the eternal struggle

I will admit it, blogging has been lite. (It's hard to take the carbs out of a blog.) I do have things I want to blog, things that everyone can look forward to, but at the same time, I've got limited time and skills. I also now have Directv.

I finally made the switch. Long the winters of my discontent with Adelphia and it's crappy picture, limited selection and 15 public access channels - channels which were invariably filled with local area preachers. Adelphia - heavy on the salvation, stingy on the entertainment. I canceled my cable with extreme prejudice and when Greg, the Directv guy, showed up at my house, I wept a little.

With my purchase of the system, I also got a DVR with Tivo. I don't know if you know about the Tivo. The Tivo is basically electronic withcraft in that it tries to read your mind (or tea leaves, whatever's handy) and decide what you would like to watch and then records it without meddlesome human intervention. It does have a thumbs up/thumbs down function, but in the beginning, it's flying blind. I'm pretty sure it's controlled by the devil. How else do you explain that it recorded "A Pup Named Scooby Doo" for me while having essentially no knowledge of my viewing habits? "Red Herring," you might exclaim. Balderdash! I used to be a regular viewer of that show. How did you know Tivo? It spooked me, until it then recorded a movie for a channel that I don't have. That irritated me. Now it's trying to increase sales? It's pointing out to me what I COULD be watching if I had the ultimate choice channel package, for only 93.99 per month.

While Directv is waging full assault on my blogging time, it is also battling with Netflix on its left flank. While I don't have HBO or Starz or other movie channels suites, I do have Turner Classic Movies, AMC, IFC and a few others. All of which play good movies. Most of the time I'm blissfully unaware that they're on, unless I happen to be watching TV at that very moment. Now, Tivo is taping that stuff. AND I can search for a certain actor or director and record any upcoming presentations of their work. That's nice. I don't have to be up Monday morning at 4 a.m. to watch The Third Man, but the bank of movies I'm building has to be consumed at some point or else Tivo explodes and Edward G. Robinson is running around my apartment with his freaking straight flush. "You owe me 5 grand SEEEEEE!"

When will I blog? When will I Netflix? When will I jog or practice the piano? When will I drink? Well, thanks to drinking's portability I should be able to do that during all those other activities. (Oh you just watch me jog and booze!) All this whilst loving theMonica throughout. Man, I am going to be really busy. But I vow that I will keep blogging. I will not quit on this writing project as I have on every other writing project I've ever started. (Anybody want to buy 27 pages of a book?)

So, rest easy blogging friends, I shall continue my quest for almost cleverness.