Once again, I’m going through one of my excessively tired sleeping jags. I don’t know why these happen to me, or whether there’s any connection to HPS, but I’ve had several periods a year like this since my early 20s. Suddenly, for weeks at a time, no matter what I do I can’t get enough sleep. I feel tired ALL THE TIME.
I have had a stomach bug, and the past two days I’ve had the runs and joint pain – so maybe its connected to that – or maybe not. But, I went to bed last night at a reasonable hour, and woke up this morning at noon. I got up, showered, and tried to get moving, but felt like my limbs were made of cement.
So, I laid on the couch and turned on the television. This weekend I’ve watched more TV than I’ve probably watched in months. I think it’s probably a blessing I slept through most of it.
Could someone please tell me what’s going on with television??? I’m a little out of the pop culture loop. Maybe I missed something? Was Hollywood taken out by a bomb or something? There must be some drastic explanation for the complete lack of creativity on my TV set.
Although I watch little television, I do have cable. I have cable because I want the news channels. I might be a total moron when it comes to which pop star has crashed their car this week, or who’s getting out of rehab or having a baby – but I can tell you what’s going on with the election in Argentina (no thanks to my TV by the way.)
I’ve also traditionally been a huge fan of the Discovery Channel, the Discovery Health Channel, the Learning Channel and the Arts and Entertainment Channel and Bravo! Now, however, it seems that unless you look up the number of the channel in the cable guide, you’d have no idea what channel you’re really on. Would someone please explain to me why “Ice Road Truckers” is on the History Channel?
Okay, I confess, I watched it. I had a sort of morbid curiosity with these huge trucks, weighing several hundred tons each, driving across ice to deliver goods and parts to remote mines in the Canadian wilderness. Perhaps it’s all those warnings I got as a kid about not playing on the ice, even if it seemed thick. Or maybe it was the occasional nightmare I had as a child (a result of graphic warnings about ice) about how horrible it would be to fall through the ice and not be able to get out of the water. I know its television, but between my dosing in and out, I was holding my breath thinking one of those trucks might just fall through the ice – oohhh shivers. Horrible!
So, maybe it’s “legit” TV, but still, what’s it doing on my beloved History Channel? I was looking for something a little more, well, historical.
How is a show about “pimping a ride” on The Learning Channel, or a show about living in the Playboy mansion worthy of channels that started out with a mission of covering the arts?
And while we’re griping about television, would someone please explain to me why very rich and spoiled people think their lives are interesting enough to be followed 24/7 by cameras, or even worse, why cable channel executives have somehow fallen prey to this narcissism? I have yet to make it through a complete episode of any one of these programs. I channel surf, watch for a few minutes, quickly get bored and move on only to find essentially the same “story line” on another channel.
Or how about the “finding love” shows? Where do these people come from? You almost feel compelled to watch a few minutes, sort of like you feel compelled to watch a car wreck. But, again, I never make it all the way through an episode of “Flavor of Love” or “I Love New York.” Are you going to tell me that there’s really that many people out there with such a warped sense of self worth that they’d expect to find “true love” like this? But, I guess the Networks don’t care if you make it through an entire episode. They’ll keep rerunning them for years on end, on channel after channel, so eventually even by channel surfing you might piece together the entire thing.
Even the news channels, the reason I have cable in the first place, are a disappointment. I can watch a solid hour of CNN or Fox and still not have an overall, general idea of what’s going on in the world. I sort of miss CNN Headline News. Yes, it’s hard to really adequately represent the world’s news in a half hour – but at least there was somewhere on the TV you could turn to and know, generally, what was happening in the world.
The news channels aren’t all bad. I do find some “good” things there – but it seems like the rare treat instead of the expected norm. Enough of the talking heads, the arguing, the bickering – give us something that actually sheds light on issues we don’t even know exist. Give us news that represents the spectrum that is America. Give us news that challenges us to be something, to do something, better than what we did today. There’s six billion plus people in this world. Surely we as the media can find something. It’s one of my disappointments that I’m not playing a part in that mission.
It feels like television is ripe for a shake up – some sort of creative revolution. I hope it comes soon. I have a feeling I’ll be spending a few more crabby days on the couch.
