Shakespeare V. Nora Roberts/JD Robb

Pretty soon my neighbors will come back and I will no longer be able to curl up in the Cone-tastic goodness that is Late Night. No longer will I watch the promo spot for Last Call and think "Hmm... could be interesting."

*sigh* I love tv. The few days of Kittie-sitting has reminded me just how much I love tv.

So many people denounce television. They call it all sorts of names, they talk about how it serves no purpose. I hear people talk about television and it's dumbing down of America. I hear people who think themselves intellectuals snobbishly pronounce "I do not watch television. I do not even own such a thing." Yeah well.... pbbbllltthh to you.

I understand where the comments are coming from, but I feel the need to point out a few things: Not all reading is intellectually stimulating. Not all talk radio improves brain function or cognitive skills. Music is not always about being pretty or making a statement. Books, magazines, newspapers, am radio, fm radio, popular music it's all meant to entertain the masses. Tchaikovsky was the Britney of his day--creating music after the dance steps were thought out. Dickens was no better than Bill Maher and Thoreau wasn't any more astute than any blowhard you can hear droning on NPR.

Just because the language is extravagant and flowery does not mean the prose is "better" than what is available in today's vernacular. A book that takes longer to read and is more trying to your patience is no more worthwhile than a book you find entirely entertaining.

Giving the brain some candy from time to time is not a bad thing. Hence my love for television.

God I wish I could afford cable.