Are you going to watch Showtime's This American Life premier on Thursday night? At first I wasn't thrilled to hear about the prospect of a TV version, but I think I'm okay with it.
I'm a real dork for public radio, so much so that I get my WNYC fix via AM rather than FM. I even prefer to listen to the Newshour with Jim Lehrer on the radio instead of watching it on TV.
A little while ago I got rid of cable to save money, and the absence of fluffy programming has diminished my TV watching attention span. I'm not being snobby about it—my favorite shows are about prison, psychics, and dwarves. It's just a phase, I think. When I win Powerball, I'll overcompensate with a gigantic satellite dish that broadcasts Mongolian wrestling and I'll blast it 24/7.
But I do prefer radio, especially for news, because it's easier for my feeble brain to follow. When I watch Jim Lehrer on PBS I get pulled into his Stepford wife eyes. And then the commentators come on and David Brooks looks like a weenie (which, clearly, he is, but less so on radio) and the older gentleman who debates him has that hangy turkey neck. How can you not stare at that? I usually do, then I miss it when he says something interesting. The better groomed people on cable and network news are just as bad, all helmet head and bleached chompers. I'm simple and not very good at multi-tasking, and TV's very overstimulating.
And with radio you're free to imagine what you want. You can pretend that Soterios Johnson is a Greek god (sorry to my lady friends, but he's not). Or that Will Shortz and LeeAnn Hanson are doing way more than puzzles together.
For years This American Life's web site posted an old photo (since updated) of Ira taken at his bar mitzvah. He looked like a gawky nerdy teenager, and I was comforted. It fit perfectly with his cartoon voice and NRP disposition. And that's pretty much the way I chose to I imagine him over these last ten years.
Then the media blitz for the TV show began, and it was all shattered. He's, well, um, sheesh… He's actually handsome (for public radio)!
Suddenly, it seemed everywhere I turned, I came face to face with a picture of Ira. And it taunted me! At first I thought, "I can't believe that's Ira." Then, "Ira's kind of cute." Finally, "Wow. Ira's handsome (for public radio)." The next thing you know, I had a dream in which Ira and I were in a compromising position. We were horizontal, and there was ear lobe nibbling! I woke up feeling very confused. Maybe it's something like growing up and developing a crush on your friend's little brother?
Fortunately, my friends are helping me through a difficult period by forwarding me stories about Ira with the message "Look, your boyfriend!"
Anyway, a few days have passed, and I've decided that the dream doesn't mean that I want to have sex with Ira. Nor was it simply due to shock at registering the fact that Ira is handsome (for public radio). I think I was just letting go of some of the tension I feel in anticipation of the TV show. Even if the show doesn't turn out the way I expected, or changes the future of the radio show, or even if Ira comes off like a ninny—even worse, makes America fall in love with him—everything between me and Ira will still be ok.
3 comments:
I too have recently gone the no-tv route, so I can relate to this. I agree that not having tv is easy because all it does is make you hate tv. At first, I would get excited when I would find myself at a house with a tv and be able to watch a little. But after enough times of finding NOTHING AT ALL of any interest, I now go to these same houses and don't even bother. The Tivo people have the right idea. That's the only way I would have tv. The only problem I have is that I don't know what people in the news look like (with the exception of celebrities, most of whom I could draw police sketches of at this point).
I always thought Jim Lehrer's eyes were more anime than Stepford. And I wish I had never looked at Kai Risdahl's picture. he's not ugly, but he's not what I pictured.
Isn't it sad to not be able to enjoy TV? Though I'd still have fun watching it with our friends, which really consists of making fun of everything, not following the plot. Though Sparky talked me into watching Dancing with the Stars earlier this week and pretty much left me speechless. We were hoping to see Heather Mills' leg fall off. No dice.
Jim Lehrer's eyes are Stepford in that it's all pupil. He has virtually no white!
Dammit, I always thought is was spelled Satyrius and a black man. Why do you have to break my stride with your blog truth campaign???
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