The loneliest appliance in my house the T.V.

[DearAbby]

I remember years ago I was a stay at home Mom, the TV was the first thing to be switched on every morning and the very last thing turned off at night. Ask me about a program, I could tell you the channel and time. I had Soap Oprea withdrawls on the weekends.

How much has changed. Today after coffee of course, the computer is the first on. Also Air America Radio is on. After email. DU is my next stop. >I would really get DU Withdrawls< DU has been my source of information, my rescue from insanity.


The TV now sits in the corner of the living room. Off. It dawned on me about this, seeing that part of the living room so dark. The TV is hardly on anymore. It has nothing to offer me.

Thanks Guys I really love you!

[kster]

1. True that. Same here.nt

[Kazak]

2. I miss cable now that it's football season (big college fan)...

but otherwise my tv is now usually off or on public television.

[liberaltrucker]

6. Got DirecTV in my truck

Only time it's on is during football season. And, of course, for the Weather Channel during winter.

[Maraya1969]

19. Direst TV in your truck? Where does the cable go or has the whole

world gone wireless while I have been hanging here at DU?

[LuCifer]

3. I'M DOWN WITH THAT!

I, for the most part, HATE TV! Anytime I hear someone say they moved or whatever and "OH MY GOD! I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT MY TV" I'm like what the shit?! HUH!? Me? I'll take my sterio and computer ANY DAMN DAY over TV!
"OH MAN, I AM BE MISSING THE NEWEST SHIT REALITY TV SHOW THAT'LL MAKE MY MIND INTO MUSH AND I AM BE WILL VOTE RETHUGLIKKKON, WAAAAAAH!"

Lu Cifer, I am availible for childern's parties!

[phusion]

4. I haven't owned a TV for about 6 months...

and getting rid of it was the best decision I've ever made!

I have more time to read, post on DU :evilgrin:, etc.

[rawtribe]

5. The only time my T.V.

is on is when I get a new DVD from Netflix. Killed the cable along time ago, DU is the worlds best soap!

Don't forget to turn it all off and go for a walk or listen to some good music.

[noahmijo]

14. Me too only thing I watch on tv are DVD's

RARELY watch any kind of programming.

[Hello_Kitty]

7. Do we share the same brain or what?

I've never been a stay-at-home mom but other than that, my experience parallels yours exactly. Other than an occasional glance at CSPAN, CNN, or the Daily Show, my TV stays off.

[proud patriot]

8. I had the exact same experience a few years ago

DU and AAR do that :headbang:

[DearAbby]

9. I was honestly a TV Junkie...I could not live without ALL MY CHILDREN

One life to live, and General Hospital...I was so hooked on what was going to happen to Luke and Laura, that tells you how far back this addiction went.

Now, I had never seen an episode of Desparate Housewives, I dont know who the hell Earl is. I would be totally lost on any series. Hell I dont even watch football anymore and I was a rabid Broncos fan.

The TV sits in the dark in the living room and here I sit in my "office" on the computer talking to my keyboard brothers and sisters.

truely amazing

[bobbieinok]

41. yes....ABC soaps ruled IMO

[Daphne08]

10. I stopped watching TV years ago. I started again this year and

...the first thing I noticed? Television news is so darned slanted today (Fox News is just plain unbearable).

The second thing I noticed? The number of pharmaceutical ads -- a person could become a hypochondriac just watching TV these days. :silly:

[MazeRat7]

11. I like the TV... just like any tool it has "appropriate use".....

Its an excellent display device for DVD's I wish to watch. It shows me live radar about the weather (complete with NOAA commentary that sounds a lot like Steven Hawkin), it shows me traffic cams for the local freeways, it brings me the science channel, the history channel, and of course HBO. Oh did I mention PBS with Austin City Limits, the discovery channel, CSPAN (1,2 & 3)...and well lets see.....

Hummmm... perhaps you should try using that tool for what it does best. You cant expect a screwdriver to loosen a bolt... KWIM ?

MZr7

[rawtribe]

16. Most of this can be found

on the net with a high speed connection. T.V. as a tool is obsolete.

[MazeRat7]

33. I disagree.....

Very few of the programs I watch from the "channels" mentioned are streamed on the net...Including my local traffic cams... oh and when was the last time you sat down with the family in front of a puny 21" monitor or your laptop to watch a quality DVD ? No, like I said, every tool has appropriate use. When I want to relax, I walk away from the 7 or so computers in my studio (complete with broadband connection) and go sit on a the couch in front of the much larger "tv".

