2008 Woodie Awards
Tangents and Tirades
Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: Commentary
Television's artful destruction. As someone who is notoriously distrustful of technological advances (I probably get it from my mother), I often find myself livid at the extent to which television has indubitably invaded the minds of America. A fascinating novelty in the 1950s, the tube has now become a culturally-entrenched villain. When I rail against the negative effects of 'Too Much TV' in a public setting, or even in the company of close friends, someone inevitably begins to blush and vigorously defend themselves and the medium itself. Relax. It is most certainly not your fault, sweetie pie. Television attacked the culture of which you are a part WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION. I find that any insidious aspect of watching TV is eliminated if viewed with a critical eye. I merely oppose the drooling, gawking, spellbound fixation that characterizes so many of my elders and peers when firmly plopped in front of the glowing screen. It is becoming tragically common for folks to sacrifice their actual reality for the virtual reality of The Hills and So You Think You Can Dance. Since we got pretty lucky with this whole "life" gig, the least we can do is reciprocate.-Matt Miller '09
Debate-induced drowsiness. If you have been an avid reader of my column you are aware that I am a huge politics geek. Because of that I was very excited to watch the first presidential debate between Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Unfortunately, I did not see the whole thing because I died of boredom. All right, that is clearly a lie since I am writing this tangent, but c'mon. First off, neither of the candidates is a particularly good debater. Second, they were just so boring. I mean, it's hard to make the economy sound interesting but with the current financial crisis, it should have been slightly appealing. Even subjects as hot-button as the Iraq War were just not enough to get these two to really go after each other. I would love if one of them had thrown a punch, I would vote for whoever got the best hit in. And if they said the words "Wall Street/Main Street," "change," "look," or "my friends" one more time I was going to jump off the roof. I mean if you were playing a drinking game and taking a shot whenever one of them said those words you would be dead before the debate was half over. Next time, someone please throw a "yo mama" in there so I can stay awake.-Andy Kowal '10
Debate-induced drowsiness. If you have been an avid reader of my column you are aware that I am a huge politics geek. Because of that I was very excited to watch the first presidential debate between Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Unfortunately, I did not see the whole thing because I died of boredom. All right, that is clearly a lie since I am writing this tangent, but c'mon. First off, neither of the candidates is a particularly good debater. Second, they were just so boring. I mean, it's hard to make the economy sound interesting but with the current financial crisis, it should have been slightly appealing. Even subjects as hot-button as the Iraq War were just not enough to get these two to really go after each other. I would love if one of them had thrown a punch, I would vote for whoever got the best hit in. And if they said the words "Wall Street/Main Street," "change," "look," or "my friends" one more time I was going to jump off the roof. I mean if you were playing a drinking game and taking a shot whenever one of them said those words you would be dead before the debate was half over. Next time, someone please throw a "yo mama" in there so I can stay awake.-Andy Kowal '10
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