considering that I have grown up with Mr. Clean most of my life, I have always thought of him as a older, bald man who probably had to clean apartments for a living, but later used his hard-earned savings to create a detergent business. Therefore it is a little discomforting to discover that all he really is is an aging albino with OCD.

Sure beatsJoe Camel.

There's nothing to be said about this except that it is one of those rare very funny commercials that you could see over and over again.

Tell her to walk home.

I don't get this commercial. I know it's like several other Nissan Sentra commercials. Is the message that this car is for people with no personal confidence and thus require what they consider a prestigious car?  And if that is the meaning of the commercial isn't Herbie well rid of this shallow shrew if she is judging him by the car he drives. It's especially puzzling to me since I have never driven in my life, I think the red Nissan looks like every other new car on the market and would hardly find it impressive.

Note: In another new Nissan Sentra commercial a father who obviously is suspicious of all his daughter's boyfriends welcomes her newest beau with open arms for the simple reason that he drives a Nissan Sentra. I could be wrong, but I think that a Nissan Sentra can also be purchased by serial killers.

Yes comments.

A good friend made a wise comment today via e-mail. I have complained that after having written hundreds of posts, I have received very few comments. She wondered if it isn't possible that others thought as she did that the wording at the bottom "no comments" meant "Don't send comments". Naturally that isn't the case at all. I would welcome comments, and complaints, and arguments, and  additional information, everything in fact except what I get from most Republicans on HuffPost, which is insults and little else. If I knew how to get in touch with whomever is operating this blog service, I would encourage them to change the wording to "comments welcome".

No contest.

Though I am not fond of vulgar comedians, I adore Lewis Black. Especially when he's attacking the idiot Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, who has been running radio ads suggesting that Texas is a better choice for business than such states as Illinois and California. When he ran such an ad in New York, this was Lewis Black's
response. I, for one, think that New York City is the greatest place in the world and wish I could live there. Texas? There's no job you could offer me to make me want to live in the narrow-minded, fundamentalist, religiously sick, anti-women, arid, boring, racist state.

"And you proved what, exactly?"

Car commercial are very bizarre.Mostly they try to equate two things that have absolutely no relationship to each other.  In this case they have named the commercial Bravery. I would have called it Stupidity.Apparently it's the night of the prom and this teen has gotten all decked out though he doesn't have a date. His goal doesn't seem to be to have a good time on one of the most memorable nights in the life of most teens, but to assert himself and kiss the girlfriend (we assume) of a bully or sports hero (we assume). Then rather than spend an exciting evening, he happily drives home with a black eye. I'd say the kid's a jerk, and I haven't a clue what this has to do with an Audi. I would guess that in a real-lif situation, the father who said "Have fun tonight." would suspect that the kid who comes home early with a black eye is kind of a doofus.

Street talk?

As an avid viewer of true crime programs, one of the aspects that strikes me most is how inarticulate most detectives and police officers are. More often than not they have no skill with the English language, always say "lay" when it should be "lie", frequently makes statements like "should have went" or  "if I would have known" and dozens of other illiterate regionalisms. Is this a problem? Not necesssarily. Most of these guys are good law enforcers, good detectives, dogged, determined and devoted to catching criminals. Still it would be comforting if they could also speak English, if you got the sense that they went to college before pursuing a life of crime fighting.

"I'm not a racist. I just think like one."

 "







"If Zimmerman had punched Martin in the face,knocked him to the ground,and was banging his head against the concrete Martin would have been perfectly justified in shooting him dead.Of course it was the other way around."


This is the kind of idiotic remark I have been getting on HuffPost for my complaints about the Zimmerman verdict. Nobody, but nobody, witnessed the confrontation, yet these gullible morons take as gospel everything the defense tells them. They are not the least bit interested in what we do know and have recorded proof of: That Zimmerman didn't stay in his car as instructed, that Rachel, while on the phone, heard Trayvon say, "What are you following me for?"and other actual evidence. No, they prefer to believe the lies Zimmerman tells them because they are racists, though they would deny it. They are rooting for what they consider the white man and have no pity for the victim. One has only to listen to the publicity hound juror who spoke out to realize how cemented closed  these minds are to realize there was no sense in any trial because all these bigots assumed that a black teen had to be a criminal. I can only hope that someday soon Zimmerman has his rainy night. 

