THE HEIGHT OF DECEPTION.

Several TV commercials are telling viewers that they should change their mattress every eight years. I think this is a complete lie and shocking example of a lack of truth in advertising. I have had my Sealy mattress for 15 years (nearly twice its supposed lifetime) and it looks and weighs exactly what it did when I bought it. The idea that it would gain weight from skin cells or whatever is absolutely ludicrous.
Do these skins cells burrow through the sheets and mattress cover? Of course not. If your mattress is comfortable, even after twenty years, keep it. Unlike the distant past, mattresses are now a high ticket item. We would have scoffed years ago at the idea of spending $1,000 or more for a mere mattress. And now that they have made the damn things even higher, one must also spend far more on deeper sheets. I would suggest the bedding industry has become a very lucrative racket, not only for the high cost of mattresses, but the fallacy that you're kind of slob if your mattress is older than eight years and your sheets aren't 10,000 count fine Egyptian cotton!

GOWDY GOBBLES UP ANOTHER 7 MILLION!

Wouldn't you think the Republicans would get tired of trying to incriminate Hillary Clinton for the tragic Benghazi incident. Especially when they keep ending up with egg on their faces. Now after wasting two years and $7 million dollars The House Select Committee has once again come up with no evidence of wrongdoing by the then Secretary of State soon to be President of the United States. Like every witch hunt before it, there is no there there. As you can see from these two photos, the creepy and vindictive Trey Gowdy is sneeringly disappointed while the triumphant Hillary Clinton is just what she should be after eight investigations: bored, bored, bored.

DON'T GIVE IT MY REGARDS.

I spoke with a friend this morning who just bought two tickets to The Book of Mormon for $175.00 each. As much as I love Broadway shows, I doubt that I will ever go to another production. Not because I can't afford it. But because I am absolutely offended that theater is now only for the wealthy and elite. Prices are ridiculous and generally not worth it. I have read so many biographies of famous entertainers who generally grew up poor. They often relate about their first time at a Broadway (or other professional) theater and how magical and life-changing it was. Well, that's not going to happen any more because the average person cannot afford to go to a Broadway show. The last time I was duped was when I paid $100 to see August: Osage County, which had received rave reviews.I found it to be a well-acted soap opera, and left at intermission. Which is another Broadway flaw, suggesting that a show, any show, is too brilliant to miss regardless of the insane prices. Hamilton is a perfect example of that. It's being heralded like the second coming of Christ and charging outrageous ticket prices. (Top price: $849.) How good can a two hour history lesson in rap be?  A few years ago the "can't miss" show was The Producers. Hype! Sadly there is no musical on Broadway now that I am eager to see, much less for more than an acceptable $50.00. Broadway is now a factory that produces only designer shows, too many with the Disney label, too many others woven out of popular or unpopular movies. And while it is a thrill to be in the milling crowds of the Great White Way, the musicals are not worth the price. Today, Amateur productions of colleges and even high schools are reaching a whole new level of professionalism. Several years ago I saw a production of 42nd Street at the Ring Theatre of the University of Miami that was significantly superior to the revival I had seen on Broadway, and a damn site less expensive.

THERE ARE SOME THINGS EVERYBODY KNOWS.

When I got up this morning, I had no Internet and no phone service. I didn't wonder why as I used to. I knew why. Because Comcast had screwed up again. They were obviously doing something wrong as usual, and there was no way one could get service. If you called them, which is always a time-wasting chore, they would have some cockamamie explanation in which they would try to convince you there was something wrong at your end. This theory would be presented to you from someone with a strong accent who was probably in a boiler room in Thailand. More than likely you would be disconnected before you finished complaining. But I don't call anymore because I know service will be restored at some point. Of course there will never be anything on the Xfinity screen that says, "Sorry for the inconvenience this morning." Their stupidity and incompetence will never be referred to or apologized for. One is always tempted to switch to their only competition, AT&T, but one hears horror stories about them as well.

OH, NO! NOT AGAIN!

