"Viewers in Japan remain the world's top TV watchers, with a viewing time of four hours and 29 minutes per person per day, just ahead of the United States where time spent in front of the box was four hours and 25 minutes." - European T.V. Survey (March, 2004)

So that's roughly 31 hours a week per person if you average it out.  But there may be a few people who are watching television 24 hours a day and messing this average up.  And is this based on what people "say" they are watching?  How many people are going to admit they are actually watching from the moment they step into the house, and even after they fall asleep.  And what will happen when the t.v. gets embedded into the cell phone?  Oh - Walden Pond - where for art thou?

And finally - the ultimate surrender - when it becomes a status symbol to get images piped directly into the brain through wireless transmissions.  Yes, I know, there are a bunch of people at Bellvue who have been getting these signals for years - but soon - you wait - the rest of us will be offered them as well.  Hold on, hold on... reality show coming in now.  Hey - you ain't supposed to be getting video transmissions while you're driving, sir.

8:17:25 PM    

"Even if, even if you don't love me" - Don Henley

5:29:08 PM    

Beneath one of the arches in the Park Ave. Viaduct, sparrows were scrounging for food.  This one is sitting on a metal "L" hinge embedded into the rock.

5:21:22 PM    

Winter Dance

No water around the dancing girls today.  Oh well.  But water from up above.  It is actually a deep pit.  I wonder if anyone has ever fallen in and been discovered at the end of winter.

As far as tossing the t.v. and being on the cutting edge: Barrett, who tossed his t.v. two decades ago, is so far ahead of me on this, that he can't be considered on  the cutting edge.  The prophet type, rather, gets to where he or she is going - so far ahead of everyone else, that they have almost no effect, and are lucky if they survive societies slings and arrows.

2:37:50 PM    

 "First they ignore you.  Then they ridicule you.  Then they fight you.  Then you win."
-- Mahatma K Gandhi

You told me that after the election you stopped watching your t.v.  Joe, don't know if you have been following my blog, but I also gave up the t.v. after the election.  And the news anchors from the big three are leaving or have left. 

Generally, the idea of giving up one's t.v. is met with dropped jaws and fingers motioning behind your back that he's finally gone off the deep end.  But nothing horrible has befallen me.  Oh, the quote in the beginning - I'm not sure there is any relation to what I'm writing - I just like it.  Or maybe I can turn it around and say: First we ignore you.  Then we riducle you.  Then we fight.  Then we win.

Television which had served mostly as white-noise, was quickly replaced by sports radio shows such as Mike and the Mad Dog.

You can turn the show on, listen to the first few calls, turn it off and come back four or five hours later and hear them saying the same thing.   I think this is along the lines of soap operas where you can miss a few weeks, come back, and still follow what's going on.   Cows chewing cud in a field of statistics and dreams.  The steroid story can be chewed all day.  All week.  It is the sports Enron.  These guys ain't playin' fair.  Barry Bonds is gonna break Hank Aarons' record.  Should they put a hypodermic icon next to his name in the record books? 

Oh, and an actual photography note: there are rumors floating around the Epson Dpreview.com site about a replacement for the 2200 - and no, this isn't the bigger version of the R800, but a printer that uses the next formulation of Ultrachrome Inks, not Durabrite.  Yes, there is for sure the bigger R800 - which is already out in Japan.  But it could be that Epson will have two ink lines.  One for glossy and might I say prosumer?  And one for art / mat type prints.  Never actually used that word prosumer before.  Combination of professional and consumer.  How about the professional consumer? 

10:17:39 AM