WHEN TV WASN'T MOSTLY CRAP.

This week I have been watching on British TV (Acorn) something you can't even get on American TV anymore, though it was once very popular. Actually I think it would still be popular if the profit-makers didn't decide that we must watch their crime shows, reality TV, and quizzes. I'm talking about anthology TV, in which every week presented us with a different story, a different cast, and a completely new, non formula, slant on life.. Now we are fed weekly episodes of predictable sitcoms, endless CSIs, and totally scripted "reality" shows. Most people won't miss anthology programs because they haven't been exposed to them. But when I was growing up Americans watched dramas, musicals and comedies by the greatest writers of the time. Every week the riches included Playhouse 90, Studio One, The Kraft Television Theater, and superior offerings on other weekly anthologies named for  Goodyear, Philco, Alcoa, and other leading manufacturers. Many of these nightly programs were based on classics by Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Chekhov, O'Neill, and other legendary writers and by such current luminaries as Rodgers and Hammerstein, Paddy Chayefsky, William Inge, Arthur Miller,
Terence Rattigan, even Stephen Sondheim. And since they often had a single sponsor, they were only interrupted by three of four commercials. So today, not only can't you see quality anthology programming, but the formulaic programs you can see come with a generous helping of as many as twenty commercials in a half hour.  Is this really progress?

Shown above: Scene from the 1962 drama Requiem for a Heavyweight with Ed Wynn, Keenan Wynn, and Jack Palance. Just one of the popular anthology dramas that went on to become a major motion picture.

Blackout. But why?

Recently while watching television, the picture blacks us for a second or two. This happens frequently on any channel. It's very annoying and I don't know what causes it. To find out I posed the problem to the Internet. I was very surprised to find many, many other posts from other people who were troubled by the same problem, and were just as ignorant as I am as to why. What this means to me is that someone, possibly Comcast, (always creators of problems) or some other source is causing this problem and not acknowledging it. If anyone knows the reason for this malfunction, please let me know as I would really like to see an end to it.

JUST A THOUGHT.

Isn't it time that we started arresting and putting on trial executives at Monsanto for crimes against humanity? Haven't they gotten away long enough with altering our world, poisoning our food, destroying our ecosystem, killing world commerce and blackmailing and bullying farmers? And imagine how dangerous they will be if they hook up with Bayer, another poisonous, deceptive and deadly company.

More like Fox every day.

I remember when the news media would report the news. Now they create it. I would state without fear of contradiction that the TV news media has focused on, over-reported, and essentially promoted Donald Trump. He is not just his creation, but a co-invention with the networks and the press, mostly the broadcast networks. And while they're giving him the lion's share of coverage, the media has created this fantasy that Hillary Clinton is hated, dishonest, and "the lesser of two evils". It's basically not true, but it makes for hotter stories, sharper drama, nastier competition. From the beginning,  the increasingly incompetent and lazy news media has been complicit in promoting the Republican fantasy that Clinton alone is responsible for Benghazi. And, while the evening news stations eagerly report every nasty remark out of Trump's unregulated mouth, they never remind us of all the good that Hillary has done for this country. Instead they irresponsibly report every item of gossip, and every unproven, or disproven allegation. And now the news media has managed to create a war between Clinton and Sanders by reporting only the negative aspects of their campaigns. As much as I hated Cruz, Rubio, Bush, and those other losers, the media played a major role in getting them out of the picture so they could focus on their favorite story, the outrageous and always good press Trump. The media has no interest in the future of our country, only the future of their ratings. Yes, Fox is a blatant liar, a Republican propaganda machine. But all the other news stations are not that far behind in, if not in bending the truth, then redirecting it, coloring it, ignoring it, and exaggerating it. The media is becoming
a dangerous and deceptive force.

Invasion of the body snatchers?

