Cutting the cord

i don't bother with tv anymore. i want to watch something entertaining, i throw in a dvd, i want news, i have a dsl line, i want porn, well same thing...

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by bronskrat I was thinking of subscribing to Netflix.com. Anyone else use it? How quick is the "return-my-dvd-they-send-another" process? [/QUOTE]

They're really quick and its convenient. They even send you a postage paid return envelope. The only problem is you never know whats coming next. You give a wish list and they send you whats available.

I'm kind of addicted to Law and Order (the whole franchise) Court TV and CSI. It doesn't interfere with my life though. Its not like I have to be home at a certain time to watch a show or freak out that I didn't tape it.

I wouldn't mind getting rid of it all together but BF needs Food Network.

I stopped watching TV the week before Lent (wow, that makes it nearly fifty days then) and found that what everyone said about TV is true, it is very addictive. I'm kind of ashamed to admit it, but I even had dreams in which I was watching TV, cause it was that hard to break the habit. But now that I've stopped, I have no respect for it at all. I go over to people's houses and blow up at them because they're wasting their lives watching "The Bachelor." I don't know if cutting the TV has done me any good, other than I read a lot more than I used to. But I'm definitely much more of an esoteric literary bitch than I used to be, which I didn't think would be possible.

Suffice to say if I ever went over to any of your houses for tea and you were watching Oprah or something, well...I don't see how I would be able to continue the friendship.

"After a couple of weeks, I didn't even miss TV."

Anyway. I look forward to the day when all my entertainment needs can be met on the computer. I feel that day is fast approaching.

Still, there's something to be said for certain shows I will go out of my way to watch, like "The Daily Show", "The X Files" "Homicide:Life on the Street", "Law and Order", "Absolutely Fabulous", and the death and destruction shows they have on TLC.

Then again, I've never been a big TV watcher. If I turn on the TV at random and there's nothing I like on, I can actually turn it off and go do something else. Most people I know still sit dumbly in front of the thing until something else comes on. That, I can't understand.

you got that right. i learned when i quit watching tv, that i can fully enjoy a dinner. that and there's nothing like a bottle of wine (white, and dry) a baguette (sourdough, or something very dense) and a pack of natural tobacco cigarettes, or a stogie, just sitting there, talking and eating. another habit i've picked up off dear old papa.

Yeah, I hate the fact that my living room is centered around the tv. I like the old days of sitting rooms.

i stuck mine in my crawlspace. people say to me "there's something different about your living room" and i say ever-so-innocently "so you like my new carpet?"

Is it just me, or is it hard to differentiate if the guy pictured on that article, FCC Chairman Michael Powell, is a black guy or a white guy? Probably both.

Anyway, I agree that being addicted to TV sucks. Being addicted to anything sucks. But like insomnomaniac was saying, there are some shows worth watching. As long as TV watching doesn't consume your life, I think its okay to watch Jon Stewart rip on George Dubya.

well, I'll let you all know if I come to any epiphanies of thought as I go thru withdrawal.

no, no epiphanies for me, just much much more free time, and a bit more clairty of thought.

And the fact that you don't have to constantly rely on TV to have a good conversation, e.g., "Did you watch Friends last night? It was hilarious!"

yea, exactly. i do not watch other people experience things, instead i go out and have some of my own.

adult swim rules

tv is the opium of the masses today. it has easily and quickly replaced religion in the minds of many.
adult swim, funny yes, but also a waste of time.

Uh, I'm missing the adult swim reference....

i waste my time with adult swim! not every night though. mostly just sunday's. if it weren't for that, i wouldn't watch tv at all.

yes, adult swim is good. ..and yes, six feet under is kind of dwindling.. everytime i watch it, it becomes more of a soap opera..and i am supposed to be able to watch it and think its just a good show and that im not just watching an evening soap opera. ..but i still think its the most intelligent thing, save the obvious history channel-type options, on television.
and the characters are great.
i really dont watch that much along the lines of tv shows..except for hbo. i am more of a movie watcher..so i guess i do watch a lot of television since i have some sort of film on quite frequently. . . and i wonder if i should turn it off, since i dont really need movies i suppose..or if i should keep it on because maybe i do need movies in some way, either because i like them, want to make them, or maybe something within their story or their structure is needed. maybe its okay to keep watching as long as i learn from them, in both or either content or composition. if i am going to make films, then it would be logical to watch them..but how much time spent watching them can be justified within that? movie-watching doesnt impugn on any other activity, so i see no reason to stop because of time constraints..but maybe i should find something to do during that time that is more constructive.
ah, fuck it..ill keep watching..im in college and there is much time to be bored and fill that time watching films.

