Yeah, I know it’s the most wonderful time of the year. But it’s also time for Festivus, the holiday “for the rest of us.” So here’s a special holiday edition of my free monthly newsletter.
Created as an alternative to the commercialization of Christmas, Festivus is celebrated on December 23. It became part of American popular culture on the TV comedy “Seinfeld.”
I’m gonna skip the part about “feats of strength” and go straight to the airing of grievances. As a travel writer and a TV talent coach, I have a few things I want to get off my chest.
Trip Around the Sun
Facebook reminds me to wish all of my friends a happy birthday. But for some reason, they’re all celebrating “a trip around the sun.” Come on, people. You didn’t go on a trip anywhere. You were on the earth for one year while it did its normal thing. You and 8 billion other people. Please stop!
Take a Listen
The person on TV wants you to listen to a soundbite. So they say, “Take a listen.” Just no. You can take a look. You can take a leak. But you can NOT take a listen! This is just lazy news writing. Better to say something like, “We asked the president about that issue and he said this.” Roll soundbite.
What do you make of that?
This is just lazy interviewing. The program host just states the problem and says, “What do you make of that?” instead of asking a real question. This open-ended softball usually allows the person being interviewed to spew out some prefabricated talking points. Any host caught doing this should have to march into the boss’s office and give back their paycheck. All of it.
‘Tis the Season for the Grinch
Every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas, newscasts seem to break a record for starting every story with this tired cliche of a song lyric. I’ve heard ‘tis the season to go shopping, spend money, avoid ripoffs, gather with love ones, pack your patience, give to the less fortunate, etc. And that’s just in ONE newscast. When I was anchoring, I only allowed ONE ‘tis the season per show. Use it wisely. And while we’re at it, not everyone who commits a crime during the holidays is a grinch. OK?
Fairy Tales and Hidden Gems
I live part-time in a part of Europe that is often described as a “fairy tale.” This always makes me cringe. Anyone who spends more than 30 seconds looking up the actual history of the place would encounter nightmare stuff like war and genocide. Hardly a children’s bedtime story. Better to tell us why the scenery is so charming rather than fall back on this cliche that really doesn’t tell us anything. And if insta-bloggers are writing about something, it’s no longer a “hidden gem.” Got it?
Droned Out
Why does every travel post these days have drone footage? While it may be a fun hobby that produces stunning pictures, it doesn’t tell me anything about how to plan a great trip. Am I supposed to flap my arms and fly over the destination? The damned drones shouldn’t even be up there in the flight path, unless they have jumped through all of the hoops for the required permit. Tell me about a rooftop or mountain peak where I can access those magnificent views myself, please.
Well, I’ve reached my quota of grievances. I could go on about why those e-cards that up my inbox during the holidays don’t quite bring the same amount of joy as a real card with a postage stamp on it. Bonus points if the sender took the time to add a personal message. I guess I’ll just have to feel special because someone hit the ‘send all’ button for their contact list and I was on it. Seriously, thanks for thinking of me, I guess.
And one more thing…
I have a few more grievances about social media platforms that don’t allow content creators to share in the value of what they create. Yeah, Facebook and Instagram, I’m talking to you. No, I won’t be paying you money to promote my posts. YOU should be paying ME for the content. I’ll be spending more time on platforms like Substack and YouTube. I hope to see you there!
And then there’s my new book on Amazon, for those of you who’d like to get all warm and fuzzy about the good old days of early TV in Los Angeles.
This holiday season, I am truly grateful for those of you who took a moment to sign up for this free newsletter, subscribe to my YouTube channel, or actually read one of my travel posts. So thank you from the bottom of my grinchy little heart and the streets of Ljubljana, a hidden gem that lights up during the holidays like a fairy tale.
After all, ‘tis the season to take a listen, or just take a trip around the sun in your drone. Merry Christmas!
Thanks for the nice ecard, which is an exception because of the cute golden retriever. And it's from you!
It's fun to read, and conveys real information and insights. Maybe sprinkle it throughout the year? Or, just go for an annual grinch rant.