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Points of Ponderation…Episode 1.25

A semi-regular attempt to address some of life’s minutiae that might otherwise be overlooked…..

When the Frasier reboot on Paramount+ was announced a few years ago I was SO excited. OG Frasier is one of the best sitcoms of all time, and I just knew the reboot would be fantastic. Then the first season premiered in October 2023, and though I was pleased to see my pal Dr. Crane onscreen once again, it just didn’t have the same je ne sais quoi. It was a pleasant enough show, but unremarkable. What made the original great was a) the ensemble & b) superb writing. Neither element worked in the follow-up. Season 2 premiered last September, and four months later I have not watched a single episode. I’ll get around to it eventually, but my lack of enthusiasm is obvious. Now it has been announced that Paramount+ canceled the series. I suppose another streaming platform may extend a lifeline, and if that happens I hope the powers-that-be will make necessary changes and inject the show with moxie & palpable wit. However, if this is the end of the road for Frasier Crane that’s okay too. His formidable legacy remains largely unscathed.

I have considered becoming a “content creator” for various reasons, but the truth is that I’m not that creative, and despite being an infrequent blogger my assumption is that no one would have much interest in my spin on things. Since I have never created a video & likely never will, the comically brief TikTok ban here in the United States had virtually no impact on my life. Having said that, I am generally not in favor of banning things, especially when no one can properly articulate the harm. First of all, why are we trying to ban an app because it is owned by a Chinese company, yet we have allowed China to buy a whole lot of American land?? Which is more detrimental or potentially outright dangerous?? Secondly, if one is concerned about social media manipulation, then let’s ban Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, and Google as well, since we all understand the social engineering & political machinations those entities have engaged in. I’ll cop to ignorance of the details in this situation, but isn’t TikTok a mostly innocuous platform for kids & very lonely adults to post silly and largely inconsequential videos that provide brief snippets of entertainment?? Am I being naive?? Biden, Trump, or someone stepped in to negotiate a compromise, and I assume the long term hope is for TikTok to be purchased by an American company, which would assuage most concerns. Or perhaps the entrepreneurial spirit will eventually prevail and a new & improved app that provides all the same bells & whistles will emerge. Y’all keep me posted…I’ll be here reading a book.

A few thoughts on the recent Presidential Inauguration:

Whether the event was moved indoors due to cold weather (the official explanation) or there were safety concerns (likely valid) in the wake of previous attempts on President Trump’s life, it’s a shame because it truly diminished the ceremony’s usual majesty. 

I don’t share others’ concerns about a perceived oligarchy, but it was odd to see Big Tech billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg & Jeff Bezos sitting in such prominent positions. I suppose Trump might be playing chess by employing a Corleone inspired “keep your enemies closer” strategy, but it was a slightly disturbing visual given the manipulation those folks have participated in the past few years. Leftists scoff at conservative allegations about the Soros Family, but part of that is because they are smart enough to remain mostly in the shadows and the politicians they…influence…retain plausible deniability. 

Speaking of the tech guys…no, Elon Musk was not giving a freakin’ Nazi salute. If you believe that you’re exactly the kind of simpleton the media has been playing like a fiddle for decades. Trust me when I tell you…the Trump Administration, just like anyone else in power, will make their fair share of mistakes & miscalculations that’ll be justly criticized. Y’all don’t need to fabricate BS.

Kudos to Carrie Underwood, who reacted with grace under fire when there was an equipment malfunction. I don’t know enough about such things to opine, but I realize it wasn’t an ideal setup or the arrangement she was expecting at all. It turned out to be a happy accident though, as I think most would agree that Ms. Underwood’s acappella performance of America the Beautiful was powerful & inspiring. 

I am not a Presidential scholar, but the concepts of “preemptive” pardons & executive orders make me a bit squeamish no matter which political party is wielding the pen. They seem like rather dictatorial ideas for a constitutional republic. 

Superfluous 7…..Things That Annoy Me For No Apparent Reason

First of all, let me just say that I had a hard time trimming this list down to seven things. I smell a future sequel. At any rate, even though I am a mostly pleasant, easygoing, amiable guy, I have my pet peeves just like everyone else. I have decided over the course of the past few years to embrace my inner curmudgeon because even my dark side is pretty much harmless, and I kind of figure that if there are going to be things that tick me off those things may as well be completely neurotic & trivial. So, it is with lighthearted malice in my big ol’ cuddly heart that I scream at you pesky kids to get off my damn lawn & turn down that noisy rock n’ roll music, and present to you…..

