Kill your television...

..Or just turn it off. Here is a healthy alternative.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/03/31/apontv.tvturnoff.ap/index.html

Unplug the tube. Make Mai-Tais and look at your Tiki lamps instead.

Amen bruddah! I have three TV's in my house and sometimes I'll come home and all three are going at once...each one on a different channel and nobody's watching! When I first saw your post it reminded me of a song my band used to play - "I Wanna Kill My TV". That was late '70's - early '80's, when the only time we made any effort to watch TV was when a good band was on Saturday Night Live, USA's Nite Flite or a show that aired in L.A. called New Wave Theater. I have to admit, I have certain shows I tune into regularly. Right now I'm watching South Park and later I'll catch the Daily Show and...oh m,God, the kids are being attacked by Mel Gibson! Gotta go. I don't want to miss this.

Shipwreck-

All of those shows you mentioned from back in the day were the only ones worth watching. I saw so many cool bands on the ORIGINAL Sat. Night Live. That show did a nose-dive in the 80s but in the late 70s I remember seeing The Specials, Tom Waits, J. Geils Band, etc, and of course the amazing night when the Stones were on. I guess I could say Billy Joel gets an honorable mention too when he appeared on there. He was kinda gritty back then. SNL would've never considered putting on someone like Britney Spears on in those days. I guess her equivalent back then would be like Marie Osmond or something. Could you imagine them putting HER on? Yeah...backstage doing lines with Belushi! Today they'll put anybody as musical guest on SNL. The only prerequisite for that is to play sucky music and be in the Billboard top 10.

I miss Nite Flight, I wish that was still on. As I recall New Wave Theater was also on the USA network. I saw it in Florida bakc then. Wish someone would put a DVD compilation of that show out.

Your post name reminded me of that wacky double bass guitar band Neds Atomic Dust Bin. Kill Your Television was one of their "radio" hits.
Anyway, I can't agree more.

I miss Uncle Floyd. I remember catching the broadcast debut of The Ramones on Uncle Floyd. Dammit! I miss his sarcastic side kick hand puppet Oogey!

Oogey for President!
TG

[ Edited by: tikigardener on 2004-04-01 00:20 ]

[ Edited by: TikiGardener on 2004-04-01 01:20 ]

Hey! How come when I bring up a "Kill Your Television" thought I get hammered?

(nevermind)

*On 2004-03-31 23:54, donhonyc wrote:*As I recall New Wave Theater was also on the USA network. I saw it in Florida bakc then. Wish someone would put a DVD compilation of that show out.

Shipwreckjoey and donhonyc and whomever else might be interested - I have 2 videos of New Wave Theatre that came out in the 80s. Bands include Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Suburban Lawns, Unknowns, Blasters, Top Jimmy, and plenty of awful bands too. I can copy them. Perhaps we could make a trade for something.

I have to admit I watch TV more frequently on TV since I got Direct TV with TIVO. I mostly watch movies but when I do watch commercial TV I just skip through the ads!

Turning your TV off for a week because other people are doing it seems silly to me. That's news? Perhaps to Corporate Numbing Network it is. If people were really concerned about TVs affect on society they would get rid of their TVs for good. (how's that Bong?)

Jab-

I agree with you on gettiing rid of your television all together. I think the only thing that keeps me from getting rid of my TV, or more specifically cable service, is VH1 Classic. Yeah, I like watching CNN, etc. but I think I could probably do without it. I've thought that in the future (perhaps the very distant future) I would get rid of the TV in my kid's formative years, should I have any kids. There are way, WAY too many opportunities for kids to be watching TV these days. Not just programs, but DVDs and videos. I know of one family that has two toddlers and they have TONS of kid's movies on DVD, and it seems sometimes that that's ALL these kids do. Sorta drives me nuts when I actually see that.

On the original subject, I think if you can get people to consider an alternative to TV for a week, it may be silly for some, but it's not a bad idea.

Thanks for the offer on the New Wave Theater stuff. I would love to see that, but I got rid of my VHS player. I have become a DVD snob.

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2004-04-01 11:53 ]

How about "Use Your Turn Signals Week" instead?

