Clearly we are all going to hell in a hand basket!
Paula Deen, the butter queen, is a reported racist who longs for the days of plantation style weddings, the innocent child of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West was intentionally named after a direction on a compass, (North), Russia’s president Putin is now best friends with whistleblower Ed Snowden and is telling the United States to kiss his lily white butt, and Barnes & Noble is closer to its demise than ever before after suffering a fourth quarter loss of $122 million. Is there nothing a girl can believe in anymore?
As much as some of this stuff disgusts me, like you, I’ve got bigger fish to fry. Like making ends meet, losing 30 pounds before the taping of my promo video (filming in 2 weeks), finding gas under 4 bucks a gallon, and trying to decide if I should just give up the ship and let my hair go gray.
Do we care about the disasters of the day, Hollywood, Washington or otherwise, or are we just desensitized? Maybe it’s just that it’s all so ridiculous that there is nothing left to do but to roll our eyes and mumble under our breath.
So much of what I hear and see on the news makes me madder than a wet hen (I don’t really know what that means, but my grandfather used to say it when he was pissed as hell). And it’s all so out of our control. What is the point of beating us to death with the onslaught of television coverage? Regurgitated verbiage from talking heads mixing the uber important with the silly substandard news items. Hour after hour. Day after day. The same stuff. Come on guys, is nothing else happening in the rest of the world?
It brings me to recall an attitude that my ex-husband would always fall back on during the 28 years of our marriage; “this affects ME how?” It was, and is, his creed to live by. Seriously, if something didn’t affect him, he simply didn’t care. It worked for him. Not so much for me.
I have a sneaky suspicion that all things in the universe eventually come together at some point to either slap us in the face or pat us on the back. I’d prefer the pat.
The thing is, good people make mistakes. Stupid people are generally stupid for most of their lives. Politicians are liars and crooks from the get-go and no one in this wide world will benefit from the loss of the only remaining retail book store standing.
So, Paula, Kim, Kanye, Edward, and Putin, I am sick of you. I’m sick of hearing about you, viewing your pictures and listening to the talking heads about your idiocies and criminal acts. You deal with your own self induced coma of crap. We’re through!
As a member of a civilized society I will worry about losing what little sanity I have left by way of a comfy book store that offers the mind a respectable respite and the soul a place to dream. With all that is going on in this world, it might be where the answers are. Stranger things have happened.
I’m going to go grab a cup of java and spend a couple of hours sitting at my favorite Barnes & Noble perusing the crisp pages of promise. No doubt, the privilege won’t be here forever.
Now THAT, my friends, is something to worry about!
Joan Cooper - Every day we are all bombarded with an overload of information that means nothing to our lives.
This was predicted in a book named “Furture Shock” published, I believe, back in the 80s. How true.
But it sells. If it didn’t they wouldn’t do it.
We need to boycott the media, but if we do that, what do we do wih our brains and time? Scary
Joan
Frankie - And gee, who can forget the Santa Monica College shooting or our gun control issues, now that’s just a blip on the screen too. We tend to be apathetic bunch?
Loved your post! I’m sick of these reports too.
Cheryl Nicholl - Ya know how you can search the universe and still never find your soulmate? Well that’s not a problem I have anymore. I am so glad I’ve found your blog and you took the words right out of my frigin’ mouth.
Suerae Stein - Oh, so true, Tammy! I’ve stopped watching the news altogether and realize that I will have to give up Facebook if I want to be completely in the dark about these stupid people. I guess we can’t escape some of these idiots. I am sad about Barnes and Noble. We lost our Borders a few years ago and it still leaves a gaping hole in our retail community. (We never had a Barnes and Noble). Hopefully, the demise of the big box book stores will open the door for the smaller independent book sellers. Great post, as always!
Enchanted Seashells,Confessions of a Tugboat Captain's Wife - If you can lose anywhere close to 30 lbs in less than 2 weeks, you GOT to tell me how. We could make a trillion dollars and buy Barnes & Noble. Seriously.
Mel Glenn - The comfy bookstore is going the way of the dodo. I love B and N, but get a lot of my books from Amazon. Remind me to recommend a few. We are creatures of the 24 hour news cycle. Not only “if it bleeds, it leads,” but we want to the dirt on Kim and the butter on Paula. Pop news is good for ratings, which mean higher ad revenues. Keep fighting the good fight; maybe Walter Cronkite will resurrect.
Tammy - Hi Joan, I read the book you mention and enjoyed it tons. You can do what I have started to do, tune in to the BBC news each night. Then you will get a dose of reality instead of eccentric news mongering. We should be ashamed of ourselves in our news media. With all that we have at our disposal, to be reduced to the same sound bites every hour on the hour, day after day, well, it’s disgusting. But I have a feeling I already said that! Scary times, Joan. Time much better spent with your horses!! Thanks ever so for the read and the reply!
Tammy - Hi Frankie, not forgotten on this end, that’s for sure. We do tend to be an apathetic bunch. I think it’s because so much is crammed down our throats repeatedly. Repeatedly. Wait…I already said that. Haaa! Love that we are on the same page. Awesome! Thanks for being here…appreciate the comment.
