“Ron & Jen’s Great Escape” – 10-6-2021 – Ron St. Pierre & Jen Brien

by Ron St. Pierre and Jen Brien, Ron & Jen’s Great Escape

FACEBOOK FOLLIES

Facebook and Instagram went down for about 6 hours on Monday and something INTERESTING happened.  2 groups of people were instantly established. Those who were overjoyed we slipped out of the technological cesspool for a bit – and those who were in full panic mode because their value and existence is defined by how many clicks they receive on a posted selfie. 

We recognize that’s not the kindest thing to say – but, hey, if the shoe fits…

It was so nice to not have to wonder or worry what ugly narrative about society was being spread about by politicians or the media. It was so nice to have bottom feeders and bullies silenced for a short while.

We long for the days before this technology. We spoke with many people yesterday who said the same. Surprisingly, even some millennials said it was nice not to be staring at an electronic device looking for validation for a few hours. Still – there were others online last night once the platforms were restored saying those hours seemed like time “without oxygen”. Wow. We can only assume that crowd watches way too much KUWTK and filters every photo. What have… no – WHO have we become?

Think about that as you go about your day today. Maybe it’s time to head back to a flip phone. 

We’re seriously considering it. 

FACEBOOK BY THE NUMBERS

*FACEBOOK makes  $3,700 per second

*Yesterday’s outage cost the company $70 billion

*It cost Mark Zuckerberg $6 billion personally

IN MAC WE TRUST

Ok. It’s OVER. THANK GOD!

We  HAVE to admit – Neither of us watched one sec of Sunday night’s game in real time. We DVR’d  it. We both went to bed early and watched the highlight reel early the next day. 

We both also decided to avoid sports talk last week as the ramp up was all about the Pats getting their butts whomped and Tom Brady unleashing 50 points on his pitiful old team. 

In one of our podcasts, Jen declared the final 24-21 Pats. Ron predicted a blowout. Yea, we were BOTH wrong, BUT –  Jen was RIGHT that it was close (Jen likes being right, BTW).

She never thought for one sec’ the PATS would be humiliated. They have a really good team. 

They’ve had a huge turnover in staffing – new additions learning the drill, and rookie Mac Jones. 

That kid is something special. He outplayed Tom Brady with grit and tremendous poise. The biggest stage set – and that young man showed up and wowed us all. We may not get to the Super Bowl this year but here’s what WE GOT! A reason to set our DVR’S when the Pats play!  Last year was so dreadful we both actually tuned out at least 3 games. Jen even admits tuning into a LIONS game for entertainment. Cam Newton did his best, but – it was nails on a chalkboard bad.

Now – we have hope- we have excitement- we have the future! 

IN MAC WE TRUST

P.S GO Josh GORDON! Still love you!

DIAL DOWN HOLIDAY EXPECTATIONS

You might want to set the bar low for this year’s holiday season. It’s not looking good on the gift giving front as supply chains are choking delivery on everything the country imports from abroad… and that’s a LOT of stuff. A semiconductor shortage impacts the production of everything from cars to phones to toys. Did we get ourselves into this mess by failing to invest in domestic manufacturing? You bet!

CDC’S HEART IS THREE SIZES TOO SMALL

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is once again recommending virtual holiday celebrations as the pandemic roars on. Humbug!

COURIC KIBOSH

Katie Couric’s new tell all book “GOING THERE” disses just about everyone from Dianne Sawyer to Prince Harry to Debrah Norville to CBS honcho Les Moonves so it’s no surprise CBS has banned her from promoting the book on its network. By the way, she says Harry wreaked of cigarettes and booze while Moonves had bad breath.

_____

Ron St. Pierre is a veteran broadcaster whose career has spanned over four decades. Ron has programmed, performed on and managed WHJJ, WPRO, WWRX, 790 The Score in Providence, as well as WBZT and WKGR in West Palm Beach and WABC in New York City. Ron also anchored sports on WPRI Ch 12 in Providence. He is a member of both the Rhode Island Radio and Television and the City of Pawtucket Halls of Fame. He was born and raised in Pawtucket.

Jen Brien has over 20 years of radio broadcast experience having hosted shows on WPRO and WHJJ with Ron as well as her own shows on WRKO and WBZ in Boston, WXTK on Cape Cod and WHAM in Rochester, New York. Jen was born and raised in Woonsocket and served six years in the Army MP Canine Unit.

Hazel, Ron’s dog, makes regular appearances.

“Ron and Jen’s Great Escape” podcast, a more lighthearted reaction to the events happening around us, can be found on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts, with new episodes premiering Mondays and Wednesdays.