• From: Montana
  • Registered: 2004-12-27

Topic: I got rid of my TV!! :)

Well this past week I moved to a new town, specifically because I don't know anyone here.  Not knowing anyone will give me more time to work on myself and my (alleged) writing, plus there are so many more cultural opportunities and such.  I'm fairly certain I'll find a coffeehouse type place with somewhat likeminded people having discussions, that sort of thing was unthinkable at home.

So I brought my TV with me and bought rabbit ears for it so I could keep watching "Lost."  At home, where I had cable, I would always turn on the TV and flip to the History channel and things like that, but hardly ever see what was on CBS or NBC.  So I figured I could have the TV here, with antennae for Lost on ABC once a week, and more or less keep it off the rest of the time.  Instead I found that I spent most of my free time flipping through just four or five channels, over and over, and getting sucked into shows I wouldn't ordinarily watch.

So more or less on a whim today I packed it in the car, with the new rabbit ears, and took it to a pawn shop and sold it.  They gave me more than I thought I'd get, too.  I'm really happy with my decision, though the withdrawals haven't set in yet.   I'll miss Lost but I'll get over it.  Maybe rent the DVDs when this season comes out and watch at a friend's house, or maybe I won't care anymore then. 

I was really disappointed with Lost lately anyway.  Not the most recent episode but the one before was clearly part of a greater theme I've seen throughout all media recently to normalize the idea of torture and to further its acceptance.  The subtle programming seemed to be working in my mother, who I watched that episode with.  It's hard to explain how I determined how she was reacting, but anyway.  It went along with this horrific film I heard of called "hostel" and several other things.  All produced by different companies, etc., yet all pushing the same agenda (normalize torture and gain approval).  Funny, it's almost like the media are all connected somehow!  So that really disgusted and disturbed me, and I was gonna quit watching my favorite show right then, but gave in for one more episode.  Now, I guess I won't watch it next week.  I'll manage.  Got a pile of books that aren't getting read.  (Including Edwin A. Abbot's "Flatland" boy am I excited about that one).

Check out http://www.adbusters.org/ they sponsor TV Turnoff week each year in late April, and have a lot of cool stuff about being less corporate and such.  Great magazine.

No real point to this other than for me to brag and share my excitement about my new life!  smile

"Isolation, mis-education, and for the very clever there is looming liquidation."  -Catch Twenty-Two "Bad Party"

2 Reply by Christine B. (edited by Christine B. 2006-03-18 17:07:56)

  • Registered: 2004-03-25

Re: I got rid of my TV!! :)

Bravo!!  I did something similiar when I moved to NH -- knew I'd be in a rural setting away from the comforts/complacency of my old life -- thought it would be "good" for me and it's been great.

It's taken about a year but I've found some really wonderful like-minded people, have taken up sweep rowing (long sculls with 8 rowers) which I adore (you would have to - since we are either on the water at 6AM in spring through fall, or "in the tanks" at 6AM).  I've never been an athlete in my life and now at 58 I'm rowing with advanced rowers and hope to compete with the masters in the fall. 

Life is full of fun surprises.  May you have many in Montana.

Be sure to check out this great site -- created by one of NRs regular contributors -- www.trashyourtv.com

Christine B.

  • Registered: 2006-02-11

Re: I got rid of my TV!! :)

That's awesome, thoughtcrime. I have a TV but it's been sitting in my living room for over 3 months, not even plugged in. I used to watch Comedy Central, Discovery and History but realized they they too were rotting my brain inexorably. So, I trashed my TV so to speak and am never even tempted to turn it on. Go me!

The reactions I get from people when I tell them I never watch TV are priceless but quite depressing.

"A dream has power to poison sleep"
-Percy Bysshe Shelley

4 Reply by Jedi (edited by Jedi 2006-03-18 17:36:43)

  • Jedi
  • Member
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  • Registered: 2005-05-26

Re: I got rid of my TV!! :)

Our TV's emit this extremely annoying high pitched noise even when off.  Both TV's in my house do this.  You turn them off and a little green light stays on as well as the noise.  Only unplugging them stops this and really turns them off.

  Sadly, no one in my family notices this noise (even when asked to listen for it!) except for me so I have to go around unplugging the TV's all the time.  Anyone have TV's that do this?  Brand is CurtisMathes.

