Sleeping Aid for the Mature

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are? Satchell Paige

Books Reviewed

Brief thoughts and comments on books and reading…

My tastes are changing as I have become older. I want to be more entertained, less provoked and upset. More fiction, preferably historical fiction, less politics.

Speaking of books that provoke and upset, I have no interest in reading any more books about the Trump presidency. I get it after reading about a dozen books on his administration: he was an awful President and a horrible human being.

In fiction, I continue to read stories where the main character is a man in his 60s and 70s.

My sources for reading material: My Library, Kindle (less than $5 books) Barnes and Noble… I now belong to a new library that will hopefully provide me more opportunities to find books that I am interested in reading. I haven’t bought a book at Barnes and Noble for about time months. Price of their books are often too high and often not worth the price.

How I scout books before I read them? I read reviews from Goodreads, Kirkus, and Amazon. Sometimes books are previewed (maybe the first chapter) and I’ll read the previews to see if it catches my interest. If possible, I try to see the Table of Contents for a book. Often that provides a preview of the contents of the book and if I may find interest in topics covered.

I rarely read non fiction books cover to cover anymore. I tend to skim through sections of a book where I have no interest, am already familiar with the content or bored.

I enjoy collecting aphorisms and seek books about aphorisms. If I am to write a book, it will be aphorisms that I create about life, aging, religion, money, marriage, friendship, etc.

I prefer to read books less than 200 pages. Reading a book that is more than 500 pages is a mental marathon that I can rarely finish.

My universe of reading topics continues to shrink. There are so many things now that I have very little interest in, including politics, self help, health issues, money and finances, Trump etc.

I really don’t need most self improvement books. At 71 1/2, if I haven’t figured things out by now, I never will.

2024 Predictions

Alabama will win the National Collegiate Football championship beating Texas. Jim Harbaugh will resign as Michigan coach and become a NFL coach (San Diego).
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No Kansas City – Philadelphia reprise for 2024 Super Bowl. 2024 Super Bowl will be Baltimore vs. Detroit. Baltimore will win 38-17.
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Kentucky will beat Kansas in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
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No Biden – Trump reprise in November 2024. Biden will withdraw from race. Due to legal issues, Trump will also withdraw but will receive conditional pardon.
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Both parties will choose current elected and active governors. Republicans will not choose Ron DeSantis.
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Ukraine-Russia war winds down to negotiated cease fire by May 2024.

U.S. needs to act militarily to aid in Israel’s defense. Benjamin Netanyahu replaced. Very few additional hostages released or located.
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AI serves as a very effective propaganda and distortion tool in 2024 elections. Many voters are duped to believe just about anything to support their narratives and beliefs about politics.
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Twitter goes dark in 2024 due to loss of advertisers, disinterest by members and huge operating losses that Musk no longer wants to fund.
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Taylor Swift will not marry Travis Kelce.
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76ers make Eastern Conference Finals but lose.

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The Top 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time (Variety)

https://variety.com/lists/greatest-tv-shows-of-all-time/

I Love Lucy
Mad Men
The Sopranos
The Simpsons
Breaking Bad
Sex and the City
The Wire
Seinfeld
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Roots
Cheers
Sesame Street
Succession
The Twilight Zone
Saturday Night Live
All in the Family
Oprah Winfrey Show
The Golden Girls
Playhouse 90
60 Minutes

I listed the Top 20 by Variety. My choices for my Top 20 would only include Seinfeld, Cheers and All in The Family. Mad Men may make my Top 25. I watched I Love Lucy when I was a kid but more because my mother watched it and we only had one TV back then.

MASH was #24 on Variety’s list but it is on my top 5. West Wing was ranked #25 by Variety but I would probably have it 10 or more spots higher on my mine.

The Sopranos richly deserves its high ranking. The Tonight Show was ranked #52 but I feel it is undervalued given the cultural influence it had on the country when Johnny Carson was host.

Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump, and the Battle for American Democracy by Brian Stelter (Brief Review)

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really did not need to read this book. First, I am fully aware of Fox News journalism standards or lack of. One only has to watch five or 10 minutes of Hannity, Waters, Bartiromo, Ingraham, or most Fox broadcasting. Neil Cavuto may be the last person on Fox who at least tries to be somewhat impartial. Second, there was a lot of discussion and disclosure about this book when it was first published. I can’t say that I learned anything new by reading the book from cover to cover.

Stelter focused on the career, behavior and broadcasts of Tucker Carlson. I just found it hard to believe that Carlson believed half of what he broadcasted. There is evidence from this book that he really didn’t – – that he was concerned primarily about ratings and keeping the Fox/Trump base entertained and inflamed.

Given all the scandals and the cartoon nature of most of Fox’s commentators, I find it hard to categorize it as a news organization. I think it is a propaganda arm of the Republican party like Joseph Goebbels was the propaganda arm for the Nazi party.

Given the contents of the book, I was incredulous that Fox commentators were so quick to support the election deniers like Rudy Giuliani. What happened to Maria Bartiromo? She had a excellent reputation as a business reporter and now she is no more than a shill for wackos with strange political beliefs and claims (Sidney Powell).

Despite Fox settling their case, paying Dominion $797 million, nothing has really changed in terms of their broadcasting standards. Yes Tucker Carlson is no longer there but most of the same sad crew continues to spew rumors, innuendos, lies and exaggerations. Sadly nothing has changed at Fox News.

Stelter did dig up some interesting anecdotes and offered some plausible theories about the behavior and motivations of the Murdochs and many of the Fox commentators. As an industry insider, his viewpoints are worth consideration.

Dummkopf

Recommended: 26 Works of Fiction

Stoner by John Williams
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Inherit The Wind by Lawrence and Lee
The Bridges at Toko-Ri by James Michener
Failsafe by Eugene Burdick
A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming
Forever and a Day by Anthony Horowitz
Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz
Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
Conspirata by Robert Harris
Conclave by Robert Harris
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson
Winter Journal by Paul Auster
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
Bright, Precious Days by Jay McInerney
The Only Story by Julian Barnes
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Talk to Me by John Kenney
City on Fire by Don Winslow
Running to the Mountain: A Midlife Adventure by Jon Katz
All The Old Knives A Novel by Olen Steinhauer
Disclosure by Michael Crichton
The End of October: A novel by Lawrence Wright
The Last Days of Night: A Novel by Graham Moore

Thoughts from the “Ancient Geek”…

Respect from one is greater than likes from many.

Admittedly prejudiced, I view the golden age of beautiful women in my lifetime to be in the 1970s.

Criticism intended to dampen effort often fuels energy to proceed and succeed.

Credibility of someone’s criticism and judgment is contingent on their own demonstration of expertise or experience in what they criticize.

Possibly as an exception to my rule I just wrote above, but I know “class” when I see, hear or experience it.

A co-worker in my early career once described me as “arrogant, brash and cocky.” Instead of being insulted, I was thrilled that someone described me exactly opposite of who I actually was.

Just as one defrags their computer hard drive to reduce clutter and improve performance, I write Facebook and blog posts to defrag my mind of mental clutter and ideas.

I am culturally obsolete. Based on the Best of 2023 rankings I see on various publications, I have not read the top books, viewed the top movies and TV shows, or listened to the top music, albums or podcasts. I’m still in a 1960s-1980’s time warp culturally.

Musings from an Older Man

As I’ve gotten older, I find that I don’t care that much for other people’s opinions.

As I’ve gotten older, I find that other people really don’t care that much for my opinions either.

As I’ve gotten older, women don’t find me as attractive. When I say older, I meant over “my peak” at the age 5.

As years get longer, my Christmas list grows shorter.

Santa does not deliver my gifts climbing down the chimney; he packages them with my blood pressure medication deliveries.

The major difference between toys when I was young and today is that today’s children need no imagination in playing with them.

Compliments accompanied by the phrase “for a man your age” are brushed by backhand.

My memory is sharp like a tack; literally….

You won’t know what you’ll never know. You’ll never know what you won’t know. (For philosophy majors only.)

I have reached the age when I no longer have to worry about dying “before my time.”