Less & Less...

 

There's only 2 weeks until Christmas & not even 3 left in 2025.  Every year there's less of the holiday season.  The stores start pushing sales in October, but few are decked out or playing music.  The local Walmart  has no decorations up & I haven't heard a single holiday song.  I mostly haven't heard any music there.  There haven't been any bell ringers or even Angel Trees.

It's not just the stores, it's TV as well.  There aren't many holiday specials shown.  Most are on cable/pay channels.  There's are many specials that haven't aired in years.  I see pictures of local parades & calling them lacking would be an understatement.  My neighborhood has never been really lit up for the season, but there used to a few.  Now there's only 1 house & I can't see it because of a neighbor's giant, work trailer.

I'm not much for the holidays, but the lights, music & cheer made this season better.  It made this part of Winter tolerable.  I guess it's just a bah humbug world.

Cya...

It's Supposed To Be The Holidays...

 

It's not unusual for me to be off about holidays.  We don't have the best relationship.  But, over the last few years the whole world seems to have gone off of them as well.  There's hardly anything at Walmart or in town telling you it's the holidays; few (if any) decorations, no music, few specialized gifts, no Salvation Army bell ringers, etc...

The number of TV holiday specials has dwindled.  Then channels that look like their showing stuff, it's just a few things on loop.  Normally, I can get lost in the twinkling lights.  Not this year.  Only 1 other house besides us is consistently doing any lights & both are very minimal.   Even the homes that have lights up aren't turning the on.

What little holiday spirit I can usually muster with the lights, music & specials isn't here this year.  Except this time, it's no me.  It seems like everyone has bailed on things this year.  I'm sure they have their reasons, but still I miss the lights.

Apparently the Grinch succeeded after all.

Cya...

Needs To End...

 

My birth month, AKA Sucktember, needs to come to an end.  September & I have never been on friendly terms.  But, sometimes, it just likes to really be a pain.  There has been appointments, new doctors, new meds, cat issues, weird weather & breakage.

Yesterday, what should've been an easy day, this hell month decides to complicate things.  In the distance going between stores, a rear tire went nearly flat.   Luckily we were near the mechanics.  We got the tired fixed & went on our way.  

The rest of the day should've been easy, but no.  Right as we're about to watch TV, the remote dies.   It didn't need batteries, it was just dead.  Again, luckily, we'd ordered a replacement for it when we got the TV.  Still, I had to remember where I put it 2+ years earlier.  That got fixed & there is the option of the phone app for the TV.   Still, I'd rather have a remote.

It'd be nice if this month would end without more drama.  That's all for now.  Take care.

Cya...

3rd Week...

 

We're starting the 3rd week of May.  It's starting to get warm & TV shows are ending already.  This was a dud season.  It's supposed to be stormy this week.  We don't need any severe weather.

The issue affecting my roomie is ongoing & there isn't a lot of news at the moment.  It's just waiting to see how things go.  At this time, I think a quick resolve whichever way would be the best for those concerned.  Little good will come from this lingering.

That's all for now.  Time to go shopping.  Take care.

Cya...

Hello February...

 

February is here & it's a leap year.  It's starting warm up but that probably won't last throughout the month.  Maybe it won't dip too much.  I'll have to get labs drawn this month for a telemed appointment the beginning of March.

There isn't much going on here.  We're still waiting for regular TV to return.  At this point only a couple of things we watch have restarted.  

I called in for meds.  Apparently they didn't send in for refills on some of the order.  I may have to wait a bit.  I'll be OK, but I did try to handle this last time.  So, the doctor transition isn't utterly complete yet.

That's it for now, have a good month.

Cya...

Irritating...

 

It's brighter here this morning but not really sunny.  This looks to be the rest of the month.  There won't be much happening here today.

Last night was annoying.  We were set to watch the last of a series & the cable box screwed up.  I spent nearly 45 minutes on the phone with an incompetent representative.  She accomplished nothing & tried to set a tech appointment for nearly a week away with a 10 hour window of a tech possibly showing up.  

