Musing of the Moment: Father's Day Thoughts

There's a common saying that goes, "Happy wife--happy life." 

I don't like that expression at all. It's based on common gender stereotypes that women direct their husbands' happiness and that the husband's (or father's) mainly depends on keeping the woman happy. 

In addition, the expression is heteronormative. 

Just think if there was an expression that started "Happy husband"? 

People might think, "Wait, why is he happy? What's he up to?" 

It's still uncommon for people to think that husbands/father's can be sad, which is a point Bill Burr makes in Drop Dead Years about the "male sadness epidemic."

I too have the "regular depression," not the clinical kind. I can be "sad." 

Today on Father's Day I'll be drinking the last bottle of wine I took from my father's assisted-living apartment after he passed away.

He died years ago. A couple of years I drank the other bottle I had from the apartment, which was a Chardonnay. 

The one I'm drinking today is a Pink Moscato, which isn't really on-brand for me. I'm more of a drinker of Zinfandels, Cabernets, Merlots, Syrahs, and red blends. 

Regardless, cheers to all the sad dads out there. 

And I miss you Virg. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The New York Times has a helpful article about simple moves one can make to remain healthy and live longer: "5 Science-Backed Longevity Hacks That Don't Cost a Fortune." 

The article validates my daily practice of walking the dog. I could get back to doing dumbbell work on my upper body though. 

And I'm a big fan of fresh fruits and vegetables. 

"Training my brain to be more optimistic" isn't realistic though. I've been a grouchy 80-year-old man trapped in a younger body since I was a kid. 

Regardless, one has to be concerned because I am currently in the drop-dead years for men that the comedian Bill Burr talked about in his most recent stand-up special on Hulu. 

Burr has an appropriate take on Musk, his DOGE goons, and the cronies of President Adolf.

I especially like the rant on his podcast. 

In bizarre news, the person nominated to be oversee the Bureau of Land Management under the Department of Interior withdrew because people found that she wrote a letter that was highly critical of Moscow Don's lies about the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol. 

She stepped down because they found that she was critical of the lying autocrat, by being disgusted at what happened on Jan. 6th. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I've heard of French bread, and I've heard of Italian bread. But this is the first time I've had French Italian bread. 

What manner of culinary mash-up of this? They didn't even have the grammatical acumen to use an hyphen. 

I'm sure I've said this before on this blog, or maybe I just have thought it many times. I don't go to Walmart often, but when I do, I feel much better about myself. 

If you want to feel better about your body image or your sense of style, go to Walmart. You'll feel like a healthy and well dressed person. 

The New York Times did an interesting analysis. Apparently the retaliatory tariffs from other countries are going to hurt areas that widely voted for President Adolf: "Trade War Retaliation Will Hit Trump Voters Hardest." 

I think it's pretty clear we are headed to a showdown about the Constitution and about what the Executive Branch can and cannot do. I don't feel good about with the makeup of the Supreme Court. 

Perhaps this trend has always been the case, but based on my history of watching Reels, my trinity of jokesters is Norm Macdonald, Bill Burr, and Seinfeld (the TV series). 

I started watching Krapopolis on Netflix. Episode 11 that uses the Hydra to signify social media was a brilliant move.