Fake News and Entertainment

Would this blog ever put out "fake news?"

We've probably seen all of the recent noise about "fake news." What's that? Could it be disinformation by our government to promote an agendas and "narrative?" Of course not. Or could it be misinformation or disinformation by our print or television "journalists" to promote a personal agenda or a one sided view? Of course not. (We all know that only people like Rush Limbaugh would ever do that).

Those paragons of virtue, our Hollywood and other entertainers. They are the most generous, most enlightened and most educated on the planet. Of course what they say is the absolute truth. They can show us the path to virtue and they do, each and every day.

The Internet has always been the source of the best of "facts." All those stories for decades about it being the "wild wild west" of information, why they were false. Social media sites such as Facebook? They fact check everything. We can trust what we read implicitly. Which is why FB asks us "What's on your mind?" when we sit down to enter our latest pearl and streams of consciousness.

The news isn't about presenting a narrow point of view, is it? We can trust NPR and PBS to give us the straight goods. No government propaganda. No omissions, No bias. No politics. No sir.

The news isn't about selling advertising is it? Even the announcements about weather aren't intended to keep us glued to the screen for the next three commercials before eventually telling us what we already know, is it? Our television news is in depth, We know what's happening all over the world each and every day, don't we? CNN and MSNBC makes certain of that, don't they?

Even a California politician apparently wants to teach little kiddies how to detect fake news. Everyone is not on the bandwagon.

My, this is all such a recent development. Something happened after November 7. Prior to that, I guess the power brokers had everything "under control" and there was not a problem. Suddenly there have been massive breakouts of hysteria.

Blogs and Entertainment
Of course, all of the blogs in the blogosphere are to be trusted, including this one. I'd never get on the fake news bandwagon would I? Well, why not? It is a brave new world. PC is out. Niceness is out.

Actually, I'm liking this, Be real and be nasty. Strut around like a politician or an entertainer. No more hiding behind smirks and smart sayings. Let's just say it like it is. Let's dump "political correctness" and get real. Let's just go at it. That's what the formerly PC people are calling for. Wow. This could be fun?

I guess the mantra is "no more Mr, Nice Person."

This somewhat dry blog might become very entertaining, and that's what people apparently want. We don't want facts. We want to be entertained.

Newsletters
Well, some things won't change. The newsletter may remain very dry and unentertaining for a few more months. However, there was an attempt a few years ago to make our association newsletters "entertaining." For a short time it was the "happy news" newsletter. Neighbor of the month, a push for garage sales, parties on the grounds, even free donuts and coffee.

Who knows, the newsletter may become like the media News. Happy stuff one month and doom and gloom and vitriol the next.  Perhaps we can get Snoop Dog to write a piece on "Kicking Your Ass" or where to get the best junk. Then on the next page we can get Martha Stewart can give us a few recipes for cookies and other things to bake.

Obama says Goodby
Well, I got an email from the President this morning. His final words were "'We shall overcome.' Yes, we can." He says he wants to stay connected and I can sign up for email news. What a nice guy. All I have to do is click on that link in the email. But wait, could this be a fake, too? I mean, the President wants to stay connected to me?

Stress Relief and Alleviating Boardom

I returned from a business trip on Saturday and passed the south entrance at about 11:45pm to find fire trucks and the police. Apparently another utility room vent fan failure. (Hint: turn the darn things off and open the utility room door). Then I discover that the "board" has proposed and passed a By-Law change illegally, our R&R Director is politely telling unit owners where to go "It isn't in my job description", and I haven't yet caught up with February's association meeting. Wow, go away for a couple of weeks and shazam! It seems there is always something exciting in our sleepy little community! With the onset of Spring, I can hardly imagine what will happen next!

So how to lighten up? Too bad the movie "KickAss" isn't out yet (release April 22); it's about ordinary people who pretend to be "super heroes", but in reality have no "super powers" of any kind. In the trailer the teen-aged hero quips that the only power he has is to be "invisible to women." Now that's a fantasy plot. Do the good guys win? With a movie name like that, it makes one wonder who is kicking whom. If it's a commercial success, perhaps they'll make a sequel. My title recommendation: "Break a Leg".

As for my taste in movies, the last movie I saw was "The Blind Side" and I enjoyed it. TMI!

OK, so I decided to lighten up "a bit". When my children were young, they enjoyed a game called "Whack-A-Mole" in which a number of holes were occupied by furry critters. In a random sequence, a critter would jump out of the hole and the object of the game was to "whack" the critter with a plastic mallet. If successful, the player rang a bell. Supposedly good for developing eye-hand coordination and upper body strength; it took two hands to swing the mallet. Also great entertainment for young children, just like "Jurrasic Park 3" (2). Click on the word "PLAY" to start the game. Use your mouse and click to "Whack Em"

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References, Comments, Errors and Omissions:

1. Whack-A-Boss flash game, based on Whack A Mole. Designed and animated by Don Mangan and Artie Romero at ARG! Cartoon Animation Studio in Colorado. http://artie.com/

(2) Some years ago, I went to a movie theater for "Jurassic Park 3" and sat directly behind a family. Prior to the "lights out"  a small boy of about 4 asked the adult male he was with "Will I be scared, Daddy?"  The man replied "No, it's not a scary movie." Apparently unconvinced, the boy looked around at the adults in his vicinity, set his eyes on me and asked "Will I be scared?" I replied "Only when the dinosaurs eat people." Which drew the anger of the adult accompanying the boy. During the movie, during those scenes when the velociraptors began tearing people apart and eating them, the child let out a series of shrieks. Of course, there are those who would say that, as is the case here at BLMH, the reason that child was frightened was because of my comment. Certainly nothing on that screen, which is to say the "reality" of people screaming and being eaten had anything to do with the boy's fear. Of course not! Here's a trailer for what some people "believe" is a movie suitable for small children. They "know" this is a "good thing" and can simply ignore the MPAA PG-13 rating "for intense sci-fi terror and violence", because they "know".