Getting rid of your TV for the betterment of your kids sounds like a good idea, but remember, they will be mercilessly teased by their classmates for not knowing what's cool or who's in or out or the latest music video or whatever. They will be seen as freaks, only one step away from the Amish.

I would reccommend keeping the TV and going for the 'one hour a day' rule or something like that, if you don't want them to become social pariahs.

Tikifish-

I hear you, and that thought has crossed my mind about being a social pariah and all that. But I think I would rather have a kid that was teased about not being a fan of Britney Spears, for example, than actually being a fan of hers. But yeah the one hour a day thing might work also...but then again I may never have kids and I can just keep the kegs, Mai Tais and nudity goin 24/7 here in my 'clean' home. Woo-hoo!!!

we prefer to use the TV as a monitor into which we can input content of our choice... of course the wahine needs her oprah fix every now and then, and i figure that's a tradeoff for putting up with my drinking beer in bed and occasionally blasting my old raucous TDK's in the basement...

as far as the kids, with my folks i felt that TV was a privelege to be earned by not being a total screw-up. of course for us that's all a theoretical approach until we actually have some lil menehune runnin around...

It's more than just Britney Spears though - we forget how much of our information and knowledge about what's going on in the world comes from TV. Kid's don't read newspapers, nor do they listen to news radio. So although it seems like a cool idea to kill the TV, it may not be as simple as that.

I know 2 kids who were brought up without TV, not allowed to eat at McDonald's, etc, and they were definitley seen as weird, overly sheltered wussies by the other kids. And when you're a kid, peer acceptance is crucial. It can effect your whole life.

Better to do what my parents did - shame me into watching good TV or turning it off by casually teasing me whenever I watched 3's Company or The Love Boat - 'Watch much more of that and your brain is going to turn to mush!'.

another reason we don't have cable besides the $$$ is that if i had 24-hour access to t.v. land i would probably watch 'get smart' instead of going to work :)

Tikifish-

I don't think kids really care about the news so they're not gonna watch it anyway. And yeah, I agree with you on 'good TV'. I think today though, there are more (bad) opportunities for kids to watch TV than good. Back in the 70s morning and afternoon was the time for kids to watch TV. My big fave was 'Zoom'. After that it was 'turn the channel to the Merv Griffin Show/Mike Douglas Show for grandma' (anybody say 'turn' the channel anymore?). Kids today have an endless supply of shows and DVDs. Dora, The Wiggles, Baby Einstein, and several Disney computer animated feature films. It's endless.

Personally...somewhere there around 1980 I didn't care about TV anymore, and I'm not sure how that happened because the TV seemed to be on all the time in our house. By that time, I just wanted to go in my room, shut the door, put the head phones on, and blast Zeppelin, Sabbath or whatever (probably responsible for my bad hearing these days).

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2004-04-02 08:26 ]

TV is getting better and worse at the same time. For better....the guys who remodel homes for the families that can't afford it. The extreme makeovers, cosmetic surgeries and the home improvement. For worse, I won't even go there because it's not worthy of mention.
Fortunately our kids get hammered about doing there homework. My oldest is in the groove and ready to go to a university. The youngest just caught on this year and will be following the same path. They watch TV only after all there other more important activities are finished. Period. Tough love.

On 2004-04-02 06:15, tikifish wrote:
Getting rid of your TV for the betterment of your kids sounds like a good idea, but remember, they will be mercilessly teased by their classmates for not knowing what's cool or who's in or out or the latest music video or whatever. They will be seen as freaks, only one step away from the Amish.

A cousin of mine raised her daughters without TV (they kept one in the closet for emergency use). The older daughter was her high schools' valadictorian, studied for a year in Japan, and is now at Harvard. But I bet I could kick her butt at GoldenEye on N64 !

