Tag News

Uncovering a Hidden Harvest

Michael Leave a comment

Every now and then, someone does something so terrific you have to sit back and say to yourself, “Wow, there are some really good people out there.” I recently saw a story in the news about what I hope isn’t a unique program to rescue food right from our collective backyards.

Every major metro area has some kind of food rescue program where restaurants and retailers donate unused prepared food or near to expired meats and cheeses or bruised produce to local food banks rather than toss it all into the dumpsters. In Pittsburgh there is a group that is rescuing food going to waste right under their noses. Or rather, above their heads. That is the unharvested fruits and nuts from neighborhood trees.

fruitThere probably isn’t a neighborhood in the country where fruit and nut trees don’t provide shade and beauty to their homeowners. But how often does anybody consider how much food those tress, so often considered solely ornamental, bear? Apparently the Hidden Harvest Pittsburgh group, and now as part of 412 Food Rescue, has considered just that since 2014.

Considering that there are fruit and nut trees all over America there must be similar programs elsewhere. But a quick internet search came up pretty empty. In fact, I had a hard time finding much information about the Pittsburgh group and I was certain that I hadn’t imagine the news report during some weird dream filled night. If that was the case, I would have given up trying to find out more about them. But I pressed on, or more accurately, clicked on.

What I did find out about them is that 412 Food Rescue’s Hidden Harvest team uncovered 2300 pounds of food from backyard and city park trees this year. Now that’s a ton of rescued food. Literally.

That’s what I think. Really. How ‘bout you?

To see the news cast that I didn’t dream up, click here.

An All American Special Edition

Michael Leave a comment

It’s not Monday. It’s not Thursday. Why is there a Real Reality post today? Because it’s Presidential Debate #3. Before you go running off, stick with me for just a minute. This is NOT a “political” post, it is NOT an endorsement, it is NOT a rant. It’s a plea to the American readers to stop and take a breath. I can’t take listening to the rants of everybody else – door knockers, phone callers, TV ads, political “experts,” and the so-call politicians themselves about how unfit these choices are.

Stop! I don’t care if you are fervently supporting one or the other, if you use your head and are truly honest to yourself, you see it too.

Look, every election from the second one has had at least one candidate harping on why the other candidate(s) is and/or are unfit for the office. But this has to be the first time that there have been NO ads by a candidate extolling past positive results by him or herself. If you were in the position to hire an employee for your workplace would you sit through an interview where the candidate never speaks to his or her past results but rather details the reasons why the other applicants are irresponsible choices and you shouldn’t have even ever considered them? Likewise, it you were applying for a job that comes with a guaranteed four year contract and the option for a similar extension, would you not probably spend as much time and energy as possible documenting your past work experience, successes, references, and plans for advancement?

For as many elections as I remember I have heard people say “I don’t like John Doe so I’m going to vote for Joe Smith.” But again, perhaps for the first time, are there television ads of people saying “I don’t agree with [fill in the blank, they’ve both run them], but I just can’t vote for [t’other one] so I’m going to vote for someone I really don’t care for either.” I’m sure when each party saw who the other party was going to nominate for president cheers went up around the wargames tables. And then when each party saw who their party was going to nominate for president eyebrows went up.

You know, there actually are other choices. On the presidential ballot in every state there will be a third candidate. Yep, if you really can’t see yourself brushing the touch screen (does anybody still have levers?) for Clinton or Trump you can consider Johnson. In at least 45 states (as of the end of last month, perhaps more by Election Day) you can also consider Stein. Don’t know who those other two are? You won’t see them on tonight’s debate any more than you’ll see any rational discussion of platforms, policies, or proposals. Plop them into your favorite search engine and search.

I meant what I said when I began this post. This is NOT an endorsement. I don’t mean to tell you that you should consider voting for a third, or a fourth party candidate. What I do mean to tell you is that if you are really going to make your vote count you better be making that vote based on something other than sound bites, attack ads, and non-debates. It takes more than just voting to do your civic duty. It takes casting an informed vote.

That’s what I think. Really. How ‘bout you?

Hooked on Fonics

Michael Leave a comment

We were sitting at a bar nibbling on appetizers and reading the closed captioning on the television above it.  We’re not certain how many hearing challenged individuals use closed captions but it is a boon to the bar industry.  Anyway, we were watching the printout and wondering if they use real people with court reporter skills or computer voice recognition software.  Certainly if it is software the mistakes are understandable since English so rarely looks like it sounds.  But then again, it seems that lately it so rarely sounds like it sounds also.

