Every once in awhile, we want to be up-to-date with the latest news: how our daily actions affect global warming, when will taxes be lowered, or even what new electronic devices Apple will decide to mass-market next. The only type of 'news' that I can't comprehend in terms of its popularity is celebrity gossip. Why should we care about the problems of people we'll never meet? Shouldn't we put more emphasis and attention to the problems that plague our everyday lives instead of wasting time worrying about the impact that Britney Spears has on the media by sporting a cue-ball head? The answers to these questions are obvious and yet, magazines such as "People" or "Star" are still being emptied off the shelves in supermarket lineups. Frankly, if I ever feel compelled to buy a magazine that documents how Nick Lachey is bouncing back after his divorce from Jessica Simpson, it would only be for the purposes of house training my puppy. Okay, so maybe people pay $6.95 per issue or $25 per month for a 12-month subscription because they enjoy that sort of reading. Hey, nothing wrong with a good reading (even if it is utterly ridiculous). It's the fact that there's so much of it. I tune into my favorite radio station and what do I hear? Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have adopted another orphan! You know, that's great and all but can we get back to some Audioslave or Foo Fighters now? When I turn on the TV (which is a rare occasion nowadays so when I do, it's like Christmas for half an hour), I find that every other channel talks about who's breaking/hooking up with who, who's got what type of emotional dilemma/eating disorder, and who's going to appear at what socialite event. You would think that having access to cable television would allow me to view different kinds of crap but no, of course not. So now, I've developed a sort of phobia of my television; a fear that if I turn to CNN, I will see yet another broadcast on Anna Nicole Smith's 'controversial' death (funny how dead people can be more of a bother than living ones). I suppose this 'telephobia'* in response to the 'ludicrophobia'** will have some benefits; maybe I'll feel more inclined to finish the English paper that's due in 3 hours.
Neologisms of the Day:
*telephobia - fear of television channels that broadcast crap that is irrelevant and ludicrous
**ludicrophobia - fear of the irrelevant and ludicrous
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2 comments:
I must say... I really like hearing about other peoples' dirty laundry. "Ooo! Scandalous!". Maybe because it reminds us that having lots of money doesn't solve the problems you already have. Or that rich and famous people are actually really weird and that we don't want to be like them.
hmm...i suppose that's true...reading about other people's problems can make us feel better about our own problems...
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