Because of my job, I'm supposed to be some sort of purveyor of all things entertainment. With so much stuff going on, it would be impossible to keep up with all the music, movies, plays, games, magazines and other pop culture tidbits available to us in this high-tech world. But I have given up one vice: television. And that puts me out of touch with a lot of people. Because a lot of people watch a lot of television.
I don't begrudge you if you're one of these folks. Many of my closest friends are TV addicts. Many of them watch every imaginable reality show, none of which appeal to me. It's cool. I have my own addictions (such as "Madden NFL 2004").
Once I started middle school, my TV-viewing time took an extreme dive. Sure, I have watched a lot of sports in my day (especially football), but much of that has been casual -- a game happens to be on, and I happen to stop and watch it. The only show I must set aside time for is "South Park." Three episodes into a new season, I already know it's going to be a classic. The show already has taken on the Janet Jackson fiasco and performance-enhancing drugs in ways that would make the networks cringe. And this week's show was titled "The Passion of the Jew." If nothing else, "South Park's" twisted humor is timely and topical.
But no matter how much I love the kids from the tiny Colorado town, they alone weren't worth $50 a month. So when I recently moved to a new place with no roommates, cable was expendable. And life has been nice.
While my friends plan their lives around shows -- either making sure they're home in time to watch something or setting their VCRs or TiVos for later viewing -- I prod along in my no-TV world.
But that doesn't mean I'm immune to TV. I read a lot of news stories about it. And since most of the TV writers in this country are terrible, they don't make watching TV sound all that enticing. But then I have my friends, who through e-mail lists and blogs make sure that I know everything I need to about the boob tube.
In return, I teach them everything they need to know about their blogs. For the uninitiated, blogs basically are online diaries. You can post comments about whatever you want, whenever you want. They can be long, short, a well-thought-out argument or a random tidbit of information. And you post it on the Internet for the entire world to read. A lot of people keep a blog to easily stay in touch with friends who live far away. They're also popular for political commentary. They're the new hot thing. First, it was cool to have a Web site. Now, it's cool to have a blog.
Of course, I'm terribly uncool, so I don't have a blog. And I don't read a lot of blogs. But I do have rudimentary knowledge of the computer language HTML, which isn't really necessary to keep a blog but can help you add some enhancements. So my services can come in handy. But the best part about blogging is that not only do you not have a be a tech wizard to run one, but many services around cyberspace offer blog space for free. Earlier this week, a friend of mine had no clue what a blog was. Two hours later, she was blogging.
It's that easy.
Almost as easy as watching television.
And it makes you cool. Or at least seem like you're cool.
Scott Johnson :: sjohnson@adn.com
