Bits & Pieces
Bits and pieces from this reporter's notebook.
Da-deet-da-deet-da-deet-deet....Yet another cruise ship is looking more like a floating hospital. A Carnival cruiser is the latest to dock with casualties. Over two hunnert of 'em. Down with what is called a Norwalk-like virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea among its recipients. The Fascination is the third liner in recent weeks to suffer such an epidemic bout of sea sickness, leaving health authorities more stymied than ever as to the cause(s).
Da-deet-da-deet-da-deet-deet....Speaking of nauseating, more proof that money doesn't buy dignity. And certainly not class. A recently-sighted license plate frame on the back of a Lexus SUV read "If you think I'm a bitch you should meet my sister." It wasn't so long ago that the only people who used the term in public were dog breeders, a strange breed in themselves, and veterinarians. Now apparently it's a common term for common people to wave about, talking about each other.
Da-deet-da-deet-da-deet-deet....Perhaps if either of those women is looking for a Christmas gift, they might take up the offer of a local shooting gallery, which offers more than guns and bullets. For instance, one of their newspaper ads pitched, for under ten bucks, the Sabre Self-Defense Spray; it's a Great Stocking Stuffer, they said. Merry -- cough, cough -- Christmas, sis.
Da-deet-da-deet-da-deet-deet....Advertising has truly lost contact with reality. Consider a full-page pitch in a weekly syndicated Sunday newspaper insert: "The love affair with Thermacare continues as people kiss pain goodbye." Sure, it's nice to have relief from pain, and we'll presume that their claims are true, but a love affair? Sounds like a tired copywriter and absent supervision from the client.
Da-deet-da-deet-da-deet-deet....Those are nationals, but how ‘bout the locals? Not much better. A new store opened, offering a zillion kitchen gadgets, plus food. Like deli sandwiches and also, cheescake. Well, that's the way they spelled it. I called the owner and told her she shouldn't pay the bill. She said she hadn't time to proof the ad. Hope they didn't leave anything outta the desert, too.
Da-deet-da-deet-da-deet-deet....More advertising overload for a television show, this in a print ad in that excess-weekly again. "The hit song that inspired the best-selling book is now a movie that you won't want to miss!" Ugh. Then there was the TV pitch for a new film, called "the most romantic of the millennium." Already? Hyperbole gone mad, again, and ya gotta think that the people who bite on those lures, again, deserve what they get, again, and don't know they got taken, again.
Da-deet-da-deet-da-deet-deet....Dunno who sponsored the above-mentioned tripe, but if it was Stouffer's, they no doubt hooked a bunch of live ones. People who spend a lotta time watching such fare probably would be interested in their Chicken Cordon Blue. We hope the ribbon is blue and not the chicken.
Da-deet-da-deet-da-deet-deet....Maybe some of them work for a department store which got some of my hard-earned the other day. I go in every year or so, grab some slacks and that's it. A sign at the register offered 10% off if I used my store credit card. Sure, I told the woman, but I probably have to update my address. I can't do it, she said; please call the store when you get home. I did. The person who answered said she couldn't change my address either. She said I had to call the central 800 number on my recent bill. I don't have a bill, I said, and the next one will be delivered to an old address that is never checked. She was at a loss and put me on hold. When she finally came back on, she gave me an 800 number and told me that when I called it, I should ignore its multiple insistence that I enter my credit card number. That would bring someone on the line. It did, and after minor tussling, the job was done.
Most people don’t even know anything’s wrong.
And that's SetonnoteS...I'm Tony Seton.
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