SOCIAL MEDIA LURKING, AND MASKS WE WEAR

I ditched the Dash for the past three months, but here I sit (my dog is snoring beside me on the sofa) and contemplate the world.

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*Here we go...Sunday brings an end to Daylight Savings Time. Again. I have ranted on this enough. Common sense will never prevail on this issue, and we continue to gain and lose hours while the earth spins in an unconcerned orbit.

Although I prefer Standard Time, I am in favor of simply staying on DST, permanently. But, no-that just makes way too much sense.

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Boo on US!

Adults can play with masks anytime, right?

Visiting a Halloween costume shop last evening made me long for the simple days when kids roamed the streets in homemade costumes, while parents only had to worry about razor blades in candy.

Now, the kids (witnessed first-hand) costume aisles are semi-empty, while adults push and shove for the best gory get-up.

Yes, I slip into a costume when I feel the urge (not just on Halloween, but that's another blog post), but the youngest in the family is why I decorate. It should be all about the kids. Adults have enough party days in the year...365.

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Halloween, is not the only time we hide our faces, and thoughts behind masks.

Social Media lurking behind masks.

Lately, random comments have led me to reflect (yes, I do that from time-to-time) on social media antics. The world has become nothing more than one gigantic lurker.

Peeping-Tom Voyeur shall be our name.

Oh, we all do it, right? Plus, this is not a new topic, here or anywhere.

I visit a mega amount of blogs and news-sites, peruse the content and vamoose. I rarely leave comments, so I'm not judging those who snake around Facebook Timelines, yet rarely (if ever) post on their own Timeline.

Personally, I am trending into the...I don't really have an interest in most of these posts (celebrity or 'the regulars'), so my lurking is minimal.

My real point today is...lurk on people, but Social-Media-Boredom is now my name.

Gotta dash...

TUNING OUT WITH MANNERS

From The Right-Side...

The world has gone a bit off-center it seems, and sometimes it is just good to tune it all out and be simple.

A restaurant lady in Maine shouts at a toddler, yet another gunman strolls into a movie theater in Louisiana and fires into innocent people, marginally talented idiot girl singers have spats on Twitter like they are in Junior High.

Enough!

Time to shut it out.

With many things to accomplish today, I decided to quietly shut it all out.

So, my Friday lunch was a simple sandwich on a tray. I sat on the floor with my sweet and trust-worthy dog, looked at the palm trees, and flipped on a cornball movie.

The best part of my lunch?

Appreciating the simple fact that this Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has such amazing manners. There she sits and patiently waits as I waltz around the place. She is inches from food, but remains perfectly in place, not making a sound or move.

All her waiting really paid off, because she was rewarded with tiny Lima beans. She loves them (well, likes).

Indeed, this girl has better manners than some people out there in the world.

Have manners, and keep it simple, people.

Gotta dash...

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MASHED! TELEVISION ENSEMBLES SHOULD NEVER CHANGE

From The Right-Side...

Thanks to Netflix, watching shows you have never viewed, or even heard of in some cases, has become quite simple.

But, watching these shows makes me curious.


Cheers to original ensembles!

M*A*S*H, the television show with Alan Alda, and a cast of many, is one I have been watching late at night when my insomnia rears its head into my head.

I am on Season Four, and the show has lost Wayne Rogers and McLean Stevenson.

While their replacements are perfectly fine, it is too bad the change happened.

Ego, money, boredom, lack of good writing, lack of screen time are probably issues actors face and manage throughout their careers. But, a show designed around an ensemble, needs the ensemble to really click.

The Korean War saga clicks well enough, but the tone did change when the curtain came up on the new Colonel (Potter) and the new Doctor (BJ).

So, I have to wonder what kind of show M*A*S*H would have been throughout its run with the original cast.

I adore an ensemble. Some of favorite shows are built around a strong group with individual quirks.

Watching the antics in Korea created a curious state-of-mind, and I wondered about other shows.

Would the 60's Dick Van Dyke (Mary Tyler Moore) show have been the same without; Jerry, Millie, Buddy and Sally?

Trying to imagine the show Frasier without; Daphne, Miles, Martin, Roz and Bulldog is impossible. I mean, even Eddie (yes, I know he was played by a couple of hounds, but just go with me) rounded out this zany group.

Perish the thought of an I Love Lucy show without the original Fred and Ethel!

But, thanks to Netflix, I will continue to dig around old television shows for groovy ensembles!

Gotta dash...

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FB ADVICE, PALTROW AND MARTIN SHOULD UNCOUPLE ALREADY

From The Right-Side...

Gwyneth Paltrow is constantly blathering on about something.

If it's not vagina steaming, she instructs us on the proper way to yawn!

I have no Paltrow photo, but it would be fun to see her driving this curious truck.

The Today Show spilled more from Paltrow about how difficult it is to co-parent with estranged (is/will that divorce ever be final?) uncoupled musician, Chris Martin (he deserves an Oscar for putting up with this pretentious stream of luke-warm air).

According to the Oscar winner (did she deserve it, really?), even if they are feeling the hate for each other on a particular day...damnit, they are STILL going to brunch with Apple and Moses (those names).

Kids are quite intuitive, and probably know that their parents are sucking it up for their sake. It seems like a recipe for a very uncomfortable setting.

How much fun is brunch with a couple of haters?

Yes, I understand they are trying to make a new family dynamic work for the benefit of their children.

Perhaps they should consider just making a clean break and giving those kids a little credit for being able to handle the real situation.

Their parents are no longer coupled.

But, maybe it is not the kids who want to continue to control every little thing in the universe.

Sometimes you just have to sever things, and move on.

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Dog on bed with pillow.

