What? You don’t have a TV! (part 3)
[For previous installments of this series, see Part 1, and Part 2]
The amount of time Americans spend watching TV has gone up in recent years. Studies differ, but it’s usually estimated we watch on average nearly three hours of TV a day. Since I don’t have a TV, what do I do with my time? And, what must I be missing?
Besides work, cooking, cleaning, blogging, running, and that sort of thing, I do have some leisure time. So, mainly, I read. There’s magazine: TIME, The Christian Century, Harper’s, The Atlantic and others. There’s books: mostly fiction, sometimes churchy. There’s the web: dozens of blogs, news sites, social media. There’s radio: MPR (OK, I only listen to MPR, but that’s because it’s the best). And, there’s also the TV one can stream online.
About once a week, I’ll stream a show on Netflix (Mad Men is my current project). I’ll also sometimes stream The Daily Show with John Stewart and The Colbert Report. Netflix gives options for streaming movies (though the selection is lacking). Amazon Prime, as of very recently, offers streaming, as does, of course, Hulu.
By far the most frustrating aspect of my non-TV life is the lack of streaming sports online. My Internet Service Provider does not offer ESPN3, so I can’t easily watch ESPN-broadcast sports online. While Major League Baseball and the NFL now package some online-related programming — via smart phones and iPads — neither allows realtime streaming of in-network games, even at a price. I’d gladly pay a few bucks for the joy of watching an occasional Twins game on my iPad, or Vikings, or FSU anything. I hope television networks release their hold on the rights to distribute such games as soon as possible. I mean, come on! I’ll pay, but I just want the option to watch sports online.
This way of watching TV — streaming shows after they air, but seldom — I see as a sort of DVR TV approach, but only more extreme. If folks who DVR have the option of watching only the top shows they want, at the times they want (and with the commercials they don’t want), then I take same sort of approach, just a little more intensely.
If there’s a great show about which I hear a lot — like The Wire, and Mad Men — I can figure out a way to watch it, but sometimes it takes a few years. If John Stewart was particularly strong one night, I can go back and watch it the next day. I’ll usually only do so, however, if I hear, or see online chatter, about a high quality show. So I don’t watch much mindless stuff. My TV watching — or streaming, as the case may be — is very intentional. And, due to the limitations of TV online these days, it’s also limited to significantly less than three hours a week. Just the way I like it.
What? You don’t have a TV! (part 2)
[For previous installments of this series, see Part 1]
When I’m traveling for work and staying in a hotel room, I’ll often turn on the TV set. Generally, I’ll watch live sports, ESPN highlights, or CNN. It’s sort of a treat. On vacation, however, I never watch TV. For me, TV watching is somehow antithetical to vacation. Let me explore both of these claims.
First, though I don’t have a TV at home, I watch television in hotel rooms because it’s novel. I enjoy catching a baseball game or seeing what personalities in the news actually look like. When I travel for work I’m usually busy 10+ hours a day, so when I get back to the room I like to veg if I can. TV access makes that easy.
If I had a television at home, I might use it this way as well, but I think the unusual nature of TV access while traveling makes it more enjoyable. Like that delicious smoked turkey each Thanksgiving (and maybe Christmas), it’s best enjoyed as a special treat.
In fact, this leads me to the second point, that I don’t watch television on vacation (one exception being FSU football games). For me, vacation is a time to rejuvenate, read books, take walks, surf the Internet, just be. So it just happens, without me really meaning for it to occur, that on vacation I rarely watch television. Movies, I’ll watch. But more on that next post.
In fact, I’m beginning to feel like these posts are more parts self-disclosure than helpful reflection, so I’m stopping here for today. I don’t like it when my blog descends into navel gazing rather than more broad-minded critique. I do plan, though, to post soon regarding the media I do watch online — including several TV shows.
What? You don’t have a TV! (part 1)
Megan and I are part of the 1% — we don’t have a television. In fact, we haven’t for over five years (well, ten years, if roommates’ TVs don’t count). The decision to eschew a television was not one we pondered for long. It was not a measured countercultural stand against multinational corporations’ braincell-destroying dross called “entertainment” these days. Rather, we just figured, “Nah, guess we don’t really want a TV.”
People’s reactions to the disclosure that we don’t have a TV can be put into two categories. The first, is plain disbelief. Folks sputter, ask rapid-fire clarifying questions, search our cupboards and bookshelves for a surely-hidden flatscreen. They’re flabbergasted, gobsmacked, bewildered even.
The second reaction is even more telling. Many people respond by saying something like, “Oh, well, I don’t actually watch much TV at all. I mean, I should probably get rid of it too.” As if our decision not to have a TV is intended to cast aspersions at them.
