truth or...

Dare
I must admit, I never saw any allure to this "game".
Watching Bernadette and Amy's interaction with Penny on "The Big Bang Theory" really brought that home for me.
That was nearly eight years ago.
Before that, every time I saw the game being "played" in movies and other television shows, it was an opportunity for those who were alike to traumatize the one player who was different, the one player who truly had been brave and dared to share their company.
I've never played that game and never want to do so.
Isn't a game something which should encourage discourse between all of the players and lead to enhanced bonds of friendship?
Truth or Dare? seems to be designed only to socially embarrass at best and emotionally - or even physically - harm at worst.
No, thank you, I'll find others to befriend.

Consequences
First, I must clarify: I speak not of the town once known as Hot Springs, New Mexico.
I'm focusing on the television show.
Begun as a radio show in 1940, it has a strong resemblance to a more recent show that I loved: "Cash Cab". "Truth or Consequences" featured good-hearted fun, coupled with corny jokes and teary-eyed family reunions, with maybe some professional stunts thrown in now and then.
It was on tv with Bob Barker as host from before I began grade school until I started high school and was a big favorite for my family.
Good times!
What did I learn from that humorous show?
Every action, every word, every deed is met with a resultant action, word, or deed.
Best to make them good ones!

Lies
This time, the reference is not to electronic games, nor to games or game shows, either on television or radio.
It's a bit more complicated - and widespread - than that.
Every time a headline appears in print or on television or on the internet, every time a sound bite introduces a story on the radio or tv or online, the question must be asked:
Is it truth or is it lies?
The onus is truly on us to determine the answer.
"If it bleeds, it leads" is more than just a slogan for so-called "news" agencies - it's the way they earn their money, catering to ad agencies that believe the public thrives on such fare.
For a movie which truly looks at the media, check out "Sanju".
That just bolstered my choice to not watch most "news" programs or listen to talking heads on radio ever since I was in college in the mid-1980's.
Remember the story about the explosion of the Challenger shuttle?
That was on January 28, 1986. I was in the school cafeteria when the news swept the room. Other students had been watching their favorite soap operas when images of the explosion interrupted their viewing.
And those images were repeated over and over and over...
and I said "oh!" mournfully and sobbed each time.
No more of that kind of news program for me... ever.

So, what sent me down this path today?
A crossword puzzle.
I like to work on Matt Jones' brain teasers after my Sunday breakfast.
Today, I was catching up on a puzzle from before my trip.
21-Across was "Classic Nickelodeon game show with a 2018 reboot".
26-Across, coupled with 44-Across, was "Getting punished for one's actions".
50-Across was "Fleetwood Mac's last Top 10 song".
Okay, that resulted in "double dare", "suffering the consequences", and "little lies".
Then game the unifying twist, in 65-Across: "Word that's considered an alternative to the last word of each theme phrase".
Truth.
Heard?