Just for the Hell of It -- Week Six

I spotted this van while heading home from work one day last season, and couldn't resist taking a photo -- just for the Hell of it...

                              Quotes of the Week

The following quotes come from LA Times reviews of two new so-called reality television shows, and express some of my feelings about the bloated, overhyped genre of look-at-me-TV.  Due to the nature of their jobs, television critics have to take a balanced approach to their reviews, but I'm under no such obligation.  I think reality TV has always sucked, from the very first "Survivor" two decades ago to the latest televised garbage being shoveled through the Toob into the open mouths of the viewing public.

But there really is no accounting for taste, and some of my friends -- smart people who I respect -- like this kind of programming.  Go figure.

“Reality TV these days is no longer just a comforting block of Velveeta sitting on your DVR.  It has strapped on a Mexican wrestling mask and peacocks its ridiculousness around the ring.”

Patrick Kevin Day, reviewing “The Chair”

“...it wasn’t so long ago that what we now call “reality television” was the stuff merely of science fiction and usually stood for some kind of deformity, some bad wrinkle, in the social fabric.  Now it’s just TV.”

Robert Lloyd, reviewing “Utopia.”

Granted, as a reflection of the current state of our society and culture, Reality TV offers us a collective look in the mirror, but the older I get, the less I like looking in the mirror -- and the less time I have to waste watching crap TV.  But if you happen to like it or make a living in "reality," then you're in luck, because we're living through a Golden Age of the stuff.  That it feels to me more like a portent of a looming New Dark Age doesn't really matter, because so long as the audience keeps tuning in, reality TV will continue to fill the airwaves -- and as of yet there's no sign of any diminution in the public's appetite for the Kardashians and Duck Dynasties of this world.

So hey, pop the tab on another can of taste-free Lite Beer, rip open a bag of low-sodium, gluten-free pork rinds, then plop down in front of the Toob and enjoy.  One thing I have to admit about television these days -- there's something for everyone.

But if you're in the mood for some true filmic reality that's actually worth watching, try a short film called Reefnet that was made by a few years ago by one of the camera assistants on my show.  Eugene "Sketch" Pasinski's lyrical eleven minute film was good enough to win a local Emmy up in the Pacific Northwest, and worth sharing with you.

I liked it a lot -- maybe you will too.

One final note:  Since last week's JFTHOI hit the web, another seventeen of you downloaded Jim Gallagher's e-book Zenia, bringing the total to twenty-one and counting -- well over ten percent of those who read the original post.  That's a vast improvement than the four stalwart souls who'd previously clicked the download link, and I thank each and every one of you for making the effort.*

Now I just hope you like the book as much as I did -- and if so, great... but if not, hey, at least you gave a brand new author a chance.  Anybody who has attempted to write a book knows how much work such a project is, and once finished, all you want is for people to read it and experience the world you've created.**  The possibility of any financial gain takes a distant back seat to the simple desire to get the book in the hands of readers. You answered the call, and as far as I'm concerned, your Karmic bank account is solidly in the black.

You guys rock.  Thanks.

* And if anybody is still interested in the free download but has yet to click that link, it's good for another two weeks. 

** Yeah, that's me in the back row, holding up my hand.  And one of these days, that book will be available… but not yet.