Speaking of insufferable control. I am weary reading all  the instructions being constantly dished out on Facebook.

I appreciate information. I ask for advice when I feel so inclined.

But, I wish people would live and let live, for a change.

As a pet owner, it is especially tiresome, this constant barrage of tidbits from experts (everyone is one).

Any animal-loving human tries to do the right thing by their pet, be it turtle or tarantula (going for the dramatic).

Here is a sampling of advice streaming in a steady flow...

*Don't feed animals people food (yeah, we know)
*Feed only raw food
*Don't give treats
*Make your own dog food
*Make your own treats
*Don't use a retractable leash
*Don't use a dog collar
*Don't let dogs off-leash even if you have thousands of acres
*Don't let dogs ride in the front seat of a vehicle
*Don't get dogs professionally groomed
*Don't vaccinate
*Vaccinate
*Don't let pets sleep on the bed
*Let pets sleep on the bed
*Don't let pets on the furniture
*Have more than one dog

Stopping because this list is endless.

I heed good and asked for advice. I also use my own common sense.

I am such a radical.



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Gotta dash...

BRITNEY SPEARS GARBAGE SELLS

From The Right-Side...

Isn't it grand to know, evidently, that Britney Spears is just like us common-types and scrawls out grocery lists?

Isn't it grand to know she, or someone she knows, likes Dr. Pepper (it is on the list)?

Trash pays, and no recycling involved.

Isn't it the complete opposite of grand to know that several grocery lists were retrieved from her garbage and sold on eBay for $60.00 each?

First of all, who knows if that chicken-scratching on crumpled paper is really her handwriting?

We do not need to know that she buys Red Bull to, maybe, go with her Dr. Pepper.

The worst part of this is how people are calling her out for her selections. There is finger-pointing going on, and I say it is so unfair.

Plus, it makes we wonder about my own grocery list. Say I accidently drop it in the Publix parking lot, someone grabs it with glee, and reads it with abandon.

Would I be judged for my lack of sophisticated culinary delights?

Pretty sure I would fall into the same category as Brit. Not that I purchase any of the items on her list, I don't. But, people can really cast a side-eye when you purchase ten cans of chicken noodle soup all at one time.

Seriously, Brit needs to be left alone to enjoy her vanilla ice cream. Maybe she is going to make Red Bull or Dr. Pepper ice cream floats. Maybe both.

No matter, stealing her trash is just so Toxic (see what I did there?).

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MAGIC CARPET RIDING OVER WOODEN FLOORS

From The Right-Side...

Everything is cyclical.

Almost.

I don't think the Beta-Max will be zipping back into society anytime soon, but almost everything does go into and out of style.

Take carpet.

Time to hide the flooring?

All those semi-antique houses with glorious wooden floors hidden for years under plush carpet and padding are no longer a giant mystery to me.

I finally get this concept.

Anyone stepping into any random Home Depot over the past, what almost twenty years, knows carpet is...O-U-T!

Okay, some still have carpet in the bedroom.

Okay, some still have wall-to-wall carpet, even in bathrooms.

You know the ones I'm talking about. They don't succumb to trends. They don't even know trends are going on, for the most part.

These types are completely secure in their decorating choices. They slap it all together one day, and there it remains...forever!

I know this because I have seen it first hand (no names or affiliations to protect myself).

But, here's the deal, I have suddenly come to the realization that these non-decorators have it right. Just stick with out-of-style crap because it will return to favor on HGTV.

But, what about this wooden (real or faux) floor phenomenon?

Wooden floors really are lovely. Lovely to look at, decorate around and a lovely pain to keep looking great. It can be done. I try to do it every single day. Bona (it's a floor product if you need clarification) is my friend.

As I clean these floors, I think of my mother and all the women who lived in those semi-antique houses when they were spanking new. They cared for those floors, I suspect, until they had no more wax or care to give.

I never heard my own mother say it, but I can imagine their mantra became..."Install that glorious roll of carpet, immediately."

So, like granite countertops, are wooden floors dead, or trending downward?

Is livingroom carpet cyclical?

Will fluffy carpet magically rise and be trendy once again?

We shall simply have to wait and watch.

For the moment, I will be busy with my Bona wet pads!

Gotta dash...

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BRAD, ANGIE AND JANUARY COULD SMILE

From The Right-Side...

BIG NEWS...Brad and Angie took part (Pax and Shiloh) of their kiddie-troop to some Subway in California.

Sandwiches should make one smile.

Evidently, they ordered three adult subs and five kiddie ones. That either means one of the kids has a hearty appetite, or Brad or Angie planned to scarf down two, and one kid goes hungry. I'm betting on Brad. Angie could use to eat a couple of subs.

The Jolie-Pitt crew looked kind of miserable in front of that Subway. What do they have to be miserable about?

You get take-out grub, grubby creeps shout your names, snap photos, you pile in a nice car, and go home to your millions.

Get happy!

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Taking the stale cupCAKE in the misery-looking arena is, January Jones. Again.

It is being said that she was hanging out in the area of the recent Comic-Con event; smoking her e-cigs, looking vapid and miserable.

January Jones has that reputation...unpleasant.

I don't know, could be rumor after rumor.

Again, why, if true?

Can't she just be a tiny bit classy, and be grateful she was a part (albeit a boring one) of that Jon Hamm spectacle, Mad Men.

Celebs are so mercurial.

Perhaps she is a born brooder.

Still, the world is in chaos, and if you are one of the few actors working in Hollywood, I can not imagine why one would not find it within to just...smile!

You people are rich and famous, show some appreciation.

TMZ, DListed, Lainey Gossip and every other gossip site is never going to give you a privacy break. That's the way it crumbles, cookie-wise!

Gotta dash...

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