-Z

DO NOT KILL YOUR TV!
this is unamerican! With our fearless leader shipping off jobs as fast as he can I see no reason to kill a profitable industry. for 12 years the TV biz was very good to me and many people make a fine living producing this junk for as long as they can stand it, (I've had my fill, but not everyone has. as for other peoples kids... anytime I hear "its for the children" I retract in horror, most times its a cover story to trample on my lifestyle. TV is how americans spread our depravity which will in time infect the entire world and bring the american way of life to everone and only then will we know a lasting world peace. If you are against TV you are advocating WAR and dischord, you are standing in the way of world peace and therefore will never be able to win any beauty pagents, miss america included! this talk of KILLING anything, even your TV shows your prediliction for warmongering, hang your head in shame.

TV is king,

you're putting me on, right?

Bart: "TV Sucks!"

Homer: "I know you're upset right now, boy, so I'll pretend I didn't hear that!"

-Z

wrong

On 2004-04-03 11:35, Bwana Tiki wrote:
If you are against TV you are advocating WAR and dischord, you are standing in the way of world peace and therefore will never be able to win any beauty pagents, miss america included! this talk of KILLING anything, even your TV shows your prediliction for warmongering, hang your head in shame.

TV is king,

The last UFO headed for Planet Loonyville just left. If you pack your bags soon enough, you may make the evening shuttle.

your quote decontextulizes my words and serves to point out how the forces of evil will stop at nothing to paint our one true god in a poor light. I'm not a looney, far from it I am a bastion of reason and rightmindedness. Love your TV as it loves you. we are almost there, our culture is on the brink of bringing world peace through sitcoms. soon everyone will know the sweet tast of gatoraid and be renewed. We will not rest until every man woman and child can order a Jack LaLane power juicer from the comfort of their own ranch style house. How can we expect people to be civilized unless they can watch "Cribs" for guidence? without the sacred blue flicker where will people turn for comfort and true fulfillment? how can we speak of killing that that gives our life meaning? where the hell did I leave my rum? uh... I gotta go, something is out of place.

Great moments in kill your TV history:

Film & Video catagory -

1. Wendy O. Williams (WOW) careens a bus through a wall of TV's in a Plasmatics video.
2. Robert Deniro as Travis Bickle in the film Taxi Driver slowly rocks his TV back & forth until he finally pushes it over on the floor and it explodes.
3. David Bowie as a desperate alien in The Man Who Fell To Earth winds up gazing at a bank of TV's all tuned to different channels and slowly going insane.

Song catagory -

1. TV Eye - the Stooges
2. TVOD - the Normal
3. I Wanna Kill My TV - the Xterminators

Theme record album catagory -
Phil Austin's Roller Maidens From Outer Space

Uh, Hanford.....lock this thread.

On 2004-04-03 17:40, donhonyc wrote:
Uh, Hanford.....lock this thread.

Hey Don, check out the U-Moderate topic at the Main Discussion Area.

Hold yer horses...

On 2004-04-03 17:40, donhonyc wrote:
Uh, Hanford.....lock this thread.

it is not my understanding that Hanford locks threads the moment someone has a different opinion from the person who starts the thread. the fact of the matter is that many of my friends make TV shows, and I think it is a bad idea to kill your TV. in fact it is a good idea to turn on your TV and keep people employed. stay tuned for another person earning enough money to uy a home, stay tuned for people earning money to send their kids to college, stay tuned for americans who still have good jobs, at least the ones that have not been sent to Canada! why would you want to turn people away from american made product? everyone knows where the off button is on their TV... and it is in the ON posistion for most of us. Kill social malcontent, kill pointless protest, kill snobism, kill your wheatgrass, but be kind to your TV Set! real people with real jobs is not something to through to the wayside, like it or spike it it is your culture. it is, even now, becoming the ONE CULTURE, for one world.

we will never stop,
NEVER,

On 2004-04-03 17:30, Shipwreckjoey wrote:
Great moments in kill your TV history:

Song catagory -

1. TV Eye - the Stooges
2. TVOD - the Normal
3. I Wanna Kill My TV - the Xterminators

4. "Television, drug of the nation. Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation"
   -Disposable Heroes of Hypocracy

-Z

(if I got the lyric wrong, too bad, I don't have time to Google it... Seinfeld is on)

"TV Party"...BLACK FLAG

Not necessarily a literal anti-TV song, all depends on what angle you look at it from.

PS...according to Scott Asheton of The Stooges "TV" in "TV Eye" didn't stand for television it meant something "dirty" about the the ladies.....

