presentsense

No TV update (or "Times change, but humans, not so much")

So, you may know that Steph and I yanked broadcast TV out of the house a month or so ago. Lots of people have asked how it's going, and in response I will say that we haven't missed much. The Michael Jackson thing. Anything related to sports. Anything related to politics. But all in all, the news we WANTED to get, we haven't had much trouble finding online, and as quickly as we wanted to. I'll save all the pros and cons (believe me, there have been way more pros to this point), but I wanted to share something interesting I have found out about people. This is as a result of only having old TV to watch.

We as humans have not changed very much.

We're watching TV shows like The Dick Van Dyke show, Leave it to Beaver, and movies like The Music Man and The Great Escape. Classic shows, and lots of documentaries (Steph would say too many documentaries). 

Guess what: Kids used to hide the truth from their parents when they thought the truth might get them in trouble. Wives used to worry about what their husbands thought of their figures. Husbands used to get stressed out at work and come home grumpy. People used to spend money to fight their fears. Injustices used to be done, and injustices used to be overcome.

Sure, we may be able to say and show things on TV now that we couldn't then (think Rob and Laura sleeping in twin beds), but then again, Dick Van Dyke can't advertise his favorite brand of cigarette anymore, so things haven't completely gone down hill. I don't know, I guess it just comforts me a little to know that The Beaver was way stupider and way more devious than my kids are.

Oh, and to all you ladies who strive for the "perfect" home that June was able to keep, we uncovered a little secret. She had a housekeeper (go find season 1 episode 2).

Funny video - Model falls

glumbert.com - News anchors can't stop laughing at falling model

30 Days as a Gay man?

Lats night, Mandy and I watched the latest episode of the FX series 30 Days.  I'm not much of an advocate for television these days, but I can't recommend this program enough.  It basically asks someone to live in an alternate reality (think "out of the comfort zone") for 30 days and see how it changes them.  In the first episode, the creator of the series and his fiance lived for 30 days in a slum in Columbus, OH, making minimum wage.  Another episode asked a conservative Christian man from the south to move to Dearborn, MI, and live as a Muslim for 30 days.

Last night, in what I think was the best episode so far, the subject was yet another conservative Christian man who was sent to live in the Castro district of San Fransicso.  This, as you might guess, is, in the words of the show, "The Gayest place on the planet."  He had to live as a roommate of an openly gay man (no, there wasn't anything going on).  He had to get a job in a wine and cheese shop frequented mostly by homosexuals.  He attended a gay church (Metropolitan Community Church).  He followed his gay roommate around to the nightspots in the district.  Needless to say, he was very uncomfortable.

Many of you who know me the best know how sensitive I am to the plight of gays in this country.  It's not that I necessarily condone a lot of what goes on in the gay community, but I am a mercy-giver, and I can't stand for the hate and abuse these people receive from the religious right.  There's just something terribly hypocritical about an obese man, standing on a corner at a gay pride parade, screaming "God Hates Fags."  Last night, I heard another gem from a bullhorn-toting gay-hater.  He said, "I'm in love with a man too.  His name is Jesus, and his blood is not HIV-positive."

Folks, it's time we pulled the wool off our eyes and understood that NO ONE is deserving of such treatment.  Hate begets hate.  Love begets love.  Does your church openly welcome homosexuals into its services?  If not, how DO you show love to gays?  Gay people are a part of your community, whether you know it or not.  They have hopes and fears - just like you.  They are broken and injured - just like you.  They want to be loved - just like you.  They want to be judged only by their creator - just like you.

It's going to take a major work of grace for many who call themselves Christian to learn to accept homosexuals.  I understand that.  Many who read this post have boiling blood right about now.  I know, because this is an extremely controversial topic.  Last time I blogged about it, I got a lot of comments, most of which did not agree with me.  I don't see how you can disagree with love.

TV off week

It's "Turn off your TV week".  I'm not necessarily down with the whole TV-is-evil scene, but I do tend to get more done with it off.  If you are looking for a cool gadget, check out the TV-B-Gone, a remote control that claims to be able to turn off any TV anywhere.  I have not tried it yet, but it looks cool.

I probably won't buy myself one, because I would undoubtedly use my TV-turning-off powers for evil, not good (heh, heh, heh).

One question:  Why is TV-off week during the spring, when everybody's already turning off their TVs to enjoy the weather?  Why not the week between Christmas and New Year's?