I have had a stomach bug, and the past two days I’ve had the runs and joint pain – so maybe its connected to that – or maybe not. But, I went to bed last night at a reasonable hour, and woke up this morning at noon. I got up, showered, and tried to get moving, but felt like my limbs were made of cement.
So, I laid on the couch and turned on the television. This weekend I’ve watched more TV than I’ve probably watched in months. I think it’s probably a blessing I slept through most of it.
Could someone please tell me what’s going on with television??? I’m a little out of the pop culture loop. Maybe I missed something? Was Hollywood taken out by a bomb or something? There must be some drastic explanation for the complete lack of creativity on my TV set.
Although I watch little television, I do have cable. I have cable because I want the news channels. I might be a total moron when it comes to which pop star has crashed their car this week, or who’s getting out of rehab or having a baby – but I can tell you what’s going on with the election in Argentina (no thanks to my TV by the way.)
I’ve also traditionally been a huge fan of the Discovery Channel, the Discovery Health Channel, the Learning Channel and the Arts and Entertainment Channel and Bravo! Now, however, it seems that unless you look up the number of the channel in the cable guide, you’d have no idea what channel you’re really on. Would someone please explain to me why “Ice Road Truckers” is on the History Channel?
Okay, I confess, I watched it. I had a sort of morbid curiosity with these huge trucks, weighing several hundred tons each, driving across ice to deliver goods and parts to remote mines in the Canadian wilderness. Perhaps it’s all those warnings I got as a kid about not playing on the ice, even if it seemed thick. Or maybe it was the occasional nightmare I had as a child (a result of graphic warnings about ice) about how horrible it would be to fall through the ice and not be able to get out of the water. I know its television, but between my dosing in and out, I was holding my breath thinking one of those trucks might just fall through the ice – oohhh shivers. Horrible!
So, maybe it’s “legit” TV, but still, what’s it doing on my beloved History Channel? I was looking for something a little more, well, historical.
How is a show about “pimping a ride” on The Learning Channel, or a show about living in the Playboy mansion worthy of channels that started out with a mission of covering the arts?
And while we’re griping about television, would someone please explain to me why very rich and spoiled people think their lives are interesting enough to be followed 24/7 by cameras, or even worse, why cable channel executives have somehow fallen prey to this narcissism? I have yet to make it through a complete episode of any one of these programs. I channel surf, watch for a few minutes, quickly get bored and move on only to find essentially the same “story line” on another channel.
Or how about the “finding love” shows? Where do these people come from? You almost feel compelled to watch a few minutes, sort of like you feel compelled to watch a car wreck. But, again, I never make it all the way through an episode of “Flavor of Love” or “I Love New York.” Are you going to tell me that there’s really that many people out there with such a warped sense of self worth that they’d expect to find “true love” like this? But, I guess the Networks don’t care if you make it through an entire episode. They’ll keep rerunning them for years on end, on channel after channel, so eventually even by channel surfing you might piece together the entire thing.
Even the news channels, the reason I have cable in the first place, are a disappointment. I can watch a solid hour of CNN or Fox and still not have an overall, general idea of what’s going on in the world. I sort of miss CNN Headline News. Yes, it’s hard to really adequately represent the world’s news in a half hour – but at least there was somewhere on the TV you could turn to and know, generally, what was happening in the world.
The news channels aren’t all bad. I do find some “good” things there – but it seems like the rare treat instead of the expected norm. Enough of the talking heads, the arguing, the bickering – give us something that actually sheds light on issues we don’t even know exist. Give us news that represents the spectrum that is America. Give us news that challenges us to be something, to do something, better than what we did today. There’s six billion plus people in this world. Surely we as the media can find something. It’s one of my disappointments that I’m not playing a part in that mission.
It feels like television is ripe for a shake up – some sort of creative revolution. I hope it comes soon. I have a feeling I’ll be spending a few more crabby days on the couch.
Comments
Thanks for the comment. I hope you are feeling much better after your weekend of rest. LOL!! I don't blame you about the TV shows, there really isn't anything decent to watch these days. We are big fans of the Food Network show as well as TV Land and Discovery Channel. We'll keep you in our prayers this week. Good luck with the test on Wednesday, you'll have to tell us what its about.
Take Care!!