It wasn’t too much before we were sitting at that particular bar on that particular day that we were sitting on He of We’s sofa watching the season’s long overdue first hockey game (we won, yippee!) and the post game show that followed.  It was during that particular post game show after that particular game on that particular day that we decided we will never ever watch that particular sports anchor again.  He couldn’t even get past the intro without stumbling over the words that marched across the teleprompter.  Remember, this was after a win.  The intro could have been, “The long awaited first game brings home a win.  Details after these messages.”  We could have come up with that!

He wasn’t one of the weekend fillers who might have been a little nervous over the extended exposure that post game anchor duty would bring to him or her.  No, here was the channel’s number one sports guy.  So we gave him the benefit of the doubt.  Perhaps he hadn’t gotten his contact lenses in the correct eyes.  Perhaps the teleprompter went on the blink and translated everything into Latin.  So we waited until after these messages to hear the recap of the game we just spent three hours watching.  Three “ahs,” four “umms,” one complete stoppage in the middle of a sentence, and a feeling he was seeing the video clips for the first time were enough for us to change the channel, never to go back when he is in front of the camera. 

The only task this man had to do to perform his job, one for which he is quite handsomely recompensed, was read.  He didn’t have to write the copy, he even didn’t have to understand the copy.  He only had to read it.  And he couldn’t pull that off.  Was he blinded by new spotlights?  Were his contacts really not in correctly?  Was he as drunk as the post game interviewees appeared to be?  Was he completely clueless about hockey?  We’ll never know.  And now we don’t even care.  Although we do often wonder why the post any kind of game interviewees all seem to be drunk as lords.  But that’s a post for another day.

This whole event reminded She of We of a telephone solicitor who called her and then couldn’t get her name right.  She of We has a very simple name.  It has only six letters in the perfect ratio of vowels to consonants.  It is a classic English-speaking American name.  Yet not only did the solicitor not pronounce it correctly, when She of We brought this to the solicitor’s attention, she became arrogant and demanded to know why she was being disrespected when she was just trying to do her job.

There aren’t that many jobs where all you have to do to execute them successfully is to read out loud.  You’d think if you got one of them, you’d take a little time to, umm, practice.

Now, that’s what we think.  Really.  How ‘bout you?

No Comment

Michael Leave a comment

Is this happening where you live?  Some significant local news story breaks – a shooting, arson, bank robbery.  The local reporter corners an eye-witness.  “Tell us what you saw,” and the eye witness breaks into details so significant you can hear the District Attorney breathing harder.  But, the witness doesn’t want to appear on camera or give his/her/its name.  So the camera man focuses on the tattoo on the witness’s lower leg that says “I Love Brunettes” in Olde English lettering surrounding a cheesecake portrait of Stephanie Powers in her 1980’s TV role in Hart to Hart, perhaps a portrait tattoo of the witness’s seven children, or the inscription “Jane Doe Loves John Smith (crossed out) Joe Jones (crossed out) Mary Queen of Scots.”  Nothing too unique.

It wasn’t that long ago that we saw on the evening news just that.  The TV reporter telling us that the witness didn’t want her face shown but the cameraman had a clear shot of the snake tattoo climbing from her foot (with the green nail polish) up past the ankle encircling her shin.  Haven’t these people ever heard of the phrase “No comment?”  Or is he lure of being on television, even without being identified by name, too much for them?

We used to wonder about the intelligence of the TV eye-witness back when all you had to go on was the lack of front teeth, the baseball hat proclaiming the last tractor pull world championship, and the t-shirt with the logo and leftover barbecue sauce from the rib cook-off of four years previous.  Now those people were at least colorful.

Recently we saw an eye-witness to a break-in across the street from the witness’s house where he was ‘just sitting” on the porch.  He didn’t have a silly hat.  He didn’t have a dirty t-shirt.  He didn’t’ have a tattoo that we could see and we could see a lot because he didn’t have any shirt on.  But he also didn’t mind his face being shown.  It was a good counter-point to his shirtless body that the cameraman was having a tough time capturing all in one frame without his wide lens.

Don’t these people know they are going to be on television?  Didn’t anybody tell them that when the truck with the call letters and the guy with camera and the lady with the microphone show up there would be a chance that a few people might be watching the film at 11?  It significantly lessens the impact of the details that we now wonder if they were really that observant or were they fantasizing in whatever drug or alcohol haze they were in.

We used to think that the eye-witnesses who didn’t want to show their faces but let the cameras roam over their fairly unique and identifiable tattoos were just stupid.  Actually we still do.  Sorry, Mr. District Attorney.  You can stop breathing hard now.

Now, that’s what we think.  Really.  How ‘bout you?

