Voice Recognition

I walked out into the kitchen a few minutes ago, to re-fill my juice (having slightly over-peppered my breakfast), and paused as I heard a voice I know coming from the television.   Beatrice, my room mate, was watching television, and I asked, "Do I hear Mark Warner?," and she said, "Yes."  That made me think about voice recognition...
   Growing up, Mom and Dad's voices always meant comfort.  I grew to recognize the voices of the Presidents during their terms of office, and I always could say who was giving the news - especially Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather.  After a year of the 45th administration, I recognize the voices of Senators, Congressional Representatives, ex-FBI and ex-CIA agents, and I really delight in hearing the sound of the voice of Richard Painter, George W. Bush's ethics lawyer.
   I still recognize the voices of  certain stars of stage and screen - mostly from the 1930s through the mid-1970s.  That's where I remember most singers and musical groups from, too - even though I was born in 1956.  I have disconnected from the movies, television, and music since about 1980.  I enjoy a few television shows - mostly Australian, British and Canadian - and a very few movies.  And, being in my early 60s, I now shudder at 99% of today's "music."
   In any event, it's always nice to be able to hear voices of reason on MSNBC....

News? Gossip? A Load of Bullshit

As I have grown older, I have become increasingly disenfranchised with the world's news media.  My parents grew up in different areas of the United States; they received weekly newspapers regarding the big events, and they listened to the radio each evening for current world, national, and local news.  I was born in 1956, and we sat down to eat supper at 6 p.m. each weekday - and while we were eating, the television was on, showing 30 minutes of local news, followed by 30 minutes of national and world news.  I ate my supper and watched the news about the war in Viet Nam and the unrest in the Middle East.  The family discussed the news over the dinner table, and later, after the dishes were washed and dried.
  My heroes, at the time, were cowboys and actors who portrayed cowboys.  If I had to name a hero today, I'd have to say Richard Engle, a news journalist, and the astronauts aboard the International Space Station.  When I read today's headlines (online), I almost ruined my monitor and keyboard with a mouthful of orange juice.  The first two news headlines were in regard to the terrorist attacks in Paris, but the third headline was that an actor had announced he is HIV positive on a morning national news show.  Why is this man's medical history news?
  I have never regarded "star" or celebrity status of someone as news.  It's plain old gossip.  I had my own, private news page set up to give me the "news stories" regarding several people whom I know personally.  Some are considered celebrities - but they're just friends to me, because I've known them all of my (or their) life.  I ended up removing them because there was so much awful, stupid gossip that appeared under the banner of news.   Is so-and-so dating so-and-so?  What does so-and-so eat during a day?  What does so-and-so's wife think about this? What does so-and-so's family think about that?  So-and-so said this; and a quote taken out of context follows; what does it mean?
   I am extremely un-trendy.  I have a few favorite actors, a lot of favorite authors and books, and a few favorite television shows.  Watching certain actors can make my toes curl up.  I love the way they look, the way they move, and the sound of their voices.  But I do not want to know every salacious detail of their lives.  They have kids? Good for them. They have a horrible illness and are fighting it - such as cancer, Parkinson's, or Alzheimer's?  I'm sorry for them and I will support them to the utmost of my ability.  My own family members suffer from cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, heart disease and diabetes.  I support them.  I support celebrities who create awareness of diseases that can strike all of humanity - many excellent actors and actresses have succumbed to any and all of the diseases I named.
   But it seems to me that the actor who announced that he is HIV positive today did so merely for his own personal good.  Look at me - I can't believe that I am HIV positive!  This man is a foul-mouthed person that curses and screams at other people for no reason - he delights in being "out of control" whether through abuse of alcohol or drugs, or both.  He is a danger to society at large when he is under the influence of any type of drug - legal or otherwise.  And he suddenly wants my sympathy?  He has crashed and burned too many times in public for me to give him anything...  I wouldn't urinate on him if he was on fire standing next to me - I'd just run as fast as I could to get away from his presence.
   Maybe I'm a bad person for feeling this way.  But I am sick to death from hearing about "celebrities" who are pretty much self-created.  Who the heck are the Kardashians?  I've seen the name everywhere, but why are they in the spotlight?  Did one of them create a new food source to feed the poor?  Did they discover a new medicine to help kill a disease?  Why should I care what they do, who they date, marry, or have babies with?  It's none of my business.  And I wish the "news media" would learn to accept that.

Two TV Shows...

Wow. Derek Jacobi was stupendous as Cardinal Orsini in the opening episode of Showtime's The Borgias. Too bad that his weaselly character was poisoned (by his own poisoner) so early in the series. Jeremy Irons was stunning as Rodrigo Borgia, Pope AlexanderVI; and I am really looking forward to the next 9 episodes. - Can you tell what I was doing last night? - And PBS is also showing Ken Burns' The Civil War again. I watched episode 1 of that last night, and thrilled to the sound of John Hartford's voice. And getting to listen to Shelby Foote's commentary, as well as looking at him, was fantastic. Isn't it terrible that my two favorite people on that show are now dead? ... So, Saturday it was almost 80 degrees; yesterday we had hail, rain and snow, and the temperature dropped to 24; this morning I got up to about a half-inch of snow accumulation on the grass and covering cars. Our high was 49. It was also windy all day. The weather guys say we'll be up to the low 60s tomorrow, but with higher winds. ... This does not bode well for the Crystal Fire, as it is still only about 5% contained and still has over 4,500 acres both smoldering and burning. ... Right now, a suicidal man is camped out in the local medical center; the man has a gun; and the SWAT team is there. ... A couple of teen-aged boys opened a suitcase sitting near a park in Denver and found the body of a 17-year-old boy. ... Life around here is getting a little strange....