Why Is TV So Bad?

Last night Matt and I went to see the Harrisburg City Islanders tackle DC United. Brechty was supposed to go also but had to stay home. He said it was because he was sick. I think its because he's a girl. I can't make too much fun because Brechty didn't make me pay for the tickets. For those of you who aren't soccer savvy, the City Islanders playing DC United is the equivalent of the Harrisburg Senators playing the New York Yankees. Basically it is our neighborhood knock around boys taking on the (arguably) finest team in the country. I was not expecting a close match. I was oddly surprised. DC won 2-1, but not with ease. The City Islanders held there own and . . . I have to go off topic here for a minute because two of my coworkers are in here talking trash about who has the nicer PT Cruiser. You can't make this stuff up!!! Now they are arguing about whether or not Barry White sucks! I just can't do this anymore. Anyway, DC United played very poorly. Freddie Adu couldn't be bothered to do anything more than some light jogging on field. Overall not a very inspiring game.

When I got home I was looking forward to my latest reading endeavor, North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. It is a great novel about the employer/employee struggles in England during the industrial revolution. After turning a few pages my eyelids began to get heavy. I wasn't quite ready to sleep yet so I turned on the TV. I wanted something "intelligent" to watch instead of the normal drudgery. Discovery Channel didn't have anything, and The History Channel seldom offers anything beyond the level of a grade school research paper. Eventually I settled on BBC News. They were reporting on recent tactics by animal protestors to bully shareholders into selling their shares in certain companies. In what has become typical of media "fairness," BBC switched to some commentary on the issue from the "moderate" viewpoint. . . a spokesperson from PETA who, of course, totally supported every practice in question. So much for "intelligent" coverage. I resumed channel surfing. I then came across a Kathy Griffen stand up routine. It was initially entertaining because she was pointing out how hopelessly clueless Hollywood is. After a few minutes though it became pretty clear that Kathy doesn't really have a clue either. I've come to the conclusion that TV is the true "opium of the masses." I enjoy a good sitcom now and then, but where is the substance? What about TV that answers real questions? No, another "investigative report" on Iraq doesn't count. Especially when you rehash the same antiquated arguments over and over. Here's an idea for a show on Iraq. Why not investigate reports by former Iraqi generals that Russian commandos were on the ground in Iraq up to a few days before the US invasion? That would be a show worth watching. Why were they there? What were they doing? Why has no one in power even mentioned it? Are the Iraqi generals telling the truth? I'd watch that stuff for hours. I wouldn't even care what they found out. Just cover something interesting!