SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

 
+ Carl Sagan spoke about the “Dumbing Down of America” in his 1995 book “THE DEMON-HAUNTED WORLD: Science as a Candle in the Dark”.  He spoke of “a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time” when –

“The dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media . . . lowest common denominator programming”.

It will be a time of “but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance.”

It is obvious that time has come.  He was clearly warning of the excrement erroneously known as “reality tv”.  And of Americans reveling in their stupidity.
 

+ This past summer I have been enjoying the “Death on Demand” mystery series by Carolyn Hart about mystery bookstore owner Annie Laurance Darling and her “unofficlal” private detective, and “trust-fund baby, husband Max that takes place on fictional Broward's Rock Island in South Carolina.  There is a total of 26 books in the series to date, and I have only 3 more to go.

Broward’s Rock rivals Cabot Cove, Maine as the “murder capital” of small towns on the Atlantic coast.

The series spans 30 years in “real time” – the books published from 1987 to 2017 – but the South Carolina island must be the home of the Fountain of Youth, as the hero couple and supporting characters haven’t aged more than perhaps 5 years during the series.  One active senior citizen supporting character, a retired school teacher and avid mystery aficionado who flew planes in WWII is still in her 70's 30 years later..

I am surprised that this book series has not been adopted by the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries cable channel as part of its stable of “cozy” Signature Mysteries.

FYI, the 2008 horror film titled DEATH ON DEMAND has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with this cozy mystery series.

You can check out the series be going to http://www.fictiondb.com/series/a-death-on-demand-mystery-carolyn-hart-carolyn-g-hart~373.html.
 

+ The official application form to join today’s Republican Party has only two questions –

Are you a moron?
Are you a racist?

If you answer yes to either question you are welcomed with open arms. 

If you answer no to both you are told - "We don't want you".

And the new official theme song of the Republican Party is based on “I Enjoy Being A Girl” from FLOWER DRUM SONG -

“I watch FOX NEWS faithfully each evenin’
I listen to everything Trump says.
I believe the election it was stolen.
To wearing a mask I reply with loud nays.
I enjoy being a fool!” 
 

+ It is truly sad that for every two genuine Christians who attempt to follow the actual teachings of Christ in America today there is at least one person falsely claiming to be Christian who distorts and perverts Christianity to justify personal prejudices and bigotry or for some other self-serving reason.
 

+ I have always been a fan of the British tv series “Midsomer Murders”, based on the novels in the Chief Inspector Barnaby series written by Caroline Graham that take place within small country villages across the fictional English county of Midsomer. 

It premiered on the ITV channel in the UK on March 23, 1997.  I first became aware of the show when episodes were shown on the American cable channel A&E in the summer of 1998, back when A&E actually presented content that involved art and entertainment.  I have been able to watch all the episodes of all series on Acorn.tv (http://acorn.tv/browse/mystery).  The 22nd series will return to Acorn.tv at the end of September.

The series originally starred John Nettles as Inspector Tom Barnaby.  When Nettles retired at the end of 2010, after 13 series, he was replaced by Neil Dudgeon as his cousin Inspector John Barnaby.  It is odd, and truly rare, that a lead character in a police series is replaced by a relative with the same last name.  But there was a very good reason in this case.   

Midsomer Murders was, and is, very popular around the world.  In 2004, it was among the three most-sold British TV shows worldwide.  It was especially popular in Scandinavian countries, where it was shown under the title “Inspector Barnaby”.  So, this title is the reason the replacement for Tom Barnaby had to be another Inspector Barnaby.
 

TAFN