Sad, but Dumb

I don't watch a lot of television, but last night we had a friend over who loves watching "Grey's Anatomy". She came over, and we all watched it. It's a good show, but I think I'm sort of post-television. Does that sound snobby?

I'm sooooo over TV. That's so 80's.

I didn't intent it to be snobby. Actually, I think that I'm not going to get hooked onto any more TV shows. I want to be able to go out without fear of missing a favorite show. I'd rather live life than watch someone else pretend to live it.

But, I digress...

As I said, the show was pretty good. I could see myself liking it. However, what was bugging me were the ads for the local news. The local news was doing these dumb shock-factor commercials that lasted about five seconds. They were really bothering me.

But, when the show was over, the TV stayed on long enough for us to see the header stories. All the opening stories were tragedies, but they all came out of stupidity. I wasn't sure if I should have been outraged, or saddened, or laugh at the stupidity.

The top story was about a University of Minnesota student who climbed to the top of a grain elevator in Minneapolis (I can assume that she was drinking). She then fell over 100 feet to her death. The news station reminded us that they brought us the big exposé on the vandalism in the same grain elevator some time ago.

The next story was about people's cars falling through the ice on Lake Minnetonka. Now, this one may take some explaining for those of you not from the frozen north. The ice up here does freeze enough for people to walk, and even for cars to drive. HOWEVER, it has been around 50 all last week. There are signs up all over that tell you that the ice is unsafe. Yet these people keep driving their cars out there on the ice! Then, it's a tragedy when their cars fall through the ice. No was was killed in these stories, so it wasn't as bad.

The third story (before I shut the TV off) was about a snowmobiler who went out onto thin ice and fell through. See argument above!

Sometimes I think that people have no common sense.

Back to my television issues...I've become much more of a radio person. I've added a link for The Current, the contemporary music station from MN Public Radio. I'm also going to add a link for my favorite NPR show, "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me". Basically, it's like the Daily Show/Weekend Update and Hollywood Squares all mixed into one. I think I would enjoy The Daily Show, but I don't even get that cable channel. So I go without.

I also notice that radio (especially public radio) doesn't try to sensationalize everything the way that the TV news was trying to last night. They are more thoughtful and insightful. I like their style of journalism. They do in-depth without beating a dead horse.

I heard the same stories from the TV on the radio this morning, but it was put into proper context and given ample time. They just know how to deal with things.

Of course, they can't stop people from doing stupid things...