The Grouchy Editor

Four Musings from an Old-Timer

1)  I have two day jobs, one in the white-collar world, and the other in the blue-collar world. The former is in the education field, the latter is in the, uh, warehouse field, I guess.

They have their pros and cons. The white-collar job is quiet, polite, and often boring. The blue-collar job is noisy, chaotic, but rarely boring.

In other words, if you are a functioning alcoholic, go white collar: You can snooze through your hangover. If you are young and energetic, go blue collar. You won’t be bored.

Better yet, win the lottery and just stay home.

2)  With politics, you have to take a break from all the sound and fury, because the depressing bottom line is this:

When Democrats/liberals/progressives criticize the other side, they are often correct: The other side is filled with knaves and scoundrels.

When Republicans/conservatives/Trump criticize the other side, they are often correct: The other side is filled with knaves and scoundrels.

You have to pick your poison.

3)  Unfortunately, I’m beginning to think of school/workplace shootings the same way I think about floods in the Midwest and tourists who fall off cliffs while taking selfies – tragic, but just part of the background noise.

4)  I watched the first episode of season three of Slasher on Netflix.

Big mistake.

It has nudity and gore, which is to be expected from this kind of thing. But mostly, it was “woke” messaging being shoved down the viewer’s throat.

I much preferred High Seas, a new Spanish series also on Netflix (pictured at top).

It’s a great-looking, old-fashioned mystery set on a 1940s ocean liner. If you’re in the mood for that sort of thing, this is that sort of thing.

I looked up the show’s stars and discovered that lead actress Ivana Baquero has a leaked sex tape. Or perhaps it’s from a movie. Conflicting reports.

Either way, you know you want to see it, so here you go:

**

Normally, this blonde on Fox – Ashley or Ainsley or whatever her name is – doesn’t do anything for me. But goodness … doesn’t she look like she just had a fun roll in the hay?

© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

UFOs are in the news again. Did they – whoever “they” might be – ever explain the video below to the public?

If you can ignore the corny X Files music and some caption editor’s lame attempts at humor, this is quite the bizarre video.

**

**

Of all the loons running for president on the Democrat side, the one who impresses me is Hawaii’s Tulsi Gabbard (above). She doesn’t seem to have gone over the progressive ledge; unlike her frenzied competitors, she seems even-keeled, level-headed … sane.

Then again, I haven’t really boned up on her positions on every issue, and I do have a tendency to bone up over pretty ladies, so … there’s that.

**

We here at The Grouchy Editor resolve to do a better job of  “sparking outrage.”

After all, it seems to have worked awfully well for Twitter.

**

Left-leaning Judge Blocks Trump Initiative

This keeps happening. I would assume that, if and when the Democrats ever regain the presidency, they can expect the Republicans to remember all of this and, when said Democrat president attempts to implement a national policy, it will be blocked by a conservative judge.

**

Very strange. I thought that was the reason so many women start eating.

© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

**

It’s not often that I agree with the boneheads who run San Francisco, but I’m with them on their decision to ban facial recognition use by law enforcement. The argument in favor of the technology is that it will make finding the bad guys much easier.

OK, let’s follow that argument to its logical conclusion: You know what else would make finding the bad guys much easier? Placing cameras in everyone’s living rooms and bedrooms.

**

.                                        

Sure, I can see the resemblance.

**

Usually when celebrities die I shrug it off. Better them than me. But this one hit hard:

**

This was just a throwaway comment by Neil Cavuto on his show Saturday morning, talking about income inequality:

That’s the kind of attitude – “It’s too bad about the enormous gap between the super-rich and everyone else, but hey, what are you gonna do?” – that’s so infuriating.

Cavuto’s got his (big) piece of the pie, so too bad about the rest of us. Or, as Doris Day might have sung, “Que Sera, Sera.”

**

© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

No “Weekly Review” this week. This means that either a) The Grouch is on his deathbed, or b) indolence and sloth have won the day. You be the judge.

© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

Little Mark Zuckerberg has decided that he and a panel of media “experts” can best determine what should or should not appear on Facebook.

God help all of us.

**

I think I speak for most Americans when I say that I always get a warm sense of security and well being whenever I hear our president utter his favorite reply to so many questions: “We’ll see what happens!”

**

Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time writing reviews of books, movies, and TV shows. Sometimes my reviews are just a few paragraphs in length; sometimes they’re longer.

Probably a colossal waste of time.

Probably I could just post a smiley face and simply write: “Should you spend your time on this? Well, you could do worse!”

Black Summer and Quicksand: While neither show merits five out of five stars … you could do worse!

**

Everything’s rosy in Stuart Varney’s world

I’m sick and tired of blowhards like Stuart Varney and Larry Kudlow crowing about the Trump economy. The Trump economy pleases well-off know-it-alls like Varney, and Masters of the Universe on Wall Street, and economics gurus in academia.

