Can we please just not?

04/17/2022 / ronashively / Leave a comment

There are some phrases that have crept into the social consciousness that seem to be the only thing that people know how to say these days…and it irritates the hell out of me. As I scroll through my Fakebook news feed, I have to sip on an Alka-Seltzer so that I don’t just vomit from the amount of ignorance and value-less drivel that I’m subjected to there. Ah, yes. I’m back…and with a vengeance! I decided that after taking a good deal of time off from blogging here, I would have to return with something that would contain a few zingers for you, starting with a few phrases that really just have to go. So, without further ado,

“This …… is everything!”

If you don’t already know what’s wrong with this phrase, please exit my blog immediately before you hurt yourself trying to figure it out. Obviously, to say that anything that is happening these days is “everything” is extremely trite and ridiculous. Of course, nothing is everything. And everything is nothing. And so on and so on. If you use this phrase, please just don’t. Stop being such a drama queen and tell us why something is good. What would we like about it? Why do we absolutely have to check it out? You have to give me more than just a generic exclamation that a thing is “everything.” Because it’s not. It just isn’t.

“This is just fire!”

No…again…no. It isn’t. I swear, whenever I hear someone say this phrase, I want to run up on them like Will Smith charging the stage at the Oscars. Hope it wasn’t too soon for that one, but really, that’s how it makes me feel. Whatever it is, unless it is actual fire, it is not adequately described as “fire.” So, can we go with something else? It just sounds ridiculous, especially from grown folks.

“It’s delish.”

Us…It’s delish-us…or as normal people like to say, “It’s delicious.” Enough said.

“A whole nother.”

There really is no such thing. It is actually either a whole other or another. There is no nother. Nother isn’t a word. So, you can’t have a whole or even a half nother. Stop trying to.

“Going viral.”

I’m surprised that I even have to say this, but you would think that in these days where so many are terrified of a virus that the last thing anyone would willingly seek out is for anything to go viral. I think it’s just in poor taste and well, stupid.

As if the phrases weren’t enough, I have to include a bit of beef I have with the actual content that I have to weed through as I’m looking for something that resembles news each day. Here are some of the things I could do without on that front:

Anything that has to do with us absolutely needing to see or hear or know what the Kardashians are doing.

I simply don’t care. I don’t need to see headlines about this family every day. I don’t care who they are dating. I don’t care who they are not dating. I don’t care what they are wearing or what events they may be attending. I don’t care about their sex tapes or their lack of sex tapes. I don’t care about seeing them with or without their makeup or clothing. I just want to know what is really going on in the world and these people are in the way of my being able to get to that.

By the same token, please stop with the Megan Fox/Machine Gun Kelly pics and stories.

For as much as I don’t care about the Kardashians, I care even less about these two boobs. They always look constipated or otherwise hindered in any real emotional expression. Do these two actually do anything other than look morose and undernourished? Who knows? All I know is that I can’t get through a day’s news without seeing them roll through my field of vision. For the love of God, can we talk about something else?

Any celebrity’s take on sex, sexual positions, preferences, partners, etc.

Just ewwwww….

For now, I think this is enough. I would have said, “I’m just going to leave this right here,” but that is also on my list of phrases I can’t stand. It’s there with “let that sink in” and a few others that I have neither the time nor patience to crack open here. I’ll save it for my next rant…which is imminent.

Thanks for playing. Stop by again soon.

Bloggers aren’t journalists…

02/28/2009 / ronashively / Leave a comment

Didn’t we know that already? In the latest edition of WebPro News, there is a story about how the House has decided that bloggers do not count as journalists and can therefore be forced to disclose the source of their information if something they have written on their blog is ever called into question.

As you well know, I don’t consider some “journalists” to be worthy of being called journalists. At least not the fear-mongering media mouthpieces that I see anyway. And I never really thought that bloggers considered themselves to be “journalists,” hell, we’re alot better than that. 🙂

According to WebPro News, both the House and Senate agreed that journalism entails:

“the regular gathering, preparing, collecting, photography, recording, writing, editing, reporting, or publishing of news or information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public.”

Unfortunately, the House chose to add the following language to their definition:

“for a substantial portion of the person’s livelihood or for substantial financial gain and includes a supervisor, employer, parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of such covered person.”

What this really means is that unless you are operating under a larger umbrella, you can expect to be strong-armed by the government should you say anything suspect on your blog. At least, that’s what I got from it.

Share your thoughts about this topic. Everyone knows we get our best information from our bloggers, so what do you all think about this latest development?

Until next time…

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Viera Goes for Blood

06/28/2007 / ronashively / 1 Comment

I’ve been thinking alot about the recent media buzz surrounding the death of professional wrestler, Chris Benoit. Something about this just hits me wrong. For one thing, the interview I watched this morning between Meredith Viera and WWE Owner, Vince McMahon and I was really disgusted with Ms. Viera. She was dead set on attacking Mr. McMahon and I just don’t think it was warranted. She obviously was coming from the mindset that a person is not actually responsible for their own behavior if they are somehow affiliated with a group of any kind. The fact that Benoit was a professional wrestler labeled him, in her mind, as a violent, steroid-eating monster who was inevitably capable of harming his family. She even went so far as to bring up other wrestlers who had died early in their careers and to try and grill Vince about the circumstances surrounding their deaths. What the hell?

This is exactly the kind of thing that turned me against pursuing a career in journalism. At one point in my life, I was in love with the idea of becoming a journalist. I thought it was great to be able to get the story out to people and that there was no career that I would enjoy more. Over the years, my fascination turned to disgust as I watched news programs scrambling to cover the sensational side of every issue that crossed their news desks. I became more and more disenchanted and finally decided that journalism was just not going to be right for me. Of course, there are still some who stay true to the principles of reporting the news in an unbiased manner, but it is getting harder and harder to find them.

Several months back, I wrote a piece on this issue on Associated Content. I had a relative who had been going through some particularly difficult times and ended up on the news after getting into trouble with the law. I was shocked at how they inflated the issue and how they were so insensitive to what was happening to the family at that point in time. They obviously didn’t have the whole story, but it didn’t matter. They only wanted the pieces that would gain the most viewers. Viera’s interview was similar in that she wasn’t interested in how Benoit’s death had affected Mr. McMahon or Benoit’s co-workers or even members of his family who are still trying to cope with the aftermath. She was so set on going for Vince’s throat that she forgot to be unbiased. It was obvious that she was nowhere near neutral in her reporting of this incident. She used the interview with Mr. McMahon as an opportunity to show viewers that she isn’t afraid to go for blood. She wanted to show that she can go after the story with the best of them, no matter what she puts her guest through.

Vince McMahon as I understand it, is no saint, but he’s not Satan either. There was really no good reason for the attack and I felt bad for him. The situation with Benoit should not be used as a platform for berating wrestlers. He was his own person with his own demons and all of that is really none of my business. As a fan of wrestling and even of Benoit, I’m disturbed by what happened, but I certainly don’t see the point in blaming the individuals he worked for and with when they are obviously mourning the loss as members of his “extended” family. What is the point of this? I am certain that there was a side of this story that should have been presented, but will never see the light of day. How else can we be sure to perpetuate the b.s. that we have to look at on the news every day? We most certainly shouldn’t expect that they would attempt to use discretion or even employ a little empathy under these circumstances. That wouldn’t get ratings.