|
|
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1
stranger
|
|
stranger
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1 |
This week's theme inspired me to throw in a quick plug for my new favorite toy: http://www.tvbgone.com/TV-B-Gone turns off all television sets. All of them. It goes on your keychain, and it looks like one of those car-door-opening-fobs. In reality, though, it's a tele-assassin, streaming deadly off-rays at any television in its generous range. My laundromat, my supermarket, my bar, and my favourite cheap restaurant have all been made Safe For Democracy. Or, at least, the solitude needed to correctly address a good book. Note: I'm not affiliated or acquainted with the makers of TV-B-Gone. But I wish I were 
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757 |
Welcome, cowcumber, especially with such a noble ideal Not least of the complaints about TV is the frequently complete absence of visual stimulus - many programmes impart just as little data if you only hear the soundtrack. Perhaps television should actually be parsed as 'far from visual'.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
Do they make one which will disable portable telephones in places like movie theatres and restaurants (and courtrooms and churches)?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230 |
Quote:
Do they make one which will disable portable telephones in places like movie theatres and restaurants (and courtrooms and churches)?
Some cinemas do use mobile phone jammers.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467 |
It has been rumored that some major hotel chains use the phone jammers to force you to use their landlines, which have become a major profit center.
TEd
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636 |
Just build your church in my valley, Padre. Cell connections here are very poor 
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
In the US, it is currently illegal to jam cell phones.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
Quote:
In the US, it is currently illegal to jam cell phones.
Which is a real shame. I hate it when I'm sitting in a restaurant and some insensitive boob at the next table decides he/she wants to have a loud conversation over their cell phone.
It seems that all cell phone providers (or cell phones) are bad since everybody needs to yell while they're having a converstation.
It is extremely rude for the other patrons who are there to relax and enjoy a good meal, and it is the ultimate in rude for the person that is sitting in front of them.
AND, if you politely tell the person they are speaking a little too loudly and it is disturbing you, they invariable take offence and get huffy at you.
I hate cell phones.
======================================
Funny this topic...I had a problem with my computer this morning and the I.T. person at work asked my for my cell phone so he could synchronize it with my computer agenda in case the computer died while he was trying to fix it.
I told him I forgot it at home, to which he responded in exasperation, "Why the hell do you have a cell phone."
"Because you forced me to get one!!"
It drives my boss bonky because I don't answer it while I'm driving (very dangerous) and I turn it off when I reach the customer's office (a politeness issue).
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
Which is a real shame.
Just for ther record; I was not defending rude cellphone usage, but just stating that using a jammer in the US is a federal crime.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773 |
Being retired, I personally am grateful for TV and I do watch it 4-5 hrs a night, much as does the average clod
Agree that much of it is worthless although there are a few good edu channels that you don't have to pay for; eg, PBS, Hist, Disc...
A few good news, pol, discuss, and opin programs; eg, Chris Matthews, Anderson Cooper, Gwen Ifill, Tim Russet...
...as well as a few hilarious hybrids like the Daily Show and The Colbert Report...
...and a few good "free" entertainment programs; eg, West Wing, Desperate Housewives, Boston Legal. Very few
The CSI and L&O shows are entertaining and even somewhat edu; tho they seem to dominate the menu. There are so many that they overflow into the "free" space"
Last edited by dalehileman; 04/24/2006 1:51 PM.
dalehileman
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
zmjezhd, do you know why it's illegal to have a jammer, or to even mention having one?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
Dale, I'm not retired and I enjoy television too.
I've got a very high-pressure job and watching a well-written sit-com is a great way to unwind. I love laughing. It clears your head and makes the blood flow so you feel invigorated.
I love watching documentaries, or science shows. I love watching pure entertainment shows, like Boston Legal or Grey's Anatomy.
I just saw a whole series on the evolution of the Italian mafia that was extremely interesting.
I realize it is a common thing to slam television - or to slam anything that isn't educational or high-brow, but I really don't see what's wrong with the medium.
In comedies, why is the work of actors on the stage considered valuable, and not the work of actors in front of a camera? The same with a movie, why is a dramatic play acceptable, and a dramatic movie considered tripe because it isn't live.
I think it is all a matter of balance. If your whole life is spent in front of the T.V. it is unbalance. If your life is balanced, what is the problem?
I read tremendously; I've always got a few books and magazines going at once because I read what I'm in the mood for at that time. It's the same with television. I look at a whole variety of things, depending upon my mood.
