No News

There is a lot of crap going on in the world today. There is very little good news that is reported. Everything seems to be negative, and I am wondering how much of this continued negativity are we (individuals, countries, planet) going to be able to take? Things have gotten so bad that I do not listen to any talk radio shows. I no longer watch any shows like Jon Stewart or The Colbert Report. I actually do not even watch any news except the portion on the local news that gives the weather, but even that isn't good. What is happening to us? Why is there nothing good going on? Or, if there is good news out there, why are "journalists" choosing to ignore it? That old saying, "No news is good news" always puzzled me. Does it mean that not hearing any news from anyone means that there is so much good that there is nothing to report? Or does it mean that there is so much bad news that the only news there is is bad? Geez, I think I just confused myself again. The way things are now, for me, that old saying means there isn't any good news to report; not anywhere, not at any time. Now I think I'm depressed. . . I don't want to hear only bad news. Please, someone, find something good to report!

Can't Stop Spending Money!

Today, the bad news is that Americans have hit a new low in their view of the economy. The outlook hasn't been this negative in twenty-two years, so "they" say. I know things are bad. I know that my own situation isn't great, but certainly not as bad as others. It makes me sick that my husband makes a six-figure income, and yet we seem to always be scrambling to have the cash necessary for the everyday things. Gasoline prices have certainly taken their toll on our bank account, so has the cost of feeding a family of six. Nothing seems easy lately, except spending money. I don't understand it. I know things are not good, but I still seem to be spending money. It seems like each thing requires that another thing be purchased. For example, we have this new house, and in order to make it look good and in order to take care of it, I have had to purchase rugs to protect the hardwood floors, plants, trees and flowers to put around the outside of it, paint for the rooms. . . it seems like it never ends. The other big expense has been our trip to Florida this summer. We have been planning this thing for two years. Before we have even gone, we have spent money on airline tickets, rented a condo for the week, purchased Disney World tickets, and spent money on bathing suits and small toiletries to take with us. When we get there, we will need to purchase food, and gasoline, etc., etc., Do see what I mean? If it is this way for my family, who is indeed blessed richly, what is it like for those who do not have the income my husband does? We Americans seem to be getting awfully weary of the dismal state of things. We need good news and hope, and soon!

Recycling News

I don't know what is going on today, but it must be a slow news day. Every article I have looked at and every news video I have clicked on today is stuff that I have looked at before. Some of the "news" is about things I read about several weeks ago. How lazy are reporters getting? I clicked on a Yahoo video about home foreclosures, and about how there is a town in California where about 2 out of three homes that are for sale are in foreclosure. This is not new news! I watched that video weeks ago! I decided to click on another news item about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's NAFTA. That was also old news--saw it weeks ago as well. The only new "news" I saw was about Britney Spears comeback on "How I Met Your Mother" last night. I don't watch the show, and am not really that interested in Britney Spears. I'm glad she is settling down, but I don't have any other interest in it. I guess the old saying "no news is good news" rings true, at least on this seemingly quiet news day.

Slow Blogging Day

I can certainly tell that things are slow for me in the blogging world. There isn't anything out there that interests me to blog about. Tomorrow will be an exciting day for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in Texas and Ohio, so there may be some blogging that comes out of that, but that is tomorrow. The only other thing I saw that seemed a little interesting is the scroll across my television screen this morning that said Drew Barrymore has a "worldwide announcement!" I wonder what it could be! But other than that, today is a bore so far. I guess I will just enjoy my springlike, sunny, day in boring northern Virginia.

Watch Your Grammar, Please!

Here's a little something I thought I would throw on my trash heap this morning: local news reporters' grammar. Last night I was watching the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie "The Russell Girl" when the usual local news teasers came on during the break. Here is what the over-enthusiastic news reader yelled at me: "Join us at 11:00 news where we are working on the story of a shooting that left one guy dead, and another guy wounded. Hear what cops think happened!" I really didn't think I had heard the words correctly. I asked my husband if he heard what they said, and he too, was appalled. What is the idea behind using such casual, slang (not to mention disrespectful) language? What will they spew out next, swear words to emphasize a story? I am disenchanted with the news that comes at us all the time anyway--it seems reporters are no longer required to be impartial, but to hear such casual language somehow makes the story less serious than it should be. I don't like it, and I hope that it was just at one time thing from a station that was using inexperienced, young news readers on the late news to give them a little taste of what the job is really like. If it happens again, I will definitely be writing to the news director!