We're not sure whether it's symptom of depression or just an urge to see some All-American ultraviolence, but we watched game after game and derived great satisfaction from it. We do know that it lowered our IQ by a good ten points, listening to the announcers constantly saying the same things over and over again like "they've got to chew the clock" which led Mrs. UF ex--with whom we watched one game--to say "Wouldn't it be great if there was a guy on the sideline who job it is to chew on a big rubber clock?" Anyway, we fell asleep watching the late night game and woke up on the sofa and it was still going on and we had to fight the urge to watch the end of it and go to bed. That's how bad a case we have of it. For years we didn't watch football--didn't watch any sports--and those were our years of highest intelligence. We read Proust and lied through our teeth about reading Kant--we never got past page of any of his books--and went to graduate school and generally didn't miss football at all. Then one day it returned--like a bad virus--and now we look forward to the football season the way we once looked forward to reading a difficult book. Speaking of which, we haven't picked up a book in well over a week, which is a first in our adult life. The books we have we don't want to read and there's no bookstore in our area, so we make do watching bad movies that we can watch--along with football--thanks to the fact that we just got cable. And we don't know what this all means except that we're dumbing down to a new level of dumbness that doen't bode well for our ability to hold intelligent conversations, or write intelligible sentences. And despite that we're looking forward to Monday Night Football tonight, so there may be no hope for us--we'll soon be reduced to the level of intelligence of your average Bud Light commercial, of which we've watched hundreds over the past several days.
I think your football watching phase is a sign of the depression lifting actually. I think it's a good sign! Yes!
The past few days I have been staring at those infomercials of miraculous wall painting gadgets and knives that can cut through bricks and then still slice a tomato like it's a hologram. Not that I want one of those knives -- I don't want anything any more -- but it's nice to watch. It's one of the few programs where you don't see talking heads, but 'stuff being done'. I like that. No heads. Stuff.
We have football on the telly overhere too, but without the violence. The violence in our football is being done amongst the spectators, but the camera always follows the football, which is as boring as a football.
I wish I could send you some of my books to read. No I don't: I'm happy for you for not reading and watching football. You're on the right track!
've
Posted by: Martijn | October 01, 2012 at 11:57 AM
I'm glad you think so, Martijn, I'm glad you think so. By the way, your description of the infomercials you watch is hilarious--it made my day.
Posted by: UF MIKE | October 01, 2012 at 12:21 PM
Speaking of football, read this open letter in support of gay marriage written by the punter of the Minnesota Vikings, to some bigot of a congressman. It's a hoot!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-kluwe/an-open-letter-to-emmett-burns_b_1866216.html
Posted by: Jeffers | October 01, 2012 at 03:48 PM
I like the name "Huffington Post", sounds like it came out a "Winnie-the-Pooh"-book.
By the way, Jeffers, you mentioned "The Devil Makes Three" several posts ago - thanks for the hint, I have come to rrreally like them! (And the banjo player looks just like he's from another dimension or something.)
Posted by: Jan Martin Löhndorf | October 01, 2012 at 04:23 PM
" slice a tomato like it's a hologram"
Thats SOME cookin' there!
I miss ol' Spud. "Go, Spud, Go!"
Posted by: bullets | October 01, 2012 at 08:13 PM