Television
I don't watch much t.v. - I couldn't tell you who was or is 'LOST' or why the 'Housewives' are so 'Desperate' (other than my own personal perspective)... I'm not certain if 'CSI' is currently solving crimes in Miami, New York or Pocatello, Idaho... And I guess I'm under the misguided notion that the show 'House' isn't a home decorating program.
A year ago March as the family was sitting around the dinner table watching yet another re-run of 'That 70's Show' (funny stuff!)... We had a discussion as to whether we were capable of doing without the t.v.... We have some friends that quit watching it altogether and wondered if we should, even could do the same? So my husband threw out a challenge... He said, "I don't think YOU (directing his comment to ME.) could go without television!" As though I alone sat gape mouthed in front of the tube for hours on end. Well... Don't think you can get away with insinuating that I'm a 'Couch Potato' and not have me respond in a defensive manner! I said, "Oh yes I could go without t.v.!" and he said, "I'd like to see you try it for a week."... I replied with, "Oh yeah, I propose the entire family go without t.v. for a month!"... The kids looked a little horrified at this point but as a family we ironed out the details of our plan/sentence. I admit, while cleaning up the dinner dishes I pondered the deal I had just made with some amount of distress... No 'Ellen'?... No 'Dr. Phil'?... No more 'HGTV' for a month??? My God, what have I done? However when the right person comes along and tells me that I CAN'T do something... Well, my resolve can be quite strong. The really goofy part of this whole thing was that just a week before we made this decision I had started receiving my new subscription to 'T.V. Guide'... A decision I had made because I was tired of never knowing what was on t.v. and when... Well, now I knew and I couldn't utilize it... Lots of things in my life are like that.
So my kids somewhat solemnly followed along with the plan... I think my son took it the hardest for a while but then he got more interested in his computer programming skills and began doing amazing things in that capacity. In place of television my daughter, husband and I began playing 'Scrabble' after dinner... Which as hokey as it sounds proved to be great fun and educational too!
It was tough the first few days... Because I'd often stop and think to myself, "Oooo, 'Amazing Race' is on and I'm missing it!" but it wasn't long before it just didn't seem important anymore. The other benefit I found to this whole 'No TV' thing was the time I'd normally spent being a passive observer became time that I utilized to further my creativity. Now I spend time doing things like playing the piano (I'm getting better but I'm still not where I'd like to be.) or working on art projects (although 'working' doesn't sound like an appropriate word for doing something I enjoy.)... And for better or worse I spend more time Blogging (the jury's still out on that one.)
Now, nearly a year and a half after I accepted my husbands challenge... I can't say we don't watch ANY t.v. at all but our viewing time has greatly reduced. We currently have only one t.v. that gets cable (that is if you don't count my sons computer... Where he and his sister watch 'Futurama' each weeknight). We have a television without cable in what we call the 't.v. room' but it's purpose is purely for watching movies (which we do once in a while.) As for what we watch... My son and I have a standing date every Saturday night to watch 'MAD tv' and 'Saturday Night Live' (When I was his age SNL was the end-all, be-all of television viewing... However, because my parents didn't approve of the raunchy content of the show, I always hoped I'd be babysitting at a house with a good t.v. and kids who mercifully went to sleep and stayed there... And those were the relatively benign days of Chevy Chase, Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray & Co.) As for today's SNL and MAD tv... It's fun to share in the humor with my son and MAD tv's Bobby Lee running around naked every chance he gets always makes us laugh.
About the only other time I watch t.v. is when I'm folding clothes... It's a pretty mindless chore so I usually go for a mindless show. Which means I either turn to VH1 and a 'Remember the 80's' marathon or my absolute favorite MTV and 'My Super Sweet 16'... If that show isn't a car wreck I don't know what is? The show both appalls and excites me... One minutes I'm thinking, "Oh my God how could this couple have raised such a little bitch?" (well, actually I'm not really all that surprised... but you know what I mean.) and then I can't wait 'til after the commercial so I can see if she really got her mom to consent to allowing her to wear the 'barely there, strapless, backless, hooker dress she picked up in Paris'... And yes, she did wear it and now every scene shows her tugging relentlessly at the dress to keep it all in place.... Ah yes, a PERFECT clothes folding pastime!