This reaction — and it is quite common — cracks me up because it turns out that my decision not to have a television is in no way an attack on all televisions everywhere any more than my decision not to make french press coffee is a rebuke of delicious beverages. I’m not a TV hater. They do not offend me. I have never smashed one to pieces (though I have turned off a few that play Fox News in public spaces).
So, believe me when I say, “I’m not trying to make you feel guilty.” I promise. Therefore I don’t need to hear you apologize for the little television you do watch. I don’t need to have you explain, “I only watch one show a week.” Or, “we really should get rid of it.” Come on, folks. Own it, don’t apologize. (Or, if having a TV really does make you feel guilty, get rid of it.)
Over the next while, I’m going to take some posts to reflect on our lack of TV. I do this, in a small way to “come clean” — after all, it’s hard to know what to say when people say, “Hey, you know that commercial when….” Invariably, I don’t.
Mostly, though, I’m writing this series as an exercise in self-reflection. I wonder about things. How has not having a television for 10 years shaped me? Does that fact I don’t consume much television media influence my consumption of other media? In what ways is not watching TV a “spiritual practice,” or even a protest of powers and principalities?
Any questions of your own? Do me a favor: on a commercial break, send them my way.
image by Jay Lopez
A New Century of Blogging
The Christian Century has been gracious enough to partner with me on several projects over the years, in the early days accepting A Wee Blether in the CC Blog network and more recently printing essays of mine in the magazine. Today they’ve rolled out a spanking new and very pretty website — huge changes done well. Now at the user-friendly ChristianCentury.org, you can not only read the best take on the mainline church, theology, Christian living, and society around, but you can also access archives (which I’m totally pumped about).
For several weeks, I’ll be regularly contributing to the CENTURY Blog, cross-posting here along the way. Feel free to comment on either site (at least, that’s the plan for now). I’m not quite sure how our partnership will affect the content of A Wee Blether, but I may be more churchy or pastoral at times and perhaps comment more often on recent news and cultural events. No matter what, however, I want to be sure to keep my voice, however underdeveloped it might be. And, I’ll pop up some posts here (of personal or local interest) that won’t fly at the CENTURY Blog. As always, let me know along the way how things are going. So, stay tuned as a new adventure begins…
+ + +
from the CENTURY BLOG: From Other to Friend
Amy Frykholm posted yesterday about Muhammad Musri, the Muslim leader who met with Terry Jones and helped defuse last week’s Qur’an-burning situation. If more Christians and Muslims knew one another personally, the whole furor may not have occurred in the first place.
It’s a lot harder to adopt anti-Islam rhetoric when your family doctor is Muslim, or your daughter’s college roommate is Muslim, or your congregation has worked with a mosque to build a Habitat for Humanity house. Many of the troubling statements I’ve read in recent weeks—and heard in my pastoral ministry—would never have been said if folks simply got to know their Muslim neighbors. Conversations about Islam could shift from a focus on the unknown other to one on knowing one another better.
Recently, I’ve heard of many Christian pastors participating in interfaith services, posting supportive statements regarding Islam to their Web sites and teaching Sunday School sessions on Islam. NPR recently ran a great piece on “bridging the Christian-Muslim divide.” This is all positive and helpful, good steps on the journey from fear to understanding. But nothing beats personal relationships.
Have relationships or experiences with Muslims affected you personally? How can Christians promote positive relationships with our Muslim neighbors? How can churches help connect congregants to those of other faiths?
Meme: My Faith, My Tattoo
Background information: Adam J. Copeland is a pastor conducting informal research for some Christian youth curriculum addressing tattoos. Adam’s also taking a grad school class on cyberculture. This meme combines these interests, and hopefully will help him thoughtfully consider getting a tattoo himself. So, please, pass on the meme below….
In a few sentences, respond to the questions below — respond on your blog, on this blog, on Facebook, wherever. When you’re done, share, tag a few friends, and pass on the questions. If you post this somewhere else, keep the title, “Meme: My faith, my tattoo” for easy searching. For background on what the heck a “meme” is, see this article.