But ask the average Joe or Sally and they will tell you it’s not “the economy,” stupid, it’s your wallet — two very different things.

**

Venezuela: Oh, by all means let’s meddle in that mess. We’ve proven many times that we’re very good at fixing that sort of thing.

Asked to comment on the situation, President Trump said, “We’ll see what happens!”

© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

There is a story that goes with the above picture. The story is at the bottom of this post. The picture is here, rather than with the story, because readers are much more likely to read an entire post if you tease it at the beginning with a picture of some bare-assed blonde on a beach.

**

I used to rely quite a bit on Rotten Tomatoes for movie recommendations. Not so much anymore. The problem is this trend of today’s critics going back in time to review what were once considered classics. When these old movies violate some 2019 benchmark of political correctness, they get downgraded. I hate that.

Just tell me what the movie’s contemporary critics thought. I don’t care what some snot-nosed millennial fresh out of liberal-arts indoctrination thinks of Citizen Kane. If the movie is dated, I’ll figure that out on my own.

**

“Getting out ahead of our skis” – latest trendy expression that everyone has to use on cable news

**

The Amazing Race spans the globe, so I guess it’s not surprising that CBS has begun subtitling episodes so that viewers might know what the locals are thinking when the crazy Americans show up.

The guy in the pictures below might have checked out contestant Corinne Kaplan’s Instagram page (above) before helping her mount an elephant on Wednesday’s episode.

**

The last two times I promoted YouTube channels, it was to plug a guy who makes fart videos and another guy who reviews splatter movies. So keep that in mind when I recommend yet another YouTuber, some dude named Charles Ross who cranks out hilarious pranks and stunts at “Vlog Creations.”

© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

“The Ted Baxter Award”

.

          Williams                              Baxter                                 Scott

I used to believe that NBC’s lantern-jawed cockatiel Brian Williams had a lock on “The Ted Baxter Award,” with his tilted-head, squinty-eyed, oh-so-serious delivery. But then I watched last Sunday’s Fox Report Weekend with Jon Scott.

Here is Jon telling viewers what to expect at the Department of Homeland Security after the ouster of Kirstjen Nielsen:

Here is Jon thanking reporter John White House for reporting from the Roberts:

Jon struggles a bit with his timeline:

And finally, Jon has trouble with correspondent Casey Stegall:

**

We recently complained about the scarcity of quality new TV shows. That complaint stands. But a couple of returning shows are just as good as ever: Killing Eve, which is fairly routine as a spy drama but with moments of comic genius, and Unforgotten on PBS, which is always absorbing.

© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

I stopped watching baseball years ago because a) it bores me, and b) my hometown team sucks.

But have you seen this dude?

The best of Willians Astudillo

I might have to start following the Twins again, just because of him.

**

Two expressions I’ve heard more than enough:

On immigration: “Congress needs to act.”

It hasn’t acted on immigration for decades, it doesn’t want to act on immigration, so don’t waste your breath.

On the economy: “If there’s one thing that Wall Street hates, it’s uncertainty.”

Yeah, because everyone else is so fond of uncertainty.

**

Apparently we are so on top of 2019 problems that we now feel the need to resurrect 1960s problems. 

**

I guess Donald Trump and Joe Biden are very much in sync. Trump grabbed pussies because, in his words, women “let you do it.” Biden gropes women and children because, well, they let him do it.

(By the way, that “let you do it” part — isn’t that what we call “consent”?)

More interesting, at least to me, is this business of Biden swimming naked in front of female secret service agents.

**

Speaking of exposed skin, if you Google-search Emily Compagno, the latest pin-up queen on Fox News, you will see this picture:

These days, you never know what’s real and what’s been photo shopped. But those are such fine-looking butt cheeks, let’s just assume they belong to the former Raiders cheerleader.

© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

What’s that old adage — “Never meet your heroes,” because you’re bound to be disappointed?

I think I’d update that for 2019:  “Never read your heroes’ Tweets.”

It was … interesting … the way certain very vocal celebrities suddenly wanted to change the subject away from politics when the long-awaited Mueller report was turned in:

**

Speaking of Twitter, I still don’t completely understand the etiquette, or rules, or whatever the hell it is we’re supposed to do. Take, for example, this Tweet:

Now, does this mean that 52 people are quite pleased that Larry Cohen is dead? Confusing.

**

I could be wrong about this. I hope I’m wrong about this. But I suspect that we’ve gone past “peak TV” and are now sliding downhill.

There are more shows than ever, but I can’t find a single new series that really grabs me.

**

It’s nigh impossible to find a columnist who can write about politics these days and actually be funny. I think this guy pulled it off.

© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)