Buzzflash
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Mixx it!
RedditRebecca Solnit, as usual, offers plenty of food for thought in her essay, "Finding Time." As often with Solnit, I was both impressed by her insight, and impatient of her tendency to draw tenuous connections to all her pet issues/peeves, irrespective of the subject at hand.
Who can resist a piece that begins, "The four horsemen of my apocalypse are called Efficiency, Convenience, Profitability, and Security, and in their names, crimes against poetry, pleasure, sociability, and the very largeness of the world are daily, hourly, constantly carried out. These marauding horsemen are deployed by technophiles, advertisers, and profiteers to assault the nameless pleasures and meanings that knit together our lives and expand our horizons."
Solnit offers some wonderful insights into the ways in which our lives are shaped by the tyrannical regimen of these four values, but the only downside is that much of it leads inexorably to a litany of the standard complaints against automobiles, commerce, McMansions, consumerism etc. There's even the obligatory admiring nod to those darned Europeans.
The result is more sermon than opinion journalism. But as I said before, Solnit always makes it worth your while.
Share this article
News & Analysis »
- Atrios
- Arts and Letters Daily
- The Caucus
- Campus Progress
- Crooks and Liars
- The Daily Gotham
- Daily Kos
- FAIR
- Feministe
- Feministing
- Firedoglake
- Glenn Greenwald
- Gothamist
- In these Times
- Hendrik Hertzberg
- Huffington Post
- Matthew Yglesias
- Media Matters
- Mother Jones
- My DD
- New York Review of Books
- Openleft
- Pam's House Blend
- Political Wire
- The Progressive
- RaceWire
- Real Clear Politics
- Roberto Lovato
- Romenesko
- Swing State Project
- Talking Points Memo
- Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Tapped
- Tech President
- Tompaine
- The Washington Note
- Utne Reader
- Wonkette
RSS
OK, I'm not that literary and far from poetic, hehehe....
Sounds just like ordinary crap "worth your while" only if one is stoned!
Posted by Happy at 10/22/2007 @ 2:23pm
efficiency -- one of nature's strongest factors is redundancy. look what has happened when we made bees "efficient"
convenience -- disposable planet, anyone?
profitability -- great, but at whose expense?
security -- winter's coming and so, here comes the salt, salt, salt, salt, salt, salt, salt, salt.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/22/2007 @ 2:46pm
if time equals money,
¿does money equal time?
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/22/2007 @ 2:47pm
my son's generation (he's 7) will probably live to be 100.
why are we trying to make them into adults by the time they are 12?
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/22/2007 @ 2:48pm
but the only downside is that much of it leads inexorably to a litany of the standard complaints against automobiles, commerce, McMansions, consumerism etc.
well, maybe that's because it's where it should lead.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/22/2007 @ 2:49pm
Now, why did I figure FROSTY would be all over this like flies on honey?!?!?
heheh
Posted by Mask at 10/22/2007 @ 3:06pm
These marauding horsemen are deployed by technophiles, advertisers, and profiteers to assault the nameless pleasures and meanings that knit together our lives and expand our horizons.
I can see why the author prefers not to name any of these pleasures and meanings. Once you do, it becomes clear that the four evils don't really "assault" them at all. We have more free time now than we ever did, we have access to more poetry/music/theater/information/literature than we ever did. Want to find someone who looks at things the way you do? In 30 seconds you can find him/her on the Web. Want to sit on the porch and stare at the sunset with your dog? NO ONE IS STOPPING YOU.
I want one example of someone "assaulting" the "meanings that knit our world together." Even a clear notion of what this means would be nice.
This pining for a Volksgemeinshaft that lurks just beneath the surface in the thought of both Right and Left scares me a bit.
Posted by BlueSpark at 10/22/2007 @ 3:21pm
Posted by BLUESPARK
Americans are working more hours with less vacation than the Western Europeans.
Virtually all "art" is subject to the crude dictates of the market--it has to produce a profit, regardless of how good it is.
