Every once in a while, I watch a TV show, and feel like posting a recommendation or condemnation of it. I get that feeling after some movies as well. Music, yup, feel like that as well. Restaurants, not so much, but still, I could easily recommend a greasy spoon or two. The problem? Well, first off I’m lazy. It’s been a couple months since I actually posted anything here. I’ve written a few drafts, but never polished them off in order to post, and their content is now a little dated. And second? Secondly, you might not actually like the same things that I do.
I was watching an episode of Bones tonight (The Finder), and it was an obvious spin-off back-door episode. That’s fine. Some spin-offs are excellent. Some surpass the original show. Some are absolute crap. After watching the episode, I went onto IMDB to see if I was right about it being a back-door pilot (which I was), and I read somebodies review of the episode. Go here to read the review yourself (the one by Donald Clarke). The guy trashes the episode, saying that the spin-off is going to suck, listing a bunch of reasons why, and how Bones is still going to be the better show.
This is where something that’s been in the back of my mind for a while comes into play. I completely disagree with Mister Clarke. In everything that he says in the review. And I had it in my mind to make my own review stating such. Then I realized, it doesn’t matter. Everybody has an opinion about what is good and what isn’t. They don’t always match, and that’s a good thing. It’s what inspires imagination. You may like boating, fishing, and eating fish. I hate the sea and everything in it. You may like watching American Idol. You couldn’t pay me enough to watch that tripe. Personally I think Mister Clarke is an idiot for the way he praises Bones (which at best I find mediocre), and puts down the Finder (which I think has some promise, but I don’t think it will be anything different from current network offerings), but he is entitled to his opinion. And I say good on you man, for stating clearly what you like. It’s not that his review was bad. He states his reasons for why he didn’t like it, and why he likes Bones. That’s good. When someone is reading that review, they can decide for themselves if they will enjoy the show or not based on what they want from a TV show. Of course, some of his descriptions are biased like you wouldn’t believe, but hey, it’s a personal review by a Joe-Six-Pack, not some paid reviewer. It wouldn’t be any different if I wrote it, my biases would just be different.
I see people on Facebook all the time posting links to Youtube video’s of their current favourite artists, cute animal clips, whatever they find entertaining at the time. And I’ll follow the link. Sometimes I like what I see, sometimes I don’t. Like I said, that’s fine. Then I start reading the comments about the video. If ever there was a retched hive of scum and villainy, it’s Youtube comments. So many people throwing reasons for liking/disliking the video (song, trailer, whatever), and they go back and forth, repeating other peoples comments, contradicting themselves, bashing their heads against a brick wall.
And none of it matters. I know people that will praise the technical aspects of music, and I know people that will listen to music for the message the band is sending. You know what music I enjoy? The music that I enjoy. It doesn’t matter what artist, genre or year that the song came out. It doesn’t matter if the people playing are technical masters of their chosen instrument. It doesn’t matter if they make a statement about current affairs. If I enjoy it, then I listen to it. If I don’t enjoy it, I don’t. The same goes for TV, movies, games, cars, pretty much anything. My favourite meal is “spaghetti.” I use the quotes because it tastes nothing like any other spaghetti that I’ve had. Most people would not enjoy it, because I make it so spicy you could use it to strip wallpaper.
I had a conversation with a coworker one night about food in Alberta. He’s from Ontario, and he had some things to say about the cuisine in Calgary. Everything he said was absolutely correct, for him anyway. I’ve never been to Ontario, so I can’t comment on if he was right or not, but in all honesty, I would probably enjoy Alberta food over Ontario. It’s what I’m used to. I grew up on it. When I think about a certain food, I think that it should taste a certain way, because that’s how it has tasted all my life.
The biggest recommendation I have issues with is lifestyle. This is how you get happy. Every article I’ve ever read on the subject has said definitively that they know the secret to everlasting happiness for everybody. And they are all full of shit.  The only thing that they can say definitively is that their particular method for everlasting happiness works for them. There is a reason why there can never be a utopian society, and that is my idea of utopia and your idea of utopia are different. Sure, we might agree on some points, but there is no way we agree on all points. None of the points are minor. Utopia isn’t utopia if I have to compromise some of what I like to accommodate you, or if you have to compromise some of what you like to accommodate me. No, the only secret to everlasting happiness is that you have to find your own secret to everlasting happiness.
And now I need to go brush my teeth after that bout with verbal diarrhea.