My Harry Potter conspiracy theory.

We are all familiar with the enormous success of the Harry Potter series of books and films and promotional materials. And we know that J.K. Rowling is one of the world's richest women for having created such a fascinating character. But did she? Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first book, appeared in 1997. But 12 years before in 1985, there was an amazingly similar character in the Paramount film Young Sherlock Holmes. This adventurous movie took place in settings remarkably like those in Harry Potter, the characters were as odd and magical,  and the young Watson with his round-framed glasses did not look unlike Harry himself. But I asked myself if Rowling borrowed so heavily from Young Sherlock Holmes, as I felt she did, why wasn't she sued by the author: filmmaker  Christopher Columbus. The answer, I later decided, was that a lawsuit was too much sturm and drang, especially when Columbus could profit more by being involved in the series. Was it a coincidence that Columbus, of all possible choices,  directed the first two Harry Potter films, and then after being "burned out" became a producer of the series? I think not. That was probably the arrangement they came to. Of course Ms. Rowling went on to write many more books in the series, and the films continued to made a fortune. But I contend that Harry Potter evolved from Young Sherlock Holmes and that  Christopher Columbus and J.K. Rowling made a pact to not publicize such a "coincidence" since it was so mutually beneficial.

Author? Author?

One of the most deceptive industries is publishing. They are complete frauds and they get away with it. I first became aware of this when my deceased brother, a published writer, told me that one of his best friends wrote all the Margaret Truman mysteries. My brother later ghost-wrote a biography of Humphrey Bogart from which his name was later removed. This was very unpleasant news since I admired Margaret Truman and was disappointed to hear that she was so deceptive to her fans. I imagine that millions of people bought these books believing they were written by Ms. Truman. Fraud?  This week it was revealed that a best-selling book purportedly written by an ex-military man was actually written by J.K.Rowlng. Why is that not fraud? As a published author, I can tell you it is damned hard to write a book, so it always amuses me to see novels and bios by actors, sports stars, minor celebrities, and any number of other famous or semi-famous people who you know couldn't have written a book, (Sarah Palin being one of the most annoying frauds). I think the publishing industry should be forced to clearly state who wrote the published work before their next deluge of questionable literary efforts by George Zimmerman, Jodi Arias, and Honey Boo Boo.

Prius Family commercial "Mile After Mile" :30

Prius commercials are another excellent reason to keep your remote nearby. One has to be ready to mute this insipid jingle before it makes you want to throw something at your television. Don't any of these advertisers, before approving a jingle, ask themselves: How often could someone listen to this without going mad?

Take a look at this, George.

These are some of the people at Union Square in New York who think you should be in jail. And this is just one part of one American city. You are the murderer among us, the societal misfit who managed to get a smart and slimy lawyer, the liar who got away with killing an innocent child

More than a night of murder.

George Zimmerman was declared "Not guilty" of the death of of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin  on my 71st birthday. Which means I have already lived 54 years longer than Travyon had a chance to do. So if had been murdered at 17, I would never have had a career, never travelled, never made the friends I value so much, never written as much as I have, never had the pets I have loved, never helped those I have helped, never been helped by those I so needed. I would never have seen all of my favorite tv shows, never seen productions on Broadway, never experienced the joy of every Sondheim song, never seen thousands of movies, never had the thrill of so many sexual experiences, never had a blog, a valued lover of 45 years, never spent so much time around a table at Starbucks with good friends. Never written a play, much less seen it performed in New York. I would never have had the incredible special moments that makes life so amazing and spectacular. But even more I would never had the quiet and humble and ultimately meaningless moments that make  life so worth living, like ordering a pizza which I just did. George Zimmerman denied Trayvon Martin the pleasure of being with his family on a rainy night in Sanford, Florida, of handing a package of Skittles to his young brother, of sleeping in his bed and hearing the rain against the window. And he denied him a million other pleasures like that, along with a life of experiences that would have uniquely been part of and belonged to the long and happy life of Trayvon Martin.