okay, so adult swim is a television show thats on every night? Is that correct?

i don't think you can say that EVERYTHING on television is a waste of time. take the news, or 60 minutes, or documentaries, and yes, even the daily show--it can be a source of information. it just depends on whether you use TV to watch "the bachelor" and "taildaters" or if you want to be communicated with on a higher level.

yeah that's how i watch TV mostly. i'm much more mesmerized by the computer.

the past few days i've been doing yard work for my parents and not spending a lot of time on the comp. as usual...so thursday when it was done i felt like i was suffering from withdrawal, and i sat in front of the computer for like 10 hours straight.

sad, sad.

Tryp, I thought you'd think this was kind of funny...

On Monday night I was in on my comp posting, my parents are in the other room watching Leno. It's the day after Easter, which techincally means I can start watching TV again, and the 'rents are aware of this. So both of them start yelling, "Jane! Get off the internet and come here right now!" So I come running, going "what what what was so important to draw me away from posting?!"

Oh yes. They called me away to make me sit down and watch Headlines on Leno. WTF? So after it's over I'm just like, "Umm...can I go to bed now? Or do you want to force-feed me an episode of MASH?"

Seriously though, I was over at my best friends house tonight, and all of us sat around and watched the Simpsons. And while I enjoyed it, there was something disquieting about it too. Visually, it just kind of weirded me out. It was like it _moved_in a different way than it used to. I dunno. Was a bit creepy though. Definitely not going to go back to the normal amount of TV-watching, ie 2-3 hrs a day. How did I ever get anything freaking done?!

I almost never watch TV, but now that Adult Swim has got Family Guy, I've been watching it regularly. Mostly thanks to my little brother, he has no TV, so he comes into my room to watch it, so I suppose I might as well join in. And of course Family Guy fucking rules, so yeah... But other than that, I haven't really been a tv-watcher since junior high.

My parents never allowed my brother and I to have TV's in our rooms or cable in the house when we were kids. By the time I was old enough to purchase either of these items myself, I thanked them for it.

Just got moved in to my new place in VA (so for those of you who've missed me... ha), got the cable modem installed, but I made a deal with my wife that if I got the cable modem, we wouldn't get cable TV. I figured it was worth the sacrifice, and I was right. I do miss Comedy Central and the Cartoon Network, even the Sci-Fi channel despite the bastahds cancelling Farscape, but I'm managing to cope.

i consider the television news to be a waste of time also.
my in-laws have a rather large tv in their living room, a tv bigger than my stove in their bed room, 2 in their computer room, one in their basement (who knows why, they're never down there) and one in their kitchen. i find it odd to watch them move throughout their house, their vision shifts from one tv to the next as they move from room to room.

I know a family that has 7 TV's, and there's only 4 ppl in their family. This includes one in the bathroom (they have a remote hanging on a chain next to the tub) and plans for one in a little weatherproof hutch outside on their deck. Why? Why? Why?

TV is a narcotic, along with video games. Playing video games is a form of virtual masturbation. Once you "beat the game," what happens then? Nothing, except maybe CTS.

"Sorry man, ______ is on tonight, and I'm not missing that." It's like "Less Than Zero" for retards.

Oh, but there's this one episode of Everybody Loves Raymond where the main character gets in trouble with his wife, that was hilarious. And anyone remember that episode of Friends where Joey does something really stupid? I love that one. I also love that one episode of NYPD Blue where Sipowicz gets really mad....

andy

if one msut have a tv make sure it's a small one. buy a cart with wheels and put the tv on it. when you need to use it, wheel it out from a closet and plug it in. when you're finished watching tv, wheel it back into its proper place. out of sight. out of mind.

everything on wheels, eh? This is becoming a mania with you Fram

OJ, haha, I love that episode of Everyone loves Raymond. We so have the same taste in T.V. lol

you should see the car i don't own . . . it has 4 wheels, too.

hey the car I own has four wheels! The car I don't own has a vcr

it's a crying shame that suvs everywhere now have vcrs and dvds. i despise these vehicles. such a gd menace in the city.

The only SUV I'd buy would have to have an espresso machine and a sandwich press

do you like cuban sandwiches?

DO I LIKE CUBAN SANDWICHES?????

