Fun Without The Guilt
Posted by Cottontimer on 25 Jun 2007 | Tagged as: Thoughts
Everyone’s trying too hard.
Over the weekend, one of my favorite UK writers, Bryan Appleyard, was chastized for posting about Perez Hilton, the gossip god.
At June 23, 2007 6:39 AM, purley way said…
I am amazed and disappointed to hear that you read crap like this……Shame on you.
What. Ever.
At June 23, 2007 11:00 AM, Hsien Lei said…
Brian, I was amazed and DELIGHTED you read crap like this…well done, you!
(What’s wrong with a little mindless entertainment. Sheesh. Lighten up.)
And just to back-up what I say, here’s me wearing my Perez Hilton t-shirt.*
Does every stinkin’ thing have to be educational? Honestly. Do we have to be working on something allll the time? I am not ashamed to admit that I enjoy some forms of reality TV like American Idol and The Apprentice. Do you think I’m stupid now (despite evidence to the contrary 
)?
Matthew Morse of New York gets it right in his letter to The Atlantic editor (subscribers only, email me if you want a copy):
Michael Hirschorn needs to lighten up (“The Case for Reality TV,” May Atlantic). Everyone needs their guilty pleasures, and “reality” television is his. My own include the oeuvre of Patrick Swayze, but I don’t attempt to defend my fascination by criticizing the snobbery of folks who dismiss it as vapid pap—precisely because it is vapid pap and thus, a guilty pleasure.
And then over the weekend, I was told about a mother who rejects any gifts that aren’t “educational.” This really annoyed me. Are we not allowed to have some fun for the simple enjoyment of it? When Stephen went to a bouncy castle birthday party on Saturday, should I have tried to teach him about gravity and physics? Or maybe I should have tried to measure the velocity of falling gummy candies as the children threw handfuls into the air while jumping like maniacs?
This also reminds me of people who are really proud of not having a TV in their house only to find that they watch loads of DVD’s, YouTube videos, and download all sorts of other originally made-for-TV shows for watching on their computers. How’s that different from us recording the shows we like and fast forwarding through the commercials?
Give it up. I give you permission to have some fun without the guilt. You don’t have to be bettering yourself all the time. Sit back. Have a laugh (even if it’s at some hapless celebrity). And lose a brain cell. It’ll be just fine.
(Whew. What a good rant. It’s been a looong day.)
*I swear Christina made me buy it!
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some people don’t know how to enjoy themselves! i read children’s books - so there! and i enjoy them better than some adult fiction
By adult, do you mean ADULT? hehee
you are cheeky
First of all, I like you more because you read Perez Hilton. That dude rocks!!!!
Second of all, I spent 3 years (in university) without television, and only limited internet access (less than 1 hr a week), and we still found ways to have mindless entertainment. We sat around the radio on sunday nights, and listened to The Sunday Night Sex Show with Sue Johanson. OK semi educational…but mostly we made fun of the callers.
Only in my senior year, did I have a television…and there was no cable, in fact we kind of had one channel only…a channel that is mostly known for Hockey Night in Canada.
Sure it gave me a lot of time to practice and concentrate on my studies…but it also gave me the very bad habit, of not watching tv. And now, I have nothing to talk to my coworkers about, because unless the show comes in dvd format, chances are I wont have the patience to watch it.
If it wasn’t for websites like the one Perez Hilton provides, I would have no idea who any celebrities were…and thus isolate myself further from the world that I currently live in.
In case you are wondering, my life was like a 20th century version of Little House on the Prairie.
*I want that shirt.
I was in totally the same situation earlier this week when one of the moms asked if I watch Eastenders. Of course I had to say no and totally cut myself out of the conversation. (Although I guess I could have told her my landlord was an actor in that series for four years.)
oh yeah we all need a dose of some light fun without being guilty…even if that means a few minutes of celebrities and some star entertainment!
I must admit to spending more than a few minutes some days!
I am all for mindless fun. I admit I do abhor Reality TV, but I can watch hours and hours of home makeover shows. And I am not a homeowner. That is my mindless fun. To each his own.
Speaking of homemakover shows, they had one here last year I loved. The architect would give each family member a badge to wear that would track their movements in the house so she could see how the space was used then she’d suggest a redesign based on that data. So interesting!
I really needed to read this post today. It made me lighten up.
Good deal. I hope you were so light, you floated away!
[...] I don’t care what they say. I still like Baby Einstein products, especially the music CDs* and flash cards. Not necessarily because of what they could teach children, but because they’re soothing and far less stimulating than the average children’s show. And I can’t imagine any parent letting their child watch DVD’s all day. A good mix of activities makes life interesting and fun. Does everything have to be so dang “educational”?! [...]