"It bothered me to think that in this rich country, there were people who still lived as they did . . ." Ruth Levinson, character in The Longest Ride, a novel by Nicholas Sparks, 2013
Ruth, a teacher, had gone to visit a student who lived in a shack and sometimes did not eat more than two or three times a week.
On the NBC nightly news, December 17, 2014, Brian Williams announced that recent information shows that the gap between the upper one per cent and the rest of the country has gotten even wider. Yes, in this great and rich country, how is it children have to live like this? Yet even today it still happens, while we send millions and billions of dollars and jobs to other countries, some who are our barely disguised covert enemies.
I've said it all in previous articles in lousissues.BlogSpot.com, lousdevotes.BlogSpot.com, and louhough.BlogSpot.com. I will let you read and reread these articles to find my views.
But permit me to ask you a few questions first.
When will enough be enough for these rich people?
What are they lacking in their lives that makes them driven to store more and more coins while their fellow men go hungry? They store coins in the same obsessive-compulsive manner that an alcoholic imbibes alcohol, trying to fill some empty hole within themselves. It seems to be some type of addictive behavior.
When they get to the pearly gates and God asks them to account for what they did with the talents and other coins with which He entrusted them, how will they answer? I bought some elections for guys I thought would help me make and keep some more coins? Or will they say, I looked for half a dozen people per year and fed, clothed, and trained them until they were able to take care of themselves? I expected nothing back for doing so.
Which answer do you think the Almighty will like the best?
Which do you think will give them the most fulfillment, perhaps enough to fill that mighty empty hole?
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Friday, December 5, 2014
If I Ruled CBS!
A friend of mine once stated the obvious, that people's fantasies were determined by what they needed most. His were pretty much the same as most men's. Mine were, as always, about wealth. My income hasn't increased, so my fantasies haven't changed, except the amount I visualize has multiplied many times. And no, I want my own, I don't want to marry it.
With money comes power. Right? So, I've decided to fantasize owning CBS so I have power over their programing.
The first thing CBS needs is to eliminate all reality shows, because there isn't a single sniff of reality in any of them. In fact, one or two of them should not have gotten past the first season. I refer especially to Undercover Boss. People would have to live in a monastery not to know what's going on after one exposure to this show.
Then, there is the problem of Saturday night. CBS has cared squat about their Saturday night audience since they canceled Craig T. Nelson as a police commissioner who lived on a boat. 48 Hours Mystery is the only thing they seem to take as valuable, a very debatable opinion. They keep showing reruns of current shows (probably to hook new viewers) as though we are too stupid to already know the shows are on the air. They really ticked me off last season when they ran new Saturday segments of shows scheduled on other nights. You see, newspapers have quit running TV guide sections in their Sunday editions because cable viewers can get the information from television. The problem with that is that a lot of the CBS audience does not have cable. So, a little hard to access the schedule on television.
Then there is the new disjointed manner of showing the shows. Big Bang Theory was on Thursday, then Monday, now Thursday. There will now be four sitcoms on Monday night, so either Scorpion or NCIS Los Angeles has to give up their spot. Last year Tuesday night was perfect -- three really strong shows. So, instead of putting NCIS New Orleans on a previously weak night, they broke up a winning night to do it. Let's face it, Thursday night really needed this new hit.
Wednesday nights now scare the heck right out of me. First, there is the Survivor horror show -- what humans will do to humans for a buck. Criminal minds follows with it's usual flare for inciting fear. That wasn't enough. They then added Stalker. By the end of the evening, I, a stalking survivor, have had the bejesus scared right out of me. So, I read a lot more books now.
Thursday night starts off with a bang in Big Bang Theory and ends with Elementary. Sometimes I watch the first one, sometimes the latter. But there is no way I'm sitting through four sitcoms to get to Elementary. Another night of reading here.
I've always liked The Mentalist, but resent that one or the other of my favorite shows has to go so it can come back. (I also resent that it is being canceled after this year). What in h e double hockey sticks is wrong with putting it on Saturday night and giving us something good to watch then? In fact, how about bringing back Vegas and putting it on Saturday night? Oh, yes, I heard it would be canceled because it was popular among seniors.
Madame Secretary and The Good Wife are simply too good to axe either of them temporarily or permanently. What are you thinking? Depending on how you handle this, I could be anticipating another night of reading.
You know, my generation has always had to take a back seat to some other generation. Mostly we were ignored for what the boomers needed. Then advertisors catered to the eighteen to twenty-five crowd. But heck the college grads can't get jobs good enough for paying off their student loans right now. How can they buy anthing else? And miracle of miracles, I read somewhere recently that retirees are becoming the wealthiest generation around. My own status gives me pause about this, but wouldn't that be something if it's true? CBS and all the other networks would have to cater to my generation at long last, at least if they want their advertisers to sponsor them.
So, let me suggest to you my view of what prime time TV should be. I'm working within the current scheduling, but tweaking it a bit.