  • Registered: 2006-02-21

Re: I got rid of my TV!! :)

Jedi wrote:

Our TV's emit this extremely annoying high pitched noise even when off.  Both TV's in my house do this.  You turn them off and a little green light stays on as well as the noise.  Only unplugging them stops this and really turns them off.

  Sadly, no one in my family notices this noise (even when asked to listen for it!) except for me so I have to go around unplugging the TV's all the time.  Anyone have TV's that do this?  Brand is CurtisMathes.

My Tv emits a high frequency sound too, i am pretty sure they all do. About a year or two ago i flew over to mexico to visit my brother and they had no tv, computers or radios. I stayed there for six months and when i left i definitly noticed being more clear headed then when i arrived.

  • Zarg
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  • Registered: 2006-02-16

Re: I got rid of my TV!! :)

I posted elsewhere (forget where now) that unless you unplug your TV it is still emitting ELF and can cause headaches, possibly entrain to alpha state. It can also drain your energy if plugged in but turned off. Glad to hear people are waking up.

Some computers and cellphones do the same. We live in a sea of ELF -- that plus the fluoride helps make for a docile population. Lizzies like it even more if you actually watch the idiot TV shows -- if you don't, you'll miss the subliminal messages.

Il faut tout voir de la hauteur de 40,000 pieds.
  • From: Montana
  • Registered: 2004-12-27

Re: I got rid of my TV!! :)

About emitting ELF waves even when off:

I had a dream about a year or year and ahalf ago, where I was told that having a TV in the same room as me, even if its off, is bad for me (also told me to eat more tomatoes and quit smoking).  Every now and then I have a dream where a voice "off camera" tells me some useful info.  I usually think about it some while awake before beginning to implement it, but it always seems to be good advice.  Have had other anti-TV dreams, but none that mentioned it being dangerous even while off.  Like I said, though, I think about these things while awake for some time, so if I ever had a dream telling me to go kill people I wouldn't do it.  smile

"Isolation, mis-education, and for the very clever there is looming liquidation."  -Catch Twenty-Two "Bad Party"
  • Registered: 2004-10-15

Re: I got rid of my TV!! :)

Neat about getting rid of your TV thoughtcrime.  Nearly all of broadcast TV is junk anyway.

Personally, I just got rid all all my broadcast recieving equipment, but kept the TV for the occasional DVD and TV episode download.

I know what you mean about torture themes, 24 is probably the worst for it.  They make it "entertainment" which is pretty sick.  Shame you are not watching Lost though, as I think there is something very metaphysical working in the storyline - which no one seems to have picked up on yet.

Reality creation.  There are a lot of hints in the show about it.  Nearly all the major events have come from out of the characters minds.  None of them realise that yet - heck I don't even think many viewers have realised it yet.  But it is all there, clear as day.  It's interesting that such a show would deal with this subject in such a subtle way.  It's all very neat I think...

Thought Manifestation

Marcus's Website

  • From: Montana
  • Registered: 2004-12-27

Re: I got rid of my TV!! :)

Yah, I remember the camera's focus on the comic book Walt was reading having the polar bear, and we haven't seen that since Walt vanished (I miss him!).  I am going to miss this show, definitely, but like I said might still get the DVDs (to watch at a friend's house, I guess?).

But you must know the episode I'm talking about, where the French chick finds the guy hanging in one of her traps in the trees and thinks he's one of the others, and Sayid locks him in the armory and begins torturing him to try and find out if he is or isn't.  Sayid's flashbacks to when he was in the Republican Guard in the first Iraq war helped convey the message that it's OK to torture - not just that but ok to torture one Iraqi to save one American.  No more examples of torture to save scores of lives, just one.  And one the island the message was it was OK to torture for information that wasn't life or death anyway, and could have been gotten other ways.  It really really disturbed me, when you combine this with movies and according to another poster here "24" which my Mom also watches, and even some commercials I've seen.  I think the idea is for people to be so exposed to torture, that on a subconscious level when there's debate over whether we torture or not, people are subconsciously thinking "what's the big deal, I seen that a thousand times already." 

So what are your thoughts, Marcus, on the torture episode of Lost?  There definitely are larger themes on the show, but wouldn't it ultimately be disinfo?  The show is way too popular for it to get at anything without "them" either getting to the producers or being amongst them.

