Yesterday, a friend told me he had no interest in popular culture, that he, in fact, had no idea who James Patterson was, what the TV show Breaking Bad was about, or a single current song. He took pride in this. As if isolating himself from almost everything going on in the world was a good thing. But then I thought hey, there are a number of things, I have no interest in. Here are five of them.
Magic tricks-now I would like magic tricks if they were really magic like in Harry Potter, but trick is the real concept here. If I can learn how to do it by getting book out of the children's section of the library, can it be that good? I especially hate magic on TV. I mean, what's the point? When Copperfield made Los Angeles disappear, I think it was camera work and not magic.
Pirates-just a rowdy group of thieves on the sea to me. Why do they need to be so distinctive? Wouldn't they be more effective if they traveled dressed like a group of regular tourists?
Beauty Contests: with cosmetic surgery, can't we all be beautiful now? And it is not something you earned, is it? I favor contests where learned skills come into play.
Car racing: noisy and can we really afford the gas now. Should we expose the spectators to such a large dose of pollutants. And again, isn't the car the real hero here?
Reality shows-okay I watched Top Chef one season and The Amazing Race a couple, but in the end, why let the networks get away with holding a mirror in front of crazy people instead of producing decent shows.
I could have included volleyball, Paris Hilton and carnivals here but five is enough.
What do you have no interest in?
43 comments:
1. Anything that involves explanations/justifications/rationalizations/"reasoning" from the right-wing. Don't get me started....
2. Mixed martial arts and/or ultimate fighting. I have no idea if they're the same thing--and don't care if I ever find out.
3. Any show that includes "Real Housewives of..." in the title.
4. The DA VINCI CODE and all its associated prequels or sequels (in book form or on-screen).
5. The entire Kardashian/Jenner family and anything they do.
Will the persecution never end?
Social media
Reality television
Sports other than football & baseball
Most "summer" movies
Celebrity gossip
Cell phones, the Kardashians, casinos, NASCAR, and Facebook.
Sorry, Bill. I forgot your special relationship with Paris.
Everything on here belongs on my list too.
Most everybody has the things i don't care for. Cell phones are an especial irritant. I finally got one last year for emergencies(and I mean that). I only carry it with me when I leave the house and it's never left on.
I don't like voice mail or anything else of that nature. I never leave messages. Caller ID tells them I called and if they want to know why they can call me back.
Most movies these days I don't enjoy. What I watch is Turner , recording films thirty, forety years old. Or even older for that matter.
Romance novels, horror films, daytime TV, horse racing and fashion.
I am learning that like my friend, I have no interest in many things.
I don't like watching cars go around in circles either.
I knew Bill would not like your slight of his darling Ms. Hilton.
I agree with all of your choices - though come to think of it I'd replace pirates with golf (yawn!).
I've never gotten the thrill of watching fast cars driven by someone else go around and around and around, other than those who are waiting/hoping for a crash.
Beauty contests really went from bad to inexcusable for me with the whole concept of little girls like JonBenet Ramsey being made up like whores on parade before pedophiles. (I know, why not tell you how I really feel about it?)
Magic tricks like those of David Copperfield and whatever that annoying guy with the stupid hairdo is just boere me. But if it was a top 5 I'd replace that with mimes.
We watched the first season of SURVIVOR and Jackie watched some years of DANCING WITH THE STARS and AMERICAN IDOL, but I don't do so-called reality shows, which are 90% scripted.
Jeff M.
PS - Oh yeah, add Lady Gaga and hip hop and all other new music... and stay off my lawn!
Oh yeah, "social media" is right up there - Facebook, Twitter, anything that involves Ashton Kutcher.
Eery time I watch the local news and the weather guy tells me to "follow him on Facebook and Twitter" I want to scream.
I'm watching your newscast to find out the damn weather. I'm not interested in anything else, like your children's pictures or birthdays. Just get the damn forecast right today and I'll worry about 5-7 days from now when they get here, OK?