What the hell is going on?  Tonight Charlie Rose-CHARLIE ROSE!-on the CBS Evening News was practically giddy that Trump has clinched the Republican nomination with the required delegates. His sense of congratulations was frightening. Naturally it was quickly followed by a negative report on Hillary Clinton repeating endlessly the hideous, awful,unforgivable, sadistic, evil crime of her e-mails. Does CBS want Trump to win?  Do all the lazy and increasingly incompetent, not to mention dangerous, media, want Trump to win? Because they have been working their asses off promoting his agenda, giving him more air time, seeming to fear his election, all the time working to make it possible. Even Ron Reagan recently scolded the media for the shabby treatment they are giving Hillary Clinton, never mentioning her extensive experience and all the good she has done for this country and totally exaggerating any minor missteps. I repeat: What the hell is going on?

GOVERNMENT ISSUE.

The  government has recently launched a new campaign to promote pool safety. I don't know what the campaign includes, but I did see a new poster on a train platform yesterday. I hope it isn't indicative of the entire campaign as this poster has one of the stupidest public service messages I have ever seen.

TEACH KIDS TO SWIM. IT CAN MEAN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CLOSE CALL AND A CALL TO 911. POOLSAFETY.GOV

Why a close call? Why not a fun day at the beach? Duh.

Just say no.

Today when you have to call a provider, any provider, with a question or complaint, they ask for your name and telephone number, which is fine. What isn't fine it when they transfer you to someone else who can better handle your problem and that person asks for your name and telephone number. They are the same company. They should have been given that information by the first responder. When you are paying for a service, it is not your job to jump through hoops for the convenience of  the provider. I tell the second person "No. If you want my name and telephone number get it from your fellow employee who already has it. If they say they can't help me without it, I tell them, fine, that I will replace them with another provider. That seems to help them find a solution." I don't understand why consumers will so willingly obey the instructions of companies who are being paid to provide them with service and not the other way around.

The face of our future?

There is so much about Donald Trump that is unattractive. But as I've said before I think the oddest and most peculiar thing about him is his catty bitchiness. When he starts ranting like a moralist he seems especially unhinged, especially since his own life has been anything but exemplary. His attacks on Bill Clinton are especially weird since he's probably seduced dozens more women than Bill ever even approached. His assaults on the attractiveness of certain women like Carly Fiorina, Mrs. Cruz, and Rosie O'Donnell are what one would expect from a jealous harridan rather than a supposedly masculine male. The idea that this nasty narcissist has gotten this far is astonishing. If, by some strange twist of fate, he ever did become president then we would have at least four years of spats, squabbles, set-tos, feuds, and bitching sessions, not only with members of the press, but with national leaders.

Penny wise, dollar foolish.

Canada's TD Banks are very pleasant places with which to do business. They keep longer hour than most banks. They have wonderful murals related to each location. They provide water bowls and milk bones for dogs, and lollipops for children. And, for their customers they have free Penny Arcades, very convenient coin-counting machines. At least they did have them until NBC and some busybody group called the Rossen report suggested these machines might be short-changing their customers. First of all I would never expect such a device to be 100% accurate, and I suspect that any short changing was a matter of pennies, or dimes at the most. But after the report, TD removed all the machines, so this morning when I came in for a count, I was stuck leaving with a heavy bag of coins. I schlepped them to the local supermarket, but they didn't have a machine. Eventually another market did, and I converted them to cash for an 11% fee. I don't know who these Rossens are, but because of them thousands of customers are stuck rolling their accumulated coins or taking them to some market and paying a fee, which I am sure is heftier than the piddling sum that they were shortchanged by these machines.

A clueless candidate. An incredible cop show.

Donald, the moron, Trump said today that when he is president there will be no gun-free zones. That was his way of kissing the collective asses of the brainless NRA members and they responded with delight , of course. He also insists that the Egyptian Air flight was the result of a bomb, which it may have been, but one worries about someone who states as fact what is not yet known. Anyway, forgetting this boob. I want to comment about a TV show I saw this week that I thought was brilliantly executed and I wish every American could see it, but I think it's only available with certain services. The show is called 19-2 and it  revolves around the day-to-day life of two Montreal Police Officers. This particular show, the Season Two premier titled School depicts a mass shooting at a local high school, and I think it's one of the most realistic and harrowing shows I've ever seen. It will give viewers a clear idea of what law enforcement is faced with an a building with so many
sections, so many places to hide, so many places to kill.

