Media Rant

This week I’ve actually been into the media happenings more than I have in a long time. Here are some of my thoughts about certain items.

First: Fall programming. A bit of a disappointment to be completely honest. There are some shows that I really wish the US would end in their hayday. A few of these shows that I can think of now are The Office (no Steve Carrell = no good), Two and A Half Men (honestly haven’t seen the new one but it can’t work), and Glee (the show was sooooooo good but I don’t see how they can keep it going and the plot lines have been really weak though I did find out that Blaine is a UM grad but that’s beside the point). These were three of my favorite shows and I feared their demise for this fall and unfortunately that’s what is happening. For whatever reason Desperate Housewives continues to amaze me with its plot lines but only probably because they are so extreme and twisted so you never know what to expect. The Real Housewives are ALWAYS entertaining to me and I will readily admit that not deny it. I almost wanted to criticize SNL for a horrible past 10 years but after seeing the episode this past Saturday of McCarthy I was laughing my head off. I love that chick! I want to like more sitcoms and have a goody like Friends or Seinfield to follow but it seems that I HAVE to resort to reality TV shows just for the unexpected since uniqueness and originality seem to be lost from most others.

Second: The news. I really wish that I followed the news more. I don’t stay up on politics until the full blown presidential run which by then is so filtered or dolled up that my trust in what is presented is very weak. When I do read the Seattle Times which is everyday at work at lunch I only read the Sports section and Northwest living for their events and puzzles pages. I would like a reliable news source and used to rely on CNN.com but even CNN throws in the light stories I don’t want to have to filter through. BBC is a good website and I should bookmark it and just read the conveniently published handful of top stories each day. I didn’t even know about the Amanda Knox story until yesterday but everyone was treating it like the OJ trial. And tabloids are such a waste of paper.

Third: Music. Why, oh why are Fitz and the Tantrums not more of a success? Why can’t I get a local Seattle band, Head and the Heart, to just perform their own small local concert but yet they are travelling all over the East Coast and South right now? Why do heavy rock and punk bands get a following when your ears get blown out and you can’t understand a word they are saying? This doesn’t make sense to me at all.

And in tribute to Steve Jobs’ passing here is probably my favorite quote ever by anyone given at the commencement for Stanford this past year:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Chelsea