So you see... large scale display devices (eg TV's) are far from obsolete.

MZr7

[OKDem08]

12. we love you, too!!

peace. :hi:

[DearAbby]

13. Back at cha

:hi:

[OKDem08]

17. hugs 'n kisses

G'night DearAbby & DU :bounce:

[Liberal In Texas]

15. Mine too. And we have an HD set. Great for DVD movies. n/t

[jbnow]

18. This reminds me of a party I was at

and a similar TV discussion going on. Everyone was quite vehement in how little TV offered, an opiate for the masses. They didn't watch it or just for rare and worthy reasons.

What can I say but what I said then. I like TV, it amuses, educates and informs me.
My son commented that I don't exactly "watch it", he's never seen me sitting and watching. I assured him I do sit and watch at least the opening part of the Daily Show, Stewart's expressions are a great part of the humor.

For other shows I look up now and then parts that need visual attention. I watch closely the exciting parts of sports closely, but more I listen to it.

As someone who has been redoing the house myself with no prior experience I love HGTV. I appreciate the ideas and inspiration but there is another part that feels good too. With all the prejudice in the world when they redo rooms or houses all the people are treated like they are people! Gasp!!! Often the couples whose home is being redone are gay or of mixed races or unmarried straight couples and it's all just the same. Whether they are introduced as "Bill and Karen have lived in this home for 7 years" or "Bill and Bob have lived in this house for 10 years" doesn't matter to the show.
What a refreshing thing to see (or hear).

I never watch fox news, but I do like to watch many news or political shows elsewhere. Sometimes I need to balance them, wash the palate of my mind with a little Nick at Night or TV Land... some Murphy Brown or Night Court or Golden girls. I like that. I don't know many new shows though I happened to see Two and 1/2 men and have kept watching that.

I like shows on nature and science and whatever I am curious about.

My computer is in the same room and I am often there. I might be cleaning or working on the house or doing paperwork while it is on, but I like TV.

At times electricity is lost for a bit after a storm I never feel like I miss TV, what I miss is being on the computer.

But I like TV.

[EuroObserver]

20. Drape some cloth over it

and stand plants on top (the kind that grow downwards).

Recommended, DearAbby.

[tavalon]

21. When I was 24

my husband suggested that we stop watching so much TV. I was mortified as I grew up in a family that watched dawn to dusk. But he usually got his way and after a while, the only thing we watched was CNN and headline news. When he and I split up about 6 years ago, I stopped watching even that and I'm much happier. Yeah, I don't know about any of the newest series but when I hear others talking about it, I'm unconvinced that I'm missing much. Sometimes I have a TV, sometimes not but never cable and it's only really around to play DVDs.

[Vinca]

22. I don't think I could live without TV.

It's on constantly with news or politically-related programs. I only watch a couple of entertainment shows (and one of them is West Wing). If we had high speed Internet access I might give it up, but try to watch CSPAN on dial up.

[MADem]

23. I LOVE TEE-VEE!!!

But then, I multitask. I always have the news on (usually MSNBC, but sometimes I flip). I take what they hand me with a grain of salt, or sometimes a shaker of it, but I like being able to see the images of events as they occur. I like CSPAN, and I really enjoy HBO--Bill Maher, the comedy specials, ROME, SOPRANOS, DEADWOOD, and the late lamented SIX FEET UNDER and CARNIVALE.

I don't care for the talk shows, or soaps, or the network sitcoms--but occasionally I catch the network news, which is uneven on a good day.

But I do like TEE VEE! When I lived overseas as a kid, we didn't have one. When I lived overseas as an adult, in third world countries, there wasn't shit on, and that was before videotapes. When tapes became possible and I was still overseas, I had to work 15 hour days so I never got a chance to really enjoy watching anything for very long. So now, in my dotage, I enjoy the hell out of it, and don't apologize for my slothful behavior.

But I can understand why others may not feel that way!

[mcscajun]

24. Yup...TV as background noise while multitasking...until the Good Stuff

comes on:

Rome, The Sopranos, The West Wing (okay, it's not as great as it was when Sorkin was around), Real Time, HBO specials like last night's live appearance by George Carlin. The occasional show on channels like Discovery Science, National Geographic, where you actually learn some interesting things, and of course, for pure hedonism, the Food Network.

And movies, movies, movies. I love Movies without commercials.

