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Saturday, April 11, 2015

The Daily Chai Contemplates the Life of a Television Junkie

Today's Chai has been delayed and will be in my hand later this afternoon as I meet an old friend for coffee. I shiver in suspense about how amazing that latte is going to be.

Instead of writing last night, I watched a movie called Begin Again with Keira Knightley as Greta, a feisty English Rose who follows her boyfriend to New York only to be betrayed a month later and Mark Ruffalo as Dan, an alcoholic record executive. Now, it may be because I have loved Keira Knightley since I first saw her in Bend it Like Beckham and I've always thought Mark Ruffalo was adorable in a bumbling, ah shucks sort of way, but I absolutely loved Begin Again. Then I started thinking about the story, two people, down on their luck in love and life, have a chance meeting in New York City and together they create something beautiful and inspiring. Ugh. So basically the plot of every New York-based film ever?

I love New York, I went there once with my ex and Kate when she was 2 and it was a wonderful experience, I loved the city (and I'm not actually a fan of huge cities), I loved the buildings, I loved the museums. I loved just watching people walk around. I loved standing in Times Square and being part of a place that has been in thousands of movies. But we all know that New York has this mystic quality about it, that it evokes thoughts that anything can and will happen in the city that never sleeps. So the plot of this movie was a bit tired, but I still loved it. Cheesy, romantic optimist in me was satisfied.

However, it made me realize that when I watch too much TV, I don't write. Not only do I have less time to write, it kills the creative urge in me, blankets my mind in fuzz and my body in lethargy. Why bother writing anything when I can just sit here, frozen in time, staring soullessly into a screen until my limbs seize up? I noticed these characters, who create an album by recording in the streets of New York City instead of in a studio, never watch TV and look where it got them! I'm often struck by the irony while I watch some program that if the characters were doing what I was doing at that moment, there would be no stories to tell and no one to tell them. I have also always loved the children's programs that encourage children to get up and play outside instead of watching TV. These people do know that if the kids actually listened to that advice, their jobs would become irrelevant?

When I was a kid, my mom was concerned with how much television I watched and bet me ten dollars that I couldn't make it a week without watching TV. I scoffed and told her she was on. I'd love to say that I went a week without TV and it lead to massive creativity in which I created illustrated story books, Lego villages and started my own charity, but I can't. I lost the bet about three days in. There is something about that box that just draws me in and keeps me there, the escape portal to a different life. That is all TV is, when it comes down to it, a drug that keeps reality at bay, dulling your senses and your mind.

I have no idea how to end this post, but my butt is getting sore from sitting here and I have to get ready for the day, so I'll see you peeps later.

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