Sunday, January 27, 2008
NOTHING'S ON
Dr. Lao recently told me a few months ago that he doesn't watch broadcast television; he buys DVD sets of the shows he's been hearing a lot about, and watches those. It's hit me like a flying brick this past month just how wise such a system is. Whenever the wife and I have the occasional calm evening, we usually spend it surfing through hundreds of cable channels, all of which present tedious, unentertaining crapola, laden with commercials, none of it worth watching. Honestly, the Discovery Science channel has become a contender, partly because of its hilarious infomercials. But more often than not, we just torture ourselves, clicking from one QVC to Big Brother 73 to the Animated Adventures of Ann Jillian, looking for some half-hour module of entertainment upon which we can rest our bruised attention spans.
So DVD boxed sets seem, more and more, like the way to go, but here's another dilemma; Madame Toner and I agree on a very limited range of shows: basically just The Sopranos and The Office. I wouldn't dare suggest to her that we share an evening with Battlestar Galactica; she's not a fan of the geek end of the spectrum, and considers Star Trek to be the reeking ass-end of the TV digestive tract. And I'm not the world's biggest I Love Lucy fan. So, what to watch. If only books were more passive and required less brainpower, I would read even more of those.
Dr. Lao recently told me a few months ago that he doesn't watch broadcast television; he buys DVD sets of the shows he's been hearing a lot about, and watches those. It's hit me like a flying brick this past month just how wise such a system is. Whenever the wife and I have the occasional calm evening, we usually spend it surfing through hundreds of cable channels, all of which present tedious, unentertaining crapola, laden with commercials, none of it worth watching. Honestly, the Discovery Science channel has become a contender, partly because of its hilarious infomercials. But more often than not, we just torture ourselves, clicking from one QVC to Big Brother 73 to the Animated Adventures of Ann Jillian, looking for some half-hour module of entertainment upon which we can rest our bruised attention spans.
So DVD boxed sets seem, more and more, like the way to go, but here's another dilemma; Madame Toner and I agree on a very limited range of shows: basically just The Sopranos and The Office. I wouldn't dare suggest to her that we share an evening with Battlestar Galactica; she's not a fan of the geek end of the spectrum, and considers Star Trek to be the reeking ass-end of the TV digestive tract. And I'm not the world's biggest I Love Lucy fan. So, what to watch. If only books were more passive and required less brainpower, I would read even more of those.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
GOING COMPLETELY DENTAL
An update on El Blastero, the real hero of this blog; he continues to come along nicely, developing a range of reactions to all the craziness around him. Can't sit up quite yet, but is holding his head up and swatting at things with a vicious enthusiasm (=becoming a boy).
The teeth are starting their march toward daylight, causing frequent cranky spells, cascades of slobber, and a yen for clamping his jaws down on anything handy, especially fabrics.
New nicknames:
--Fave
--Bratwurst Boy
--The Soaker
An update on El Blastero, the real hero of this blog; he continues to come along nicely, developing a range of reactions to all the craziness around him. Can't sit up quite yet, but is holding his head up and swatting at things with a vicious enthusiasm (=becoming a boy).
The teeth are starting their march toward daylight, causing frequent cranky spells, cascades of slobber, and a yen for clamping his jaws down on anything handy, especially fabrics. New nicknames:
--Fave
--Bratwurst Boy
--The Soaker
