२९ सप्टेंबर, २०१९

“My wife quit watching Fox News as the news was so boring and depressing, too. I see Althouse is also bored.”

Writes Michael K in the comments to “Just another Sunday morning.”

Let me be a little annoyingly precise about what you’d see if you really knew me well. First, I am not bored. I’m never bored because I protect myself from intrusions and I continually go in search of what interests me. I have the luxury at this stage in my life to look at what I want, and I write only what gratifies me, which is sometimes to let you know what I don’t want to look at. If I found even that boring, I would not have written “Just another Sunday morning.”

As for watching TV news, it’s something I’ve rarely done in life, so it’s nothing for me to be getting tired of now. I read the news. I like to cut and paste and blog. But you can see that I only blog what feels intrinsically rewarding to me. The TV news requires video clips or transcripts, and sometimes I use these, mostly after I read about something. I hate the TV news because it sounds ugly to me, and I truly loathe ugly sound. I used to monitor the Sunday morning shows — 5 of them — but I stopped months ago. Too much yelling, too much over talking, too much anxious perseverating about what all the good people think, too many repeated talking points. And the visuals aren’t much better than the sound — all the grimacing, mocking, scolding faces.

It was hard to accept that Tim Russert died and he’s never coming back, but eventually I saw that even the Sunday shows are not what I can accept into my mind — a place I keep in comfortable good order. Thanks for reading this blog, by the way. If you like it, maybe it’s because you have the sense that you’re only getting what a real person (me) truly felt was valuable to think about in writing.

८४ टिप्पण्या:

rhhardin म्हणाले...

If you like it, maybe it’s because you have the sense that you’re only getting what a real person (me) truly felt was valuable to think about in writing.

Comments bounce off the mistakes that an intelligent woman voter tends to make.

Nathan म्हणाले...

I love it, and please keep doing it!!

rhhardin म्हणाले...

I stopped watching news the 1960s because it was too stupid. As the cartoon said, two monkeys watching the TV, "This stuff is aimed at the intelligence of a rhinoceros."

That's back in the old days that people refer to.

Some shows were good, e.g. Get Smart.

Mark म्हणाले...

Tim Russert wasn't any less ugly than now. He was only softer and had a patina of politeness about it. Like Uncle Walter before him.

jaydub म्हणाले...

I don't always agree with your opinions, but I don't question your honesty, which is what brings me back each day. I don't watch the news either, which is a habit the wife and I shook while we were living in Spain for five years and it was hard to watch US news. Coming back to the US a few months ago, I tried to watch the evening news programs and got so frustrated with their spinning and obvious partisanship that I quit them completely. I think it would be a miracle if the network and cable news programs ever regain an ounce of credibility. They are really trash.

Unknown म्हणाले...

It's too bad you don't find the Sunday morning news shows worthwhile any more, you made some good comments on them. I can't say I blame you.

narciso म्हणाले...

Well the prenises are down right daft:
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2019/09/29/he-continues-rudy-giuliani-wrecks-abcs-narrative-engineer-george-stephanopoulos/

Kathryn51 म्हणाले...

For years - especially after I retired - I always had Fox News on in the background while reading Althouse on the computer, paying bills, reading a book. Finally realized I'm probably ADD (not sure how I got through law school).

My kids still think that I watch FNC all the time because that's the way it was before they moved out. That's what they tell their millennial friends, with a smug "mom only listens to Fox".

I still have to listen to something in the background, but right now? at 6:30 PDT? it's NCIS Los Angeles re-runs on something called the ION channel. This year, I've listened ("watched") to the entire series of Monk, The Closer, and quite a bit of Matlock.

When the OIG releases the FISA report, I'll turn back to the news. FNC 80% of the time and 20% CNN so I know what drivel my lib friends are listening to.

Marcus Bressler म्हणाले...

Tim Russert was also biased; he had this SMIRK. But because he wasn't as batshit crazy as today's hosts, you think him balanced.

THEOLDMAN

Jon Burack म्हणाले...