What a surprise: Marco Rubio is rerunning for his Senate seat. He'd be a fool not to. Where else can you get respect, do absolutely nothing, have all kinds of perks, and get paid almost $200,000 a year? No place. So it's ideal for Marco who has proven he's no good for anything else. If he worms his way back in,  he can get a regular paycheck, pretend to be the perfect dad, drink with his questionable cronies, and, after a few pina coladas with the boys, slur, "I coulda been a contender."

Who's Who and Who Cares?

This, I assume has something to do with a wedding, and somebody in this car is married to somebody else, I'm guessing. And though the women looks like Robin Wright, from House of Cards, that's not relevant any more than the man behind her looks like "The Most Interesting Man in the World." And it's supposed to be charming and touching and all that good stuff. But frankly, I find this confusing commercial, with its whiny song,  one of the most annoying spots on TV today.

THE UNREACHABLES.

One of the most annoying aspects of society today is that so many people are in hiding. Corporations, performers, media outlets, all kinds of companies and people are unwilling to make their address or phone number public. I find this strange. You would think a manufacturer would like the public's opinion, good or bad, of their product. You would think an actor would love to get a deluge of fan mail. But apparently not. For the past week I have been having problems with HuffPost, a media site I have been a fan of for years. The problem is that I don't get the full picture any more, just the left and right sides of the screen. I can't do anything about it because HuffPost is one of those invisible mediums. They have no way to communicate with them about a problem with their service. No address. No phone. No e-mail. They do have e-mails to advertise or submit ideas, but nothing to address problems. I have tried sending messages to these other "addresses" but with no results. Oh, well. (sigh)

USE IT OR LOSE IT.

My partner came up with an interesting term today. He said he was trying to place the lyrics to a song and try as hard as he might, he couldn't identify it. I said that's easy, you just type in the lyrics on the computer and you'll know. And he said, "Yes. I can do that. But I don't want a Google brain." By that he meant he wanted to continue to use his brain to find answers, and not just look them up on Google or some other search engine. Google themselves also use the term Google Brain, but with a far more flattering definition. I like Peter's use better. I think we should all avoid Google brains.

IN CAHOOTS?

I think Miami-Dade Transit has a sweetheart deal with South Florida dermatologists. Think about it. Miami has thousands of unshaded bus benches sitting in treeless areas. At the same time most of their busses or trolleys have erratic schedules. So many of the commuters waiting for busses have no shade and sit in the blazing sun for as long as 45 minutes. Many do this every day. I don't need to tell you that that exposes those commuters to the dangers of skin cancer. And when they spot that suspicious mole, sore or rash, where do they go? The dermy, of course, who, it seems to me, gets a lot more business because of Metro-Dade Transit than even the beaches. At the beaches people expect to use sun block, but not so much when you're just waiting or a bus to go work. Hmmm. I wonder when they arranged this deal.

HIDDEN AGENDA?

This is how Noah Michelson the militant gay editor of Huffington Post opened his article on whether the Orlando shooter may have been gay. I find this an offensive an inappropriate intro for his article. First of all I don't think these young people should be referred to by the offensive term "queer" even if it is a word Noah is fond of and regards as non-toxic, which it isn't. Second, how dare he assume that everyone in the club was gay. There is evidence to suggest that many straight people enjoy its atmosphere. Why don't people realize that queer is a nasty and unnecessary word. It is still used widely by hateful homophobics everywhere and to suggest that adopting it is empowerment is about as asinine as any theory I have ever heard. Just read what he wrote as the opening for his article. Why he is so devoted to this ugly dehumanizing word?

What happens when it’s revealed that the man who killed 49 queer people — most of them queer people of color — and wounded 53 others at a queer nightclub might have been a longtime patron of that club and that he was spotted on gay sex apps?

