It's certainly been an odd season, weatherwise. Mrs Walles and I were spared the devastation of Sandy thanks to our distance from the coast (though we battenned down the hatches just in case - our barbecue cover and compost bin are still tied down with bungee cords).
Since Sandy we've had extremely mild temperatures for the time of year and only one fall of snow which lit up the landscape for two or three days but didn't require me to even lift my shovel. After last year's mild winter people have been assuming that this year we'll be hit hard, but so far Jack Frost hasn't really flexed his muscles.
But over at the Weather Channel they've found a way to spice things up by naming winter storm systems, like tropical storms are here and around the world.
Of course they claim there are numerous worthy reasons why naming storms is a good idea, which may be true, but you can't tell me that dramatic flair wasn't on their minds when they cooked up scheme. As evidence of this I would like to present exhibits A, B and C: Athena, Brutus and Caesar, the names given to the first three storms of the season. These didn't really live up to their billing, and I'm uneasy with the plotting which had Brutus come before Caesar...surely Caesar should appear first and then Brutus should develop and quickly usurp its power.
Now we have Draco (yes, really) sweeping across the country which finally is bringing actual winter weather to many places including here - though given the time of year it's not exactly unexpected. Certainly not as unexpected as either a dragon or an Ancient Athenian leader would be.
But it certainly makes it sound exciting. If you think you're having a tough time in the lead up to Christmas, just think of me, bravely resisting Draco's cold grip...mostly by staying inside in my slippers with a hot drink.
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Are you well?
In New Zealand (at least when I left, hopefully things have not declined too far in the intervening months) prescription drug advertising is a relatively new thing, having been legalised only a few years ago. So it's not much of a problem, you can just tune out the few ads that you come across.
In the United States things are much more advanced. I assume there has never been any restriction on drug advertising - presumably it would be unconstitutional. But however it relates to the nation's constitution, it has a poor effect on my constitution because it is everywhere, especially on television. I doubt an ad break goes by without at least one long spiel for some wonder drug or other. That may reflect in part the kind of channels I watch - programming targeted towards the geriatric end of the audience will include more such advertising, I suppose, but even on the channels targeted toward the more youthful and (one would think) healthy end of the market carries these ads. If you don't think there's anything wrong with you, they try to make you think there might be, and then sell you the pill to fix it.
Just off the top of my head I can think of commercials I've seen for drugs to treat arthritis, depression, insomnia, heart disease, acne, indigestion, psoriasis, short eyelashes and dry eyes. They're all soothing, slick and positive with gentle muzak in the background, certainly never depicting the diseases they're about That's no doubt to counter the lengthy voice over that lists the risks and side-effects from taking the medicine (I'm particularly amazed by the psoriasis drug that seems to be carcinogenic, and the surprising number of drugs that warn they may increase your risk of death). By the end of it all you may still not have a desire to take the drug they're hawking, but you may want a little something for the nagging depression the ads produce.
Then of course you get the ads placed by lawyers to attract people who have taken drug X and may be entitled to compensation. Presumably because the manufacturers left something off the long list of risks. There's one on CNN right now as I type this.
It's makes me sick, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. The pharmaceutical companies are probably already working to create a pill to cure this revulsion. They can advertise it on television. They'll make a mint.
In the United States things are much more advanced. I assume there has never been any restriction on drug advertising - presumably it would be unconstitutional. But however it relates to the nation's constitution, it has a poor effect on my constitution because it is everywhere, especially on television. I doubt an ad break goes by without at least one long spiel for some wonder drug or other. That may reflect in part the kind of channels I watch - programming targeted towards the geriatric end of the audience will include more such advertising, I suppose, but even on the channels targeted toward the more youthful and (one would think) healthy end of the market carries these ads. If you don't think there's anything wrong with you, they try to make you think there might be, and then sell you the pill to fix it.
Just off the top of my head I can think of commercials I've seen for drugs to treat arthritis, depression, insomnia, heart disease, acne, indigestion, psoriasis, short eyelashes and dry eyes. They're all soothing, slick and positive with gentle muzak in the background, certainly never depicting the diseases they're about That's no doubt to counter the lengthy voice over that lists the risks and side-effects from taking the medicine (I'm particularly amazed by the psoriasis drug that seems to be carcinogenic, and the surprising number of drugs that warn they may increase your risk of death). By the end of it all you may still not have a desire to take the drug they're hawking, but you may want a little something for the nagging depression the ads produce.
Then of course you get the ads placed by lawyers to attract people who have taken drug X and may be entitled to compensation. Presumably because the manufacturers left something off the long list of risks. There's one on CNN right now as I type this.
