There’s enough good stuff that we missed!
We get the impression that John Nichols and his comrades at The Nation (we really do love you, John!) won’t be satisfied until the world goes on strike for higher wages, better living conditions, and an end to that climate changie thing.
If anyone should go on strike, it’s writers — if only because the esteemed founder of Blaska Policy Werkes was once one, himself. True, we once refused to honor the strike against The Capital Times; we figured it was impossibly Luddite to protest the advent of word processing computers and the new offset printing process. Hadn’t the Newspaper Guild killed off enough newspapers, already?
If the Writers Guild of America can get job security from artificial intelligence like ChatGPT, good for them! Already, the late-night Jimmys are in re-runs. Saturday Night is no longer Live. The indentured servants witnessed the very first episode of Late Night with Stephen Colbert and quoted Edgar Allen Poe, “Nevermore!” Too PC to be funny.
→ Jerry Seinfeld raised the alarm.
→ Bill Maher attacks Woke millennial butt-hurt at the Washington Post. “Democracy dies in stupidity!
Face it: Humor is a little bit mean
Not that we can’t laugh at ourselves. (Why should Blaska be the only one not laughing?) In any event, there are too many episodes of David Letterman that need watching and can be, on-line. Wish MeTV would televise Jack Paar’s old Tonight Show. He was in dapper form and classically droll in his hourlong interview with Dick Cavett we saw recently on MeTV, along with Cavett’s wonderful interviews with icons like Groucho Marx and Katherine Hepburn. As for sitcoms, has any program been as downright funny as that of Phil Silvers, which began as You’ll Never Get Rich. Cavett interviewed Phil Silvers, too. He was a wonderful talent and came across as a decent person.
Maybe it’s our hardening arteries, but saw not one single movie nominated for this year’s Academy Awards program. Too many good titles on AMC and TCM. We’ve seen Best Years of Our Lives several times and would watch it again. (Screenplay by Robert Sherwood based on the MacKinlay Kantor novella, Glory For Me.)
Paul Newman’s Hud still blows us away. (Screenplay by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr., based on Larry McMurtry’s novel, Horseman, Pass By.)
Speaking of which, we’ve also considered reading books. Far as we know, Ron Chernow is not on strike.
Blaska’s Bottom Line: As for the writer’s strike, The Werkes has a North Korean-based back-up …. [DAMN!]
Education
Blaska Policy Werkes 
The writers can go on strike and I just don’t care one bit. There isn’t much worth watching on TV anymore including streaming services, almost all of it is completely ignorable background cladder to me now.
Turn the one-eyed TV monster off and read a good book or listen to some of your old coveted albums while playing some speed solitaire. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing in the evenings lately and I’ve gotten my fastest winning game is down to two minutes and eleven seconds all while I thoroughly enjoying listening to some old albums. I had forgotten over the years how much I really enjoy listening to music.
I also spent a lot of time since March and April looking at the epidemic levels of absurdities that are infecting our society including the massive propaganda campaign related to atmospheric carbon and how the EPA and the Biden Administration are trying to ram electric vehicles down the throats of the American people and how completely absurd it is. I’ve got multiple blog posts on these topics.
Speaking of my blog…
An interesting observation about my blog since May of 2019, outside of my two and a half 😉 regular readers, it seems that almost no one is interested in how an insignificant peon like myself views anything and it’s become abundantly clear that I have absolutely no literary clout. Maybe what I write is simply too controversial for others to share but I have an opinion and I’m outspoken enough to share my opinion regardless of the fact that almost no one reads it. Maybe it’s time to figuratively step back and observe from afar.
LikeLike
Don’t be such a dope. Post your link!
https://stevewitherspoon.home.blog
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oops, I forget. 😊
LikeLike
Don’t sell yourself short, Steve. Even though I don’t read your blog regularly, the opinion of one of my neighbors has over tenfold the value to me than some loudmouth celebrity jackass on late night television. That’s why I hang out here, and I’ll bet other regulars here feel the same way.
LikeLiked by 1 person
First time I saw Robin Williams on screen was on a Cavett interview in the mid 70s. I always thought Cavett was smart but RW blew him away and left me slack jawed with his genius. Cavett mentioned how RW would sometimes do impromptu Shakespearean prose and RW said, “Sure, wanna?” and asked the audience for a topic. Someone hollered, “Three Mile Island.” Cavett gulped and RW stood up and made a 30 second rhyming soliloquy that Cavett could only answer with a couple of lines. RW responded with another hilarious soliloquy. OMG, the guy was a genius. Needed no writers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I liked Cavett’s guests but never thought he was a good interviewer.
LikeLike
If you want a REAL HOOT, hope to catch Williams (Da Bomb!), or Joan Rivers for that matter, on Johnny Carson reruns, 09:00 p.m. M-F on Antenna T.V., which is Must See T.V. in the Gotchberg Household!
The Gotch
LikeLike
Antenna T.V. is on Madison’s Charter cable channel 193.
LikeLike
Might have to give Hud a look as it is on Kanopy now (thank you Madison public library for free subscription).
Someone pointed out years ago those Colbert, etc writers were going for applause not laughs. I’ll stick with Rogan on spotify and Lex Fridman on youtube thank you.
LikeLike
Pingback: America paralyzed by writers’ strike? – Wisconsin Family News
Has the writer’s strike hit the Werkes? Not likely.
Other than work assignments, the walls of the “indentured servant’s” break dungeon display two signs:
“Notice-
The Daily Floggings
Will Continue Until
Morale Improves !!!”
And right next to it is one saying,
“Hurry Up,
Every Chance
You Get !!!”
This type of managerial support and motivation helps to “center” the workers on the tasks at hand, rather than lattes, afternoon nap breaks, social media, etc,, It encourages workers to explore the personal boundaries (perimeters ?) of their lives.
Then there’s always the “North Korean-based back-up” …..
LikeLike
Screenwriters have gotten very lazy, relying on tired cliches in their work.
Want a cop show? First a tough, sassy black woman who is everybody’s boss (Mayor,Commissioner, Police Chief) Next, a stupid white “hero”, who is always getting his butt kicked. Then his partner, a sexually unavailable woman who always shows up to save him. Last, a techno-wizard woman/black kid who is a genius. Add some dialog and BOOM! You have the perfect show about Anytown USA. Oh, and at some point someone will run out in traffic and get hit. (I want to see somebody jump OVER the car, and keep running.)
Comedy writers are worse, insulting the same 50% of the audience nightly. Now they demand more money?
Full Disclosure- My previous comment (above this one), was written in-part by my cat, “Suleiman The Magnificent”. He has a serious substance addiction to “treats” and tends to stroll across the keyboard when in withdrawal. Even HE can be funnier than the crap served up on “Late Night”, (and is available for far less money).
LikeLike
Writers; you tell me if the comedy I saw on the Jonny Carson show were all written by writers.
Tell me that the show where Jonathan Winters & Robin Williams were on stage together was written by writers, and Jonathan Winters & Robin Williams were just repeating the lines that were written for them.
That show was so funny I thought Ed McMahon was going to wet his pants, he was laughing so hard.
I laughed so hard, I thought I was going to wet my pants.
No body could have written that script, it had to be done off the cuff.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Robin Williams Live On Broadway is one of the funniest stand-ups ever. Had me out of breath with laughter. He even f’s up the joke a couple times and improvs something at least as good. That was true comic talent. Most television “comedians” nowadays are just delivery boys for an army of writers and struggle to create material that doesn’t take a political stance.
LikeLike