Anything and everything is subordinated to the demands of the "market." The system does not serve us, we serve it.
Posted by mtspence05 at 10/22/2007 @ 3:33pm
MT, considering our general pysche, not to mention our position, in the world vis a vis the Europeans, I don't see the work/leisure time thing as all that odd.
Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 10/22/2007 @ 3:41pm
Posted by CHIP THORNTON
Coming from you, that doesn't surprise me.
Posted by mtspence05 at 10/22/2007 @ 3:44pm
If americanos had more time on their hands they'd be even more dangerous. And as far as art goes, well, most americans will call art anything someone with some degree of authority (somone on TV) says is art, whether that be a crop circle or a drunken paint-tossing produced by Jackson Pollack after a nine-day bender. Hell, an employee at Subway is called a "sandwich artist". The term has no meaning and hence art signifies nothing when, as Ezra Pound said, "art is anything you can get away with".
Posted by chimichenga at 10/22/2007 @ 3:49pm
Posted by MASK 10/22/2007 @ 3:06pm
what, you don't like honey?
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/22/2007 @ 3:56pm
The system does not serve us, we serve it.
Posted by MTSPENCE05 10/22/2007 @ 3:33pm
nicely put.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/22/2007 @ 3:57pm
Posted by CHIMICHENGA 10/22/2007 @ 3:49pm
don't you live in colombia?
i'm sure the general populace is just as enthralled by telenovelas y futból as americans are by CSI and football.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/22/2007 @ 4:00pm
Colombia doesn't claim to be a land of artists, vice crusaders, moralists, taste-makers and right-thinkers like you do.
Posted by chimichenga at 10/22/2007 @ 4:28pm
Ezra Pound said, "art is anything you can get away with".-----Posted by CHIMICHENGA 10/22/2007 @ 3:49pm
Would that be Ezra Pound, the noted Axis propagandist?
Posted by Mask at 10/22/2007 @ 4:36pm
Posted by FROSTY ZOOM 10/22/2007 @ 3:56pm
Not me, I like pre-processed, factory-spawned white sugar...like every decent American!
heheh
Posted by Mask at 10/22/2007 @ 4:37pm
Posted by FROSTY ZOOM 10/22/2007 @ 4:00pm
BTW, CHIMI is our resident anti-American ex-pat who lives in Colombia and tells his amigos over at the cantina how rotten and corrupt America is...
while they figure out how the hell to get out of Colombia and get here without the INS deporting them to Mexico!
(atleast as long as his trust fund money lasts, I'll bet!)
Posted by Mask at 10/22/2007 @ 4:39pm
Posted by MASK 10/22/2007 @ 4:36pm | ignore this person
Just because I quote someone doesn't mean I endorse their entire index of beliefs. Bonaparte has innumerable quotes worthy of retail and applicable today yet that doesn't make the person who dusts them off and throws them into the mix an advocate of warmongering.
Posted by chimichenga at 10/22/2007 @ 4:40pm
Posted by CHIMICHENGA 10/22/2007 @ 4:28pm
yo soy canadiense.
generalizations are very, very dangerous.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/22/2007 @ 4:41pm
I was referring to MASK and his small-beer pabulum. He's always looking to cross swords but rarely actually uses anything but a toilet plunger when heaving a riposte.
Posted by chimichenga at 10/22/2007 @ 4:45pm
Posted by CHIMICHENGA 10/22/2007 @ 4:40pm
Just curious, CHIMI. If I were to quote from someone with fascist tendencies and who had made propaganda for the Axis, with anti-Semitic remarks....
would I get a pass on it from our resident folks on the Left (or even Right), with a simple "Just because I quote someone doesn't mean I endorse their entire index of beliefs"?
Honest answer...
