My New Year's resolution - no television, read more

[The Fake Shemp]

I'm going to be moving into my own 1BR place and I've decided in an effort to sharpen my mind and pad my bank account, I will not get cable or satellite television.  Instead, I will eventually get a decent HD setup (hopefully by this time next year) and decent speakers, to watch any worthwhile television production (Dexter!) or film.  With my extra spare time, I plan to read more.  Reading, for me, has fallen to the wayside for too long.  I only read when I'm on airplanes or on vacation.  I think the lack of literature in my life has a tendency to give me cultural tunnel vision at times.  I already have a few books laying unread, such as my recent purchase of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell and The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay.  I also have some Clive Barker on order.

[Ichirou]

Good for you.  The same thing pretty much happened to me unwillingly when I moved overseas.  Since I've been back home for the holidays I've become sort of a Law & Order junkie once again.  There's all these L&O marathons on TV nowadays.

[Powerslave]

1024x768

[Powerslave]

oh wait I made that joke in the other thread already, disregard this

[Flannel Boy]

I need to read more fiction. Well, I need to read fiction. That will be hard as there are about two dozen non-fiction books I want to read first. I also want to read the bible in the next month or two. Well, I suppose that counts.

[Ichirou]

I'm reading The Making of Star Wars right now, hahahaha

[CajoleJuice]

But what about SPORTS, Willco? That's pretty much the only television I watch anymore.

[Flannel Boy]

But what about SPORTS, Willco? That's pretty much the only television I watch anymore.

Like the Redskins or Bullets are going to do anything in the playoffs.

[Ichirou]

But what about SPORTS, Willco? That's pretty much the only television I watch anymore.

You can listen to games on the radio.

[Flannel Boy]

But what about SPORTS, Willco? That's pretty much the only television I watch anymore.

You can listen to games on the radio.

And he can drive a Model T to work while he's at it. 

[TVC15]

When I went to PA last year, where my mom has cable, it was SCARY how quickly I fell back into TV viewing.  Of course, I was very bored, but that shit is like a drug.

I watch a lot of viddy now, but not like THAT, where you watch total and compelte crap just because it's on and not having the TV on reminds you of how shitty life is.

[The Fake Shemp]

I will watch sports, but that's what sports bars are for.  Besides, it's not like any local San Fran affiliate will carry Redskins or Wizards games.  I usually either listen to the 'Skins games via Internet radio or take a stroll to the local sports bar depending on the game (Cowboys was a must see).

But I think I'm tired of watching TV.  If there's decent TV worth watching, like Dexter or Battlestar Galactica, I'll just wait for DVD or download it (legally, on XBL!).  And I need to read more.

[Fragamemnon]

I haven't had cable since like 2001. I don't miss it at all-anything you want to watch you can get on DVD pretty quickly after it airs, and it really opens up more free time since you don't spend hours on end zoning out to the TV after dinner or what not.

[Madrun Badrun]

I need to read more fiction. Well, I need to read fiction. That will be hard as there are about two dozen non-fiction books I want to read first. I also want to read the bible in the next month or two. Well, I suppose that counts.

I'll read the bible with you as I've wanted to read it for a while.  We could have discussions!? 

[CurseoftheGods]

I have done the same thing two years ago, and I haven't re-subscribed since. I saved a lot of time and money.

It's a great decision. Good luck!

[CajoleJuice]

EB and GAF eat up about 10x more of my time than television.

[Flannel Boy]

I need to read more fiction. Well, I need to read fiction. That will be hard as there are about two dozen non-fiction books I want to read first. I also want to read the bible in the next month or two. Well, I suppose that counts.

I'll read the bible with you as I've wanted to read it for a while.  We could have discussions!? 

King James version or the New Standard International version? With the King James we might be trading some accuracy for some poetic language.

I haven't read the Bible at all since elementary school. I can't imagine this being very pleasant.

[Madrun Badrun]

King James.  I want to read it for the history and any loss in accuracy is a part of history. 


I need to find a readable version though as I don't have one. 

[MrAngryFace]

I dont have cable but I love movies and tv on DVD!

[Mupepe]

I haven't turned my tv to a tv station since mid-July.

But I make up for it by playing more games and watching more movies.

