gilligan & infomercials

Still trying to get rid of this cold. Woke up early this morning with a coughing fit and with more of a stomped-on-head feeling than usual, couldn't get back to sleep. Trying not to wake Jeff up, I slipped out of bed and made myself a drink with hot water, lemon slice, and a squirt of Billy Bee honey.

Then curled up on the couch to see what was on the tube. Saw the end of a Battlestar Galactica episode guest starring Fred Astaire (!?) as well as a frighteningly large number of fitness-related infomercials. One infomercial was pushing WALKING as the greatest way to lose weight, and offered a special video of walking exercises you could do at home, walking in place while watching the video. The spokesperson actually said, "Why GO OUTSIDE when you can walk AT HOME?" The video was ONLY $100.

Another infomercial offered video guitar lessons, guaranteeing that you could be playing like a rock star in no time. Eight video lessons PLUS a Fender guitar strap PLUS (get this) ** FOUR FENDER GUITAR PICKS **, all for just $40. The special shot of the four guitar picks almost made me laugh out loud (but I didn't in case that triggered another coughing fit that would wake Jeff up who would stagger sleepily out into the living room asking why I was watching infomercials instead of sleeping in). You can get guitar picks (yes, even Fender) at the Steve's Music store a few blocks from our place for about a quarter apiece.

While I mock infomercials, I should also be honest and confess that there have been times when infomercials have offered products that I actually have found intriguing, especially if I'm really tired and watching tv late at night. The food dehydrator infomercial, for example. I find myself mesmerized as one of the hosts chow down on a magically dehydrated strawberry, licking her fingers and uttering orgasmic noises of appreciation. The only thing that keeps me from grabbing the phone and ordering one right then is the sure knowledge that we have no room in our small kitchen to store the thing.

But I digress.

Anyway, I was ready to go back to bed after the Fender Guitar Pick commercial when an old episode of Gilligan's Island came on, and I found myself riveted. Geez, I hadn't watched Gilligan and the gang in ages. Amazing what we used to watch as kids, isn't it? (Ok, so maybe some of you out there are too young to remember Gilligan except in reruns :-)) Can you imagine what a Gilligan-type show would be like if it was produced today? Oh wait, there already is...Survivor and its sequels.

My favourite Gilligan character was always Mary Ann, even though I started finding her a bit too perky as I got older. And I always had a mild crush on the Professor, of course (technonerdboy lust foreshadowing, I suppose). I actively disliked the Skipper - he was always too mean to Gilligan.

Back then, I ate it all up. Now, the episodes seem incredibly contrived, unrealistic, and incredibly dated. Even through the layers of tv formulaic clich|AMP|eacute;, however, I still find the innocence of the characters appealing. One of the reasons I enjoy sappy romantic musicals with happy endings, I suppose. :-)

What will Sara and Annie think of our television fare when they're much older, I wonder? Will they feel the same way? Or will media offerings have changed so they see our tv shows as incredibly barbaric and violent?

Today's Poll:

Have you ever made a purchase as a result of seeing an infomercial or "not offered in stores" tv commercial? (i.e. you actually did call the number on the screen)

online journals

I recently heard from family/friends who called out of concern because I hadn't written a real Blathering in a couple days (or who said they knew I was okay because I Blathered yesterday).

Interesting that I've gotten into such a regular habit with my online journal that people notice when I break out of my posting pattern. :-) I used to hate being predictable, but now I'm starting the value of a certain level of predictability. I like knowing that I'm not going to sell a business this year. I like knowing that I'm not going to be moving my office, or moving to the States (NOT THAT THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH LIVING IN THE STATES, MIND YOU), or having to depend on a corporate committee to approve every plan and decision in my work. I like knowing that I can work on the computer all morning in my flannel pajamas and no one will ever know.

(um, unless you read my Blatherings, that is :-) )

For the first time in years, I feel as if I'm actually getting my life under control again.

But I digress...I want to talk about online journals today.

Despite the decline of Dot-com Mania, the popularity of online journals continues to grow. I've expanded the list of personal journals of people I know (and don't know).

