I do not think it means what you think it means…

Click here to see the Letter

That letter, which obviously was written by me, was published in The Pantagraph over a year ago. I would research the exact date but their website does not contain archived information on resident submissions.

When I wrote the letter, I was quite saddened at the decision made by UPN executives to cancel one of my favorite television shows. Looking back and rereading the letter now I can look at it a bit more objectively.

If I had the choice I would have first submitted the letter to not only the local paper here in town, but newspapers that have a subscriber base of more than about twelve people. No, I certainly don’t think that my little letter would have somehow swayed UPN execs into changing their decision to cancel the show, but I think that it was a fairly well written letter, and it deserved more than being showed to such a small readership.

What this really has to me in the long run, is solidify my belief in ala carte cable television. Quite frankly out of the seventy or so channels that I get from my local provider, I only want thirty or so. I don’t want to pay for BET, ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports Net, any of those asinine religious channels, HSN, QVC, etc. Not only do I not watch those channels, I don’t want any of my money supporting them.

I have often wondered why the networks are so terrified of ala carte cable. After reflecting on the cancellation of Enterprise, and all the negative press that it garnered, I have realized something: If cable providers can offer ala carte cable, it will empower viewers in a totally revolutionary way.

Lets say that 100% of the cable providers offered ala carte cable. What would happen to UPN’s viewership if 50,000 people suddenly canceled service? What would happen to CNN if they lost 25% of their viewers because one of their reporters did something unethical?

The networks will fight tooth and nail to keep ala carte cable away from US cable viewers. They don’t want to be held accountable for their programming.

(Oh, just to clarify: I didn’t pick the title of the editorial. The editors did, I never really liked it. I would have picked one with more razzle-dazzle)

I am currently taking a creative writing class, and one of the semester long assignments is to keep a writing journal.

A writing journal sure sounds a lot like a blog if you ask me. While I have, up to this point, been somewhat derisive in my feelings towards blogs and more to the point bloggers themselves, now that I have a practical reason to create one, I will throw my full energies into making daily entries, just as if it were a “regular” journal.

Some entries may sound out of place, or odd, but in addition to simply making daily entries, there are thirteen specific topics that I must cover over the course of the semester. I will probably find some way to accurately label those.

I suppose I should email my professor, and ask permission to use an online format, though if he gives me an answer of NEGATRON (think Megatron, only not) I guess I can just cut and paste my entries into MS Word.

I formulated a theory regarding the elderly. This theory is the result of years of casual observation, first hand experience, and just a little sarcasm.

Old people can be, almost without exception, classified into two very different categories. I will explain both:

Category One:

These old people are not only friendly, they have the patience of ages behind them. They smile often, happily wait in line, and do not scowl when children appear. They generally have large families, both children and grandchildren. They are loved by those family members, and are held in a position of respect. They have lead a good life, and they have plenty of fascinating stories to tell to anyone who would listen.

Category Two:

These people are, unfortunately, the polar opposite of the first group. In addition to being bitter, grouchy, and completely unfriendly, they are rude beyond measure. They will complain regardless of the situation, even when things go well for them! They either have no families, or their families have relegated them to some long forgotten corner of their memories that they have forgotten. These people realize they are going to die – and soon. Realizing that their lives have been lead completely without meaning or purpose, they take out this latent hostility on everyone within earshot.