Picture postcard not so perfect.

To my mind the greatest play ever written was The Glass Menagerie. In the brilliant opening speech, the leading character Tom says that his father was a telephone man who fell in love with long distance and the last they heard of him, ..."was a picture postcard from Mazatlan on the Pacific coast of Mexico. containing a message of two words: 'Hello—Goodbye!' and no address." Having recently been in Mazatlan on a 16-day Panama Canal cruise, I thought it would be fun to send my partner such a postcard. The first hurdle was getting anyone in Mazatlan to direct me to a post office since nobody seems to speak English in this very poor city. Once I finally found the post office, I was told they did not accept American currency and had to find a bank. Once I did locate a bank, I had to sit and wait my turn as one does at the DMV. When I finally saw a teller, I was required to give my passport even to purchase a few pesos. Back at the post office, I paid in pesos for the necessary stamps, which the clerk applied to my postcards with their version of Elmer's Glue. This whole procedure took more than an hour, but I thought it would be worth it for the novelty of having a postcard like the once mentioned in my favorite play. That was two week's ago and the postcard still has not arrived. I suspect that Tom Wingfield's father had more success with Mazatlan mail delivery than I will have.

What seems like good fortune....

The auction for George Zimmerman's gun, the gun that killed Trayvon Martin, has supposedly been sold for $138,000. There is no confirmation that this is an actual sale, but I hope it is. Why? Because a low-class, worthless, murdering piece of shit like Zimmerman is always going to get into trouble. Give him more money and he'll get into more trouble. So, the way I see it, this windfall could be the end of him. Let us hope.

Update: Today, May 21, HuffPost reported that Zimmerman's gun sold for $250,000 and that George plans on using the money to fight anti-police groups and Hillary Clinton. Being a complete narcissist and having no knowledge of politics, it is unlikely that he will use the money for anything but self indulgence. This cash will, of course, make him even more appealing to the kind of people who can stomach him in the first place. Isn't it scary how in America, maggots like George Zimmerman and Kim Davis can become famous?

"The doctor will be right with you."

I have the perfect way for you to choose the right GP. This doesn't work for specialists because many of them are brilliant, but arrogant, and it often doesn't matter how nice they are. Anyway regarding the family doctor. Choose a man or woman who has lots of varied magazines in the waiting room. This shows that they are thoughtful of their patients, and if they have to keep them waiting, want them to be entertained. I can't tell you how many doctors I have seen that had no magazines, or only the boring trade magazines they got for free. This show they are inconsiderate, cheap bastard and are not likely to be any more thoughtful about your aches and pains than your waiting time. I've had a great GP for over ten years now, and he has lots and lots of magazines.

Everywhere I go
The Musak's the same old story.
Nothing but dime-store divas,
Never a Nana Mouskouri.

Considering all the screaming and caterwauling that passes for
singing these days, you might have forgotten what talent is
really like. I suggest looking up Nana Mouskouri on YouTube
and listening to any one of her songs, though I have included
my favorite, "The First Time I Ever I Saw Your Face."

Doppelgangers?

Let me get this straight. A large number of Americans are willing to vote for a man who is a proven liar, philanderer, failure, cheat, egomaniac, braggart, fraud, bully, and catty bitch. And if that isn't bad enough, he likes Sarah Palin. Maybe that's because they have so much in common.  She frequently wrote letters to newspapers pretending to be someone else while she praised herself. And he, as we know, once called a reporter pretending to be John Miller so he could say how wonderful he is and how desirable to women.  We dodged the bullet of Palin becoming Vice President, let us hope we can avoid the nuclear bomb of Trump becoming president.