[Himu]

who the fuck watches tv anyways

[The Fake Shemp]

I guess Muslims aren't allowed to watch television because it interferes with their whole terrorism thing.

[Himu]

wrong. where do you think we pick out our targets

[Powerslave]

EB and GAF eat up about 10x more of my time than television.

seriously. If I wasted time on watching tv it would be a lot better I think than being on the internet all day.

[Mondain]

Why would anyone be a slave to episodic content? Why should someone adapt his schedule to that of TV stations? You should be able to watch any film or TV episode you like at 4 AM if that's what you want.

[demi]

Why would anyone be a slave to episodic content? Why should someone adapt his schedule to that of TV stations? You should be able to watch any film or TV episode you like at 4 AM if that's what you want.

So TiVo it, big deal

[TVC15]

www.hulu.com anus hogs

[Van Cruncheon]

I need to read more fiction. Well, I need to read fiction. That will be hard as there are about two dozen non-fiction books I want to read first. I also want to read the bible in the next month or two. Well, I suppose that counts.

I'll read the bible with you as I've wanted to read it for a while.  We could have discussions!? 

King James version or the New Standard International version? With the King James we might be trading some accuracy for some poetic language.

I haven't read the Bible at all since elementary school. I can't imagine this being very pleasant.

oxford annotated, and i'll do it with you porcine feggits

[Madrun Badrun]

fine.  added the leather bound to my amazon wish list.  let me know when you guys want to do this thang. 

[Howard Alan Treesong]

reading the bible = lame
well, reading it in order
I need a cheat sheet that tells me the good parts so I can skip to em

[Flannel Boy]

I need to read more fiction. Well, I need to read fiction. That will be hard as there are about two dozen non-fiction books I want to read first. I also want to read the bible in the next month or two. Well, I suppose that counts.

I'll read the bible with you as I've wanted to read it for a while.  We could have discussions!? 

King James version or the New Standard International version? With the King James we might be trading some accuracy for some poetic language.

I haven't read the Bible at all since elementary school. I can't imagine this being very pleasant.

oxford annotated, and i'll do it with you porcine feggits

Someone checked it out of the library. I'll order it off Amazon.



Is this fine?

[Powerslave]

reading the bible = lame
well, reading it in order
I need a cheat sheet that tells me the good parts so I can skip to em

Read Ezekiel 25:17 first.

[Madrun Badrun]

Thats the one I want Malek.  All leather bound and sexy though. 

[Flannel Boy]

Thats the one I want Malek.  All leather bound and sexy though. 

Make a note of that White Man. He likes leather.

I'm going with the hard cover.

2432 pages?

:OAsuicide.gif

[Van Cruncheon]

yes. let us read genesis and exodus, skip the legal shenanigans, read the crazier prophets and the creepier psalms, and most of the nt. i'd been meaning to read it again just 'cuz. when one (or both) of you gets the good book, make a thread!

[TVC15]

Arvie, I will buy you leather pants, a red, vinyl shirt, and a black leather cravat.  Join me.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I usually just read Revelations over and over

[Flannel Boy]

I usually just read Revelations over and over

Not unlike many preachers.



All items delivered on or by Wednesday, January 16, 2008  :'(

[cubicle47b]

Fuck, $30?

[Madrun Badrun]

shit you already ordered?  You guys are going to get it before me and go off on your own making sweat intellectual love and I'll be out in the cold reading your thread going "Temple of Solomon what? Jesus who?"

I'll order tonight.  I was going to get more cravats but I guess this is the better way to spend. 

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Fuck, $30?

That is the average price for a hardbound copy of bestselling fiction.

maybe so, but the price usually drops 18-24 months after first publication

[Flannel Boy]

Fuck, $30?

That is the average price for a hardbound copy of bestselling fiction.

maybe so, but the price usually drops 18-24 months after first publication

 

holy fuck

[Madrun Badrun]

Fuck, $30?

That is the average price for a hardbound copy of bestselling fiction.

maybe so, but the price usually drops 18-24 months after first publication

 


Also just when I go to by this finally the price jumps $200 fuuuuuuck

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143104802/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3FENELRWV3ILK&colid=2VNE68N339FFD

[cubicle47b]

Alright, I'm in, my copy comes in Monday but I'll wait for the official thread to start reading.