Posted by Mask at 10/22/2007 @ 4:57pm
I wonder if MASK is engaged in one of his jejune gumshoeing expeditions that lead him across the web in search of a post of mine from many moons ago that can maybe add a feather to his cap if hurled down at the right moment as if completing tic-tac-toe. Yes, these searches are often upsprung for no reason other than to gloat here in a virtual watering hole where emotions trump words and logic time and again. But hey, I'd rather see one of my old posts, no matter how ridiculous, than read one of his doggerel compositions.
Ah, but here he is, back with another rattlebrained rejoinder. You can quote who you want, for not all evildoers are stupid and senseless. I believe the quote I used is appropriate when contemplating art in the USA. The discussion wasn't about Pound or his work, just something he said. It's all about context, but you already know that...
Posted by chimichenga at 10/22/2007 @ 5:09pm
Posted by MASK 10/22/2007 @ 4:37pm
you mean the slave-labour, dominican republic type?
or subsidized sugar beets?
or subsidized high fructose corn syrup?
Here's a sweet article from the newyorker [tinyurl.com]
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/22/2007 @ 5:09pm
I happen to think Stalin was correct when saying those who vote don't matter, rather those who count the votes do. Doesn't mean I'm a fan of Stalin.
Posted by chimichenga at 10/22/2007 @ 5:11pm
Posted by CHIMICHENGA 10/22/2007 @ 5:09pm
well, i'm listening to louis armstrong singing "sweet lorraine".
that's art.
he was american.
there's good and bad everywhere. and the u.s. has many, many great things.
even things made by so called "hicks".
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/22/2007 @ 5:14pm
Yes, there are in fact some corn-fed rubes who have produced some impressive work in the US. But you guys have to realize that criticism of things American shouldn't automatically be conflated with anti-Americanism. That's just another symptom of your submission to the closing of the American mind. Besides, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? Some people think mullets and acid washed jeans are cooler than an igloo.
Posted by chimichenga at 10/22/2007 @ 5:17pm
would I get a pass on it from our resident folks on the Left (or even Right), with a simple "Just because I quote someone doesn't mean I endorse their entire index of beliefs"?
Honest answer...
Posted by MASK
I've seen you quote from "The Holy Grail" and yet you whine on and on about "homophobic" slurs. What about the son of the castle in a swamp owner, portrayed in such stereotypical terms?
Posted by mtspence05 at 10/22/2007 @ 5:18pm
Posted by CHIMICHENGA 10/22/2007 @ 5:17pm
llegará un momento cuando te darás cuenta de que el mundo es muy hermoso y la gente es basicamente igual, sin importar su lugar de nacimiento.
y los "rubes" de que hablas me han invitado a sus casas a comer sin importar que ni siquiera me conocian.
y los elotes fueron riquísimos.
"you are what you is. you is what you am. a cow don't make ham" -- frank zappa, american
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/22/2007 @ 5:38pm
It's definitely got a beat:
http://tinyurl.com/2taj3z
Posted by hsuBfools at 10/22/2007 @ 6:23pm
Posted by MTSPENCE05 10/22/2007 @ 5:18pm
He discusses marrying a girl ("I want the girl that I marry ...), and starts to sing a song about it ("to have certain special...((Music rises))..))
How do you get that he's gay, Empty?!??!
Besides, you think it's okay to CALL people gay slurs...so you're hardly the expert on what is or isn't homophobic anyway!
Posted by Mask at 10/22/2007 @ 8:37pm
Posted by MASK 10/22/2007 @ 8:37pm
what is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/22/2007 @ 9:54pm
Posted by FROSTY ZOOM 10/22/2007 @ 9:54pm
What do you mean? An African or a European swallow?
(Here's where Empty gets cast into the Pit of Eternal Peril!)
Posted by Mask at 10/22/2007 @ 10:34pm
I happen to think Stalin was correct when saying those who vote don't matter, rather those who count the votes do. Doesn't mean I'm a fan of Stalin.
Posted by CHIMICHENGA 10/22/2007 @ 5:11pm
I AGREE WITH CHIMICHENGA...