P.S. Now that McCain has said he would vote for Trump, he has proven once and for all that he is brainless idiot without any character at all.

I love doing crossword puzzles. And more often than not, they are completely correct. But several times I have found an error that is so off the mark, I can't imagine how it originated. The clue that is given is "bespectacled ventriloquist's doll" or dummy. And the answer is "Snerd" as in Mortimer Snerd, one of the popular dummies of Edgar Bergen. But Mortimer was never bespectacled as you can see from this photo. Hmmm. I wonder how many other errors there are that I didn't recognize.

$5.50 for a 16-oz. bottle of water, are you nuts?"

I had a very nice neighbor send an amusing e-mail scolding me for not having set up messages on my cell. She was interested in hearing about my recent 16-day cruise vacation. She humorously told me to hire a 14-year-old to set up my messages since I am a Luddite. Her e-mail reminded me of several things. One is I love not getting messages which require me to call people back as I am not fond of the telephone to begin with. Two: I have no interest in telling anyone about a vacation which is already over. I don't take photos and I don't keep a journal. If anything I am only interested in interesting persons I might have met, amusing anecdotes, or revealing the fact that NCL is a greedy pig of a cruise line. But the places I visited, the sights I saw, I couldn't care less in reliving. I know this is odd when you consider the people with hundreds of photos and a story to go with every one. I am pleased these memories give them so much pleasure and quite happy to hear their narrations, but as for me, suffice it to say, "I had a nice time."

"No. That's two hams on rye, hold the mayo."

Isn't this a charming photo of President Bush in a relaxed position, his feet up on the desk?  Nearby is the man who has always had the hots for him. One problem, though. This isn't a quiet summer afternoon in White House, when there was that rare intermission in the cares of state. No, this photo was taken at Barksdale Air Force Base during the 9-11 crisis. This is how seriously this moron handled our greatest tragedy.

Comcast/Xfinity ever the unreachable pain in the ass seems to be determined that I can never have a direct line to my e-mail. Now that I have returned from a vacation, I have to put up with their "Welcome back." greeting before they allow me access to my e-mail. Who are the morons who run this company? They have a "Contact us" icon, which seems to have no effect at all. I could, of course, call them, but that would mean listening to several commercials, a list of what ineffective buttons to push, and more than likely being disconnected before I presented the problem. Grrrrrr.

"Does it come with a step ladder?"

If you doubt that Americans are stupid, go to the bedding department of any large department store. We've been suckered. There they are. Huge ugly beds. Absurdly high mattresses. The bedding industry has sold us a bill of goods and, in doing so, has raised prices incredibly. For decades, we Americans were very happy with our standard mattress and box springs. We had a choice between foam and inner springs. Many of our beds lasted for twenty years or more. And they cost under $200.00, sometimes way under. Those days are over. Now beds can run up to thousands of dollars. They have all kinds of fancy names and features but are not really any more comfortable. But they are more work. Try making one of the new beds when the sheets, which are also far more expensive, are as big as circus tents. And be sure you've got the right thread count, something you didn't have to worry about in the past. One recent commercial is even trying to convince consumers to replace their mattress every eight years on the premise that it has become weighted down with old skin cells. (which somehow have worked their way through the sheets). I'm sure many gullible idiots will buy that lie. Yup, beds are higher, higher
priced, harder to make up, and a hell of a lot more complicated than they were in the past. Maybe that's why recent studies have shown that insomnia is on the rise, and roughly 60 million Americans are affected by various sleep disorders. Maybe they're tossing and turning wondering how they could be so stupid as to buy that overpriced bed.

TURDS OF A FEATHER.

