I am here to educate you that today is #4 of my Television series.
Fire Food
Some Television is fire food. That means it’s really HOT and it burns you. How were you educated? By being taught not to eat that food again. With the food you need to drink a lot of cold water and just wait for the heat to pass.
When I first started working at Eulipia Restaurant in San Jose, California back in 1981 the kitchen staff tested me a bit. The dishwasher (who eventually moved up to head chef actually) gave me two pieces of green pepper. He said they were both mild, but I knew better. I ate them both, knowing I could handle hot peppers pretty easily. My eyes watered a bit, no big deal. They saw I could handle it. But I made the mistake of wiping my nose while I still had the oil from the pepper on my fingers. The oil caught part of the moisture from my nose and traveled up into my sinuses. It was PAINFUL and my left side of my face felt like it was going to explode! It took a long time for that to go away. I was educated by the fire food that day!
With TV it’s the same way. It can’t be unseen, you are stuck with this grotesque and painful image in your head that actually hurts your brain. You might have to take a cold shower, or change your pants. You might have to go to hypnosis counseling to rid yourself of the memory. It’s really not the type of educational TV you want to watch more than once, if at all.
What is an example of this kind of TV in your mind?
Fine Food
Some Television is Fine Food. It’s the type you eat slowly. You savor it. It enlightens you, teaches you, something new about how tastes and textures can combine to give you a sublime experience. You might even go back to the restaurant as soon as you can so you can have the same dish, the same experience, again.
Linda and I went out for our anniversary last weekend. We went to Bodean’s, a seafood restaurant in Tulsa. It easily ranks at the top of our restaurant list in terms of quality. Amazing food. The type of food you want to cut into little pieces and eat slowly so you can make it last a long time.
The fine food TV show is the same way. It’s something you savor, amazed at the concept, script, the acting, the sets, everything. You watch it again because you know you will see new things you didn’t catch the first time. It enlightens you, teaches you something new about life, history, psychology, relationships, science, faith, and more. You feel empowered after watching the show.
What shows are Fine Food for you?
Fast Food
Some Television is Fast Food. You aren’t there to have a sublime eating experience, you are there to feel a need, get some food in your belly and be done with it. You might have a hankering for it, like comfort food.
Like me and a quarter pounder. I barely ever have one, but when I want one, I REALLY want it. It tastes good yes, but it is really just a cheap thrill that I want, nothing fancy, nothing complex or sophisticated. I wanted one last week after having my colonoscopy and I indulged. Then I had that same hankerin’ again last night, coming home from a photo group library session. And I indulged again. I think I will need to discipline myself for a while, until this hankerin’ lets go of me!
Fast food TV is the same way. It’s pretty mindless entertainment, it is unlikely to teach us anything new or profound. It is ok in small doses but if your TV watching time is filled with it, you might be wasting your time without even the side benefit of learning something.
What is your fast food show?
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Nicholas Johnson
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Trivia question of the day
What caused Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of the Television to proclaim, ‘This has made it all worthwhile.” ?
Come back tomorrow for the answer
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