This past week I had the privilege to to sit down with two executives from a local television and multi-media empire to talk about an idea i have for some original programming. during the meeting, they suggested that our generation doesn't really watch TV. Their understanding was that traditional television is wasted on us, and instead studios and production entities should be focusing on the web. I certainly think that there is a place for web and television integration, but i have to say it is scary to realize that this is how our parents generation sees us.
Yes, television has evolved. There is on-demand TV for the "now" generation, and on-screen guides. There are websites for each popular TV show, and web-exclusive content and "extras" online. There are even "webisodes" that are shorter, more streamlined side story lines for characters on shows such as the "the accountants" on "The Office."
However, we are not a generations of people who wants to do nothing more than sit in front of our computers. They are getting it wrong. And that scares the evalivin' out of me.
Our parent's generation has come to see us so much as these "interweb-savvy" kids, and so able to adapt to new technology and formats that they are over reacting. They overestimate the power of the web and are trying ot re-invent the wheel. The problem is that the new wheel is coming out sqaure. And squares don't roll. That's why the old wheel is round.
Deep breath.
There are several reasons why this older generation is just totally wrong, and being a part of the younger generation, i would like to put in my two cents. Here a few reasons that we "my g-g-g-g-g-generation" still watches TV.
1. Surfing: Channel surfing and web-surfing are very different for a couple of reasons. The biggest even present in the name difference. Channel surfing has channels. There is a button that takes you to the next one in line. There is no "next webpage" button. You create your own path. When channel surfing, whether on a standard TV where you surf up or down, with an on-screen guide, you have a series of things from which to pick, and you are directed nicely from one to the next. On the web, there is no direction from one thing to another. You go to your favorite web site, explore it, and then enter the URL for the next one. Or, you can use a search engine, but who knows what will show up. You may think that having set channels is restricting, but it allows people to have a managable set of options.
Along similar lines, how much easier is it for something to "land in your lap" when you are channel surfing, as oppposed to web-surfing? It is so much more concievable that there is media on the web that you will NEVER see because you have no series of connections to get there. You will never hear anyone say "well... here are our options on the internet... we looked at everything. We finished the internet." When channel surfing, you pass through all the channels, and somethign can catch your eye that you would never have found otherwise. Imagine if TV was soemthing where you only went directly to the channels you wanted... you would miss everything in between. And yes, we hardly watch a fraction of what is broadcast, but if you flip through channels just ONCE you are at least aware of everything that is on at that time. All the currently availible media has passed through your consciousness, if briefly.
2. Creedence: When you are flipping through channels, you know that someone has chosen to put money into producing and broadcasting that which you are watching. Now, this is an admittedly weak argument, because we all have sat down at the set, flipped through 200 channels and then said "200 channels, and there is still nothing on". Agreed.
BUT... if someone says to you "The Discovery Channel has a great show on Tuesdays called 'Dirty Jobs'... you should watch it," we are much more likely to trust that it is a good show because we know Discovery Channel, and it lends creedence to the statement. We are not as likely to trust someone who says "there is this great show on the internet on a website about guy doing jobs that are dirty." We know notihng about the show, who produces it, where to find it... we have no barometer of immediate analysis. This works the other way too... if someone says "i love a show on Discovery" and you don't like that network at all, you probably won't watch it... but at least there is something that allows to have some sense of what is being produced. The internet is a HUGE crappe shoot.
3. HDTVs are AWESOME: High Definition is amazing. It is simply awesome. Awesome in the most literal definition of the word. It fills people with awe. I gave my grandparents an HDTV, and they have stopped watching the news on KDKA (where they ALWAYS watched the news... good old brand loyalty) and started watching it on WPXI because KDKA does not have HD facilities for their in-house facilities. (All the national content the get as a CBS affiliate is HD.. ust not the local news and other shows produced here). My grandparents actually switched a life-long devotion to 'channel 2' as they call it, because of HD.
My generation is buying HDTVs left and right. We love them. Bigger and bigger TVs with beter refresh-rates all the time... more pixels, more resolution... why would anyone think that we donm't want to watch TV on these machines? Of course we also want to play XBox and PS3 on them, watch Blu-Ray in brilliant 1080p and surround sound, but we also want to watch TV shows on them. And we want ot watch them in high def.
If I can sit in front of my 50-inch plasma TV and watch The Office in 720p with 5.1 dolby digital surround sound, why would anyone think I would prefer to watch it on my computer, wating while it loads, then having to deal with it skipping, having a slower frame-rate and with stereo headphones? The biggest I can see it on my computer is 15-inches. 15 vs. 50. Hi. 50 wins. Everytime.
