TV has been a tad on the depressing side recently. And I don’t mean the boring-ness of Lost, but actual real life programmes. Not the “moan at the stupidity of reality-tv” but the real stories that have been floating about. First there was the BBC’s Execution of a teenage girl, about a 16 year old girl hanged in Iran because she committed adultery. Despite the fact that she wasn’t married, and it is against the secular law to execute anyone under 18 there. But it isn’t illegal to have sex with a 13 year old girl. The man got 90-odd lashes. She’d previously recieved 100 for “crimes against chastity”. Hearing that sort of thing is almost enough to make you side with George W Bush.
I have, however, been avoiding the news lately, but after Top Gear last night there was nothing on but Silent Witness, and then we weren’t bothered to change the station and the news came on. It is all just so pointless and tragic. So I’ve been ignoring it. Selfish maybe, but nothing I can do but feel that both sides are wrong. And that there isn’t any right side.
There was a march in Dublin against Israel’s action. I didn’t go. I wouldn’t feel right because both sides are equally as wrong, Israel just has better military technology. Which is why Hezbollah use guerilla tactics, which is why the Israeli’s accuse them of hiding among the civilians. If they come out into the open and fought more conventionally it’d still be asymmetrical warfare, just in a different way.
Nice use of The Waterboys.
See, that's why I hardly ever watch real-life programmes. My real life (work) gives me all the depressing I need! I think TV is for fun & entertainment – even if it's dramatic and depressing, it's just the telly so it's ok. I can read newspapers or books for real-life depressing but the box in my sitting-room exists to give me fiction. Or, OK, programmes about sharks and crocodiles and the harshness of life in the Serengeti but oh look this baby elephant survived aw.
Besides, ever since Michael Moore, I don't trust documentaries! :-)
Yep, that's why there is a Fence. Mind sharing?
Yeah, but you gotta pay attention every now and then NM.
there is always room for one more Anne, like the issue of the angels on the head of a pin, only reversed. Cause it is the fence that goes on for ever :)
I pay attention, I just pay attention to news print media as opposed to telly. And I watch the Irish news, although I don't want any more Sky News BS on my tv, thank you very much. Some of it I do for career reasons but also I want to know what's going on in Ireland. The world news just doesn't light my fire as much. I am Jack's Head in the Sand.
Regarding the Fence that goes on forever, there's an Arthur C. Clarke short story from the Other Side of the Sky (let me check my wikipedia…) called The Wall of Darkness that my dad and his friend were obsessed with when they were kids. Basically, there's a wall across a planet. What's on the other side? The story ends memorably with the line "no-one knew better than he that the wall had no other side." And my dad explained it to me using a Mobius strip. Cool.
Not you you, but the generic you. Or one, I suppose.
And look, now you've totally gone and spoiled that story ;)
One must apologise for spoiling one's friend's enjoyment of a story. But one feels one ought to point out that the story has been in the public domain since 1958. I remember nothing about the story apart from the punchline.
Actually the whole of that book is full of great shock endings
"Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out." – The Nine Billion Names of God. That one's online. Short and sweet.
I've read that one, the Nine Billion Names of God.
I can't find a single thing of any interest to watch on TV right now, not even the news which is too depressing. Although with Dragon's Den starting again tomorrow, that's just one program I can watch. Might take this chance to watch all my unwatched DVDs.
Weenie, that sounds like a plan. The only thing I'm watching regularly now is Prison Break. Which is fun, but not unmissable.
I can't believe I've not started watching PB. Since I sat through Dinotopia TWICE in order to see the lovely Wentworth Miller, you'd think I'd actually sit down and enjoy him in something quality. But as with Deadwood, I missed the first one and never caught up.
I'm not sure if quality is an accurate description :) But in comparison to Dincrapia…
RTE are showing double episodes too, so you'd be totally lost. Silly you
Oh, I thought it was supposed to be a bit quality. Like early 24 or summat. Or is it sort of crappy entertainment?
Maybe it's supposed to be quality, but it aint. I mean, 24 isn't really quality either, is it?
24 went too far into unbelievability territory to be quality. (note unbelievability, not unrealistic. Buffy, Angel, Firefly, still believable)
Prison Break is good. Don't get me wrong. And I've heard that it has a definite layout of only 44 episodes, so there'll be no Lost antics of nothingness. So thats all good.
And he takes his shirt off, right?
Sigh.
Although he was covered in tattoos when I glimpsed him so that wasn't too nice.
he does. But always with the tattoos cause that's all part of his plan on escaping see.
But the shirt is off.
I don't know what it is about Wentworth Miller. It ain't his name. It ain't his dinosaur flying skills. It ain't him playing a younger version of Antony Hopkins in that film that tried to get us to accept Nicole Kidman as white trash. I even fancied him in Buffy when he played a total asshole.
Is he at least a sweetheart / sexy bad-boy in Prison Break? Cos I could get past the might-as-well-still-be-wearing-a-shirt tats if he had some personality going on there.
I think Beloved's coz has some totally! legal! downloads! of PB. Hmmm. But AFTER the exams. I haven't even unwrapped ROME yet!
I don't fancy him, not even a tad. So can't help you there. But he does play a nice guy. If a little messed up, afterall someone who organises to get sent to prison in order to try and break his brother out can't be sanest guy in the 'verse now can he?