I think it's safe to say that few people consider a trip to the dentist to be a fun thing. I don't think many would consider it to be in their top ten things to do.
So I went in for the six month check-up and had just settled into the chair for my cleaning. (An aside here. My dentist is a really cool guy and his staff is top-notch. They also have the little TVs positioned on the ceiling over the dentist chair so the patient can be distracted. The TVs usually run some tranquil setting such as ocean waves lapping against the shore or something else equally soothing.) Not this time. It was tuned to Fox News. (Not the local version, the cable channel.)
Now I will admit Fox News is not my source for news. I choose for myself what is "fair and balanced" and find that usually when someone uses that as a slogan, they aren't.
So there I am, sitting in a chair having my teeth scraped with a metal pick, watching a program I didn't want to see. Could it get worse? Yes. I had been in the chair for about two minutes when Fox returned to its coverage of the Anna Nicole Smith court case. I would have asked for nitrous oxide to knock me out or perhaps just had the dental hygienist to just shoot me
but the dental person had both her hands in my mouth and I couldn't speak if I wanted to.
Trust me, it was a long, long 40 minutes in that chair.
I think the really sad thing about the massive coverage of ANS and Britney Spears' meltdown is how so many people apparently would rather see how the mighty (and I use that term loosely) have fallen instead of stuff like what's going on around the world that will actually have an impact on them and their kids. Maybe it's an effort to escape from the reality that's facing us. I don't know but I find it rather reprehensible that one woman's claim to fame is basically based on two bags of a silicone type substance sewn into her body. Yah, she posed in Playboy, managed to make some wealthy old geezer very happy, and has a tragic life with the death of a son and now her own death. But to hear or see news programs refer to her as "America's Rose". Jeez. Give me a break. At least Marilyn Monroe made some decent movies after her Playboy gig. Yah, she played the blonde bimbo, but she was famous more for than just being famous.
And I think the whole Britney Spears thing reminds me that one should be careful of what they wish for as they just might get it. Her parents must have figured getting BS on the track of fame and fortune would be a gravy train and it has. But at what price? I actually feel sorry for BS. She has no tools for making adult decisions or being adult. She never got to be a normal kid and now it's caught up with her. Now the American public is constantly bombarded with this train wreck as it continues to play out and I wish it would all just go away. I don't there is not going to be a happy ending to this in any form or fashion. For now anyway, she has the money to help pay for her therapy. I hope the money lasts. Meanwhile, the media is waiting for the next celebrity meltdown. Why? It's like a fire. It's easy to cover, you don't need any special skills to cover it and it fills time on the tube.
And finally, I like clever writing in news. I find that on a regular basis when I watch Countdown with Keith Olbermann. I consider KO to be one of the sharpest, most well-read and "quick" on-air people gracing the Tube these days. He has clever writing and the viewer sometimes has to be on his toes to catch some of the references he makes. Just as clever are the "banners" displayed for the various stories covered in his newscast. The banner for the story concerning the fallout from the British departure from Basrah in the south of Iraq:
Southern Discomfort. When the focus turned to British Prime Minister Tony Blair's announcement of the British troop withdrawal from Iraq:
The Blair Ditch Project. Some writing experts will tell you to stay away from clever things. I say be clever, but don't go overboard.
Okay, my rant is done. I'll get off my soapbox.
