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Is House Hunters a dry comedy?

In an effort to quickly side-step the fact that I haven’t posted on here in over 1 year, I’ll point the finger at something else.

I will readily admit that some shows on HGTV are moderately entertaining.  I will even concede that some I enjoy. But, when it comes to House Hunters, or perhaps the drastically diverse, exceedingly ethnic House Hunters International, I scramble for the remote – to turn up the volume.  Besides it being a show created for armchair-quarterback-designers/architects, here are a few examples of why I have to watch it.

  • Everyone (I’ve seen) on these shows picks from 1 of 3 choices.  Really?  How about, “Nah, most of these options were out of my price range,” or “I’d rather not blow $200K on a wood box that I almost like.”?  Can’t be real.  Almost makes me cringe.  Hurts so good.
  • Real people get so awkward on camera.  The funniest (and most annoying) thing about the show is the commentary by the prospective home-buyers.  It makes me want to cry.  They say the most mundane, irrelevant, bimbo things.  For instance, say they are touring Home #2.

Host:  So Tammy, what do you think of the kitchen in this space relative to Home #1?

Tammy:  Well, you know, I do like the kitchen.  The cabinets are great – you know, the doors…you can open them; and then there’s the flow from the living room.  People can see in here from where you are.  I really like it.  And the pantry, it has plenty of shelves for canned food.

Host:  Yeah.  How about the windows?  They are new double-paned glass.

Tammy:  Oh, those are great.  I really love windows and the ability to see the outside – especially from within the house, although, from outside, things inside are also visible through the windows.  Also, I like the ability to live indoors.

Host:  Fantastic.  Let’s look at the master bedroom.

Tammy:  Ok, great.  Oh wow, this is awesome.  There is definitely room for a bed in here.  This is where we would sleep.  The carpet is soft on my feet.  It is softer than hardwood flooring.  Also, a carpet could be placed on floors in other rooms to soften them up a bit.

Host:  Nice.  Yes, carpets are soft.

June 6, 2010   2 Comments

Can anyone actually finish a book?

I know I haven’t written on here in forever. It is partly due to me not wanting to post from work, and partly because I have this feeling that if I do post something (after this long) it has to be really worthy and relevant. This post is neither.

I continually find myself interested in reading new books, and learning about new things. But, I lack the discipline to finish one before either purchasing another, or actually purchasing and starting another.

For clarity, I have decided to post the books I am currently reading, and that portion of each which I have already consumed:

The Black Swan, 60%.
The Reason for God, 45%.
The Shack, 8%.
Blink, 25%.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 1%.
How to Get Into the Top MBA Programs, 75%.
Blood Meridian, 20%.

From this, you can see that I actually do read books (or at least I read?). I can’t seem to finish a book.

I think that the problem lies in the fact that I am convinced that I just HAVE to get the next book and read it.

What do you think? A deeper problem with satisfaction? Perpetual grass-is-greener mentality? ADD?

Let me know if you too have problems with this.

*N.B. Since writing this draft several days ago, I have purchased 3 new books. Surprise, surprise.

November 2, 2008   4 Comments