Last year, I began watching many American TV shows that were contained in BitTorrent files that I downloaded from the internet. This was the only way I could see the shows that I had missed since moving to Taiwan. Some of the shows I enjoy, while others I felt were not very entertaining. My favorites turned out to be Battlestar Galactica, The Amazing Race, and The Apprentice (in that order). I downloaded and watched every episode of every season for those three series. In addition to that, I saw many of the episodes for Rock Star: Supernova and American Idol. American Idol was more popular last year than Rock Star: Supernova, but I felt the latter program had much-better singers competing.
Currently, I am still downloading and watching The Amazing Race and American Idol. Rock Star: Supernova came to a finale last year and the other series are between seasons. Battlestar Galactica, the best series I have ever seen on television, isn’t due to begin their new season until January of next year, while the others will probably begin this fall. I lost a lot of interest in The Apprentice, though, so I’ll probably not watch it, if it comes back on the air in the fall.
Another series I have been watching is Pussycat Dolls Presents: The Search for the Next Doll, but I’m not a real fan of the show. As a reality show goes, it doesn’t have a lot to be interested in. It is basically on par with America’s Next Model and American Inventor, two other shows I have seen a lot of. I am a fan of The Pussycat Dolls, though. So, I’m mildly interested in learning who will be the next member of the group. For that reason alone, I will continue to watch it to the end. Luckily, I don’t have to wait long as the next episode will be the finale.
My interest has also waned for American Idol lately. This year there was a situation with the series that sparked my interest temporarily. A bad singer, named Sanjaya Malakar made it to the final 7 contestants. It was interesting to watch as better singers got booted off the show each week, because they had fewer votes than Sanjaya. What takes place is a nationwide call-in vote is conducted two hours after the performance show each week. The contestant with the least votes is let go on the weekly results show. Surprisingly, Sanjaya wasn’t the one to go until only six other contestants remained.
The phenomenon that a poor singer could last on the popular nationwide TV show is due in part to two outside forces. First and foremost, Howard Stern thought it would be a great goof on the show to encourage the listeners of his daily satellite radio show to vote for Sanjaya. He got the idea from the second outside force, votefortheworst.com. The website was dedicated to encouraging people to vote for the worst American Idol contestant, which was Sanjaya Malakar in this case. The efforts of the two reeked havoc with the American Idol show. One of the judges on the show, Simon Cowell, threatened to quit the show if Sanjaya ended up winning. Sanjaya didn’t, however, so Simon will remain as a judge. That’s a good thing, as the other two judges don’t have the ability to criticize contestants. Without Simon, there would be no real talent show.
In many ways, I am more in tune with American pop culture after having moved to Taiwan than I was while living in America. Surprisingly, I am getting my daily fix of what’s hot in the States from various sources on the internet.
Just before moving here, I made sure that Taiwanese television offered some decent English channels, which it does. Here, there are the ever-popular cable channels CNN, HBO, and ESPN, which provide news, entertainment, and sports. Although they lean toward a more international flavor than their equals in America, there is enough pop nourishment coming from the States to keep one from starving.
Beyond those channels, there are other English offerings, such as: Discovery, National Geographic, Travel, Star Movies, Cinemax, and AXN (a channel showing some of the more-popular US television shows). They are all good, yet none of them go into detail about happenings in the States. None of them take the time to put things into perspective, giving one a sense of what it is like actually being in America. It is for that purpose that I turn to the internet.
Through reading weblogs, online newspapers, and downloading current movies, songs, and radio shows I can begin to feel what it is like to be a well-informed American, living in America.
Now, I seldom watch TV. In fact, a few weeks ago Shu Mei and I decided to have our cable cancelled. That means we will have absolutely not TV, as there isn’t any television broadcast over the air in Taiwan. It is all strictly via cable. I have mixed feelings about our decision to have it cancelled, because I’ve always had TV available to me, but it’s the right move to make for the boys.
Billy has become addicted to the thing and I see no reason why Tyley wouldn’t follow in his footsteps, if given the opportunity. Apparently, it is too difficult for Shu Mei to monitor and control their viewing habits. So, we just decided to have it turned off. As I stated, I seldom watch television, so going without it really won’t be a huge sacrifice. It is akin to losing a tie that I wear on rare nonspecific occasions. I would miss the tie, but I wouldn’t cry about it. Again, the internet has become my American pop culture source.
Last year, I read an online article about Howard Stern. In the article, it stated that he was moving from regular radio to satellite radio at the first part of this year, 2006, for a reported 500 million dollars over the period of 5 years.
Browsing through some bit torrents, popular peer-to-peer shared files, I saw some of his radio shows late last year. So, I downloaded and listened to them. Current events were covered in considerable detail, with a focus on the entertainment industry. This was the source of information I was looking for. So, I continued to download and listen to the show, via my MP3 player, on a daily basis. Then they made the switch.
Howard and his crew went on hiatus for a few weeks between moving the show from terrestrial to satellite radio. It was during those weeks that I realized I had become addicted to the show, as I felt like a junky needing a fix. I was elated when the show went back on the air and have listening to it on a daily basis ever since. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the new show is videotaped and played on an on-demand cable channel called Howard TV. Some of the best episodes were uploaded as bit torrents, allowing me to see them. As time goes on, the show just gets better and better.
Aside from talking about current events, Howard and his crew play various comedy bits that are totally hilarious. Often, I use my earphones to listen to the Howard Stern show in bed, before going to sleep. My wife, Shu Mei, puts up with my frequent outbursts of laughter.
True to her uncaring nature, she has never asked what I am laughing at. She knows that I am listening to the Howard Stern show, as I have told her a bit about it. However, Shu Mei never shows any concern or interest in learning about things I enjoy. From almost the first day of our marriage, she has continued to remain emotionally distant from me.
For the first few years, I tried everything I could think of to bridge that gap, but she stayed selfish and stubborn throughout. Recently, I have lost interest in trying to chip through her hardened shell. I never saw the slightest crack in her emotional armor and I doubt I ever will. I just let her be her ornery self and I concentrate on the only reason I stay married, Billy and Tyley. After all, they are my lifeblood.
I have no greater joy in my life than Billy and Tyley. I look forward to spending time with them after work each day. On the weekends, I spend most of my time with them. I don’t do it out of fear that I’ll miss out on something special if I don’t do it, though that is in the back of my mind, but basically because I enjoy it. They are growing so fast and absorb the things I have to teach them like sponges. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to teach them important things and hope that they’ll turn out a great deal better than me.
It is to that end that I try to point out some of the pitfalls in life to Billy and Tyley. I don’t want them to make the same mistakes I did. Also, I want them to have a better life than I did. I cannot give them the many material things that I had as a child, but I can give them my emotional support and love, something that I lacked growing up. Oh, my parents were loving, but the way they showed it was in giving me things.
I wanted them to show me in a more emotional way, by hugging me and telling me that they loved me. This just wasn’t in their character. It is in mine, however, and I strive to make certain that Billy and Tyley understand I love them very much by demonstrating it emotionally.