The continuing story of...

[Stephen Hart]

Hi Don,

What I found interesting was how starting to "gate" an almost dormant
FidoNet echo into a totally dormant UseNet newsgroup sparked quite a

few

messages. That first flash of enthusiasm seems to have passed, now,

but

I think MooseChat may have gained a few new regulars.

Sm> Have you noticed how it quieted down somewhat coincidentally with that
Sm> last blast from Old Man Winter? Or did you receive the same resurgence
of
Sm> white stuff in Kingston as we did up here?

We got a small amount of unexpected white stuff, and for a while the
temperature cooled-off again. However, I did not really make any
correlation between weather and MooseChat. That's partly because two
of the alt.moose.rights "regulars" are located in Europe and some
MooseChat participants hail from places like Alberta and Louisiana.
Still, I guess overall weather trends could affect us all.

My first guess would have been that there was an objection to a possible
violent overtone to the term. I should have remembered that North
American culture usually has no objection to violence.

Sm> Hey, it sells. I'm even guilty of that myself. More times than not
I'll

Oh, I've nothing against violence on either the big or small screen.
What irritates me is the North American prejudice against nudity and
sex. To me, there is something wrong with a society when it is more
acceptable to show violent acts than it is to show lovemaking and
nudity.

Sm> turn away from one of CBC's famous Canadian dramas in favor of something
Sm> mindless from south of the border. Just to cover my ass though, please

I guess some of it is mindless by comparison. Of recent Canadian
dramas, the only one that caught my interest was _The Associates_.
Also, the espionage mini-series _Stand By Me_, which was both filmed
and set in Canada. What recently surprised me was finding out that
the SF show _Andromeda_ is a "Canadian show", but I think it may
mainly qualify because of being filmed in Canada.

...Anyway, it is very rare for a CBC drama to captivate me.
I think I was over-exposed to CBC quality programming by growing-up
in a town where the only television station was a CBC affiliate. I
do insist on watching shows that feature a decent amount of good
acting, but early exposure to a lot of "culture" and live theatre may
have left me with a slight "allergy" to watching CBC drama.

Sm> don't confuse "mindless" with "reality television." While I admit that
Sm> there is a certain association between the two, I can't bring myself
to
Sm> quietly rot away while utterly contrived situations which bear no
Sm> resemblance to anything real are projected on my retinas.

I totally agree. I would also throw _American Idol_ and _Canadian
Idol_ into the "reality television" genre, tho I guess they are partly
based on the old-fashioned talent show idea?

By the way, how _did_ the term "reality television" get applied to
television shows like _Survivor_? :-/

Right. :-) ...Who would have thought that folks living deep in the
bible belt would also have such "dirty minds". Go figure? :-/

Sm> Oh, it gets better. Admittedly this fellow is an agnostic, but I believe
Sm> him when he says that more than one co-worker has suggested that as
he is
Sm> not a devout Christian, that he is most assuredly a devil-worshipper
and
Sm> shall go straight to hell. Do not pass Go!, do not collect $500.

That does not surprise me too much, tho the degree does. I might have
expected the "straight to hell" idea for anyone who is not "saved",
but the "devil-worshipper" part seems a little extreme.

It makes you wonder what their reaction would be if they ran across a
Wiccan or other neo-pagan.

one of those damned "puppy farms". Anyway, I sort of envy your having
the space to keep that type of dog.

Sm> I'm not so sure that I agree with you on the space issue at times.
;-)
Sm> It's do-able, but we've definitely reached the saturation point as far
as
Sm> critters go.

So, I guess this is the point where you both need to exhibit
willpower. That, or move to a larger place.

I've a vague memory of you mentioning moving plans. I think part of
the criteria was a place with more garage and workshop space. I guess
adding a "need" for more pet space would put you on the road to
bankruptcy...:-)

Horrid as that might sound, you have the advantage of being married.
Whether or true or not, marriage by common definition at least gives

you

the facade of "having a life". On top of that, I think it is also true
in your case.

Sm> Some believe so, some seem to tag Sacha & I as xenophobes based on the
Sm> assumption that we'd rather hide at home than "go out." Truth be told

Well, with some people you just cannot win. This is probably personal
prejudice on my part, but I base your "having a life" on your both
having various hobbies and interests. To me, it's not where you
spend your time, but what you're doing there.

Hell, even tho "being social" is often considered a "good thing", I'm
not sure about the actual worth of common social activities like
spending night after night out drinking in clubs.

Ah well, everyone to their own.


TTYL, ...Steve

-
We must believe in free will! We have no choice!

[snowzone]

What recently surprised me was finding out that the SF show
_Andromeda_ is a "Canadian show", but I think it may mainly qualify
because of being filmed in Canada.

it didn't suprise me. you can smell canadian shows a mile off. same
actors are in them, same production values...and you don't really get
'a-list american tv actors' you get people like kevin sorbo.