[Ichirou]

Arrrrvie, don't buy that.

Buy this:

http://www.amazon.com/Norton-Shakespeare-Based-Oxford-Second/dp/0393929914/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199319886&sr=1-8

And this:

http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Invention-Human-Harold-Bloom/dp/157322751X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199319992&sr=1-1

[TVC15]

Yes, get the one Ichirou recommended, Arby.  A good sign that a Shakespeare collection is subpar is if it lacks The Two Noble Kinsmen, like the one you linked.

[Madrun Badrun]

Yes but 3500 pages is a fucking big book to read.  I liked the idea of just being able to grab Hamlet off the shelf and read in bed with out four pounds sitting on my chest.  I just wanted it to read the plays, not to study into the every depths of Shakespeare.   

Ichi hows the paper quality and binding?   

[TVC15]

Tomes are fucking sexy, Arb.  Everyone needs a few doorstops, and what classier than Shakespeare?

[Eric P]

if you have a genuine interest in shakespeare i'd like to suggest ron rosenbaum's recent Shakespeare Wars which is about the scholarship of shakespeare.

also, asimov's guide to shakespeare is excellent reading

http://www.amazon.com/Asimovs-Guide-Shakespeare-Understanding-Enjoying/dp/0517268256

[Ichirou]

The binding depends on the version you get.  I have the hardcover version and the binding seems to be fairly solid.  That said, because it's such a huge book, the paper is pretty thin.  It's very readable, tho.  Each page has a single column (instead of two or three to save space, which makes it harder to read) and it's filled with notations and information about alternate versions.  It includes the conflated Hamlet and like three or four different versions of King Lear.  It's the one I used back in college so I can recommend it without hesitation.  That said, it's not a book you want to rest on your chest.  It's pretty heavy.

Like TVC said, tomes are damn sexy.  I have the Norton Shakespeare next to my Riverside Chaucer and some Harold Bloom hardcovers and it makes me feel like a fuckin' scholar.

[Oblivion]

I used to watch T.V. religiously, but once the stupid cable networks started showing only the most popular shows dozens of times a day, and those shows happening to suck, I just lost interest. Hell, the supposed educational channels like Discovery and TLC haven't been educational in years. I can't tune into the stations without seeing either Mythbusters or some home and garden show. I don't have cable right now, but I don't miss it.

[Madrun Badrun]

Ok think I'm going to get

The Reformation: A History
The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence
The Basic Writings of Sigmund Freud
The Complete Poems of John Keats
Philip K. Dick: Four Novels of the 1960s:
Man and Superman and Three Other Plays
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Augmented Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version, Indexed

Like $300 after shipping  :'(

and I have no more shelf space lol

[Ichirou]

I just stack shit on the floor at this point.  I do have my pretentious I'm smarter than you shelf in my living room with all my tomes.

I have that, has all my English lit books and all my books on film.  Built the shelves myself.

[Madrun Badrun]

$220 


Delivery estimate: January 29, 2008 - February 5, 2008
Shipping estimate for these items: January 15, 2008 - January 22, 2008
 :'(

[drohne]

if you actually mean to read shakespeare's plays, get little paperbacks -- i like the pelican and signet ones for their lack of pedantically excessive footnoting. collected workses just sit around and look imposing on shelves

[Madrun Badrun]

see those hard covers where the pelican books, only cheaper as a set and hardcover to boot!   WHY DID I WAIT A YEAR :'(

[hyp]

my wife and i have been without cable for nearly a year now and i must say, it's changed our lives for the better.  i like having control over what i watch... when we had cable i couldn't help but "browse" for the fuck of it.  now it's netflix and gaming for me.

[TVC15]

I'd just Wiki Freud.  His important breakthroughs are easily grokked through wiki, honestly.  I wouldn't call reading him a waste of time, but I would say that, say, reading some Jung and Campbell would be a more useful expenditure of your time and money.

[Madrun Badrun]

I was very close to doing just that and getting the basic jung instead but I figured starting with freud would give me history that would help latter on. 

[drohne]

freud has some comedy value -- or his idea of the mind as an accumulation of puns, greek myths, and sexual hangups would be funny if it wasn't so terribly influential