I am outraged by the use of the word "queer" as a synomym for "gay". Many militant groups insist that they have embraced this ugly word in defiance to show they it has no strength. Bullshit. It is still an ugly and powerful word used everywhere by homophobics to vilify and diminish gay people. I has no place in respectful conversation regardless of what thousands of supposedly free-thinking gays think. The idea that Harvard would have a Queer Studies Program is wildly irrational and insulting. The most frequent abuser I know is the Huffington Post, who even label a column "Queer News". The word queer has many uses, none of them complimentary, many odious. Yes, there are sects of gay people who are very proud to address themselves by this degrading term. I think you will find that their peculiarities have very little to do with their sexuality. After the tragic event in Orlando, I think it's more important than ever to rid our society of hateful terms like queer no matter how many supposedly liberated gays have embraced it. Imagine if HuffPost, who so adores this word, had written a headline that said "More than 50 Queers Slaughtered in Orlando." How creepy would that have made you feel? We don't say the N word and the Q word is just as offensive.

WHILE I WAS WATCHING "THE BLUE DAHLIA".

All my life I've loved and collected Broadway musicals, and until recent years never missed the Tony's. So today many friends are asking, "Did you see the Tony's?" and the answer is "no" for several reasons.  Foremost is that I refuse to watch any program that requires me to sit through as many as sixty commercials, especially when I know the network could make a fortune by running a third as many and that is only greed that creates this profusion of pharmaceutical and automobile ads. Additionally, brilliant and inspired as Broadway is, it has become too slick for me. I don't relate to rap music like that in Hamilton, nor do I respond to what I regard as screaming rather than singing in shows like  The Color Purple, nor am I charmed by manufactured musicals like those cranked out by Disney that are no more than ice shows without skates. Yes, the dancers are incredibly athletic and attractive and enthusiasic, but the routines are predictable and tired. I know everyone I speak to loved The Book of Mormon. Sorry, I'm not interested in any show whose libretto and lyrics are incredibly vulgar. (I wouldn't want to hear Mama Rose or Maria Von Trapp constantly saying fuck and shit.) Yes, Broadway still has musicals I love like She Loves Me and Fiddler on the Roof, and dramas I would want to see like Long Day's Journey Into Night and A View from the Bridge.  Now theater is an elitist indulgence and I'm not willing to attend any new show when it costs upwards of $100 for a seat and has already been over-hyped by unsophisticated critics. My last theater mistake was August, Osage County, for which I paid $125.00. Everyone said it was brilliant, breathtaking, a masterpiece. I thought it was a claustrophobic soap opera redeemed by the performance of Estelle Parsons and distinguished by a magnificent set. Broadway had its Golden Age, now what was solid gold has been painted over, again and again. Another reason to avoid last night's Tony's was the horrific slaughter in Orlando. Not only does that not put you in the mood for singing and dancing, but one suspects that many winners of awards will make some kind of maudlin "aren't I wonderful, feeling human being" speech that is
incongruous to the nightmarish event.

THREESOME.

These smiling well-coiffed guys are three of America's leading opponents of the gay lifestyle. It just upsets them terribly to think of two men sharing any kind of romantic attachment. It's practically an
obsession with them, something they can't stop thinking about. I wonder why?

IN THE POSSIBLE FUTURE?

"How dare that half-breed ambassador from that second-rate country say I'm not a fit president. I'll show him that you don't mess with the great Donald Trump. Hand me those codes!"

POM NOT SO WONDERFUL.

Forgetting the fact that this is a lousy commercial for a supposed health drink, it's also creepy. Why at the close of this ad in which these archers are shooting arrows into an unseen distance, do we hear the cry of a cat.? Does this suggest that one of these archers shot a cat? If so, why isn't PETA or the ASPCA on their case, and let's hope no animal lovers purchase POM.

MASTER THESPIAN?

I am fascinated by all the news coverage I have seen today of Republicans scolding Donald Trump. They are using lines like, "You are acting like a racist bigot" or, "You are acting like a fool" or, "You are acting like a maniac." What do they mean "He is acting like"?  He is all those things.  There is no acting involved here. Are the Republicans trying to salvage their party from this destructive force by suggesting he is acting like something he really isn't. Is it like "Sir Laurence, you are acting like Richard III?"

