24?

Steve over at Hog On Ice has some strong words to say about perpetual TV-watchers...

Television is a filthy vice, like picking your nose. And like nose-picking, it's something we all do from time to time. Thank God, the older I get, the less I watch. And my nose seems to be holding up okay, too.

Is 24 a big deal? I have to confess; I have never seen it. I have no plans to see it. The last TV show that really got my attention was Firefly, and the TV gods killed it because it was good. Since then, I see Fox News with meals and bits of American Chopper and similar fare when Marv and Maynard have their "out" time. Other than that, I am strictly a DVD guy.

I can't help getting the impression that the Drudge duo is way more interested in television, and entertainment in general, than I am. If I had Drudge's money, the last thing I would do would be to lay around watching the boob tube. Now that I think about it, I'd do exactly what I do now. Only to a more pathological and satisfying degree.

I know so many people who pour the precious years of their lives into that stupid box. If that's what you have to live for, why do you even breathe? If you can't find something real to do, at least buy a computer and write a blog. Leave some evidence of your existence, other than a giant ass-shaped dent in a couch full of Cheeto crumbs.

[snicker]

I watch very little TV. If I do watch it, it's on Fox News, Alton Brown's "Good Eats" show on Food Network, or it's a DVR of "Law & Order: SVU." There are lots of days when I watch NO television at all. Of course, someone else's hiney-shaped dent might translate into the mirror-like shine on my laptop space-bar.

I sometimes feel a little out-of-it when people talk about "American Idol." I have my husband to keep me up-to-date on the latest "Survivor" series, because he adores it. But I feel the same way about live network television that I do about having to run to the telephone when it rings -- it's something I have to arrange my life around. The DVR has improved this somewhat (as has the VoiceMail and CallerID revolution for the phone), but I still don't care for live TV unless it's news or weather.

UPDATE: Aaron of Rantblog (NSFW) fame (and for being one of the favorite targets of Islamo-hackers) left a comment on that post:

Unplugged the tube in the summer of 1996. Took a while to get over NYPD Blue addiction but haven't really looked back.

Anyone who watches TV news should move to the front of the "Why Not?" queue.

After TV is people who thing phone calls are more important than the people in the room with you. I know someone who was frustrated at a bakery taking calls before dealing with the people in line IN THE BAKERY. So he phoned the bakery.

I hate phones. Just because you want to reach me doesn't mean that I'm waiting for your call or that you're necessarily more important this moment than the bug I'm trying to fix which requires actual attention. What I really want is a feature on my Caller ID that tells the caller "If you won't divulge who you are when trying to reach me, you aren't deserving of my attention. If you were to knock at my door, I'm not obligated to open it. My right to privacy and to my own time allows me the right to quietly peer through my peephole to ignore you, whether you are a friend, mailman or religious proslytizer."

AMEN!!