• Speaking of NBC, the stentorian tones of Tom Brokaw make me think of an all-American Boy Scout. Bring on David Gregory—fast—though when he shakes his hair, he looks like a sheepdog. And, really, is succession at Meet the Press that big of a deal? I like the program, but NBC and other media treated Gregory’s appointment as if there were a new pope.
• PBS. Not because I don’t like it, but shame on it for not doing more promotion of the excellent news program Worldfocus with Martin Savidge.
• The self-importance of The New York Times. Rupert Murdoch’s campy headlines in the New York Post are more entertaining, while his Wall Street Journal looks better, reads better and is filled with more scoops. And do any of the ink-stained wretches read Tina Brown’s Daily Beast, which warns that newspapers will just fade away? Remember General MacArthur’s old saw about old soldiers.
• Hotels and the latest modern conveniences. I recently stayed at a luxury hotel and couldn’t figure out how to turn on the lights. Even worse, neither could the manager. The hotel also had a special menu just for dogs. I opened it and thought, I’d like to have this myself. But those pampering days are long gone in these times.
• Teenagers’ BlackBerrys should be impounded. It’s as if they don’t want to talk to their parents.
Of course, I could go on and on, but I wanted to leave some things for you, dear reader, to gripe about. And, to be honest, do I really have the right to complain? Do you? Oh, just grit your teeth and smile.
