Wednesday, 10/27 -- Hardline political stance.

I haven't previously mentioned anything about politics in this blog because, well, this blog is all about me and I'm not running for any office.

But the time has come for me to take a stand and let you know what my political stance is. My opinion will no longer be kept silent. I will now make you see things my way.

Here it goes:
On November 2nd I will vote. You should too. That's all.
(I approved this message.)

One of the main problems with election years, especially during the month of October, is all the insufferable political ads on TV. The ads are so repulsive and lowest-common-denominator that they make me sick. TV will be almost unwatchable until the 3rd.

The saddest part about this rant of mine:
I didn't watch too much TV until the past few months. This blasted disease has me house-bound and couch-bound, so I'm "forced" to watch unhealthy amounts of television. Not only do I know the Tony Danza show exists, but I've seen several episodes. I know what a Boohbah is. I play along with the Price is Right and Millionaire just about everyday, and I'm getting good. Channel 35 has some bizarre programming during the day, and I watch and love them all. Channel 48 has become some kind of born-again channel, I tune in to watch in bemused horror as crazy white men dance around after being "saved" by other crazy white men with plastic hair. To my credit I am not wrapped up in the story line of any soap opera (even though I do like All My Children).

I didn't used to be like this, except when I was a child/teenager. When I was young I watched an unhealthy amount of TV. Between 7th and 11th grades, I was a fat, lazy child. I loved to eat junk food while watching whatever was on at the time. It hardly mattered that most of the crap was dull and boring, so long as I didn't have to think too hard. Countless hours flushed down the media toilet. It's surprising that I turned out as well-adjusted and stable as I did.

Around the time I got to college, I woke up to life and turned TV off. I found that there were other things to do, lots of other things. Also lots of people to meet and do things with. And girls. I realized that I wasn't meeting any girls in front of my TV (and the girls IN the TV weren't talking to me either). I turned off the TV and turned on my natural curiosity. I let my curiosity run wild and drag me into places that TV fears to tread. It's been a wild ride. I've never been bored since.

Don't get me wrong, there have been many TV shows that I continued to follow. Shows that have enriched my life, made me smarter, made me laugh and have opened my eyes and mind. Shows like the Simpsons, M*A*S*H, Antiques Roadshow, Frontline and more. Just about any science-related show on PBS would always catch my full attention (NOVA, Nature, National Geographic, Secrets of the Dead, Scientific American Frontiers, etc). David Attenborough is a personal hero.

So I wasn't an anti-TV snob. At least not in my opinion.

Now I'm a fully indoctrinated member of the American Society of Couch Potatoes. I'm not complaining, rather, I'm kinda enjoying it. There are times when I'm too weak/sick to do anything else. TV is distracting me from the boredom and loneliness of being sick. It makes my days go faster. It is my escape from reality and a chance to turn my brain off. I thank TV for that gift.

We don't have cable. Very few of us potatoes can survive without cable or satellite TV. I fear that if I had more than 10 channels to choose from, no one would ever see me away from the TV again.

Except during an election year.