I'm confused

Recently I've noticed that the left leaning media is sending up videos of Trump, Vance, Hegseth and other Republican office holders. Conversely, I've noticed that Fox is constantly giving us pictures of Mandani, AOC, and El Sayed. if you kept the volume down you might even think that the New York Post is endorsing AOC and Mandani since their images are all they seem to feature. You Tube is full of videos telling us that when you vote for socialism, communism is around the corner. 

If you turn the volume down, you might even think that left leaning channels are supporting Trump and other Republicans and if you turn on Fox or other right leaning channels you might think they are supporting people like El Sayed. Instead of talking about the current state of affairs, they are terrifying us by showing us socialists who are masquerading as Khruschev in disguise. 

Murder in the Mountains

 

Since the government cut off funding for PBS, I've noticed more documentaries and fund raising on the tv stations. I've been watching fewer foreign police procedurals there too, except for Friday and Sunday nights. However, I've discovered there are lots of foreign police procedurals on Passport, the streaming service open to paying subscribers only. Many of these shows are offered by British Channel 4's Walter Presents. 

My personal favorites are the old standby, Murdoch and the Austrian series, Murder in the Mountains. M in the M beautifully captures the Alps and features a decent story line. Granted the characters in the cast are rather prosaic. There is the on again off again romance of the leads, the doofus assistant, the tetchy coroner. 

For some reason, Countess and the Chef turn up on every show. Since they have no official position in the police force their constant presence is a mystery to me. 

Editor's note: Maybe PBS is trying to get money out of the freeloader's love of the genre. They now have to pay for their police procedurals. 

Social Media vs. Transistor Radios

 Internationally, there have been attempts to limit younger teens from exposure to the evils of social media. Europe is also now considering legislation to limit access for the pre and early teens. The usual suspects are Tik Tok, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and others. Australia is implementing a program to limit users by age but the kids are getting around it. 

The only equivalent media product that I can think of was the teenager of the late fifties and mid sixties was the addiction of the young to AM radio. I can remember adults complaining, "No wonder the kids can't learn anything when they have those transistor radios glued to their ears eyeryday. 

I didn't bag my plums

 

Yesterday, being a Saturday, I knew my usual supermarket, S, would be ridiculously overcrowded. Being a sharp shopper, I opted to go to the other major supermarket chain, which we will call A. It was not crowded, and, being a judicious shopper, the prices were not too bad. I dumped some plums into the cart. I did not use the little plasticine bag, as is my wont. I always make a mess tearing the bag off the receptacle and I suspect there is a charge for them. 

I chose to use a real checker, since there was only a tiny line and deposited my groceries onto the belt. The clerk looked up at me, ruefully. "So you are going to let those plums roll around?" she queried. I then tried to be helpful and put the three plums together on the queue. 

At the end of the checkout, she refused to bag the plums. She put them in a separate place and helpfully informed me, "You should always put fruits in the baggies, or they will get bruised on the way home."

I then proceeded to dump the plums into the supermarket bag I brought from home and remarked, "Oh don't worry I'm sure they'll be fine." 

I guess being a man she assumed that shopping was not a task I had mastered. Probably my wife was laid up and I that forced me to do this unfamiliar chore. At the S store, they could care less about what I did with my plums. I guess that is why A is more expensive. Because of their exceptional customer service. The plums did not look bruised. At least to my masculine eyes. 

Happy Father's Day

 Here's an oldie but goodie. Happy summer too!

Furniture shopping from the dumpster

 

Last week I was at a dinner and the conversation turned to buying furniture. One person recommended Ikia, another recommended an antique store in Lambertville. I thought to myself "I just got a table, too!" when I reconsidered what I would say next. Truth to be told I just found a nice plant table next to the dumpster where I lived.

To think of it, a lot of my furniture consists of tables and things I found lying next to the condo dumpster. I never look for things that way it's just that while tossing my kitchen refuse, I sometimes notice a nice table or stool propped up against the garbage bin.  I take pity on it and welcome it to my home. 

Occasionally I see an old pickup truck next to the dumpster that picks up stuff my neighbors have thrown out. My building must have a good reputation for the cast-off effluvia of modern life. 

Enjoy your Memorial Day

 Here's a post from a few years back.