TV Week - Day Seven

Got myself a big bag of chips and a bowl of ranch dip, flopped down on the couch, and watched the Kansas Lottery Indy 300. It had its moments, but it was a bit disappointing. Dan Weldon led 177 out of 200 laps, and most of my favorite drivers had problems, some of which I've already blogged about. Oh well.

After the race we turned off the TV and turned on the radio to listen to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. It was a good show that ended on a high note; Paula Poundstone won! Yay Paula! I guess that makes up for the race.

After supper we watched Family Guy. Usually one of my favorites, this episode was a bit weak. I laughed out loud a couple of times, but on the whole it was lackluster.

My last act on our very special TV Week was to get the DVD player going and watch another couple of episodes of Victory At Sea. Good stuff again.

And that's it. I've defied the forces of anti-TV-ness and blogged my media consumption. But at what cost? Has this dangerous experiment left me a hollow, broken, husk of a man? What has become of my mind, body, and my very soul? I must meditate on these things. Or just watch a repeat of Sanford and Son.

Randy Moss?

I didn't see that coming. At first I was boggled. The Patriots are known for character, for placing team above individual. How does Randy Moss fit into that picture?

Then I thought about it. Character isn't what you were, it is what you are and what you will be. If Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli think that Moss can live up the the Patriots standard, then perhaps he will.

The other key to understanding the Patriots approach to players is to know that Belichick has a degree in economics. What do the Pats lose if their gamble on this guy goes wrong? He's agreed to take a big pay cut, so they don't lose a lot of money. They got him for a fourth round pick, which is not much either. If they have to cut him, they cut him. If he shapes up and becomes a Patriot, then it is a plus. All upside, virtually no downside. What economist wouldn't take that deal?

Traffic

What the heck happened to AGR at the Kansas Speedway today? How can a team self-destruct like that? It looked to me like Danica's crew messed up badly, taking both Danica and TK out of the running. I know everyone was tired after the trip from Japan, but that's a mistake you just can't make.

Frustrating.

TV Week - Day Six

Saturday, the penultimate day of TV Turn-Off Week, was long, busy, and dominated by work. I had a bunch of stuff to do and didn't get home until about 9:30 PM. I did get some reading done while I was on the trains. I have a tradition of setting aside one day a week to try to get caught up on magazines. I read an article about baking brown sugar cookies that I'm looking forward to trying. That was in the March-April edition of Cook's Illustrated. It also had a really good article on balsamic vinegar that I got a lot out of. Done with that I started on Cook's sister publication, Cook's Country -- nice looking mac-and-cheese recipe there. Who doesn't love mac-and-cheese?

I finally got home, intending to continue my defiance of TV Turn-Off Week, but no! I was tube-blocked! Da Queen was watching something on BookTV, which I was just not in the mood for. I wanted to watch another old episode of Victory at Sea. She wanted to keep watching people talking about a book. Who would win this battle of the titans?

So I checked out a couple of things on the web, then hit the hay.

Have the anti-TV forces won? Not a chance. I'll make up for it by watching more TV on the last day of TV Week than any of the previous days! Brain cells, prepare for thy doom!

TV Week - Day Five

I got next to nothing done today. I sat around. I tidied up. I took a long nap.

Maybe the anti-TV people are right. Maybe all this TV is starting to get to me. Starting to sap my strength. Somehow I must go on with this grand experiment. This isn't about me anymore. It's about science.

I roused myself in the late afternoon and watched Pardon the Interruption. It's a sports talk show, but that doesn't matter. Kornheiser and Wilbon could be talking about pizza or pinochle, I'd still get a kick out of it. Most of the time they are gassing on about sports I don't even watch, but I'm still caught up in the conversation. Those guys are great.

A couple of hours later I watched yet more TV. The Colbert Report was on and I caught the first 15 minutes. He opened the show by saying "Happy National TV Turn-Off Week you hypocrites!" It was as if he was talking to me.

Prime time had come and . . . oh television executives, how can you do this to me? Here I am singing your praises and you give me nothing but crud. Good thing I have a DVD player. Last night was Spiderman 2. Tonight it's The Incredibles.

I've really been looking forward to seeing this movie. Would it live up to my expectations?

It did. It even surpassed them. I'll blather on about it in a future post. For now I'll say that I had a terrific evening and was highly entertained. Thank you TV. My faith is restored.

Get a Brand New Bag

People keep telling me about this "I'm not a plastic bag" bag that is all the rage in Europe. A popular designer created it to raise consumer awareness and encourage people to use fewer plastic bags when shopping. Surely a laudable goal, but as the Evening Standard (via MetaFilter) has pointed out, the bags are made by cheap labor in China. It may not be a plastic bag, but it is certainly not an ethical bag. You want to talk the talk and walk the walk? How about something like this:



A handmade reusable tote bag created by artisans in Bangladesh, fairly traded for, sturdy, and good looking. Check it out at Ten Thousand Villages.

