Weekend Onesie: The Big Disconnect

Weekend Onesie: The Big Disconnect

I have to say, you cannot imagine the difference in me, each day, Monday thru Thursday at 5:30 pm, as I prepare my evening meal.

You see, I've stopped watching the national news. I used to watch The NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt at 5:30 pm. I adored Mr. Holt. However, about a month and a half ago - February 8th, to be exact, well that was the straw that broke this camel's back. 

Wait... let me go back a bit. 

This all began back on June 8, 2021, when Lester Holt interviewed Kamala Harris. 

All through the orange ogre's reign of terror, I kept watching the news faithfully, though I couldn't quite understand why NBC News wasn't challenging the orange ogre's minions a bit more. NBC News pundits seemed to be treating the orange ogre's spawn and the garbage they were spewing with kid gloves. It upset me, but I chalked it up to NBC News taking the high road. These were people from the White House. They were to be treated with respect, no matter how outrageous the words that fell from their filthy, greedy, hateful mouths. NBC News was keeping their journalistic integrity intact. 

Why, even their coverage of the Jan 6th insurrection struck me as rather subdued.

Then Biden came into office and, of course, there was this huge mess to clean up. But NBC News seemed to change their tone quite a bit. Critical, would be putting it mildly. I had to keep checking to make sure Rupert Murdoch hadn't somehow gotten his bloody mitts on the network.

When Lester Holt interviewed Kamala Harris on June 8th, six months into the Biden presidency, I stood aghast. Mr. Holt was rude. Aggressively confrontational. He kept hammering away at her, asking why she hadn't physically visited the Mexican border recently. She kept trying to explain that she was working through diplomatic channels to see what could be done at the source of the refugee migration and that her physical presence on the border wouldn't be much more than a photo opportunity. In other words, she was doing her job instead of mindlessly creating soundbites and news footage. 

My mind clicked through the reasons for Mr. Holt's behavior. It couldn't be racism, so I landed on sexism and thought... shame on Mr. Holt. I thought quite a bit less of him.

I tweeted NBC News and Mr. Holt and put them on notice. (Because we can do that now.)

Fast forward to February 8th of this year - a year and a month into Biden's presidency - Lester Holt interviewed President Biden. He was rude. Dismissive. Confrontational. And... asking leading and misleading questions. This time? I was furious. The previous administration was served softball questions and only challenged in the meekest of terms. This assault on Biden was so apparent, even Biden called Mr. Holt out during the interview. This was yellow journalism in a hue deeper than I'd ever seen on NBC News.

And that was it. I was done. I tweeted NBC News and Lester Holt to let them know our relationship was over. And I haven't watched since. In fact, I even avoid the local news, if I can help it.

I immediately noticed that I was less likely to bark at The Ex. I had more patience with our dog, Hercules. House cleaning at The Boyfriends? I started to enjoy it. I felt lighter. I felt more focused. I felt more relaxed. 

Gone was the anxiety; the feeling that I was about to jump out of my skin. I now worry less. I don't react out of fear and calm myself with reason. I spend a lot more time in silence. 

I remember back in the days of the orange ogre, how the far right kept hammering away that there was something wrong with the media... and I would smirk and think, 'yeah, they're allowing that horrible man and his brood to destroy our country, unchecked.' The so-called 'lamestream' media rarely held their feet to the fire, rarely pointed out their fallacies, and never challenged them to answer a question they were clearly dodging. 

Well, now the shoe is on the other foot, and the shoe feels too tight, as if it shrunk somehow. You know, the way small town minds sometimes grow even smaller... and become petty. 

Pinch me.

We're just about to end the 1st quarter of the 2nd year of Biden's presidency and, going back to 2021, the term 'failed presidency' was coming out of the mouths of news pundits right and left - and not just the jokers who fill out suits on Fox News. 

So, I'm done with the network news media. There is something wrong there. 

