Tony At 10: TONY'S TOP TEN TALES OF TRIVIAL TORTURE. BLOG NUMBER 89; JULY26,2013

Welcome Readers

WELCOME TO TONY AT TEN. TUNE IN WEEKLY TO READ MY BLOGS. THEY CONTAIN TOPICAL OPINIONS, ILLUSTRATIONS, QUESTIONS, QUOTES, LEMONS OR LAURELS, CLIPS AND MORE.

I AM NOT ATTEMPTING TO PURSUADE OR OFFEND ANYONE. MY COMMENTS ARE AN ATTEMPT TO VENT MY FRUSTRATIONS, DISAPPOINTMENTS OR FEELINGS OF GRATITUDE. IT IS NOT MY INTENTION TO LECTURE OR PREACH; RATHER, I HOPE TO RAISE QUESTIONS AND CREATE DISCUSSIONS AMONG FRIENDS AND READERS.

I WAS RAISED A CATHOLIC BUT HAVE SINCE LEARNED TO THINK FOR MYSELF. I AM A HUMAN BEING FORTUNATE TO BE LIVING IN A FREE COUNTRY; THEREFORE, I AM ENTITLED TO MY OPINIONS WHETHER THEY BE RIGHT OR WRONG, POLITICALLY INCORRECT OR OFFENSIVE IN SOME OTHER MANNER.

READER INPUTS ARE WELCOMED. THEY CAN BE POSTED AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH BLOG UNDER COMMENTS.

TONY'S TOP TEN LIST:

Number 10. BANK CHARGES

Banks use your money to make millions but charge YOU fees.
Here's the deal: you get 29 cents interest but pay 20 dollars per month in bank fees.

Number 9. WOLF BLITZER / PIERS MORGAN

Both talk too much.

Wolf breathes annoyingly at the wrong time while attempting to complete a sentence and is the 4th ugliest man in the world.

Piers is too opinionated for a Brit living in the USA. He frequently argues with his guests, interrupts them and tries to humiliate them.

Classic examples of KNOBS!

Number 8. BLATANT BULL SHIT

and here's more bull shit for you to swallow

The use of insincere rhetoric by politicians at election time.

but I give money to charities

The media overuses the term 'Scientist' in most cases, in order to lend credence to their THEORIES.

The over-use of respect-seeking concepts and terms like first nations and african americans.

Jesse Jackson says I'm an African American

We were here first!

People who lie in order to achieve their objectives.

Number 7. THE NHL

The league has too many teams in places that don't care about hockey.

Players salaries, like all professional athletes, are exorbitant.

Player agents are leaches.

COULDN'T EVEN BRING OUR OWN HOT DOGS

Ticket prices for families are far too high. "These tickets cost me a week's salary. but my kids are ecstatic."

Number 6. DOGS IN THE CITY

Some areas of the city experience excessive barking in the early morning.

Morons leave them tied up and barking in front of coffee shops while 'the master' sips his coffee.

Dogs should not require a leash. They are born to run free.

Many dogs have an odour issue unsuitable for public buildings or condos.

Number 5. SPAM EMAILS

Unsolicited ads giveaways, specials, discount pricing etc.

Letters from Nigeria that promise to give YOU millions in return for all your personal info.

The barrage of various On Line Casino promos and hypes.

Number 4. INCONSIDERATE DRIVERS (and passengers)

Overuse of the one finger salute

Some drivers have a penchant for lunacy on contact with the steering wheel.

Intersection blockers that pull forward on a green light even though there is no way that they can clear the intersection. This of course leads to incessant honking by those blocked.

Large trucks in the passing lane who have pulled out to pass another semi,
on a hill, with a clear highway in front and a line of cars behind.

Cab drivers who give no thought to where they stop, how suddenly or how dangerously they stop or how badly their vehicle stinks.

Number 3. TV PRODUCTIONS

Directors who demand real acting, a lowered or whispered tone in a critical scene, and at the same time call for dramatic and loud music that makes the dialogue hard to hear and difficult to follow.

Camera angles that show the back of a speaker's head. Again it is difficult to hear and follow.

Written on-screen messages with not enough time to read them.

Public tv channels that boast about the lack of commercials yet spend far more time on camera pitching for viewer support

Number 2. MEDIA EXCLUSIVES

The Media worries more about being first with a story rather than using responsible reporting

The Media interviews witnesses who add nothing to the story: "Oh she was a lovely person. Full of life." or "Oh ya I heard a 'boom'. It was really loud!"

REPORTER:" How did you feel when your son was run over by the garbage truck?"
PARENT: "Did you really graduate from High School?"

Axe grinding campaigns that last for weeks but contain very little, if any, new info.

News reporting that contains political bias

.......And the number one pain in the ass

TV COMMERCIALS

Co-ordinated Networks. In order to discourage viewers from switching channels during a commercial, the Networks have co-ordinated these breaks to occur at the same time. I relieve my headache somewhat by making use of what I call 'the Blab Switch' .....MUTE! Others use the opportunity for a bathroom break, a snack retrieval, more beer or a spousal chat.

Repetition of ads. It is totally unbelievable how often an ad is repeated. It must be very expensive to create an ad because they use the same ones over and over. I did some unofficial research by paying 3 of my grandkids to watch 3 different networks on TV from 6 Pm to 1 AM and record the number of ads per hour (36); the number of times an ad was repeated (top score was 4); what the ad was trying to sell and which ones they found totally annoying. (98%). The most frequent commercials pertained to the insurance, automobile and pharmaceutical industries. The duration of ads ranged from 15 seconds to 45 seconds. The highest number of commercials recorded during a break was 8 (more than enough time for a pee). The most annoying ads were 'pharmas' that promised instant relief while warning viewers that all varieties of side effects and even death could result from the use of their product. The second most annoying came from the Subaru and Dodge Ram ads (it was declared a tie).

The ad catch phrases that were most heard and despised were:

"Call now."; "There's never been a better time."; "Ask your doctor if Abilify is right for you."; 'I'm Harrold the Jewellery buyer. Oh Yaaaa"; Call the Preszler Law Firm and remember you don't pay unless we recover money for you.""