Justice denied in Sanford.

A pox on George Zimmerman, on his lying parents, on his opportunistic brother, on his amoral lawyers, on every biased member of his jury, on the corrupt Sanford police department, and on every bigot who was rooting for the release of this ruthless killer. Justice was not done, despite O'Mara's bragging and preening and suggesting that there was evidence enough to release Zimmerman. There wasn't. The fact remains an innocent boy was walking home from the store, was profiled by a bigoted wanna be cop bully, followed, accosted and shot through the heart. And now that that gorilla is released the media is asking the African-American community to overlook the injustice, don't make make trouble, swallow your pride, forget your anger, make the lives of White America as peaceful as possible. Let George go about his life, making a fortune on his lies, being home with his family while those who loved Trayvon continue to mourn for him. Much of white and black America as sad today knowing that justice was denied in Florida and that a killer is walking free, paying no price for his soulless crime. I have already received stunned responses from friends in Boston, L.A. and England.

MURDER IS NO LONGER A CRIME
IN FLORIDA.

The hero and the fool.

There is a particular thing in America that annoys the hell out of me. In some cases it is justified. In most cases, it isn't. You see a report of this kind of incident every week, sometimes every day. It is almost always praised, even when it should be condemned. What is it? People who save the lives of others who have foolishly put themselves in danger. The heroic man or woman, boy or girl, who dives in to save a drowning adult who has ignored swimming warnings, and dies doing so while the person requiring aid lives. So, in most cases, a heroic, valuable person dies and a careless, thoughtless person survives. But it's not just drownings. It's the idiots who go hiking, heedless of the weather and require a search party to find and save them. The inexperienced boaters who ignore storm warnings and capsize at sea, requiring others to rescue them at the risk of their own lives. It's the morons on the too-loud  snowmobiles who create avalanches and need to be located and dug out. People will always be stupid. But it galls me when those who are are careful have to rescue the idiots who aren't, and often die doing so.  I don't include in this tirade firemen and other heroic service people who have committed themselves to rescuing people from true accidents and natural disasters. No, I'm talking about the idiots that put others in life-threatening situations because they were too stupid or egotistical to consider the risks

"Well, which is it?"

I admit I am not a whiz at the computer, but at least I am capable enough to write copious e-mails, give my endless opinions to HuffPost and have a blog. But am I really supposed to know what the hell my computer is talking about when it says things to me like, "Do you want to return to existing normal." and  gives me the choice of "yes" or "no"? I have no idea what existing normal is, but it is obvious I must make a choice. I am not given the option of saying, "What the hell are you talking about?" So I say "yes" and hope that the next time I turn the computer on everything isn't missing. But I am sure next week, they will have another, to me, meaningless question with the same two "lady or the tiger"options.

Freeloaders.

If you're Catholic, sorry. But as an atheist, I see these Cardinals as freeloaders, parasites, hypocrites and sybarites. I suspect many of them don't believe in god any more than I do, but they have found a soft job with tons of respect, fabulous meals, lots of travel, provided wardrobe and apparently lots of opportunities for sex with the gender and age of your choice. Priests I put on a lower level of hypocrisy, Having grown up in Boston, I saw hordes of overweight, indulgent clergy drinking and eating at the best restaurants (while Boston's poor went hungry) but I am sure there are lots of hardworking, naive, and possibly even celibate priests doing "god's work" even though god doesn't exist. Many others I think use the church as a hiding place from their own inabilities and fears. I think the same is true of most nuns. And while we know there are many beatific, charitable nuns slaving away all over the world dispensing charity while proselytizing Roman Catholic bullshit, there are also hardened straight and lesbian sadists taking joy in making the lives of children in parochial schools miserable with their sadistic demands. But don't think I feel this way just about the Roman Catholics. While I believe many religious people sincerely believe in this absurd magic thinking and use their delusion for the good of mankind (even though they would be good people without it), I am sure that every religion is filled with god frauds who take advantage of their church since they are not afraid of going to hell since they know there is no such place, unlike their trusting congregations.

It's our fault.

