I miss the days of Walter Kronkite who reported the news and just the news without pomp, circumstance and a lot of fanfare. Mr. Kronkite didn’t insert himself into the news like so many of today’s reporters that sensationalize every word. This was back in the day when hurricanes only had women’s names, but other storms were just that, nameless storms—unless they were a Nor’easter, but even then, they didn’t give them names every time the wind picked up past 20 MPH with the snow blowing sideways.
Now with so much dis-information being bantered about depending on whether the news source is center, far left or far right, it is hard to know what or who to believe.
I always revert back to the words of my late dad, Clement C. Sawyer. He told me, when at the young age of eight… “Don’t believe everything you hear on the radio, see on the television, or read in the papers.” I never forgot that. In other words, what he was telling me was to be discerning in everything and to trust and rely on my own innate wisdom.
As for chocolate… I’ve tried cutting down to a couple pieces a day, it doesn’t work for me. Just one piece is too many, and a whole chocolate bar or two or three—is never enough. I’m such an addict! Looks like I’m gonna have to 12-step myself off Lindt chocolate now too. However, I did purchase one Cadbury egg the other day. My son was sitting with me when I opened it. I cut it down the center (on a plate) the long way and was surprised to see a white goo surrounding a yellow center, like a real egg, but with a chocolate eggshell. We both marveled at it for a bit, and daring the other to try it first. We both did get brave enough to taste the runny stuff at the tip of the knife, and found it way too sweet! The chocolate exterior however was, well, chocolate, and ya can’t go wrong with just chocolate. I think that will be my first and last time partaking of a Cadbury egg. Thank you very much. LOL!
I missed Terry’s April Fools joke, I’ll have to go back and read it. I’m just coming off almost 3 days without internet, so I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I had to resort to reading a book of all things! LOL! Actually I found it quite pleasant and got halfway through the 500+ pages. Now I’m dying to finish it! I may have just found my new addiction!
I scan the news at a set time of day, and that's about it. My theory is that if it's world-shattering, my husband will tell me and if he's absent, then so will someone else. In the meantime, I get to be calmer and more aware of my surroundings rather than in my head trying to make sense of a world gone mad. My battle-plan came because I WAS getting so uptight!
Neither of us watch TV news and we tend to watch streaming TV and 'calm' shows - it's changed how we feel quite markedly. We barely if ever listen to the radio. Music from old CD's and Spotify. So there's this lovely wall of Other Stuff that has taken the place of news. It's like living in a medieval castle with high ramparts and a moat and a goodly supply of men-at-arms to protect us and so that I can get on with spinning, weaving, making pottage, roasting a pig and shaking out the floor rushes without worry.
I had to laugh while reading this! Sorry! Mostly it’s because this is SO me! I actually have pushed back on my social media time and I don’t watch or read the news everyday the way I used to. My go to news programs, BBC America and PBS. Don’t get me wrong; I like to be well informed but it was messing with my emotional well being to watch everyday and sometimes multiple times each day. If you want to be depressed, watch the news. Seems like everything is doom and gloom. It makes us forget that really wonderful people are out there doing wonderful things because they are overshadowed by the bad things going on. Doom and gloom sells better I guess! Pushing back on social media actually gives me more time to do the things I love, my art and reading books! I find that it really isn’t imperative to see what B had for dinner last night at his favorite restaurant, aka the plate of food pic! So, that being said I can now enjoy reading, in this case my favorite Substack writings, and enjoying a nice cup of tea while watching the birds at my feeder!
Okay, we are indeed kindred spirits!! I have those moments of gullibility and I'm so grateful I'm not alone in this. Oh thank you for the laughs this morning...and the beautiful shout out! You're so kind Rebecca and so generous of you. xox
Enjoy your weekend and hope to see you again soon for the write togethers. :)
You have made a fine decision for yourself here, Rebecca, realizing you had exceeded your limit of input. I was most moved, however, by your statement, "Reader, I wish I had the intelligence to filter out the outlandish so that I could properly identify the real news…" Real news -- what a concept! I remember real news. I remember listening to Dan Rather, Walter Cronkite, Chris Wallace, Brian Williams and never once questioning the veracity of their reports. News was news, and we could count on it. But when the world went awry in 2016, I threw out my TV. I simply could not stand any more. And I have no cell phone. It is simply self-preservation. This does not mean I am like your friend N. My brother keeps me informed on absolute essentials. You know, miracles like DT either going to prison with no appeal OR being re-elected. ( Both are likely) Meanwhile, as Jo Linney said, "I will do what I can and where I can to affect change where I believe it is needed and I can have some impact." It is the best we can do. Thanks for opening an important discussion here, Rebecca. I hope you will follow up and let us know the impact of your decision on your life.
