In reviewing some of my recent posts, I've noticed a trend. I'm spending a lot of time and space complaining. I try to be a positive person, but some of the things I've witnessed in the past few months make it difficult. I'm going to point out a few things here that bother me a bit. But I also hope to point out some of the beautiful things left in this old world.
I have been a fan of CNN for years. I rely on that network to present up-to-the-minute news day or night. Although live programming usually ends at 11 p.m., we know that if something big happens in the middle of the night, CNN will be back on with live reports.
Lately, I've become a bit disappointed in this news outlet. CNN and its sister network, Headline News, has devoted a staggering amount of attention to a murder trial in Florida. For those of you who have been living in a cave for the past couple of years, authorities accuse Casey Anthony of killing her young daughter. Casey Anthony is not the daughter of a head of state, or an heiress. By all accounts, she might be a troubled young woman who may or may not have smothered her daughter and stashed the body in the trunk of a car.
Unfortunately, this case doesn't seem to be unique in a world where there is still way too much violence and lack of respect for human life. But somewhere along the line, some genius in a newsroom somewhere decided to play up this case and suddenly the courthouse is surrounded by network TV satellite trucks and spectators are fighting each other for a spot in line to sit in the courtroom.
Before you plan your day tomorrow around scheduled TV coverage of the trial, ask yourself this question: "How does this murder trial directly affect me or my hope of making my world a better place?" Murder trials usually drag on for months, if not years. During the time much of this country's attention has been zeroed in on this non-remarkable event, dozens or maybe even hundreds of others have met a violent death. Where was the extended TV coverage for them?
Make no mistake. The death of any child is tragic. But aren't we really doing a disservice to the memory of other victims by focusing so much attention on one routine murder case in Florida?
Another recent media-generated guilty pleasure involves the case of a New York congressman, Anthony Weiner. He finally admitted that he had sent improper text messages to several women and ultimately resigned from Congress. He didn't represent my district. As far as I could determine, he would never have become a serious candidate for president. But just because a photo surfaced of a clothed portion of his anatomy, we all became anxious to see what would happen next in this incident.
While being a bit critical of CNN, aren't we all growing tired of that yellow banner that seems to flash across the screen every hour that says "Breaking News."? I always thought that breaking news was the term used to get our attention to an event that had happened within the hour. But the network is using it way too often. It's like the old fable about the boy who cried "wolf." After awhile, it loses its meaning. Anderson Cooper, you should know better. During Hurricane Katrina, you did a wonderful job of keeping local, state and federal officials honest in their bungling of aid to the citizens of New Orleans. You must want to choke when the hucksters in your control room flash the "Breaking News" banner across the screen for a story that actually broke 10 hours before.
As for our morbid fascination with the Casey Anthony and Anthony Weiner stories in this world, I have one question to ask: Don't we all have better things to do? And don't get me started on the explosion of "reality" TV shows. That's for another time.
Personally, I have other things to be concerned with. I am still looking for a job that will take me to my retirement years. We are involved in several wars that are taking lives of our troops on a weekly basis. On a lighter note, I still have hope the Chicago Cubs can put it all together in the second half of the season and make a run at a pennant. And the NFL owners and players still are at odds, jeopardizing the most important season of the year - pro football season.
I promised to mention some of the more uplifting things happening in this world, so here goes. When I grow tired of worrying about murdered children, wacko politicians or pro sports, I wander out to the screened in porch and sit and watch the activity around our bird feeders. We have a colony of gold finches that stop by on a regular basis. At the other feeder at least a couple of hummingbirds visit regularly. It has been a long time since I saw a gold finch and it took 58 years for me to see my first hummingbird. And yesterday, our neighborhood was visited by a large red-tailed hawk, that perched on the roof of a neighboring building and sent out his plaintive cry for a half-hour or so.
Naked pictures of a New York congressman can't top that.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Time for a consumer uprising?
Dear Folgers: Where's my six ounces of coffee? Back in the dark ages, when I began drinking coffee as a way to cut calories and stay awake, the familiar red can was the only brand in our house. We usually bought a one-pound can - that's 16 ounces. Sometimes, if we were expecting company, we might splurge and buy a two-pound can, 32 ounces.
Soon, folks who decided cut down on their caffeine intake but still wanted the taste of coffee in the morning were rewarded with a green can of Folgers, also in 16 and 32 ounce sizes.
Have you paid attention to the amount of coffee in those same red or green containers today? I'm betting that the bean counters at corporate are hoping you will be more swayed by the numerous varieties of coffee on the store shelves. But look close at the fine print and you will soon discover that the can that at one time contained 16 ounces is now just over 10.3 ounces. I'm no math expert, but I know that's a considerable drop from what we used to buy. Was their a corresponding drop in price? Guess again.
Coffee is far from the only culprit. Try to buy a half-gallon of ice cream. The square container looks the same. but it contains only 1.75 quarts, sometimes less. Canned vegetables seem to have more water in the can than they used to. Buy crackers or cereal and you can often notice that the product doesn't fill the box. Sometimes there is a disclaimer on the package that says some settling might have occurred during shipment. Nonsense! They are just using a box that once held 14 ounces of product to hold 12 ounces or less!
If a person had way too much time on his hands and somehow had access to some of these products from 10 or 20 years ago, he could start a web site alerting consumers to just what companies are doing to increase their bottom line while hoping we won't notice.
In this era when people are suing companies for virtually anything, commercials on TV and radio and ads in magazines and newspapers are containing more silly stuff than ever before. Most broadcast car and truck ads that quote a certain price or interest rate contain a voice of somebody who escaped from auctioneers' school who reads a paragraph of stuff in warp speed and a hushed tone. If you listen closely, you might learn that the deal they just spent 25 seconds telling you about doesn't pertain to you unless you have just won the lottery and you are the son of the car dealer.