 

 

from the home office in Burlington, VT (America’s angriest city…seriously, Google it)…..

 

 

The Superfluous 7 Things That Annoy Me For No Apparent Reason:

 

 

 

7   Going “up” instead of down (or vice versa)

I hear people doing this all the time. For example, Morgantown, WV (home of the Mountaineers) is a city approximately 50 miles north of me, but I’ll hear a person say “I am gonna run down to Morgantown”. No, you’re not. You are going to go UP to Morgantown. Buy a compass for God’s sake.

 

 

6  Songs with sirens

You are driving along, enjoying your day, running your errands, and enjoying the lovely sunshine. You are rockin’ out to your local rock station when you hear it…”WOOO WOOO WOOO”. Your heart jumps into your throat. You do a mental checklist…license, registration, proof of insurance, cell phone so the cops can call 911 since you are having a coronary. And then you realize that you aren’t about to be dragged away to the pokey like OJ Simpson trying to see if he can luck out with two idiotic juries in one lifetime. No, it’s just the song on the radio. I’d like to lock the “artists” who record such purported “songs” in a room with ol’ OJ for an hour or two.

 

 

5  Toddlers on a leash

I do not have any children (that I am aware of). I may never have children. I realize that those who do have children hold their safety in the highest regard. But leashes are for dogs. If you cannot protect your baby in a more humane fashion than to tether them to you like the family pet then may I suggest you leave them at home until they are of such an age that you feel comfortable that they won’t run away from you like band members fleeing Van Halen.

 

 

4  Unpunctuality

You know what time you need to be at work, church, or any other social engagement or meeting. Be there on time. Heck…get crazy and be there 10 minutes early. Don’t be the person that walks in 5 or 15 minutes late e-v-e-r-y s-i-n-g-l-e w-e-e-k. Eventually the excuses ring hollow and you become a running joke. It becomes obvious that the task at hand is not at all important to that constantly tardy person.

 

 

3  Lady & Lil Man

Maybe it’s just me…maybe I am imagining things. But I am pretty sure this is a fairly new trend. It seems as if everyone now refers to all male babies & toddlers as “Lil Man”. “I’m taking Lil Man to the circus tonight!!”. “Lil Man isn’t feeling very well today…I think he has a tummy ache”. “Lil Man doesn’t really look like me or any of the dozen guys I slept with last year…I am beginning to think there was a mix up at the hospital”. I cannot be totally sure because…well, I was a baby, plus I can’t remember what I had for breakfast let alone things that happened nearly 40 years ago…but I’d be willing to bet that when I was a child no one called me Lil Man. Close behind this irritating trend is this one: one female says to the other ‘I tried to call you last night lady!!” or “What’s goin’ on lady?? I haven’t talked to you in forever”. Who are you…Jerry Lewis?? And right up there on the irk-o-meter are middle aged white guys who think they are some smooth blend of LL Cool J, Jamie Foxx, and Barry White and refer to their lovely female friends as Baby Girl. Please stop it…you are embarrassing yourself.

 

2  Group Shopping

I live a rather solitary life. I live alone, sleep alone, eat alone, go to the movies alone, and shop alone. I realize this skews my perspective. However, when I am at the grocery store, the mall, or any other retail outlet I want to be able to get to where I am going and peruse the aisles with as little interference as possible. That is why I become exasperated by 3 or more people walking beside each other like Dorothy and her crew skipping down The Yellow Brick Road. Getting behind such a group is the pedestrian equivalent of following a school bus at 7am on a weekday in the fall. Your task will take you three times as long because these assclowns are oblivious to the fact that the world does not revolve around their juvenile merriment. Get out of my way!!

 

 

1  Obnoxious Facebook Pics

You’ve seen them. We’ve all seen them. This is an open plea to all females under the age of 50 who post photos on Facebook or any other site. I absolutely guarantee that if one is a friend of a person that fits that demographic then they have seen their gal pal post two specific types of pics. The first is what I would call “Look at me…I’m gangsta!!” – two fingers pointed like a horizontal peace sign, with a look on their face as if they are having some sort of convulsion and may need immediate medical attention. The second, even more aggravating pic is what I guess the kids these days are calling The Ducky Face, which is some sort of weird puckering thing. Please…ladies…I beg of you…please, for the love of God & all that is holy, stop. It is not attractive, it is not cool…it is obnoxious.