They were deferential when a fascist, racist, sexist, would-be dictator was in office, for they feared they would be barred from covering the White House. And now that Biden is in the house? They're rude and confrontational. They don't celebrate wins - and there have been many. They don't acknowledge the mess that the orange ogre left in his wake - and it is, indeed, catastrophic in nature. Instead, they only seem to harp on those things that were going to be steep, uphill battles to begin with.

When it came to Covid-19 and each new variant, I recall members of the Biden administration being peppered with misleading questions from reporters who I used to trust... it went something like...

Reporter: "People are saying there aren't enough tests available. What is your administration doing about that?"

Official: "Well, as we just announced this morning, we've ordered millions of additional tests and will get them into the hands of people as soon as possible."

Reporter: "But why wasn't the Biden administration more proactive? Why aren't the tests already in the hands of the American people? Why are you so far behind the curve?"

Official: "Are you... are you asking me why I couldn't see into the future? I don't understand your question. I don't have a crystal ball..."

The Biden presidency entered the game in an atmosphere unlike any before it. The odds were so stacked against them getting anything done, thanks to the mess the previous administration had left and the general animosity running beneath the fabric of this nation. The Biden team was already down at the start of the game... and now the media seems to think it's their jobs to kick 'em and keep 'em there.

Well, I won't be party to it. 

See those blogs over on the right side of this blog post? 

Those are the people I now trust to distill the news and tell me the real story - the whole story. And they do. They find the good stuff, the terrible stuff... and tell it like it is. I trust them and their judgement way more than I do Mr. Holt and his ilk. 

Take the media's current slanted view on inflation: it's Biden's fault. Gas prices? Biden's fault. Food prices? Why isn't Biden doing something to help the American people?

Never mind that corporations are posting ridiculous, record-breaking profits DURING A PANDEMIC. The fleecing of America? Price gouging? Blatant capitalistic greed? Where are those stories? Why aren't we hearing about that?

Why?

Because NBC depends on those corporations, in fact, the whole media industry does, in order to make revenue. Any profit NBC gets to enjoy is dependent on those other corporations who are currently raking it in. Those corporations are the greedy hands which feed those we trust to bring us the news. 

Now, there used to be a great deal of integrity involved in the world of journalism, but apparently, and again - thank the orange ogre, the rules have changed. 

So, I am done with corporate-sponsored news outlets. They can't be trusted. They won't report something because it might upset a sponsor. They will go soft on those who go soft on big business, but then tear into and ridicule anyone who is interested in making progress, or taking care of people, or helping people in real ways - like establishing a living wage, creating universal healthcare, providing housing or going green. Or anyone interested in holding corporate America responsible for their many, many sins against humankind and this planet.

Why? Because pointing out all those terrible things are not in the best interests of the corporations who pay the news outlets' salaries.   

It's that simple folks. We've been duped. There is no such thing as journalistic integrity. It is dead.

And Lester Holt.... I'm looking at you, bud. You put the final nail in that coffin lid. 

Fuck you, Lester Holt.

Lester Holt Interviews Joe Biden

February 8, 2022

Lester Holt Interviews Kamala Harris

June 8, 2022

Wonderland Burlesque's So Tired Quiz

Wonderland Burlesque's

So Tired Quiz

1/ What time of the day do you typically find that you have a dip in your energy level?

That would be the moment I get out of bed.

Or right after lunch.

Or about 2:00 pm.

Or about 3:30 pm.

Or about 6;30 pm.

But you know when I am never tired?

Right when it's time to go to bed. Suddenly, I become the Energizer Bunny and can't sleep at all.

Unless it is Friday or Saturday night.

Then I am wiped by 9:30 pm.

So, yeah... I'm a whole lotta of fun!

2/ What do you do when you feel your energy lagging to get you going again? Got a magic potion? A fabulous exercise?

Hot liquids keep me going. Herbal Tea. I can only do so much coffee. This winter? I've even indulged in some instant cocoa, which I consider the chalk dust of chocolate.

I do work out at 11:00 am. And that helps. I can float on that adrenaline for awhile, unless I eat a heavy lunch. Then? Oh, please, let me take a 20 minute nap. No longer than 20, though. Otherwise, I feel disoriented the rest of the day.

