The dumbing of the American TV watcher.
In the past half hour or so I have seen the following advertisements on the tube:
A filthy mop sending a candy gram to its former owner; an attorney who says he'll deal with the government because I have enough to worry about; a commercial attempting to convince me that Cocoa Puffs are healthy; how to rinse my way to whiter teeth; the danger of not having a whole house security system with handsome young men in matching polo shirts waiting for your home invasion call; the further danger of having an accident on a lonely stretch of road without a car security call system; how uncool it is to have only 75 TV channels when you could have 300; the benefit of having a happy colon; lipstick that absolutely will stay on your lips for the whole day; a pizza that has three kinds of meat, veggies and a cheese cooked inside the thick crust...and on and all.
All designed to let me know that I could be doing things differently, better, and that there are companies out there who have only my welfare in mind.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Watching the golf tournament from Akron last week I spied an overhead blimp shot of the lake we once lived on near the golf course. Boats were out in the speed lane trailing 'tubers' and pontoon boats filled with Sunday afternoon 'sailors' taking advantage of their last lazy hours of the weekend and the last few weekends of summer. It looked very pastoral.
Tiger Woods won the tournament...big surprise. Not!
Funny, as I sat there watching the crowds make their way from green to green I wanted to be there where the action was.
Really funny. When I lived there and always received complimentary tickets through my work, I never once went to watch.
Ok, I went once to be part of some sort of professional pre-tournament golf clinic...heck of a lot of good that ever did me...but somehow thinking of the press of the crowd, the parking, the traffic jams, the humidity, the tournament just never seemed all that inviting.
So why is my memory filling me with thoughts of longing for something I never really wanted to participate in anyway?
I have no answer but that's what I'm thinking about.
Really curious. That very evening I turned on the TV again to see the Hall of Fame football game being played in Canton, OH. Oh how I missed north eastern Ohio. And no, in all my years of living there I never saw the Hall of Fame game either.
Tiger Woods won the tournament...big surprise. Not!
Funny, as I sat there watching the crowds make their way from green to green I wanted to be there where the action was.
Really funny. When I lived there and always received complimentary tickets through my work, I never once went to watch.
Ok, I went once to be part of some sort of professional pre-tournament golf clinic...heck of a lot of good that ever did me...but somehow thinking of the press of the crowd, the parking, the traffic jams, the humidity, the tournament just never seemed all that inviting.
So why is my memory filling me with thoughts of longing for something I never really wanted to participate in anyway?
I have no answer but that's what I'm thinking about.
Really curious. That very evening I turned on the TV again to see the Hall of Fame football game being played in Canton, OH. Oh how I missed north eastern Ohio. And no, in all my years of living there I never saw the Hall of Fame game either.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
A thunderstorm swept through the area last week. Lightning illuminated the house after the power failed. Being in the dark was a lark...for a short time.
They tell you not to stand close to a window when lightning is in the area. How close would that be? What is safe? Ten feet? Twenty?
They say don't use the phone during a storm. If the electricity is on during a storm lightning can come right into the phone line and cause one heck of a nasty burn in your ear and your brain. Fair warning there.
They say don't take a bath or shower when it is lightning. I wonder if that means even if I am twenty feet away from a window and not using my phone?
When the storm was over the electricity stayed off. I read as long as I could by the natural light coming in through the window (very Little House on the Prairie). When darkness descended and the house began to get warm we drove to the grocery store to enjoy the air conditioning and illumination. We did not need anything at the store however by wandering around were able to pick up about $70 worth of indispensable items.
When we arrived home the lights were on again.
And that's what I'm thinking about.
They tell you not to stand close to a window when lightning is in the area. How close would that be? What is safe? Ten feet? Twenty?
They say don't use the phone during a storm. If the electricity is on during a storm lightning can come right into the phone line and cause one heck of a nasty burn in your ear and your brain. Fair warning there.
They say don't take a bath or shower when it is lightning. I wonder if that means even if I am twenty feet away from a window and not using my phone?
When the storm was over the electricity stayed off. I read as long as I could by the natural light coming in through the window (very Little House on the Prairie). When darkness descended and the house began to get warm we drove to the grocery store to enjoy the air conditioning and illumination. We did not need anything at the store however by wandering around were able to pick up about $70 worth of indispensable items.
When we arrived home the lights were on again.
And that's what I'm thinking about.
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