It’s hard to find that balance, especially with the easy dopamine hits of doomscrolling. I have to watch it with my anxiety, too…whereas Ben seeks out the inflammatory rubbish news, so as to expose the vitriol to bright sun. I like what you’re proposing. 🩷
Less scrolling and swiping is certainly a great remedy for too much of what most can't trust to be true. We never watch local, national, or international news, as most of it uses adjectives to describe situations and weather conditions as world-ending and posing immediate danger to anyone who doesn't love and hunt for the truth. I love staying in the know, and limit the sources I trust to 2 or 3 online. Substack U proves daily to be the best source for all things all around the world, by showing what real people do, think, feel, surmise, question, triumph, understand, support, reason, and solve in their day to day. Fantastic post, RH.
Great piece, Rebecca--and as usual not only funny, but generous to others as well.. Alain de Botton, favorite book of his: _How Proust Can Change Your Life_ -- also wrote a book I read _The School of Life_ where in, though I didn't search the book for exact quote, suggests that we are better off not watching local news because most of it is bad news that can make one think where we live too dangerous to venture places and that that view is hardly accurate. His observation made me realize that most local news focuses on crime. Just a thought. When I have time to search the book for the exact quote I'll send it to you. BTW, gullibility is one of my basic qualities that I'm not particularly proud of but that does cause me to pay close attention to every post I comment on. Here's an example from my childhood that probably shows how dumb how I was when little: I was watching "Peter Pan" --the musical with Mary Martin on TV with my dear father and it was past my bedtime. A commercial came on mid-show and he said. "Wasn't that great--bedtime." Off I went until he came and got me, laughing. I saw the whole wondrous show.
Yo! Tez the Prez here. I spent a year between 1977 and 78 only listening to news that had a bearing on what I was teaching (Economics). It was much less stressful than the constant bombardment of doom and gloom.
I am definitely a news junkie, but I've found a routine that works for me. I read my substacks in the morning and watch certain trusted news sources in the evening. In between, unless someone sends me something amazing that just happened, I let the day unfold without monitoring it. And i feel that substack works for me because I only use my inbox, not the algorithmic feed-- that way, there's no endless scroll, no algorithmic creep. Like the writer you cited, I've let the rest of my social media recede, maybe checking FB once a week to keep up with friends, and that's it.
It seems to me that the key is to find a level and source of news which feels empowering rather than overwhelming, and stick with that. The substackers I like take a positive, "here's what we can do to help" approach which I find motivational rather than crushing.
The news has become enormously entertaining. Probably healthy, for the most part. My neighbor asked me if I thought the Speaker of the House would be replaced. He works in a warehouse. A few years ago if you asked him who the Speaker of the House was, he'd of said his wife : )
I have been searching for the optimal balance of news consumption myself. I don't like reading/watching no news, but I tend to go down rabbit holes I don't need to go down.
I've found that consuming local news is best for me. I can get caught up on what's happening in my state, and if something is important enough to know about on a national/world level, I'll still find out about it.
I think you address the greatest question of our age. To news or not to news. And nowadays we must parse out and search for facts. When news becomes opinion or activism then it’s not news. I turned off all news last year and just read headlines. Then Oct 7 happened and I knew the lies about Israel would be endless. So I’m parsing out yet again trying to educate those who are open to learning about history and facts. It’s daunting and sometimes depressing. But silence is unacceptable.
Written by a friend of mine—Johnny Medicine Bear, it’s on Amazon.
He used to fly fighter bombers during the Vietnam war. Then flew for American Airlines after he got sober and retired from the Air Force.
He helped me get over my fear of flying about 2011, when I was visiting him in Florida. He took me up in a teeny tiny piper Cherokee plane. It took me a good 45 minutes to even get into the little two seater. But I did it with his patience aided by my doing some EFT-tapping on myself.
I have not been afraid to fly since and even flew over the big pond to Scotland last year!
I miss the days of Walter Kronkite who reported the news and just the news without pomp, circumstance and a lot of fanfare. Mr. Kronkite didn’t insert himself into the news like so many of today’s reporters that sensationalize every word. This was back in the day when hurricanes only had women’s names, but other storms were just that, nameless storms—unless they were a Nor’easter, but even then, they didn’t give them names every time the wind picked up past 20 MPH with the snow blowing sideways.