I think that North Korea and Donald Trump's children have a lot in common. Note the wild applause that always greets Kim Jong Un, despite the fact that he's not bright, and certainly not attractive. But if he notices for moment that you are not an enthusiastic fan, that could be the end of you. Notice the high regard with which the Trump children praise their father. Now they are in no danger of his killing them (I don't think), but if he feels for a moment that any  one of them is not promoting his benevolance and brilliance, he or she is sure to be persona non grata. And being written out of his will could be a costly blow. Besides their high-paying jobs depend on him. The Trump children are not stupid, so there is no way they can't be aware of what a doofus their father is. They are not brainwashed so they can't all be buying daddy's propaganda. True, he may have been a loving dad when he wasn't busy being a loving philanderer, but that certainly wouldn't blind them to his buffoonery and flaws. So while the North Koreans keep applauding the Trumps will keep trumpeting, until somebody throws the revealing bucket of water on one or both of them.

A shameful past. A dishonest present.

There are very few companies I despise as much as Bayer. Forgetting that it was Bayer who provided the Nazis with the poisons to kill 6 million Jews, they are still leading purveyors of poison. And when it comes to their other products, such as aspirin, they are consistent liars. For years now they have promoted the disproven myth that taking aspirin regularly can prevent heart attacks or taking it during a heart attack can weaken the attack's effect. Now they have a new commercial suggesting that Bayer aspirin can help prevent a recurring stroke. What's next? That a daily Bayer aspirin regimen can prevent cancer, glaucoma, psoriasis, athlete's foot? I can't post these commercials as they are not on YouTube, which is wise of them because they know they are totally dishonest. I find it fascinating that so many American Jews will not buy German automobiles but still purchase the products of this shameful and deceptive company.

Laughing in the face of disaster.

We know that the man in the middle of this photo is an idiot. We also can be sure that all the other guffawing goons are equally moronic. Bill Maher says that Americans are stupid. He's certainly right about a large percentage of them, based on the crowds at Trump rallies and the enthusiasm with which these unsophisticated simpletons embrace this madman. Of course all sane people will get revenge on these naifs if Donald gets into office. Because Trump will so screw up our services, security, and economy that they will all rue the day they ever stood behind him with their shit-eating grins. Unfortunately the rest of us will have to go down the tubes along with the rubes.

EVIL ACCOMPLICE.

While reading Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church, I was not surprised to learn that Boston's Cardinal Bernard F. Law was wildly opposed to abortion. Like many who decry what they consider the murder of young innocents, Law didn't seem to be too concerned about these children once they were born. If he had he would not have turned a blind eye to so much abuse, so many rapes, such rampant pedophilia. In short like most people opposed to abortion, he was a hypocrite. They insist that the poor, unhealthy or desperate mother give birth but want no part in feeding, clothing, housing or otherwise protecting the unwanted child. And when it grows out of its infant stage, they want even less awareness.  I personally blame the Catholic Church for much of the overpopulation and poverty in the world today, at least in the Americas. They have insisted for ages that you must have that baby whether you can afford it or not, whether your husband is abusive, whether you're riddled with disease, whether its arrival will badly affect your other children. Have it. And if you die in the process, at least you were doing god's work.

Cruel and unusual.

This man is obviously dead. Why haven't they buried him? I suspect it's like Weekend at Bernie's. Some other Republican zealots, eager to smear Hillary Clinton, are making it seem like Trey Gowdy is still alive so they can continue the Benghazi witchhunt. Give me a break! Look at the pallor, the glazed eyes, the lifeless expression. This guy is gone.

Another idiot heard from.

Jeb Bush has echoed the opinion of his senile father and moronic brother in stating that he won't vote for Trump. Forgetting the fact that he is stating the obvious, where did these white trash patricians get the idea that anybody cares what they plan or don't plan to do? Do they have a sense that all the news networks are waiting breathlessly for their every word?  Has Hillary lost sleep knowing he won't vote for her either? Isn't it obvious to Jeb!!!! that America didn't want him and sure as hell doesn't want his opinion...on anything?

Where Have All The Young Men Gone?