I finally unplugged everything & waited a while & then replugged.   Suddenly there was the show.  Half over, but it was there.  Normally, just a quick unplug & replug will reset the box.  I don't know what was happening, but something wasn't working.   Then the show ended badly.

It'd been nice if the month ended in a decent way.  Take care.

Cya...

Still Here...

 

I was up a little later fixing an annoying computer issue on my system.  Turns out a web page I frequented decided to be an issue.  I was using the home page, start.me.   It's now loaded with subframes that'll slow down anything.

This article is about stigma.  It's still here folks & isn't going anywhere.  What makes this worse is it's dealing with a TV character's HIV, not even a world person.   Still the actor has faced some qustionable reactions after the portrayal.  It's not the 1st time for this .  Many actors who have portrayed gays or HIV+ people have faced serious issues after the part.   Take Harry Hamlin & the film Making Love for instance.  

In short, start pages can cause issues.  Stigma over HIV & being gay is still alive & well. Does anything ever really change?  It seems to always be able to get worse.

Take care.

Cya...

Grey December Sunday...

 

We managed to get through yesterday without any disasters.  I wonder how long that will last.  We watched A Charlie Brown Christmas  last night.  We've  seen it & Rudolph, so the season's underway.  

It's a grey morning.  It's raining a little.  We have quite a ways to go before we meet out rainfall average for the month.  

Tomorrow we'll handle the 1st of the month stuff.  Other than routine things like that, nothing else is planned.  There are tentative holiday plans.  They may or may not pan out.  We'll have to wait & see. 

Just a note. There's still nothing I like about cold weather.   

Take care.

Cya...

Trying To More...

 

There isn't much going on & the articles were absent again.  It's still cold.  The van is still an issue.  I've not been feeling the best.   I can't do much about most of that.  I am trying to make myself get more sleep.  It isn't easy.  I've gotten some more the last couple of nights.  Maybe I can keep this up & get some energy back.  Might not work, but it's the plan I've got at the moment.  

Having some TV endings this week.  The Great British Baking Show, Annika & Magpie Murders all close out this weekend.  We'll have to find something else to watch.

That's all for now.   It's supposed to warm up a little this week.  Take care.

Cya...

Mornings...

 

It's another sunny morning.  Maybe after a few more of these, I won't be so morose in the morning.  That'd be a nice change.  Mornings & I can't even come to a truce.  I hate them & they're never easy on me.  It's always something.   It's usually not big stuff, but little obstacles to muddle things up.  Just enough to darken my mood a little more.

May is ending & most of TV has concluded.  Summer  is pretty much here & I'm not sure how it will go.  I look out the back door at the freshly mowed & think that I should be enjoying it more.  But I'm not.  It's just another thing to be handled, an issue.  Just another thing on the list.

Spring has put a real damper on my mood.  Especially in the mornings.  I wonder if Summer will be any better.  It'd be nice to have a season I enjoyed.

Cya...

Not Looking Forward...

 

My roomie is looking forward to a movie coming this Fall.  I used to do that a lot.  There are things I note the day of their arrival but I don't really have the anticipation I used to have.  I don't know if it's I'm just disconnected  from what's being produced or that I have so much dread of the way it will be handled.  For, whatever reason, I just don't get that excited for much these days.  

There have been several franchises & properties brought to screen that I should've loved.  However, the makers altered  these things so much I couldn't stand them.  Sometimes, it was to make the older property more palatable to modern sensibilities.   Others, the product was just cheap &/or bad.  Then you have those  makers that  just want to make their mark on a beloved icon.  Those people, well all the above, should be shot.  Those people should've just made something new & left the original alone.

There are covers, tributes & bastardizations.  Tributes are  just remakes clinging as close as possible to the original.  They're  sweet, but don't really need to  be produced.  They add nothing to the story.  Covers take the concept & add to it.  They further the work without sacrificing the original.  Unfortunately, these days bastardizations by egotistical, needy little  cretins seem to be the most common.  Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a good example.

