Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Riveting TV

Now that I am no longer a slave to schoolwork, you would think that I would have so much more time to add blog entries. 

Not so.  I am finding that when I am home of an evening, instead of being on my computer I am actually starting to watch some of the programming that has captivated Mr. Ednurseasauras during my academic incarceration.  Not just sporting events, mind you, although  I have written hundreds of papers while watching many a Red Sox, Bruins, or Patriot's game. More accurately, I was mostly pretending to watch, usually it is just white noise.  Mr. EdN is an inveterate channel surfer and is addicted to the Discovery and History Channels as well as some of the political and economic pundit programming.  He has a tendency to avoid the fluff; you know, premium channel train-wreck TV so ridiculous you just can't turn away.  This is anything on MTV or VH1 (unless it is a movie like "Eddie and the Cruisers" or "The Buddy Holly Story").  He abhors anything having to do with Jersey Whores, Kardashian Krap, 257 Kids and Counting, or Kate Plus 8 and Jon Gets the Gate.  I confess that in contrast, I never miss an episode of Toddlers and Tiaras.  Ultimate train wreck CRAYZEE parents, which makes you feel good about raising normal well adjusted kids without spray tanning, fake eyelashes and big hair.

Instead of being shackled to my online classroom, I have been enlightened by such riveting shows as Swamp People, Swamp Logger's, and Ice Road Truckers.  Then there's Pawn Stars, Billy the Exterminator, Dual Survivor, The Alaska Project, Everest Beyond the Limit.....etc., etc,. etc.    Tonight we watched two hours of Navy Seal shows dedicated to the killing of Osama Bin Laden.  That was pretty interesting, but what I really wanted to watch was True Blood.  That's OK; the magic of On Demand allows me watch it in the morning while I have my coffee.

Most of these shows are pretty ridiculous, but one in particular I must single out as being the most pointless in pursuit of the loftiest goal.  Whale Wars.  Yep.  Now, don't get your panties in a wad.  I love animals and on paper it might seem like a grand idea to participate in the high seas equivalent of poking a hornet's nest with a stick in order to save whales from being harvested by the Japanese.  I am not taking a stand on the legal issue of commercial whaling here; oh no.  Whaling in pursuit of scientific research apparently IS legal; the Japanese emphasize that their activities are legal by holding up signs on their deck as they process their kill that announce "We're Weighing Stomach Contents"or "We're Taking Tissue Samples".  In English.  So the helicopter can see it. What boggles my mind is that the captain and crew of the Sea Shepherd are bumbling idiots. Referred to by some as "eco-terrorists", or "vigilantes", they roam the waters off the coast of Antarctica attempt to disrupt their "enemy" by taunting, cutting across their bow, throwing stink bombs, and tampering with their propeller .   And sometimes getting rammed in order to indignantly cry "foul".  Their actions just seem juvenile and impulsive while being more of a threat to human beings than actually seeming to accomplish whale salvation.  I find myself rooting for the Japanese, frankly.   

Without a doubt a more effective option than the Jackasses of the High Seas would be to put the Navy Seals in charge of disrupting whaling activities.  Yeah.

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