Thus I was dismayed, disheartened and distraught when The Powers That Be at Google opted to "unpublish" yesterday's post entitled "Transgenderism Explained," for reasons I can only guess.
Naturally I'm pissed! But lesson learned: Never mock people who change their sex because you never know who's really who.
Sad but true, a 60-year-old customs agent at JFK International Airport was killed in Manhattan last night as she was crossing Broadway at 53rd Street. The 61-year-old male driver who was making a left turn remained on the scene but was not charged in her death. We learned from news reports that he was driving a Cadillac, as if that meant he was rich, careless and with money to burn. Would they have mentioned the make of the car had it been a Toyota Corolla?
The victim had a bit part in one episode of a hit TV series and some appearances in a few others, but had not had an acting job since 2023. Yet the headlines described her as "an actress who starred in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel", most likely to earn clicks from the show's fans and somehow translate into more money for someone.
I wish journalists would stick to the truth without stretching it to fit a particular narrative.
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| George Clooney and Adam Sandler |
I was really looking forward to seeing the new Netflix film Jay Kelly, mostly because I love Adam Sandler in almost everything he has done and he's already received critical acclaim for his role in this one. Once again I learned that professional critics can be wrong, or else they can be bought, I'm not sure which applies in this case.
Full disclosure: I had to shut it off a little more than halfway through. My decision was based on several things: First, George Clooney, the star portraying the fading star of the movie's title, was totally unconvincing, mostly because he can't really act, he just looks the part.
Next, even the ones who can act, like Billy Crudup as an old friend with a grudge from Jay's past, are awful, because the script is awful. Written by Noah Baumbach (and his wife), it's as usual overloaded with the AUTHOR'S MESSAGE throughout. Okay, we get it -- actors aren't around for their kids when they are little. And yes, they live pretend lives and thus miss out on their own.
Okay, anything else to tell us? That Hollywood is full of preening vapid people more concerned with making deals on their phones than living real life in the moment? Check. That people in Hollywood live in luxurious homes and fly in private jets? Check. That Laura Dern is very unappealing as whoever she was supposed to be? (It was not made clear.) Poor Adam Sandler as Jay's agent was lost in this mess.
So was I, so I turned it off.
Once upon a time, Americans dressed up to travel, go out to dinner and attend the symphony or theater. Now they wear bedroom slippers and pajamas anywhere and look like total slobs most of the time.
Once upon a time, people accepted themselves the way they were born without a second thought. Now they go to doctors who will cut off their healthy body parts that they think don't fit the way they feel inside.
Once upon a time, there were institutions, or hospitals, where mentally ill people could live safely in a community, getting medical care, hot meals and a bed to sleep in. Now they roam the streets of big cities alone, sleeping in parks or doorways and stabbing strangers in the neck for no reason.
Once upon a time, family physicians wore special white coats to telegraph they knew more than their patients. Now they wear jeans and plaid shirts and don't know as much as A.I.
Once upon a time, people took responsibility for their actions. Now they just take Ozempic.
Once upon a time, Dinosaurs ruled the Earth. Now it's Man, but for how much longer?
Dear: Andrea This is a courtesy reminder that you have an up coming appointment at Dermatology Associates on 12/11/2025 at 11:00 AM EST in our PORTLAND office. Please log on to the patient portal for more details. If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, please call our office at 207-775-2527.  That call came a few days after I received a text reminding me of that appointment. Which followed a text I received about three weeks ago reminding me of the same appointment. A similar onslaught of reminders comes to me from every one of my doctors and my dentist. It's annoying as hell and I believe it to be a form of medical malpractice. So why do they do it? Are more people forgetting to cancel their appointments more often these days or have physicians hired staff to handle their "social media" and this is it? I always confirm when asked to confirm for fear that my appointment will be given away to someone worthier who will confirm. But one of these days when I'm feeling particularly healthy, I might just confirm and confirm again and confirm for a third and fourth time and then just not show up. That'll fix their wagon. |
When I first met my husband he drove a motorcycle and I was a motorcycle freak, hopping on one at every opportunity even if I barely knew the driver. (It's a miracle I'm still alive.) He was the Editor-in-Chief of an architecture magazine for which I was the Art Director, which made him my boss. And he was a muscular body-builder with obvious pecs and abs and all the rest. We were both native New Yorkers who loved the city. We also both loved playing Scrabble. And we were both Jewish, meaning funny, smart and into Seinfeld.