It's our fault we have a corrupt Pentagon, a do-nothing Congress, an out-of-control military. It's our fault because we don't complain loudly enough and stories like the following one are practically buried in the evening news when they should be front page and someone should be in jail. The building shown here cost $34 million to build. It is constructed of first-class materials and has executive offices, conference rooms, theaters and all kinds of first-class features. I would be fabulous in any America city. But it isn't in America. It's in Afghanistan. It's a control and command center for the military. Now if you're picturing it as a busy little beehive of officials and drones, don't. It's never been used. And now that it's built, the military has decided it's in the wrong place for their needs and giving it to the Afghans isn't an option because they can't afford to operate it. So plans are to tear it down. That's $34,000,000 of your tax dollars down the drain.(You may recall this year that FEMA could not afford tornado shelters in schools.) Which is just a drop in the bucket to all the other monies that are being wasted in our war zones by the military and their best friends in the world, companies like Haliburton. But don't worry, while this luxury facility isn't being used, profits and paybacks received from building it have surely resulted in luxurious homes all over America for contractors, politicians, their couldn't-care-less-about-profiting-from-corruption families, and anyone else lucky enough to get their hand into that $34,000,000 pie.

I'm certainly not gonna take it.

Extended Stay may have a good case for their new features, but I'll never know. I find this jingle so irritating, and it is played at such a loud volume that I always turn on mute as soon as I see the opening. I was under the impression that a law had been passed that commercials could not be played louder than the program content. I guess I was wrong.

Possibly a king maker, never a king.

"And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determined to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days."
         William Shakespeare





I always liked this speech, but tonight I saw it in a different context. It made me think of Mitch McConnell. I wondered what could make a person so cold, so reptilian, so mean-spirited, so eager to crush the working people of American and deny them health services, a living wage and not only the pursuit but the achievement of happiness. Then it decided it was for many reasons. Mostly because he's an ugly man: jowly, watery-eyed, not a single attractive features. How bitter did that make him? Being born in Alabama with the first name Addison couldn't have helped. Then when he tried to be macho by joining the U.S. Army Reserve, he got an early discharge for optic neuritis, often associated with multiple sclerosis. He revealed how ardent an American patriot he is when he said we wanted to "make Obama a one-term president". He's now on his second marriage—amazing he got a first—and worth, by some reports, as much as $44,000,000. I guess now that he has his, he really doesn't care about anyone else. Yes, definitely, an ugly, ugly man in every possible way. 

Finally, something to listen to.

What happened? Did Swiffer change agencies. This is the first good commercial they've done in ages. None of that insane mop falling in love with a bowling ball. This is charming and real and convincing. I even predict that"Morty, are you listening?" becomes a much repeated slogan like, "Where's the beef?"

Fair game.

I spoke with my sister today. She, like me, is very much afraid that George Zimmerman will be acquitted, that he will have fooled the jury just as he has fooled so many others. There is no question in my mind or hers or millions of others that Zimmerman is a thug and racist who stalked an innocent boy on a rainy night and shot him through the heart. There's no excuse for what he did. Even if Trayvon punched him on confrontation, which I doubt, there's still no excuse. This neanderthal had the opportunity to walk away, to ignore a situation that was in no way threatening, to let this kid go home to his father and his brother. But in his arrogance and his fantasies of being a law enforcer, he pursued him, confronted him and killed him. Now for some reason all the news stations that are covering this trial seem to feel that this murderer, for some bizarre reason, can logically be acquitted of this heinous and unmotivated crime, that of course if Trayvon acted in any way aggressive or uppity at being stopped for no reason by a bald phantom in the rain, then of course Trayvon was at fault and responsible for his own death. This is madness. If Zimmerman is acquitted the only satisfaction I can take is that his life is in far greater danger on the street than in prison.

Twice fooled.