Now with so much dis-information being bantered about depending on whether the news source is center, far left or far right, it is hard to know what or who to believe.
I always revert back to the words of my late dad, Clement C. Sawyer. He told me, when at the young age of eight… “Don’t believe everything you hear on the radio, see on the television, or read in the papers.” I never forgot that. In other words, what he was telling me was to be discerning in everything and to trust and rely on my own innate wisdom.
As for chocolate… I’ve tried cutting down to a couple pieces a day, it doesn’t work for me. Just one piece is too many, and a whole chocolate bar or two or three—is never enough. I’m such an addict! Looks like I’m gonna have to 12-step myself off Lindt chocolate now too. However, I did purchase one Cadbury egg the other day. My son was sitting with me when I opened it. I cut it down the center (on a plate) the long way and was surprised to see a white goo surrounding a yellow center, like a real egg, but with a chocolate eggshell. We both marveled at it for a bit, and daring the other to try it first. We both did get brave enough to taste the runny stuff at the tip of the knife, and found it way too sweet! The chocolate exterior however was, well, chocolate, and ya can’t go wrong with just chocolate. I think that will be my first and last time partaking of a Cadbury egg. Thank you very much. LOL!
I missed Terry’s April Fools joke, I’ll have to go back and read it. I’m just coming off almost 3 days without internet, so I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I had to resort to reading a book of all things! LOL! Actually I found it quite pleasant and got halfway through the 500+ pages. Now I’m dying to finish it! I may have just found my new addiction!
Love your Saturday morning posts! 🤗❤️
You mean, Terry didn't remodel his study to look like the Oval Office? Great post, Rebecca. I think your new diet will work nicely.
I scan the news at a set time of day, and that's about it. My theory is that if it's world-shattering, my husband will tell me and if he's absent, then so will someone else. In the meantime, I get to be calmer and more aware of my surroundings rather than in my head trying to make sense of a world gone mad. My battle-plan came because I WAS getting so uptight!
Neither of us watch TV news and we tend to watch streaming TV and 'calm' shows - it's changed how we feel quite markedly. We barely if ever listen to the radio. Music from old CD's and Spotify. So there's this lovely wall of Other Stuff that has taken the place of news. It's like living in a medieval castle with high ramparts and a moat and a goodly supply of men-at-arms to protect us and so that I can get on with spinning, weaving, making pottage, roasting a pig and shaking out the floor rushes without worry.
I had to laugh while reading this! Sorry! Mostly it’s because this is SO me! I actually have pushed back on my social media time and I don’t watch or read the news everyday the way I used to. My go to news programs, BBC America and PBS. Don’t get me wrong; I like to be well informed but it was messing with my emotional well being to watch everyday and sometimes multiple times each day. If you want to be depressed, watch the news. Seems like everything is doom and gloom. It makes us forget that really wonderful people are out there doing wonderful things because they are overshadowed by the bad things going on. Doom and gloom sells better I guess! Pushing back on social media actually gives me more time to do the things I love, my art and reading books! I find that it really isn’t imperative to see what B had for dinner last night at his favorite restaurant, aka the plate of food pic! So, that being said I can now enjoy reading, in this case my favorite Substack writings, and enjoying a nice cup of tea while watching the birds at my feeder!
Okay, we are indeed kindred spirits!! I have those moments of gullibility and I'm so grateful I'm not alone in this. Oh thank you for the laughs this morning...and the beautiful shout out! You're so kind Rebecca and so generous of you. xox
Enjoy your weekend and hope to see you again soon for the write togethers. :)
You have made a fine decision for yourself here, Rebecca, realizing you had exceeded your limit of input. I was most moved, however, by your statement, "Reader, I wish I had the intelligence to filter out the outlandish so that I could properly identify the real news…" Real news -- what a concept! I remember real news. I remember listening to Dan Rather, Walter Cronkite, Chris Wallace, Brian Williams and never once questioning the veracity of their reports. News was news, and we could count on it. But when the world went awry in 2016, I threw out my TV. I simply could not stand any more. And I have no cell phone. It is simply self-preservation. This does not mean I am like your friend N. My brother keeps me informed on absolute essentials. You know, miracles like DT either going to prison with no appeal OR being re-elected. ( Both are likely) Meanwhile, as Jo Linney said, "I will do what I can and where I can to affect change where I believe it is needed and I can have some impact." It is the best we can do. Thanks for opening an important discussion here, Rebecca. I hope you will follow up and let us know the impact of your decision on your life.