Given the recent experience with Diebold voting machines in the 2004 election, Stalin seems to have been right on. (Doesn't mean I'm a "Stalinist" either.) My only point of departure would be the anti-Americanism. Personally, I don't believe in being anti ANY country. Clearly, what we usually mean when we say this is that we are against the ruling clique of a country and, possibly, also against the predominant culture of that country. I am neither a big fan of America's ruling clique nor of American popular culture, which is not so much "debased" as simply so incredibly overly commercialized that it's as though the culture itself has become just another capitalist commidity to be bought and sold like, well, like a Big Mac....
Maybe this is what a lot of right wingnuts mean when they accuse progressives of "hating America." I definitely do NOT "hate America" and, in fact, have come down hard on some foreign posters on other sites who have nothing but insults for America. However, for one thing, I absolutely refuse to work for companies with defense contracts because of the damage that the military-industrial complex has done and continues to do to my country. (And I've turned down some tempting possibilities, believe me.) But if the U.S. were actually invaded (by Canada? Mexico?) I'd be the first to volunteer.
Posted by w_m_bear at 10/22/2007 @ 11:24pm
Posted by W_M_BEAR 10/22/2007 @ 11:24pm
you'd better watch your step, were coming soon......... :o]
when i lived in mexico, people would trash americans.
i told them, how can you blame someone for their government? imagine if i blamed you (mexicans) for the actions of the mexican government.
as far as culture goes, the u.s. still has many, many places that have escaped the mcdonaldization of culture. keep the faith.
i was born and live in canada and have many american co-workers and friends.
they just seem like people.
and i have friends here from lebanon, india, iran, iraq, sri lanka, guatemala, mexico, england, france, el salvador, palestine, ruanda, sudan, somalia, cuba, and many more.
and they just seem like people, too.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/23/2007 @ 12:24am
MASK, you may find this interesting [tinyurl.com]
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/23/2007 @ 12:56am
here's a great photo essay on patriotism [tinyurl.com]
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/23/2007 @ 01:02am
Posted by MTSPENCE05 10/22/2007 @ 3:33pm
Americans are working more hours with less vacation than the Western Europeans.
I don't deny it. Americans tend to consider work to be more important, more a part of one's identity, than they do. At any rate, we have more leisure time than we used to, and more choice as to how to spend that time than we ever had.
Virtually all "art" is subject to the crude dictates of the market--it has to produce a profit, regardless of how good it is.
What you refer to as the "crude dictates" are people making choices. And the market is not crude at all (it is certainly far less crude than the dictates to be garnered from, say, the decisions of a government Committee on Culture)--it is actually quite precise in providing an individual access to what he/she wants and is very responsive to customer demand (those pesky "people" again!)
I take it from your use of scare quotes around "art" that you consider most of what goes for art around here to not be art at all. Question: why should YOUR opinion about art trump what everyone else wants to experience? "That lousy market, it produces things I dislike! Away with it!" Having a cultural array that contains a lot of garbage (from anyone's point of view) is actually a good sign, as it is a sign that many people have access to the means of production. Everyone gets to try out their ideas, even the untalented, and those ideas that find a niche prosper and those that do not do not.
There is a lot of great work being done in all forms of art in this country if you are willing to look. New York is vibrant city of art. It is the cultural capital of the world AND the financial capital of the world--so much for the two ideas being opposed.
Anything and everything is subordinated to the demands of the "market." The system does not serve us, we serve it.
We ARE the market. It's not perfect, but it is better than the alternative: assigning a government agency to determine what art we have access to.
Posted by BlueSpark at 10/23/2007 @ 09:14am
Posted by FROSTY ZOOM 10/23/2007 @ 12:56am
Good article, FZ. Thanks. The Hague Convention and UNICEF are screwing over kids in the name of "reform". Just more of that wonderful international bureaucracy that many idolize, but few truly know.
Posted by Mask at 10/23/2007 @ 09:35am
He discusses marrying a girl ("I want the girl that I marry ...), and starts to sing a song about it ("to have certain special...((Music rises))..))