It's a no-brianer.
4. Setting: I will confess that I have watched both The Office and 30 Rock on the internet... but that is ONLY when I miss the broadcasts. Think about it this way... I am watchign them on a tiny little screen, with pooer quyality, and I am sitting in a desk chair. The alternative is sitting on a big chooshy couch with my feet up on a ottoman, and one of the best combinations of sound and video quality availible. The setting is so much more conducive to watchign TV in my living room than it is at my desk. This is what my TV, sound system and couch were all designed to do. And they are really good at it. That is why i have them. We shouldn't be making it worse by forcing people to abandon this set up for the computer.
Now... i will agree that the internet is a VERY important piece of this whole progressing integration of media. Of course we should be putting the shows online as well... but not exclusively. What is driving to the watch them online if they have no broadcast presence. There is just too much crap out there online. Youtube is full to overflowing with the stupidest stuff i have ever seen. If you watch the viral video of the two brittish kids in which the older one says "charlie bit me" after his baby brother bites him, you can then watch HUNDREDS of other videos where people have re-created the video. I don't want to watch that. That is not funny. I have seen the original. It is stupid. And, i think people should be allowed to put that online... it is thier right to do so, but i don't like sifting through all the crap. TV helps me sift through thte crap.
But i am off point. There should certianly be an integration of TV and internet, and there is... but if people really think that they should stop putting good media on TV for our generation and just put it on the web, then they are HORRIBLY misguided. And that worries me. Both for the sake of our parents generation and for ours. They are missing some great opportunites to get eyeballs, (which bring in money) and we are missing great media because we cannot find it as readily.
I do think that superior media will come through wherever it is... eventually. Take Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long blog par example... it was a web-exclusive enterprise, and it was just good enough that it has been growing and growing in popularity. But how much faster and broad would it have been if a TV network had said "this is good. we will put it on our air." It would have been HUGE.
I don't think all hope is lost, but I hope our parents remember when THEY listened to The Who and sang... "talkin' 'bout m-m-m-m-my g-g-g-g-generation."
Friday, January 23, 2009
Update on My Friend
The vet showed up to examine the dog, knowing that he might be putting him down that day. instead, he told us that 'the bear's' Lungs and Heart are in fine shape. So he said the dog could last another week, or even several months. He put 'the bear' on some pain killers, to which he said most animals respnd very well. So plans have changed... if i am still 'free' when my parents go on vacation I will be spending that week at home, dog sitting.
It is a strange world in which we live.
It is a strange world in which we live.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
On Losing a Friend
Anyone who has been as blessed with friends as I have knows about losing them. I have lost many myself.Sometimes it is through death, or tragedy. Sometimes it is through joy as they open a new chapter in life. Sometimes there is a falling out, and other times it is simply a falling away. A move, a change of direction, a change of desire. Sometimes someone chooses something else, and sometimes it cannot be avoided.
What make losing this friend is the choice. My friend is 18. He is has always been patient and calm. he has always been loyal and he has always loved my family. He has also been a huge part of the family even though he elects to eat off the floor rather than at the table with the rest of us.
18 years is a long time for a dog of his size. He came to us the way our pets tend to... second hand. Growing up as an outdoor pet of the directors of the summer-camp in our town, he needed a home when his previous owners moved away. We gladly took him in, having known him all his life as the Kuma the Camp Dog.
One might expect a dog who lived his whole life outside to be more wild or savage than the average domesticated canine, but Kuma has been anything but. I remember the first day he lived with us in his "retirement home." We opened the door for him, and beckoned him to come in. He sat on the stoop looking at us with an expression of "wait... really? I can come in?" It wasn't long before he realized he didn't have to dart into the house to keep from being stopped. He quickly came to trust us, even though he hated anytime I had to give him a bath.
He quickly became a permanent part of family. Always happy to see us when we came home, dropping to his elbows when my father or I got down on all fours and growled at him playfully, and the outside dog part of him still showed up with a "gift" of a dead chipmunk from time to time.
Over the years, he has slowed. In Dog years he somewhere in the vicinity of 126 years old. His hearing went a few years ago, but he kept trucking. His ability to chase deer and small rodents also faded. We found that over time, even when he was exictedly asking you to throw a tennis ball for him, he would chase it once then wander off to relieve himself instead of returning the projectile.
In the past couple of years he has stopped moving around so much. He spends most of his time sleeping, and the rest of it trying to. He used to roam all over the house, but now he mostly sticks to the front hall and the living room, with the occasional trip to the kitchen if he smells food.
