How is it possible that so many, otherwise literate,  persons think that the simple word "realtor" is pronounced "real-a-tor"?  I am assuming that these are the same persons who mispronounce "athlete" as "ath-a-lete".

THE REASON FOR WAR

 Analysts will give you lots of reasons why Russia is attacking Ukraine. But there's only one reason for the destruction and bloodshed. It's because Putin isn't 7 inches taller.

YUCK!

The two most repulsive commercials on TV are for Polident and Jif Peanut Butter. The Polident shows a sports fan watching a game and discusses the disgusting debris that would have been under his dentures if not for Polident. Yuck. The Jif commercial features the celebrity Lucadris and makes us far too familiar with the saliva-drenched wad of undigested peanut butter remaining in his mouth. Double yuck! Also repulsive for different reasons are the Liberty Mutual spots featuring Emu Lemu and Doug, which are like Chinese water torture they are so frequent and obnoxious. For sheer deception, you can't beat Prevacid, whose many well-done commercials feature highly skilled actors lying through their teeth about this worthless yet very costly snake oil.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY.

 Sadly today's commercials are mostly uninspired. But even sadder, many of them are illiterate. Take Kay Jewelers for instance. They assure us that, "every kiss you share together begins with K." The word share means together, so this expensively produced commercial is redundant. Why didn't the writer, the director, or anyone else involved with this commercial know that? And this is only one of many poorly written and produced advertisements we are exposed to every day. 

 Can you complete this couplet?

What's more dangerous

A___________________________

Or__________________________

THE MOST HONORED HOLLYWOOD HAM

Just watched Al Capone, one of the few movies in which Rod Steiger's overacting was appropriate. When I mentioned to my partner Peter how much I liked the film, his response was, "Do you think they ever charged Rod Steiger for all the scenery he chewed?" 

As a life-long fan of musical comedy, I am especially fond of The Adventures of Marco Polo, a 1956 TV special, which was never on stage. Among the brilliant lyrics of Edward Eager are several lines that are very suitable for today's crusades for  equality.  I am presenting two of them here, which were sung by the Marco Polo character by Alfred Drake.

"Strip us both down and you'd surprise me a lot if one of us has anything the other has not".

And

"I've been studying people in crowds and in dozens, we may not all be brothers, but I think at least we're cousins."