Today I went to Home Depot to buy paint. I didn't need a lot just a small amount to paint a prop I need for an amateur play I am doing. One of the displays was for Martha Stuart glitter paints. The colors were nice and I thought I should buy some. But in the back of my mind there was a little hesitation. I didn't know why, And I ignored it and bought the paint. When I got home, I set up the drop cloth, etc. and anticipated how nice this purple glitter paint would look. Then I put down the first brushful and it was obvious to me that the paint was thin that it would take about eight coats to create any kind of attractive finish. Then I remembered. Two or three years ago I bought a Martha Stewart paint for my bathroom and it took ages to finish the job since even three coats weren't enough. I had vowed at the time never to buy Martha Stewart paint again. Unfortunately I forgot. The good news is that you can learn from my mistakes. I don't know a thing about other Martha Stewart products, but I can tell you this: her paint sucks.

"You're going to die tonight."

Since I'm sure Trayvon Martin never uttered such a movie line, I wonder where George Zimmerman got that corny threat.  He knew, of course, that he had to come up with some line that suggested imminent death thus giving him a reason to kill an innocent boy and he came up with the cornball western line.  Trayvon Martin is one of the saddest victims I know of for many reasons. He was loved by his family, he was visiting his father, he was buying candy for his younger brother. It was rainy night and it would have been cozy in the father's area home. But this boy never got there because a human piece of shit had a bigotry attack, killed him, and left him lying in the rain not only a victim of a bully, but soon to the attacked by a nation of racists, a disgusting law team, and a family of liars.

My kind of world.

When you're cranky like me, people think nothing pleases you. But I think I am more pleased than most when something wonderful happens, like today. For some bizarre reason my printer has been behaving like Bacchus's jug, While he had an endless supply of wine, I seemed to have an endless supply of ink. Today is had reached three years. And even though it was still printing, I went back to Cartridge World on Coral Way near 27th Avenue
for a refill. I also had a small flaw in whatever that thing is that holds the cartridge. Anyway, Cartridge World was open at 9, just as they said (rare in Miami). They remembered me (rare in Miami). They not only refilled the cartridge within 5 minutes, but noted the flaw in the holder and repaired it at no extra charge. When I mentioned that I always recommend them to others, they took my word—which was true—and gave me a 10% discount. Since I casually mentioned I had other errands and did not drive, they wrapped the newly filled cartridge in bubble wrap; put it in a strong, quality box; and put that box into a convenient shopping bag. The entire charge for a filling that will probably last another two or three years: $41.00. I can't guarantee that every Cartridge World is as thoughtful, efficient, competent, and complete as this one, but if you live in Miami, you'd be a fool to have your cartridges refilled any place else.

Tipping the scales of justice.

Is the media rooting for George Zimmerman. The network carrying the trial and all the other majors seem to be excessively critical of the prosecution and full of praise for the defense. First of all, there is no defense for following an unarmed boy, causing an altercation and killing him. Zimmerman should be found guilty. But the news networks act like this is a perfectly legitimate trial, as if, of course, Trayvon should be scolded for defending himself and naturally it's his  own fault he got murdered. If he had only shown more respect and timidity to the pseudo-cop George Zimmerman he would be alive today. But George Stuffingenvelopes comments that the prosecution didn't do a great job and shakes his shrunken head while other newcasters echo this same unjust complaint seeming as supportive of George Zimmerman as his lying uncle, brother, father and mother. If this thug is set free the message to America's African-Americans is your teens have no right to be out walking in the evening scaring people with their hoodies and if they can't show the proper respect for even such an insignificant authority as a neighborhood watch volunteer, then they deserve to be killed. Maybe that's what the lazy media wants: riots and uprisings so they will have something to cover repetitively 24 hours a day and not have to deal with complicated and ever-changing world news.

It's a commercial.

I like this commercial overall, but I cannot understand why she has to say, "It's a painting easel". Of course it's an easel, what else could it be?  And if he's an artist, I think he'd recognize the gift. My only other carp with this spot is his telling her that her  favorite painting is upside down. That seems like a crappy comment to make to someone who is so obviously supportive.

Florence, why didn't you say something?

This is an old Polident ad. What I was looking for on YouTube was the most recent broadcast ad, which I couldn't find. But it amazes me that in the many years since this ad ran, nobody told Polident that they had the word everyday used incorrectly. The line should be "Use minty fresh Polident every day." How difficult is it? A store that has low prices every day has everyday low prices. Could it be easier? Yet Polident and dozens of other leading retailers and manufacturers cannot seem to get this simple rule into their heads and continue to make the same mistake year after year.