The rest of the crap on TV you can keep.

[wildeyed]

25. I stopped watching much years ago.

I think it was the commercials and relentless marketing that turned me off, more than anything.

[DarleenMB]

26. Me too!

I was thinking about that just the other day and wondering why we're paying about $100 month for satellite (oh wait, hubby's football fix, that's right!). I have even given up the newspaper, a result of post election burnout. Living in Wyoming and trying to speak to the hard of hearing in this state is wearing, LOL.

Thank god for the internets. ;)

[seabeyond]

27. here here and i am a stay at home mom. if it goes on it is for

a dvd. my kids dont watch much tv either. as you say, it doesnt offer much

[IndyOp]

28. I had serious DU withdrawal two weeks ago when I got kicked off DU --

I had posted "The Republican Alphabet" and then kept replying to my own post to add "A", "B", "C" and so forth. Long about "R" I got kicked off the DU system because the spam filter caught me.

I sent an email to the mods and admins who got me back on later that afternoon - but for about 6+ hours I was locked out! Alone. Isolated. Watching everyone else on DU posting on "The Republican Alphabet" and I could not join in!

I did laugh about the situation - but, wow, what an experience of withdrawal.

:-)

[Mnemosyne]

29. That's my TV also DA! pos dust catcher! n/t

[AnnInLa]

30. We just have to be careful

I remember hearing Naomi Klein talk: To all those who cry out, "Turn off that TV, Don't watch the news or political shows!" She said this is exactly what the RW is hoping for, for us to cede the airwaves to the RW, not to lobby for fair and honest broadcasting. We ceded the radio airwaves to the RW, and look what has happened. The place most of the sheeple gets their news is, unfortunately TV News and political shows. If WE don't hold them accountable for what they broadcast, then the RW agenda takes over, and the sheeple get even more of a biased agenda than they're getting now. She emphasized how vigilant we must be...to monitor, to contribute, and to hold accountable. David Brock does exactly this with his MediaMatters.com, and to lesser extents, bloggers have done the same...be watchdogs of what is being "fed" to the sheeple. Klein's main point was, do NOT turn off your TV's, monitor them and hold reporters/newscasters ACCOUNTABLE until they report the news honestly and transparently.

That being said (lol), I find most of the non-political programming absolutely stupid! Does anyone else think this? If America has been
dumbed-down, then TV programming is the proof!

[Samurai_Writer]

31. I only watch DVDs on my TV

I love movies, and have a growing collection with a wide variety of genre. Right now I'm watching Adam's Rib with Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. I haven't watched regular or cable TV in over five years, and don't miss it a bit.

[IronLionZion]

32. I don't have a TV

The only stuff I really miss is the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and political debates.

I get my news and entertainment from the web.

Oh and I'm one of those losers who watches DVDs on my computer. :P

[niallmac]

34. I am weak and easily mesmerized.

I don't know exactly what 'time' is but TV sucks it out of my finite life. Now I believe I am over the withdrawals. I can watch a DVD movie when I have the time, about twice a month.
When I was truly in it's clenches I HAD to watch the 'Morning Shows.' It slowly dawned on me that after an hour of watching a morning show I felt vaguely depressed. I felt out of it, not with it, not in the middle of life enjoying every second to it's fullest. I felt unhappy with my self.
I read books now. I post confessions on DU and enjoy my family in 'con-verr- say- shun.'
I am the same person I was back then but I have completely forgotten that I am just ten consumer items short of complete happiness etc.
It's a tool.

[Field Of Dreams]

35. I always have Turner Classics on in the background.

Love old movies. Don't watch anything on the major networks except my favorite sports teams.

[DearAbby]

36. Hi All! Thanks for the very entertaining look into your lives and TV habit

It was Great! :applause:

[longship]

37. TV or not TV, that is the question.

For me the answer is simple, Not TV.

[Burried News]

38. I'd rather watch a bridge rust.

[tomreedtoon]

39. Keep it from being lonely...

...put your telephone, cell phone and computer next to it and turn them off too. Good luck with the next hurricane/tornado/riot/whatever.

I work in TV. I don't like the way my bosses run much of it, or some of what they program on it. But turning your TV off is like not voting in elections because "it only encourages them." Instead of supporting good programs, you're supporting NO programs.

[Initech]

40. The Daily Show is really the only reason I dont nix my Dish Network

Otherwise, my satellite box would just be a giant paper weight since most of the shows I watch are on DVDs anyways.