TV
"Television man....I'm watchin' everything."
Talking Heads

Lord knows I've watched my fair share of television. But since 1989...are you ready for this?...I haven't lived in a house that had cable television.

It's okay, I'll wait while you recover.

Really. Now, this is not to say I'm not aware of popular programs (I read after all), I just don't watch them. I know that "Lost" is popular and...well, maybe I don't know that much. Anyway, I can't say that I miss it.

Now, when I go visit my good friend Bobalouie, he has a big screen TV with 600 channels. And when I travel I'll watch TV in the hotel. But at home, there's not a lot going on other than Teletubby and Baby Einstein videos. TV has a way of making children restless for entertainment: fast, jerky, spastic entertainment that playing my guitar or reading a story isn't going to compete with well. Sweetheart, the world just isn't like that. But you know what? It's better. Instead of watching reality TV, we're going to go outside and create our own reality

Walking through the neighborhood at night, I'm always fascinated with the number of houses bathed in the blue glow of television. What are they watching? How is that affecting them? Who controls the airwaves?

That last question is the most intriguing. The short answer is, a very small number of companies control a very large amount of what gets served up night after night to the public. Does that concern anyone? I think it should. What better way to effect social control than to portray, every night, to millions of citizens what is "normal" behavior--styles, attitudes (why are fathers the baffoons of so many shows these days?), and consumer behaviors.

Consumer purchases make up 70% of our economic activity. You can bet the same companies that produce sitcoms and dramas also are trying to sell you something.

Shoot. Your. TV. You want a reality show? Go outside.