TV Begone

I've embarked on a new quest: cut my media consumption by 80%. I often wonder how my consumption got this bad. I have loved television for the escape it has provided and the creative waters in which I've bathed. Enough is enough though, and it is time to make a change.

With the ever-burgeoning population it makes sense that media production has also advanced and grown in scope. 1980’s Shows like Simon and Simon and Remington Steele were awesome in their own right, but only held our attention on the occasions we were able to reasonably view them. Simply put, we weren’t keen to missing an evening with friends (even the lame ones) in interest of catching our favorite program, and we often only had one or two favorites.

While VCRs did allow programmable timing of our favorites they were cumbersome and flawed. Our best programming efforts were laid waste and we resigned to the hope we might catch a missed episode in syndication. In general, we weren’t as “extreme”; we didn’t have chiseled physiques, but we were all of reasonable fitness. Today we’ve entered a polarized dichotomy of Perez Hiltons and Antonio Sabato Juniors.

While I wanted to eschew my viewing addiction, I could not decide the items for elimination. To be sure, the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) can help immensely with this. As a statistician, there is something to be said for when 550 viewers only rate NBC’s Chase with a 6.4/10; it gave me pause to consider why I was watching it. Was I watching Chase merely to watch an athletic Kelli Giddish jump off of bridges, maybe I was. While many of us love fantasy and sci-fi did Legend of the Seeker (8.0) truly merit a full 1.5 higher mark than the medium budget action-drama Chase? Something seemed amiss.

Using the IMDB scores as a starting point, I devised an Excel format to penalize subgenre/tantalizing characteristics that may unduly give weight to what we choose to view.

• It is unfair to penalize all Sci-Fi and fantasy shows for their novelty, but when nearly half of each episode is permeated by CGI monsters, explosions, and the whatnot, we have to take inventory.
• Similarly, nudity for nudity’s sake must be squarely avoided. To this end, wide-angle panning shots of thong bikinis are a negative strike. We’re not talking fast pans where Dexter or Detective Caine (CSI: Miami) assess a beach floater on a blazing sun morning, but Technicolor boob shots for seemingly no reason other than getting you sprung (Hawaii-Five-O, 2010) are banal. Showtime’s Californication sex escapades were uniquely integral to the plot line early on, but as the series has coalesced into its 3^rd and 4^th seasons it is became clear that the writers are writing chiefly for viewers; baser instincts.
• Superheroes - we love them, but really? Are any of television’s caped crusaders more riveting than the heroes of our childhood newsprint or box-office blockbusters of recent?

In total, programs with any of the above-three integral characteristics were given a (-1) credit in their overall score. In total, programming scores for my viewing over the past 4 years are listed below. They have been ordered in inverse scoring order top-to-bottom, with their overall scoring in the final column.

Shows	Deduction	Overall Score
South Park		9.3
Dexter		9.3
Community		8.9
Fringe		8.8
Justified		8.8
Sons of Anarchy		8.8
Southland		8.7
Castle		8.7
White Collar		8.6
Glee		8.4
Californication	1	7.8
Detroit 1-8-7		7.4
Human Target	1	7.3
Burn Notice	1	7.3
Merlin	1	7.0
Legend of the Seeker	1	7.0
Hawaii Five-O	1	6.9
Royal Pains	1	6.8
No Ordinary Family	1	6.5
V	1	6.5
Chase		6.5
The Cape	1	5.9

Listed in the above columns are 22 of my previously viewed shows (I might has missed one or two). This certainly isn’t a perfect system and some shows might really only deserve a (-0.5) deduction. Few measures of this sort are perfect, but there has to be some method.

Cutting 80% of my viewing only affords me the viewing of four shows. I’m also working hard to curtail a questionable practice: using bit torrents and IP maskers. By reducing my television I’m able to cut that also.

I still love television. The last 15 years has brought us an incredible range of options, from internet streaming, to TiVo, to Netflix and most recently, Boxee. However, we all need to get out more. I no longer want to be a slave to the wiles of Hollywood; I think I’ll go for a run instead. Heck, I might even read a book.

