The Comfort of Commercials
So every morning I have a certain routine. I wake up. Roscoe is usually in the bed and he rolls over on his back demanding his morning belly rubs. He believes he is the king and I don't want to spoil it for him-- so I comply. Then I go pee. Then I go into the kitchen and grind me up some beans and make myself a pot of coffay.
Most mornings nowadays I wake up with some vague paranoia that something 'major' happened in the world overnight. Something not good. I get that weird 'Is today the day things finally go all nutty somewhere?' So I click on the little TV in the kitchen tuned to the Today Show or whatever--- and hope for a commercial.
Because I know there's a commercial running-- that all is well in the world (or at least pretty much same ol' crazy). If something 'major' happened in the world then they wouldn't be taking a commercial break. They'd be yelling at me about something and I'd kick myself for not having duct tape and a case of Spam.
So I always get a slight sigh of relief when I hear that commercial running-- and not news. Hearing about Ziploc bags or whatever let's me know that I can go on with my day like normal... well as normal as normal can be.
ok bye!
tOdd
Most mornings nowadays I wake up with some vague paranoia that something 'major' happened in the world overnight. Something not good. I get that weird 'Is today the day things finally go all nutty somewhere?' So I click on the little TV in the kitchen tuned to the Today Show or whatever--- and hope for a commercial.
Because I know there's a commercial running-- that all is well in the world (or at least pretty much same ol' crazy). If something 'major' happened in the world then they wouldn't be taking a commercial break. They'd be yelling at me about something and I'd kick myself for not having duct tape and a case of Spam.
So I always get a slight sigh of relief when I hear that commercial running-- and not news. Hearing about Ziploc bags or whatever let's me know that I can go on with my day like normal... well as normal as normal can be.
ok bye!
tOdd
posted by Odd tOdd at
11:49 AM
44 Comments:
weird that i've been feeling something is going to happen soon too
here're some 80s commercials:
http://www.giantmag.com/2006/12/tv/by-popular-demand-50-more-80s-commercials/2/
Been feeling like that since Sept. 11, 2001. We (hubbie and I) found your brand new website that fall, and your first cartoon, with all the flash-up words about what worries were in the world, pretty much captured how we were feeling.
Funny now to turn on one of the 24-hour news station and see "Fox News Alert" or "Breaking News" banners and graphics all the freakin time now...and over nothing! I want to say to them, "Save the drama for the big stuff, you bozos!"
xoxo
THE END IS NEAR!
REPENT!
REPENT!
Fox News has especially dumb commercials. I wonder why.
i still don't understand why there hasn't been more terrorism. not that i want some but it seems pretty easy to do terrorism.
i know how you feel, todd. i wake up every morning and go on drudgereport right away to see if there's any big flashy flashy alert or whatever. sometimes there is, and it's just over stocks or some court case i don't care about.
it's funny because someone asked trey parker from south park what he does every morning in an interview, and he said he goes right to drudge to make sure "the world didn't blow up or something" (i think that was the quote).
good to know i'm not alone in this kind of thing! lol
I think alot of people feel like that in the mornings. I've been feeling it alot recently because school is about to start again soon ( damn high school).
I always check the news on the internet first thing when I wake up ( at, like, noon), and all I see is celebrity tabloid gossip junk. It always makes me feel better to know that nothing huge really happened except for some nut-job going to jail.
-Selina
P.S
Fox News Sucks!!
-Selina
I know how you feel tOdd! The first year after 9/11 I'd grab the remote first thing after I wake up. Now I check the internet!
It IS good to know I'm not the only one!
Love the site... I've been unemployed for about a year. You always make me smile : )
kiki66
P.s. Fox news does suck!
i <3 fox news.
there's a reason why it's the most watched news network.
(shep and hannity & colmes rock!!!!)
"Storm Alert Weather". "Storm Watch Weather". "Your Weather Alert Station".
I HATE that stuff -- especially when it's the non-stormy time of the year around here. If you ominously utter such crap, there better damn well be a storm that I need to be alerted about so I can watch it.
And "Breaking News" alerts should be saved for stuff that I might remotely need to react immediately to. A "Breaking News" alert shouldn't be used to tell me about the latest Paris Hilton press conference that just happens to be going on at the same time I'm watching TV.
I also don't need to see another picture of a fender-bender that the news helicoptor pilot just happened to notice on his way back from covering some other news story (that probably could have been covered on the ground.)
And I'm sick of reporters ad-lib'ing in front of the scene of where some news event took place yesterday. First off, if it happened yesterday, you don't need to be there. Second, if it happened yesterday, you had plenty of time to write a coherant script. I shouldn't have to hear something that demonstrates why you'll never be a play-by-play announcer for any sport.