You're going to shop anyway. Why not do some good?

The Thought Police Are Here

WARNING! Certain forms of "free" expression are now defined as criminal behavior. A teacher in Illinois asked her students to "(w)rite whatever comes to your mind. Do not judge or censor what you are writing." She found the work of one student to be disturbing and reported him to the police. They arrested the young writer as he walked to school, searched his home, and confiscated his computer.

If what you write disturbs someone the state can punish you.

For creating a disturbance.

I like what Joyce Carol Oats once said about art:

My belief is that art should not be comforting; for comfort, we have mass entertainment and one another. Art should provoke, disturb, arouse our emotions, expand our sympathies in directions we may not anticipate and may not even wish.

It seems that the authorities do not agree.

TV Week - Day Four

It's getting harder to continue my defiance of TV Turnoff Week. The brainiacs that run the various networks and cable stations don't make it easy. After a long commute home during which I read a few chapters of that Elric novel I've been carrying around, I wanted to relax in front of the magic box. Was there anything worth watching coming in through the coaxial cable? Nope. Nothing. I am, however, nothing if not resourceful. We threw another DVD onto the fire and watched a movie that I've been meaning to get to for some time. Spiderman 2 gave us a couple of hours of fun, action, and drama. It even gave me something else to write about, which I'll get to later on. Hey, what more could you want? I stagger into Day Five bloodied by unbowed.

Why do I do this? For you, my best beloveds, for you.

TV Week - Day Three

I continue to defy TV Turnoff Week and am still in good shape. Remarkable. By all accounts I should be mental and physical wreck by now. I started my morning as usual, checking out some of my favorite websites. I briefly turned my computer into a TV by watching a few clips, all found at Fark. The first is a really funny clip of Bob Newhart playing a therapist with a new method. The second is a funny ad for milk. Yes, I deliberately sought out and watched advertising. Does my recklessness know no bounds? Finally I watched a cute clip of a puppy meeting a mirror.

After work I watched one of my favorite shows, Mythbusters. Sometimes I learn a thing or two from the show, but I don't think I learned much tonight. On the other hand I had a great time and I laughed quite a lot. That has to count for something.

But wait, I notice that I only read about one chapter today. Perhaps TV is taking time away from reading. Perhaps I could have spent more time with Elric and his magic sword had I not been watching funny pictures on the tube. Tune in tomorrow and we shall see.

TV Week - Day Two

The second day of monitoring my media consumption, and as yet there are no physiological changes to report. I read a couple of chapters from the Elric novel I started yesterday. After work I rushed home so I could watch one of my favorite television programs, House.

If you know me you know I love stories. House demonstrates everything that is great about TV for a guy like me. One hour of viewing can deliver a whole bag of stories. In the first few minutes we get a little story about grifters. We know that the man is a hustler and that the woman who seems to be his mark is his partner. The real target is the suit in the crowd. No one tells us this. It's all done with facial expressions and camera angles. Good stuff, an interesting little story in itself. Since this is House we know someone is about to get really sick, but we can never guess. It's a little game of three card monte that the writers play with the audience every week.

You want stories? Lets see, we've got Foreman and his parents. We've got Chase and Cameron. We've got Wilson and Cuddy. We've got House obsessing about Wilson and Cuddy. We've got the mystery of the illness. We've got Foreman's initial attitude toward the patient, what that says about him and how it evolves. We've got Foreman's pain and guilt. We've got little stories that begin and end here, and great big stories that will play out over months. Episodic television has the ability to tell character stories over a long period of time, creating an opportunity for writers and actors to create stories of depth and complexity. When everything is done right it can be great stuff, finest kind. When it's not right then you have melodramatic pablum. Most of what's on the tube is the latter. No surprise.

After House there was nothing on that I wanted to see (except perhaps for The Vicar of Dibley, but I've seen it once before), so I checked out some things on the web. The new Homestar cartoon is up, so I checked it out. It was pretty good. Strongbad is always good for a chuckle.

That's it for my second day of defying TV Turnoff Week. Can I survive? Will TV rot my brain? Tune in tomorrow.

UPDATE: Oops. I forgot to put a link in for the new Homestar cartoon.

Sensors Indicate a Class M Planet

Really. Gliese 581 c could be the first habitable extraterrestrial planet we've ever seen. Who wants to be on the landing party? I'll roshambo you for it. Don't worry, we've got plenty of time to decide. At warp 1 we'll be there in about 20 years.

