More "Really?"

 The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has reverted to its antiquated policy of continuing the usual yawner awards categories the public couldn’t care less about such as cinematography, makeup, hair styling, film editing and live action short. The powers that be had previously announced that those awards would be presented during commercial breaks. A hue and cry then erupted from staid members demanding those categories be returned to the telecast. Certain presentations which have little viewer interest have previously been recorded and shown briefly. The reinstated snoozers should be displayed in a similar manner but the Academy’s failure to grasp reality and continue in its stodgy state will leave many of us to again seek other viewing alternatives on February 24^th. I do have a few pages remaining in my book. Just need to get new crayons.

Seems as though “Empire” star Jussie Smollett doesn’t just limit his acting to the tv show. According to the latest, he paid a couple of friends to stage the attack he had claimed. The pair are brothers and also work on “Empire”. They showed cops the receipt for the rope they purchased that Smollett displayed around his neck when returning to his apartment from the so called attack. No reason thus far for the supposedly bogus assault. Perhaps a pale effort to pump up ratings?

Can’t get through another of these ‘masterpieces’ without a Trump mention or two. Let’s face it, items about him continually flood the internet and printed media. This past weekend he was in Florida, being seen hanging out at an omelet bar and golfing during the so called “national emergency”. Meantime Veep Pence appeared to overestimate his audience’s opinion of the White House resident recently when speaking at the Munich Security Conference by opening his remarks with “I bring greetings from the 45^th president of the United States of America, President Donald Trump”. The audience reaction was one of a lengthy and embarrassing silence. Pence, not finding a “what to do if” on the prompter attempted to move on.    

One more note concerning the “national crisis”: Sen. Lindsay Graham, in his infinite wisdom, supports the removal of funds with which a middle school was to have been built in Kentucky and the diverting of them to the construction of the confounded wall.  The word is $3.6 billion could come from military construction efforts which includes that Kentucky school, housing for military families and military base improvements. Graham stated “it’s better for the middle school kids in Kentucky to have a secure border.” Promising them that they would one day get their school, he claimed, “but right now we’ve got a national emergency”. Okkaaayy!.

Jacoby Ellsbury played centerfield for the Red Sox from 2007-2013. He was fan popular but when he shunned Boston for a lucrative New York contract he became a Yankee and the enemy.  As disappointed as we were then, it can be said that the results turned out favorably...to the Sox, as Ellsbury’s been plagued by injuries throughout his tenure in pinstripes. He missed all of last season because of hip surgery and it seems he’ll begin this one on the disabled list because of plantar fasciitis, a condition which causes pain in the arch of the foot. Late March has been determined to be the earliest he could play. By the way, he’s now entering the sixth of a seven year contract that totals $153 million or about $22 million a year, Talk about blown bucks!!

Here N' There

Let’s get this outta ‘da way.....there continues to be no affirmative results regarding immigration, health care and infrastructure ...why?  Because of all the time spent spewing hot air about the barrier, fence, barricade, facade, blockade, fortification, parapet, rampart, fence...yup, that confounded “wall”.

Let’s hear it for Connecticut Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis who has ruled that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones must submit to sworn depositions in the defamation suit brought by members of families who lost loved ones in the Sandy Hook massacre of 2012. This bozo has continually denied that the horrendous event ever took place, naming the grieving families as “paid actors“and that “the whole thing was fabricated as a ploy to take away law-abiding citizens’ guns”. His diatribes began days after the Dec.14, 2012 massacre by Adam Lanza who burst into Sandy Hook Elementary School and gunned down 26 people — 20 of them 6 and 7-year-old children. At least 10 families have filed defamation lawsuits against Jones for harassment and his continued assertion that the massacre was a left-wing hoax. Although the second of our five freedoms, speech allows Jones to express his off the wall thoughts, there must be retribution for this chump’s extreme, false and painful accusations. 

Warmest congrats to Hugh Downs who just turned 98. He’s the all-time record holder for appearing on some 15,188 hours of network commercial tv which included Kukla, Fran And Ollie, Jack Paar’s Tonight Show, The Home Show, Concentration, The Today Show and 20/20. He’s written 14 books and remains a truly class act. I once had the pleasure of interviewing him...a well- remembered highlight of my broadcasting days. 

Speaking of the media, Fox News host Sean Hannity has been named as “the most powerful person in the media” by CNN’s Chris Cuomo who went on to exclaim, “ “What he says the president does. Not vice-versa”. Guess I had it wrong. I thought Big Bird was the most influential. Hey, maybe Trump talks with him as well.  

Senate leader Mitch McConnell doesn’t exactly inspire with his monotone delivery. However, he does provide a remedy for those who have difficulty sleeping. A viable alternative to My PIllow.