Book Review(s): Gina Welch vs. Kevin Roose

I didn't intend to read two different books detailing clandestine investigations into Jerry Falwell's church. I was somehow reading another review when Roose's book first came into my purview. Knowing very little, but being progressive of mindset myself, I felt it was important to pick up The Unlikely Disciple, which had been released in early 2009. Having just finished a melancholic John Dufresne title, I looked forward to a sunnier chronicle of life within the Evangelical bubble. Not a moment later than I had returned the book did I learn of Gina Welch's expose In the Land of Believers. To the best of my knowledge, this is perhaps the first review to juxtapose the similarities and differences of these two works, so similar in scope. While I feel both have their place and are good reading, I do have my biases.

Roose's book did not disappoint. Roose, trained in the footsteps of A. J. Jacobs, is as much a reporter as an author, and that makes all the difference. Although his time at the Thomas Road Baptist Church and Falwell's Liberty University would span only 6 months, his decision to live as a dormitory student gives him ample anecdotes and riveting dialogue. In the end we come away understanding several truths: prayer, worship, and even a little faith can make an individual life better, irrespective of inconsistencies in logic and an ostensibly bilious demagogue. Roose, a then-undergraduate at Brown University, takes a leave of absence to pursue his writing adventure, and appears to return with a renewed perspective.

This year a new Evangelical odyssey found it's way to booksellers in Gina Welch's In the Land of Believers. Welch, a Yale graduate and University of Virginia graduate scholar, takes time away from her home in Charlottesville for more than 2 years, attending regular church services at TRBC. She joins a singles ministry, and ultimately finds herself in Alaska on a proselytizing mission trip. The last third of the book unabashedly exposes the doubt and uncertainty of Evangelical witnesses, indirectly suggesting the vulnerability all persons of faith who seek to "win souls for God".

An unavoidable question presents: which book is better, which should I read? I can't answer this question easily. Roose manages to obfuscate his Quaker roots throughout much of his experience. As a student at Liberty University, he is of an invisible minority of students who do not fit the prescribed Liberty U mold, and it never occurs to his compatriots to consider he might not be "saved". It is only toward the end of the book that his lack of spiritual conviction is adumbrated, and he comes clean to his unwitting accomplices. Roose feels the pull of his complicity in breaking the trust of his friends, and convincingly communicates this conflict.

Welch's experience is slightly different, for although her overall tenure at TRBC is longer, she is able to take longer periods of refuge away to her home in Charlottesville, maintaining a properly balanced secular lifestyle. This period provides the fodder for the first third of her book and is similar to that of Roose's unflinching censure of Fundamentalist homophobia and ecological ignorance. However, Welch exudes an unrelenting sardonic tone that is more harsh than that of Roose. Dissimilar also is Welch's choice of tack: she comes forward to receive Christ and undergoes baptism. Both she and Roose underwent missions adventures, so they both share some inherent duplicity.

Between the two authors, Welch is clearly the more trained writer. Her tormented dream sequence descriptions are superb, and she most excellently pulls no punches in exposing the leprous underbelly of the more unsympathetic Christian members. Unlike Roose, I never completely felt convinced she had mentally immersed herself in the Christian paradigm (baptismal pun intended). Welch always seems to proffer a mental quip or scoff when interacting with her Christian counterparts. Sometimes this is fitting when she's condemning the hypocrisy of a Bible study leader, at other times its just jaded and mean.

I learned a lot from each of these books, and easily can recommend them both. Welch's book is longer, as she probably has 1.5x the word count per page compared to Roose's work. All told, this has been enough to suggest I need to leave the land of Virginia for a time; I've certainly had a healthy dose.

I had to wonder if whether the contracts for these books were cemented following the passing of Falwell. Certainly Falwell's death in 2007 provided a fulcrum for the authors, no doubt about it. Why were not other religions examined? Why not Hasidic Jews, Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists? Aside from immersion being more difficult among these faiths none are of the mercurial ilk of recent Evangelical blurbs. From the emergence of Rick Warren's Saddleback juggernaut to the fiasco of Ted Haggart's homosexual unveiling, the Evangelical church remains a tough act to follow, and we can only thank both of these raconteurs for bringing us more of the tale.

