TOTALLY CHEAPIN' OUT!!

Till this day, I still have not installed cable television. The main motivation is to see if it is possible to live without television. Well, I've determined that I need some "moving image" stimulation although I don't miss advertisements at all. So, I've gone out and purchased the Season 3 of The Family Guy. The humour in this show is very crude, but it makes me laugh. Perhaps it's the many references it makes to the pop culture of my growing up years, or just how "stupid" the father is - there isn't an episode that hasn't made me laugh. I've also discovered that the video store across the street from where I live has a special promotion right now: free rentals during the weekend. So, you can pick up a video on Friday, one on Saturday and one on Sunday if you feel so inclined to watch that many movies. They're not new releases but there's still many titles I haven't seen before. If that wasn't enough, I have found one more outlet, lest I really admit that I need TV. The community centre that I am a member of has very hi-tech work out equipment, most machines connected to a central database to keep track of member fitness programs and progress. Well, connected to some of the aerobic machines are little 12" plasma tv's. AND THIS PLACE HAS FULL CABLE!!! Yikes. No wonder this place is always so busy! So, after a swim workout, I decided to park myself on one of the stationary bikes and watched the entire first half of the Steeler/Bengals game! Unbelievable. So, during the times that I would be able to watch TV anyways (i.e. when I'm not working), I could schedule a workout, and then a "cool down" period catching whatever program interests me, like Lost or a Leaf game. I don't feel bad because I've paid their membership due. So, maybe it's not necessarily a question of not surviving without TV, but being able to find healthy outlets to consume it! Ha ha.

I have also found other enjoyable forms of entertainment on the internet. It's amazing what people will post in the way of vides. Most are amateur-ish and I do get motion sick after awhile. But some are great, especially those that post clips from comedy shows or talk show segments. Back in the summer of 1994, I went tree planting. It was a tough experience, roughing it out in pure back country. Even tougher when the favorite activity during our down time was smoking weed. So, it was kinda lonely, but I had my music to pass time. One tape (yes, back then I didin't have a portable CD player and MP3 players did not exist) that I listened to a lot was The Muppets soundtrack. Don't ask me why, but ballads sung by frogs and monsters were very soothing! Anyways, one song I really liked was Mahna Mahna. There are no lyrics but the music is ingenious. So, when I came across this video, I was very nostalgic: http://www.devilducky.com/media/7452/

My dad is a pretty good harmonica player. He loves to play for church functions, senior citizen gatherings and family dinners. So, when I saw this, I thought it was pretty sic! http://www.devilducky.com/media/10119/