HD Envy

Dad got a ginormous HD TV last year. I will support this choice in light of some macular degeneration and resulting less than perfect eyesight. It is huge. It's like 500 inches or something. The first few times I watched with him, I was slightly overwhelmed at the vastness of Jay Leno... or the enormity of delicious looking food items that shouldn't be advertised when one is so hungry. But quickly one becomes accustomed to the size and it's not so unusual to see a 2-foot across newscaster head. I don't intend to "tattle" here, but while dad was gone to Oregon this week, the HUGE TV may have made its way downstairs to Tim's Dungeon, which is also the location of the only HD cable receiver box in the house. What does this mean? For the first time, I, within the walls of my (former) own home, enjoyed the GLORIOUSNESS that is HD TV. Now, I sometimes take a gander when I'm walking through Costco, but you don't get the full effect. I'm not really convinced that we all need Super Amazing Home Theatre Entertaining Central Huge Couch And Recliner Rooms. But, well, would it be bad to really absolutely NOT be able to go on living without my own 500 inch flat screen HD TV? I have been looking forward to The Discovery Channel's Planet Earth mini series for as long as they've been advertising it (like 9 months or something). So Tim, Samy, and I watched the previews and clips on Comcast HD OnDemand. It was stunning. Breathtaking. I could hardly wait for the REAL thing to start. Well, lucky me, I did catch that first episode-- at home on my what-I-thought-was-an-ok-TV-before-the-HD-experience. It was dull. It was lifeless. The elephants were only like 2 inches tall. They were grey. Not HIGH DEFINITION GREY. I was so severely disappointed. It was Wonderful World of Disney vs. 3-D IMAX 40-Story Screen with Real Elephants Running Through The Living Room. So last night, the three of us reconvened to watch a few episodes on HD before Dad got home and Tim had to return the TV to its rightful location. We re-watched the episode we had already seen, and it was (oh, this is so cliché) like watching it for the first time. Before I could stop myself, this phrase left my lips: "it makes me feel like I watched it on an Etch-a-Sketch the first time!" So now I am home, watching a "little" Conan on my seemingly hamsters-on-a-wheel powered 4 inch screen TV. I feel so blah. And Low Definition.

I'm The Guitar Hero

The Riggs kids weren't really allowed to play video games when we were growing up. We did have a Nintendo and played Super Mario Brothers and Legend of Zelda... to a certain extent. But it was discouraged. I am not a really a fan of spending hours playing games that don't really get you anywhere. We did go through a period at work where we played a little game called Tumblebugs to excess. And there was an entire summer of my life which was spent playing Tripoley until the sun came up. I recognize that games are fun-- that's why we play them. But I see the potential to waste valuable time on an activity that doesn't really give you anything to show for it. Better to watch an educational show on Discovery, or read a book. But that was before I played Guitar Hero II. I am a convert, I am an addict. It has been just over 24 hours since my virginal GHII experience, and my fingers are callused, my arms are sore, my brain is full of the chord progressions and syncopation of heavy metal songs I had never heard before GHII came into my life. I have always fancied myself a guitar player, although to be perfectly honest, I have never played one in my life...not even a little. But now, I am THE GUITAR HERO!!!! I can't wait to play again. I can't wait to conquer another song. I can't wait to let the music flow forth from my fingertips. OK, to be perfectly honest, I can't wait to progress beyond "easy" and to actually recognize the sounds coming from my instrument as an actual song. I will now fall asleep to the wonderful sound of "Sweet Child O' Mine" pulsing through my brain.