BWT

Blogging While Tired -- Don't do it. I forgot to mention something in my last post. It's probably because I was a bit sleepy. My intention is to blog all my media consumption this week, and I pretty much stuck to TV. So then, yesterday I finished reading The Bane of the Black Sword and began reading the next book in the series, Stormbringer. What? Books and TV in one day? Can such a thing be?

TV Week - Day One

Monday marked the beginning of TV Turnoff Week. This is the week that some culture vultures have picked as the one that we less enlightened beings should watch no TV. That's right, none at all. You'll be amazed at all the wonderful things that will happen when you don't watch TV. You'll talk to your family. You'll read an improving book. You'll listen to classical music. You will be smarter, happier, taller, more attractive, blah blah blah.

Some teachers turn it into an assignment. Students are told to keep a journal of all the things they do instead of watching TV. Because TV is, of course, very, very, bad.

Phooey. TV is good. TV is wonderful. And like everything else, TV is subject to Sturgeon's Law; 90% of everything is crud.

Everything. 90% of books are crud. 90% of movies are crud. 90% of theater is crud. Do you hear anyone saying that we should give those things up? TV's bad reputation is a result of the powerfully immersive nature of the medium. You turn on the TV and if they are showing crud you are immersed in the crud. Click: gameshow. Click: soap. Click: infomercial. Click: pop-psych Click: screaming spin-doctors.

Books aren't like that. They don't shoot you right in the eyes and ears. You have to open them. You can filter out the stuff you know will be crud without really experiencing it. But TV? It's in your face.

But then it is Click: House. Click: Julia Child. Click: Star Trek. Click: Life of Birds. Click: "One small step . . ."

So I don't drink the Kool-Aid. I don't turn my TV off. I'll take a cue from those teachers and blog my media consumption. It may not be of any interest to anyone but me, but that's okay. 90% of blogging is crud too.

And so it begins. After work and after supper I took a few minutes to check out the latest news on the web, then sat down with Da Queen to watch the tube. I had carefully reviewed all of our options and had come to the conclusion that there was nothing worth watching on any of the channels. No problem -- opportunity in fact. In this age of miracles and wonders we can avail ourselves of the TV of the past. We set the Way-Back to 1952 and watched a couple of episodes of the classic NBC production Victory at Sea. This was a documentary series about World War II with a focus on naval warfare. It was, I think, the first major retrospective of the war television had done. The writing and narration is a style that I can best describe has heroic. The score, by Richard Rodgers, is wonderful. It is the finest kind.

Tonight I particularly enjoyed the episode dealing with U.S. submarine operations in the Pacific. In 1952 the writers were certainly not in a mood to be too critical of any aspect of the war effort, so they tend to quietly skip over some things. I noticed that no mention was made of the terrible trouble the Navy had with poorly designed and manufactured torpedoes early in the war. I mentioned that to Da Queen, who told me that the problem was compounded by the legislators from the state where the torpedoes were being made. They were more interested in protecting local industry than the crews of subs and torpedo planes. Interesting. Watching historical television with Da Queen can be quite a trip, as she can usually fill in the missing bits or even point out the mistakes. Later, while watching Russian soldiers advancing on Sevastopol I commented on how disorganized everything looked but how the advance continued through the guts and sheer force of will of the soldiers. Da Queen agreed and expatiated upon the poor planning that was common in what was left of the Russian officer corps at that time.

Day One is done. Nasty bad TV had given us arresting images, good music, and had sparked an interesting discussion. I'm sure it will melt my brain any time now.

Racer's Luck

I'm feeling a bit sorry for Kosuke Matsuura. He's the only Japanese driver in the IRL. A couple of weeks ago he was fined just because he didn't know that there are some English words that you can't say on live TV. This week the league made its annual visit to the Land of the Rising Sun. I'm sure Kosuke wanted to make a good impression on the local crowd and the local sponsors. Crashing into the wall on the first lap surely made an impression, but perhaps not what he was hoping for.

Rather Sad

About a week ago I posted a link to the EagleCam, a webcam watching a bald eagle nest in Maine. It now seems that the chicks did not survive our recent spell of bad weather. It's a pity. Perhaps next year will be kinder.

Ornithological Mystery Solved!

How do vultures find their meals? Bill of the Birds has discovered the amazing answer. It turns out that buzzards are brighter than you might think.