An unanswered plea for help.

The dilemma of the day in the Zimmerman trial is who was crying for help: Trayvon or George? Both mothers insist it was their son. Who to believe. I have no doubt that it was Trayvon. After all, he was the victim. He was the person who was stalked, approached, questioned. It makes sense that it was Trayvon crying for help. Why would George, pseudo-policemen, macho, aggressor cry for help and admit vulnerability? He wouldn't. It never happened. Right after the gun went of the cries for help stopped because the crier was dead. So, today George's mother takes the stand and lies, and his uncle lies, claims he could tell from the other room when he heard George on the tv. The Zimmermans are a family of liars, trying to protect their black sheep bully. You can't blame them, I suppose, unless, of course, their lies free a murderer.

Keep 'em coming.

Americans complain about a lot of things. But surprisingly they don't complain about the one area where they are most taken advantage of and abused: commercials. Since nobody seems to care enough to do a study, I can only suspect that we consumers are exposed to about 60% more commercials than would be necessary for the networks to make an excellent profit. So all the others are strictly out of greed. Right now HLN is televising the Zimmerman trial with breaks ever few minutes to run the hundreds of excessive commercials they have on their roster. They keep assuring us that we won't miss a single moment of the trial and they feel that gives them the right to run an excessive number of commercials to their captive audience. The irony is that we pay for television. When it was free we were assured that if we ever paid to watch tv, it would be commercial-free. Of course that never happened. Even networks like HBO run endless commercials for their own programs. There is no other area where Americans are bigger suckers than the amount of unnecessary commercials we put up with in order to make network executives wealthy. But, sadly, this doesn't seem to bother anyone, or it never occurred to them.

It's not delicious, it's DIGIORNO.

"It's not delivery, it's DIGIORNO"  is a great slogan. Unfortunately it's a lousy pizza. I bought two of them tonight to save cooking time or ordering time from a local pizzeria. I can't recall ever having pizzas so tasteless, so leathery and so boring. Too bad, because I always admired their commercials and foolishly assumed they probably deserved the compliments they gave themselves.

Two men can move it from room to room.

I'm sure there are lots of viewers who consider these commercials adorable. I find them obnoxious. First of all I hate spots that put selling points into the mouths of children.  Then the idea that these children think of themselves as having advanced in time just because of a wireless tv is truly absurd. Then I question how portable this alleged wireless tv actually is. It looks to me like it would be a pain to movie, and obviously is has some kind of wired instrument attached to it. A T & T must be pleased with themselves because there are lots of these saccharine spots in a typical evening. Also if you're attempting realism don't have the child wear a sweater that looks like it just came out of the wardrobe box.

A thriving, legitimate business.

Why do we in American pretend that prostitution is illegal?  Open any free rag in any city and you'll see lots of ads for hookers.  (Or am I supposed to believe these busty, meretricious maidens are really massage therapists?) Since they seems to advertise week after week, and I never hear of any arrests, I have to assume what they offer is legal. It's a pity really that they don't make it legal-legal. There will always be prostitution, so why not make it clean and safe. How? By making sure it's done willingly, pimpless, hygienically, with regular medical checkups, and paying taxes like everyone else. But the priggish Christians, of which they are zillions would never countenance legal prostitution. They would rather that their hypocritical husbands visit some shady, possibly infected, lady of the night who may be on the up and up, or may be the psychological victim of some pimp who likes to beat up and rob the customer when he's finished with his transaction. It's all ugly and dirty, but let's not pretend it's illegal.

Misspeak.

So far this biggest idiot in the Zimmerman trial, other than Zimmerman himself is Officer Chris Serino. Serino testified under cross-examination that Mr. Zimmerman seemed to be telling the truth when he said he fired his gun in self-defense.Why the prosecution didn't immediately object to this totally personal comment is hard to understand but the next day the jury was told to disregard that remark, is if that were possible. One wonders how a law officer could make such an unprofessional judgement during such an important trial. Of course the Sanford Police Department is not far removed from the Keystone Kops, so I don't know why I'm surprised. The following quote by Serino suggests to me he should choose some other kind of work since his kind of gullibility is a bad fit for a police investigator.