What hasn't changed is his eyes. Kuma has eyes more expressive than I have ever seen on an animal. One of my best human friends often comments on how expressicve and human Kuma's eyes are. They are very telling, expressing surprise, joy, weariness and love.
As Kuma has begun to fail more and more, I have taken several opportunities on trips back home to sit with him and say goodbye. What makes it odd is that he seems to be in no pain, and seems to know I am there... he is, simply, just failing.
So I sit here at the end of Kuma's time in this life. It is an odd feeling. He has lived a good life, and we have given him a good home. But he has given us something much less tangable... and much more valuable. He gave us a friend. One who was always patient and loving, always kind, never boastful, and always happy to see us... even when we are about to give him a dreaded bath. And anyone who knew him will remember him by this.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Mr. Comcastic, pretty Craptastic (to the tune of "bombastic")
Yupp... I am a comcast digital cable subscriber. I have to say that the genesis of this reality was not by choice, but by conscience and lack of options. When i moved into my place, i was hitting the neighbor's wireless network, which he did not (and still does not) have locked.
After a couple weeks I came to the conclusion that this was wrong, and i should be paying for my own services. There may be other internet providers in our area, but the porblem came when attaching television services. Based on my field of expertise, and desired employment, television service becomes an essential part of staying current.
Comcast has a monopoly on cable service in the Pittsburgh area. I am not sure how this happened, but people in power seem to be ok with it, while the general populace has fewer sources of common disdain. So, the cheapest way for us to get service was to bundle cable and internet through Comcast.
I have never been more unhappy with a service provider in my entire life. I am not saying that DirecTV or Verizon FiOs would nessecarily warrant a Christmas card for their service but I have trouble believing they could be as frustrating and irksome as Comcast.
For starters, I had an advertisment in my mailbox for a year of bundled services at a certain rate. So I called. The sales guy, however, told me that they were not honoring that in my area and they could only give me 6 months at that price. I politely explained that their company had delivered a flier to my mailbox and i was looking right at it. I had a code and everything. "sorry... that promotion just ended..." seemingly 30 seconds before i called.
Then I explained that I wanted the cheapest plan with internet, and cable where i got to watch Pirates (why? i dunno, really...) Penguins and Steelers games. He spouted off about 8 different plans, so fast that i am convinced he was trying ot confuse me and get me to take the biggest package.
He then offered to set me up with the "super deluxe premium 8-billion sports channels alone package" for "only your arm, leg and first born... after a 20 organ mail-in rebate" or something rediculous.
Again I explained that I didn't need this. Then he did something i can still hear today. He sighed like I was both waisting his time and burning a once-in-a-lifetime-gift he had congured for me. Here i am, trying to purchase his company's "product" (if you can even call it that) and he is giving me guff.
So i finally signed up for something simple-sounding, and had to call later to refine the plan with a customer service rep. Thanks Sales Guy...jerk.
So, when I called to talk to the customer service rep, I set up auto-pay. I was told this was done.
HOWEVER... the next month i recieved a little yellow strip of paper in the mail form Comcast; "If you don't pay us what you owe plus more, we will tear off your remainig limbs... and then we'll cancel your service." So i called. The answer was "oh... yeah, for some reason the auto-pay didn't take effect. Our bad. Now pay us."
So i set it up again and paid them. I would sue, but i don't see litigation being worth 75 dollars. I would spend that in a consultation, i am sure. So i pay. I pay it all down, and i set up auto-pay AGAIN... and i get CONFIRMATION that it is set up successfully and my account will be debited.
deep breath.
what do i recieve this month in the mail another "If you don't pay us what you owe plus more, we will tear off your remainig limbs... and then we'll cancel your service." Yupp little piece of paper #2. So i call again. And here is the thing... they keep records of all my calls. The guys says "oh yes... i see you called before and set up auto-pay and paid for part of it"... no, i paid for all of it..."uhm... hold please... oh i see what she did. she only made you pay part of it. Auto-pay doesn't take effect for two months (because that makes sense) and she only made you pay one of the months"... but i was told i was all squared away and paid off..."well... that was wrong."... well now i have a late fee..."i see that"... i don't like that... "i am sorry to hear that. is there anything else we can do for you today?"... can you take any of these charges off?..."i am sorry, i cannot do that."... may i talk to your supervisor?..."there is no supervisor here."
Convenient.
THIS is why monopolies were banned under federal law. And just reliving this is raising my blood pressure so i am going to stop typing... just... hopefully someday this will all be righted... kharma... right? right? anyone? ...bueller?
After a couple weeks I came to the conclusion that this was wrong, and i should be paying for my own services. There may be other internet providers in our area, but the porblem came when attaching television services. Based on my field of expertise, and desired employment, television service becomes an essential part of staying current.
