Blast #190

  
                                                      Too Much CONTENT!
 
            I believe I have written about this before but with the advent of our modern digital world --- and all its social media plus streaming services --- piled on top of ubiquitous cable accessibility and “old world” print resources, I am, at times, quite overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content in my life.  When I retired in June of 2014 I thought I would finally have the time to “catch up” on all the reading and viewing that my working life had deprived me of.  There were scores of novels to read as well as movies and documentaries I had yet to see.  Now I would be free to go to the theater, catch all the “senior discount” new releases at the local movies, attend concerts and, best of all, read to my heart’s content.  There was an assumption (by me) I would remain “current” with the news, reading the daily paper (another luxury!) and catching the cable and broadcast versions of the day’s events.  With all this newly found "free time" I would lead a life of quiet fulfillment, heading into my sunset years a well informed and even better read individual than I could ever have hoped to be.

            Hogwash!  As it turns out, I feel like Nick Carraway at the end of Gatsby: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past,” with no hope of ever catching up on that oncoming current of information and content.   It is more than “two steps forward, one step back” with this relentless torrent of news and information --- particularly if you also happen to have an interest in music, sports, and other “tangential” subjects --- not to mention trying to have a “real” life with family and friends.

            I bring this up because the start of this week (yes, “Holy Week”) has been particularly bruising.  Just last night, as we watched tv, somewhere between the Lyrica, Nexium, Eliquis, and Humira ads (“sometimes causing stroke, or even death”) there were at least a half dozen stories that all seemed to demand some kind of attention and/or comment.  Here’s a sample of what flew past in the course of ONE evening.

• Bill O’Reilly is “going on vacation.”  It seems the serial sexual harasser suddenly found it necessary to “take some time off,” claiming he had booked this hiatus “months ago” and was headed to an "unknown location".  My guess is he’s off to some secluded spot to begin writing “Killing O’Reilly” as we watch how FoxNews deftly dances around giving their former breadwinner the boot.  On the heels of the Roger Ailes debacle, they probably can’t afford to keep Mr. Loofah around any longer.

 

• Ivanka was behind the Syrian missile strike.  It seems that Daddy-in-Chief was finally moved to take action, based on the testimony of short bus student Eric Trump, when his sister was so “heartbroken and outraged” by the Syrian chemical weapons attack that President Daddy felt compelled to take action.  If this is how United States foreign policy is being formulated we are in deep, deep trouble.  “Special Eric” also noted that the missile attack now proves his Dad is not in cahoots with the Russians, Assad’s ally.  Not exactly flawless logic (it’s in that apples and oranges category) but we applaud poor Eric for trying.

 

• Steve Bannon.  “Should I stay or should I go?”  Bannon, according to a vast array of “sources” may well be on his way out.  The Donald-in-Chief released a kiss-of-death statement containing these two phrases: “I like Steve but . . . : and “Steve is a good guy but . . . “ (NY Post) claiming Bannon joined the campaign “late” and that the President is his own “strategist.”  Of course, the real basis for Bannon being shown the door (if not “out,” then to an anteroom) is that he has clashed with Jared Kushner, the son-in-law in chief, who is an entire story unto himself.

 

• Jared.  Well, the 36 year old wunderkind who learned the basic lesson of “marrying well” is now, in CNN’s parlance, “Secretary of Everything.”  As the Huffington Post noted:

So, if you’re keeping track, Jared Kushner, who comes to Washington with no government experience, no policy experience, no diplomatic experience, and business experience limited to his family’s real estate development firm, a brief stint as a newspaper publisher, and briefly bidding to acquire the Los Angeles Dodgers, will be working on trade, Middle East policy in general, an Israel-Palestine peace deal and solving the opioid crisis.

Oh wait, that’s not all! Apparently, this new office (the White House Office of American Innovation) will also be responsible for “modernizing the technology and data infrastructure of every federal department and agency; remodeling workforce-training programs; and developing “transformative projects” under the banner of Trump’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan, such as providing broadband internet service to every American.”
 
Quite a plateful if you’re an ordinary human but not if you’re Super Jared!  Keep an eye on this one because it reeks of autocracy from stem to stern.

·      The Sean Spicer debacle.  Poor, poor Sean.  It would be fun to see how many shoes he could fit in his mouth at once if it weren’t so tragic.  His latest gaffe, claiming Hitler didn’t gas his own people, would certainly have done in a lesser Press Secretary but Sean, unlike his boss, actually apologized in public, to a reporter, probably saving his job for another day.  Can't wait to hear what comes next.

·      The “friendly skies” of United.  I won’t go into this, as I can’t imagine everyone isn’t already disgusted by (and tired of) this story by now.  What may have slipped under your radar was how quickly the story about Dr. Dao having a “criminal past” was mentioned --- though that seems to have subsided just as quickly.  I find it interesting that in an attempt to justify the unjustifiable, the legal/corporation complex digs out anyone’s past (and yours could be next!) as quickly as possible and gets it to the nearest media outlet.  Forewarned is forearmed, my friends.

          So, that was Tuesday night.  ONE night.  While simply trying to have a quiet evening at home,  watching mindless entertainment like Brooklyn Nine-nine, The Mick, and Trial and Error, I found myself “flipping” the remote during commercials to keep up with the “news” and the Mets.  Now, maybe it’s my problem that I don’t want to “miss anything” but I also think the fact that I now have access to everything contributes to (or even creates?) the problem.

            I’d continue, but I’ve got to read today’s NY Times and NY Daily News while I watch MSNBC before heading out to the movies this afternoon (after watching the Yankees game) and figure out what I might write for the next BLAST. 

​                 Enjoy your day!