For more ethereal TV listening check out Neil Young's song 'Motion Pictures' from the 'On the Beach' album.

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2004-04-04 11:44 ]

Wow...speak of the devil.

More evidence on the detrimental effects of TV on kids. USA Today just released this report Sunday.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-04-05-tv-bottomstrip_x.htm

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2004-04-04 23:37 ]

Here are some TV audios:
Kill Your Television, by Ned's Atomic Dustbin
http://www.audioautographs.com/tiki/NedAtomicDust.mp3
Jim Morrison
http://www.audioautographs.com/tiki/morrison.mp3
Oompa Loompas:
http://www.audioautographs.com/tiki/oompaloompa.mp3
TV Announcement:
http://www.audioautographs.com/tiki/tv.mp3

On 2004-04-03 17:30, Shipwreckjoey wrote:
Great moments in kill your TV history:

Film & Video catagory -

1. Wendy O. Williams (WOW) careens a bus through a wall of TV's in a Plasmatics video.

Another one:
In 1975, the Ant Farm Collective (the gang who brought us the Cadillac Ranch) plowed a 1959-Cadillac-turned-spaceship through a wall of TVs in the Cow Palace parking lot for their film "Media Burn." This probably predates the Plasmatics video. You can watch it here:

http://www2.centrepompidou.fr/beware/eng_close/media.html

On 2004-04-04 10:37, Feelin' Zombified wrote:

On 2004-04-03 17:30, Shipwreckjoey wrote:
Great moments in kill your TV history:

Song catagory -

1. TV Eye - the Stooges
2. TVOD - the Normal
3. I Wanna Kill My TV - the Xterminators

4. "Television, drug of the nation. Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation"
   -Disposable Heroes of Hypocracy

-Z

5. • Videodrome. tha whole dang thang.
6. • Poltergeist. duh.
7. • Slacker. the dude with room full of tvs. beautiful - way before billy joel and "zooropa"

i could go on.

8. The Ring

-Z

On 2004-04-04 23:36, donhonyc wrote:
More evidence on the detrimental effects of TV on kids. USA Today just released this report Sunday.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-04-05-tv-bottomstrip_x.htm

"Short attention span linked to TV"

This is NEWS?

Is USA Today under the impression that people haven't been aware of this for a few decades?

More ironically, this 'news' is coming from a newspaper that won't run articles over a certain llength, or use words beyond a certain comlexity so as not to confuse their 7th-grade reading level audience... or to lose those without the attention span to read more than a few paragraphs.

"Short attention span linked to TV... perpetuated here"

On 2004-04-07 11:34, tikibars wrote:

"Short attention span linked to TV... perpetuated here"

Too funny! The media reporting on the problem are actually the cause of the problem!

What were we talking about?

On 2004-04-07 11:52, thejab wrote:

On 2004-04-07 11:34, tikibars wrote:

"Short attention span linked to TV... perpetuated here"

Too funny! The media reporting on the problem are actually the cause of the problem!

Hey Jab, you've been in the trenches as long as me. We both know the media minions are constantly swarming around in search of any story that has a pulse. Frank Zappa summed it up perfectly- "if another woman driver gets machine gunned from her seat, we'll send a joker with a brownie and you'll see it all complete"

On 2004-04-04 10:37, Feelin' Zombified wrote:
4. "Television, drug of the nation. Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation"
-Disposable Heroes of Hypocracy
-Z
(if I got the lyric wrong, too bad, I don't have time to Google it... Seinfeld is on)

you got it right - I have that CD!
here's the lyrics... I googled - cause it's late and there's nothing on...

http://www.samulilintula.net/netti/tv.html

[ Edited by: Futura Girl on 2004-04-08 05:24 ]

I cited USA Today because that was the only link I could find that could be accessed. Maybe I should have looked harder but htat was the first one that came up. The story was actually released by the AP and distributed to several other news carriers.

No this is not news. That's the sad part. Just like the story we hear over and over again (in fact it was in the news yesterday) that counting calories and watching what you eat keeps you healthier and extends the potential of a longer life. That's news?