How do you get that he's gay, Empty?!??!
Besides, you think it's okay to CALL people gay slurs...so you're hardly the expert on what is or isn't homophobic anyway!
Posted by MASK
Weasel.
Posted by mtspence05 at 10/23/2007 @ 09:49am
We ARE the market. It's not perfect, but it is better than the alternative: assigning a government agency to determine what art we have access to.
Posted by BLUESPARK
Those are our only choices? Talk about scare tactics.
Posted by mtspence05 at 10/23/2007 @ 09:51am
Talk about scare tactics.
Who mentioned scare tactics?
Those are our only choices?
No, but since you don't want the people to decide via market choices what art is successful and what is not, certainly some non-market power (whether local committee or federal agency) will have to be created to make people's choices for them and to decide what art reaches the public eye and which does not.
If that was the only gripe you had with my post, well, I'll consider that a success.
Posted by BlueSpark at 10/23/2007 @ 10:22am
"I take it from your use of scare quotes around "art" that you consider most of what goes for art around here to not be art at all."
Posted by BLUESPARK 10/23/2007 @ 09:14am
Posted by mtspence05 at 10/23/2007 @ 10:35am
Posted by BLUESPARK
It was much more successful than your contention that Jesus wasn't Jewish.
Posted by mtspence05 at 10/23/2007 @ 10:36am
"No, but since you don't want the people to decide via market choices what art is successful and what is not..."
It is the market decides--which was the point of the article! Profit is the prism through which all must pass; it inhibits originality, experimentation--creates an orthodoxy of its own.
Posted by mtspence05 at 10/23/2007 @ 10:58am
"OK, I'm not that literary and far from poetic, hehehe....
Sounds just like ordinary crap "worth your while" only if one is stoned!"
Quoted from HAPPY's 10/22/2007 @ 2:23pm
(The thread was starting to sound kinda thoughtful.)
Posted by bwindrip at 10/23/2007 @ 12:15pm
Posted by MTSPENCE05 10/23/2007 @ 10:58am
What's your alternative, Empty?
(oops, wait...forgot who I was talking to. Sorry to ask for solutions from the Non-Solutions Man!)
Posted by Mask at 10/23/2007 @ 12:48pm
It was much more successful than your contention that Jesus wasn't Jewish.
That a lie. I did not say he wasn't Jewish. I said he was a Christian in the sense of "a person who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ."
Posted by BlueSpark at 10/23/2007 @ 1:05pm
It is the market [that] decides--which was the point of the article! Profit is the prism through which all must pass; it inhibits originality, experimentation--creates an orthodoxy of its own.
Yeah, good luck arguing that experimentation and originality have been "inhibited" in our country over the past century. In music alone: rock, reggae, rap, jazz (the latter being at its best when it was closely aligned with the profit motive; when jazz artists begain to disregard the audience, the form declined in merit), and all the while the older musical genres, such as classical, continue on in fine health. In fact, classical music has seen a rebirth from the advent of the Internet and its file-sharing websites (websites in many cases created for PROFIT and in other cases created in the free time created by profit).
It is important to remember that "the market" is us. So when you say that everything must pass through a "prism," it is true. But that prism is us. Are there certain artistic accomplishments that deserve to flourish, but don't? Yes, in my opinion. I wish more people appreciated, say, the history of Belgian bicycle racing, the game of soccer, the writings of Kierkegaard, and the music of Flight 19. Where we diverge is that I do not think that any person's opinion about these things should govern the choices available to everyone else.
Posted by BlueSpark at 10/23/2007 @ 1:24pm
Not the Flight 19 that currently has a MySpace page. They suck and should be deleted from history by the Cultural Politburo that Empty proposes.
Posted by BlueSpark at 10/23/2007 @ 4:16pm
What's your alternative, Empty?
(oops, wait...forgot who I was talking to. Sorry to ask for solutions from the Non-Solutions Man!)
Posted by MASK
And what solutions have you ever offered other than the status quo? Hell, your chickenshit ass couldn't even answer what was asked earlier on the thread.