Sheesh. I feel like Howard Beale sometimes.
Jeff M.
I don't mind pirates. Earlier today I was trying to work the line: 'To err is human, to arr is pirate' into a story. It's the small things that keep me amused.
*groan*
Good one, Rob.
Jeff M.
I guess the answer to this is self-evident, but are Ashton Kutcher & Demi Moore really that self-important that they believe anyone in this world cares about how they feel about Amy Winehouse's death and that they 'tweeted' their condolences?
Jeff M.
Can't believe I forgot mimes.
The thing about pirates is that they have too much paraphernalia. All those eye patches and parrots and swords and eagle nests--keep it simple.
Isn't this blog social media? At least for Patti?
I have friends who think that caller ID is reason enough for me to call back; I think opening your mouth and leaving a message says a lot more. BTW I hate the message: "Call me." I always wonder why? Usually to tell me something I wouldn't finish listening to as a voicemail.
Here are things I don't care about that I once cherished: poetry, sword and sorcery, the new fall lineup, parts of speech, George Lucas... Well that's five.
George Lucas, yes, and maybe a few of his peers.
1. Auto racing. Nothing duller.
2. Texting. Everybody has their technological line in the sand, and that's mine.
3. Pets. I don't want to stop anyone from having their own pets, I just want them to stop trying to give me one. And stop asking me to take care of theirs while they go on vacation.
4. TV in general. Specifically: Reality TV. Talent shows. Soap operas. Infomercials. Hysterical, sensationalist news programming.
5. New Year's Eve. I do not understand, have never understood why it's a holiday. If we moved it to March 15 -- by which time we NEED a holiday here in the US -- we could call it Julius Caesar Day and have toga parties to celebrate. Makes just as much sense and the timing would be better.
I especially hate NYE since it is my birthday the next day. And please don't remember that.
Hm.
Pop music,
reality shows,
sports (with very few exceptions)
celebrities
autobiographies of celebrities (i.e. uninteresting people who are just celebrities)
I could never resist a post called "Things I'm not interested in"... that totally makes my day.
For me: best-sellers, Disney, team sports, celebrity gossip, sit-coms, most hip-hop (though not all), prog rock, excuses and distortions from the right, reality shows, golf, and... well, that's all I can think of right now.
So who's watching these reality shows then?
I will agree with reality shows.
These are more things I could do without:
Professional sports in general.
Fox News channel, Ann Coulter, Westborough Baptist Church, michelle Bachman, Sarah Palin, and all the other true believers and believers if there is a buck in for them.
Lima beans.
Tattoos.
Reality shows whose purpose is to embarass contestents, or to make them feel small or insignificant. Ranks right up there with people who say, "What's the matter? Can't you take a joke?"
I have a zillion more.
Me, too. Sometimes I worry that I have become intolerant but then I realize that it's everyone else who's out of step.
social media (F-book, Tweets, all the rest), cell phones, soap opera, daytime talk shows, late night talk shows, any talk shows, most reality TV (and Patti, it about ratings, not quality), Rap and Hip-Hop and their musical descendants, Lady Ga-Ga and her ilk, any television commercial, for anything, any time, TV news, tell-all biographies, television drama shows, soccer, hockey, pro basketball, lacrosse, field hockey, softball, track and field, e-books, I could go on and on.
A for reality TV, we do enjoy Design Star and I sometimes watch the Mecum muscle car auctions.
Reality shows(excepting true crime ones)
Nascar
Modern Country music
Smooth Jazz(A good cure for insomnia thou)
Fox News pundits
Richard wins the grand prize!
To answer your question Patti, the answer is mostly: a very small percentage of the viewing audience actually watches so-called "reality" shows (I'm not talking American Idol, but The Hills and crap like that). If the media didn't hype it and its "stars" (can you say 'Snooki'?) I really believe most would have disappeared back into the obscurity they so richly deserve.