Sorry, I thought we knew each other better than that by now. I love all things pork but especially cuban pork sandwiches, with some twice fried tostones on the side.

there is an awesome cuban restaurant on 8th avenue. went there a couple of weeks ago. mountains of yellow rice, a pile of balck beans, a wonderful beverage and a BIG sandwich - pork, chorizo and ham. sweet plantains rock my world, too.

HAHA, you New Yorkers with your 8th avenue stories.

Have you read Franny and Zooey by Salinger. Theres a genius part where Zooey explains why he could never live anywhere except NY. Something about almost being run over twice, on the same god damn street...but you probably live on that street. LOL

Come back Fram, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.

(I'm using Knox's HAHA BTW as a kind of homage. I'll be done soon)

no feelings hurt, mirkah, you silver attired wild woman. i'm posting this from work and i've actually had work to do.

read salinger, but not franney and zooey. do you know that he's into homeopathy?

used to live on 73rd street. how i miss the old neighborhood. still, new york's a great place to be. one day, you're on top of the world, the next you're moving back to the burbs. i'll get my deluxe apartment in the sky one day. *sigh* one day. *breaks out into song* "if i can make it here . . . "

I keep an extra copy of Franny and Zooey in my glove compartment. I love that book. I'll have to PM you the exact quote later.

Did not know about the homeopathy. Do know he loves cheddar cheese

he does!!!!!!!!!!! any particular variety of cheddar?

television sets are just ugly for the most part, unless you drop 2-3 thousand on one, and in that case you either have too much money, or you're completely brainwashed.
television shows have "jumps" in them, these jumps are camera angle changes, scene changes, anything where the view changes dramatically. you can see these jumps by turning out all the lights at night, turn on your tv, go into another room, and watch how many times the light changes/flashes per minute. it used to be somewhere around 1 jump every 5-10 minutes when television was introduced, now it's up to 30-45 jumps a minute at the last count i heard. they are attributing these jumps to the increase of ADHD, ADD, and hyperactivity in children.
also there is little to no regulation about what can and cannot be shown on television past sex and violence. AdBusters has tried year after year to have their commercial shown on every major network. they provided the proper amount of money for a 30second time slot, yet were denied every time but 1, and that was on a public access channel. there was nothing illegal in their commercial. their commercial was for "Buy Nothing Day" asking the public to stop rampant consumerism on the day after thanksgiving, the busiest shopping day in the world.
read "Culture Jam" by Kalle Lasn. inform yourself.

[QUOTE]they are attributing these jumps to the increase of ADHD, ADD, and hyperactivity in children. [/QUOTE]

and by what mechanism, dr. trypdwyre, do these jumps "trigger" adhd?

i don't think people should be "TV parents" where they plop the kid down with a video and forget about him/her, but seriously...it's not going to kill kids to watch tv.

if everyone just decided that april 26th was throw your television into the street day the world would cease to exist as we know it.

that's the kind of generalization that begs elaboration.

oh, yeah. i do that a lot too, over generalize, i mean. polemic diatribe. rock on.

i'm gonna eat first and then propose my destroy the black box strategy. *maniacal laughter*

fair enough.

television. the word itself is frightening enough, but how many of us can actually say "you want to watch tv?" without cringing a little inside, or utter "what's on tv" without sensing the self-destructive vortex that threatens to engulf their imagination with disgusting images, propaganidzed visiosn of what one should expect out of life, the decidedly unwholesome advertisements.

the television is the tombstone everyone one of us has at home, sometimes in several rooms, its destructive power accessible to all; it's a mass produced headstone that jumps with static and reels, coughs and sputters with thoughtless programming 24 x 7 and competes for your attention, we want to thank our television audience . . . yet, what does this icon of mid-20th century technology, this marvel of design demand from you? that you give up your imagination for as long as you're willing to watch.

if you do not want to throw your television into the street tomorrow, ask yourself why? really think about what your answer means.

like a meteor, my tv will be swan diving into the gutter tomorrow at 12 noon sharpish.

sponsored by americans who wish to live by their own wits

Now with reruns of friends and stuff they edit out every 3rd frame. This gets them more advertising time (b/c the show is shorter) and no one notices that the 20 mins Friends show is cut to 15. Plus they edit out unessentials.
I liked adult swim. But I can live without it.

The cable guy took the cable box this morning, and "terminated" the line so that all I get is RoadRunner (cable modem).

people, what's the adult swim?