Sidekick Blues

A while back I mentioned that I'm reading the Elric books by Michael Moorcock. They've been my subway companions of late. Here's a passage from The Bane of the Black Sword (book five of the saga) that gave me a chuckle. Elric, as the hero, has gotten the girl, and they are having a roll in the hay. Moonglum, as sidekick, is left to tend to their equipment:

(T)hey lay down, together on the soft turf, oblivious of Moonglum who polished away at his curved sword with wry jealousy.

Ah, poor Moonglum. The sidekick's lot is not a happy one. If this keeps up he's going to have one shiny scimitar.

Ciazarn

Da Queen and I were listening to Wait Wait Don't Tell me this evening. Julia Sweeney was on the "Not My Job" segment and was quized about carnies. Julia got all three questions right, including the one about the old carny language, ciazarn. I just remembered that my father was a fluent ciazarn speaker. When he wanted to talk to mom without being understood by us kids he would just launch into it. I don't think mom ever got the hang of speaking it, but she did understand him. Dang but that was frustrating. I never did get the hang of it.

Now I'm wondering. Where did dad learn that particular skill? Hmmm.

Double Dumbass

Bad: I just noticed that the dumbass who writes the schedules at work has me on duty during the Japan Indy 300.

Worse: I am that dumbass.

Eagle Eye

Why haven't I heard of this before? Live webcam of an eagle's nest in Maine.
Via: Fark

Dick Cheney -- Birdslayer

Air Force Two swept down from the sky, seeking a victim. The Vice-President spotted the poor, defenseless bird and ordered the pilot to dive. The little feathered fellow never stood a chance. I cannot at this time confirm the rumor that the bird was the endangered ivory-billed woodpecker. I also cannot comment on the widely reported story that just prior to death the bird was heard to apologize to Mr. Cheney and his family for any inconvenience he may have caused them.

Tiny Bubbles

Goodbye Don Ho. He's gone off to the great luau in the sky. Now there's one less reason to go to Hawaii. Aloha.

Who is Michi Shimura?

Speaking of fast cars and the women who love them, I now hear that Christina Ricci is going to be playing Speed's girlfriend Trixie in the upcoming live-action Speed Racer movie. I am so there.

And Then There Were Three

This is Milka Duno. Really, I didn't make that name up. In a couple of weeks she'll be driving the Citgo car in the Kansas Lottery Indy 300. This will be the first time that three women will compete in an IRL race, or any major American automobile race. A few thoughts here. First, good for her and good for the league. Second, I'm just a little bit concerned about her lack of experience. She's a good driver with a solid background, but I'm pretty sure that her practice session a couple of days ago was the first time she's ever been behind the wheel of one of these super-fast Indy cars. It might have been nice if she could have had a couple of starts in the developmental IndyPro series before hitting the big league. Third, do you suppose she's going to play up the fact that she's kind of a hottie? Looks like it. Fourth, along with her career as a driver and occasional fashion model, she is a naval engineer with four masters degrees. Didn't expect that did you? Fifth, I think this is all part of some conspiracy by Hugo Chávez. What he's conspiring to do I am no sure, but he's a wily fellow, that Hugo.

That's it, I'm all out of thoughts. I just like hearing the phrase "Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines."

Cake Blogging

Da Queen celebrated Easter by baking a cake. It's a spice cake with honey-cream cheese frosting. Very good.

Happy Easter

I hope you're having a good one. I'm not doing much of anything this year. Just taking it easy. Reading, a little writing, and some napping. It's been a tough couple of weeks, and I need the rest.

Good News

Hey there my best beloved readers, I have a bit of good news to report. At least I think it's good. I just got promoted at work. More work, more responsibility, but a bit more in the paycheck too. That's going to come in handy. So, hurray for me today.

Potty Mouth

Following up on the question I asked at the end of my last IRL post . . . yes, Kosuke did say what I thought he said. Tsk Tsk.

Finally Getting Around to It

I think if I live long enough I will finally read all the books I've been intending to read. A couple of weeks ago I read Elric of Melniboné, the first book of the Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock. It was a dusty old paperback that was buried deep in the stacks of the Royal Library of Glenntopia. There was an old receipt tucked between the pages. I had bought the book a mere twenty five years ago. Twenty five years? What the . . . I guess something distracted me a quarter of a century (damn) ago and I'm finally coming around. Making up for lost time I found The Sailor on the Seas of Fate in a used bookstore. Now I'm hooked, but the series is out of print. No worries, the magical series of tubes called the interweb came to my rescue. I found the rest of the series at Powells. Huzzah! Now if you'll excuse me I have some swords and sorcery to read about.

Give Me That Old Time Science Fiction

I mean the old stuff -- science fiction before anyone called it science fiction. Novels that need an introduction to explain that the reader is about to read something different. Give it a little touch of the weird. Tinge it with a slight feeling of decadence. Make it Victorian or even Edwardian. That's the stuff.

