First Person Limited

One evening last week The History Channel showed “101 Gadgets that Changed the World.”  It was an hour-long show, thus a pretty fast trip down memory lane for me. Most gadgets’ few seconds were up before I had time to get too nostalgic.

In addition to mentioning all these gizmos, they also briefly told why or how they changed the world. Some were easy to see — like duct tape. How would we live without that? Or the match, personal computer, zipper? The transistor radio was credited with the popularity of rock and roll. I’m not sure why. Maybe because it made the teens and their music mobile, got them out of the reach of their parents?

The Smart Phone was deemed the number 1 gadget that has changed the world. And while the Smart Phone hasn’t changed my life yet, I can see how others might think it number one.

The item that really caught my attention and brought back memories was the ball point pen. Eversharp, maker of mechanical pencils, introduced the ballpoint pen to the United States in 1945.  It cost about $10., which is comparable to $100 today.  Nowadays they are given away free as promotions.

These pens must have become more affordable in the 50’s because I remember seeing them in the stationery stores with the school supplies. They cost about the same as any fountain pen.  The big sales pitch was that the ballpoint pens wouldn’t leak (supposedly) or smear.

However, my teachers at Denison High School made it clear that they would not accept work in ballpoint pen. It had to be written in real ink.

An example of people resisting change, even when it might be for the better.

I also worked for a company in the middle 80s that refused to follow the electronics fads. They said they would never computerize. Guess what? They did.

A personal blog is not really the best place for true confessions, but I have a burden of guilt I must unload.  This summer, during the hiatus of my favorite television shows, I have been watching America’s Got Talent.

Right! Me! Hater of reality TV from the onset, put off by the rat eating and the back biting and hanky-panky that goes on in the jungle or on the island. I tired quickly of even the ‘reality’ shows focused on singing and dancing. I tried American Idol and Dancing With the Stars, sticking it out only one season. The format has quickly become cliched: three judges, one of them mean, contestants are booted off in front of the audience, the camera picking up every emotion. The winner (or sometimes the loser) is announced after a gut-wrenching, tension-building, cat-call-filled 45 second wait. “And you will be going home … … … … John Brown and the Molding Bodies!” It’s all so last week (as is that phrase).

But here’s the thing. I love variety shows. Loved Ed Sullivan in his time. In the course of an hour you could see singers, dancers and stand-up comedians.  I even liked most of the copy cats who tried to follow Sullivan. So, while channel surfing one night in June, I stopped on a group of four bicyclists performing dangerous tricks on a stage. When they finished, three judges gave their varied opinions and then a young girl came on with a jazz/ballet routine.  A variety show!  That’s what this is. Mute the judges, skip the hype and drama of who comes back next week and you have a program where you can see singers, acrobats, magicians, contortionists … a little of everything. And best of all, most of it is worth watching.

One of my favorite television shows this season is Parenthood. The season finale last Tuesday was pre-empted by a storm watch party on the local station, but I was able to see it a couple of days later on nbc.com. (thankyouverymuch)

This is a story about the Braverman family, parents played by Craig T. Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia, and their four grown children – who have children of their own. This series makes the most of the dynamics in a large family who love and support each other but on the other hand, are individuals who handle things differently. I grew up in a large family and I love this concept for an ensemble show.  I was a faithful viewer the first season of Brothers and Sisters … before they went wacko.

One of the current sub-plots is about the oldest daughter, Sarah (played by Lauren Graham). She writes a play. Just stays up all night one night and gets it done.  Her father, Zeek (Nelson), unbeknownst to her, sends the play (unedited? in longhand?) to a former friend who happens to be the greatest playwright in the whole world. (This is a cameo part played by Richard Dreyfuss). Said friend loves the play, but since he is sort of retired and out of the show business loop, he is eager to connect Sarah up with a producer who is absolutely top dog.  At first Top Dog is not interested but when Sarah charmingly accosts him at a dressy fundraiser, he agrees to at least read her play.

Guess what. He likes it too. Then, in the time in takes a rebellious teen to be involved in a car wreck and recover except for a few scabs on her face, the play is up. The season finale ends at the staged reading of Sarah’s play. All the Bravermans are there and from the looks of it, half the town.  The play is obviously going to be a hit and while this isn’t said, Sarah is probably set for life financially.

That’s why I like this show … because, oh yes. That’s exactly how it happens.

I love award shows and I watch them all.  Well, every one that has something to do with entertainment I enjoy. (Example: I watch the Emmys, Oscars, SAGs, Golden Globes, Tonys, etc. I do NOT watch the MTV music video awards or the ESPYs.)

