Not owning a television: c or d?

Oh, and that self-righteous smugness that Tep was referring to is definately a huge DUD.

(And like a few people have said, "watching TV" often means "watching movies" or "watching sports," without having to go to the theater or the park.)

This seems like a real stoner habit.

So my point wasn't "Am I cool for not owning a television?", I was just saying that I've come notice how much people's lives revolve around the telly. This is no news, of course, but it's a thing you really notice only after you've given up the habit.

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"i call it 'television' because 't.v.' is a nickname and nicknames are for friends and television... is NO friend of mine"

― juliette brioche (elmo argonaut), Monday, July 6, 2009 9:40 PM (1 hour ago)

Is that because television can't dance?

― her performance (ie, her pubes) stood out for me (HI DERE), Monday, July 6, 2009 9:40 PM (1 hour ago)

The tv can't dance! My inner three-year-old thinks this somewhat nonsensical explanation is truly delightful!

I think it's a somewhat oblique Genesis reference?

oh god i love tv so much (television, not transvestitism, although that's good too)

http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/1/cover_195972832009.jpghttp://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/1/cover_563582832009.jpg

i thought it was a "safety dance" reference!

Oh, that makes more sense!

Everybody look at yr pants

sisterhood of the traveling pants ;_;

"i call it 'television' because 't.v.' is a nickname and nicknames are for friends and television... is NO friend of mine"

XD although you forgot the subtle but crucial lower lip quiver.

Man this thread went in a weird direction.

Not owning a TV is only acceptable if you can honestly say you literally watch NO TV and aren't watching The Wire and Gilmore Girls and shit on your laptop. Otherwise it's OMG FRONTING for sure.

technically i don't own a TV and for a period last year i didn't have one at all. not that i was trying to front on some "i am better than other people" tip, it was just a thing - i just concentrated on listening to music and reading when i got home. then a friend insisted i take his on extended loan!

What does the SEX MIX of "I Can't Dance" sound like?

if it's anything like the sex mix of 'relax' by frankie goes to hollywood, it's probably amazing.

One of my friends, a PhD student, has just started dating another PhD student, who not only does not own a television, but additionally is of the opinion that all Popular Culture is "a waste of time" and does that eye-rolling thing if she finds herself in a group of people who are trying to have a discussion about it. Apparently though spending 12 hours a day sitting in a library reading Renaissance literature and criticism on Renaissance literature is a completely worthwhile and valid use of one's time. I will be pleased when he stops dating this cultural pygmy.

as any fule kno, people during the renaissance were all wtfomg about the printing press, which is basically like being against tv.

i have no tv and it's frustrating when major news events happen. otherwise i am mostly ok with catching up on things online later, bc that's pretty much what i did wheni had a tv anyway.
also i miss watching martha stewart in the mornings.

I haven't stopped consuming popular culture even though I haven't had a TV set for years. I atill read comics, and go to the cinema, and watch movies on video with friends. I just didn't care much for the stuff on TV. Game shows and sports contests don't interest me, and I find most reality TV shows are horrific, because I can't bear to watch people being humiliated. I prefer to read news from the newspaper, as they are less condensed and offer more background info. Fictional TV series are okay, but these days it feels like most TV series have these long, multi-episode (or even multi-year) arcs that require you to follow the series week after week after week. I can't be arsed to do that! I preferred the days when most TV series had self-contained episodes, and you could just watch them once in a while without missing that much.

But the worst thing about TV, at least to me, was how easily it can become the mental equivalent of comfort food. It's too easy to just sit in front of the box and watch whatever's on for hours (even if it's a show you don't much care about), because doing something else would require a bit of physical or mental effort, and you can't bother to do that, because watching TV is just so much easier. I don't think cinema or comics or other popular culture work quite the same way as brain junk food.

Yeah, I can see how going to watch a two and half movie about robots and superheroes is a bit more substantial.

two and a half hour? star? men?

pint, surely

The only thing that really bothers me about not having a telly is you realise just how much of common office chatter seems to revolve around it. It's kind of the first thing people will say to one another "Oh, did you see that thing on TV last night..." and then you kind of just look blank. (Ditto many ILX threads of late.)

I guess I'm lucky that I work in an office where music chatter is accepted as a valid substitute and our equivalent here is "What gigs/clubs did you go to last weekend?" I'm really grateful for that.

Yeah, I can see how going to watch a two and half movie about robots and superheroes is a bit more substantial.

I'm not saying it's more substantial, but I don't watch movies every day for hours.

you don't have to watch tv for two hours a day you appalling elitist dick

Now now, let's play nice, boys

there's a tv in the flat (not mine), which i used the hell out of during wimbledon, but other than sports i really don't watch it at all. the stuff i'd enjoy tend to be series like lost or the west wing back in the day, and i always lose track after missing a couple of episodes.

i really don't understand those people who just turn the tv on in the background and watch whatever's on, regardless. why, when you can consumer whatever culture you want to at whatever time you need to, would you be so passive about it.

Movies usually require some effort, you have pick a movie, go to the cinema or a rental store, and when the movie is over you don't usually watch another movie right after. Also, there's a social aspect involved: you can chat with your friends before the movie, and analyze it afterwards. Whereas with TV you can just sit there all by yourself and watch it for hours in a row.

(xxx-post)

Watching a film with someone else = DUD

Unless you're ripping the piss out of it

you don't have to watch tv for two hours a day you appalling elitist dick

Of course you don't have to, but at least in my case it still happened quite often. I'm not sure why it's elitist to explain why I didn't think TV was good for me.

coz of all this elitist (and covertly homophobic) passive/active dichotomy business.

I haven't owned a television in over ten years, but I did get a projector early this year. Being able to watch movies on the side of a wall (or on the side of my garage) has improved things so much that I can't see ever getting a dedicated TV now.

i have don't even owned a tv since the mid 90s but i've been dreaming about getting a sound bar or something for my laptop

Second that projector motion
The only way to watch ghost in the shell at home