Life of Steve

Entourage

When we moved to our new house I took a long look at the bills we had and we decided to remove the Premium Channels from our Dish Network Package. At the time I also noticed that every time we took a look to see what was on HBO or Cinemax there was never anything we wanted to watch.

The one show I do miss though is Entourage. It's a show about an actor who is in Hollywood and the ups and downs of his career and the lives of his old friends as part of his Entourage. One thing I really like is that the show was clearly written with the male audience in mind. There are very very few shows that are written for guys (especially now in this age of political correctness) that a series like this is refreshing.

Since I was a latecomer to the show I missed the first two seasons and I am catching up on those through Netflix and Itunes. Two other shows I heard really great things about but never have seen are: "24" and "The Wire." Those two will probably be my next ones to see if I like.

Jerry Seinfield: YOU'RE FIRED!

Microsoft Dumps Jerry Seinfeld From New Ad Campaign

My wife and I don't usually watch TV Commericals (Due to the DVR we have) but during vacation we were forced to without our precious brain and time protecting technology. We did see this ad though (sadly) and although the article said they reviews were "mixed" I can vouch that it was one of the dumbest things I had ever seen. Completely unmemorable except for the fact that it was retarded. If I hadn't read a story on the Internet that Jerry Seinfield was going to start doing those commercials I would have had no idea what the commerical was actually for.

So in a nutshell. Microsoft, stop trying to be creative and edgy. Do what you do best. Stomping out or buying up the competition.

Mixed Blessing?

After my last "Fix" to my Dish Network TV I still can't access about 1/4th of my channels. Some of the victims include: CNN, Headline News, Fox News, MSNBC, MTV, MTV 2, VH1, and a bunch of other channels I don't watch.

I suppose it's a mixed blessing because this means that I won't have to get angry by watching Election Coverage on those Channels. (Why couldn't they they have also taken out NBC News? Probably the worst offender of biased coverage so far) However, losing "The Hills" doesn't make some members of this family very happy.

HGTV: House Hunters International- My Guilty Pleasure

I have to admit one of my guilty pleasures. Ever since we started doing house renovations my wife has usually had our TV on in the background on HGTV (Home & Garden Channel.) Mostly they have shows with gay guys who have interior designer skills who help to redecorate houses, sometimes they have ladies who help to stage houses to sell for top dollar (this is our concern as we prep our house for sale, and they also have a House Hunters Series where people are looking for new houses.

The show I have really started to enjoy is House Hunters International. I think the appeal for me is that most of these buyers are Americans who have found (mostly) a tropical destination that they have either vacationed at or lived in once upon a time and are searching for a house there. Some of the destinations include places like: Cabo San Lucas, Turks and Caicos, Belize, Bahamas, etc. In other words, everywhere I like to (or want to) go on vacation.

One trend I have noticed is that the houses in many of these absolutely stunning places are less than houses cost in most major cities in the United States. In addition, a number of countries that appreciate the wealthy US retirees offer either no tax provisions or long term tax exemptions (ex: 20 years without property taxes.)

Not that I will be packing up my home office for a Carribean House on a beach with a High Speed Internet Connection and a Cell Phone (all I need to do my job) any time soon. However, it's fun to dream about the lifestyle I'll be preparing for between now and retirement!

The "Grannies"

Last night we had just finished watching some shows that we had DVR'ed and were not quite ready to go to bed yet so we decided to see what was on "Live TV." (Big Mistake.) Apparently the Grammies (Sp? Don't care) were on and so we tuned in for a few minutes. (A few minutes of my life I will never get back.) It went something like this:

-Steve Mocks Fergie trying to say something profound.
-Steve Mocks Ringo Pretending to still be relevant
-Steve Mocks Beyonce talking (not singing) but just talking through a song while doing some sort of dance
-Steve Mocks Tina Turner (old enough to be a Granny) and question why in the heck she is on this program. Crystal Mocks Tina Turners choice in wardrobe.

CLICK! Steve cuts power to the television. (Approx 4 minutes later)

Went to bed and read a good book. Big win for what is left of my brain. 

Writers Strike

I have been trying to come to grips with this "major life changing event" called the Writers Strike and how it will impact me. I was pretty worried when I heard about it but then I read an article on Yahoo about which shows were affected. Aw Crap! How many of the shows I watch are going to be on this list? Anyone want to guess? As of right now my DVR records a grand total of..... (Wait for it)...... NONE! Not a single one of these shows are set to be recorded by my DVR. Hmmm. Maybe this isn't as big of a problem as I thought it would be.

I started thinking about this more and considered: "What if I didn't have TV to watch? What would that really mean to my life?" It's like when you were a kid and your parents told you "No more TV!" Usually followed by "It's a beautiful day! You need to go out and play with your friends." Oh the humanity of it all! Mooooommmmmm!!

I have a short attention span. While sometimes it's nice to sit down in front of the idiot box and relax while watching a show that has no valuable content what if that wasn't an option? Let see, instead of watching TV I could spend my time doing any of the following:

-Getting some exercise
-Reading a book for learning or recreation (I am a huge reader.)
-Home Improvements (Trust me the wife has a list a mile long for those!)
-Walking or Playing with the Dog.
-Blogging about life
-Visiting my family.
-Going out for drinks or food with Friends
-Having a life.

