tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34733483349120518662024-03-13T17:08:36.817-07:00'Stead of TVTV addict seeks alternative ways to occupy timesteadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.comBlogger198125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-29434744701758206612012-01-25T19:38:00.001-08:002012-01-25T20:58:27.699-08:00Signing offIt's been nearly two years since I wrote in this blog. At the time I started it, my profile wasI'm just child of the eighties weaned on a constant stream of TV, trying to establish a healthier relationship with video-based entertainment. I'd been wanting to quit watching TV and start writing more for some time and this blog seemed like a good way to combine both goals. I started this blog on steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-77918212903733166662010-03-28T11:18:00.000-07:002010-03-28T11:54:20.584-07:00Back to the FutureIn my last post, I wrote that I was worried about the reintroduction of a television set into our home. I needn't have worried--without the cable, I may do a maximum of four laps around the dial before it sinks in that there is nothing on (I'm a slow learner). And there is no one spot that we can set the antenna where we could get all the channels, which also reduces the surfing. It really only steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-54855292402252189272009-11-15T14:35:00.000-08:002009-11-15T16:16:23.190-08:00Uh OhWe bought a flat screen this afternoon. After watching nothing but streaming video and iTunes on our 15" laptops for two years, we are now watching basic network TV and Hulu on four times the area.So why now? My parents are visiting next week for Thanksgiving and for months I have been saying that I thought my dad would go stir crazy without one. Then yesterday I read an article on Black Friday steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-63899208004963436862009-08-11T20:41:00.000-07:002009-08-11T22:06:14.499-07:00The Last Word on TV and CookingMichael Pollan thinks deeper and harder about food and our relationship to it than anyone I know. By personally engaging in four different forms of eating (manufactured, big organic, sustainable farming, and living of the land) in The Omnivore's Dilemma, Pollan completely transformed the way I thought about the economics and ecology of our American eating habits. So I guess I shouldn't have been steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-46822366453666931522009-08-11T19:47:00.000-07:002009-08-11T20:02:44.856-07:00It's the End of TV as We Know ItSlate Magazine reports on Bob Garfield's book The Chaos Scenario with the headline "Is Television Over?" Apparently, the host of the radio show "On the Media" is arguing that the quality of network shows will get worse as audiences fracture, but they, and the advertising agency heavyweights that create TV ads, have yet to figure this out or what to do about it. The only shows that will maintain steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-61227674034668205942009-08-09T13:58:00.000-07:002009-08-09T16:55:42.930-07:00World's Youngest Food Critic?Some middle schoolers want to go to Disneyland, others, Le BenardinEven though this blog is about my ever-changing relationship to TV, I couldn't resist following up on something I heard while listening to an interview with food critic Ruth Reichl. An 11-year old girl stood up during the question and answer period and asked what she should be doing now to prepare to be a food writer, other than steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-86220033116627626412009-08-05T18:10:00.000-07:002009-08-05T18:33:22.033-07:00Impressions of JuliaThat voice--Julia Child was born to be imitated. Before I even knew who Julia Child was, I was laughing at Bill Cosby warbling over a cabbage and Hawaiian comedian Rap Reiplinger getting sauced while cooking a rubber chicken (I was far too young to be watching Dan Ackroyd on SNL doing his French Chef schtick). While Meryl Streep will be starring this weekend as Child in the comedy Julie and steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-55935316810592305032009-07-28T19:40:00.000-07:002009-07-28T22:18:01.248-07:00Only the LonelyIs Friends Replacing Friends? Okay, so the reference is out of date, but the latest Scientific American reports on research that TV can lower feelings of loneliness. Researchers from the University of Buffalo and Miami University reported in Journal of Experimental Social Psychology that people who feel lonely feel less lonely while watching their favorite show. They attribute this to a "social steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-7903838287158624862009-07-26T16:55:00.000-07:002009-07-26T20:31:32.084-07:00Review: (500) Days of SummerWhen my husband said "Let's go see (500) Days of Summer," I could not have been less enthused. I hadn't seen any commercials or trailers for it; having no expectations for a movie can be good but inherently leaves one completely unmotivated to see it. "What's it about? Maybe I'll just stay home," I moaned even as we were stepping out the door. By the end of the movie, I was thanking him for steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-16837632173650828692009-07-20T19:37:00.000-07:002009-07-20T19:46:39.064-07:00TV as Birth Control in IndiaIs this the real reason why industrialized nations have such low birth rates? The London Times reports reports these comments from the Health and Family Welfare Minister of India, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad on why it's so important to bring electricity to rural villages:“If there is electricity in every village, then people will watch TV till late at night and then fall asleep. They won’t get a chancesteadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-21801091496306701912009-07-15T20:06:00.001-07:002009-07-15T20:07:16.899-07:00Sense and Sensibility and Sea MonstersRight on the heels