By the way, how _did_ the term "reality television" get applied to
television shows like

_Survivor_? :-/


mark burnett certainly doesn't like that term referring to the
show...because it's 'not a reality show'



--
http://home.cogeco.ca/~tsummerelt1

Posted via KOS Netforum - http://www.kos.net/chat/

[Don Guy]

On 04-04-20, snowzone <***@hotmail.com> had a few words to say about
Re: The continuing story of......

[Survivor]

Post by snowzone
mark burnett certainly doesn't like that term referring to the
show...because it's 'not a reality show'

Ahh yes, the subtle difference between "reality television" and "unscripted drama."

Once upon a time "unscripted" was synonymous with "improv", and hinted at the possibility of something interesting yet totally off-the-cuff. Somewhere along the line though media types decided to follow in the footsteps of big business, and start editing the dictionary to suit themselves. After all if you can say "bandwidth" instead of "available time", you sound more important and hip, right? So maybe if they use "unscripted drama" to refer to "contrived nonsense," people will think it's cool and let their brains turn to goo in front of it.

...and given that two days ago all I could hear in the office were people oohing and ahhing over the finale of "The Bachelor", I have to say that it is unfortunately working.

Some people laughed at Bruce Springstein's "57 Channels & Nothing On". Mark Burnett apparently took it upon himself as a challenge to beat that number.

-d.

[Don Guy]

On 04-04-19, ***@f127.n249.z1.fidonet.org (Stephen Hart) had a few words to say about
The continuing story of......

Oh, I've nothing against violence on either the big or small screen. What
irritates me is the North American prejudice against nudity and sex. To
me, there is something wrong with a society when it is more acceptable to
show violent acts than it is to show lovemaking and nudity.

But sex is so... dirty. ;-)

You're not alone in your opinion BTW. Oh and speaking of violence vs. sex, more news from that mislocated friend of mine down south. Apparently where they are it's illegal to purchase, "import," or own sex toys or any media which may be considered to be pornographic. This includes satellite/cable providers. While it doesn't surprise me given some of the other things Scott has told me about the area, I do find it to be just a touch surreal.

I guess some of it is mindless by comparison. Of recent Canadian dramas,
the only one that caught my interest was _The Associates_. Also, the
espionage mini-series _Stand By Me_, which was both filmed and set in
Canada. What recently surprised me was finding out that the SF show
_Andromeda_ is a "Canadian show", but I think it may mainly qualify
because of being filmed in Canada.
...Anyway, it is very rare for a CBC drama to captivate me. I
think I was over-exposed to CBC quality programming by growing-up in a
town where the only television station was a CBC affiliate.

Sounds like my own early exposure to radio. It wasn't until almost the end of elementary school that I discovered that there were choices other than CBC on the AM band. Not for lack of availability though; it was simply my mother's preferred station, and I wasn't allowed to touch the stereo. :-)

I totally agree. I would also throw _American Idol_ and _Canadian Idol_
into the "reality television" genre, tho I guess they are partly based on
the old-fashioned talent show idea?

Perhaps, but even these are still highly contrived, not to mention tuned to the audience. I doubt they'd do nearly as well without the presence of at least one judge who's sole purpose it seems, is to humiliate people.

By the way, how _did_ the term "reality television" get applied to
television shows like _Survivor_? :-/

Well it's a real-life situation dontcha know. Isn't it every day that people get dumped in an island in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a teddy bear, and have to scratch out a living while competing for cash and camera exposure?

It makes you wonder what their reaction would be if they ran across a
Wiccan or other neo-pagan.

Probably burn them at the stake. ;-)

So, I guess this is the point where you both need to exhibit willpower.
That, or move to a larger place.

Willpower, so far. Moving to a larger place is coming, but we're not sure when yet. As much as financial institutions like to tell us that we can borrow from RRSP's, or our line of credit to contribute to a down-payment, the idea of borrowing money for a down-payment just plain irks me.

Sm> Some believe so, some seem to tag Sacha & I as xenophobes based on
Sm> the assumption that we'd rather hide at home than "go out." Truth be
Sm> told
Well, with some people you just cannot win. This is probably personal
prejudice on my part, but I base your "having a life" on your both having
various hobbies and interests. To me, it's not where you spend your
time, but what you're doing there.

:-) Thanks. I don't really believe the xenophobe accusation; it only comes from one person, and he likes to pick on me. Then again I think he's about as fond of being a yuppie in an ant farm as much as I am a xenophobe, so we're more or less even for the moment. ;-)

Hell, even tho "being social" is often considered a "good thing", I'm not
sure about the actual worth of common social activities like spending
night after night out drinking in clubs.

Like, it's to score, right? Or is there more to it? ;-)

-d.