And that is just the short list. Not to belittle the livilihood of anyone who works in this Industry but I hate to break the reality of this to ya: Life will not end without TV. In fact, Less TV means more living real life with real people. The importance of this is way overrated for the self-important in Hollywood. Most of America has an attention span even shorter than mine and they will find something else to do or just watch more reality TV if they are too lazy to leave the couch.

Dumbest Person Alive

I am sure a lot of people have heard about Miss South Carolina's answer to why Americans might be bad at Geography but if you haven't please check it out on YouTube and join me in asking:

Link

What the F**k did she say/mean? I still don't have the slightest idea!

Battlestar Gallactica is ending after Next Season

ARRRRRGGGGGGGHHHH!

One of the only things worth watching on TV is going to end after next season. It certainly takes away from my Joy about "Friday Night Lights" getting picked up for next season. Currently the only three shows I never miss are Battlestar, Friday Night Lights, and Entourage. Honestly with some of the pure garbage that is on TV now it is getting more and more frustrating to lose another one of the few good shows worth watching. Sort of makes me want to break into the sets of Dancing with the Stars and American Idol and start throwing pies at everyone.

Where else on TV did you get a show that covered so many issue relevant today (Were there any "insurgents" on "What about Jim this year"!!???) and was as thought provoking as "Battlestar"? The producers decided to pull a "Seinfeld" and go out on top. However it is of little consolation to us faithful viewers who will now have to settle for watching "The Girls Next Door" on E! instead.

New Years Day Bowl Games: Another New Tradition?

While I am on the subject of potential new traditions, I think I have another one for the list.

This year my friend Ed had multiple bets on several bowl games with another one of our mutual friends. We had many e-mails discussing the merits of the various conferences in College Football (Which one was better, etc) and we decided to watch some of the bowl games this year together to add to the fun (and the debate.)

We decided to meet at 11am (early I know!) on New Years Day at The Fox and the Hound Pub and Grille to start off the day with Penn State vs. Tennessee in the Outback Bowl. We picked the right place to watch the PSU game since about 10 minutes later a giant group of Penn State Fans joined us to also watch the Nittany Lions win against the Volunteers.

It was all guys drinking beer, watching football, and chatting about guy stuff. After many social gatherings during the Christmas Holiday this was precisely the type of day I needed. Getting up that early on New Year's Day was a little rough but it was worth it. I think we need to keep this tradition going and get an even bigger crowd of guys to join us next year!

Wait! Did I just get Parodied on TV?

I just watched the How I met your Mother: Single Stamina Episode and thought:

“Was this a Parody of me?”

The jist of this episode was that when you are single you have the “Single Stamina” and when you are in a couple you don’t and want to be home in a warm bed or under a blanket on the couch drinking hot chocolate and watching a DVD on a Friday night instead of going out to a bar or club to drink and meet new fun people.

You can always tell the singles vs. the couples in a bar.

Check! I'm guilty.They contrasted the body language between singles and couples in a bar. It's true: you can always tell who in the bar are couples by those "I just want to be in my warm bed" looks on their faces. Plus they don't really seem as excited about meeting new people because they are in a couple.

How do you think your "other half" is going to like you making a hot new friend while you are out? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Plus, Meet new people? Are you kidding me? I barely have time to work, go to the Gym and my Boxing Class, take care of stuff in the House, Spend some time with the Girl, and maybe watch some TV I recorded on my DVR or some Football. (Also in my case, Actually Plan my Wedding.) When am I going to have time to hang out and get to know "new people?" Yikes! My old friends are probably going to want some of my attention and I knew them first,

Staying in (vs. going out) and wearing PJ’s.

(Why would I want to change out of these comfortable PJ Pants and slippers?)

Yeah this one is true too. You go through the whole week of work. Busting your ass. You finally have the chance to kick back a bit (and maybe even get some sleep) with your honey. You’re beat. You don’t have to go out scouting for a girl. (Hey! You have one living right here!) So you come home from work. Change into the PJ’s. and stay at home. 

When you are out you hit 9PM and you are finished.

So you call it a night. (This assumes you went out in the first place.) It’s a different ball game. You already know who you are going home with anyways. Plus you probably know what is waiting for you at home is better than what is going on in Public at this smoky bar with all the same predictable characters.

Like all the young men in there trying to pick up women. Are you really going to get past the “cock-block” wall of Striped Shirts, Jeans, and Backward Ball Caps to talk to anyone? Or is it easier to just hang with your boys and then go home to your honey?

Plus what is waiting for you behind that wall? If you are lucky there are some sluttish hot girls. In reality you have some average (hopefully) looking girls who merely think they are hot and (therefore) wouldn’t talk to you anyways. These are the women your single friends want to talk to but you don’t even have the motivation or energy to be a decent wingman.

So just like all good humor, it’s mostly anchored in truth. I used to beat up on the “coupled” and tell them they “vanished off the Earth.” Now though, I think I am starting to get it. It’s that or I am getting old. I prefer to believe the former.