A year ago March as the family was sitting around the dinner table watching yet another re-run of 'That 70's Show' (funny stuff!)... We had a discussion as to whether we were capable of doing without the t.v.... We have some friends that quit watching it altogether and wondered if we should, even could do the same? So my husband threw out a challenge... He said, "I don't think YOU (directing his comment to ME.) could go without television!" As though I alone sat gape mouthed in front of the tube for hours on end. Well... Don't think you can get away with insinuating that I'm a 'Couch Potato' and not have me respond in a defensive manner! I said, "Oh yes I could go without t.v.!" and he said, "I'd like to see you try it for a week."... I replied with, "Oh yeah, I propose the entire family go without t.v. for a month!"... The kids looked a little horrified at this point but as a family we ironed out the details of our plan/sentence. I admit, while cleaning up the dinner dishes I pondered the deal I had just made with some amount of distress... No 'Ellen'?... No 'Dr. Phil'?... No more 'HGTV' for a month??? My God, what have I done? However when the right person comes along and tells me that I CAN'T do something... Well, my resolve can be quite strong. The really goofy part of this whole thing was that just a week before we made this decision I had started receiving my new subscription to 'T.V. Guide'... A decision I had made because I was tired of never knowing what was on t.v. and when... Well, now I knew and I couldn't utilize it... Lots of things in my life are like that.
So my kids somewhat solemnly followed along with the plan... I think my son took it the hardest for a while but then he got more interested in his computer programming skills and began doing amazing things in that capacity. In place of television my daughter, husband and I began playing 'Scrabble' after dinner... Which as hokey as it sounds proved to be great fun and educational too!
It was tough the first few days... Because I'd often stop and think to myself, "Oooo, 'Amazing Race' is on and I'm missing it!" but it wasn't long before it just didn't seem important anymore. The other benefit I found to this whole 'No TV' thing was the time I'd normally spent being a passive observer became time that I utilized to further my creativity. Now I spend time doing things like playing the piano (I'm getting better but I'm still not where I'd like to be.) or working on art projects (although 'working' doesn't sound like an appropriate word for doing something I enjoy.)... And for better or worse I spend more time Blogging (the jury's still out on that one.)
Now, nearly a year and a half after I accepted my husbands challenge... I can't say we don't watch ANY t.v. at all but our viewing time has greatly reduced. We currently have only one t.v. that gets cable (that is if you don't count my sons computer... Where he and his sister watch 'Futurama' each weeknight). We have a television without cable in what we call the 't.v. room' but it's purpose is purely for watching movies (which we do once in a while.) As for what we watch... My son and I have a standing date every Saturday night to watch 'MAD tv' and 'Saturday Night Live' (When I was his age SNL was the end-all, be-all of television viewing... However, because my parents didn't approve of the raunchy content of the show, I always hoped I'd be babysitting at a house with a good t.v. and kids who mercifully went to sleep and stayed there... And those were the relatively benign days of Chevy Chase, Dan Akroyd, Bill Murray & Co.) As for today's SNL and MAD tv... It's fun to share in the humor with my son and MAD tv's Bobby Lee running around naked every chance he gets always makes us laugh.
About the only other time I watch t.v. is when I'm folding clothes... It's a pretty mindless chore so I usually go for a mindless show. Which means I either turn to VH1 and a 'Remember the 80's' marathon or my absolute favorite MTV and 'My Super Sweet 16'... If that show isn't a car wreck I don't know what is? The show both appalls and excites me... One minutes I'm thinking, "Oh my God how could this couple have raised such a little bitch?" (well, actually I'm not really all that surprised... but you know what I mean.) and then I can't wait 'til after the commercial so I can see if she really got her mom to consent to allowing her to wear the 'barely there, strapless, backless, hooker dress she picked up in Paris'... And yes, she did wear it and now every scene shows her tugging relentlessly at the dress to keep it all in place.... Ah yes, a PERFECT clothes folding pastime!
posted by EmBee at 7:40 AM
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