We have a home phone, but mostly because we want a number to be able to fill in to forms and give to businesses that we never want to talk to. We don't have caller ID, we don't have long distance, and we don't have an answering machine on it (actually, we DO have an answering machine built in to the phone, but we leave it turned off). We got on the national "no-call" list when it first became a reality (one example of a time when our beloved elected officials got something right!). So most of the time, we only get calls on the home phone from our phone company, from Cindy's mom, and from each other. We figure the people we want to talk to mostly have our cell phone numbers. (Yes, Cindy's mom does have our cell phone numbers too - what kind of awful people do you think we are?!?)
But unfortunately, during election season, political campaign calls are not covered under the no-call umbrella. Our phone (like yours, probably) has been ringing at all hours. The large majority of these, of course, have been recorded messages. These frustrate me, but not too badly - it's easy and somewhat satisfying to angrily hang up on a recording. Shouting at the recording prior to hanging up is also a therapeutic option, and one which doesn't bother the conscience like shouting at a live person.
Among others, we got calls from the Animal Legal Defense Fund, some veterans' group or other, numerous PAC's, Ike Skelton, Vicky Hartzler, the Missouri Republican Party, some dubiously-named Missouri group claiming Tea Party allegiance, and Sarah Palin. We hung up on all of them except a timid-sounding young person politely taking a survey, to whom I granted "five to seven minutes of [my] time."
Last night before and during dinner we received three separate "get out the vote" calls. After dinner I decided to go to the office while Cindy went to her Bible study, so that I could be a couch potato (desk-chair potato?) in peace.
Today, it's over. No more phone calls! Woo!
I realize that our election season was MUCH less annoying than most people's, simply because we don't really listen to the radio (except NPR and Christian non-profit stations), and we don't have TV. So we were blessedly free of the onslaught of annoying campaign ads!
Let me clarify the "we don't have TV" statement. While we don't have cable or satellite, and can't get any broadcast channels at home, don't start getting all impressed at our self-control and minimalistic, spartan lifestyle. We have discovered that the shows we want to watch can be seen on Hulu. Or if we REALLY like them, we can buy the episodes on iTunes or Amazon, or even buy the DVD's. The cost of a few seasons on DVD per year is MUCH less than the cost of cable or satellite. (In similar vein, consider this Wired bit comparing costs of internet TV vs. cable/satellite.) Yeah, we want to seem all self-controlled and spartan, but the truth is we watch quite a bit of TV - especially for people with no ability to watch live TV.
I know many people would say that we'd be much better off if we didn't watch TV shows at all. For most of my growing-up years, the only viewing screen in our house was on the old TRS-80 desktop computer. (And later the HP DOS-based PC with a thumping 40MB hard drive! And for those of you born in the 90's or later, they didn't even have a color monitor!!!) I certainly didn't suffer as a result of being deprived of TV as a child. I'm a prolific speed-reader today, and I attribute this to the fact that as a hyper, ADD child, I didn't have TV, so I read books for my entertainment and imaginative escapes.
But I'm not so sure being a TV teetotaler is as much a character-builder as some say. Obviously there's a lot of junk on TV. But there are also some well-written shows with good plot lines and great humor. Occasionally there is even the positive portrayal of virtue and the realistic depiction of the consequences of evil.
So I think a certain amount of TV watching is okay - even healthy!
Okay, now I've philosophized about it enough. To be honest, I just like me some good TV sometimes. And here are the current favorites occupying my Hulu.com queue:
Chuck (totally unlikely plot, but great characters and so much fun.)
The Good Guys (funniest cop show on TV)
Castle (murder mysteries with humor and good characters... and Nathan Fillion of Firefly)
No Ordinary Family (new superhero show - like a live-action The Incredibles, but a bit more angsty)
The Office (obviously)
Psych (the funniest buddy comedy on TV, plus Sherlock-Holmes-like sleuthing abilities)
What are your favorites? Any obvious ones I'm missing?