Tammy - Hi Cheryl, we are indeed Birds of a Feather! I’m so happy you found me too! Which resulted in me finding you. Follow that? Happy to have a comrade in the never ending war against nonsense. I’ll be issuing the required uniform, walkie-talkie and stun gun later. Stay tuned. Thanks for the read, so very happy to have you on the other side!
Tammy - Hi Suerae, I’m hoping that books will rise to the top on some vehicle. I’d hate to think that Amazon would end up controlling all of it. A perfect example of how efficiency can rob a society of conscience and a little bit of humanity. *sigh* So happy you enjoyed the read. We all need a good venting every once in a while. Thrilled to have you here, Suerae!
Tammy - Hi Enchanted, hey, if only it were possible! The real truth is that the stress of it is driving me towards M&M’s. A fatal blow in my quest to be slim and svelte. Proving once again, that you can’t have everything. And yet I continue to strive for it ALL. So appreciate your refreshing humor. Thanks for that!
Tammy - Hi Mel, if Walter comes back we are all in trouble! Ha! You’re right, the news these days has gone the way of the train wreck; hideous to see, yet we can’t look away. I’m looking away and dialing in my BBC news network. I confess, I still tune in to Brian Williams nightly news but I think it has a lot more to do with gazing at Brian than it does the news. Truth is, that charm is wearing off too. You can have the dirt on Kim and the butter on Paula (love that!). I’ll take a walk with my dog any time. So love knowing you are on the other side of my blog. We do have such fun, don’t we?!
Eularee Smith - Are you reading my mind? So here is my mantra…Not my concern. Like your Dad, I am beginning to see the world is spinning off it’s axis. I think it all began with reality shows. When will the hurting stop. You beat me to the punch with this one.
Tammy - Hi Eularee, so happy you joined in on the fun. Reality shows definitely brought us down to a new standard of low. Seems we have stayed there ever since. Not sure we can all climb our way out of the perpetual onslaught of news and useless information. ButIe do have a mute button and a stereo which finds itself ‘on’ a lot more often these days. LOVE your mantra. I often tell my dog (yes, I talk to my dog) to mind her own business. She is a snoop. A group of kids, an open garage door, a car slowing down, she wants to know all about it. I’m thinking I should start listening to my own advice….not my business! *click* Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Awesome!
Janie Emaus - I know how you feel. The B&N closed near me and now I have no place to browse.
Jennifer - “Hell in a handbasket” is a phrase I use ALL the time. I have no idea what it means, but my grandparents said it all the time LOL
I take all of “this” into perspective. Every generation had their “thing” that was bringing down society. Remember when Madonna burst on the scene in the 80s? How ’bout free love in the 60s? These times will seem tame to what the future holds.
See lemonade out of lemons 😉
Tammy - Janie, sign of the times, I’m afraid. No good can come from it. Soon Amazon will own the world. Thanks for stopping by and taking a moment of your time to leave a comment.
Tammy - Jennifer, Yes, I remember all those times. We were called dirty hippies. The Beatles were “mongrels”, and the Stones were “roaches” to our parents. Times are a changing, that’s for sure. Nowadays we have cyber crime, cameras everywhere, politically correct faux-pahs, gluten free products and warnings of global warming. You’re right….it’s always something! Thanks for popping by. So happy you did!
Melanie Kissell - I don’t know about you, Tammy, but I love the smell and feel of a good book. Sure, the Kindle Fire is nice but c’mon. Does everything have to be about electronics?! 🙁
Okay, okay. I’m aging myself but so what? A bookstore isn’t just a place where books are sold. It’s an experience! It’s an outing of the adventurous kind. It’s traditional and solid and sacred. Hell, it’s fun!
I can’t recall the last time I turned on the television. Probably well over a year ago. I used to enjoy tuning in but then my enjoyment turned to disdain and disgust. Low quality (and NO quality!) programming … with very few exceptions … and horrible, horrible news stories. I’ll pass.
And just for the record …
I don’t give a rat’s ass what some celebrity names her child. “Why” is that even considered newsworthy??!!
Tammy - Melanie, you and I would make excellent book store occupants. I’ve often stopped in for a quick peruse only to find that I stayed for hours. Hours! There’s no place like a room filled with books! Sadly, I don’t think that B & N will be around much longer. Hard to imagine what Amazon will do when I knock on their door with my cup of java asking to look around their store and sit in their comfy chair for hours. Yeah. Exactly. So sad. And for the record, I don’t give a rat’s ass about ANY celebrity news either. Are you sure we’re not related?
Melanie Kissell - Soul sisters! That’s what we are! 😉
I’m with ya 100% on the “celebrity news” thing. Very sad to think that’s what our society is craving and is willing to pay for and more than elated to fill their heads with. I don’t mean to come across as high and mighty, but I’ve lived long enough to know better. I’ve been around long enough to recognize the highest priorities in life — the things that truly matter.