The ONLY TV news I ever see (not watch) is on the monitors in front of the tread mills at my YMCA, which I can see as I round the indoor track doing my normal three mile jog three times a week. (Yes, I am bragging, since at my age it is something to brag about.) I can see the CNN monitor as I run, and nearly 100% of the time, I see "Trump" somewhere in the printed crawl line. I see the crabbed faces of the talking heads. I never stop to find out what the substance is, because I know it will be a variant of what it always is. The objective of it all as near as I can tell is to gin up the anxiety level of the viewers to a fever pitch and keep it there. I assume this is the best way to ensure they keep coming back and to deliver them to advertisers in the most pliable state for whatever relief those advertisers want to sell them. I am very happy to be free of all of it, and totally undersetand Ann's take on it here.

David Begley म्हणाले...

I agree with Ann about the Sunday shows and I only watched today because I knew they would go whack about this Impeachment thing and I was right. To the Fake News and Dems, impeachment is a done deal.

themightypuck म्हणाले...

I had to look up perseverating. Good one. This is my second new old word of the year. The other is traduce. Can't believe I missed that one for so long.

narciso म्हणाले...

They leave out all the interesting details re atkinson bakaj cofer black blue star strategies,

narciso म्हणाले...

So whats left the narrative about the non existant weapons hold, lutsenkos contradicting the written record.

readering म्हणाले...

I usually disagree with Michael K but I agree with him that AA seems to fear being bored by tv news dominated by impeachment and stays away to avoid boredom. I do the same, but because of tv news not impeachment. (Great news on that from other sources.y

Wince म्हणाले...

Chris Wallace parroting Schiff’s “digging-up dirt” fantasy “paraphrase” rather than recounting from the actual transcript that Trump asked a treaty partner to investigate 2016 election influence and Biden corruption was enough to tell me how unbalanced Wallace is.

stevew म्हणाले...

The news shows aren't boring, quite scintillating in their energy output, but so filled with opinion and invective they aren't, really, news shows and so fail to inform and educate. I don't watch them either. As others here have said, it's been years.

Fwiw, keep doing what you're doing. I find it interesting and provocative, in a good way. Not too happy about the impact of moderation on the conversation - retards it - but certainly understand the necessity. The comments are valuable, even the snarky and sarcastic ones. Meade's a hoot, even in his rare appearances.

Skeptical Voter म्हणाले...

Ugly--a lot of the national and cable news shows when pushing their political agenda(s); or mindless---the car chases and car crashes that are a big part of local television news.

Ugly and or mindless, there's reason to avoid either.

StoughtonSconnie म्हणाले...

Tim Russert lied to Patrick Fitzgerald’s Grand Jury to maintain the MSM fiction that Scooter Libby leaked Valery Plame’s identity. It killed me when that became obvious, because I grew up worshipping the Sunday morning shows because my Grandpa watched them and my mom gave me an autographed copy of Russet’s autobiography. But Russert’s complicity made me aware of what the GOP and conservatives faced when addressing the media.

Amexpat म्हणाले...

Way back when, I used to watch the news regularly because I thought it was important and the way to keep in touch with what was happening. Today, I can't watch CNN, FOX and MSNBC. Not because they are biased, we all are to some extent, but because they are so brazenly stupid.

PluralThumb म्हणाले...

I have watched a lot of television in my past and can easily confuse some people by using random references without a link to any kind of idea. I have read some books, that at the time I can mostly describe as enthralling. I had a time where I could not distinguish memories from something I watched or read, nor the plot connection/continuation. I found solstice in a show called; Who’s line is it anyway. This specific blog draws my attention because outside of intelligence a human factor is important when the world may be confusing or scary and divided by differences or unjust misunderstanding. Boredom is not a factor when I visit here. I can not speak for others and their interest for this blog.

narciso म्हणाले...

Wilson was in partnership with very familiar saudi businessmen, probably on the take from cogema to look the other way, interesting the fellow who wrote the inr memo had been in nianey three years before

narciso म्हणाले...

Largely true, tucker gets to some deeper issues, a few others but its mostly drivel.

rcocean म्हणाले...

I stopped watching Sunday talk shows almost 20 years ago. They all consist of two parts: The host asking some 'Newsmaker' questions and journalists talking about the news of the week. The second part is always boring. That leaves the "Newsmaker interviews". Those became dull because the internet allowed you to know their political positions before they even cam on the Shows.

And they became EVEN MORE dull when the networks abandoned any pretense of objectivity. Every R interview became a liberal journo vs. Conservative Pol debate. Every D interview became a liberal journo ASKING a D politician what his position was. We actually had Clinton's Press Secretary taking the spot over from David Brinkley.

