Life without television: how do people do it?

Having a TV for DVD purposes is very much not the same thing.

the required shortness of attention span drives me crazy

So true!

When I'm at other people's places and the TV is on, I can't take my eyes off of it

It exerts a powerful fascination, doesn't it? Commercials I find especially bizarre and entrancing and horrifying.

Another effect of basically not having watched TV since like 1982: when I do see some I'm continually startled by the IN YOUR FUCKING FACE language, violence, and sex now common on network TV. ("Startled" != "offended," necessarily.) And cable, forget it -- seeing one episode of a dating show on MTV while in a hotel last fall left me weirded out and mildly depressed about it for days.

nary a half-hour goes by without something that seems designed to make the viewer feel bad about themselves in some way

OTM, but I think I'd change "a half-hour" to "five minutes."

This is OTFM. My previous flat was too small for a TV so we just watched DVDs/mpgs on the PC instead. Had people come round threatening search warrants and all sorts. We let them in, and they actually said it wouldn't make any difference that they'd been round and seen we had no TV, because the licensing org wouldn't believe it anyway. Basically they continued to send the letters until we moved out. We have a TV now so are licensed and don't have to deal with them any more, but what a bunch of cunts.

I think I was more concerned about having to deal with people turning up with search warrants while I was having a spliff or something.

It's just a bit ridiculous that they won't consider the possibility that you don't in fact own a television!

1. "I don't think you're ready for this Telly"

Uh, that makes it bad? You just forgot TV language. It's like learning a new language: you just have to adapt to it. I'm sorry, I just don't agree with your stance.

Bosko Balaban Stats For Season
Name Bosko Balaban
Team Aston Villa
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would be way harder to give up the net than tv. i maybe watch 2 or 3 full programs a week, now. used to watch shitloads as a kid, tho.