 

Petty Woman

Michael Leave a comment

The TV news reporter looked his serious look hard into the camera and solemnly stated, “In a story that is gripping the nation…”  We were ready to hear of a terrorist attack, the death of a major statesman, a family kidnapped by aliens while trout fishing (the family, not the aliens).  Instead we got, “…Miss Pennsylvania has given up her crown claiming the Miss USA pageant is a fraud.” 

Really?  That’s gripping?  That’s captivating?  That’s breaking news? To be fair to the beauty pageant followers of America, there was a lot of news this week from the Miss USA competition. 

Six of 11 young women were not able to name the Vice President of the USA.  One of those not able to answer correctly, Miss Nevada, explained, “We were up really late.”  Miss Rhode Island, the ultimate winner of the contest was one of those asked and answered correctly.  Thank all who count on that one.  It probably scored an extra point for her.

Miss Ohio’s ideal woman, an inspiration to her, the perfect woman not hampered by reality but created through a movie producer’s vision and the film that features a woman as a role model to all women, was a hooker in a movie about a hooker living the good life on somebody else’s nickel.  A good looking hooker, a Pretty Woman even, and an interesting twist on the Eliza Doolittle story, but still, just a hooker.  In our opinion, My Fair Lady was not only a better role model but had better music too.    

Not all the news came from the pageant.  Some came from the news covering the pageant.  During the same Q&A session that provided us with prostitution as an aspiration, once again ultimate winner Miss Rhode Island scored bonus points.  She answered the question, would it be fair for a transgender to compete in the Miss USA competition with, “… so many people out there who have a need to change for a happier life, I do accept that because it’s a free country.”  That statement earned her the comment “(her) victory was for more than good looks; it was for common sense and dignity” from the Boston Globe.  Of course it is only common sense that someone needs to surgically alter oneself to achieve happiness while also undignified to try to provoke happiness from within.  They left out freedom.

Then there is the big man himself, the Donald, trumping all the news claiming he’s going to sue Miss Pennsylvania for calling his contest a fraud.  Those are strong words according to the gazillionaire and if he doesn’t get an apology he’s going to take his ball and go home.  No, that’s not true.  He never said anything about balls, but if he doesn’t get an apology he’s going to sue her.  Maybe even if he does.

Taking one’s ball and going home is nothing new for Miss USA.  The whole competition is based on not playing well with others.  Started in 1952, the Miss USA pageant was created over a tussle between the Miss America pageant and swimsuit sponsor Catalina.  Not to be left without its share of publicity, Catalina started its own Miss USA and Miss Universe to boot.  More women, more swimsuits.  

It’s just all too gripping for us, and not the least bit petty.  And on top of it, we think we’ll hold off going trout fishing for a little while.  Just in case.

Now, that’s what we think.  Really.  How ‘bout you?

 

All the News That’s Fit to Overlay

Michael Leave a comment

A funny thing happened the other day while we were watching the eleven o’clock news.  We lost sight of it.  Between reading the crawl along the bottom and the severe thunderstorm watch announcements along the side, and the scroll beneath the reporter telling us what building she was standing in front of, we never heard what happened at that building.

Sports scores are the only thing you want to know?  Tune to one of the sports channels and it doesn’t matter what is playing because the scores will be marching across the bottom of your screen.  Need to know if you can wear open toe shoes to work?  Lock in the local 24 hour news channel and the weather forecast is “always in view.”  Did the traffic ease up any?  Turn your dial to the major local stations and watch the live traffic cam in the corner of your screen.

If you have enough time some morning turn on one of the national news networks.  There you will find a split screen with two or sometimes three anchors taking turns spouting something.  A t the very bottom will be a scroll with regular news.  Above that will be a wider band of travel conditions including delays at major market airports.  Focus a bit higher and we have the band of “Breaking News” headlines.  Just above that will be the blurbs highlighting whatever it is those people in the main screen are talking about.  Turn your attention to the left of the screen and there will be a vertical band with the nation’s weather forecasts displaying the high and low temperatures and pictograms of the sun with or without clouds, raindrops, and/or snowflakes for every city in alphabetical order.  Except yours.  Along the right edge is the schedule of what will be coming up in 3 minute increments, excluding commercials.  And somewhere is the time.  Which you are quickly running out of right along with your patience. 

All that information and when you turn off the TV you can’t remember what happened in the world today.  If you should be hearing impaired or just preferred to have the closed captioning turned on, now there is yet another box competing for space on the screen and attention in your brain.  Just because something can be done – a cute graphic for partly sunny or a countdown to the next story – doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to do it. 

We’re willing to let the producers of these news shows into our homes to watch us while the newscasts are on to see how we absorb the information presented to us.  We’ll be the ones reading the newspaper.

Now, that’s what we think.  Really.  How ‘bout you?