As for Russert he was the King of the "Gotcha" question. Which is entertaining but irrelevant. GO back and see some of the old "Meet the Press" or "face the nation" of the 50s and 60s. Those - for the most part - were substantive interviews of news makers designed to inform. The journalist didn't debate, they asked questions. Usually biased lefty questions, but still questions.

Lyle Sanford, RMT म्हणाले...

1) - I so agree with you about the "sound" of TV news chat. It's a mystery to me how people can accept it. I can't believe it's conducive to mental health.
2)- "Anxious perseverating about what all the good people think" is a terrific formulation.

Birkel म्हणाले...

The moderation is great.
The worst of the trolls cannot hijack a thread.
The one-hit-wonders still drop by and say something silly.
But that is the dog barking as the caravan moves along.

The only Sunday show I watch is Maria Bartiromo's.
She's informed.
Her guests get time to answer.
And she asks tough questions.

Birkel म्हणाले...

I want my news to provide new information.
I do not want informed (or biased) speculation.

The only shows that deliver that are the business news networks.
CNBC and FoxBusiness during Wall Street trading hours play it straight.

Leland म्हणाले...

Once I realized the true meaning of "if it bleeds and leads"; I've never really been interested in mass media news. There is so much more real news that doesn't bleed, but it doesn't provide the drama that modern journalist seem to crave. In that sense, I rather have boring. More to the point, I'm never so bored that I need to manufactured excitement of mass media news.

Bay Area Guy म्हणाले...

2 importantant facts:

1. The Sunday political shows suck; and
2. Althouse is great.

Well, maybe those are opinions, my bad.

I used to love the Sunday morn ABC show with David Brinkley, Cokie Roberts, Sam Donaldson, and George Will. Religiously watched it, even if hungover. That was 30 years ago. It's obviously gotten much worse with short Greek Clinton butt-boy, George Stephie. He is 5'7 and making the rest of pay for it.

Two-eyed Jack म्हणाले...

I watched today and it was one lie after another. The journalists lie. They say things happened that are only alleged to have happened. They say things are too complicated to explain so that they can avoid explaining. They tell us their nightmares and expect us to be scared.

Quayle म्हणाले...

Broadcast and print “news” are for-profit capitalist business that sell screen watchers’ and readers’ eyeballs to advertisers. End of story.

They don’t have to tell the truth or tell anything reasonable or tell anything at to get those viewers and readers. They just have to get them. Therefore, I consider virtually everything they say or write is a calculated and carefully crafted script to garner eyeballs. Which translates directly to money. To me there is no difference between what they call “news” and the soaps.

Ralph L म्हणाले...

I found solstice in a show called; Who’s line is it anyway.

A good show to binge, say, one or two days a year.

JaimeRoberto म्हणाले...

According to my wife today's news is more biased than Pravda was.

traditionalguy म्हणाले...

Sunday morning coming down. I have been enamored by the Mind of Althouse for many years,and it has only gotten better with her recent retirement from Law School duty. We also owe a big thanks to Meade for watching over her.

narciso म्हणाले...

Meanwhile they are still trying to bury netanyahu with the legerdemain that carolyn glick described the other day

MountainMan म्हणाले...

I occasionally watch Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business 0600-0900 weekdays, sometimes on my iPad while eating breakfast. Only news show worth watching. Sometimes watch her on Sunday. I don't go out of my way, only if there is nothing else to do. And most of the time I have something to do.

Honestly, I haven't watched a Sunday news program since I left home around 1970. I grew up watching "Meet the Press" with Lawrence Spivak, but only because my Dad watched the show and I enjoyed watching it with him.

Was a big fan of Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser on PBS years ago. His opening monologue was the best 5 minutes on TV. Sad when he died, felt like I had lost a friend.

Kathryn51 म्हणाले...

Bay Area Guy said. . .

I used to love the Sunday morn ABC show with David Brinkley, Cokie Roberts, Sam Donaldson, and George Will.

At one time, I TAPED that show (VCR) every Sunday so that I wouldn't miss a show. David Brinkley - together with Chet Huntley (NBC days, I guess) personified journalism. George Stefi. . . just a prick.

Crazy World म्हणाले...

You are the best Ms. Althouse. Meade too and its early still here HST.
Blessings

bagoh20 म्हणाले...

