Wimbeldon 2012

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In America we celebrate our country's birth next week.  Red, white and blue is prevalent throughout the neighborhood.  I am very grateful to have been born in this country.  

However there is something I am not grateful for this year and that is for the first time in over 30 years I am unable to watch Wimbeldon.  I am a huge tennis fan.  I have always watched the 4 major tournaments on TV and attend matches as I can.  To me it is better than a golf tournament.  

NBC lost out to ESPN in the bidding for the exclusive rights to Wimbeldon last year.  I remember hearing this and thinking surely there will be a way for me to watch via internet.  Nope or if there is I haven't figured it out yet.  

I gave up "basic cable" three years ago because my means didn't meet any longer.  I currently pay 90.00 for a land line, internet & 24 TV stations, 6 of those stations I never watch.  Giving up basic cable was difficult at the time.  I was heavily invested in dramas and dvr'd them to watch on the weekend.  Surprisingly I don't miss it.  The quiet was more of an adjustment.  The past few months I have gotten even better about rarely turning the TV on.  Case in point I had no idea Tropical Storm Debby was at my door.  Probably should watch the news at least ;)  

Yesterday morning while driving into work I hear that Rafael Nadal lost to Lukas Rosol in his second round match.  WHAT! How could that have happened?  This morning I wake up to find Roger Federer was two points away from the same fate though pulled it out in a "thrilling fightback".  Wonderful!  I would have loved to see it.

Part of what makes America great is free enterprise and ESPN, fair and square (I hope), beat NBC out.  Wimbeldon has the right to take the highest bidder.  

Shouldn't I, as a consumer, have the ability to choose the 24 channels I want to watch from the local cable provider for a service I PAY for?  

Just saying.....

Let’s Blog Off – Guilty Pleasures – What’s your favorite show on television?

Every two weeks Bloggers unite for a day to write about a communal topic.  This week LetsBlogOff asks the question: What’s the show you’re hooked on but are kind of embarrassed by?

Three years ago I watched a lot of TV.  I had 100 channels to choose from and the TV was on A LOT!  This partly comes from living by myself and liking background noise plus the dogs don’t bark at every little sound.  Then my budget became much tighter, like a lot of people and I had to cut corners, one of the hardest was the DVR and all but basic cable.  Basic cable is up to the History Channel, no Food Network, no Bravo, no SciFy and no ESPN. 

Honestly in the beginning it was tough but you know what?  I survived!  In fact I am reading more, listening to NPR and doing more projects around the house.    Now all that doesn’t mean I don’t watch any TV because I do but I am good if I miss an episode too.

I really enjoy Glee.  I love the singing and dancing but especially feel the cast represents all facets of people and some of the subjects have been eye opening. Admitting I watch Glee doesn’t embarrass me.   I like Bones too. It’s funny and the artistic creativity of getting the bodies to look as gross as possible is amazing.  I am not embarrassed to say I watch Bones, at least not yet.  It is getting repetitive though.

So what do I watch that is hard for me to admit?  Well since OWN came into being I have been watching a lot of it.  Especially some of the celebrity shows like Shania Twain and I will watch Sarah Ferguson when it starts later this month.  Why? Because it is nice to know that no matter how rich, how pretty, or how talented, everyone has issues to overcome.  The point is to overcome them. Maybe by watching I will have my own ah ha moment and some piece of me will click into place. 

The reason I am reluctant to mention these shows is it seems that people either love or hate Oprah.  I personally think her story is inspiring, full of grit and determination.  OWN, so far, has had positive stories and I like that there is a documentary series.  The first documentary was following Chaz Bono through the transgender transformation.  It was fascinating and difficult for me to watch.  Difficult in the fact I have never had a problem with being born a woman. I am a big believer if I am uncomfortable with a subject than I don’t know enough about it.

I don’t watch all the shows on OWN because I have this great power called an off button.  I learned in my teenage years the power of the off button though this story strays from the intent of the LetsBlogOff subject.  I was home sick from high school and was on the couch with the tv on.  The Phil Donahue Show came on and it just happened that the show I was watching was the first broadcast of a same sex wedding.  This was the late 70’s and I will be honest I was uncomfortable so I turned it off.  The hate that was spewed toward the two brave gentlemen expressing their love and the Phil Donahue Show shocked me.  Why didn’t these people just turned their tv’s off too?  Really death threats because two people fell in love? 

Thankfully I have grown since those days and so long as a person is kind I could care less what color, sexual orientation, gender or weight that person is. 

I am sure the Housewives of ___________ (fill in county here) is fascinating and I might watch if I had the channel (Anderson Cooper does) but what I like best about my TV is the ability to turn it off.  I just wish I did a bit more often.
Please read the other participants of LetsBlogOff below.  The list magically expands so check back often.