These people have made me dread when something I used to love is being remade.  I despise most of the cartoon remakes of my favorites that  have happened in the last 5 years.  I've hated movies they've altered from the original just to make a better sale.  I have no connection to these newer pieces.  Then they insult people by telling us to just get over it & that these things weren't made for people like me.  Some of these things are the only reason I'm still here & I hate everyone who helped  take them from me.  May that which they love be corrupted for the entertainment of others.

I still find things I like & they are nice little gifts.  They surprised me.  But I don't wait in anticipation of things anymore.  I  think that may gone for me.  For that, I'm angry & sad.  Some movies & shows I loved so much that they got me through my hard times have been to the point I can't even look at them.  I wish these people nothing but utter rot.  Rot of  everything in their lives, especially that which they held dearest.

Rant's over, take care.  I hope you still  have  things  to look forward to.

Cya...

Specials & Cold...

 

There's not much happening this morning.  We saw our 1st Christmas special of the season last night.   Starting tomorrow night & for the foreseeable forecast,  the overnight temps will be under freezing.  Maybe it'll at least kill off some of the bugs & grass.  It's time to add more blankets.

That's about it for now. Be kind & be safe.

Cya...

1st Week...

 

The 1st week of September & being 54 has passed.  It was mostly uneventful, for which I'm thankful.  We did go out for my birthday dinner.  We didn't see a movie.  There wasn't anything playing that seemed worth the effort & possible risk.  Maybe later.

I have an appointment with my regular doctor late in the month.  We've handled house bills & what few are left haven't arrived yet.   We've handled what we can so far for the month.

We watched actual television last night.  American Ninja Warrior started.   All the necessary alterations made the show awkward, strange & somehow more cheesy.  Some shows need their audiences.  ANW is definitely on that list.

That's all for now, take care.

Cya...

Last Week Of January 2019...

Well this is going fast, January is almost over.   My former neighbor has been gone a month.  The new people are very quiet so far.  I see evidence of them more than them.  They don't leave lights on overnight, but I'm getting used to it.  

January wasn't the funnest month.  There was the stupid Trump shutdown issue.  The weather wasn't horrible, but it wasn't pleasant either.   There's been a lack of articles.  The thing with the TV.  But, we had fairly bright mornings.  That helped a lot.

Yesterday's trip to get a new TV & then setting it up left me worn out.  I'm not sure what set off my allergies, but it happened.   I'm still a little tired this morning.  Hopefully, we're done with the stress for at least a little while.

That's all for now, take care.

Cya...

Getting Around Early...

Sorry about another short post, but stuff happens.  The only article I saw was new was about the GLAAD awards & that's not really applicable  here.   We were given a hand me down TV over Christmas.  It was our 1st big screen TV.    Well, it was nice while it lasted.  It's not working well, so we're off to see what we can find to replace it.  We'd just bring out the old TV, but the flat screen gave us so much more room in that part of the room & you can actually read subtitles on it.  

Until tomorrow, take care.

Cya...

Portrayed...

Occasionally, I see articles or hear discussions on  how there aren't enough people with HIV shown on TV or in films.   1st off, there are + people shown, just not many.  How many do we need? 

2nd, I'm not sure I want to see + people on TV.  How will they portray us?   Will we be stupid, slutty or victims?    I've seen how they handle gay people & that's not been great.  

Although HIV is a huge illness, it's not like everyone has it  or that half the folks on TV should be +.  I simply don't trust TV producers to present people living with the virus in an accurate way across the spectrum of people who have it from rich to poor, urban to rural & every color you can think of.  

HIV should be a topic of many conversations.  But it shouldn't be entertainment.  Or worse, product placement for meds.  

Cya...

What???

Its' weird, I'm no super blogger, I'm not even that on top of things I like to post about.  I try to stay current, but there's a lot out there I just don't come across some things in a timely manner.  Still, somehow I stay ahead of most news broadcasts.

I posted a few days ago about low teenage HIV testing numbers.  It wasn't until the next day the actual news ran a story on it.   Why is that?  This isn't the 1st occurrence I've had of being days to weeks ahead of televised news.