I hate talking to people in person, becuase I can't do small talk, and everything else leads to politics, which is always uncomfortably contentious these days. Thus, I watch TV to hear people talk about issues without having to be part of it, but it is all so narrow and repetitive that you only have to watch for an hour a day or less to get all they have to offer. There are morsels of good stuff from smart people, but you have to wade through too much filler to get those. I like to watch on demand video from smart interesting people who present points of view and information without the kind of senseless back and forth that dominates TV news shows. The arguments on TV are all too predictable with paid liars just throwing shit and trying to influence without shedding any real light. It often has a real feeling of paid opinions delivered by operatives.

I argue my politics mostly here because in person with personal friends it's too dangerous and uncomfortable. It's amazing who you can get along with in person if you avoid politics.

bagoh20 म्हणाले...

I watch Sundays least of all. They have the most bullshit by far, but Sundays have always been for preaching to the choir.

Iman म्हणाले...

I turned 67 years old this last Wednesday and I have never seen as much division as I do these days, and it's disheartening. But then I remember that there are a lot of people out there across this great land that do not get caught up in the craziness... they still have common sense and behave accordingly.

And that gives me hope for my children and grandchildren.

cf म्हणाले...

althouse and michael K are both dear to my heart. America! ahhh.

Sebastian म्हणाले...

"I only blog what feels intrinsically rewarding to me."

To be annoyingly precise about what you'd see if you really knew your readers, that is not quite true: you occasionally throw out an item or story for the benefit of your readers. Though perhaps you'd want to distinguish between posting and blogging.

"it sounds ugly to me, and I truly loathe ugly sound . . . Too much yelling, too much over talking."

Interesting that your major objections are esthetic. Figures. For my part, I loathe prog propaganda and its dishonest low-IQ propagators.

themightypuck म्हणाले...

Just a note that Moldbug is back in a much less interesting and more socially acceptable version of Unqualified Reservations. He, like Ann, is making the argument for cruel neutrality. https://americanmind.org/essays/the-clear-pill-part-1-of-5-the-four-stroke-regime/

narciso म्हणाले...

Yes i have gained more appreciation for what you do here, and what you put up with.

Guildofcannonballs म्हणाले...

For every cunty wannabe expat, there are 100,000 Althouses.

In PA, WI, and MI.

LakeLevel म्हणाले...

I miss NBC News Overnight with Linda Ellerbee. And so it goes.

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

StoughtonSconnie said...

"Tim Russert lied to Patrick Fitzgerald’s Grand Jury to maintain the MSM fiction that Scooter Libby leaked Valery Plame’s identity"

Yes, I also thought at the time that Russert lied through his teeth, and it wasn't that I thought he told Libby that Plame was Wilson's wife, but that he lied flat out about discussing Wilson at all with Libby in that phone call. This not only contradicted Russert's grand jury testimony to some extent (he claimed he could rule out discussing Wilson at the grand jury), but then in the trial he testified that he couldn't have talked about Wilson because he didn't know at the time who Wilson was. This didn't come close to passing the laugh test since the story was major at the time of the phone call- it was a lie, and he told it because it is what really sunk Libby at the trial.

I also lost all my respect for Russert for the same reason.

n.n म्हणाले...

I prefer my news black, with a slice of [Wisconsin] cheese, and served electronically.

Heartless Aztec म्हणाले...

My sentiments exactly. There's a good chance we would be friends if we knew each other in real life.

exhelodrvr1 म्हणाले...

Russert is not the icon of unbiasedness he is held up to be. He was just nicer about it.

BUMBLE BEE म्हणाले...

I now listen to Dennis Prager and Hugh Hewitt (Patriot Broadcasting) for news and interviews. Currently MSM tells you what to think about what they reveal, (which is clearly slanted). There's more info in the links here, (narciso), than any news show. The MSM knows it is a dying media, everybody spewing to outdo the others so they hang onto a job. I've dropped Drudge like a bad habit. Tucker Carlson and Gutfeld on Fox. Althouse blog still is tops. Apelbaum and Sundance were discovered here.

Rob म्हणाले...

I’m convinced that Tim Russert named his book Big Russ and Me because his publisher insisted he couldn’t name it Me. Russert prided himself on his legal training and loved to couch his questions as if they were cross~examination. Unfortunately he would present guests with supposed inconsistencies that were in no way inconsistent. “You say the sun rises in the east, but isn’t it true that one year ago you wrote that it sets in the west?” And the malarkey about the Buffalo Bills. Okay, Tim, you’re just a regular guy. We get it. It took death to shut him up about the effing Buffalo Bills.

