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No Reservations

I don’t watch a lot of TV these days. I feel like most shows have a formula that either replicates itself endlessly or the show is randomly jerking you around with no real answers or meaning. I think that TV is a mostly squandered and wasted medium. It’s a little sad knowing that many of it’s creators felt it would open windows on places and ideas that couldn’t be seen in everyday life. But all hope is not lost. Inside that garbage bin of television lie a few small gems that seem to live up to my expectations of good programming.

Anthony Bourdain : No Reservations. It’s on the Travel Channel, which I assume is some kind of sub-department of Discovery Channel. I don’t even know when it comes on since it shows up on my TiVo as if it were some kind of five dollar bill left in an old pair of pants. Who knows when you put it there and you don’t care cause, hey, five dollars. TiVo is cool like that. But that’s not the point. The show is good. I mean it’s really good. And it’s about food all over the world. Something that I don’t think I would have ever dreamed that I would enjoy watching a television show about. I have always been a pretty picky eater and it’s only been in the past six or seven years that I have really started trying new things. And I can honestly say that this show has helped me look at food in a totally different light. I could even go so far as to say that this show has even helped me see the world in a different light.

So, this guy, Anthony Bourdain, is a fancy well known chef. But that’s kinda selling him short, I think. The show is about him visiting some place in the world and eating food and hanging out with people. Sometimes he knows the people, sometimes they are friends of friends, and sometimes just total strangers. He tends to stick to local cuisine and not the stuff you would see as a tourist. And a lot of times it involves just walking down a street and buying food from a street vendor or eating at someone’s house. That’s the food part. It’s kinda mundane and normal, and I really like that. People love food. Everyone needs food to live and everyone has food they like and lots of people have food that’s just part of their life. And that’s where people’s lives come into the show. These are real people. I mean, I know it’s TV and I’m not seeing everything that happens or hearing everything that’s said. But this show is pretty genuine. This kind of show makes “Reality TV” look like a scripted, rehearsed, post edited pig with makeup on it. And that’s good entertainment.

I’m sitting in front of the TV right now, watching an episode about Japan. He’s visiting a friend on a holiday where they honor their ancestors and return home to have a nice subdued, relaxing day with family. It’s a little boring and at the same time very interesting. Kind of the way a nice nap on a warm spring day is boring but you really enjoy it when you get the chance. That’s good stuff. And more people should see this on TV. And then more people should sit down, eat a meal with friends or family and think about all the other people in the world doing the same thing. Having a good time, enjoying some good food.

So this show probably makes me out to be the hypocrite that I know I am. I give TV shows a bad rap for being boring and repetitive, but here’s a show I like because it’s boring and just showing me the things I already enjoy but in a different setting somewhere else in the world. Or it’s possible that I like the show for showing me something so different and interesting through this little glass portal. I wonder if Anthony came to my town, where would I take him to eat? What would be the good things that I do for fun that people in other countries might find interesting? Why don’t more TV shows make people ask more questions?

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My mother played a video game

I like computers and the games that are played on them. My father had a pong game, but the PC was the number one game playing avenue. Probably much to my mother’s concern that I was not out playing with my friends enough or wasting my time. My mom never touched the computer. I think she hated it. But recently, that has changed a lot. She sends e-mails and talks to me in instant messenger. She has learned a lot in the past few years and really has become a computer literate person. My dad, on the other hand, has played computer games and even written software so he can play puzzles he enjoys. He sits in front of his computer as much as I do, most likely. I would never imagine to see both of them playing a common video game and having lots of fun, ever.

Enter the Wii. Doubles tennis with my brother, my dad, my mom, and myself. It was fun. It was a little bit of a workout. I think everyone had a good time playing. When I think about it, it was weird. Playing tennis in my living room. I think the Wii really does this kind of thing well. It’s just fun to play. And I really like having something that anyone can play and have fun without having to be some kind of video game snob.

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Unexpected Wiindfall

I have been known to only own “dead” console systems. I only have two, a PSP and a Sega Dreamcast, so it’s more of a general guideline than a rule. But then Guitar Hero was rumored to be coming to the Wii, plus my experiences playing Wii-Sports, I decided to pick one up. No small task.

I was not going to stalk stores or put down $600 for one (the retail being about $250). I would take my time and visit a Target store or Best Buy when I was nearby. Casually checking for one when I had some time, the lazy approach. And it actually worked out. A new Best Buy was opening near work and it was their opening day. They had been shipped 30 Wii’s that morning and there were plenty sitting on the shelves. So I picked one up. Since it was their grand opening, I also got a free $10 gift card.

Of course, no Wii is complete without a compliment of four controllers so my friends can play doubles tennis or four player bowling. The local Best Buy and Target stores were sold out. But Amazon had plenty and I could wait a week for them to be delivered, right? If only. Using the cheapest (free) shipping method promptly sent my shipment into a United States Postal Service limbo zone. Their technologically advanced system clearly states that the package was delivered, yet I have nothing to show for it. At least Amazon is going to refund my money. By the time all of this transpired, Best Buy had thirty or more controllers in stock and I was able to pick up three more easily.

Mission Accomplished.

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Scary Hoaxes

As is the case for most things on the web, a link led to a link which then led to some forums with an interesting story. The initial post consisted of a short explination and a series of unusual images. The author had found a digital camera in the woods near his house and recovered the photos from the camera. The images displayed were all pretty spooky to begin with, but some appeared to have shadowy figures and shapes. I read the story and I examined the images and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Was this real, coincidence, or a clever hoax? The pages that followed the post were all discussing the exact same ideas at length. Some people were outright rejecting the concept and images, others were defending the images as authentic and real.

None of these people (even the original poster) had witnessed any of the evidence first-hand. One of the posters was even saying that the authenticity of the images was being checked by a friend who was an expert at digital photo manipulation to discover if these were real. For a while, his friend had found nothing and this was offered as proof of the images being “real”. For some people, the fact that you couldn’t prove the images were false, meant that they had to be genuine. Others did their best to convince people that the images were obviously fake. And some people just made jokes. It is the internet after all.

What surprised me the most, was my indifference over the images. They were good. They had a good creepy vibe and a good story to go along with them. But, the real interesting part were people’s reactions to them. It was a puzzle with a lot of missing pieces and this forced people to honestly try to put forth ideas that would solve the puzzle. There were mysteries and most people felt there was a genuine need to get to the bottom of it all. There were skeptics who refused to believe anything in the images was real without more proof. A few people latched onto these images as evidence of aliens on Earth or the supernatural. When the facts became known, everyone backed out of any conviction of what truth the photos revealed to them.

Ignoring the cursory beliefs of some of the people involved, the struggle for the underlying truth of the situation was very interesting. The lack of logic and understanding was a bit depressing. But, that’s pretty par for the course on a forum.