“The best evidence we have is the testimony of George Zimmerman, and he says the decedent was the primary aggressor in the whole event,” Serino told the Sentinel March 16. “Everything I have is adding up to what he says.”  

"You're nothing but pack of cards."

This insane Zimmerman trial continues. And it continues to mystify me. Why are we having a trial?Why do we have to decide whether Zimmerman was right in killing Trayvon Martin, whether he acted in self-defense. Martin wasn't guilty of anything. If Zimmerman acted in self-defense, it's because he engaged an innocent Trayvon Martin in an unnecessary scuffle borne out of Zimmerman's own ego. And once he started that needless argument, Trayvon naturally fought back so George killed him.  If I engaged an innocent person on the street in an argument and during the fight I picked I killed that person, I would expect to be indicted for murder, not to have a trial to determine whether I was right to kill this innocent person because when I went up against them, they had the nerve to fight back. Watching these lawyers defend this fat, sullen, bully is weirder than watching the trial in Alice in Wonderland.

A newscaster just commented that when Zimmerman was told by the police that the entire episode was videotaped, he was elated. This suggest to this reporter  that Zimmerman must be innocent to feel such joy at knowing the entire event was on tape. My belief is that Zimmerman was familiar with the neighborhood and, being a cop wannabee, he knew some of the tricks they pull. He surely knew there were no cameras in that area. Ergo: He was pretending to be elated, hoping that this would make him appear more innocent later on, which obviously it did to some naive people. I think what happened was even uglier than this trail reveals and that Zimmerman created his own injuries

A celebration of gunfire.

I hate the Fourth of July. Well, I don't hate the holiday. I hate the fireworks Most people couldn't care less than it terrifies animals far and near, but I do. I would rather that you give up your loud, blasting, explosive thunder than see dogs, cats, birds and other animals flee in fright and become mad with anxiety. I would especially love to see less celebration in Miami, where the residents don't have any appreciation of the country's birth, but love loud noise and the chance to shoot their guns in the air, never caring who might get hurt in the process. Of course the fireworks will continue and nobody will really care that this loud celebration is causing thousands of others anxiety, confusion, and fear, because, after all, that's the American way.

Death in the rain.

I don't get this case. Apparently in the State of Florida you're allowed to follow someone for no reason,  confront them, engage in an argument and kill them. And then you can have a trial to prove that you're not an arrogant, aggressive, sociopathic thug. I don't even care if Trayvon hit George first. Why shouldn't he? He doesn't know if Zimmerman is a stalker, a pederast, a skinhead, or just someone who doesn't like blacks in his neighborhood. He may has thought he has to protect his life from a killer and apparently he did. And as far as who was crying for help, do you really think think it was  this swaggering, bullying adult with a holstered gun, who imagines himself a hero cleaning out the Old West? No way. The cry for help was from a frightened kid who was, for no apparently reason, followed by a 26 year old scary adult. Plus Zimmerman maintains they got into a scuffle. He maintains Trayon tried to take his holstered gun from him, though there is no finger proof proof of such an attempt  He also maintains that Trayvon used his hand to cover Zimmerman's bloody nose in order to suffocate him. I pose it is very easy to remove one noses from anyone's clutching hand. Of course, no surprise, there was no blood on Trayvon's hands. I suspect that with the few moments Zimmerman had alone after killing this kid, he punched his own nose and rubbed his own head on the sidewalk or grass just enugh to make it appear that there was a fight, which there wasn't, and knowing that was his only chance to beat this coldblooded murder rap, which he probably will.

The face above is what teenager Trayvon Martin saw approaching him on a rainy night when he was on his way home to his family. There was no reason for George Zimmerman to waylay him, to question him, to confront him, or to suspect him of anything. But instead of leaving Trayvon alone, the arrogant thug approached him, initiated an argument and shot him to death. A nightmare in itself, but now it is America's nightmare because so many people seem to feel that that this sociopath had every right to do what he did.