Since Covid hit? I have been so sedentary. I don't think I sat very still when I worked at the office. But at home, it's become easy to do.

3/ Is there a chore around the house you are tired of doing?

That would be shoveling.

It has snowed 29 times since the first of the year, and I am done. I've taken to sweeping it with a giant janitor's broom (unless it is a lot of snow, then I use the shovel.) But it has been so bitter cold this year. It has been a very strange winter. Normally we have one week in January that is sub-sub zero. This year? Too many to count.

I am tired of my fingers going numb from the cold. They end up hurting so much.

So, these last two snows? I pulled back. I stopped doing the neighbors on either side of my house. I stopped doing the lady across the street. I stopped doing the couple three doors down. I stopped doing the little old lady who lives across from The Boyfriend's house. And I stopped doing the neighbors on both sides of his house.

I do The Boyfriend's house, my house and my Mom's house. That is all.

I am worn out. All my shoveling generosity got used up early this year.

4/ What are you tired of eating or drinking?

Alcohol.

Oh, dear... I feel like such a traitor. Such a fraud.

I made it through Dry January. Seriously. I had a drink when I went out to celebrate a friend's retirement on February 3rd and I had some wine on February 10th when my work wife took me out to celebrate my birthday a few days early. But that is it.

And I don't miss it. I thought I would.

The previous year? I tried Dry January and white-knuckled it until the 13th. This year? The month flew by.

So, I don't think gin is my go-to anymore. I still love it, but... turns out it had gotten old or something and I'm just 'not that into' it anymore.

5/ Are there any commercials or products you're tired of seeing/hearing about?

I do wish that internet companies were not allowed to just throw videos in your face without asking.

I avoid Pornhub and GayODay and the like for that reason. They are so loud when they come on, and assault the senses. And heaven help you if you haven't preselected gay porn. I do not need to see a bunch of big 'ol fake titties bouncing up and down while their owner is being done doggy-style by some steroid freak.

Grindr is bad, too. Those stupid games they advertise. No, I do not want to watch this for one second, let alone 30. And when you try to 'x' out, you always end up being sent to GoogleGames to download whatever the flavor of the month happens to be. It's annoying. And it happens so frequently. Every third touch you have to see another ad.

Even YouTube bothers me. If you are advertising on YouTube in such a fashion, trust me, you do not have the secret to anything I want to learn about. Just go away. I'm not doing the latest fad anything. I've been around long enough to know it is all garbage and has the shelf life of one of those political insider tell-alls.

I would like to be asked. I understand the company behind the platform needs to generate income, but the polite thing would be to ask me if I want to watch this overly attractive man with the bleached teeth talk to me about he has all the secrets to prostate health.

Now... if he wants to show me how he does a prostate self-examination on himself?

Well... if that were the case, I could be persuaded to click 'yes.'

6/ What are you tired of seeing on the news?

Everything. The other week was the final straw. I am done with NBC NEWS.

Lester Holt was so rude and such a shyster when interviewing Biden. Even Biden called him on it. That kind of yellow journalism? I will not tolerate.

So, I've stopped watching. I watch the local news to find out who killed who and then I watch the weather.

Now? I get all my news at Bob's blog, I Should Be Laughing. He tells me what I need to know in a manner I enjoy reading about it. Plus, I get to comment.

Be sure to check it out.

7/ What are you tired of seeing portrayed in television shows or in movies?

Why is everybody always so freaking privileged? 

Even the supposedly 'poor' people are privileged. When your major whine is the fact that your Mom buys your clothes at The Gap? And you're the 'poor kid' on the show? 

I gotta say... I have no sympathy for you. 

They all live in these super clean apartments or incredibly perfect houses in these super clean neighborhoods. They dress perfectly. Their hair is always perfect. Their perfect teeth gleam. Their pets are always the kind that are no bother at all and magically appear only when 'cute' is needed. The adults all have these fabulously successful careers that they simply love. Their cars only have problems when it is plot relevant and what they drive is so expensive. How can they afford all this? How can they accomplish and afford all this and be so bad at love?