NBC is already promoting the forthcoming June presidential candidates’ debates. Yet another summer re-run. Save us all!

He’s after more money for the blasted barricade! The Press Secretary released a statement Friday  stating that Trump will declare a national emergency in order to secure additional funding for his obsession. Check out the definition of “emergency”. It certainly is of immediate nature, not threatened for six weeks. It’s not designed to help one get his own way. Interesting to note that the announcement turned up on a text from Apple’s Notes function, generally used for such things as grocery lists. The difference between the wall and a grocery list is that the latter is more important, useful and appreciated. 

While all the ink and tv time has been devoted to the so called border crisis, Rep. Earl Blumenauer countered with what he says is a real crisis, climate change. He announced plans to introduce a similar resolution for a crisis, one that scientists around the world warn we are running out of time to address. In a related letter to congressional colleagues, Blumenauer called Trump’s decision “profoundly disturbing” and urged them to join him in co-sponsoring his emergency resolution on climate change. “What our country could be doing right now is focusing on addressing a real national emergency and one of the most pressing issues of our time: the climate crisis. If Donald Trump wants to start declaring national emergencies for fake crises, Congress should address the real ones, starting with climate change.”

How ‘bout this: Apparently a Delaware man had been out all night playing music with friends when he decided to crash in the back seat of his car. Turned out there was another crash to come when a thief stole the vehicle, then noticed the snoozing owner, abandoned and crashed the car. The backseat sleeper told police he thought he had been dreaming about the event, then came to realize it was all true.     

Goings On

Let’s add an additional member to the four letter obscene word club.  How ‘bout this one: W- A –L- L ....yep, “the wall’. I’m fed up hearing about it.

Seems a Trump supporter attacked a BBC cameraman yelling at other members of the press and shouting “**** the media” before he was hauled away. This “class act” was part of a revved up Trump audience in El Paso, Texas. He was seen shoving members of various news crews and “violently pushing” the  BBC cameraman. The El Paso District Attorney’s Office is not pressing charges.  Did some higher source influence the decision perhaps?

Certainly there was plenty for sale as far as the El Paso crowd was concerned. There were  lots of carts filled with “Make America Great Again” hats going for ten dollars, cash or credit. A new Trump flag was in demand, as well as another one with an image of him  standing on a tank, holding a gun, next to a bald eagle, in front of an American flag. Hey, who said there’s no class anymore!!

.Donald Trump had previously labeled El Paso as “one of the most dangerous cities in the country until a fence was built between it and Ciudad Juarez just across the border”. While Trump had said that the barrier has made El Paso safer, in fact, violence began a steady decline in the 1990’s.much before 2007 when the fence was constructed.

We knew it was about time for George Zimmerman to slink back into theGoings On news again. This time Bumble, a dating app, kicked him out after he was discovered “trolling for dates”.  As you may recall, Zimmerman fatally shot 17 year old Trevon Martin in February 2012 but was later exonerated. He’s gone on to have other brushes with the law since, including an aggravated assault arrest for allegedly aiming a gun at his girlfriend. A real charmer. 

Here’s real winner, a North Carolina substitute teacher apparently has told her class that Dr.Martin Luther King was not assassinated but actually killed himself. Her elementary students were also treated to being informed that anyone who didn’t support Donald Trump is “not a real Christian.’ Elizabeth Temple needs to be removed from the classroom and transferred to the unemployment line.

America’s top dog was named this week at the Westminster Kennel Club annual show. Once the decision to name another fox terrier as champ was made,  there was a rare smattering of boos. Seems a long haired dachshund was a crowd favorite and when not chosen, many of those in attendance were unhappy. The wired hair fox was the selection of judge Peter Green who throughout his own showing career recorded four bests. The breed has now captured the Westminster crown 15 times, more than any other breed. Green’s connection to foxes and this best in show decision may give credence to those who view the sport as highly political.

Yesterday was one of those “wintry days” when the daytime high was 27. I did a double take when I saw a young man jogging in jeans and NO shirt...yup, bare chested.  I determined he’s either brave, nuts or eligible for elective office.

It Figures

The huge positive of the Boston celebration for the Patriots latest Super Bowl win was not without a stain on the picture of a million fans cheering Belichick, Brady, Edelman and the team that brought home a 6^th trophy. A group of a dozen or so numbskulls got themselves in a punch filled riot over undoubtedly who knows what. How wonderful for kids, families and fans being forced to witness.

Can’t remember when, if ever, I’ve watched the State Of The Union Address. It’s always analyzed to the ultimate, given the max media exposure while affording the speaker the opportunity to break an arm while patting himself on the back. The coverage by the major webs plus others make it impossible for tv viewers to zero in on their favorite shows. I number myself once again as one who seeks other fare such as a TV rerun or a good book either fiction, non-fiction or coloring.

