Ichabod's Kin
A place for politics, pop culture, and social issues

          Whoever claims to bring good news at Yuletide or the New Year is a bearer of false hopes. Our choice is to get real or run from it. The news here and abroad is depressing, our only escapes are brief times of distraction and amusement, hence our preferred companions are movies and tv. So settle in at home or at the movies as is our habit, in times good or bad:

          On the boob-tube we must overlook the constant ads that are annoying, else we wouldn’t remember them. Human train wrecks make for successful sales and we’re led to believe that the whole world is sick and in need of drastic measures that, sadly, cost a hell of a lot of money to fix. Newer ads are those touting removal of bags under the eyes, with before-and-after photos that are equally frightful–a sign that consumers will shell out for any promise of flattery.

   Ah, we all have to believe in something, so I believe I’ll have another drink and drown my disappointment in the human race.

          Or we can watch Pat Sajak do his thing at a Wheel that brings a mixture of fortune, loss and embarrassment to the hopeful.  I’ll hand it to Pat for doing so many years what I could and would not do without serious therapy. I note also his grace in putting up with nutty contestants in what is less a game of skill that one of luck. Jeopardy! is the opposite—mostly skill mixed with just a bit of luck. Given that so many people still think that non-whites, non-binaries and womenfolk are lesser beings, my big fun is watching all such persons beat the hell out of all contestants from the Master Race.

   Jeopardy! however committed an unforced error with their ineptness in replacing Alex Trebek. Yes, a good option would have been a woman of similar smarts but Sony chose to snatch defeat from the jaws of a quick and easy selection. Mayim Bialik is highly intelligent but, lacking both gravitas and timing, was clearly unfit for the role, so we had to suffer through the agonizing process of who would survive the search and when. Ken Jennings was a slam-dunk over all who surfaced, including Levar Burton who virtually dared the world to deny him the honor.

   How some people find time to watch everything under the entertainment sun is known but to God, as is how Jeopardy! contestants know every obscure rock band and throwaway phrase in their forgettable songs, but such is our culturally tasteless world.

   Which on a higher level begs this observation: did athletes, including those in the Olympics, not to do what they do, we would believe such could not be done, and deem it all impossible. It’s sobering to think that out of the world’s population, a mere handful of people can do those things so well, outshone only by the incredible heroisms in war. The sober difference in the latter two is that one, win or lose, ends in fame and riches, the other in body bags or T-shirts from the field-tent hospital that relieves torsos of their arms and legs.

          Given that all the world is a disaster, another distracting option is to binge-watch “The Crown” on Netflix. It’s all about the most dysfunctional family that ever was and will increase sympathy and tolerance for the drama in your own. The gal who played Diana really nailed it, as did actors for the Queen and Prince Philip. But portrayal of the older Bonnie Prince Charlie-cum-the King, which his mum never wanted him to be, made him look better than he deserves. Now he’s got the mum he always wanted, in a woman who’s as tiresome as he is.

So why not now praise our lack of Royalty—oh, I forgot, we do have it: our celebrities! The saddest words on social media are those who won’t abide a word of criticism to be said of their fav celebs or deceased stars of stage and screen, and will render repetitious screeds to “let them rest in peace!”—as if such gentry exist in a cloud above, sorely hurt by all criticisms.

          Such are our choices in times that for now belong to Trump, Bibi and Vladimir. Not much else we can do but keep our eyes frozen on the telly and hope for the best.