WOW, THAT IS AN ENORMOUS CLOSET.

No, I am not talking about gay people who more and more feel they can come out of the closet (even though they are labelled "queer" by many misguided militant gays). I am referring to atheists and agnostics who, in this age of science, have finally come to accept that god is a ridiculous fantasy best left in ages past before we knew so much about science, psychology, and the universe. All over America there are atheist members of religious families who wouldn't dare say there is no god, and who dutifully attend church every Sunday and continue to brainwash their children. Few politician admit to being godless, nor do most actors and other performers. (Oddly enough many comics are vocal atheists in front of audiences who seem to respond to their blasphemous humor.)   None of the world's many leading atheists like Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, David Silverman, Polly Toynbee, Woody Allen, etc. have been struck by lightning. (The great Christopher Hitchens died at 62 in 2001 of esophageal cancer not a thunderbolt.) On the other hand the Bible Belt has been hit savagely this year by floods, tornadoes and rainstorms, which killed an arc load of fundamentalists and destroyed more than a few churches. So much for "Jesus loves me." The point is if you think there's a guy in the sky, then keep Santaclausing to your heart's content. But if you don't, be brave enough to admit your doubts or downright certainly, and get out of that god-awful over-crowded closet.

WHERE SHOPPING IS NEVER A PLEASURE.

I had to refill two prescriptions with Publix Pharmacy today. I assumed filling them by phone would be easy. Wrong. The first person I called, put me on hold for ten minutes before I hung up. I didn't mind the waiting, I minding having to listen to the kind of music I detest the crappy pop music that they play too loudly in all their stores. Bad enough I find it irritating and strident but it was played on a sound system that was highly static. I hung up and called back and explained to the next pharmaceutical assistant how much I hated waiting and being forced to listen to what I considered not music, but noise. She apologized profusely and immediately put me on hold where I had to listen to more static-pop. I am now about to go to the drug store.

EVER HEARD OF PAUL GROVES?

I've never understood whether the musical Candide was always meant to be a tongue-in-cheek show as seen here. If so, it's odd considering how gorgeous the music is and how philosophical Voltaire's source material. I do know there have been many versions of the show, not always successful. I happen to love the Bernstein music and the brilliant lyrics by Richard Wilbur, John Latouche, Dorothy Parker and, later, Stephen Sondheim. But the purpose of this post is not to expose you to the music or lyrics so much as the powerful voice of Paul Groves, the star this 2005 Great Performances TV special. I was not aware of him until today, which makes you wonder how many other great talents are there of which we are completely unaware.

Note: Sorry, I have no idea how to remove these annoying commercials.

JUSTICE DENIED.

Back in 1991, I didn't doubt for a minute, nor did anyone I know, that Anita Hill was telling the truth when she said she was sexually harassed by Clarence Thomas. Of course she was. Why would a respected law professor put herself on the firing line just to ruin the career of an ex professor? She wouldn't. President Bush was an idiot to recommend Clarence for the Supreme Court, and history has proven it to be a disastrous choice. Thomas has been a weak, lazy and ineffective justice ever since and it doesn't help that he's dominated by his aggressive tea-party wife. What a bad choice Thomas was, as well as a coward, liar, and lecher has been brought home again by the HBO film Confirmation. Sadly, this film also reminds us of how ineffective Joe Biden was during this sad affair and how unfair, heartless and biased (what's new?) were the Republican senators. While the film was wonderfully acted and beautifully directed, it was, to most of us, an unnecessary drama. We knew that Anita was telling the truth and that Clarence Thomas was a liar and didn't need confirmation.

