2011...reflecting

Reflecting back on 2011...
A year that strengthened family, although at a great loss.
A year that strengthened friendships found in a virtual world, but brought together in the real world in a wonderful way!
A year that saw my credit card debt vanish...FINALLY!!!
A year of perhaps the crappiest weather EVER!!! Snow...more snow...a lot more snow followed by snow.  Rain...more rain...a little more rain followed by rain. A hurricane in August and wet snow in October that brought down so many trees and utility lines (there's still broken brush all over the place).
Bin Laden...Qaddafi...feel the heat!
Still refrained from getting a tattoo (fashion now...lost any rebellious meaning).
Wasn't the greatest year, but had some great moments (coulda been greater if I was woken up when the naked...oh, never mind).
Sort of looking forward to 2012. Refusing to believe the Mayan or Aztec doomsday theories...please...if we live believing it's the end, what's the point? No fun in that.

More channels than creative, watchable minutes

Television...oh, how it's changed since I was a kid. When I was a kid, we had 7 channels to choose from that we had to tune into with a rotary dial and hope the antenna on the roof brought them in clearly. Amazingly, there was always something good/interesting on. Over 400 channels now...and most times it's a challenge to find something watchable.
Back then, we had Julia Child and the Galloping Gourmet (Graham Kerr). 2 chefs were more than sufficient back then! Now there's an entire network of "chefs" doing what's been done 1000 times over, as well as a buttload of chef shows on other networks...yet people watch. And the Golf Channel...seriously? Has there ever been a "sport" that has been more boring to watch than golf? I don't golf, and I'm sure those that do enjoy it...but to actually WATCH it?!?!? Middle aged guys and gals walking around hitting a little ball...oh, how exciting!
Half of network TV is "reality" programs. Yeah...like the Bachelorette is "reality"! 45% is versions of Law & Order, CSI & NCIS. The other 5% is actually different programs...most ripoffs of previous programs or movies, but a few scattered good, original shows. And now we have to actually pay to watch TV, while there are still too many annoying commercials that pay the networks even though we're paying to watch. There's something dreadfully wrong here!
It's sad to me that the creativity and originality of TV that we used to enjoy back then has gone away in favor of commercial crap...and I don't necessarily blame the networks, but I do blame the viewing public who keeps the majority of the crap on the air. Why, oh why does the viewing public keep watching the crap and therefore keep the crap on the air? I guess back then since there were so few networks the shows had to have something to attract viewers to keep on the air, whereas now there are so many networks that they will keep anything on the air as long as 3 or more people are watching.
Back then I had to watch maybe 20 hours of TV a week (I mean shows I really wanted to watch). Now It's less than 10...and of those 10 hours, half is just "watchable" rather than "I have to watch it". Oh, give me back my rabbit ears and family time watching shows together! Sigh!

Wednesday

Someone explain the word "Wednesday" to me. Seriously.  Nobody pronounces it "Wed..nez...day". Oh, sure...there's the official etymology of the word. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wednesday But this is 2011 (at least for a few more weeks) and nobody pronounces the D in the word. "Hump Day" some call it...which is kinda strange considering none of the letters in the word "Hump" appear in the word "Wednesday"...and nobody's really humping because we're all too tired from Monday and Tuesday and don't want to wear ourselves out for Thursday and Friday so we can enjoy Saturday and Sunday (all days that are pronounced as they are spelled...just saying). Where was I going with this?

Someone explain Justin Bieber to me please

OK...so he's a "superstar"...yet I don't know any of his songs (and still ponder whether or not I'm using the right pronoun). Someone explain his success to me please! He's got kind of a wimpy, nerdy body. He's not exactly handsome...in fact he's the polar opposite! He's prettier than his female fans! Oh, sure...Usher sort of discovered him...but Usher still hasn't discovered talent or artistry (my opinion, and I'm sticking with it). Oh, how I wish I could write an Usher song! Oh, wait...I can!!!  "Yeah....yeah...yeah...yeah"! There...that's a #1 hit for some totally unknown reason! And Usher isn't even really good looking. Someone explain his success to me please! I guess the youth of today just doesn't have the appreciation of lyrics, musical talent, or artistic merit anymore. Yeah, I'm sounding like my mother's generation...but SERIOUSLY?!?!?!? Have you listened to 90% of the "music" crap that's being fed to the younger generation? I could go on, but it's after 11pm and I need to get up for work in the morning. Yeah, I'm old!  LOL