I really believe that television is getting a bum rap and that it has become a type of self-righteous snobishness to frown upon those who watch television.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
I watch very little television. that being said, I think it is an amazing medium, one that has really been little explored.
I hate laugh tracks, and I would like to see more live tv.
there is just so much dreck on, that it can be hard to find the good stuff.
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
belMarduk-- Nope. I see the Act being involved is the Wireless Act of 1934 (as amended; see 47 U.S.C. Sections 301, 302a, 333; this was the act that created the FCC in the US). It might have had something to do with radio stations trying to jam one another in certain markets. And, probably, telecom companies have lots of lobbyists working in their interests. Maybe the Padre knows better.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
Ugh, I'm sure the polite folks in 1934 would cringe at how the act is being interpreted now. I can understand about the radio stations though, it is to avoid unfair advantages and monopolies.
Dunno, maybe not everybody feels the same way I do. I guess cell phones are a pet peeve of mine. I realize that some people are on call, and they need to carry the phone around with them. I'm more than fine with that; it's their livelyhood. It's the overwhelming amount of people that are inconsiderate of the people around them that burn my butt.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
I have not problem with cell phones per se, but rude people are another thing, and they come without cell phones, too. My least favorite cell phone abusage is people using them in movie theatres (usually talking to somebody else in the same theatre).
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
Quote:
zmjezhd, do you know why it's illegal to have a jammer, or to even mention having one?
Dunno if this is the reason behind the legislation but consider the trade off:
On the one hand you have the irritation of someone talking loudly in public.
On the other hand you have the life-saving act of contacting emergency services in a timely manner.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379 |
And the one necessitates the other.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467 |
Quote:
And the one necessitates the other.
Not here in North Carolina. There's a legal defense we use here called He Needed Killin'.
TEd
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379 |
You *do* come from NC, don't you: I think, by 'life-saving emergency services', fong was referring to EMS not Polizei
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773 |
bel: Thank you, can always use a little suport
But in order to placate my conscience I nonetheless crack a book during the commercial
eta: I hate the laugh tracks too, even when they're live
dalehileman
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
Oooo, ya, laugh tracks. I think they've been using the same one since 1967. Ugh. Hmmmm, that reminds me...didn't somebody once mention here that there was a specific yell that was used by movie-makers over and over again - as a tribute to the original person who created them. I think the the Lord of the Ring series was mentioned at the time. I have to admit that I generally always have a book open while listening to T.V.  Drives Hubby coo-coo puffs (allo ASp  ) since something will come on and I'll say, "nope, this is a rerun" and he always wonders how I could possibly remember since I was reading or doing a crossword puzzle at the time. [shrugging-shoulders-e]
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379 |
I don't like TV. I don't think it's an exciting medium. I don't think the way it is used is good for political or other discourse. I don't find it entertaining or relaxing. I find it depressing and torporfying. It's okay with me if other people like it. But I wish it wasn't foisted on me in every conceivable public place. And I don't think that makes me a snob.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773 |
insel: I feel that way about elevator and the telephone music on hold, not to mention your neighbors' relentless boom-box
Also the Christian religion, pushed at you implacably from all quarters and every direction
dalehileman
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
re: Also the Christian religion, pushed at you implacably from all quarters and every direction
Oh say a little prayer--of thanks!-- its not just christians who prostalitize.. I hate any who go about telling me their religious beliefs are the ones i need to save myself.
(christians are not the only ones who do it--perhaps in your neighborhood, they are, but not mine!)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773 |
Helen: Of course; but Christian promoters seem to predominate
dalehileman
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
I wasn’t calling you a snob Insel. I hope you did not think so, and do apologize if I made you feel that.
It’s perfectly fine to dislike television, just like it is fine to dislike elevator music or rap or butterscotch pudding or tap dancing or, anything, really. And most people accept the fact that somebody else may not like butterscotch pudding or tap or rap or the Girl from Ipanima, but for some reason, it is all too common that those who do not like television, look down on those who do.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757 |
nuh~uh, on two counts bel. First, I despise the medium of television - I don't presume to offer an opinion on the tastes of those who think otherwise, but I reserve the right to give a clearly argued account of why I think it has low cultural value. Second, your argument is only really convincing if you are prepared to argue that there is no difference in value between any two cultural artefacts - "rap is as good as Mozart"; this is a deconstructionist post-modern doctrine that personally I find both laghable and logically self-defeating.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
likes and quality are two very different animals. I'm with mav.