Comcast has a monopoly on cable service in the Pittsburgh area. I am not sure how this happened, but people in power seem to be ok with it, while the general populace has fewer sources of common disdain. So, the cheapest way for us to get service was to bundle cable and internet through Comcast.
I have never been more unhappy with a service provider in my entire life. I am not saying that DirecTV or Verizon FiOs would nessecarily warrant a Christmas card for their service but I have trouble believing they could be as frustrating and irksome as Comcast.
For starters, I had an advertisment in my mailbox for a year of bundled services at a certain rate. So I called. The sales guy, however, told me that they were not honoring that in my area and they could only give me 6 months at that price. I politely explained that their company had delivered a flier to my mailbox and i was looking right at it. I had a code and everything. "sorry... that promotion just ended..." seemingly 30 seconds before i called.
Then I explained that I wanted the cheapest plan with internet, and cable where i got to watch Pirates (why? i dunno, really...) Penguins and Steelers games. He spouted off about 8 different plans, so fast that i am convinced he was trying ot confuse me and get me to take the biggest package.
He then offered to set me up with the "super deluxe premium 8-billion sports channels alone package" for "only your arm, leg and first born... after a 20 organ mail-in rebate" or something rediculous.
Again I explained that I didn't need this. Then he did something i can still hear today. He sighed like I was both waisting his time and burning a once-in-a-lifetime-gift he had congured for me. Here i am, trying to purchase his company's "product" (if you can even call it that) and he is giving me guff.
So i finally signed up for something simple-sounding, and had to call later to refine the plan with a customer service rep. Thanks Sales Guy...jerk.
So, when I called to talk to the customer service rep, I set up auto-pay. I was told this was done.
HOWEVER... the next month i recieved a little yellow strip of paper in the mail form Comcast; "If you don't pay us what you owe plus more, we will tear off your remainig limbs... and then we'll cancel your service." So i called. The answer was "oh... yeah, for some reason the auto-pay didn't take effect. Our bad. Now pay us."
So i set it up again and paid them. I would sue, but i don't see litigation being worth 75 dollars. I would spend that in a consultation, i am sure. So i pay. I pay it all down, and i set up auto-pay AGAIN... and i get CONFIRMATION that it is set up successfully and my account will be debited.
deep breath.
what do i recieve this month in the mail another "If you don't pay us what you owe plus more, we will tear off your remainig limbs... and then we'll cancel your service." Yupp little piece of paper #2. So i call again. And here is the thing... they keep records of all my calls. The guys says "oh yes... i see you called before and set up auto-pay and paid for part of it"... no, i paid for all of it..."uhm... hold please... oh i see what she did. she only made you pay part of it. Auto-pay doesn't take effect for two months (because that makes sense) and she only made you pay one of the months"... but i was told i was all squared away and paid off..."well... that was wrong."... well now i have a late fee..."i see that"... i don't like that... "i am sorry to hear that. is there anything else we can do for you today?"... can you take any of these charges off?..."i am sorry, i cannot do that."... may i talk to your supervisor?..."there is no supervisor here."
Convenient.
THIS is why monopolies were banned under federal law. And just reliving this is raising my blood pressure so i am going to stop typing... just... hopefully someday this will all be righted... kharma... right? right? anyone? ...bueller?
East End Treasures
Apparently I have not posted anything since October. Blogspot hardly remembered me. I signed in, entered my password and it was like the old guy at the registrar's office who knows your records are there somewhere, but he cannot remember where the key is to the "inactive" files.
There is something about applying for job after job after job after job (well over 100 jobs at this point) that completely wears me out. If you have ever done 4 applications in a row, each having 125 question personality profile tests included, you crave the opportunity to look at anything other than your computer screen. The other day I spent a break just watching my coffee maker percolate. It was surprisingly blissful.
I have discovered that the East End of Pittsburgh is not the scary and run-down region I had once thought. In fact I have a new-foumnd respect for this part of town. It is full of hipsters (not to be confused with hippies... shudder) art and culture. In some ways, it is everything Meadville wants to be... just attached to the City of Pittsburgh instead of out in farm country.
I have discovered farmers marktets, and locally roasted coffees. There are corner stores, and littles restaurants. Yeah, there are McDonalds and Home Depot locations, but these are not what defines this part of our steel city.
One of the little gems I have discovered is a local coffee shop. Open from 7am to 10pm (8am-10pm on Sundays) I wandered into this place on a whim one day. I drove past it several times and the fogged up window bays at the front of the shop congured up images of warm drinks, and lively conversation within. It did not dissapoint.