My Faith, My Tattoo Meme:
1. Describe your tattoo(s):
2. What made you want that tattoo(s)?
3. How did your faith influence your tattoo, indirectly or directly?
4. What’s the relationship between your tattoo and your broader understanding of your body?
5. Was it worth it…do you have regrets?
6. What funny story has happened because of your tattoo?
7. How did your tattoo change your faith (and if not, why not)?
For background on how this meme started, see Adam Copeland’s blog at http://adamjcopeland.com
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Here are some inks to those who have already participated in the My Faith, My Tattoo meme via their blogs. Also, in the comments of this post several others have answered as well:
- Abby at extraordinary
- the gospel according to mark
- Bruce Reyes-Chow
- Heather at all we know is falling
- emmy at insert post-modern title here
- Adam at pomomusings
- Kendra Kinnison
- Steph at tales from the bathroom stall
- Ania Read ponders here
- mihee kim-kort
- more links goes here…
Solving life’s mysteries one pondering at a time
An inquisitive guy, I often find myself asking questions out loud like, “I wonder why it takes organic milk so much longer to sour than non-organic milk?” Every day or so, I’ll ask another question to Megan or someone around me (I have very patient friends). Well, I finally answered the organic milk mystery a few months ago, and I’ve got a wee list started of similar ponderables I plan to tackle over the next few weeks.
Today’s question: why do bees gather around the front of our car this time of year?
I’ll tackle this one in sections. First off, why this time of year? Well, late summer is the time queens leave the nest and mate (queen bees, that is). So all over Grand Forks you’ll see bees and wasps buzzing this time of year. Indeed, our favorite restaurant Rhombus Guys has a “sit on the roof at your own risk” type sign since there’s so many bees around these days — waiter Tony really enjoys killing them, though. Friends of ours who live downtown have a hole in the brick wall outside their window. The sight is amazing: hundreds of bees buzzing in and out of the hole inches from their window. There must be thousands in the wall. According to this article, they’re looking for mates and will seek out a wintering spot soon.
Ok, but why do bees hang near cars, and specifically, near the front of vehicles? I’ll be honest, this is a tough one. Internet research — usually so reliable — brought up many possibilities and dead ends. I feel most confident, however, that the reason doesn’t have to do with sap or dead bugs or pollen. Instead, I’m convinced by a few who have said the reason bees gather near the front of vehicles this time of year is because they are drawn to the smell of anti-freeze.
The anti-freeze explanation convinces me, because you can walk down a parking lot with cars of various sap or pollen levels, clean cars and dirty, buggy grills and shinny ones, and bees don’t seem to consistently swarm at any one of these factors. However, they certainly are attracted to something about some of the vehicles, and I propose that something is the sweet smell of antifreeze, which comes especially from the cars that are warmer and have been driven more recently.
Do I have any inside info or significant knowledge to backup my assertion? Absolutely not. It’s a semi-educated guess, so if you want to burst my bubble and have a better idea, please let me know. Until then, however, I’ll call this one of life’s mysteries solved. Case closed, bee happy.
image by kd kelly
Series: What I learned about the US while living in Scotland, Part IV
(Entry part of a series: Part I: America is big, no really, America is big, Part II: Americans are conservative, Part III: Americans are Informal)
Part IV: Americans ain’t so prejudiced after-all
So I was getting my haircut the other day–one last shorn on this side of the Atlantic because Ayr prices are lower than Atlanta–and it got to the end of the snipping process when the barber/stylist/scissor wielder asks, “What do you think? Any more off anywhere?”
Well, my hair was shorter, but not short yet. My Scots sensibilities kicked in and I figured while I was there, I might as well get my money’s worth, so I say, “Actually, why don’t you take a bit more off the front.”
“Sure she says” as she leans in to cut.
I say, “My wife doesn’t like it real short, but I may as well while I’m here.”
And, as her scissors begin their downward snip, she stops, cold. “What, your wife likes it long and you’re saying cut more off?”
“Well, um, I guess I just figured I’d get my money’s worth.”
“No sir. You’re done. I’ll not cut another hair. You should have you hair like your wife likes it.”
And that was that.
This might not be the most descriptive story, but it does paint a bit of the gender picture in Scotland. My experiences this year have led me to return to the US with a greater appreciation for our gender equality. Gender-related or stereotypical comments that would be social faux pas in the US are fairly common here. I don’t know the story of the statistics, how the UK and US compare in terms of equal pay for equal work, sexual discrimination suits, etc. etc., but my general impression of Scotland has led me to appreciate–quite surprisingly, actually–where the US is on gender stereotypes and prejudices.
People here are much more tied to gendered social expectations. It’s assumed more often here, that Megan is the sole cooker, cleaner, and organizer of our household. It’s assumed more often here, that “girls are weak” and “boys are strong” or that men act certain ways and women’s ways are all identical and somehow anit-male. Female groups tend to talk more in a certain way about men, and vice versa. Off the cuff sexual comments made by respectable people here would be considered way out of bounds at home.
These gender realizations have come as quite a welcome surprise, as I’m a big advocate of continuing to challenge our presumed gender stereotypes in the US. It turns out that while I continue these efforts in the US, I should also be more cognizant and grateful for how far we’ve already come.
image by Edwin P
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