WHO THE ^%#@&^%* CARES?

I was walking by the newsstand on Bleecker Street this morning and looked over to see this cover beaming its message like a 2,000 watt bulb...closing my eyes, and shaking my head, couldn't stop the staccato reactions in my head...they were many, and noisy, yet the two common, bottomline notions were, "who the fuck cares" and "does anybody REALLY wonder why this society is so fucked up?" I mean, seriously...Tom Brady and Giselle whateverhername is? Forget the absolute ridiculousness of that kind of money being spent on a home...none of my business, it's their dough, they can do what they want...I am simply talking about a New York major newspaper - allegedly a publication in the area of something formerly known as "journalism", broadcasting absolute nonsense - worthless information - to the world. As if it matters. At a time when the world is (literally, in many ways) on fire, across the vast universe, the issues that need to be addressed, the challenges we face, and the crying out by so many for a world that needs prioritizing of systemic values. And, we get this instead. The fucking guy doesn't even play for a New York team, for God sakes (not that it would change my point). When I was a kid, there must have been at least 7 daily newspapers (and the NY Post was the liberal beacon, mind you), and that was a far cry from the days when there were tons more than that. Now, just walk by those super magazine stores and see what's going on...what the covers are promoting, the gossip and bullshit and celebrity nonsense that underlies a culture that is getting dumber and dumber...at least it seems that way to me...less informed...in a general sense, not the people "we" know...People Magazine may have launched a whole industry, but by comparison, they are the Harvard Review of Books, given what's there at the supermarket...my friend, Tracy, with whom I was on the phone when I walked by the Love Shack cover, remarked that we still need, obviously, more wake up calls...people look, and then take it in (maybe), and then ignore...and the press, what are they doing? Stories - life altering stories and events - like Katrina, and Haiti, and onandon, come in to our lives, and as quickly as they arrive, they disappear...a reflection of our culture's attention span...next blurb, next fiasco, next tag line, next disaster...what is going on? I hope Tom and Giselle are very happy...