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Bears and Tornadoes
November 15th, 2006
Fear living in my mind is much more intense than the actual risks I face. It is kind of like the nightlight I had during childhood. The darkness did not scare me, just the fact I could not see what was there.
I am fascinated right now with these thoughts. What makes me fearful, anxious, apprehensive, etc…Is it the fear of actual dangers (literal and figurative), or is it the ability for the irrational mind to take thoughts, stimuli, and information, then exaggerate perceived vulnerabilities?
I got thinking about this recently as I watched the popular TV show on NBC titled, Heroes. It is about seemingly normal-looking people that develop super-human abilities. They fly, stop time, walk through objects, read people’s minds, etc… The overall theme is that something terrible is going to happen to New York City (some sort of an explosion or natural danger – we don’t know yet), and that somehow only the most evolved and powerful among us can save the day. The rest of us are powerless. Remind you of anything?
I guess it makes sense in a post-9/11 America that such a show is popular. I mean, we as Americans, are now familiar with intense fear – irrational and real. With this fear in our minds, of course witnessing a blue-eyed, blonde cheerleader on TV save modern civilazation is entertainment. I sure as heck cannot fly, so I am powerless. It piques our fears and eases them with super-hero clichés and quick fixes. If this show stays on television for a few seasons, future historians may use it to illustrate early 21st century angst depicted in popular culture. Honestly, how popular are super heroes right now? Save me, Spiderman. I am afraid.
This week, I also attended an incredibly entertaining lecture at Notre Dame by world-renown travel writer Rick Steves. Among a crowd of nearly 200 people, I heard him speak about how irrational fear of foreign travel prevents many Americans from visiting breathtaking destinations in Europe. Some thirty-thousand airplanes take off and land without incident each day in the U.S., according to Steves. People in France, Germany, and other EU countries do not hate Americans – perhaps American foreign policy, but not the actual people. But, if you watch TV, read news websites, or even glance at the newspaper, our angst – our intense fears – are stoked by “if it bleeds, it leads” stories of how the second you leave our soil, you are in mortal danger. Steves said that most cities in America – for instance South Bend, home of Notre Dame – are more dangerous than most European equivalents. Look at gun related fatalities alone. I mean, fifteen thousand people are killed each year in the U.S. from guns, and only two hundred in France. Are these travel fears real or irrational? Decide for yourself because I too am trying to understand it.
Why this philosophical fascination with fear?
I do not want my fears to cripple me – be it at work, at play, or in my thoughts. Facing fears is not easy, but learning to understand them first can help me deal with emotions, impulses, and even perhaps…change.
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No Soccer For You
November 12th, 2006
In a fitting end to a frustrating season trying to bond with Major League Soccer, I am not able to watch the championship game on TV. This is what I see on my screen. I think a better caption would be, "Don’t bother complaining, it won’t help you. No soccer for you." I don’t blame Directv or the MLS — it’s the local ABC channel, WBND.
I know technical issues happen — of course I know this is true. I can relate, and I imagine some very stressed-out people are scrambing to fix the problem. But, as a consumer, this really is a tough pill to swallow. Last year I went HD and of course, the only local affliliate in South Bend, Indiana not to offer HD over-the-air (OTA) is the local ABC channel, WBND. So, I gladly called Directv to apply for a waiver. Denied. WBND said “no” because they want me to get ABC content from them and not from New York or Los Angeles. This way I get impressions from local advertisements and such. I understand the business. No complaints. That is the agreement. I get content, you serve ads. But, we are not talking apples to apples.
I know from scouring the message boards that WBND is trying to get OTA in HD to work (it’s an FCC thing) — and there are people there working hard to do so. So, my question is, why not allow people like me — high-end consumers of content — to have a waiver until then, or reach out to these people and communicate with them? Then, welcome me back to the local feed when they are HD ready OTA, cable, and dish. By not doing so, this sort of viral garbage that you are reading right now can occur where normally friendly, patient, and understanding consumers like me have no other option than to vent.
To make matters worse, I know for a fact that the signal is working on local cable. It’s just the OTA and dish feeds that went kahblewy. Someone at Comcast is smiling.
Lesson learned — if you are content provider and cannot service your consumers in advanced, agile, and adaptive ways, then provide them with a means to get this service until you are good and ready. They will thank you for your honesty and candor. If not, they will just get frustrated like me right now and look for other ways to go around or without you.