Sunday
7:00 The Mentalist
8:00 Madame Secretary
9:00 The Good Wife
Monday
7:00 Two Sitcoms
8:00 Scorpion
9:00 NCIS Los Angeles
Tuesday
7:00 NCIS
8:00 NCIS New Orleans
9:00 Person of Interest
Wednesday
7:00 Two Sitcoms
8:00 Criminal Minds
9:00 CSI
Thursday
7:00 Two Sitcoms
8:00 Stalker
9:00 Elementary
Friday
7:00 Two Sitcoms
8:00 Hawaii 5-O
9:00 Blue Bloods
Saturday
7:00 48 Hours
8:00 A Made for TV Movie
or your music specials
Of course, as we (or you)) grow tired of our favorite dramas, we will expect them to be replaced with even greater works.
And put your bloomin' sports shows on sports channels so you aren't preempting good television for obsessive-compulsive sports viewing. Why were Sports Channels developed if you aren't going to use them for the best sports?
They say a word to the wise is sufficient. I hope that's true. You better hope so, too. Because when I get all my multi billions, I'm going to make my move on you. And you don't even want me to turn my attention on daytime! You do know this, don't you?
With money comes power. Right? So, I've decided to fantasize owning CBS so I have power over their programing.
The first thing CBS needs is to eliminate all reality shows, because there isn't a single sniff of reality in any of them. In fact, one or two of them should not have gotten past the first season. I refer especially to Undercover Boss. People would have to live in a monastery not to know what's going on after one exposure to this show.
Then, there is the problem of Saturday night. CBS has cared squat about their Saturday night audience since they canceled Craig T. Nelson as a police commissioner who lived on a boat. 48 Hours Mystery is the only thing they seem to take as valuable, a very debatable opinion. They keep showing reruns of current shows (probably to hook new viewers) as though we are too stupid to already know the shows are on the air. They really ticked me off last season when they ran new Saturday segments of shows scheduled on other nights. You see, newspapers have quit running TV guide sections in their Sunday editions because cable viewers can get the information from television. The problem with that is that a lot of the CBS audience does not have cable. So, a little hard to access the schedule on television.
Then there is the new disjointed manner of showing the shows. Big Bang Theory was on Thursday, then Monday, now Thursday. There will now be four sitcoms on Monday night, so either Scorpion or NCIS Los Angeles has to give up their spot. Last year Tuesday night was perfect -- three really strong shows. So, instead of putting NCIS New Orleans on a previously weak night, they broke up a winning night to do it. Let's face it, Thursday night really needed this new hit.
Wednesday nights now scare the heck right out of me. First, there is the Survivor horror show -- what humans will do to humans for a buck. Criminal minds follows with it's usual flare for inciting fear. That wasn't enough. They then added Stalker. By the end of the evening, I, a stalking survivor, have had the bejesus scared right out of me. So, I read a lot more books now.
Thursday night starts off with a bang in Big Bang Theory and ends with Elementary. Sometimes I watch the first one, sometimes the latter. But there is no way I'm sitting through four sitcoms to get to Elementary. Another night of reading here.
I've always liked The Mentalist, but resent that one or the other of my favorite shows has to go so it can come back. (I also resent that it is being canceled after this year). What in h e double hockey sticks is wrong with putting it on Saturday night and giving us something good to watch then? In fact, how about bringing back Vegas and putting it on Saturday night? Oh, yes, I heard it would be canceled because it was popular among seniors.
Madame Secretary and The Good Wife are simply too good to axe either of them temporarily or permanently. What are you thinking? Depending on how you handle this, I could be anticipating another night of reading.
You know, my generation has always had to take a back seat to some other generation. Mostly we were ignored for what the boomers needed. Then advertisors catered to the eighteen to twenty-five crowd. But heck the college grads can't get jobs good enough for paying off their student loans right now. How can they buy anthing else? And miracle of miracles, I read somewhere recently that retirees are becoming the wealthiest generation around. My own status gives me pause about this, but wouldn't that be something if it's true? CBS and all the other networks would have to cater to my generation at long last, at least if they want their advertisers to sponsor them.
So, let me suggest to you my view of what prime time TV should be. I'm working within the current scheduling, but tweaking it a bit.
Sunday
7:00 The Mentalist
8:00 Madame Secretary
9:00 The Good Wife
Monday
7:00 Two Sitcoms
8:00 Scorpion
9:00 NCIS Los Angeles
Tuesday
7:00 NCIS
8:00 NCIS New Orleans
9:00 Person of Interest
Wednesday
7:00 Two Sitcoms
8:00 Criminal Minds
9:00 CSI
Thursday
7:00 Two Sitcoms
8:00 Stalker
9:00 Elementary
Friday
7:00 Two Sitcoms
8:00 Hawaii 5-O
9:00 Blue Bloods
Saturday
7:00 48 Hours
8:00 A Made for TV Movie
or your music specials
Of course, as we (or you)) grow tired of our favorite dramas, we will expect them to be replaced with even greater works.
And put your bloomin' sports shows on sports channels so you aren't preempting good television for obsessive-compulsive sports viewing. Why were Sports Channels developed if you aren't going to use them for the best sports?
They say a word to the wise is sufficient. I hope that's true. You better hope so, too. Because when I get all my multi billions, I'm going to make my move on you. And you don't even want me to turn my attention on daytime! You do know this, don't you?
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