"Isolation, mis-education, and for the very clever there is looming liquidation."  -Catch Twenty-Two "Bad Party"
  • Registered: 2004-10-15

Re: I got rid of my TV!! :)

Well firstly Lost is a story - and that is how I watch it first and foremost.  That said however, I do like the many neat little hints at thoughts affecting reality.  Jack seeing his dad on the island in an early episode...Kate seeing the black horse.  Also have you notice how every time something significant happens on the island - it clouds over and starts to pour down with rain.  If you remember Charlie even mentioned that in the first episode;   about the weather seeming "unnatural".  The rain comes when they are anxious.

Then there is Walt as you mention, twice a polar bear appears after he read his comic with a polar bear in it.  Before he got to the island he was reading a book about birds - and a bird flew into the window.  When he plays dice he always manages to throw the exact number he wants to throw.  When he was throwing the knife at a tree he kept missing, Locke told him to visualize the tree being hit - suddenly he hit it spot on.  The "others" mentioned something about children being special.  Children have very strong imagination and visualization.

The hints are far too numerous about thought affecting reality for it not to be a central theme later in the show.  Is it disinfo?  Well most people here at NR either believe or know from experience that thoughts can indeed affect our reality.  The show portrays it in a very subtle way.  I have yet to hear anyone else pick up on this from the show.  But I guess it depends where the writers take it in the future.  Anyway as I said at the start - for me, it is about watching a story.  Just like reading a novel or listening to a storyteller.  So much of it will be fiction mixed in with some truth.  It would be dangerous to look at any TV programme or movie as a source of info.  But looking at them as metaphors is a whole different kettle of fish.

As for the torture themes, I entirely agree with you.  I commented at the time of watching it - that I felt it was pretty poor that so many shows are taking on this subject and portraying it as "okay".  But we know what TV is like - that's why I only watch about 3 hours of TV a week (3 or 4 programmes, is all I watch).  Torture is not something I want to watch in any form.  In the latest episode of "24" Jack Bauer the "Good Guy", shot someone’s wife in the leg (she was totally innocent) just to get her husband to talk - she didn't even know her husband was involved in anything.  It's not entertainment not at all...but it is packaged that way.  But then that is what the off button is for.

People let TV swallow up their lives, many people watch 20 or 30 hours a week for example.  And then many more "believe" what they watch, whether it is fiction or "news".  So that is another danger of TV.

But like with all things - it can be a case of throwing the baby out with the water.  I watch very little TV, but I just went and brought a brand spanking new 40" LCD TV.  Those few hours are something I really enjoy.  Just because I have a TV doesn't mean I need to plug the broadcast receiving equipment in.  I don't use the aerial, and don't have satellite or cable.  Sadly UK law still states I have to pay a TV license fee.  But there ya' go.

It's about moderation isn't it, and self control.  At least that's how I see it.  That said though, I think getting rid of the TV is highly commendable.  There are a lot of people that can't live without them, and very few that choose to only watch a little on their TV's and fewer still who get rid of them.

I guess we can only go so far in blaming TV for the way people are and how it affects us – whether it gets us addicted or not.  A gun is dangerous, but it is a person that kills.  Just as drugs are addictive, but it is a person that takes them…

Thought Manifestation

Marcus's Website

  • From: aworld w/out invisible borders
  • Registered: 2005-06-09

Re: I got rid of my TV!! :)

Hey, great topic on the show lost!  I really enjoy that show, and its actually the only T.V show I watch - but I don't watch it on my T.V.  I just wait a few days and its up on the net, via bittorent. 

I find that the first season which I watched the whole season on DVD (with no commercials which makes the show way better), contained heavy symbolism (When Locke was explaining backgamma to Walt "Two sides, black and white" showcasing duality), Locke talking about "Destiny" and "Fate", Walts ability to manifest his intent, and the many other synchronistic events that happen in every episode.  What I loved about the show is that it was "open" to discussion and thought.  Other shows are just there for entertainment, usually showcasing mundane theories and philosophies.  But this show encourages people to think and get excited about their ideas.  When browsing some "LOST" message boards; I found people where very open minded and eager to theorize!  I found a couple of threads about the spiritual aspects of the show, and some mystic or divine answer for the show and even came across a thread that related the show with Terence Mckenna's Time Wave Zero theory and eventually 2012. 

About the torture showed in the show is just like "24" and I agree with both of you on that subject.

The only thing keeping me from hocking the T.V is hockey.  But I'm in the process of fine tunning my like of the NHL, and turning the experience of hockey from less watching, and more playing - that's where my love of the game comes from anyway. 