M.P. Sheil's The Purple Cloud is, in fact, just the stuff. Published in 1901 it is the classic "last man on earth" story. The basic plot is straightforward enough. Adam Jeffson is on an expedition that is attempting to be the first to reach the North Pole. It is a very dangerous expedition and several of them die on the trip. Jeffson is separated from the others, reaches the pole, and on the way back notices a purple cloud to the distant south. He is sickened by it but struggles on. When he finally reaches the edge of civilization he finds ships with dead crews. After a while he begins to figure out what you already know -- that there's not going to be a whole lot of dialog in this novel.

After a while our protagonist begins to go a bit mad. Since the novel is presented in the form of a journal the madness begins to color the prose style. Long rambling sentences and paragraphs, weird thoughts and fancies, and speculation upon supernatural conspiracies are all part of it. Jeffson begins to dress, act, and think in bizarre ways. For most of the book you just want to sit back and enjoy Shiel's style. The prose is often dreamlike. The reader should wonder if this is a fantasy story of if this is insanity. Reflecting on the early part of the book one can see that Shiel was foreshadowing Jeffson's mental decline by suggesting that he might have been a bit unstable to begin with. Or was that simply the diarist trying to honestly depict his earlier life from the perspective of one who does not know that he is losing his mind?

I like a book that leaves the reader with questions and uncertainty. It requires a bit of thought.

I also, as I said, like old science fiction. I like to see how people predicted how things would come out and how those notions reflect upon the time of the writing. The story is set sometime in the near future. A lot of it takes place on various ships as Jeffson travels with the polar expedition and then wanders around the globe. A ship can be controlled easily by one man because it is moved by engines and propellers. The engines run on something called "liquid air," which sounds pretty cool. Yet with reliable engines every ship is still rigged for sails. Interesting, isn't it? Man has travelled the waters of the world for thousands of years and in all those millennia every vessel has had sails or oars (or both). Our current age of mechanically driven ships is but a jot on the timeline of history. Few people in 1901 could imagine a fleet without sails. That sort of thing fascinates me.

But I digress. The Purple Cloud may not be a quick read, but it is a thought provoking one. It's the good stuff.

Wish You Were Here

Usually one of the nice things about blogging is that I don't have to get dressed up to do it. Just not today -- you should see me. Today is our annual fancy-dress dinner. We just finished a healthful salad of bacon bits, M&Ms, and deep-fried cheese balls. The next course is on it's way; a big bowl of mock turtle soup. I hope I don't spill any. I'm wearing a bright pink tuxedo shirt with magnificently large ruffles. My green bow tie plays off my deep purple crushed velour jacket. I've woven small but beautiful flowers through my beard and on my head am wearing a wreath of woven peacock feathers. Simple black hot pants are all but invisible under my napkin and everyone has commented on my blue suede shoes. I'm looking good and feeling good as we all look forward to the main course of vegetarian surprise (the secret ingredient is beef) and a desert of mock apple pie with a dollop of raspberry fool. Ah, the soup is here. I hope you are enjoying your April first too.

Spiderman Does it Again

Helio Castroneves just won the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for the second year in a row. He celebrated with his trademark exuberance, running across the track, climbing the fence, doing donuts, kissing his car, and generally playing to the audience. He dominated the race, and while a few drivers made runs at him it was pretty much his to win or lose. With two races down that's one for Ganassi and one for Penske, which is not too surprising. Scott Dixon came in second for Ganassi. That combined with his second place finish in last week's Homestead-Miami race puts Dixon into the overall points lead with Helio and last week's winner Dan Weldon right at his heels. The top five was rounded out by Andretti Green drivers Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, and Dario Franchitti. Teammate Danica Patrick finished in eighth, ahead of 2005 champion Dan Weldon and behind 2006 champion Sam Hornish. Good company no doubt, but I'm sure they all would rather have been in the top five.

A few notes: Tony Kanann's third place finish is all the more impressive when you know that he wrecked the car yesterday and all four AGR teams worked on it into the night to get it ready for today. Impressive job.

Another impressive job was the one by Darren Manning and A.J. Foyt Enterprises. Manning spun out late and didn't finish in the top ten, but he was in the mix for most of the race. As he gets older Super Tex gets stronger.

Sarah Fisher achieved her goal of finishing the race. Back when she used to drive Indy cars the IRL was an all oval series. This was her first road/street course. There will be four more this year.

I don't want to get negative, but from what I've seen Jeff Simmons is just not all that good a driver. I think Kosuke Matsuura had good cause to blame him for that accident he had.

And did Kosuke say what I thought he said?