It’s hard to find that balance, especially with the easy dopamine hits of doomscrolling. I have to watch it with my anxiety, too…whereas Ben seeks out the inflammatory rubbish news, so as to expose the vitriol to bright sun. I like what you’re proposing. 🩷
Less scrolling and swiping is certainly a great remedy for too much of what most can't trust to be true. We never watch local, national, or international news, as most of it uses adjectives to describe situations and weather conditions as world-ending and posing immediate danger to anyone who doesn't love and hunt for the truth. I love staying in the know, and limit the sources I trust to 2 or 3 online. Substack U proves daily to be the best source for all things all around the world, by showing what real people do, think, feel, surmise, question, triumph, understand, support, reason, and solve in their day to day. Fantastic post, RH.
Great piece, Rebecca--and as usual not only funny, but generous to others as well.. Alain de Botton, favorite book of his: _How Proust Can Change Your Life_ -- also wrote a book I read _The School of Life_ where in, though I didn't search the book for exact quote, suggests that we are better off not watching local news because most of it is bad news that can make one think where we live too dangerous to venture places and that that view is hardly accurate. His observation made me realize that most local news focuses on crime. Just a thought. When I have time to search the book for the exact quote I'll send it to you. BTW, gullibility is one of my basic qualities that I'm not particularly proud of but that does cause me to pay close attention to every post I comment on. Here's an example from my childhood that probably shows how dumb how I was when little: I was watching "Peter Pan" --the musical with Mary Martin on TV with my dear father and it was past my bedtime. A commercial came on mid-show and he said. "Wasn't that great--bedtime." Off I went until he came and got me, laughing. I saw the whole wondrous show.
Yo! Tez the Prez here. I spent a year between 1977 and 78 only listening to news that had a bearing on what I was teaching (Economics). It was much less stressful than the constant bombardment of doom and gloom.
By the way, I think I too would have fallen for the ice cubes advert: it sounds stupid enough to be plausible!
I am definitely a news junkie, but I've found a routine that works for me. I read my substacks in the morning and watch certain trusted news sources in the evening. In between, unless someone sends me something amazing that just happened, I let the day unfold without monitoring it. And i feel that substack works for me because I only use my inbox, not the algorithmic feed-- that way, there's no endless scroll, no algorithmic creep. Like the writer you cited, I've let the rest of my social media recede, maybe checking FB once a week to keep up with friends, and that's it.
It seems to me that the key is to find a level and source of news which feels empowering rather than overwhelming, and stick with that. The substackers I like take a positive, "here's what we can do to help" approach which I find motivational rather than crushing.
The news has become enormously entertaining. Probably healthy, for the most part. My neighbor asked me if I thought the Speaker of the House would be replaced. He works in a warehouse. A few years ago if you asked him who the Speaker of the House was, he'd of said his wife : )
I have been searching for the optimal balance of news consumption myself. I don't like reading/watching no news, but I tend to go down rabbit holes I don't need to go down.
I've found that consuming local news is best for me. I can get caught up on what's happening in my state, and if something is important enough to know about on a national/world level, I'll still find out about it.
(Does this work? Rarely....)
I think you address the greatest question of our age. To news or not to news. And nowadays we must parse out and search for facts. When news becomes opinion or activism then it’s not news. I turned off all news last year and just read headlines. Then Oct 7 happened and I knew the lies about Israel would be endless. So I’m parsing out yet again trying to educate those who are open to learning about history and facts. It’s daunting and sometimes depressing. But silence is unacceptable.
The book? “From Savage To Shaman”.
Written by a friend of mine—Johnny Medicine Bear, it’s on Amazon.
He used to fly fighter bombers during the Vietnam war. Then flew for American Airlines after he got sober and retired from the Air Force.
He helped me get over my fear of flying about 2011, when I was visiting him in Florida. He took me up in a teeny tiny piper Cherokee plane. It took me a good 45 minutes to even get into the little two seater. But I did it with his patience aided by my doing some EFT-tapping on myself.
I have not been afraid to fly since and even flew over the big pond to Scotland last year!
The book is a sort of a memoir/ autobiography.
I’m totally engulfed in it now!