My baby brother sent this my way.
Behold, the Caesar's Bath meme! List five things that people in your circle of friends or peer group are wild about, but you can't really understand the fuss over. To use the words of Caesar (from History of the World Part I), "Nice. Nice. Not thrilling . . . but nice."
1. Coach purses These purses were supposedly made popular because they are the cheap, flashier, more individualistic alternative to Prada. Since when is $250 a cheap purse? I could find you something even flashier for $3 at Big Lots of "flashier than Prada" is what you're going for. Apparently Coach got a kick start on its popularity in Japan. Thanks a lot, Will. I blame you, since you live there and you have a man purse that is.. not... Coach... or Prada... Anyway, I'll stick with my $40 sack from the kiosk in the mall. (That's an upgrade from the $10 purses I had to replace three or four times a year because they kept falling apart.)
2. TV. Don't have it. Don't miss it. Don't ask me if I've seen the latest episode of the Bachelorette or the OC, because I haven't.
3. Socialism. It doesn't get you Prada bags. Oh wait.
4. Primping. If I spend more than 5 minutes in front of the mirror in the morning, I didn't sleep in long enough. I guess I can appreciate what it does for some people, but I've never known how to do the stuff well enough for it to make much of a difference in my own appearance. So, why bother?
5. Blogs that are basically just lists of links to stuff. I suppose it's like being a critic in that you're filtering and evaluating media for other people. Except that it's more like the way that a movie theatre marquee is like a critic because it lets you know what's out there so you don't have to find out for yourself. List-blogs even give their own equivalent of the MPAA rating seen on theatre marquees, such as "Not Safe for Work" or "Funny".
I pass this meme along to Josh, who hasn't posted anything since January. A good opportunity to rant is always just the thing to get those creative juices flowing.
Posted by waltondammerung at May 3, 2005 9:10 PMWhat is a "meme"??? (I feel woefully uncultured...)
Posted by: Mom at May 6, 2005 4:56 PMSo, I'm assuming that when you mentioned The Office in a previous post, you meant the DVD's put out by BBC? Is it okay to watch recorded TV shows on DVD, but not on live television?
Posted by: Peter at May 7, 2005 4:06 AMPeter--The keys are that I can watch it anytime I want, and I can control the quality of what I watch. What I don't like is watching "whatever is on" (because most of the time, it's not any good). People seem to feel compelled to watch crap just because it's on. I also don't like the idea of dropping everything I'm doing because a particular show is coming on, or scheduling my social life around it. Most people I know who have TVs do either or both. I probably would too. So, yes, watching live TV and watching recorded TV shows are entirely different animals.
Posted by: Amy at May 7, 2005 3:02 PMSo you would be okay with, say, Tivo-ing some particularly compelling programs, and watching them at your convenience?
Also, I'm assuming that you watch all of your movies on a computer, if you don't have a television?
Posted by: Peter at May 9, 2005 3:49 AM(read: movies and tv shows)
Posted by: Peter at May 9, 2005 3:50 AMPeter: Yes and yes.
I guess I could have been more precise and said "I really don't get why people are so into cable TV, channel surfing, watching TV during meals when they could be talking, and slavishly following programmed television series when they could just as easily watch the stuff on DVD." It comes down to the fact that I like to be master of my time, while some people find it relaxing to give that up from time to time (or for hours a day). It seems like, for most people I talk to, "watching TV" or "having a TV" involves the things I listed above. The fact that I don't have cable, satellite, or even a TV set that gets broadcast signals shocks people. They think I'm some sort of culturally illiterate luddite or something. I really don't understand why.
Posted by: Amy at May 10, 2005 10:42 PMHear, hear! Up until three weeks ago, I didn't own a TV, either, and the only reason I have one now is because of my roommate. But we don't have cable, and the only channel we get (barely), even with the bunny ears, is NBC. The TV is stored in a cabinet in the wall, out of sight unless we want to watch a movie. In college, my roommates insisted on having cable, and inevitably I found myself watching "Blind Date" and even "General Hospital" with them. TV sucks me in. Other people can ignore it, do homework in front of it, have meaningful conversations around it. But I'm mesmerized by it. I'd rather read a book. You are the only person I know besides my dad who doesn't have TV.
Posted by: Vic at May 11, 2005 6:27 AMWell, we have a television, and cable, and we watch a few hours most evenings. I don't blame you for not wanting to sit in front of it... it does suck you in, and if you don't have a plan for specific shows that you want to watch, you will end up sitting in front of it for an entire evening watching nothing but garbage. I haven't found a compelling reason to cut it out of my life, however, and I find that I still have plenty of time for other pursuits...
As an aside, having watched a few DVD's on our computer, I'd much rather watch them on our television. You don't have to sit so close to the screen.
Anyway, kudos to you for your no-television campaign. Just as long as you don't turn into this guy. Now that's just annoying.
Posted by: Peter at May 11, 2005 7:00 AMBTW, Vic, how are things going in Cambridge? Did you ever get in touch with the newspaper folks? Some weekend you should meet Becky and I for lunch at Fire & Ice.
Posted by: Peter at May 11, 2005 7:10 AMI own a television set that I bought after 9/11 (9/13 to be exact) but I have no reception, no cable and no satelite. Sometimes I go to other people's homes and am sucked in by the glow of their TV set. I, too, would do all those things Amy mentioned if I had TV. Then I would wonder where all my time had gone.
Posted by: Sarah at May 11, 2005 12:00 PMI watch Six Feet Under and Sex in the City on DVD (watch Amy cringe). I hope that means I'm NOT like the dude from the Onion. And Cambridge, is great, thank you, Peter. E-mail me sometime and maybe we can go get dinner!
Posted by: Vic at May 11, 2005 3:52 PMVic,
I was just catching up on comments - you can add us to your list of folks who don't have TV, using Amy's definition, that is. We have a working TV set, but only use it for videos and DVD since we have absolutely no reception for anything else. And don't miss it.