TV breakdown
Over the weekend the TV of my parents broke down: my father wanted to watch Lance Armstrong getting defeated on the Tour de France (which doesn’t happen anyhow) and then, suddenly, no sound! Nothing to about it! No, I am not that much of a physicist to actually open the TV and start checking out all the components.
This evening, getting home, I looked forward to watching my favored daily TV-program: Kaamelot (5 minutes, delirously funny) – and then: no clear picture, no clear sound, impossible to watch anything, on any channel! and there were also the Simpsons! and the Guignols! VCR is still ok, so probably it’s the antenna, I checked the connections, it must be on the roof – I should go ask someone in the house.
The two TVs breaking down is definitely a pure coincidence and not a sign from heaven, telling us something! Yet I am behaving exactly like this: I could still setup TV via my dsl-modem – so far I always refrained from doing it, considering that 50 channels would be far too much for me to zap through – but, I take the absence of a intelligible image as a sign to experience an evening at home without TV. Remains of a bad conscience!
Like many, I would not admit to myself that I am actually pretty much into watching TV. And not only culturally valuable programs. No, lately I mostly watch TV-series, sitcoms, even reality-shows and other crappy programs, hard to admit in public.
Jonathan Franzen wrote in “How to be alone” about socially isolated children reading books to pass time with imaginary company – TV just works the same. The advantage of books/TV over real people: you can switch on and off, and whenever it’s boring zap to another program. The disadvantage: they are never interested in what you might have to tell. I know, that during phases I feel interested in my own life, I don’t care about watching TV. Yet when I feel tired and I just don’t want to think about what I would like to do, nor talk with someone, I love this effortless company. So what now? Maybe simply go to sleep?
To help me with the same TV addiction, I got rid of my TV. But now I download TV shows every now and then... Ops.
Posted by: Gordon T Watts | July 21, 2005 at 05:29 AM
Well, I didn't have TV for years, but I was simply reading tons of books, or working day and night, or...
Zillions of ways to not be with myself and escape reality. The true answer lies somewhere else.
and as much as I wouldn't like to miss a glass of wine, I wouldn't like to miss TV when I feel like. To keep it reasonable is a pretty tricky buisnees.
Yet, you know this line from Red Hot Chilly Peppers: "Throw away your television, time to make this clean decision"
Posted by: ursula | July 21, 2005 at 12:02 PM
hey, hey, I got it working again! I needed to power-cycle after I couldn't get a video tape out and back it was! Don't know if the antenna was repaired, or if indeed it needed only a full power-cycle.
And I still don't know if this is a good thing after all...
Posted by: ursula | July 25, 2005 at 05:12 AM
i knew mine was doomed the moment handheld game-and-watch arrived. how's your cellular unit?? (GUY-228)
Posted by: m.visaya | September 11, 2005 at 05:08 PM