Yeah, well ... Anyway, I find it amusing that my mother wants the cartoon channels, while I don't .... Twenty years ago, the opposite would happen .... Well, twenty years ago, things were different .... Not that I don't like cartoons anymore, but it's just that my taste has become, well, selective, whilst my mother's is that of under-12s .... I'm really beginning to see that the shift is not merely one of responsibility ....
I know ... since I need to kick-start my shitty social life, while my mother seriously needs to get a life, I'll just have to do something about that then - We'll watch tv together .... It's a start, before I could think of something physical for us to do together, like walking or hiking ...
She may think that going into the autumn of her life means terminal hibernation of her mind, but with both of us being obstinate in our own ways, I may just get my way with her ... So I put my foot down and said, "No cartoon channels" .... She started to say something about some animation series ... My God, should I get her an action figure as well? .....
But I put all my weight down on my bloody foot and said, "Look, the Variety package has Animax, and I'm footing the monthly bill here" .... I could swear I saw her skipping a couple of steps .... Well, at least she's into Japanese cartoons ... For having interest in that, I guess my mom is okay ...
What my mother doesn't know, of course, is that I wanted some entertainment channels .... I wouldn't have minded having the Movie package, if it weren't for the fact that the movie lineup can be crappy, and of course, there are censored scenes ... My current TV diet is adequate enough with just those in the Family package, 'coz I don't really have time to watch TV nowadays anyway .... And then I included the Learning package, so there you go, mom .... Life-long education for you ...
Posted 4 May 2014
Well, in the five years or so since we have Astro in our living room, my mother and I have gone on our separate ways when it comes to the programmes that we watch ... I can respect the fact that she wants to watch the cartoons and the religious programmes and the occasional movie or two ... My taste is my taste and my mom's taste is all her own ...
So, in addition to the fact I could not watch The Voice Season 3 (which I think was sometime towards the end of 2012) in its entirety because my mom and I tussled over the remote, I decided at that time to get a second decoder ... This, of course, added to the bill, but I want to watch my programmes, too ... So, when I asked whether they could fix in a second decoder/set-top box, the Astro customer service rep then did the usual pitch and said that it would be better if I get Astro Beyond ...
So, now, voila! I have Astro in HD ... Initially, I had the News channels with the new package, but then I discovered, other than managing to catch Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, way before he skedaddled to the Tonight Show, that I didn't really watch that much news ... So, I chucked those out and now am left with ... The Movie channels ... Hahaha, yes, finally have the movie channels, or else how could have I managed to watch the last two Oscars broadcast, pray tell?? ...
Okay, okay, so I'm getting way ahead of myself ... Referring to the post above, I clearly see now that my TV watching pattern has changed ... This is mostly due to the fact that I have been trying, more and more in vain of late, to catch up with bloody stupid work ... So, most of the programmes that I would like to watch, be them on AXN, Diva Unversal, TLC, Fox, even E!, are often missed than watched ... Heck, I'm not even watching The Voice anymore, even though that's on a weekend night ... I have missed the latest The Good Wife, though I know what happens, no thanks to E! News, you spoiler! ... I have missed the latest season of Covert Affairs, most episodes of Castle, some episodes of Suits, and oh my God! The whole Amazing Race ... There are quite a few shows I like ... I'm not even sure the ending to the latest season of Downtown Abbey ...
Funny thing is, I somehow have managed to watch The Pickers on History Channel most of the time ... This is mainly because the programme's timing is right at the spot when I have just returned home and about to have my dinner or something like that ... I really like the guys ... They're very passionate about their job, as with the guys on Counting Cars, Kings of Restoration and Pawn Stars ... I don't watch the other three shows as much as I watch The Pickers, but I when I do, I really like to see Danny "The Count" getting all lovey dovey about whatever vintage car he comes across, the same way Mike and Frank getting all hot and bothered about their latest pick, which I have learned would be the rarest Indian bicycle they could find ... I mean, these guys have been at it for years ... I wish I was that passionate about my job *sighs* ... I really need to find one that allows me to enjoy my week nights, or at least one that does not take up my weekends so that it will leave me free on most week nights to watch TV instead of doing things that I would otherwise do on the weekends ...
On the bright side, I have managed to watch a number of movies with the Movie channels that I did not otherwise watch in the cinema and/or elsewhere ... And yes, of course, God-willing, I will watch again the next Oscars, that is if the situation allows it, or even if they would air it ...
Update
Yet another five years has passed ...
Some time in early 2018, I decided to cut the cord ... It was because I found that my mother would hog the remote and I never had the chance of watching what I want ... As it turned out, it was a very practical decision because this was the time when I started floating between jobs and having an Astro subscription was not doing any favours for my financial well-being ...
It is also interesting to note that in the space of 10 years, one can grow to love and hate the same thing ... Oh, no, I still like Astro ... It's just that, well, I think I like TV more than I like satellite broadcasting ... What do I mean by that? ... Well, we have arrived in the Digital Age where streaming is the way forward ... The question is, do I want to make that transition? ...
This all depends on my finances, of course ... While streaming giant Netflix has been churning out some very interesting shows and movies, and other media giants like Amazon and Disney are following suit, I am still on the fence on whether I want to make a monthly subscription to any of these streaming channels ... The reason being is that, well, my financial situation isn't exactly a hoot ... I'm always transitioning between jobs, and of course, there's that stupid government debt ...
And while I am not able to watch all the programmes I like on Astro because now my mother pays its bill and thus, she has total control of the remote, Astro remains my main entertainment fodder ... I still get to watch movies, and now and then I'm able to watch shows like Project Runway and Bakers vs Fakers on TLC ... That kind of arrangement suits me just fine because, well, my mother may have total remote control, but I have total Internet control ... I can just surf online and find my own entertainment ...
And this is where streaming comes in ... It seems only apt, given the times we are in now, to adapt to a mobile kind of entertainment ... I go on the train everyday and I see people glued to their mobile devices ... It's kind of disturbing even, to see that out of ten people surrounding you in the train, eight of them sit or stand transfixed to their phones ... It's like watching an episode of Black Mirror, even though I haven't watched that series but would very much like to ...
Streaming allows one to get their entertainment wherever they may be, and that may be its greatest strength ... At the same time, I fear that I may fall into the binge-watching trap, something which I think I cannot avoid given the fact that I watched House Season 8 in nearly one sitting when I laid my hands on the *coughs* pirated copies ... Then, there's also the subscription fee, which I feel will increase as time goes by ...
In the end, I can't think of other reasons why I shouldn't get a streaming service, but really I should think of why I should get one in the first place ... As it is, I am quite contented with my current entertainment fix (occasional Astro and all-time Internet, where one can watch endless videos on Youtube) ... Why fix a thing that's not broken? ...
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