Every once in a while I have to remind myself that "things" were NOT "better" in the old days. Intrusive ads are hardly a new thing, and back then it was quite acceptable, even expected, to make a whole studio audience of captive kids sing along to the Silver Cup National Anthem. This was all to get the kiddies to harass their Moms into buying this soft, white, spongy bread. It wasn't even Wonder Bread,but some pretender.
I suppose I have to get back to this blog some time, especially since, to my surprise, I'm still getting comments on some of my past stuff. Lately it's been far too personal, but I assume nobody reads them anyway. I've always been against getting too personal online, but there's a temptation when you've been through an ordeal, and I've never faced anything even remotely like this before. One more of those, and I'm finished for sure.
It's slow. I'm used to 45 minutes of brisk walking a day, and am now lucky to get in 15 or 20 at a much slower pace. I lost 8 pounds from the ordeal, and am making a concerted effort to gain as much of it back as I can. My obsessive counting of calories for my entire life has been completely reversed. Now I have to eat all the things I couldn't have before, but ironically, I no longer want them. Food is like medicine now. I suddenly feel like an invalid. I'm getting my life back bit by bit, including my channel, but it has been and will be a long haul, with many backsteps. I know recovery isn't a straight line - God knows I've had to face it over and over again in my life - but this seems more like a vortex or a whirlpool determined to suck me down forever.
The video, well, I had to go into a long explanation about the women's dresses "blowing off" (yet another of many illusions in this brilliant scene), and how they wore bodysuits underneath. Why did I have to do this? YOUTUBE, that's why. I almost certainly would have gotten a "decency strike" (again) if I had allowed this flagrant display of "nudity". So who thought they were actually nude? You can plainly see one of the women pull up her strap, which I am sure was left in to appease the censors. The bit where the woman "falls" also had to be carefully explained. She didn't really fall, folks! It was all "pretend"!
Yet other channels post the most appalling stuff, with no penalties.
I finally had to go with YouTube Premium, which basically means no ads (or is supposed to - when will they break their own rules?). Nothing is free any more, but YouTube now is not even remotely like it used to be when I signed up. That was another lifetime ago, of course. I am actually purposely not looking at views, and trying to focus on the many comments I get every day on my much older stuff, including things I posted five years ago and forgot about. The mad chase for views and $$ and all that stuff was wearing me out, and when I returned to my channel after a four-month hiatus, I promised myself I wouldn't do that any more. It means I can't even look at them now for fear my eye wanders down to the view count. If I could find a way to disable it - and maybe there is, but I just don't see it.