The problem is (as I see it) that there are literally hundreds of channels and most need programming - almost any programming - to fill up 24 hours and seven days. It costs them virtually nothing to put on and they more than make it back in publicity. I mean, how many articles have you seen (I don't read them, but they exist) of the so-called "Real Housewives" of somewhere or other?
I have a soft spot for New Years Eve because that was the day we first got together, many many years ago.
Jeff M.
Glad to hear something good happened on NYE.
Wondering whether have no interest and do not like are the same thing. For me they'd be 2 separate lists...one for I couldn't care less, and one for I could care less.
I think "do not like" implies a negative interest in it. For instance, I do not like Sarah Palin but I have an interest in her because of her ability to have a real impact on the country. No interest in would apply to more trivial matters like reality Tv and magic tricks. But that's just my take on it.
Primarily for me, the things/people I'm least interested in are celebrities. Especially the reality TV celebrities. But my not caring pretty much applies to all of them.
Nothing.
I'm interested in everything, if only for a moment.
What keeps you interested?
Change.
Five things I have no interest in -
1. Reality shows aka "Pimping Myself Out So Someone Else Can Make Big Bucks Out Of My Failure". These shows are for people who could not find a big enough audience to embarrass themselves in front of, in their own neighborhood, so they have to come into ours. (Small confession... I did watch the first couple of seasons of Amazing Race... then, it got repetitious.)
2. Beauty contests. A "contest" implies some sort of competition, pitting one's talents and abilities against another. Since society sees fit to judge beauty in a person as only a few microns deep... anyone with enough money and lack of self-esteem, can "win" a beauty contest. If this "steps on someone's toes"... sorry. Good thing I weigh only 108 pounds, naked and dripping wet, huh? Lol!
3. (checking to make sure I have a clear path of escape) Okay... don't hate me... TWILIGHT. Bunch of *&^$# whiners, if you ask me. I could forgive I suppose, if these had been written by a four year old, but the last time I looked, Ms Meyers was not four years old.
4. "Tell-all" books. Really? What makes you think I have any interest in how many men and/or women you have slept with, fought with, or cheated? Do I really want to know how you "made" your millions?
5. Celebrities. Seems the only talent you need to be a celebrity is a willingness to take off your clothes, or get caught in some compromising situation.
I could be a celebrity. Who wants to see me ice-skate naked at Rockefeller Center? I'll expect at least three networks there.
Stardom... here I come! ;=)
Naomi - You start a petition to move New Years Day to March 15 and call it Julius Caesar Day - with the requisite toga parties - and I will sign it in a New York minute!
Toga... toga... toga... :D
Sadly, I am less and less interested in cooking. (A lot of items on other posters' lists spoke to me too.)
Definitely reality TV.
Ron's distinction is key. It's tough for me to find stuff I'm Utterly unmoved by.
What's duller, to say nothing of more destructive and wasteful, than auto racing? Football.
What's duller, to say nothing of more pernicious, than even "reality tv"? Political chat shows of the THIS WEEK ilk...all about missing the point in the voice of Officialdom and utter pomposity.
What's duller (to say nothing of less decorative) than real (vs. beach) women's volleyball? All other sports. (Beach volleyball seems to be the province of the anorexic.)
Real pirates were (and are) far more compelling than Disney pirates.
Hard for me to argue with the utter inanity of beauty contests or tv "magicians"...
Religion, motor sports, cooking on TV, commercials, a waitress/waiter who responds to my burger order with "Awesome!" like I'd just cured cancer, cozies, rap and its ilk, politics, clowns, Oprah, X-Box games and the like, vapid celebrities without talent, and on and on and on.
Video games
Texting
Professional sports of any kind
Nearly everything that makes up current television
Gossip
And sadly - truly sadly - everyone who works in my office because the above constitute everything that they cannot live without
BTW - too late about your birthday Never ever reveal that. I'll ALWAYS remember it - especially one as easy as yours, Patti.
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