The Grouchy Editor

They found a fucking glove! That’s top-of-the-page news for the New York Post.

I am so fucking sick of this fucking story.

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“May you live in interesting times” — British phrase based on a Chinese adage. Maybe.

OK, but these last ten years have been ridiculous.

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Watching Europe destroy itself, I have to wonder if we Americans, across the pond, will learn anything from it. Or is it already too late?

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On a lighter note, here is what Netflix is recommending to me. I’ve watched at least part of them all, and added a few notes:

Bottom line: The good shows are all old. The more recent the show, the more likely it’s junk.

© 2010-2026 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

Dawson’s Creek

I know, I know. I was already too old to watch this show when it aired 25-30 years ago. 

My excuse for watching the teen drama, as I recall, was that I had learned it was created by Kevin Williamson, who was also responsible for writing Scream. I liked Scream, so I thought I’d check out his new show.

As fans know, Dawson’s Creek is soap opera. It features high school kids talking like adults. But I got hooked on it.

So I was sad to learn that James Van Der Beek (front-center above with the show’s main gang), who played Dawson, died earlier this week at age 48.

Maybe I’ll go back and watch an episode or two, see if I still like it — or if I should have had my head examined.

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Body Bitching

How and when did we allow the insulting word “skinny” to describe women who are slender or in good shape? Popeye’s Olive Oyl was skinny. Women like Melania Trump are not.

I’m old so I didn’t know who Nicki Minaj (above) is. She seems funny and OK. But her ass is too fat.

Notice I said fat; not “plus-size.”

© 2010-2026 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

TV Tidbits

Best Medicine

After a blah first episode, this new comedy-drama might be growing on me. It’s a redo of Doc Martin, a long-running British show that I adore. It airs on Fox. I can’t recall the last new network show that I liked. Episode one did not feel promising. However ….

Maybe it’s because I live just a few miles from where ICE and protestors are clashing on a daily basis, but I’ve been craving something old-fashioned and wholesome. I’ve seen three episodes of Best Medicine now and … it’s still not in Doc Martin’s league, but it is growing on me.

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The Rip

Perhaps it’s because I’m an old fart now, but what I liked and disliked about this Netflix movie are the inverse of what I would have liked and disliked about it 30 years ago. Or even 20 years ago. 

A coworker watched this Ben Affleck-Matt Damon action-drama and told me it gets better in the second half. This coworker is 20 years younger than me. He enjoyed the chases and shootouts in The Rip’s second half. I preferred the first half, which was more about tension and suspense.

Bottom line: I can recommend half of The Rip. Which half probably depends on your age.

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I had the Olympics on this morning, but the way I watch the Olympics these days is by not watching; it’s just background noise on the television while I do something else. But I suddenly heard something I did not expect: the name Lollobrigida.

If you’re male and old enough, the name probably rings a bell. Gina Lollobrigida, pictured above, sometimes called “the most beautiful woman in the world” (per Grok), was a famous Italian actress. Every teenage boy in the United States knew about her sixty years ago.

Gina’s great-grandniece Francesca Lollobrigida won the gold for Italy in speed skating today. I don’t care about that. I’m just surprised because I never expected to hear that name again. And isn’t it a great name?

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I am not a big fan of Lindsey Vonn. I think that’s because with her, everything seems to be about Lindsey Vonn.

© 2010-2026 grouchyeditor.com (text only)