Posted by mtspence05 at 10/23/2007 @ 4:48pm
Posted by BLUESPARK
Soccer? That sounds about right.
Posted by mtspence05 at 10/23/2007 @ 4:49pm
Soccer? That sounds about right.
???
These angstroms of wisdom you give aren't enough; give us at least a nugget!
Apparently you have no substantive response? How about this, then: like I did, list 4 things you wish had more of an impact on our society. Mine were the history of Belgian bicycle racing, soccer, the writings of Kierkegaard, and the music of Flight 19. Yours can be tongue-in-cheek like mine were.
Posted by BlueSpark at 10/23/2007 @ 5:01pm
It's sad, even with cable and satellite the only decent programs involving history can be found on PBS.
When's the last time you read a book? Notice the typos?
Movies, tv--it's the same trite formulas, squeezing as much profit as possible out of a proven vehicle.
Music? Ever listen to the radio? Clear Channel owns how many stations? And they all happen to play the same list; they're all on commercial break at the same time? (The only channel to catch some decent channels on in the DFW area [the Dallas-Fort Worth area is a huge market] is on a TCU station [only a few hours a day] and the University of North Texas station up in Denton.)
If the market wants only reality tv and rap, that's all all of us get, with precious few exceptions--that's my point.
Posted by mtspence05 at 10/23/2007 @ 5:25pm
(The only channel to catch some decent channels on in the DFW area
Should be: The only channels to catch some decent jazz on in the DFW area...
The only classical station we have in the DFW area narrowly avoided getting cashed for some else a few years ago. (Evidently the Three B's don't bring in enough revenue.)
Posted by mtspence05 at 10/23/2007 @ 5:29pm
Soccer? That sounds about right.
???
These angstroms of wisdom you give aren't enough; give us at least a nugget!
That means I'm not surprised you're a fan of soccer.
Posted by mtspence05 at 10/23/2007 @ 5:40pm
It's sad, even with cable and satellite the only decent programs involving history can be found on PBS.
That's simply not true. Besides, you can get virtually every history documentary ever made--on Netflix.
When's the last time you read a book?
There's no need to be an asshole just because we disagree. By the way, I have a master's degree in philosophy. I read constantly. Do you want me to list the books I have read in the past two months?
Notice the typos?
Yours or mine? Please point them out so that I may one day rise to your level of snobbery.
Movies, tv--it's the same trite formulas, squeezing as much profit as possible out of a proven vehicle.
Actually, variety in film is exploding. Filmmakers are constantly coming up with new ways to tell stories. Is there a lot of crap? Yes, but this is the price we pay for letting everyone have a say in what is successful. There is also a lot of brilliance in filmmaking, if you are willing to actually take a look.
Music? Ever listen to the radio? Clear Channel owns how many stations? And they all happen to play the same list; they're all on commercial break at the same time? (The only channel to catch some decent channels on in the DFW area [the Dallas-Fort Worth area is a huge market] is on a TCU station [only a few hours a day] and the University of North Texas station up in Denton.)
Radio has severe problems, due in part to bad market rules and to the fact that the public has the ability now to listen to any piece of music ever recorded in the history of humankind at the touch of a button. I wish radio were better, but that's just my opinion--I realize that in a free society I am going to have to put up with a lot of crap from my fellow citizens.
If the market wants only reality tv and rap, that's all all of us get, with precious few exceptions--that's my point.
You forgot cooking shows, gardening shows, home improvement shows, shopping networks, history and science channels, virutally every pro sporting event and many college events on demand, yoga/exercise channels, mystery channels, movie channels, recent GREAT television shows on the premium channels (The Wire, Deadwood, Dexter, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, and on and on), even some good dramas and comedies (and plenty of bad ones) on network television, and a bunch more stuff I must be forgetting. Not exactly a "precious few" exceptions.