So, I was in place last Sunday night to view the Emmy Awards for the best television shows of the year. And after it was over, I was a little surprised to find that it had very little to do with me. Most of the winners were from shows I don’t watch or else they appear on a cable network I don’t receive. Two of my favorite actors were nominated but alas, they did not win. Two cozy mysteries I love to watch are The Mentalist and Monk. I heart Simon Baker and Tony Shalhoub. (A cozy mystery is one without the gore. Someone may be murdered, but we don’t have to watch the bullet travel through his innards.)

I did enjoy to a certain extent the Internet offering Monday morning of the Best and Worst of the Red Carpet. Several pundits who profess knowledge about fashion weighed in on the gowns, jewelry and hairdos. Most gowns this year were long and flowing, not too bizarre (the dress made from Obama-print being the exception) and worn with very little jewelry. I didn’t always agree with the B&W writer (though we were in agreement on the Obama-print). She let her personal prejudice show when she called one hair style “charmingly tousled” and another “disheveled.” They both looked messy to me.

So, even though my favorite didn’t win, there was still something to enjoy, specifically, Emcee Neil Patrick Harris. I heart him, too.

I watch television a lot. I use it as white noise for reading the paper, working puzzles, cleaning house, folding laundry. When I see something interesting or unusual, something I want to remember, I jot it down in a little notebook on the end table.  Here are some tidbits:

In the movie The Man Who Knew Too Much, the eight-year-old boy playing Doris Day’s son sticks two fingers in his mouth and whistles “Que Sera, Sera.”  Most of us can hardly produce a noise that way, but he whistles a song … on pitch, yet.

On the game show, 1 vs. 100, the question was: how many six packs would it take to have ‘99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall?’  The contestant pondered and said, “Well, I don’t drink beer…”  Yes, she was blond.

Some words of wisdom from As Time Goes By, a Britcom on PBS, Lionel tells the women in his life, “Say what you want to say to the person you want to say it to.”  What sage advice!

And on Judging Amy, someone observed, “Everybody loves a strong person because they never ask for anything.” (I didn’t note if it was Amy or her very wise mother.)

In a short Film The Support Group on PBS, came a twist on a growing cliche about denial: “The Euphrates is not just a river in Mesopotamia.” 

And of course commercials appear in my note-taking. A disclaimer for a perscription drug, “If you’re allergic to Astepro, don’t take it.”  Well, duh.

A man dressed in a white coat tells us, “I recommend Breath Rx not only to my patients but to everyone I know.”  That’s how to win friends, all right.

A commercial for a behavior management technique is rather long but never really tells us much about how it works. The salesperson boasts, “Turn your child’s attitude around in one minute or less.”  Now, as someone who has parented for many years, I want to know: What IS it?  A baseball bat? Thumb screws? 

Yes, I watch television a lot, mostly old movies. And the new season of Monk starts Friday, August 7.

The saying above is an old Texas expression about loyalty. It means stick to the strategies that brought success in the first place.  Something I wish the cable networks would do.

As cable and dish have made more and more channels available to us, we’ve watched new networks debut with a promise to bring programming of interest to a specific population, only to change a few years later to chase another demographic.  It’s one thing when USA, TNT, TBS or WGN decides to do this, but when the name of the network implies one thing and the programs reflect something different … well … that borders on fraud. 

If we watch the Biography Channel, which spun off from a popular show on A&E, we might see “Murder She Wrote.” Whose biography is that? It’s a story about Jessica Fletcher and her unfortunate friends. Being an acquaintance of the famous mystery writer means two things. First, someone you know will be murdered, and second, someone you know is the murderer.

And A&E, which stands for Arts and Entertainment and promised high quality programing from the entertainment and art world, is another good example. A better name now would be the crime/drug rehab channel.  Bravo is also a network that changed its focus. It tends to repeat the same movie or syndicated drama several times throughout the evening. This may be a staffing issue. Set the feed on automatic pilot and clock out.

MTV (Music Television) was to bring pop videos to its young audience. Now they are featuring a reality show – “Sixteen and Pregnant.”  The Learning Channel (aka the Jon and Kate Channel) has decided to teach us all about people who are differently challenged, i.e. “The 650 Pound Virgin,” “Conjoined Twins,” “The World’s Tallest Children,” and “Little People.”

AMC – American Movie Classics, seems to have redefined what constitutes a classic, and their pledge to show movies commercial-free went down the tubes a few years ago.  Oxygen, touted as a channel about issues important to women, now features overweight females trying to dance and “America’s Next Top Model,” programs that appear to me to be exploitive.  WE – Womens’ Entertainment, broadcasts hours and hours of “Bridezilla”, showing women in their worst light.

I feel I’ve just scratched the surface here. You could add more, and I invite you to vent your dissatisfaction/disillusionment with the fare offered on cable/dish.

Oh, one more thing. Be sure to screen the commercials when your children are in the room. The show may be rated G but you could still find yourself explaining to your child what Bob is so danged happy about.