To my mind almost all the music you hear today, piped in loudly everywhere go, is lousy. Untalented singers whining or screaming to mediocre music played by third-rate musicians. Actually it's not even music, it's noise with a beat. Still, as bad as it is, and it is bad, there is still one aspect that mystifies me: Why are there so few male vocalists (and I used the word vocalists only because even bad singers have vocal cords)? Almost every voice is female. From the strident Mariah Carey to the simplistic lyrics and highly overrated talent of Taylor Swift. Sadly Adele can sing but chooses to perform her own mundane crap. Highly talented, of course, is Lady Gaga, but today's unsophisticated fans will never realize in what way. But the field is overrun with females, some little more than strippers. Where are the guys, the boys, the new male kids on the block? They're disappearing. And now that Prince has gone, there's one less.

O is for onerous.

Is everybody inflexible today? At 12:30, I ordered a bed from Overstocked.com, my first order. By 3:30, three hours later I had to cancel the order. Simple? No. The clerk—sorry, sales assistant—told me the order had been accepted by the warehouse and there was nothing they could do now. So if the bed arrived, I was to accept it, and then return it. I asked him if he couldn't phone the warehouse and cancel the order. He responded, "That's not procedure." Apparently these days the easiest, most logical, and lease complicated course of action is not procedure; not if it doesn't inconvenience the customer, raise his blood pressure and allow the seller to scam off a few more dollars.

They're ubiquitious.

I got a scam letter this week from some grifter calling her (or him)self  Elza Bupe. I will include her transparent opening at the end of this post. Yesterday a friend told me about an older woman she knows who was scammed out of thousands which she sent to an "attorney" she believed was handling bail, etc. for the arrest of her estranged son. It's hard to feel real pity for anyone so gullible. I can't imagine why she didn't do more checking, but apparently she blithely send off two payments to this alleged attorney. It's amazing to me that anyone can be scammed considering how often we are warned against the various con games in society today. Of course the internet has opened all kinds of new doors to thieves and liars.  A good rule of thumb is if it requires money, it's suspicious. In the meantime I have such hatred for grifters that no fate that befalls them could too painful or violent.  And that goes for  Elza, who writes

How is your day today? My name is Miss Elza Mutemba, 25 years of age, I am the only child of Late Dr. Laurent Mutemba of Democratic Republic of Congo. My father was a successful business man. My purpose for contacting you is first, I want to know more about you so that I will know the areas of which you will be of assistance to my needs.

Sheesh!

Every time I hear a reference to Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, I never think of how immoral he has, but how backward and judgemental Americans are about sex.  Yes, Bill Clinton, like millions of Americans had an affair, and for some reason many Americans, including so-called Christians, wanted Hillary to hate and divorce him. But, being a person of character, she remained in the marriage, forgave her husband and disappointed all those moralistic pains in the ass who can't forgive Bill. They do, however, seem to forgive George W. Bush for lying us into a war that resulted in the deaths of thousands of young Americans and countless subsequent deaths caused by such Bush-grown terrorist groups as ISIS. But then what is the senseless murder and maiming of men, women, and children by Bush compared to the indiscretion of Clinton with a clueless bimbo?

Profiles in Courage: NOT.

While watching the ABC Evening Commercials, I was annoyed by one of the few news items. This one revealed that neither George H. W.Bush nor George W. Bush will attend the Republican National Convention in Cleveland to witness the nomination of Donald Trump. Now, while I dislike and disapprove of Trump as much as all reasonable people and would hate to see him become president, I
can say this in his favor: Unlike Bush 41 he never abandoned a flaming plane during World War II war leaving his two crew members to perish, and unlike Bush 43, he never started a fake war that not only resulted in the deaths and maiming of thousands of American men and women, but caused the deaths, and suffering of many thousands of Iranian men, woman, and children and led to the formation of such murderous groups as ISIS. So while there are many politicians who can sneer and carp about Trump's popularity, neither of these Bushes has the right to criticize anyone.

Well I have returned from a cruise vacation to California and will soon start bitching and complaining again. Probably not today since there are too many errands to run.