I cannot say that would stand out from any other neighborhood coffee shop for one reason or another... there is no gimmick in here. Nothing strange covers the walls, it will never be featured on a WQED special about odd and quirky places... but it is a pleasant surprise to find that Highland Park has a place like this.
What is even better for me, is that the coffee is good. Strong and hot (TWSS) it is falvorful and smooth. A couple bucks will get you a generous mug of Joe, and a free refill.
It is heart-warming to see a place like this thriving not only in this economy, but in a world over-run by Starbucks and Wal Mart. This is truly a vestige of the America we used to know... and life i grew up with. In my hometown it was not rare to be in the Diner and know over 75% of the other clientele by name. "Hey, Jim... how was the surgery last week? We missed you..." that sort of thing.
I am new to this place, but already the crew behind the counter knows I like a "black coffee for here." They don't know me by name yet, but some of the others are certainly established regulars. Today alone I heard someone check up on some work he had secured for another patron, two people in line in front of me addressed by name... and I don't want to paint the picture too much like a coffee-oriented version of Cheers, but there is a mailman who seems to be a regular after his route here. (I'll call him Cliff for now).
What makes this place really ring of the small-town or locally/independently owned business is the mix of people that it attracts. As I sit reading the morning paper (in the mid-afternoon) there are the expected grad students with laptops, and older people eating the soup, but there are also middle aged people catching up, kids getting off the school bus and heading in for a hot-chocolate to go, and a woman who brought two young boys (about 6 or 7, i would guess) who came here to get caffeine (shakes head), sugar (shakes shakes head more) and play chess. (yupp.. chess).
What all this rambling is really aiming, i am not sure. But I know this: there is a lot to be discovered here. I am realizing why people told me "oh... we LOVE the East End" when they heard i was moving here. I am starting to as well.
There is something about applying for job after job after job after job (well over 100 jobs at this point) that completely wears me out. If you have ever done 4 applications in a row, each having 125 question personality profile tests included, you crave the opportunity to look at anything other than your computer screen. The other day I spent a break just watching my coffee maker percolate. It was surprisingly blissful.
I have discovered that the East End of Pittsburgh is not the scary and run-down region I had once thought. In fact I have a new-foumnd respect for this part of town. It is full of hipsters (not to be confused with hippies... shudder) art and culture. In some ways, it is everything Meadville wants to be... just attached to the City of Pittsburgh instead of out in farm country.
I have discovered farmers marktets, and locally roasted coffees. There are corner stores, and littles restaurants. Yeah, there are McDonalds and Home Depot locations, but these are not what defines this part of our steel city.
One of the little gems I have discovered is a local coffee shop. Open from 7am to 10pm (8am-10pm on Sundays) I wandered into this place on a whim one day. I drove past it several times and the fogged up window bays at the front of the shop congured up images of warm drinks, and lively conversation within. It did not dissapoint.
I cannot say that would stand out from any other neighborhood coffee shop for one reason or another... there is no gimmick in here. Nothing strange covers the walls, it will never be featured on a WQED special about odd and quirky places... but it is a pleasant surprise to find that Highland Park has a place like this.
What is even better for me, is that the coffee is good. Strong and hot (TWSS) it is falvorful and smooth. A couple bucks will get you a generous mug of Joe, and a free refill.
It is heart-warming to see a place like this thriving not only in this economy, but in a world over-run by Starbucks and Wal Mart. This is truly a vestige of the America we used to know... and life i grew up with. In my hometown it was not rare to be in the Diner and know over 75% of the other clientele by name. "Hey, Jim... how was the surgery last week? We missed you..." that sort of thing.
I am new to this place, but already the crew behind the counter knows I like a "black coffee for here." They don't know me by name yet, but some of the others are certainly established regulars. Today alone I heard someone check up on some work he had secured for another patron, two people in line in front of me addressed by name... and I don't want to paint the picture too much like a coffee-oriented version of Cheers, but there is a mailman who seems to be a regular after his route here. (I'll call him Cliff for now).
What makes this place really ring of the small-town or locally/independently owned business is the mix of people that it attracts. As I sit reading the morning paper (in the mid-afternoon) there are the expected grad students with laptops, and older people eating the soup, but there are also middle aged people catching up, kids getting off the school bus and heading in for a hot-chocolate to go, and a woman who brought two young boys (about 6 or 7, i would guess) who came here to get caffeine (shakes head), sugar (shakes shakes head more) and play chess. (yupp.. chess).
What all this rambling is really aiming, i am not sure. But I know this: there is a lot to be discovered here. I am realizing why people told me "oh... we LOVE the East End" when they heard i was moving here. I am starting to as well.
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