TV news sucks. It's as bad as getting news from blogs.
The more technology that gets put into the hands of people, the more I've come to rely on good old newspapers.
TV is my alarm clock ! So if the world is coming to an end - well then why get out of bed !
Fox News and Rush are ENTERTAINING! Like it or not they are great communicators!
TODD YOU HAVE OCD GET SOME FUCKING HELP YOU LOONYTOON
Spam tOdd?
It's extruded canned meat products that will be the world's undoing!
bleh
-jo
Hm. I feel quite safe and comfortable and sleep the sleep of the babes. But then, I don't watch cable news shows.
Remember folks, the definition of TERRORISM is using FEAR to gain political advantage. The Bush administration is very adept at using the media to create apprehension and panic amongst the populace, turning mole-hills into mountains.
DON'T LET THE TERRORISTS WIN!
Fox News does kinda suck. That's why I watch LinkTV. No commercials, but no crappy crap crap either.
I think it'd be great actually, if the Bush team did a psychological thriller. There are so many crappy ones, and I'm sure that with their ability to scare folks and make paranoia work for them, it'd actually be a treat! :)
Well if Dean hits here ( Louisiana) Thats a big thing in my life anyway, Because Rita certainly was.
I also used to do this just after 9/11, but then I stopped for a long time. Just last week though I started feeling the paranoia again. Especially if I don't put the raido on while I'm waking up, like my subconcious (waking up state) is trying to keep me from knowing something terrible has happened.
The morning of 9/11 2001 I didn't listen to the radio in the shower or on my drive, which I usually do. It's weird. Maybe the paranoia has something to do with the presidental race and all of the hype about who would be the best choice to fight terrorism. Personally I don't think I would be nearly as scared of terrorism if it weren't for the media and certain elected officals freaking me out about it.
- Katie
tOdd, I think a lot of people share that same underlying sense of fear - especially those who lived through 9/11 (and had a front row seat nonetheless, like yourself).
There's nothing wrong with your routine if it helps you get through your day. You're not to allowing fear to drive your entire existence (kudos to you for not stashing a case of SPAM and 50 rolls of duct tape).
And the Roscoe belly-rub part? Definitely essential part of the routine.
Don't be freaked out by "terrorism." Your own government is more of a terrorist than any group of zealots with a bomb. Chances that you will be killed by a zealot are practically zero ... ZERO!
Chances that you will be terrorized by your government? ... 1000% It's what they do best. And since they bought all the media outlets, watching network news is the only tool they own to terrorize you.
Stop watching T.V. and you will feel safe and secure ... as you should.
it is true that fox news has the dumbest commercials. all you see are doggie steps and get rich quick schemes and products "not sold in stores"
Thanks for the insight into your life. Roscoe is blessed to have you for his Dad.
And why is a car chase in Los Angeles "BREAKING NEWS"? Word!
could be a subconscious remembering of September 11th?
I'm with you on that, Todd. I have that feeling a lot of mornings anymore. What a shame. :(
If the terrorists do some terror again Guiliani will WIN!
"We are all perpetually smoothing and rearranging reality to conform to our wishes; we lie to others and to ourselves constantly, unthinkingly. When, occasionally - and not by dint of our own efforts but under the pressure of external events - we are forced to see things as they are, we are like naked people in a storm. There are a few among us - psychoanalysts have encountered them - who are blessed or cursed with a strange imperviousness to the unpleasantness of self-knowledge. Their lies to themselves are so convincing that they are never unmasked. These are the people who never feel in the wrong, who are always able to justify their conduct, and who in the end - human nature being what it is - cause their fallible fellow-men to turn away from them," - Janet Malcolm
i know the feeling todd. especialy on tuesdays...., woke up on tuesday( with a serious hangover) and there was the freak david koresh place burning down. watching good morning america on a tuesday, charlie gibson say a plane hit the wtc, then right on screen another one does ......... and he says uhhh what was that?, so yeah beware of tuedays for some reason
legion
Wow. The way I see it is if I wake up, so far so good. If the world esploded I wouldn't wake up. Am I concerned about disaster? Meh. If its gonna happen I have no control. I don't rush to hear about whatever new calamity may have befllen the world. If I'm around this morn' I'm sure I'll hear about it, and be outraged or concerned as the case may be. But terrorists don't run my life, nor does nature.
Wow!
Are people still freaked out about a minor event that happened six years ago?
C'mon, folks, 9/11/01 is less important than 12/7/41 and the people from that era got over it within three years.
This raises the question, "Are we a less hearty breed than our ancestors?" I hope the answer is "No," but the evidence appears to be against me. The evidence suggests that we are a pussified product od evolution when compared to our grandparents.