TRUTH TELLER

Last night on Real Time, Bill Maher suggested that the broadcast media are, in essence, Trump's backers, and it's true. All the broadcast networks, while pretending to be fair or even to dislike Trump, have been giving him the lion's share of the news every night. Last night the CBS News opened by showing Trump railing against Hillary Clinton and saying she should be in jail, an irresponsible and unfounded claim. After some more of his ranting CBS acknowledged that his attacks were "hyperbolic" knowing full well that most Americans have no idea what that means. While the print media is less guilty, it shares the blame. Today Huffington Post has fifteen articles referring to Trump on their "front page" many with photos of him, including three photo posts right in a row. This is not unusual HuffPost features him every day and rarely says anything positive about Hillary. Maher also said that MSNBC, supposedly a liberal station, gives him excessive coverage, which is sadly true. They seem to be willing to air anything that comes out of his manic mouth. Maher seems to share my disdain for the lazy media and believes, as I do, they don't care a whit for the country, but are only interested in ratings and profits. America no longer has network news. What we have are 30 minutes of mostly commercials for cars and pharmaceuticals interrupted by Trump coverage and vapid human interest stories. If you want news you have to watch non-commercial cable channels hosted by brilliant commentators like Bill Maher.

WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN.

Two stars who were totally cheated by the Hollywood profit machine were Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. Monroe was cheated by her studio who didn't allow her to appear in films that would have highlighted her exceptional acting talents. While she did get a chance to show her enormous potential in films like Bus Stop and Don't Bother to Knock, she never got to star in a film that could really demonstrate that she could be far more than a blonde sex symbol. She was considered for such major productions as Oklahoma with Frank Sinatra and a musical version of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, also with Sinatra. She had been asked to play the classical role of Grushenka in The Brothers Karamazov. Another incredible opportunity she was denied was co-starring with James Dean in Of Human Bondage, where she was sure to be the definitive Mildred Rogers. Additionally her studio sabotaged plans for her to do a TV version of Rain with Raymond Massey. Any one of these projects would have resulted, I am sure, in a highly praised classic and rave reviews for Marilyn. But all these opportunities were denied her. Despite these roadblocks, she at least achieved some lasting recognition with her comic roles in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, and dramatic parts such as her screen-burning appearance in The Asphalt Jungle. Elvis Presley, on the other hand, was so handicapped by his manager Colonel Parker that he was never able to realize his dream of becoming a top dramatic actor, a goal of which he was more than capable. But sadly instead of starring in important films like The Rainmaker, he was consigned to such light fare as Viva Las Vegas, Flaming Star, Blue Hawaii, and his most hated film  Clambake. Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley, two legendary and talented giants who both could have left behind a significantly more spectacular body of work. But they each were crushed by greedy, unimaginative, number-crunching pencil pushers. One can only fantasize what a fantastic and unforgettable combination they would have been if they had co-starred in Bus Stop.

TRUMP SUPPORTERS.

This morning on CNN another of Trump's programmed puppets was permitted a long rant as to why Trump should be president (CNN, like so many stations, allows too much time for Trumpeting). Anyway, this nobody kept using the code word "evolve" suggesting that Trump is obviously an asshole now, but, if elected, he will evolve into a reasoned, temperate, honest and brilliant Commander in Chief. That was annoying enough, but Mr. Cellophane also stated that "Traditional politics are failing America." This, of course, is not true. Republican politics are failing America: racist, partisan, divisive, stubborn, reckless, petty Republican politics. Unfortunately I didn't get the idiot's name, not that it matters. I'm sure Donald has lots of well-paid lackeys running around from network to network having dutifully memorized their scripts.

DRAFT DODGER

I noticed yesterday at Trump's angry press conference that he was bragging because he gave a million dollars to veterans' causes. Now that sounds impressive, and he certainly thinks it's impressive. But is
it?  When you supposedly are worth $10 billion, one million is not that big a deal. Especially when it's to help soldiers in need, you know those men and women who fought Donald's battles when he managed to get out of any kind of military service. Donny, in fact, got four student deferments followed by a medical deferment because of a bone spur in his foot.(Naturally he can't recall which foot.) He tells people he was lucky to have a high draft number, but that's a lie. So think about it. Instead of going into the service and fighting in Nam, he went to college and developed his much bragged about financial skills. That suggests to me that he owes a lot more than a million dollars to America's fighting forces for making it possible for him to concentrate on making money while they were focused on staying alive.