79 - Uninspired post, but who cares?

Getting back into blogging is actually harder than I thought it would be, after I previously announced that I would take a break from it five weeks ago, when my exams began. My exams ended two weeks ago, and even then, I just felt uninspired to write anything much. I know in my heart that I do this to give others something to read. For me, I have friends to talk to, to express myself and my thoughts. I don't need a diary, but this is sort of like a diary. But writing, to me, is pointless, if it isn't for others to view. And that's precisely how you found these words.

I guess I felt that what I had to say, or what I could say, in the past two weeks, was not worth mentioning, and was not entertaining. But, tonight, I have a desperate, but composed, compulsion to type something in this white space (pale green on my blog) and publish it. Because I believe I've been delaying getting the ball rolling for this summer of blogging. I don't want to quit. I'm not a quitter.

So let me tell you about what's been going on lately.

I've been watching movies, the popular ones that everybody else has seen but I haven't. I've never watched Star Wars, I've never watched Terminator. I haven't even seen any James Bond films, and I'm going to England in the fall. I need to do this before university begins.

I've also been watching TV series. I've already seen all the episodes of my favorites - Lost, 24, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, Survivor (these are only five titles, mind you)... but it's been a long time since I've started watching something new. And so I started watching Dexter, and I plan on watching Entourage and How I Met Your Mother, because other people love it and I haven't watched them yet. I also think an Alias and a Sex and the City marathon are much needed, as they are favorites that people are missing now, six, seven years later.

I've been reading, at the moment, The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins. It's for my biological anthropology modules in university, and I've learned quite a bit about DNA and evolution so far (I'm on chapter 4). As for fiction, I'm reading Death at Intervals, by José Saramago, a fantastic Nobel Prize-winning Portugese writer if you haven't heard of him already.

On my list of things to read, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Analects, Through the Looking Glass, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, Crime and Punishment, Howard's End, The Origin of Species, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Beowulf, Moby Dick, The Awakening, and many more classics, are waiting for me. I need to read the Twilight saga, as well, because I just don't understand what the fuss is all about.

I also have more anthropology books to get through before I fly off to London. There's Barrett's Culture and Conduct, Edward T.Hall's Beyond Culture, The Silent Language, and the Dance of Life, and Steven Pinker's The Stuff of Thought.

There really isn't enough time in the universe. I would not say no to immortality, because if I lived forever, I could learn forever, I could experience new things forever. I love exposing myself to stuff, and I hope this part of my personality doesn't go away. My friends have told me that it can't go away, and even if I wanted to eradicate it because I might get too tired one day, I wouldn't be able to. It's inborn, it's innate, it's in me. For now, I don't have a problem with that - I love it.

Anyway, this has really made me think about how little time I actually have this summer to do all that I want to do. I'm going to have to stop here, but this is sufficiently long, right?

I've got a party to go to anyway. So, talk to you all later. I'll TRYYYY to stop by your blogs soon, really!

Toodle-loo!

(And in case you're wondering, or if you didn't catch it from what's written above, I'm very happy right now, in a calm and serene way. Summer is great.

Life is great.)

69 - Did you know Hong Kong only has four channels on TV?

In Hong Kong, every household has access to just four channels.

Four.

That's not a lot of channels.

And so I download all my shizzle. As far as I know, it's not okay to download stuff because you're not paying the actors, the directors, the studios, etc... for what you're watching, but I mean... it happens a lot all over the world. It's strictly illegal to distribute the downloadable files, though. I don't do any of that. I just take the freebies off the actual thieves. I don't actually know who exactly these entertainment cheaters are, but I really love them.

Anyway, I love television, as the title of my old blog suggested (There is no me without TV.) Even though Hong Kong only has four primary channels, I've found other means to fall in love with Hollywood (and BBC), and enjoy shows like Lost, The Apprentice, Nip/Tuck, Survivor, Heroes, House, Grey's Anatomy, The Office, Skins, Doctor Who, and American Idol. (My full list contains 445 titles of TV series, 23 of them not airing anymore, 97 of them I stopped watching.)

