When I was a working nurse I knew the credo, "If It's Not Written Down It Wasn't Done" translated to "Cover Your Ass." I keep a spiral notebook handy, for now the saying is, "If You Don't Write It Down You Will Forget." Sooner or later I use my notes.
The Living section of my home page has an article on the merits of name brand versus generic purchases. It explains why you should always buy name brand snacks like cola drinks, potato chips, cookies, and ice cream. You should buy store made bakery items because they are "fresh and better than packaged." No quandary for us, we don't buy these items.
The consensus is mixed for paper items. If you find a paper towel or toilet paper brand that makes you happy, buy it. Cream cheese and p-nut butter, buy name brands, the same for soap and cleaning products. It's not the information here I'm concerned about, buy what you like. It's the notion that 150 people are arguing in cyberspace over the merits of 4-ply toilet paper and who makes a better bar of bath soap.
It seems every thing on-line that can be debated about, or commented on, has a link to Facebook. Three thousand six hundred and fifty-three people have opinions about the ten worst states for retirement but only sixteen on the best. Nine hundred eighteen have opinions on smart phones. Sixty five over housing trends in 2013. Five hundred thirty five weighed in on the worst housing fixes. And this, a very telling number, just ONE person left a comment on special deductions available for elderly and blind tax filers.
Wanda just called with a 'blog fodder' alert. She said, "Want to hear something disgusting?" when I picked up the phone. "Ya, sure....I would love to hear something disgusting, did someone poop on the waiting room floor, maybe yak on your desk?" Sharing is caring and there's very little I enjoy more than talking disgusting things with my wife.
"My Strange Addiction" is another of the W.T.F. programs on television. The new season premier will highlight a 43 year-old-woman who eats cat fur. She grooms the cat and roams her house looking for fur balls. Hungry for more? You're on your own. Wanda made me look at a picture of the cat lover licking her feline. It's burned into my eyeballs, I won't subject you to the same fate.
Television will never run out of people it can exploit. What kind of a person admits to wearing diapers and sleeping in a play pen or tells the world they eat cat fur?
Yesterday I posted the blog, made lunch and turned on the TV. The entertainment that will never go away assailed my senses. Two different programs, back to back, explored the same family dynamics, "My daughter slept with my boyfriend" and "My boyfriend cheated with my sister." I was under the impression Maury Povitch was the only crap slinger out there in TV Land, but nooooo. There's a new girl in town named Trisha Goodard. Just so you know, the topics for today are Maury "I Was Bullied and Beat....Now I'm Sexy and Sweet" and Trisha "Your X-Rated Job Is Tearing Apart Our Family."
I looked up Jerry Springer, curious about his shows start. From 1991-1994 it was actually a well rounded talk show.
"In early 1994, Springer and his new producer revamped the show's format in order to garner higher ratings. The show became more and more successful as it became more and more lowbrow, with an emphasis on infidelity. Its guests were typically lower class, minimally educated, blue collar people confronted on a television stage by a spouse or family member's adultry, homosexuality, prostitution, transvestism, hate group membership, or other controversial situations. These confrontations often led to shouting, profanities, chair-throwing, fist-fights, pulling of hair by fighting women, and removal of clothing. Female guests also receive 'Jerry Beads' for exposing their breasts to the studio audience, in the style of Mardi Gras revelers. The show garnered huge ratings, and lots of attention. By 1998, it was beating the Oprah show in many cities, and was reaching more than 6.7 million viewers." (1)
No secret, we know what drives these programs and it's ratings. Many people watch others misery to make themselves feel better. And I'm sure there are those who relate to the drama on stage.
And while I'm thinking sooner or later the producers will run out of people willing to expose themselves (in more ways than one) I found this. In 2005 a version of the Springer show was broadcast in the UK. "Although it was subdued and a tongue-in-cheek version of the US show it regularly beat it's talk-show rival, Trisha Goodard." (2)
Yesterday I saw the name Trisha Goodard for the first time. I wondered where she came from and questioned why these shows crop up over and over again. Today I see she is from the UK. I guess we don't have enough hosts to manage the controversy, now we import them.
Have you seen the commercial for one of the cell carriers with the little kids sitting around the table? The adult asks the question, "What's better, smaller or bigger?" and the kids yell, "BIGGER." Is it really? What's better, smaller or bigger bills? How about that headache or the hair from a mole on your face, or for that matter, the mole? It's just a commercial but it's true, ask most anyone and they'll tell you, bigger is better.
Wanda and I live in a very small house. This morning we received the power bill for the month. It's bigger than last month, it's bigger than every month for the past three years. I'm glad the house isn't bigger and I wish the bill was smaller. House=smaller=good, bill=larger=not good.
Another notice on the home page today is, "Family of 14 Sells Home, Lives Full Time In An R.V." You can imagine all the comments about this family. If you're interested take a look here.
As they say, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and less is sometimes more. It often comes down to perspective.
1,2, Wikpedia
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