Caved In...Turned it On

America's Got Talent always gets me toward the end of a series. With such undeniable and admirable talent competing for that last ring, it's almost a dishonor to ignore this spectacle which celebrates the special, varietal gifts of the common folk.

Watching Thoughts

"Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts."
[quote from Albert Einstein]

Maybe TV gets in the way...

Watching TV Manners

Another reason to avoid the TV...the irksome behaviors from other people who watch with us and/or our own conduct in front of the tube. A few easy examples come to mind...

• Making comments directly to the TV...and when someone asks "What did you say" you say "Nothing...I was talking to the TV."
  
• Yelling directly at the TV (complete with arm waving and assorted histrionics).
• Standing in line-of-sight to the TV, especially during the last 30 seconds of the show.
• Finding the TV remote in the car, the refrigerator, or anywhere else where it couldn't possibly be used.
• Fellow viewers who ask questions about the program currently playing. Frequently these questions overlap with the part(s) of the show you are trying to watch: for example, "why did that person do that?" to which you can only reply "I dunno" [cuz I missed it while listening to your question].
  
• Saying you're 'busy' watching TV, or too 'busy' to do anything else because your program is on.
• Watching un-essential TV in a room full of people, or watching TV when your guests arrive.
  
• On-go-Off-return-On-go, etc. Person 1 turns on the TV then immediately departs. Person 2 turns off the TV and Person 1 immediately re-appears to turn it back on, then leaves the room again.
  
• Overusing quotes from the TV, such as 'at this point in time,' someone is a 'desparate housewife.' 'giving one hundred and ten percent,' 'talk to the hand,' 'last but not least,' 'at the end of the day.'
• Hogging or hiding of the remote.
  
• ADHD-TV:
  - channel surfing and indecision between one or more channels/shows.
  - changing the channel at every commercial.
  - changing the channel with asking while someone is clearly watching a show.
• TV too loud all the time; refusal to go get a hearing exam.
• Bragging about ownership of biggest/best TV and/or nagging you about changing your own TV to something more current/hip.
  

Have we become more civilized with our TVs over the years? Check out this cute 1952 piece: http://weblogs.variety.com/on_the_air/2007/05/tv_etiquette_a_.html.

When It Was Decided

Without fanfare, emotion, or anxiety, I made the decision to shut off the TV. This happened about 3 weeks ago when I had the remote in hand, as part of my automatic after-work routine, and I realized I was regularly engaged in a pattern of doing something I really didn't want to be doing.
Perhaps it was because of the declining quality of programs, or maybe it was because of the annoying effects of incessant, repetitive commercials, or maybe it was because I'm tired of watching other people do things when I should be doing things myself.

Additionally, and outside in the real world, I frequently observe things that I have been attributing to the effects of TV, such as:

• More than I've ever seen before [and I've been around the block quite a few times], folks aren't very nice to each other...what happened to respect and courtesy? And it shouldn't ever be funny to watch rudeness or someone hurting themselves.

• Lately, it seems to be OK to dis our leaders. That used to happen only in private, but now we see an abundance of foul language and character assassination hurled right out there for the whole world to see.

• Too many kids [OK...and adults] get bored way too easily and seem unable to set imagination to the rescue.

So far, staying off TV has been a liberating, easy decision :

• The house is nice and quiet, and cleaner.
• There's no 'pressure' to complete something in time to watch a program.
• My books are getting a workout: I've read up to 3 books each week [using time after work].

The TV hasn't been tossed out yet. I'm not sure yet, why that is. At least not today.