But for a couple of years now, I've been sick of watching things on my computer screen. And there aren't many sources to download sports, documentaries or simply cartoons. I wanted more, and I wanted to actually be able to watch them on an actual TV.

So I got cable. :)

And now I have AXN, FOX, E!, National Geographic, the Disovery Channel, Animal Planet, HBO, Cinemax, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, the Disney Channel, Hallmark, the Golf Channel, and even GodTV.

Oh, I love documentaries.

Oh, but I love E! more. I'm watching something about how the richest people live. Paris Hilton and Jay Leno have a $8 million car. Tom Cruise has one valued at $1.1 million. Serena Williams takes a bath in Evian water. Kate Hudson has diamond massages. Mariah Carey's face cream has specks of gold dust in them. Paris Hilton also gave her dog a collar valued at $3.2 million. Richard Branson lets people stay on his own tropical island resot for $32,000 a night. Bill Gates, Harrison Ford and Mariah Carey have all stayed there, of course.

I'm so happy. And the contract doesn't expire until May 2010. :)

7 - Books and television.

I want to start two more blogs.

One about English literature. One about television. Here's why:

English literature - I'll confess: it's been a long time since I've actually read a book for pleasure (we're looking at around two or three months). I feel that I know how to appreciate the sanctity of the written word and reading is something that I can do for hours and actually enjoy. And as I go around day by day, I come across these quotes that I really like, or I read a poem that I want to share with more people, but I can't find anybody in my real life that actually wants to listen. Posts about English text don't seem to fit in either of the two blogs that I currently have... I want to start a new one because I want literature to be a 'part' of my character here on Blogger, unlike my friends who indulge themselves with other media such as games, sports, film, music and television...

Television - Now, I want to start a new blog about movies and television. I watch a lot of movies, but I watch even more television series. You think you're a television nut? Here's a list of shows that I watch that air in the US and the UK (some of them don't air anymore, but hey, I still know the shows):

Friends. 24. Lost. Nip/Tuck. Survivor. Grey's Anatomy. Big Brother US. Big Brother UK. Skins. The OC. American Idol. Men In Trees. Desperate Housewives. The Big Bang Theory. Dancing With the Stars. Top Chef. Without A Trace. CSI. Ugly Betty. America's Next Top Model. Family Guy. Prison Break. Bones. American Dad! CSI:NY. The Simpsons. Merlin 2008. The Office US. House. South Park. Torchwood. The Apprentice US. Alias. America's Got Talent. 'Til Death. Project Runway. Veronica Mars. Saturday Night Live. The Office UK. Monk. Six Feet Under. The Amazing Race. 30 Rock. The 4400. Chuck. The Bachelor. Ghost Whisperer. Gossip Girl. The Knights of Prosperity. The Ex List. Pushing Daisies. Doctor Who. Scrubs. Medium. The Life and Times of Tim. Worst Week. Sex and the City. Little Britain UK. Phenomenon. Kid Nation. Teachers. Everybody Hates Chris. Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip. Windfall. Tell Me You Love Me. Fonejacker. Two and a Half Men. Dexter. ER. Privileged. Little Britain USA. My Name Is Earl. The Amazing Race: Asia. Robot Chicken. Hidden Palms. Kitchen Nightmares. On the Lot. Beauty and the Geek. Californication. Cashmere Mafia. The Apprentice UK. Curb Your Enthusiasm. Fringe. The Bachelorette. American Gladiators. The Secret Life of an American Teenager. The X-Files.

I'm not kidding around here. My list is dead serious.

I want to write about all the movies and TV I watch, but is there anyone in the blogging world that cares? I know that a large percentage of bloggers are English teachers, established writers, journalists and students who really love English. I know I'll be able to share my thoughts in that regard. But are there people that watch TV as well? Will people read my reviews on movies, on TV?

Or are they all satisfied with the digital media provided to them by the World Wide Web?