The World of Electronic Auctions

I am not a big seller on Ebay nor Craigslist, but I've done it all. It seems finding the price point to satisfy both seller and buyer is hardly a winning prospect. I only scoff looking at our latest prospective governor Meg Whitman (ex-Ebay CEO) who has proclaimed that "she has what it takes!" Ebay sellers know they've been fleeced horribly over the past 5-8 years and many have left that opportunity altogether. Whitman reminds me of the preschool teacher who smiles at the door, then smacks you around when your parents leave. I'll pass.

This being said, I've listed a few items on Craigslist (now owned by Ebay?!) for any takers:
1. A massive Dark Horse Star Wars Comic Collection
2. A number of GI Joes and Go-Bots
3. Nokia Chargers!
4. All of my old Canon and Konica camera equipment.

If you see anything that strikes your fancy, give me a jingle!

Feduciary Solvency: Are Men or Women Guiltier of Capricious Spending?

I've come to a introspective phase of my life where I've begin to look upon my past purchasing decisions, and have come to a conclusion: I'm an idiot. In fact, I'll take it one further: I think most men are idiots.

Now don't take me wrong, I've come to expect that women are far worse for buying things on the fly that serve little purpose. Perhaps my mother is the best example of that. Yet, when it comes down to it, when men decide what we "need", the gloves come off. Most of us have by now heard about or read Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad, and have some semblance of what judicious spending should look like. However, even if you add up all your girlfriend's/wife's lattes, and those atrocious shoes that made her feet hurt (and consequently did little to heighten her sex appeal) , did they really compare to that new camera you purchased, your new ski equipment, or that stellar TaylorMade graphite driver?

Those men that already have children are presently excused, you already know your recreational life pursuits have taken a backseat to marginal sleep and baby vomit. However, for the rest of us... are we really doing the best we can? Nearly two weeks ago I began work in Kendrick's The Love Dare, a Christian book to assist in strengthening (or repairing) marriages. I've only made it to day nine, as life gets in the way. What can I say, it is a work in progress. What stands without question though, is that I've kind of been a schmuck.

It's unreasonable to expect that my love of technology will evaporate or that I'll stop pursuing all interests that require ungodly sums of money, but I certainly can do better. My wife certainly appreciated the new portable hard drive she just received. The cost: savings amalgamated for a replacement head unit in my car. Sans regrets, I'm hopeful this can become a new trend.

Annie Leonard: The Story of Cap and Trade

For those of you who don't know her, you've got to check into this author. In her newest video she discusses emissions/pollution trading and the market. Check it out.

What to do about Facebook tagging.

You go about your general business: uploading an image set, etc., only to discover later that the involved entities have removed their image tags. Now this can be for numerous reasons: they don't like the image, they have too many images, they don't want their private life to be accessible... but this really doesn't make sense.

Take my cousin for example, at current she has 1,818 images tagged with her name on them. Really girl, you had to remove your name from that one image from Thanksgiving? Are you serious? This brought me to wonder, what to we call a person who is either snobbish or particular about Facebook image tagging?

After taking a click over to Urban Dictionary I left a bit frustrated. There were numerous listings for those who tag more than the prescribed amount or in an injurious fashion, including: tag diss, tag happy, tag queen, tag whore, tag-holic, tagfag, tagster, and my personal favorite, taggot. Other nouns and adjectives were also present including tag lag, tagable or taggable, tagafull, taggin' it, tagging spree, and tagworthy. Yet only one definition was proposed against those who are finicky or somewhat disliking of tags: tag-hater. That's it, tag-hater. You would think in this world of never-ending tag-poster dislike there would be a better dissing world for the counterpart.

Can't we do better? Tagophobic seems best, quoted in David Sifry's blog, but even at that, it seems to lack the acerbic tone reflected by the word taggot. Also, the word reflects a complete antipathy for tags, not the haughty finickiness espoused by my cousin. For now, I guess the Tagophobes have it. How tragic that in this day and age we've grown so non-committal. True, we communicate openly between our best strangers and enemies on social networking pages, but for the those who demonstrate imprudence in sharing images from the real world, look out. We have no time for your shenanigans, we were enjoying our alternate universe just fine without you.