In the past few years, we have been bombarded with ads for prescription drugs. It may show a scene of a family with smiles on their faces, going about their business with the mother recovering from some frightening condition, thanks to this miracle drug. But while the scene continues, the positive aspects of the drug are followed by a list of what might happen to you if you take it and you are a member of a small minority. Thank the lawyers for that.
We have been aware of an increase in health care costs of recent years. Doctors claim the number lawsuits they are subjected to and the cost of liability insurance has caused the increase. But I wonder if at least a small part of those increases are an aggravation stipend. If a doctor must take time to explain to a male patient why a drug meant to alleviate problems that plague some females is not right for him, it takes time away from seeing the next patient.
We are also subjected to several ads each hour which promote a product that makes a man able to perform to his wife's or girlfriend's expectations. One such ad shows a guy trying to eat a sandwich when the missus comes in with that gleam in her eye and he drops the sandwich and races after her. Another ad shows the woman calling her man away from his garage. They walk hand in hand across the lawn. Their house falls away and they are shown putting up a tent. The final scene shows them side by side in bath tubs. The moral of the ad is if you take this drug, your house will fall down, you will be forced to live in a tent and the only way you will ever get clean is in a bath tub. No more showers. Now I don't know too much about intimacy, but I do know that not much hanky-panky can be accomplished in separate bath tubs!
Thanks for allowing me to climb up on my soapbox for a few minutes to vent my frustrations. It's 91 degrees here in Davenport this afternoon - too hot to do anything outside. The Cubs are on a seven-game losing streak and I was turned loose in front of a computer keyboard. I just read what I wrote and realize that it might not be wise for an unemployed hack who has applied to several public relations and ad agencies to be making fun of potential future clients. But just maybe somebody will admire my candor and give me a chance. Besides that, the weather is supposed to cool off in a couple of days and the Cubs still have more than a half-season to turn it around. The glass is still half-full - or maybe just over a third full.
Soon, folks who decided cut down on their caffeine intake but still wanted the taste of coffee in the morning were rewarded with a green can of Folgers, also in 16 and 32 ounce sizes.
Have you paid attention to the amount of coffee in those same red or green containers today? I'm betting that the bean counters at corporate are hoping you will be more swayed by the numerous varieties of coffee on the store shelves. But look close at the fine print and you will soon discover that the can that at one time contained 16 ounces is now just over 10.3 ounces. I'm no math expert, but I know that's a considerable drop from what we used to buy. Was their a corresponding drop in price? Guess again.
Coffee is far from the only culprit. Try to buy a half-gallon of ice cream. The square container looks the same. but it contains only 1.75 quarts, sometimes less. Canned vegetables seem to have more water in the can than they used to. Buy crackers or cereal and you can often notice that the product doesn't fill the box. Sometimes there is a disclaimer on the package that says some settling might have occurred during shipment. Nonsense! They are just using a box that once held 14 ounces of product to hold 12 ounces or less!
If a person had way too much time on his hands and somehow had access to some of these products from 10 or 20 years ago, he could start a web site alerting consumers to just what companies are doing to increase their bottom line while hoping we won't notice.
In this era when people are suing companies for virtually anything, commercials on TV and radio and ads in magazines and newspapers are containing more silly stuff than ever before. Most broadcast car and truck ads that quote a certain price or interest rate contain a voice of somebody who escaped from auctioneers' school who reads a paragraph of stuff in warp speed and a hushed tone. If you listen closely, you might learn that the deal they just spent 25 seconds telling you about doesn't pertain to you unless you have just won the lottery and you are the son of the car dealer.
In the past few years, we have been bombarded with ads for prescription drugs. It may show a scene of a family with smiles on their faces, going about their business with the mother recovering from some frightening condition, thanks to this miracle drug. But while the scene continues, the positive aspects of the drug are followed by a list of what might happen to you if you take it and you are a member of a small minority. Thank the lawyers for that.
We have been aware of an increase in health care costs of recent years. Doctors claim the number lawsuits they are subjected to and the cost of liability insurance has caused the increase. But I wonder if at least a small part of those increases are an aggravation stipend. If a doctor must take time to explain to a male patient why a drug meant to alleviate problems that plague some females is not right for him, it takes time away from seeing the next patient.
We are also subjected to several ads each hour which promote a product that makes a man able to perform to his wife's or girlfriend's expectations. One such ad shows a guy trying to eat a sandwich when the missus comes in with that gleam in her eye and he drops the sandwich and races after her. Another ad shows the woman calling her man away from his garage. They walk hand in hand across the lawn. Their house falls away and they are shown putting up a tent. The final scene shows them side by side in bath tubs. The moral of the ad is if you take this drug, your house will fall down, you will be forced to live in a tent and the only way you will ever get clean is in a bath tub. No more showers. Now I don't know too much about intimacy, but I do know that not much hanky-panky can be accomplished in separate bath tubs!
Thanks for allowing me to climb up on my soapbox for a few minutes to vent my frustrations. It's 91 degrees here in Davenport this afternoon - too hot to do anything outside. The Cubs are on a seven-game losing streak and I was turned loose in front of a computer keyboard. I just read what I wrote and realize that it might not be wise for an unemployed hack who has applied to several public relations and ad agencies to be making fun of potential future clients. But just maybe somebody will admire my candor and give me a chance. Besides that, the weather is supposed to cool off in a couple of days and the Cubs still have more than a half-season to turn it around. The glass is still half-full - or maybe just over a third full.
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