TV ads I could do without

Two commercials I hate now, both of them for internet/streaming services.

In the first, there’s a boy shown in his family’s home transfixed with a tablet. He won’t look at anything else for days. He’s seen in his tree house and even in the bathroom with the device. He stares like a zombie and nobody stops him – or says “Are you done with your homework?” or “Put that damn thing down and take out the trash” – not even when he’s hogging the bathroom. The family goes on about their business around him. Now, I was silly, I thought he was reading something. Wrong. In the final scene he’s put out popcorn and snacks in front of the family TV. “What’s all this?” someone asks or words to that effect. “I’m all caught up and ready for the next season!” the boy exclaims. Final shot is of the proud family all snuggled up sitting in front of the TV.  They let their kid binge watch a TV show and are pleased with him for doing it!

The other ad shows a clearly divorced mother handing off her son for a visit with his dad at the father’s home. For the entire visit the two hang out online. They don’t ride bikes, they don’t play catch in the yard, they don’t make pasta sauce, they don’t have heart-to-hearts. They play together with their devices like two ten-year olds. At the end of the visit the mother returns for her boy. He gets into the car and immediately boasts to his mother how great dad’s WIFI is. Clearly feeling competitive, mom turns to boy and offers him cookies, saying how great mom’s cookies are. Boy happily reaches for the cookies. So basically, this former couple’s kid is going to get stupid and fat while they war over his loyalties. Nice!

Short Thought 237

If Amazon could they’d come have sex with you at your house as a benefit of Prime.

Casual Summer Sunday Outfit (Bargain Style)

I have this really interesting sleeveless Worthington top with asymmetrical sleeves that I found secondhand.   I love the colors in it and the line pattern makes me think tropical. It’s fitted and lady-like in its cut.

Aside: I also have a Ronni Nicole sleeveless dress in similar colors that I got at Ross marked down to a few dollars.  Something about black/white/lime is very appealing and not a combo I see often.

But this is about the top. I combined it with black shorts. The shorts aren’t dressy but at the moment they’re my only black shorts and I tried them on at it worked. The slight flare in the loose shorts offset the snug fit of the top.

Now here’s where this outfit gets fun. I have knock-off Vans I found at a Five Below store. I like them fine and have gotten good use out of them. They looked just right with this outfit.

Awhile back in a post on “Free and Cheap” things I’d acquired, I showed a couple pairs of sunglasses. I thought the polka-dot cats eyes would be great with the top.  Found at a big indoor yard sale at the fire house, they cost a quarter!

 

I wore my hair high in a bun and went with large silver hoop earrings. I typically wear colorful, dangly earrings but with a flashy colorful top I sometimes tone down my earrings and any other jewelry and “let the clothes do the talking.”

This is the only other jewelry I wore, a wide green cuff (fiund at a yard sale) that doesn’t get lost with the flash of the rest of the look.

Nature delights

I saw a clematis (flowering vine) in someone’s post which reminded me I’d taken photos of an especially beautiful one earlier in the year. It’s not mine but it’s too pretty not to share. Look at how there’s two different colors on one plant.

I’m a skink fan. At the end of June I saw this little guy while sitting in an outdoor patio. I was surprised because as you see there was concrete all around and no vegetation nearby. Skinks eat bugs not people food so I don’t know what he was up to.

Short Thought 236 (shocking memories)

When I was a kid girls babysat and boys got paper routes or cut grass to make money. I babysat often. One particular memory remains vivid. I don’t remember the particular people or even what kind of kids they had except that the kid or kids had gone to bed. I perused the family’s bookshelves and noticed a small book that had a racy title, something with the word sex or possibly nudes. I took the book down and opened it, only to get a bad shock, the literal kind. There was no sex or nudes, just a hollowed out space with a contraption to give curious readers (or hapless babysitters) a shock.