Tag: dailyprompt-1876

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Boring!

Daily writing prompt
What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?
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Television and I have broken up. The romance was over decades ago. I got better news from National Public Radio, The New York Times, and the Washington Post. The video news clips I watch are all online. My major loss is that I miss all the commercials.

I am such a poorly educated consumer. I stumble my way through the aisles of the supermarket without having the guidance needed to pick the right products and lacking the knowledge of what’s hot and what’s not. I shop by intuition. Which puts a huge limitation on my knowledge of what is most current! How do I cope? By walking the aisles like a zombie and grabbing what we’ve liked in the past, and sometimes by what catches my eye.

The news? I have no favorites on any of the networks. When I am told that someone is leaving a show after thirteen years, I say, ” Who?” Worse I can not identify anyone on Fox! I hate to admit that they are all just botoxed faces to me.

I am incorrigible, and I suspect that nothing will change my habits.

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New Approaches to Marketing!

The cats watch Animal Planet on the large screen downstairs. I assume that if you are a cat, there is nothing like watching your large cousins take down large prey in a grudge match. They certainly aren’t rooting for the antelopes and other critters. Watching the flashing tails and, sometimes, small growls, you can see that they are really into it. Then, in quieter moments, they’ll lie on my desk and watch cat videos on YouTube. The live-action on the real feeder in the window doesn’t offer the same sort of instant gratification as watching fat titmice and sparrows devour seeds in front of your very eyes.

So far, no “influencer” on YouTube or TikTok has tapped into this potential market of, shall we say, eager marks. But it’s only a matter of time before the cash potential is realized.

My credit union has secure credit card for kids. You get to monitor their purchase habits, and add cash as needed. With declining birth rates in the USA I can see marketeers pushing limits to make active consumers out of our pet cats. I can envision the talk now. “Sabrina, you over spent your credit allowance by ten dollars for a package of Zesty Freeze Dried Wildebeest Crunchies”, “Meoor. Meow.” “Yes I understand you saw them on Wild Kingdom, and all the cats want them, but you have a budget, Young Lady – Princess or not!”

I can see this descending into the tawdry depth of commercialism as cat parents organize for responsible advertising for pets.

But, you know cats are simply the beginning. Most dogs ignore TV, but that’s only a challenge waiting to be overcome.

Daily writing prompt
What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?
View all responses
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Virtue

The extra evening light of spring means more time outside, either in the garden or the shop. This is great because I am not a TV person, and an early evening inside means contending with the TV. I don’t hate TV; it’s just that I left my TV habit behind many years ago. Being on the road, I was seldom around to catch the shows more settled people watched. Working in coffeehouses and bars meant performing, not watching TV. And after that, I was, believe it or not, too poor in the seventies to own my own TV. I’ve missed generations of television tropes, can’t recognize most TV stars, and don’t miss it. No habit.

Television did appear in my home in the 1980s for my wife and kids. Ask me what I watched those years, and I’d have to say lots of Sesame Street and Fred Rodgers.
A few friends started discussing streaming services the other day. Which do you have? I had to admit that I thought we had Netflix but no others. ” But how do you watch———-?” My “huh?” told them all they needed to know about my television habits—they don’t exist, and I am a total washout when it comes to contemporary culture. If stuck inside during a weekend, I am most likely working on the computer or reading a book.
On occasion, I’ll watch a documentary, or if my wife is watching old stuff on Netflix, I might watch an episode of NCIS with her. But in general, I am not interested in TV. This time of year, I am too busy clearing the wind-blown branches from the garden and finishing winter-interrupted projects in the shop.

One advantage of working outside rather than sitting inside is that I’ve slenderized—four pounds off the waist. Virtue is its own reward!

Daily writing prompt
What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?
View all responses