Mr. Forward म्हणाले...

Yelling and grimacing faces. Yup. That's why I listen to the rebroadcast on C-span radio while watching professional wrestling.

rehajm म्हणाले...

If you like it, maybe it’s because you have the sense that you’re only getting what a real person (me) truly felt was valuable to think about in writing.

No. That's not it.

Professional lady म्हणाले...

I watch very little TV at all. I figured out how stupid the media is back during the Reagan administration. Not too long ago I was in a hospital waiting room where they had CNN on the TV. I complained. What a way to get people even more stressed out in an already stressful situation! I wanted to silently pray and had to listen to and be distracted by that blather. Not only that, it was very early in the morning. I think the incessant idiocy and hate harms people's brains and intellects. I really think people get addicted to it - like pornography.

Howard म्हणाले...

Either I'm very bored or I buried Paul, I forget which is true.

rehajm म्हणाले...

Russert's takedowns were good. He'd make the pols sit and squirm while he'd parse their quotes that were on the screen. HE wast a leftie so his problem lied in the bias of choice of topics. He was a special forces straw man warrior, too...

Russert and his whiteboard taught me about the nuances of electoral college politics. Hillary never watched Russert, apparently...

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Unwritten rules are part of the oppressive white male culture. Against them, you can have impeachment at will now.

Gentlemen's agreements implies men.


viator म्हणाले...

I have for many decades been haunted by a image I once saw. It was a road crowded with fleeing WWII refugees. In the foreground was a lone woman, very well dressed including a hat, carrying a heavy suitcase hampered by her dress shoes. Meanwhile, over head German fighter bombers made a run at them. I have meditated for many years over that image and wondered how events led to that catastrophic failure. I expect one cause was prior indifference.

Char Char Binks, Esq. म्हणाले...

I value what I garner here.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

I do still have a TV set up in the kitchen in case I want to play chess again against my Vic-20. It's sort of in the back of a lot of piled up debris. I don't think it would even work as a TV these days, the channel modes having changed long ago.

J2 म्हणाले...

You could have posted your extended thoughts on Sunday talk without referencing/scolding a commenter.

How many of your commenters have their own tags?

You should create a tag for "tagged commenters".

J2

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Another Monday. A new econtalk.org episode. Unfortunately they've been awful for many years now, talks with diversified guests with idiotic topics instead of cynical economists on human behavior. Traditionally I always check though.

Look up the very early Richard Epstein of Mike Munger interviews for great stuff.

There's no archive of great TV news programs because there weren't any.

rehajm म्हणाले...

Not too long ago I was in a hospital waiting room where they had CNN on the TV. I complained.

Not too long ago I was in the waiting room. I won't say the name (Beth Israel Pain Clinic in Brookline, MA). The TV was tuned to CNN, the volume was inappropriately loud for the size of the room and there was a laminated sign hanging on it that read DO NOT TOUCH THE TV OR TRY TO CHANGE THE CHANNEL!!

Assholes.

Amadeus 48 म्हणाले...

Hey Howard--Turn me on, dead man.

Some Seppo म्हणाले...

I watched TV news/ opinion shows during and shortly after Bush v Gore. It was compelling and there were actual experts as guests.

Not long after that an explosion of "experts" began appearing on the shows and they devolved to shouting matches. One day I asked myself if I learned anything watching. The answer won't surprise you. I quit watching in 2003 or so and never went back.

MountainMan म्हणाले...

“ Not too long ago I was in a hospital waiting room where they had CNN on the TV. I complained. What a way to get people even more stressed out in an already stressful situation!”

Agree. Most of the doctor’s my wife and I use have switched to HGTV for the waiting room. No controversy, no stress.

320Busdriver म्हणाले...

I caught Peter Schweizer’s talk with Levin last night. They talked a lot about the Biden/China connection and especially what Hunter Biden got in that relationship.

Absolutely insane the BS our politicians are engaging in.

But no one seems to care. So why do I?

Professional lady म्हणाले...

I friend of mine underwent chemo for breast cancer not too long ago. Needless to say, she spent a lot of time in waiting rooms. Her son put an app on her phone that allowed her to turn off the TVs, reduce the sound, or change the channel without anyone knowing who did it.