It's makes me sick, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. The pharmaceutical companies are probably already working to create a pill to cure this revulsion. They can advertise it on television. They'll make a mint.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The Masterpiece Mystery mystery
On Saturday Mrs Walles and I took a trip to the town Williamsport. This would have been the weekend that her family visited and we all partook of the delights of the state fair, until the rain put a stop to that (the sun, by the way, has finally made an appearance this afternoon). Mrs Walles found a good consolation prize in the form of a book sale organised by the friends of the library in Williamsport, which I was gratified to discover was being held in a Methodist church hall. Having attended the annual book sale in my home town - also held in a church hall - every year like clockwork until all this going-to-America business intervened, it was pleasing to see that some things are the same the world round.
This particular sale only lasts three days and we visited on the morning of the last day so I was worried things might have been picked through. I need not have worried, though, and between us we managed to select forty seven volumes which, thanks to the rather generous pricing scheme, we managed to get for much less than a dollar apiece.
Among other things I stocked up on British mystery novels. I've a weakness for a good mystery and apparently so do the American library-going public as there were plenty to choose from. But then this shouldn't have been a surprise, having watched Masterpiece Mystery on public television. They've been playing Inspector Lewis in this slot the last few weeks. Now, where I come from something like Inspector Lewis is the televisual equivalent of the mystery novel. You expect exotic settings, eccentric characters, a lot of bodies and even more red herrings, and for someone other than the butler to have done it in the end. Good stuff, and well done, but not exactly on par with the roof of the Sistine Chapel or the Mona Lisa.
But I suspect that the viewers here don't see things the same way. Each episode comes prefixed with an introduction by the actor Alan Cumming. He's best known - to me at least - as Boris from Goldeneye, but he possesses a pleasant Scottish brogue which lends gravitas to proceedings. Cumming treats Lewis with reverence, like a lost Shakespeare play, as he explains the set up for this week's plot. But I don't think that's his real purpose. Here, he seems to be saying, here is the good stuff ladies and gentlemen, and let us pause a moment, bask in its radiance, and give thanks before the tape starts rolling.
Maybe I'm wrong and it's all just a bit of window dressing. Perhaps everyone realises it's a bit silly but they keep at it because it's what they've always done. Alan Cumming always seems to have a slight smirk as he delivers the little sermon, so I suspect he at least thinks it's a bit over the top. Or maybe they really have been so starved of decent telly that a decent British murder mystery is like manna from heaven.
Anyway, it's really just an amusement to me and all the more tolerable because once Alan finishes his blessing the whole show runs without ads. Perhaps New Zealand networks should treat their shows with a bit more reverence if this is the result!
This particular sale only lasts three days and we visited on the morning of the last day so I was worried things might have been picked through. I need not have worried, though, and between us we managed to select forty seven volumes which, thanks to the rather generous pricing scheme, we managed to get for much less than a dollar apiece.
Among other things I stocked up on British mystery novels. I've a weakness for a good mystery and apparently so do the American library-going public as there were plenty to choose from. But then this shouldn't have been a surprise, having watched Masterpiece Mystery on public television. They've been playing Inspector Lewis in this slot the last few weeks. Now, where I come from something like Inspector Lewis is the televisual equivalent of the mystery novel. You expect exotic settings, eccentric characters, a lot of bodies and even more red herrings, and for someone other than the butler to have done it in the end. Good stuff, and well done, but not exactly on par with the roof of the Sistine Chapel or the Mona Lisa.
But I suspect that the viewers here don't see things the same way. Each episode comes prefixed with an introduction by the actor Alan Cumming. He's best known - to me at least - as Boris from Goldeneye, but he possesses a pleasant Scottish brogue which lends gravitas to proceedings. Cumming treats Lewis with reverence, like a lost Shakespeare play, as he explains the set up for this week's plot. But I don't think that's his real purpose. Here, he seems to be saying, here is the good stuff ladies and gentlemen, and let us pause a moment, bask in its radiance, and give thanks before the tape starts rolling.
Maybe I'm wrong and it's all just a bit of window dressing. Perhaps everyone realises it's a bit silly but they keep at it because it's what they've always done. Alan Cumming always seems to have a slight smirk as he delivers the little sermon, so I suspect he at least thinks it's a bit over the top. Or maybe they really have been so starved of decent telly that a decent British murder mystery is like manna from heaven.
Anyway, it's really just an amusement to me and all the more tolerable because once Alan finishes his blessing the whole show runs without ads. Perhaps New Zealand networks should treat their shows with a bit more reverence if this is the result!
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