TV on Friday

[gene]

I find myself getting more and more turned off by TV.

I listen to wonderful music all day at work and come home to the TV blaring about murder and mayhem.

I find it increasingly annoying when someone starts to tell me, with much sincere emotionality, all the details of some horrible or disastrous event and I realize that they are talking about a TV show or a movie.


An upholsterer retired a few years ago in my area. He was 80 years old. He did not retire because he was 80. He retired because his wife had Alzheimers and he wanted to take care of her himself for as long as he could. He was unable to take care of her and run his upholstery business, so he retired.

If he had retired at age 65, and

if he had stuck his wife in a nursing home as soon as she got sick, and

if he did not die before the age of 80 from a sedentary life style, then

he could easily have watched 55,000 hours of TV during those 15 years.


Socrates, (470 BC - 399 BC) is quoted by Plato (427 BC 347 BC) as having said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." I would like to point out that neither Socrates, nor Plato, had TV.


I wonder if it is the upholstery work I do that is negatively impacting my desire to flat line my brain on TV?

gene

[SteveA]

Pushing 60 - I was raised in front of a TV. I remember seeing the wizard of  oz for the first time and than my Dad came home with a TV that played in color. Man that was the best.  Saw JFK, the Giants, Bonanza, My three Sons, ........ can't say nothing bad about TV.  Now it's baseball or crime shows...  Boxing after Dark, Leno, Soprano's, this Old House, and lately Rough Cut and yes Fox news - .  I'll keep the TV even if it's frying my brain. 
SA

[sofadoc]

Remember when Andy and Barney didn't want to hurt Aunt Bea's feelings? So they bought pickles at the grocery store, and switched the jars. Aunt Bea won the blue ribbon at the county fair, and the episode ends with Andy and Barney trying not to grimace as they force down one of her terrible tasting pickles.

TV taught us lessons like that back then. We should spare the feelings of the ones we love. If that episode aired today, it would be more like "Hey look here Bea! These pickles taste like ##!!@@"

Or the one where Opie got fired on purpose, so the kid who really NEEDED the job could have it.

Back then, we only had 3 or 4 channels to watch. Now I've got over 100, and I end up on TV Land watching the same shows that I watched when I only had 3 or 4 channels. 

Some say that TV is a bad influence on us. Others will argue that the ole' "Boob tube" is merely a reflection of an already warped society. I dunno.

All I know is, I have one....and I watch it.

Mostly live sports, Food Network, TV Land, and yeah, a few guilty pleasures like The Sopranos.

One trend that disturbs me. If you ask a young adult what news they watch, many of them will say "Extra", or "Access Hollywood". That's their idea of hard news.

[gene]

"Extra", or "Access Hollywood"

Yes, I just can't stand it every time I hear that Kim Kardashian's ass has gotten a bit bigger. I worry about the girl sometimes. LOL

Maybe it's too much foam spray glue that is mellowing me out. I buy a can of cheap spray glue at Walmart and they need to veryify that I am over 18. I can buy cases of foam spray glue, or in gallon form, from my upholstery supplier and they couldn't care less as long as I don't kill so many brain cells that i forget to pay my bill.

I told the last guy at Walmart who needed to verify my age to give me some credit. I said if I want to huff I certainly wouldn't use Walmart spray glue. I then said, "Oh. I forgot. Can you tell me where the paper bags are?" He was my age and I think he grew up in a tough neighborhood also. That gave him quite a laugh.

gene

[Mike]

when I was a kid I got a plastic tommy gun and a army helmet with camo net like on combat and I remember all the kid play outside n the rvning and somebody would yell out  BATMANS ON and it repeated down the street BATMANS ON and everyone ran in to watch

[jojo]

Me like TV.
I really do, and I hate that I do. That said, I do feel the reality television trend is getting out of control. There are several shows starring redneck hillbillies, where it's actually necessary to sub title. The people are born and raised in America, but they are illiterate and barely verbal. I do worry about the popularity of these shows, as they seem to glorify stupidity and bad behavior.
I'll stick to the History Channel, the Retro TV channels, and PBS.

[Mojo]

I watch TV in the evenings and for the most part we watch History, Nat geo, etc. channels. I love documentary shows and refuse to watch sitcom's, drama and other BS shows.

The reality shows used to be very entertaining a few years back but then producers started faking or staging events and ruined a few of the shows. One of my favorites though still remains Deadliest Catch. And we think our jobs are bad. I do not know how those guys can grind on the deck of a ship for 24 hours.

I have been on a buying spree of late purchasing old series videos in sets. I have the entire Dr. Quinn series, The Waltons series and Little House on the Prairie. I also own the entire movie series of Love Comes Softly. I still think I was born in the wrong period and would have preferred living back in the 1800's. ( How was it back then Dennis ?  :)

We are probably not to far off from calling the cable company and telling them to piss off. I am getting tired of their price increases. At that point we may look into going to Amazon TV or one of the other ones or just watch shows off the Internet via HDMI to TV.

Chris

[kodydog]

We gave up satellite TV over 8 years ago. I raised a 40' antenna with amplifier and at times got 50 channels. It all stopped working about 6 months ago. Haven't had time to figure out why but don't really care. Life goes on, life is good.

[byhammerandhand]

I hate to confess to this, but my nephew is a lawyer that had a real life bit part on "Gypsy Sisters" (or "Redneck Gypsies," or whatever it was.)    We watched a program to see his two minutes of fame.  But it was painful.

[sofadoc]

........ and would have preferred living back in the 1800's. ( How was it back then Dennis ?

All I remember is, I really hated wearing 12 layers of petticoats when it was 114 degrees. OK, just kidding (I didn't start cross-dressing until much later).  :D

We didn't have tack hammers back then. I had to use the butt of my colt 45.

[Mojo]

........ and would have preferred living back in the 1800's. ( How was it back then Dennis ?

All I remember is, I really hated wearing 12 layers of petticoats when it was 114 degrees. OK, just kidding (I didn't start cross-dressing until much later).  :D

We didn't have tack hammers back then. I had to use the butt of my colt 45.

LOL.....:)

Despite not being able to pour piss from a boot. Your still a hoot.

( Dang that rhymes. Maybe I should quit this business and become a writer for Hallmark ). :)

Chris

[Mike]

No no. MC. MoJo   Or Master Mojo. Rapstar ;)