The Grouchy Editor

The Kanye and Donald bromance is making me angry — not because I give a crap that the two of them are BFFs, but because I am now going to have to listen to Kanye’s music to see what all the fuss is about. I am unfamiliar with Kanye’s music.

Sorry, but I’m old. I have become my father, who used to argue that The Beatles didn’t make music, they made noise.

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Speaking of things I’m not big on, I’m not a big fan of most “family” shows. They are usually sappy, sentimental, and insipid.

But I kind of dug Lost in Space. The characters are likable, the dialogue is often amusing and, if you don’t mind a few ridiculous plot elements, the story is fun.

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On the other hand, thumbs down to Netflix’s foreign imports Requiem and The Chalet, both of which put me to sleep.

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I’m sorry, but even decades ago (above), Barbara Bush looked like George’s mother.

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I don’t spend a great deal of time on YouTube, but I might start. It’s a bit like having a video version of the Smithsonian on your computer, with a treasure trove of historical interviews and clips.

Last night I was up way past my bedtime watching old videos of literary curmudgeon Fran Lebowitz (below), the New York wit who is woefully misguided on some issues but always, always amusing.

Of course, if you tire of highbrow interviews with the likes of William F. Buckley, James Baldwin, or Fran Lebowitz, you can always escape to YouTube’s other attraction: Jack Vale’s fart videos.

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And who might be the anti-Fran Lebowitz? I’d nominate this chick, who is finding her 15 minutes of fame by posting provocative pictures like this one:

But be warned: If you scroll Brenna Spencer’s Twitter or Instagram seeking more pics for your erotica collection, you will have to wade through roughly 12,000 annoying “fish face” photos.

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TV Updates

McMafia is a good-looking, globetrotting crime show on AMC. It takes itself very seriously. I watched about three episodes and the boredom was killing me, so I quit watching.

Killing Eve (above) is a good-looking, globetrotting crime show on BBC America. It’s a tongue-in-cheek thriller, never taking itself too seriously. I liked the first episode and intend to keep watching.

If I lived in the Middle East, I don’t know that I’d care to watch the Israeli drama Fauda (above). Its realistic depiction of Arab-Israeli conflict, complete with endless bombings and shootouts, might hit too close to home. But for the rest of us, this is a smart, top-notch thriller.

Season two of Netflix’s La Casa de Papel (a.k.a. Money Heist) is even sillier than season one. But it remains an absurdly entertaining show.

No matter what you think of its star, the Roseanne reboot is all-around good.

After reading a few early reviews of Netflix’s Lost in Space (above), I wasn’t expecting much. After watching the premiere episode, my first impression is: not an amazing show, but it’s reasonably entertaining. But WTF is the deal with black Judy and her white parents? Is Judy adopted? A genetic fluke of nature?

FX’s Trust and AMC’s The Terror continue to intrigue. And kudos to AMC for not rewriting history by casting women as members of the captain’s crew.

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Latest word that the media loves:  Granularity

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That’s quite a trick. Whenever I’m naked and afraid, the last thing in the world I can do is pop up.

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People complain about Donald Trump being constantly in the news.

Maybe, but whenever I tune in to the news, it seems to be the media covering the media.

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I don’t understand all the “surprise and outrage” over news that Mark Zuckerberg has been shopping Facebook users’ personal information.

Doesn’t anyone remember The Social Network?

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How to Write for a “News” Web Site:

A)  Your headline is the most important element. It needn’t have anything to do with the story beneath it, and it should be either misleading or sensational or both. Just get readers to click on the article.

B)  The story itself can be fairly straightforward and non-controversial. But at the end, the reporter must sum things up by inserting his or her own opinion about the issue in question. Preferably, the writer will be some snot-nosed kid straight out of college who knows next to nothing about real life. Readers aren’t smart enough to draw their own conclusions, so it is essential that said snot-nosed kid explain things for them.

C)  The above applies to both liberal sites like The Huffington Post and conservative sites like Breitbart.

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