So all in all I don't watch T.V for any reason other than that, and I've realized that it has helped me dissociate from the "Matrix" of society and from this dissociation I am less affected by all the shows that say whats "normal" in life.  I stopped watching T.V for awhile, then one day turned it on to watch hockey and realized that I couldn't sit and watch a commercial because I honestly did not understand it anymore - it made no sense to me at all! smile You also become aware of the subliminal messages and advertising that goes on during T.V watching. 

Anyways good for you thoughtcrime!  And if you have easy access to a computer you could alwasy download the episode, but I reccommend waiting for the DVD, its way better that way!

"Beyond the stars a new world awaits me now" - Wintersun

Natural Mystic's Website

  • From: US
  • Registered: 2004-09-21

Re: I got rid of my TV!! :)

That's great guys!   I could use some more "Success Stories" about TV, if anyone would like to contribute.  Thoughtcrime, I would be especially interested in what benefits you notice from not watching TV. 

Actually, I think the TV Turnoff Week was originally sponsored by the TV Turnoff Network (http://www.tvturnoff.org) and it is no co-sponsored with adbusters.  Of course, Trash Your TV! is a good site too wink (http://www.trashyourtv.com).   I've put up a lot more information recently.

Quick facts: The average American watches 4 hours and 32 minutes every day, according to Nielsen, and TV most definitely does put people in an alpha state.  There were a few early studies about that, but for some reason, no one followed up on it....

Never Give Up!

freeme's Website

  • Registered: 2005-04-22

Re: I got rid of my TV!! :)

Congratulations thoughtcrime!  I think that after a little while you won't miss your show anymore. 

I have been without television for about nine years, and I do not miss it at all.  We have two old televisions which are 13 - 15 years old but we only use them to watch DVD's.  They are probably too old to be ELF transmitters (I hope, maybe I should just unplug them to make sure).

My non-TV existence began because in my apartment at the time the co-ax cable would not reach where I wanted to keep my TV and I never got around to taking care of it.  I became aware that I was using my time better and directing my attention to better things, and then my non-TV-ness became intentional.

When I travel I watch it a little, but no way would I want it in my house. 

My sister has to have it on all the time.  When I go to her house if I am the only one in the room I shut it off, and if she just walks through the room she turns it on.  I turn it back off, and after a couple times I tell her to stop doing that and she tells me sorry but she just can't stand the quiet.  Can you imagine that?

  • From: Montana
  • Registered: 2004-12-27

Re: I got rid of my TV!! :)

OK, you guys are gonna make me regret missing Lost now!  I hope to save up for a new computer, so if I bought the DVDs I could watch it on that.  I technically could on this one, but not really, DVDs are horribly choppy. 

How do you other pro-Lost & anti-torture guys feel about financially supporting this show, or 24, or anything like that, if the objectionable themes continue?  Like, when I saw that torture episode I wanted to turn it off right then and never turn it on again so they wouldn't get the ratings, but I'm not a Nielsen family and don't have digital cable or anything fancy, so am pretty sure I'm not counted.  But if I were a Nielsen family I'd have had a hard time justifying watching it after that, because I would increase the ratings and therefore the revenue the show earns.  Like there are several movies I'd either like to watch personally or feel I need to watch to analyze.  But I wouldn't pay to see them.  For example, I'm kind of curious if "Hostel" is as bad as I think it is, but I sure don't want to encourage them by giving them money.  So I might make myself watch it on video (at a friend's house, apparently).  I guess if it were just this one episode on Lost I could forgive it and not feel guilty giving them money for the DVDs, but if it were a recurring theme I would have more problem.

I don't know any benefits or drawbacks of no TV yet, it's only been a bit over 24 hours!  I did catch myself looking for the remote, kind of frustrated until I realized I wasn't going to find it!

"Isolation, mis-education, and for the very clever there is looming liquidation."  -Catch Twenty-Two "Bad Party"
  • From: US
  • Registered: 2004-09-21

Re: I got rid of my TV!! :)

thoughtcrime wrote:

I don't know any benefits or drawbacks of no TV yet, it's only been a bit over 24 hours!  I did catch myself looking for the remote, kind of frustrated until I realized I wasn't going to find it!

big_smile The first week or so is usually the hardest.  Try to find other things to do to fill up the time.

Never Give Up!

freeme's Website