Is it they just have some much to say about crap news like the Kardashians or sports.  Or, could it be  HIV just doesn't merit timely reporting?  Either way, there's no reason why a blogger like myself should be ahead of the media on much of anything.  I may have my own takes on the info, but they should've ran with it way before I did.

Really important matters are often crowded out for sensational topics all the time.  We can't expect the news to be much of a source for anything these days.   Hell, they're not even that good at handling weather reports.  If there's something out there important to you & you need info on it, go research it yourself.  It's unlikely the media will ever cover it in a reasonable time frame.

Cya...

Another Monday Again...

Its the next to last Monday of June.  I got my last bill in the mail this morning.  I'm caught up until the 1st of the month.  We went shopping this morning.  They're working on Walmart's roof.  That may be what's been getting to my breathing when I've been there lately.  It still got to me this morning. 

Summer TV is back or the lack of it is, so my roomie & I've been clearing out our Netflix queue.  Its pretty loaded.  But, tonight is American Ninja Warrior.  We'll be watching. Its the only sporty thing we watch.

Its nice out for now, but it'll heat up later.   Hopefully, enough to turn on the AC.   The humidity is still being nasty here.  Stay cool.

Cya...

Not Much Today...

I'm feeling better than yesterday, but still not the greatest.  Allergens have kicked in pretty hard core.   It's left me with a lot of drainage & pissed off my throat.  

The weather is nice.  We're about to drop out of the 80's F for the rest of the year.  We're heading into some more rain & lower temps.  I'm still hoping we can make it fairly far into November before cranking up the stoves.  Out average balance on the gas bill is still running about $10 higher than it usually does.

A lot of new TV shows are starting & we're trying to keep up.  We've already chopped a few.   A couple were new this season, others weren't.  I hate getting to the point of axing a show we used to  like, but at the same time I like not dreading having to watch something that got ruined along the way by bad writing.  You should never feel like its a burden to watch a show.

That's it for now.

Cya...

Further Marginalized...

I've talked about how marginalization affects health before.   The point is the further a person is from the mainstream culture the more apt they are to be marginalized, isolated & suffer the consequences of the situation.   With HIV, it's how far you are from being a straight, white male, who's usually Christian.  With every step you take away from that "norm", you become more & more at risk for dangerous behavior, unsafe sex, lesser education, lesser opportunities.  Basically your chances for anything good or beneficial go down & the chances of bad things or detrimental events goes up.

I, like every person no longer in their 20's, has complained about having less in common with other people today.  Everyday I hear about people I grew up watching on TV or listening to on the radio have died.  There are very few of the places I went as a kid still standing as they were.  Skating rinks  & drive-in theaters are all but a memory in most places.  The grand movie halls are gone, replaced by cheap multiplexes, that charge a day's earnings to see a movie.  The diners & dives have been replaced by chain restaurant crap factories.   All the cars look like boxes & the music is made on & sometimes by a computer.  I could go on.

I've tried to make peace with most of this.  Even though each 1 of them made me feel like I'd lost part of myself.  Each time I felt a little less present.  But this week something happened that just absolutely sucks.  CW ran the last ever Saturday morning cartoons.  This article & many like on the web say what I mean.  Cartoon Network is an abject failure.  There will be no more kids up before dawn, anxiously awaiting the new cartoon lineup.  Instead they will find, pseudo-news, sports crap, edutainment hell & useless animal shows.  All of which can be found on dozens of other channels any other time of any other day.  

Another bit of my childhood is gone.   Like cruising down the drag or being a mallrat.  Bit by bit, they're destroying the childhood landscape of Boomers & Gen X'ers.  My cable company recently killed off Viacom channels, so most the local kids only have Cartoon Network's crapola.  If they don't have cable, they don't have anything.

Thank you so damned much American corporate TV asshats.  Kill another piece of my life.   Make me feel even less involved with everything than I already did.   1 day, you'll find yourselves in this boat as well.  When it happens, I hope people remind you of what you did before.  

Goodbye Saturday Morning Cartoons, you will be missed & remembered.

Cya...