What's your evidence that our grandparents got over Dec. 7 within three years? My grandfather commemorated with true sadness yearly it until he died in late Dec. 2005.
He also enlisted in the Navy as soon as WWII started to do his part, leaving two small kids at home.
So another thought is that maybe people still feel helpless and trapped in 2001 because not enough people have stepped up to do their part for their country.
Have we not taken our revenge in Afghanistan? How many more people need to step up to get the job done?
We have something in common. My grandad also enlisted in the navy. He freely admits that he did so to avoid the army. Is your grandad as honest?
My grandad was stationed on a destroyer in the Sea Of Japan and in late '44 was attacked by a squad of Kamakaze pilots. His ship was sunk (nearly) and towed into California. He got over that experience, which was a lot more real than a couple of towers falling was to you, me and most other folks.
Have we not taken our revenge in Afghanistan? How many more people need to step up to get the job done?
We have something in common. My grandad also enlisted in the navy. He freely admits that he did so to avoid the army. Is your grandad as honest?
My grandad was stationed on a destroyer in the Sea Of Japan and in late '44 was attacked by a squad of Kamakaze pilots. His ship was sunk (nearly) and towed into California. He got over that experience, which was a lot more real than a couple of towers falling was to you, me and most other folks.
To the second anonymous with the strange grandad who somehow thinks the Navy is better than the Army:
What have YOU enlisted in??
And maybe ONE more person should step up. YOU.
I bet you've done nothing to help your country. I bet you just sit and complain.
I think it may be true that there's a certain feeling of helplessness and fear that comes with not being part of a larger effort to make the world a better place. As part of a military family, I feel like I am part of something bigger than myself, that I am giving something vital to my country in its time of need. It makes me feel prouder and stronger. ...Which is not to say that I don't wake up and check the news every morning with a touch of trepidation. I do. But it does help to feel like part ofa solution.
Of course, I also don't think military service is the only way to serve one's country. There are lots of good things one can do to serve your country, including lobbying helpfully to bring the war to an end. (I say "helpfully" because often anti-war protests are filled with emotive rhetoric and no practical solutions.) Organized anti-war efforts with concrete, actionable suggestions for troop withdrawl can be very helpful to our country.
I think the key is to feel like you are part of something bigger than yourself, to feel like you are contributing to a worthwhile, positive cause...whatever it may be. You have to feel like you are making the world a better, safer place in order to keep fear at bay.
Maybe that's why the "greatest generation" were able to overcome their fears and fight WWII with earnest determination. First, everyone knew someone who was going. And second, EVERYONE had to sacrifice and help a cause bigger than themselves in order to win the war. So everyone felt part of something bigger than themselves.
Maybe that's the key to not feeling so afraid...
--TexasGirl
Everyone seems to be buying into the Bush agenda. I check the news daily. I do it for the weather forcast.
Texasgirl, I thought you were afraid since the towers fell. Why now all this advice on how to not be afraid?
If you fear terrorists, then you are in no position to give advice on how to live in peaceful bliss. It seems you haven't figured it out for yourself yet.
The blind leading the blind.
Hi, anonymous. I think if you read my post more carefully you'll see that I acknowedge continuing fear and trepidation daily since 9/11. I acknowledge in my second post that I check the news daily and worry that something might have happened over night.
Then I go on to explain that something that "helps" (but doesn't resolve totally) such fears is to feel like you a part of a bigger cause, whatever positive cause that might be.
I must say that I feel like you're picking a fight for no reason. Do you have an agenda here?
I'm trying to be compassionate and helpful.
I can't say I agree with TexasGirl.
If the Government started rationing my meat, gasoline, and sugar, for their petty causes I'd be pretty pissed off.
Since I have no fear of terrorists, I see no reason to sacrifice my pursuit of happiness for them. I'd probably renounce my citizenship and take all my investments out of the country, and move to a country with a more reasonable government.
As it stands, the invasion and occupation of sovereign nations makes for good entertainment but I will not engage in the melodrama. Lobbying, protesting, and making political statements is likened to arguing whether Capt. Kirk is better than Capt. Picard. It's all such meaningless noise that has no impact on my day-to-day life.
I believe this occupation in Iraq was orchestrated, such that no U.S. citizen had to sacrifice anything. it was a very wise move. Whether you agree or not doesn't matter but if people had to actually give up the comforts, there would be a full-scale revolution in this country and the current administration knows it.
Todd, you worry too much
Hey remember all the emergency broadcasting that went on over the last twenty years with the annoying screaming sound? Where was that on 9-11 ?
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