of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, this time with trailer:steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-45111435095760216412009-07-11T06:43:00.000-07:002009-07-11T06:57:58.601-07:00The First Complaint Letter Music Video?Wow, country musician Dave Carroll may have hit on something here. After more than a year of trying to get United to pay for repairing his guitar when baggage handlers threw it on the tarmac, he wrote a song about his experience and put it on YouTube. I cringe a little watching it because two members of my family retired after long careers with United, but it's darn catchy and apparently steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-49247088640894356832009-07-11T05:52:00.001-07:002009-07-11T06:05:29.208-07:00ABC finally moves to Hulu!I was away for a week so didn't notice which day this happened, but ABC finally started loading content into Hulu, approximately 2 months after their partnership deal went through. Now they actually have a shot at addicting me to their new shows (their streaming video server app stopped working for me ealier this year and we had to watch Lost on my husband's computer).Here's the thing though-steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-29599465961081164772009-07-04T12:36:00.001-07:002009-07-04T13:23:28.008-07:00Majors Stars Go Straight to VideoI think I first noticed the phenomenon when I heard about Amy Heckerling's unreleased movie I Could Never Be Your Woman. Until then, I thought it was just the B, C, and D-list celebs that went straight to video. If you ever saw a big star on a tape in Blockbuster without seeing that movies first in theaters, it had to be some dreck they put out before they were famous, right?Wrong. Michelle steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-26456165442141902732009-05-02T08:12:00.000-07:002009-05-02T11:00:40.755-07:00Hulu Poised to Take Over the Universe"Oh my god," were the first words out of my mouth, when I heard that ABC's parent company Disney had joined Hulu, but it should have been, "it's about friggin' time."As you can tell from the posts below, ever since I ditched my TV, I use Hulu almost exclusively to watch online shows. Although I go to ABC.com to watch Lost, ABC's homepage has one video ad blaring on its site for something like steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-41927322930386053152009-04-15T19:06:00.000-07:002009-04-15T19:10:43.752-07:00Live Streaming on HuluI think I've seen this trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that they were advertising on the Hulu home page, but I was curious about the ability to embed a live stream. So let's see how this works, shall we? steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-41623487590549457092009-04-04T07:35:00.000-07:002009-04-04T07:43:59.678-07:00Hulu Film Line UpOne thing I didn't realize was that the movies shown on Hulu often expire after a time, so early films like Sideways are gone. Instead, there are a lot of movie trailers. But there are still some interesting ones: if you haven't seen Super Size Me, it's entertaining and alarming. Here are some others that are somehow significant, though in an "eat your broccoli" kind of way.Hoop DreamsBuena Vistasteadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-55424228508628734662009-03-29T21:10:00.000-07:002009-03-29T21:13:27.475-07:00About the Cornerless Paper on BSG."All I know is the prop guy from the miniseries who had that idea lived in infamy for the next five years, with assistants shaving corners off of everything in sight, saying "I want to strangle whoever had this idea." -David Eick, in National Geographic.steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-91052197021324846332009-03-03T20:27:00.000-08:002009-03-03T20:36:47.383-08:00What Jimmy Fallon's First Interview with De Niro Reminded Me OfYes, it was this uncomfortable:steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-55557309431175204412009-02-16T12:57:00.000-08:002009-02-16T12:58:42.433-08:00Kittens Inspired by KittensThis girl could replace Andy Samberg on SNL. I don't know why but this makes me crack up.steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-19775092782975076142009-01-28T20:15:00.000-08:002009-01-28T20:17:38.427-08:00Less Than ZeroFinally a movie I haven't seen but want to on Hulu. steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-27982615954392013912009-01-17T19:46:00.000-08:002009-01-17T19:47:40.049-08:00Star Wars Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it)Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-90822769174153183832009-01-12T21:46:00.001-08:002009-01-12T21:48:21.314-08:00I Just Don't Know What To Say...about the trailer for Big Man Japan.steadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-48137175078830466102009-01-05T21:59:00.000-08:002009-01-05T22:08:42.985-08:00One Year without the TubeIt's been exactly a year and 175 posts since I stopped watching TV and started this blog. If you look at the number of posts per month, you'll it's really trickled off in the last quarter of the year. This is partly because I discovered a TV show that recently started airing in multiple places online. I watched all three seasons, or about a hundred episodes.That can't account for the lag entirelysteadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473348334912051866.post-65954126893095095352008-12-18T20:37:00.000-08:002008-12-18T20:58:10.983-08:00The Muppets Retake ManhattanA Muppets Christmas: Letters to SantaEarlier this year, I had written about how Disney was finally producing new content for the Muppets franchise it purchased ages ago this year with a series of YouTube videos and a few guest spots on the Disney Channel. But clips and appearances are one thing--it's been ages since they did a fully scripted story. Well, it looks like they haven't lost their oldsteadofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00087384823751869971noreply@blogger.com0