Having no TV in my apartment while on sabbatical has been an educational and interesting experience. As Karl Marx noted "Die Religion ... ist das Opium des Volkes"i. No, that doesn’t mean driving a Volkswagon requires pray or imparts a drug-induced, hippe experience, but rather “Religion is the opiate of the masses”. Our distraction is now TV which Calvin and Hobbes ponts out rather wickedly here http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/01/08
The thing is I actually watch as much TV here as I would at home. Now Im not a big TV watcher anyway and lets face it there is so much drivel to watch but at least with so many channels everyone can choose their own drivel. So how do I manage it? Well everything is online and my free wireless internet lets me watch everything I desire. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Big Bang Theory, the nightly news and even the ABC news and Dr Who on ABCs excellent iView. Sites here like Hulu and Netflix ($7.99/month for all the movies and TV you could possibility want) take care of all your viewing needs. Hell, you can even get movies via facebook. It’s on online watchfeast!
So do I ever need a TV again? Yes, I would miss out on live sports, breaking CNN news (will anyone really miss that), and latest shows as they broadcast. There are ways - I actually watched NBA basketball from Australia on my own TV via Skype just the other day (thanks Chris). But before long, everything will be online anyway.
The world is just so connected now. Its happening and the networks are slowly getting it together. Its fantastic isn’t it. No longer should you pay for 200 channels via cable or settle for free-to-air TV. Surf and choose your own TV channel – Nigels Channel – completely customized with content that has only what I like to watch. But are you prepared to do your own programming? How will you discover the hot new comedy show? Many folk are more than happy to sit back and ingest whatever the studios and network put in front of them – the opiate of the masses indeed.
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