I am not a fan of reality shows (although the Amazing Race was interesting in the beginning), but a lot of people are. Should we create a non-market power to filter these shows for quality and keep people from viewing what they like? You seem to think so.
The only channels to catch some decent jazz on in the DFW area...
Good luck getting people to put up with MORE modern jazz.
The only classical station we have in the DFW area narrowly avoided getting cashed for some else a few years ago. (Evidently the Three B's don't bring in enough revenue.)
I am sorry to hear that. Our classical station is doing quite well. Of course, at this point in our cultural history, the fact that a classical station isn't doing well isn't an indicator that people don't have access to classical music. They do, more so than at any time in history, including when the music was first created.
That means I'm not surprised you're a fan of soccer.
Yes, I got that. Your arrogance came through loud and clear on that one. I was confused as to why you thought that my views about profit and culture pointed to my being a fan of soccer. I mean, where the profit motive is strongest is here in America, and yet America is the one place on earth where soccer is not particularly popular. So how did you make the leap from my defense of the profit motive in improving culture to the conclusion that I like soccer????
By the way, what's wrong with soccer?
Posted by BlueSpark at 10/24/2007 @ 08:55am
Posted by BLUESPARK
The air waves belong to the public; you should not have to pay extra just to watch, hear something decent.
Posted by mtspence05 at 10/24/2007 @ 09:46am
The air waves belong to the public; you should not have to pay extra just to watch, hear something decent.
MT,
You seem to find very little to criticize in my posts. Of course, you also ignore my questions, so I am not sure what is going on.
Many people find the over-the-airwaves programming to be decent. That's why they watch. And they vastly outnumber you. Many network shows are panned by the critics, but many are applauded by them. It's a mix, just like you would expect in a free society. May I suggest that you don't so much dislike the profit motive as you dislike your fellow human beings?
I am not sure that people have a "right" to free excellent art of any kind (perhaps a certain minimal amount, but that is what we have now). Bringing art to the people isn't cheap, and if the people want a lot of choice, they need to be willing to pay for it if they care enough about it. This is part of the reason why free radio sucks, while premium radio caters to virtually any taste. That dastardly profit motive again!
What about those typos? Point them out to me so I may improve.
Posted by BlueSpark at 10/24/2007 @ 09:58am
I don't know a whole lot about network tv shows, but I know a little bit about some of them. A short list of shows on network tv that are at least decent, in my opinion (I do not have cable or satellite tv, I have rabbit ears, and can't always get all the networks. I do not watch all these shows, but have seen each of them at least a few times.):
House, Scrubs, Thank God You're Here, Heroes, Lost, The Office, 30 Rock, Boston Legal, Grey's Anatomy (I don't like this show, but recognize that it is a "decent" show), Desperate Housewives (ditto), The Simpsons, King of the Hill, 24 (don't like, but...) and Arrested Development (why did you cancel this one, FOX?). These are just dramas and comedies in prime time. There are talk and news shows that are decent as well.
You've got a remote. If you think "Ghost Whisperer" is crap (and it is), don't watch it. There's plenty of good stuff to choose from, and if you still don't like anything on the buffet you can put some money down and get more choices. And if you don't like any of that, perhaps you don't like television.
[Repeat above argument for other forms of art. QED]
Posted by BlueSpark at 10/24/2007 @ 11:35am
Okay, I'll begin. In this thread the following typographical errors appeared in your posts:
It is the market decides
narrowly avoided getting cashed for some else a few years ago
The only channel to catch some decent channels on
You see, we all make mistakes.
Posted by BlueSpark at 10/24/2007 @ 12:09pm
Hey, I just noticed one of my own. I think I misspelled "Volksgemeinschaft" earlier. That's really more of a typing issue (I seldom type in German, so my fingers aren't used to it). It's been a long time since I took those German classes. Ach!
Again, wee al mak misteaks.
Posted by BlueSpark at 10/24/2007 @ 12:13pm
SOCCER!
GOD'S GIFT TO FEET.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/24/2007 @ 10:21pm