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
When we like something, we tend to jump to the conclusion that it's an objective judgment of some of that thing's natural qualities. Sorry; don't think so.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
well said.
so is there quality anywhere?
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
Yes sir.
I have no problem comparing a well-written article in National Geographic about the building of the pyramids and a well-written documentary about the same.
Though the written version may be able to present more facts, the television version is able to present more visual aspects you do not get in the written article. There was a kick-ass one this month on the Discovery channel in which I learned more than I had in a long time.
The power of a well-written humourous book lifts the spirits just as spirits are lifted with a well-written television comedy where the visual aspects of the humour are part of the whole gestalt.
===========================
MAV:
Personally, I really hate rap, but I’m sure that those who do could come up with arguments to the effect that it is as good a Mozart. I don’t think so, but that’s also only my opinion. I don’t believe I am the holder of the ultimate truth.
You have every right argue that television has low cultural value. But it is an opinion. Just because you strongly believe it is so, doesn’t make it the ultimate truth either.
I believe we should be allowed to voice our opinions, but I also believe it is boorish and rude to "look down" on people who do not believe what we do.
The television issue amazes me. Why is it o.k. that people emanate a feeling of superiority about not watching television – like not watching television makes them better people; yet they don’t look down on people who don’t share their opinion on other things (like the rap or elevator music).
Not watching television doesn’t make you a better person, it just makes you a person with different tastes and different opinions.
It is that self-righteous superiority that annoys me, not the fact that people believe different things than I do.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
Well, I was talking about qualities as in properties of objects and not quality as in something good. So, I suppose if you're talking about the inherent characteristics of something then hiphop and Mozart have a lot of similarities, but if we're talking about how hiphop is better than Mozart or vice versa then that's another kettle of fish. Aesthetic qualities, like semantics, reside in the human interpreter and not in the music / message.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210 |
yeah, I realized that, but it made me tie into what mav was saying about quality. and got me wondering.
formerly known as etaoin...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
There was a kick-ass one this month on the Discovery channel
PRESENTER: And the winner, for the most kick-ass documentary programme, is ...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
my daughter holds that watching television doesn't make you stupid, (but it doesn't do much to make you any smarter)
watching television makes you normal. television is an artifact of our society.
not watching (and for a short while i didn't have a TV, and for a much longer while (years!) my son and family didn't have a TV)--DD worried his kids wouldn't be normal.
DD is proud owner of a 32 inch screen tv, and regrets now she didn't buy a thin screen--she doesn't schedule her life round the TV, but she is aware of its cultural 'value'.
TV shows serve as common denominators--they give you something to talk about at work, (sex, religion and politics are not acceptable!) and its cheaper, and easier than drinking yourself into oblivion.
there isn't much much value to many TV shows, but a good deal of live theater is silly (disney!) musicals, and really how much social value is there in that sort of theater?(yes, there is theater that has social value, but beauty and beast ain't it!)
an opera's today require some effort, but when italians were watching italian opera, well the stories are no better than soap operas--albeit they are shorter.
yet so many hold theater (in general) and opera (in general) to be 'superior' arts than anything available on television.
Yes, TV is a vast wasteland --with only a few redeeming shows--but well, so is a good deal of theater!
there is good stuff out there, and i love live theater, but i think i agree with Bel, many people have a sort of moral superiority about not watching TV. (and their smugness is annoying.
(i don't think any one here has been smug, or smarmy about tv watching or not watching tv)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
(i don't think any one here has been smug, or smarmy about tv watching or not watching tv)
Oh! Me either! I did re-read my posts, just in case, because I know I was very fervent in my responses. I don't think I was insulting anyone, but you know how it is with this type of written Board - the tone of your argument doesn't always come out the way you want it.
I do hope that no-one took it that way.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529 |
Quote:
...Aesthetic qualities, like semantics, reside in the human interpreter and not in the music / message.
Speaking of semantics, zmjezhd; what's zat you say above?
Given that all "meanings" reside in human interpertation, what is it in your meaning that requires a distinction between "aesthetic qualities" and things non-aesthetic?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
Given that all "meanings" reside in human interpertation, what is it in your meaning that requires a distinction between "aesthetic qualities" and things non-aesthetic?
I was just saying that quality, like many words, is polysemous. And that eta seemed to be taking it one way, while I meant another. The speaker interprets, too. Since our vocabularies are so far apart, I have my doubts that we two can communicate in good faith, but I'm willing to give it a try ...
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
|
|
|
|
|
