FERRERMAN- AGAIN?

 Everybody hates paywalls, including actor John Cusack. He is a founding board member of the Free the Press Foundation, who seek to make news that should be available to all of us as common knowledge, actually available to all of us. We are talking here about exposes on government corruption and the like, but we may soon be talking about news in general. That's my fear. It might be his too. What we are not  talking about is opinion pieces. I could monetize this blog, but come on now, why would I do that? Who would read it? Not me. I wouldn't pay. There are big time writers who do monetize their musings and that's good for them. There is a lot of independent news outlets that do great work and need to make a living. I certainly have no truck with that, though, again, that's generally opinion. With newspapers barely hanging on throughout the country, and network news constantly under attack by our gawdawful, belligerent president, how much longer will we have a free press...

 As a Ferrerman of a certain age, I know that I am susceptible to predators and evil doers that prey on others in my age group. Perhaps less than most, but like most people, I'm getting older each day. You do better in the present when you prepare for the future, because the present will always be there. Well, until it's not.  So, I recognize that I am susceptible to social media, particularly Facebook and YouTube, where algorithms have singled me out because of my age. A little advice from peers about growing older is welcome. I'm still smart enough to see through the bullshit politically, and staying abreast of that helps a lot.  I saw a YT the other day of a doctor (as far as I know) discussing the 5 things that are predictive of your early demise if you can't do them. I don't remember all 5, so I'll touch on the worst ones.  According to this doctor, if you can't get out of a chair without using your hands and arms, you're basically fucked. Interesti...

 One observation I have about rival blogger Maggie (onethingyonly.blogspot.com) is that on Bluesky, she rarely likes any posts- not even the posts of her rival blogger, Ferrerman! At times she throws likes around like they are manhole covers! As inconceivable as that sounds, it's twue! Little known fact: Young Maggie- an adorable child- was thisclose  to winning the starring role in the nationwide commercial ad campaign for Life cereal. Older non-readers might recall that the ads featured instead, a little boy named "Mikey" who liked Life cereal. See, Maggie didn't like the cereal, and being true to herself, she told the director, "Life sucks!" I don't recall liking Life cereal myself, so I get that. I was more of a Cap'n Crunch and Frosted Flakes ferrerman myself until I graduated to bacon and eggs.  But enough about teasing Maggie. I often forget to like stuff myself. Only, being a good person, I feel bad about it. Maybe Maggie does too. She's ...

 A few years back, I was given a 7-day stint in Facebook jail for saying in a comment that a person was exhibiting "feeble-minded thinking". FB considered that "bullying". Really.  This morning, some jagoff I wasn't even posting with told me that I was an "asshole" and that I could "fuck off". Really.  There are no sanctions for foul language, nor for the bullying of the feeble-minded. That all changed in or about December of 2024 after Trump somehow got elected again. Zuckerberg and other antisocial media moguls met with Trump, and I guess, he gave them the OK to let anything go in the comments sections. I don't think you can threaten anyone's life, but I'm not sure about that. I've never done that anyway. Watched too many lawyer and cop shows all my life to get involved in that nonsense. Plus, so far, anyone who has ever intimated violence towards me online has punked out. The Ferrerman home is well defended. It would be a d...

 Watched a very interesting video about Australian military service in the Vietnam war. People may not realize that our American war was an allied effort, to a degree. It was primarily our show, led by our military industrial complex for our fun and profit, but countries like Korea and Thailand also lent personnel to the cause. This added an air of legitimacy to our being there, but those countries also lost men and limbs in the effort.  But no country struck fear into the hearts and minds of both the communists and the US military command, more than the Australian SAS (Special Air Service). They fought their own war, their way, much to the chagrin of the American command.  There was a mountainous area in Vietnam that was so dangerous that US Marines were forbidden to deploy there. Marines were getting slaughtered in ambushes in the jungle, but perhaps worse, they were being systematically disappeared from patrols, never to be seen again. Their bodies never found. The Vie...

 I have never found Bill Maher funny at all. He has writers making the jokes for his opening monologue and the bits he does in the middle of the show. He can be  funny and he tours as a stand-up act, but he is not funny at that. I tried watching his stand up once and gave up five minutes in. He seems to be high all the time, and he giggles a lot at his own material, perhaps to signal to the audience that a joke is inbound and they should laugh. He seems to get seriously angry at the crowd if they don't laugh. It happens too often to be 'part of the act'- practiced indignation.  I used to watch "Real Time" not because of him, but despite him. He tended to have interesting guests. They made the show watchable. I gave up watching a couple years ago because I just couldn't with him anymore. You could find those interesting guests in better hands anywhere else on podcasts, which everyone who is anyone seems to have these days. Podcasts are like what blogs used to b...