Romantic evening tableau. Four sailors and a gondolier. Fleet week. Central Park.
Photo: Dr. Gary Levine
Media Myopia
Mainstream media learned nothing from the last election. Still missing the mood of the country outside the beltway. Completely in denial that their polls and data were grossly inaccurate. Pushing Hillary’s dominance swayed the results more than Russian interference. Yet. That’s all they are focused on. Like dogs with a bone. Constant coverage of Trump campaign’s potential collusion with Putin. Once again they are living in the Northeast elitist bubble. Thinking that the rest of the country is similarly outraged. They are not.
Economy. Jobs. Infrastructure. Healthcare. Terrorism. They still care about things like that.
Spring Sunday CPW
Empty 74th Street. That never happens. Cars towed. Birds sing.
Then. AIDS Walk. All day. Drums. All day. It’s always exciting on our block.
End Play
An endplay, in bridge and similar games, is a tactical ploy where a defender is put on lead at a strategic moment. Cue Rod Rosenstein confirmation as the deputy attorney general who will oversee the Russia investigation. Trump seemingly on defense has now taken the helm. First act. Fire FBI Director, James Comey. Discredits him on that front and creates doubt about ending Hillary’s email investigation. Could backfire. Demand for special prosecutor got louder.
Brilliant? Or. Cynical? We’ll see. Hot summer ahead.
As the Morning Turns
Soap opera awards. Daytime Emmys. Didn’t even realize they were yesterday. Who won? Who cares? There’s more drama in real life morning television. Just a few blocks from here, Kelly announced new co-host Ryan Seacrest as Megyn Kelly threatens to compete against her Live!. Or. Kathie Lee might become her Today rival time-slot. Just as Ripa’s jilter-in-chief Michael Strahan’s new gig GMA gets the nod for best morning show. And. Seacrest just oversaw Megyn Kelly’s interview with his production company’s Kardashian clan. Can a soap beat that?
While all of this was unfolding, GMA‘s nemesis CBS This Morning was making headlines live from the White House as Diva-in-Chief kicked Dickerson out for asking about Obama.
Oh and the big eyuuu. Morning Joe‘s Mika & Joe are off on “vacation”. Together. After an on-air dust-up. Yup. No need to watch fiction any more. Outside by 10am.
Losers
People on United Airlines. Animals are treated well. Get to keep their seats. Allergic people passengers get kicked to the back of the cabin or booted off. Remember when cigarette smokers had to sit in the back? For health reasons?!
Smith College. Relegated to runner-up for Veep Selena Meyer’s Presidential library after Yale dumped her. Then Smith dumped her, too. Not feminist enough.
Free speech. On college campuses no less. Censorship is the new academic ideal.
Pocahontas. Why tag her with Granny Warren? Liz will be swinging her tomahawk on Real Time with Bill Maher tonight.
White House Correspondents Dinner. Incestuous glitterati fest. This year no guests.
Route 66
A sixties television show. An old blogger. An interstate highway. A long and winding road. Leads me back to NYC. And a new/used mAdBen iPhone 6. At least it works. So do I after all these years. Mostly. Dr. Husband preparing a fine dinner. Black Cod. Yum! Happy day.
Marching Orders
Post-inauguration day. Feminist marches turned enormous historic rallies. Citizens converted shock into action. Not just women. Impressive. Too bad after Trump is sworn in. First question to all of these protesters to a person. Broken record alert. Did you vote? Second. Michael Moore agrees with me. Get rid of the old guard in the Democrat leadership. The bench is so shallow. New blood needed. But. There has to be a place to rise to. Third. Despite what you say. Trump is your President. How to change that? Run for office in counties that count. Support young candidates who can win congressional seats in 2018.
To make this movement a reality. Pragmatism trumps emotion.
Unexpected Presents
Joe Biden walked into a White House room filled with his family and friends. President Obama succeeded in surprising his bro Joe with a tribute capped off with giving him the highest honor a civilian can get. It wasn’t just the Medal of Freedom. It was the Medal of Freedom with Distinction. Which like maybe four people have ever received.
Meanwhile we geezers walked sixty blocks. Round trip to Broadway. To see The Present. An early Chekhov adaptation. Script needed a bit of work. Ben Brantley’s NYT review nailed it. But. Worth the shlep and the price to see the incredible talent of Cate Blanchett. Her range from subtlety to sexy to angry to crazy knocked us out of our sore socks.
Rare unexpected gift. Besides being able to perambulate from home to the theater. Seats in front of ours center row E empty!! Oh. And sixty degrees in January.
Tweet the Press
Media elite retreat? As tweets beat the press a new era emerges. The good news may be that those cozy with the Washington ruling class no longer hold sway. Incestuous relationships formerly affording access and creating bias will be broken up. Hope so. Maybe reporting will return to what it was meant to do. Objective investigative work with no political agenda. It could be a better journalistic environment serving the general public.
Unless. Oops. Mika & Joe seen lurking around Mar-a-Lago. Nothing’s perfect.
Side Trek . NYC 