Mental Health

Sometimes the best medicine/therapy is not laughter but getting stuff off your chest with a few rants:

So, treatment one:

They say a sign of advancing age is watching the weather channel.  Well, guilty on both accounts, we watch the weather channel in the morning to get “Local on the 8’s” and the Tropical Update that usually follows the xx:48 (usually 07:48 for us) edition.  In the morning they bring in the Varsity in the person of Jim Cantore and Steph Abrams. Did you ever notice that once you become aware of something, you can’t get over it?  Well Steph, while cute, ebullient and all, has the increasing habit of ending almost every sentence (on the upswing) with “okay?”; or “right?”, or “all right?”: “storms might be moving into the Dallas area around noon, okay?”  “they might bring high winds and heavy rains, right?” Does she want somebody to agree with her?  You obviously couldn’t get a chance to answer as she is on to the next: “the measure of how much moisture is in the air is something we call Humidity, okay?”  pretty soon all you pay attention to is the persistent use of those words.  Drives me nuts! Anyway, the mute button is always close at hand…

Second treatment:

And while we’re noticing TV shenanigans, lately there has been a series of “ads” sponsored by (I think some oil company?).   It shows some relatively young kids playing baseball, and script proudly proclaims “where we make every kid feels like an all-star”.  What? Excuse me?: "way to go Johnny! you struck out 3 times, got picked of base twice, and committed 5 throwing errors!”   Way to go kid, great job!.  And there was a Facebook posting of a couple of kids proudly holding up certificates “First day of School in 8^th grade”.  Nobody fails, all is well, just show up,  here’s your participation Trophy!  

whew, feeling better already!

I guess I have mentioned this before, but more and more folk are employing the advertising strategy of not talking about the product, but how it will make you feel.  Subaru liberally shows dogs, loving owners, warm cuddly fuzzys, the all American family.  Don’t know they’re selling cars, er, excuse me, LOVE! Until nearly the end of the slot.  Chick Fil-A features a red couch with very happy “real” people relating things like how the guy came out from behind the counter and tied a tie for some youth who had no clue.  Makes me want to go get a chicken sandwich, and be one of THEM!

I got more, but let’s veer back into Food.

Another sign of age is the reliance on external sources for information.  We only get the Washington Post weekend edition, mostly for the Magazine and the Sietsema reviews. However, I do have to admit I like their food section, published on Wednesdays only.  A neighbor who does get the daily is very faithful about bringing me

Besides recipes and other stuff, there’s usually a reasonably informative wine column

I am in the process of giving you some gems culled from the Food Section, just not now.

Oh, this story was in last Sunday’s Business section:

Does it mean anything to you? Sure didn’t to me… turns out it is a “massive convenience store” with 38 locations in Texas (Soon to expand to Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas).  It is apparently very popular in TX and can have as many as 120 fueling stations, but doesn’t allow 18-wheelers.  The restrooms are “high-tech and famously pristine”. (have to ask:  what’s a high tech bathroom? Flush toilets?) The article goes on for several columns, with pictures of massive walls filled with hats, cups, and bag candy.  Funny I have never heard about it, and have actually been in Texas a few times!

Another article in the Business Section was entitled: The TV juggernaut that is “America’s Got Talent”.  Proud to say have never seen anything but promos about it.   Didn’t read the article, but noticed that “10 million people regularly watch it”.  Proves the old saying:  “nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public”

I have gotten some intel on Sweetbay, mostly (sad to say) from an article that was published in one of the local rags

And just to close with some sunshine

Okay, Try to 

DFD and complain about MJ on the table.