That was all 40 years ago, and things have changed. Most notably, we got married. Then we had a baby, resulting in no more motorcycle. (After our son was born I refused to get on one, since finally I had a reason to live.) No more architecture magazine -- in fact we are both retired and now I'm his boss. As for the pecs and the abs, I know they are in there somewhere but I have not seen them in years, if you follow me.
Mitch is now heavy into his Jewish roots, even taking a weekly class on the wisdom of the Torah taught by an ultra-Orthodox rabbi. I don't do ultra-Orthodox Jews; any cult where the men dance with the men and the women dance with the women at weddings is too weird for me. Throw in the curly-haired sideburns and the little boxes they tie on themselves and count me out. Anyway, I don't take that class. And lately he's been playing bridge once a week with a group of senior citizens, about which I can say nothing that is not snarky so I'll leave it at that.
Mitch loves politics and thus participates in our local Freeport government, attending many meetings about traffic lights and building setbacks and how tall new construction should be. I do not care about any of that, and in fact avoid going into Freeport at all costs except for sushi.
What I am into is painting. That's it. So I guess you could say I am the most boring one of us. Still, that's the way it is. Notice I did not say "It is what it is." I would never say that. But Mitch says it often and it drives me nuts.
Our one common interest, besides sushi, is our son, for whom we each have undying devotion and adoration. He is now 38 years old and becomes more interesting every day.
So, waddya think--- do we have a chance?
Is this how young women should look these days?
The cost of a full-page color advertisement in the Wall Street Journal is approximately $327,000. Today the marketing team at the prestigious Gucci design house opted to print the photo above, showing a dazed-looking, anorexic woman, seemingly drunk or stoned and with clothes asunder, perhaps stumbling out of an all-night rave at some hot New York City club, to promote a pantsuit that likely costs almost as much.
More and more, life feels like a "Black Mirror" version of George Orwell's 1984. The Powers That Be, whoever they be, are always conspiring to make us do things, feel things, or see things, for reasons having to do with feeding their needs, not ours.
For example, in last Sunday's Arts & Leisure section of the New York Slimes, there were full-page ads for five movies cited as "THE BEST!" by someone important, or at least self-important. Of course it follows that they are all also "Must-See!"
Well, I already saw one of those "must-sees" and although it was a successful diversion from real life for a couple of hours, seeing it was not essential to my health or happiness in any way, and in fact I already forgot most of it. But now I'm actually thinking I should see it again it it's so damn good -- maybe I missed something.
It's not your imagination: Americans really are getting dumber every day. In fact, some teachers are as dumb as their students.
One in eight college freshmen lacks rudimentary math skills, including algebra and geometry. Many incoming students cannot do higher than 8th-grade math, like adding fractions and rounding numbers.
National teaching credential programs require only a C+ average in undergraduate studies. One result of this is that many teachers cannot do higher than 8th-grade math, and instead "rely on calculators and the internet."
Many colleges, like the University of California at San Diego (ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report) have lowered their admissions standards to attract more students and thus make more money.
Last year, the College Board shortened their SAT exam to two hours from three to encourage more participation. It also eliminated "long reading passages that might strain TikTok attention spans."
Mediocre students regularly graduate high school with all As, making their parents "feel better about a public school education and easing political pressure for education reforms."
Don't wait for it. There is no punchline because this is not a joke.
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| Actress Melissa McCarthy, posing fat and less fat. |
Why is passing judgement on someone's newly-svelte body perfectly okay, if not downright expected, while doing the same about that person's body when it was obese a forbidden act worthy of censure?
If weight loss is so inspiring, then what is fat acceptance all about?
I can't wait to read it. Finally I'll be able to get some sleep.
Yesterday at about 2 pm I was driving my month-old beautiful Audi A3 home from a gym workout when I fell asleep at the wheel and woke up to ...