I'm tired of seeing it. I'm tired of it being presented as 'the norm.'

No one lives these lives. No one lives like that. No one looks like that 24/7 (except that one woman at the gym who works four cubicles down from mine - and I think she may be a heroin addict.)

I am all for fantasy. I am all for romance. But give me a break. Let a little realism enter the picture. Stop selling me a world that does not exist except in the head of some delusional set decorator.

We do not live 'staged' lives. We can't. Real homes, ones that are lived in, do not look like the ones on television unless you are a total control freak. Ask any realtor.

And our cars do not look like any of the ones being driven by these people. Ask any mechanic.

The weather does not behave that way. Pets do not only appear conveniently in our lives when we need someone to talk to. And San Francisco! I have been to San Francisco. It does NOT look anything like it is portrayed on television. It is filthy. Garbage everywhere. EVERYWHERE.

So, I need Hollywood to stick a pin on creating these unrealistic worlds which generate unrealistic expectations.

Try a little reality, people.

The absence of reality is why your products suck. It is also the reason your movie stars behave the way they do in real life because they think their movies ARE real life. You cannot represent life to me in a manner void of reality. It is not healthy. It leads to bad things... like Kevin Spacey. And JLO. And turns someone you once respected, like Queen Latifah, into a whitewashed version of a human being.

Just... stop... it.

8/ What are you tired of hearing in regards to music?

EDM Pop... like the Chainsmokers.

It all sounds alike. And is so predictable. I'm glad it's going away.

Also - EMO Rap. It was all so mumbled and depressing. And whiney. I get it. You feel deprived. But now? You have sold millions of albums, so talk about something else and get over it. Sure, now complain that you have millions of fans and too much money. 

And when Billie Eilish goes the way of Lorde, I will be quite happy. 

Otherwise, I am, quite happily, completely out of touch with what is going on in the music-sphere.

If it wasn't for Sixpence, over at (LO) IMPRESCINDIBLE, I would happily remain stuck in 2019.

Except for Lil Nas X. 

Suck it, Jesus. He's my god, now.

9/ What kind of advice are you tired of hearing from others (friends, relatives, talking heads)?

I don't know if this counts, but it was a little disconcerting this summer to have news people from the local station I watch on the one hand tout and encourage people to attend the Minnesota State Fair and then immediately follow it up with a report regarding the most recent numbers on the Covid19 death count. They would announce the previous day's State Fair attendance in one breath and the number of new infections in the state with the next.

It was like the weirdest, largest state-sanctioned game of Russian Roulette ever.

So, I spent the summer not knowing which reality to believe in.

Was the story: We are getting back to the way things used to be, or people are still dying?

Good thing Omicron appeared on the scene a few months later to clear things up.

(Pssst. The story was: people are still dying.)

So, now we appear to be on the other side of the whole Omicron rush and all the talk is about lift restrictions and go eat at a restaurant. Except... then we had the Olympics going on and in that tiny, very controlled environment - athletes were still coming up with positive tests.

So... again? Which side of the neck am I supposed to be listening to now?

Yeah... based on history? We know the answer.

10/ What are you tired of regarding Covid-19?

Stop throwing around the term variant. Variant? My ass.

To be a variant - you must do something different than the original. 

Killing people? It has literally been done to death. 

So, come on, Covid19 (or whatever your real name is.)  Bring your A-Game, or go home.

You want to be declared a variant? Then turn people purple. Or maybe have them develop an eye on the backside of their skull. Or make everyone's genitals grow in size. 

Something... anything... different.

Otherwise? 

You're not a variant. 

You're nothing but a copycat. A plagiarist. 

People are quickly becoming immune to your brand of drama, dear.

You need to up it...

...or leave the stage for good.    

--- ---

And that's enough of me. 

Okay, now? Your turn. You know what to do... leave your answers in the comments section or post on your blog and leave a link here. It's all good.

That's all for now. Until next time..

Thanks for reading... and participating.

I'm So Tired - Lauv & Troye Sivan

I'm So Tired - The Beatles