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Why I Traded My TV for a Turntable

blog.nathanaelsilverman.com

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Re: Why I Traded My TV for a Turntable

#61

Post by jackgolding »

vortico wrote: post #10
kaffeemitsahne wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just talk about other things lol. Watching TV just so you can understand pop culture references sounds pretty depressing.

Unfortunately when meeting new people, you don't always have control of the conversation's direction. Once I know someone, they'll know I don't like talking about it, but having conversations with people I already know is the easy part of life.

Why not just go to local gigs to socialise? I've been going to gigs in Melbourne for 11 months now and its how I've met all of my friends here. At first I felt out of place that I didn't listen to Misfits growing up like many people here did but you will find there is always a band you can talk to someone about.

A few years ago I took your approach with music, I'd listen to every new major label hip-hop/rap album on the day of release and guess what? No one I knew could talk about any of the albums in the detail I knew because they listen to whats on the radio or in the club - not saying that its a bad thing, but I think you are over-rating how much people care about "pop culture"

Re: Why I Traded My TV for a Turntable

#62

Post by jackgolding »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #50
reader5000 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in restaurants and I notice kids just old enough to hold a phone spending the entire meal staring at it. Theres no way thats remotely healthy for brain development.

Before phones and tablets were a thing, kids would usually be drawing or colouring something. I think there is something different with mobile devices though, I've seen kids using iPads before and they barely manage a couple of minutes in one app or game before they switch out to another. I really how this sort of behaviour is going to manifest when they grow up, are we heading for a generation with zero patience and…

Humans attention span is now less than goldfish, give this a look: http://time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/

Re: Why I Traded My TV for a Turntable

#63

Post by OJFord »

Jedd wrote: post #56
OJFord wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But where and how? If you don't have one at all, when you make a more deliberate decision to, how do you? I'm all for demoting the object in terms of rooms, but if you rid your house of it completely I'm not sure what you mean by deciding what, where, and how to watch television?

Not the person you were asking, however we (two adults, no kids) haven't had a TV per se since 2006. The 'no receiver' thing is less of a distinction now than it used to be, despite 'Internet TV' taking a while to land in AU, but it used to be the best way to describe our arrangement. We still watch TV shows and Movies, periodically, but on a short-throw projector. This takes up less room by day, of course, and becau…

Oh, wow, I'd not realised we were discussing an 'always on' level of prior usage.

Personally, both in childhood and living alone now, my consumption has always been deliberate.

I do dislike the 'circle of chairs around a TV' aesthetic you describe, at least in a main reception room, which is why I suggested 'demoting' the set as a favourable solution for some. I suppose, though I haven't thought of it before, that's inspired from growing up with a 'home cinema', (although we also had a television in the sitting room, most of our deliberate viewing 'in numbers' would be there, on the projector) and visiting my grandparents, whose only television was in a den separate to their sitting room.

Re: Why I Traded My TV for a Turntable

#64

Post by EADGBE »

LOL. I don't throw this around much, but what a hipster:

"Replacing it with a turntable went even further. Do you have any idea how complicated it is to play music on those things? I didn’t. Playing a record usually involves removing the dust it easily collects, as well as cleaning the stylus (the part that comes in contact with the record). Records have 2 sides, each containing a little over 20 minutes worth of music, so you have to flip them. Some albums take up 2 or even 3 records.

I’m pretty sure I’ll never become addicted to that process. But its length is what’s great about it. The time it takes to setup prompts me to pause and enjoy the experience. Now ask yourself, when’s the last time you took a breath and enjoyed the music?"

Come on man, who are you trying to appease? It's not yourself.

Re: Why I Traded My TV for a Turntable

#65

Post by EADGBE »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #41
cylinder wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Americans talk about TV shows way too much ... it's not your fault.

I don't think it's just an American thing. It's an easy way to find common ground for casual conversation. Same goes for sport, mention the latest $popular_sport_match and you're bound to find that at least a few people will have seen it, or heard enough about it to make conversation. For some sports it's even an international thing. I don't really follow rugby, but when I was recently in Fiji, I spent a fair bit of…

FWIW, American Baseball has a huge following in Korea and Japan, as well as most of South America. You probably could go and talk about the Red Sox or Yankees and have a conversation with someone about it.

>Same goes for things TV shows like Game of Thrones, everyone watches GoT.

Kinda like only Americans follow baseball?

Re: Why I Traded My TV for a Turntable

#66

Post by EADGBE »

reader5000 wrote: post #44
chiefofgxbxl wrote: post #29

> Day 6—What if this becomes an alienating experience because the rest of the world has changed? What if I make time for social connections that can’t happen, because there’s nobody left to connect to? I was afraid of this race-to-the-bottom scenario on campus at my university (and probably any university across America). People would bring their cell phones into the dining halls and the student center. This isn't a…

I'm in restaurants and I notice kids just old enough to hold a phone spending the entire meal staring at it. Theres no way thats remotely healthy for brain development.

There may be substance in your comment, however a screen is a great way to temporarily pacify a child in order to enjoy a dinner and not disrupt every table around you.

There's plenty of time in the day to teach a 6 year old to program, no worries. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14909897

Re: Why I Traded My TV for a Turntable

#67

Post by EADGBE »

jackgolding wrote: post #62
toomanybeersies wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before phones and tablets were a thing, kids would usually be drawing or colouring something. I think there is something different with mobile devices though, I've seen kids using iPads before and they barely manage a couple of minutes in one app or game before they switch out to another. I really how this sort of behaviour is going to manifest when they grow up, are we heading for a generation with zero patience and…

Humans attention span is now less than goldfish, give this a look: http://time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/

Canadian humans have an average less than goldfish.

Whew. That was a close.

Re: Why I Traded My TV for a Turntable

#68

Post by EADGBE »

exogeny wrote: post #8

Cool story, but I don't really love the recent surge I've seen on here of people submitting their own blog posts. (And, as it were, literally every single one of this dude's submissions are posts from his blog.) This shouldn't be another vector for self-promotion, this should be a forum in which the most insightful and/or conversation-generating content is organically sourced and ranked. My opinion, of course.

At least he gets clicks.

I maintain a blog about a passionate subject and receive literally no hits at all.

Every week I ask myself who I'm really doing this for...

(Don't look, it's not there)

Re: Why I Traded My TV for a Turntable

#70

Post by JoeAltmaier »

EADGBE wrote: post #64

LOL. I don't throw this around much, but what a hipster: "Replacing it with a turntable went even further. Do you have any idea how complicated it is to play music on those things? I didn’t. Playing a record usually involves removing the dust it easily collects, as well as cleaning the stylus (the part that comes in contact with the record). Records have 2 sides, each containing a little over 20 minutes worth of musi…

Process is important. If we don't invest in an activity, it becomes worthless to us. This is well understood. Thus, ceremony and ritual in so many cultures. Making tea, greeting a guest and offering them a drink, taking a casserole to the church picnic.

Modern music is a click away. And dismissing it for the next track is another click away. Folks have confused the activity (listening) with the instant-gratification/enjoyment of the music. Both are important. Else the music just becomes so much cotton-candy sugar to our senses. Instead of an experience.

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