Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for July 24, 2014

A comic strip of people not being stupid?It just won’t work.

Someone once said….every time you watch a “reality” show, a book dies….maybe if we all read books, the reality shows will all die

No batteries were harmed in this endeavor.

Simply another good reason the part of my television that gets the most use is the ‘off’ button. However I do enjoy a good audiobook while I’m doing other things.

Good call.

Intelligent and creative would be writing a book, which is hard as hell: largely because stupid people aren’t afraid to tell you how stupid it is, as well as point out the plot holes, cliche devices, 2D characters, and trite dialog.

Oh yeah! MY kind of people! Move over, Mama; I’ve got my book in hand, too!

There are still SyFy and the Cartoon Network, though.

Wiley, thank you…You’re preaching to the choir, now….I love reading a good book, maybe a little cool jazz in the background, cocktail nearby… .Without books, we don’t stand a chance against the machines….Miller, you’re a tonic….

Al, Ha! I so wish it was true! If it was, I would have killed a lot of them this year alone… meh, That’s cool….But we can kill as many batteries as we want….They’ll just make more….Kinda like passenger pigeons…Plenty of them….

Yep.

So what are they reading? Porn and comic books? There are some pretty good things on TV if you look for them; I don’t think – given the entirety of the books in print – much can be said that indicates books are anymore culturally elevated over what’s available on the history channel, the discovery channel, PBS, etc.

We’ve been watching reruns of “West Wing,” perhaps one of the best-written TV shows ever.

They need to try the History or Science channels!

or, exercise instead of tv. or, play a video game. how about mario kart 8?

Come on, sit down with a Big Mac, a huge cup of some high fructose syrupy carbonated drink & watch some reality television!

Today I became a Neilsen household. For seven days, I’ll be logging what I watch, to help establish the ratings.Moo-ah-hah-hah!

A good book will beat a bad night on TV any day.

Reading is a lot of great things, but ‘creative’ it isn’t.

Also, there are plenty of good shows to watch on TV. There’s no need to choose between the two. I regularly read lots of good books and watch several quality TV shows (without ever wasting even a nanosecond on ‘reality’ TV).

Hooray for American Dad and Ralph…Life is good.

, and that is why we don’t have a TV.

They could always read comics & make silly comments!

You can buy a lot of books, DVDs and CDs for what a monthly cable bill costs. More if you go to library used book sales.

YES !!!!!! So called reality TV has greatly injured creativity on TV.

There’s also a pretty good sheriff in Wyoming show, a doctor in an English fishing village show, Top Gear…

Reality shows are to cut costs by eliminating writers and other support persons. I worked in the industry for 10 years and watched the decline of original material and ideas getting faster and faster. Rod Serling must be spinning in his grave!

Exactly the reason I dumped cable TV a few years ago!

wait a sec! aren’t you keeping up with the Kardashians?

I must say I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book.

Groucho Marx

How analog of them

PERFECT! Needs no comment!

As a great American (thanks Tader) once said: “You can’t fix stupid”.

Some channels still offer true entertainment…..but not many.It’s mostly what major networks believe to be entertainment.

There are a few, very few, shows worth watching; just as there are books where the ink and paper is wasted!.Regarding the comments on “reality TV”, it isn’t “reality” at all! These shows are tightly scripted and directed, just as “I Love Lucy” was. The themes are different; but they are a far cry from “reality”..If you really want true reality TV, why not just put TV cameras everywhere in a business or household, and record everything that naturally occurs 24-7. There would be no editing; you could choose what cameras you watch during playback. I am pretty sure boredom would rapidly set in, and you’d turn the thing off and maybe pick up a good book..Except for the bedroom scenes, anyway…

Love it!

Read to each other!

Thank you, Wiley.

My idea of a perfect evening. I read almost every night. Watch very little television.

my preferred entertainment

I haven’t had broadcast tv for almost 10 years. I watch a lot of home video editions and internet streaming of shows, mainly movies or tv shows that are like live action cartoons like a weeklong binge watch of Generic Supernatural Teen Romantic Thriller the Complete #th Season. The books I read are mostly the same kind of thing: thrilling fantasy like Game of Thrones (of which I’ve read all available books but seen no shows). I see DVD editions of movies or TV as being just another kind of book. Most great literature (Dickens, Dostoevsky, Joyce, Fitzgerald, Salinger, etc.) severely bores me and has me rushing to the DVD player to insert something uplifting and fluffy like The Muppet Show or The Simpsons. I’ve hardly ever seen reality TV, but the clips I’ve seen (mainly of lovely ladies being catty) excite me, and I’ve seen lots of magazine stills of the Kardashian clan, who look extremely fun and pleasurable.

Whether you’re watching TV, or reading a book — you’re sitting on your derrière living vicariously, rather than having real-world experiences.

There’s always The Other….

Well it is summer. You either get stuck with re-runs or strange 13 episode new shows. …..… reading is a much better choice.

Comic of the year! Bravo, Wiley!

THANK YOU! This is a good one. :)