Howard म्हणाले...

Goog Morgan, A48

Fernandinande म्हणाले...

News. I haven't watched TV news for more than a few minutes, well, ever, for all the already mentioned reasons.

making the argument for cruel neutrality.

I never liked that phrase because "cruel" generally means not neutral: "disposed to inflict pain or suffering", or "willfully causing pain or suffering to others, or feeling no concern about it."

Phil 314 म्हणाले...

My wife and I are at church Sunday mornings.

There the news is always Good.

Maillard Reactionary म्हणाले...

rhhardin said: "It's sort of in the back of a lot of piled up debris."

Based on the pictures in your photo blog, I'm not surprised to read that.

On the other hand, it is a good place for a TV set.

deepelemblues म्हणाले...

Who knew the professor was so sensitive about accusations re: boredom. Not causing it, but experiencing it herself!

Everybody gets bored.

vanderleun म्हणाले...

Trouble in Paradise.

Michael K म्हणाले...

I still have to listen to something in the background, but right now?

My wife is the same way. Now it's animal shows.

Michael K म्हणाले...

. David Brinkley - together with Chet Huntley (NBC days, I guess) personified journalism.

Yes. I watched them when I was in college. I(f you like Brinkley, read his book, "Washington Goes to War." It tells you a lot about how we got the swamp.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves म्हणाले...

The balance of power in media is completely out of whack. They launch into who segments with false or misleading premises. It's not news, it's opinion and wishful thinking masquerading as news.

On top of that, any and all negative information about corruption on the left- is squelched.

Narr म्हणाले...

If it wasn't for C-Span and the Weather Channel I'd probably not watch TV at all.

Gave up on the network news decades ago--I knew 50% more about any topic discussed than 90% of their experts, and 99% more than the newscritters. The obvious bien-pissantery was one thing, but the sheer ignorance was worse . . .

My wife and I didn't have a TV from about 1977-1986. But when our son was born we decided it would be too weird for him to grow up in America without TV. Of course we watched too much, but none of us are all that screenrapt now, not the TV screen anyway. (I wouldn't have seen Ren & Stimpy or Roundhouse if not for watching Nickelodeon--cultural treasures IMHO.)

Here at Althouse blog, I find--overall--a variety of voices, a diversity of opinions, deep knowledge, clear analysis, vivid expression, and strong opinions pungently expressed (or pungent opinions strongly expressed, or both). These, alas, I lack in my daily personal interactions, or find at many other blogs.

Narr
I've always enjoyed the company of know-it-alls

Michael K म्हणाले...

But when our son was born we decided it would be too weird for him to grow up in America without TV.

Two friends of mine here in Tucson raised three boys with no TV. They could play video games but no outside TV. They would come over to our house to watch TV once in a while. All three are now college graduates, two with Engineering degrees and two are Naval Aviators.

Unknown म्हणाले...


Listen to Ariel Pink here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP2d8yZzhdM

Tom Grey म्हणाले...

...it’s because you have the sense that you’re only getting what a real person (me) truly felt was valuable to think about in writing.

Yes, AND, what you say about those things is brief and to the point.
And interesting to me.

I also like blogs far more than TV - yet you seldom quote other bloggers.
Like my other favorite lady blogger:
http://www.thenewneo.com/

George म्हणाले...

Ann, I start my day with you.

It may even be at 3:30am (Sydney time) as it was this morning, jet-lagged after an overseas trip.

What have you done for me in the hour or so since I started?

1 I have read reviews of Noble Savages as well as two NYT articles about Napoleon Chagnon
2 As a result of 1, I put Noble Savages on my Wishlist
3 As a result of 2, I skimmed book reviews from the Australian Review of Books (a lot of climate change alarmist stuff this month) and the Spectator
4 As a result of 3, I put the Tove Ditlevsen Trilogy on my Wishlist
5 I then decided to buy three of the books on my Wishlist (Noble Savages, Childhood by Ditlevsen, and Serotonin by Michel Houellebecq) because there was enough reading there that I could get it postage free
6 I then returned to your blog, read this post and wrote this comment
7 I then cursed myself for not buying the books through your Amazon portal

It is now 5am and I am going to get another hour of sleep before getting up.

Thank you for the great start to my day and please accept my apologies for the portal stuff up. I will try to be better in future.

Keep on keeping on