Welcome back Ellen. Rest and get well.

Thanks so much for all the good wishes. I’m much better, not good, but good enough to resume posting. At least for something not terribly taxing.

I’m vaxxed and triple boosted but I still got pretty darned sick. Not like I needed to be hospitalized but too sick to read or watch much TV. I am hoping there’s been no permanent damage anywhere as I’ve already been dealing with another health issue.

Caught a bit of Kayleigh McEnany in the Tucker hour tonight, gushing over some actor in a Christian film. I understand her ratings have not been great and it’s easy to see why.

OK, I’m going to go rest now.

Excellent point, Firefox: Why else do comedians have canned laughter/applause on their broadcast shows. Ditto for theatres that give free tickets to people willing to clap at all the right places.

Hang tough! We (I) need you!

Get well soon, Ellen!

I understand the reasoning of those who think Trump’s recent performance on CNN will hurt him in a general election and maybe in court, but CNN CEO Chirs Licht’s approval of the crowd and questioner format came too close to giving free airtime to a Trump rally.

I’ve heard several times now that Trump’s pseudo town hall won’t bring any heretofore undecided citizens into his cult, but I would argue that the crowd to some degree may well HAVE done that. The crowd modelled for viewers that it is appropriate to condescendingly laugh off attempts to speak truth to power. The call-and-response audience collaborated with Trump in almost running circles around interviewer Kaitlan Collins. It was hubris on Licht’s part to think it might have been otherwise given that unlimited lies and BS, when overwhelmingly, immediately validated by an audience, can easily outpace fact checking. Kaitlan caught more lies faster than I could have, and she came very prepared on the Presidential Records Act, but as just one example she left undisputed Trump’s exaggerated claim that the US is giving vastly more aid to Ukraine than Europe is.

I still don’t think of CNN as Foxlite, but I would agree that Licht’s firing of Brian Stelter and this pseudo town hall should make Licht an eligible applicant for a position at Fox if he is fired from CNN as he should be.

I miss you soooo much, Ellen. Tried to watch Fox at different times today but couldn’t stomach it. According to C&L, they’re trying to smooth over the disaster that was that town hall in New Hampshire.

Was, however, able to watch a bit of CNN and it seems to me that the (new) powers that be over there may have decided to throw Trump under the bus. His “performance” at that town hall must have been really terrible if even Cnn (aka Foxlite) cannot but use words like “lies”, “falsehoods”, “debunked theories”, etc. etc. etc. Unlike Biden who can still put words together in a way that makes sense, Trump offered only a broken record of largely disconnected, repeatedly debunked talking points.

The next six months promise to be very interesting, indeed. Get well, soon, Ellen. We need you even more than before.

Aww, Ellen, my sympathy. To hell with the old westerns, this is the time to binge watch something engrossing.

My suggestion is Rough Diamonds, a Belgian series on Netflix. The diamond industry in Antwerp, Hassidic Jewish family, business and community life (fascinating!), cocaine trafficking, Albanian mobsters, a put-upon but determined cop, a love story, even a cute kid. It’s mainly in Yiddish (I think) as well as English, French and Dutch, depending on who is in the scene. Highly recommended.

Take care of yourself. Find those books you have always been wanting to read.

Rest up and indulge yourself. Watch old movies and stay away from the news. It’s detrimental to good health. Or at least a sound mind.

So sorry! Feel better. COVID is nothing to mess around with. It KICKED my butt about three months ago. The Paxlovid worked great but the taste… UGGH! Have mints nearby at all times!

Rest yourself Ellen. I hope this passes quickly for you!

Bummer! Assuming you’re fully vaxxed it will hopefully be no worse than a crappy cold. Rest, sleep, drink water and/or Gatorade, and watch old westerns on TV. Reruns of Bonanza and The Big Valley are very therapeutic.

Take care of yourself, Ellen!

So sorry to hear that. I finally caught the bug on April 21st. Very light case: only two days of discomfort, not much fever and a bit of a headache. Slept a lot and tested negative after 10 days. It did leave me with a persistent cough, however. Sleep it off, Dear Ellen, we can wait.

feel better soon