Many people did not believe it, but I have never had cable TV at home. Michael is a fanatical opponent of the cable TV industry, claiming that it is a complete waste of time as it makes you glued to the TV watching programs or movies that you otherwise would not watch if you had no cable TV. As a result, for years we would go see movies of our choosing in the theater or rent from video stores on a weekly basis.
Now that we just moved into a rental house in Bay Area from San Diego, and I will be in my confinement (euphemistically) for a few months due to the baby, I decided that I would get cable TV for a few months to see if my brain really will turn into a big marshmellow.
It has only been a few days since the cable TV was installed. It is true that I would never sit down in the family room to watch TV if there is anything better or more useful to do, but I do turn it on at night in the bedroom before I go to sleep. I can definitely see Michael’s point of view, as it takes a while just to find anything worth watching, and even then it is probably something not really worth watching. The convenient access to that program or movie is the major factor for watching it. Because of the commercials, I find myself (like others) flipping through channels, which means that I rarely watch any movie that I have not seen before – as I otherwise will not be able to follow the plot. I also find myself less inclined to do some reading in bed at night like I previously would do – so cable TV has made me lazier, and dumber perhaps. But I have a good excuse - now that I am so much heavier and less mobile, I am less energetic, mentally and physically than before. I now weigh 145 pounds, which according to my height is fairly normal for someone about to give birth, but considering that it’s a 45% weight increase, I am amazed that my legs could even support myself! I still occasionally wake up in the morning, forgetting how much heavier I am now, only to discover to my surprise that I can’t easily jump out of bed as light as a bird!
The other day, “Four Weddings and A Funeral” was on one of those channels. It was so long ago that I saw it that I forgot most of it. What caught my attention this time was the poem by W.H. Auden read at the funeral – “Funeral Blues”. Clearly the first time I watched the movie, which must have been 15 years ago (i.e. not too long after I arrived in the US), my English was not good enough for me to appreciate the poem. It is so beautiful and powerful:
“Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead. Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves, Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves. He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong. The stars are not wanted now; put out every one, Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun, Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods; For nothing now can ever come to any good.”
While Michael insists that cable TV leaves people’s brains “fried” and "unchallenged" and I do endorse his view, I am happy that the accidental glimpse of this British comedy starring the effeminate and annoying Hugh Grant has led me to read a little about W. H. Auden, and also this beautiful elegy. – So having cable is not all bad…
Now that we just moved into a rental house in Bay Area from San Diego, and I will be in my confinement (euphemistically) for a few months due to the baby, I decided that I would get cable TV for a few months to see if my brain really will turn into a big marshmellow.
It has only been a few days since the cable TV was installed. It is true that I would never sit down in the family room to watch TV if there is anything better or more useful to do, but I do turn it on at night in the bedroom before I go to sleep. I can definitely see Michael’s point of view, as it takes a while just to find anything worth watching, and even then it is probably something not really worth watching. The convenient access to that program or movie is the major factor for watching it. Because of the commercials, I find myself (like others) flipping through channels, which means that I rarely watch any movie that I have not seen before – as I otherwise will not be able to follow the plot. I also find myself less inclined to do some reading in bed at night like I previously would do – so cable TV has made me lazier, and dumber perhaps. But I have a good excuse - now that I am so much heavier and less mobile, I am less energetic, mentally and physically than before. I now weigh 145 pounds, which according to my height is fairly normal for someone about to give birth, but considering that it’s a 45% weight increase, I am amazed that my legs could even support myself! I still occasionally wake up in the morning, forgetting how much heavier I am now, only to discover to my surprise that I can’t easily jump out of bed as light as a bird!
The other day, “Four Weddings and A Funeral” was on one of those channels. It was so long ago that I saw it that I forgot most of it. What caught my attention this time was the poem by W.H. Auden read at the funeral – “Funeral Blues”. Clearly the first time I watched the movie, which must have been 15 years ago (i.e. not too long after I arrived in the US), my English was not good enough for me to appreciate the poem. It is so beautiful and powerful:
“Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead. Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves, Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves. He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong. The stars are not wanted now; put out every one, Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun, Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods; For nothing now can ever come to any good.”
While Michael insists that cable TV leaves people’s brains “fried” and "unchallenged" and I do endorse his view, I am happy that the accidental glimpse of this British comedy starring the effeminate and annoying Hugh Grant has led me to read a little about W. H. Auden, and also this beautiful elegy. – So having cable is not all bad…
2 comments:
You will be glad to have it (cable TV) when you are nursing, as it is very difficult to do anything 'productive' while nursing. I've tried reading, but it's hard to turn the pages. At least with the remote, you only need one hand. While I don't suggest you always nurse in front of the TV, you will find that 45 minutes of rocking and staring at your baby will put you to sleep!
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