Seems later this year we can add another talk show to the tv listings, oh joy!  The current “Voice” panelist Kelly Clarkson plans on opening each of her  shows with music.The rest will require some schooling as she admits to “not being able to shut up”.  Good listeners to their guests make good hosts. If Clarkson’s show is saturated with her opinions and monologues, give it 13 weeks or less, then out.   

Well, I did it again, missing the Red Sox equipment truck which left for Ft. Myers and the spring training camp at Jet Blue Park February 4^th. Had I slipped aboard I might have gone undetected midst the 20,400 baseballs, 1,100 bats, 200 batting helmets, 20 cases of bubble gum and 60 cases of sunflower seeds.

 Stability and change are personality traits of the human being. Certainly within the political ranks they prevail and are publicized to great extent. Take for example a noon time meeting between network anchors and Donald Trump during which he called Senate Democratic honcho Chuck Schumer a “nasty son of a bitch”. His reference to former Veep Joe Biden was “dumb”. Some hours later before a network tv audience he urged the nation to “reject the politics of revenge, resistance politics and retribution”. It certainly appears that the phrase “stay tuned” may have certainly been coined for the members of the political world.

Then there’s Senator Liz Warren who’s angling for an Oval Office seat in 2020. She’s finding herself in more hot water over her American Indian heritage claim. A 1986 Texas State Bar registration card for practicing law in the state shows Warren describing her race as American Indian. A recent DNA test displayed her to be 1/1024^th Native American. Cherokee Nation stated “A DNA test is useless to determine tribal citizenship. Current DNA tests do not even distinguish whether a person’s ancestors were indigenous to North or South America”. She has since apologized but you have to wonder how much or little that registration card and eventual regret will affect her chances of seeking the nomination.

Fast becoming known as “the Scandal State” Virginia’s top three elected officials are embroiled in a chaos of their own making. There’s the “blackface incident” of Governor Ralph Northam, the sexual assault accusations leveled against Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax and  another blackface problem, this for Attorney General Mark Herring. Naturally, all are denying resignation. Perhaps some thought should be given to scrubbing the forever “Virginia Is for Lovers” claim. Only changing the letter “v” to an “s” could now provide the more appropriate “Virginia Is for Losers”.

Thoughts

Howard Shultz’ announcement that he’s seeking the presidency has been met with a wave of complacency. The vote he could receive may have trouble exceeding the total number of employees in his Philadelphia Starbucks locations.

Seems Adm. Ronny Jackson will resume his role as Trump medical adviser despite being the object of a Pentagon investigation regarding his haphazard distribution of medication, drinking on the job and being instrumental in the creation of a hostile work environment. Despite his shadowy record the White House just named him for a second star. Perfect!

“The Trump glow” continues as a topic of interest. Portrayer par excellence Alec Baldwin on SNL calls the hue “slightly paler than orange crush”.  The line from the White House is that Mr. Trump’s glow is the result of “good genes,” says a senior administration official who refused to be identified.  Apparently, those “good genes” don’t include above and below both eyes which remain white.  Sort of like the effect when someone uses protective glasses to avoid the sun’s rays.  Just amazing.

A recent report indicated the Oval Office resident for the past three months he has burned 300 hours in unstructured time. Press secretary Sanders claims that is “to allow for a more creative environment that has helped make him the most productive President in modern history. President Trump has a different leadership style than his predecessors and the results speak for themselves,” Sanders said, adding that he “spends much of his average day in scheduled meetings, events, and calls.” Other reports indicate that his schedule places him in the Oval Office at the start of each workday, but he often spends mornings at the residence reading newspapers, watching TV and calling aides, lawmakers, friends, advisers and other officials. Now we all feel better, don’t we?!

Glad to see the Pats win. The initial half, was a yawner. Julian Edelman certainly earned his Most Valuable Player award. Tony Romo is a refreshing addition to the CBS broadcast team. I do wish Tom Brady would give more thought to retirement before he sustains an injury that could plague him for years. Leaving a sport one loves is difficult, a sport which allows its members to remain younger longer that the rest of us. 

Sad news indeed.The passing of Gary LaPierre is felt by so many. Certainly the huge WBZ audience who for some 40 years were informed and entertained by a truly great and revered broadcasting talent. My stay at WBZ was made even more pleasurable by working with him, being around him and being impressed by him. He was a joy with whom I remained in contact through the years by e-mail. My notes to him always began with “Great One”...That he was and will always be. Memories of Gary will remain forever warm and admiring.