Media

I've seen Gotham tonight, but I need to watch last Thursday's episode of The Blacklist.  I've been DVRing the episodes of Vikings, so I will have a two day binge of five hours each, once this season's last episode airs.  I haven't been watching NCIS like I used to…  I want to get back watching that, but, at the same time, I know that Special Agent Tony DiNozzo is leaving the series.  While he's not my favorite character on the show, it'll seem odd without him.  Haven't watched Sleepy Hollow this season, either.  I don't know if my tastes are changing, or if the shows are becoming repetitive.
  I don't watch any of the so-called reality shows - whether it's Dancing With the Stars, American Idol, or American Ninja.  I've never watched more than three minutes of any of the "reality" shows on television, and I would consider it extreme mental torture, if I were made to do so.  I enjoy watching Jeopardy! and catching the local weather on the news, but that's about it.  I can't remember the last time I went to see a movie at the theater - or what the movie was…
   I do know that I find most advertising on the television ridiculous.  The idiots pouring champagne on their new cell phones, and/or putting them in fish tanks, is just stupid.  I remember the old Timex commercials - and they were a heck of a lot better than the garbage today.  And all of the pharmaceutical ads are just getting more and more disgusting.  If you're advertising Cialis, why end each commercial with two bathtubs?  Shouldn't the couple be together in a jacuzzi - or a bed?  I know that we've become much more open as a society, but are we really certain we know where all this openness leads?  Do we actually talk about erectile dysfunction, loss of bladder control, and the odors of colostomy bags, the worries of an irritable bowel, and painful intercourse after menopause during meals with friends and family?
   I am not saying that all of this wonderful knowledge should not be shared - but, for heaven's sake, put this stuff on infomercials instead of regular advertisements!  I am sick of hearing about all of the possible side effects from all of the medications that are available.  Hell, I'd rather have the problem than go through all the side effects that are mentioned for most drugs.
   I realize that companies keep track of who buys what - I get specially targeted advertising from my supermarket.  I get tons of unwanted e-mail online, too.  Today, I read 6 messages, and I deleted 137 messages that were advertisements and/or spam.  If I buy one specific item from one company, I am inundated with similar offers from other companies.  What do they think?  That I have enough money, time, and space to buy one of everything produced by every company in the world?  It's freaking ridiculous!  If I like something, I recommend it to friends and family.  If I don't like it, I'll tell people why.
   On my Google page, I can set up my own topics of interest and receive news items about them.  However, I have found that what passes as a "news item" in the past few years has changed dramatically.  I am interested in a certain male's career.  He became famous playing sports.  The "news items" that show up under his name are usually not even news - it's speculation about who the man is dating, who he's been seen in company with, should he enter the political arena?  None of it is news - it's just gossip and speculation.   Now, under my Archaeology heading, there is a very rare speculative article now and then, but it's mostly what has been found, and what new items prove about our historical beliefs.  I consider that news.
   Today's media - for or against?   I'm not really certain.  Having all of the social media available today is nice - if you're in an isolated area.  Having almost instantaneous "news" is OK - but the need for truth and not hysteria is greatly needed.  I love the internet - as a window on the world - but I also know that lies multiple like rabbits on, or in, any media.   What is the truth anymore?
    And I have to say that I am very much afraid of the way that our interactive machines have disturbed normal social awareness and awakenings.  Youngsters these days are addicted to their iPhones and iPads, their games and instant messaging.  I don't think youngsters should be allowed to play with, or adapt to today's tech until they are 16….  or 18, or 21.  It ought to be like drinking alcohol and/or voting.  
   I know.   I'm a crazy old lady.
 

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.