Several different types of journals have emerged:

-- Confessionals: Intensely personal, these authors don't hold anything back. Or at least give the illusion of not holding anything back. Sometimes stream-of-consciousness, sometimes emotional rants about personal issues.

-- Shopping lists: Entries tend to be a shopping list of everything the author did in a particular day, with very little personal insights. "First I woke up. Then I washed my face and took the dog for a walk. For breakfast, I had Cheerios and a glass of orange juice. Then I called my friend Helga and SHE said blabla and then I said blabla and then SHE said blabla...etc."

-- Humour: These tend to focus on humorous personal essays a la Dave Barry style.

-- Hybrid: Some mixture of the above.

-- Other: Experimental, excerpts from written works-in-progress, anything else not covered by the above.

I find pure confessionals too intense for regular reading, shopping lists too boring. In terms of what I like reading, my favourite type of journal tends to be the hybrid type...I like knowing what's going on in the person's life, but also like getting some insight into what's happening in their heads as well, finding out how they feel about a certain event rather than just a description of the event itself. Other things I like seeing in a journal: a good sense of life, passion, sense of humour, variety, strong writing.

These are just my personal preferences; others may prefer different types of reading. (if any of you have favourite journal links you're willing to share, please do.)

I used to check every journal in my links section on a daily basis, but the list has grown to the point where I usually can only check most once or twice a week.

Journal-related links of interest:

The Bleat: Journal by James Lileks. My favourite online journal.

Diarist.net: great source of journal-related information.


Blatherpics:

- My mom, obviously very young. As I mentioned in yesterday's Blathering, I'm starting to scan photos from old family albums and burn them onto CD (I always shrink graphic files before posting them in Blatherings, by the way, so the stored images are of better quality than those I use in my column). However, it's been pointed out to me that this is not a good longterm solution...other (not too expensive) suggestions welcome! :-)

Today's Poll:

Are both your parents still alive?

small kimonos

Still feel as if my head has been stuffed with hot cotton and kicked around a couple times. Opting out of UT practice tonight to try to get over my bug.

Jeff and I went to my Dad's yesterday evening. Jeff went to help my dad set up his new digital camera; I went along for the company, but ended up spending most of my time lying on my Dad's couch and surfing his zillion channels, struggling to stay awake. I did manage to rouse myself enough to go snooping through the photo albums stashed in my old bedroom upstairs. One of my projects this year is to start taking some of the old family photo albums, digitize some of the pictures (see above photo), and burn them onto CDs so they'll last longer. I'll be posting them in my Blatherings from time to time.

I hate the kind of colds that sap just enough energy so you don't feel like doing anything, but don't knock you out enough so that you can't spend the day in bed without feeling guilty.

As a result, I did manage to get a fair amount of work done over the past couple days, including organizing and filing my shoebox of receipts from last year, setting up a budget in Quicken for this year (now the challenge is to keep it updated!), wrote 1000 words for my novel so far today.

I've also officially taken over as Market Watch columnist at WritersMarket.com as of yesterday. I love being paid to surf. :-)

Blatherpics:

- My sister Ruth and me in front of our house on O'Connor Drive. I'm four, she's two. I think Ruth looks adorable in this photo, and I also find the resemblance between her and her daughters at this age is remarkable.

Today's Poll:

Do you own a CD burner?

recovering

It's been a crazy-busy holiday season, but isn't it always?

One thing for sure, however...I enjoyed this year's Christmas holiday SO MUCH MORE than last year's. Last year was fun, but underlying everything was the knowledge that I'd have to be flying back to Philadelphia, away from family and friends again.

I'm glad I'm home for good. :-)

happy new year!

Ugh, sicker today. Ended up watching the 2002 countdown on television in my pajamas at home. Jeff and Parki kept me company, and I crashed soon after.

More later, if I feel more coherent.

Links:

2001 timeline: by Google. Interesting perspective how the most popular search terms changed, depending on what was happening in the world.

Blatherpics:

- Our friend Alison (whom we visited in Tokyo), at Parki's party last week. Her baby is due next month.

Today's Poll:

Were you awake at midnight last night?