Tuesday, October 25, 2016

A small price to pay for a little bit of sanity

Hubs and I haven't paid for cable TV since approximately 2009.  We don't miss it most of the time.

Last week we caved and got a basic cable subscription.  Why?  This f****** election.  That's why.

After 16 months of campaigning we only had two more weeks to wait before it's over.  We couldn't. We couldn't take the round-the-clock network coverage* or the nonstop commercials.  We couldn't take the attacks, the half-truths, or the outright lies.  Simply put, even though we've had our minds made up for months, all of the coverage was stressing us out.

It's been so long since we've had cable that we don't even know what's on non-network TV any more. We're looking forward to finding out (recommendations are welcome!).  Mostly we're looking forward to avoiding election coverage (and post election coverage).

The cost of the monthly subscription is a small price to pay for eliminating a big stressor from our lives and restoring a small bit of sanity in our house.

*I'm perfectly OK with biased coverage from mainstream media that portrays the Republican candidate in the most negative light possible.  The prospect of his presidency is so frightening that I can't even begin to wrap my brain around it and anything that can be done to discourage people from actually voting for him should be encouraged!

12 comments:

  1. This is so cool that you are having a cable TV !
    So I guess you will not be watching House of Cards :)

    List of my favourite TV Shows:
    - House M.D.
    - Breaking Bad
    - Forbrydelsen (The Killing): we watched season 1 and 2, can't find anywhere season 3
    - Bron/Broen (The Bridge)
    - Peaky Blinders
    - House of Cards
    - Sex and the City

    Enjoy!

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    1. I used to love House. I've never seen Breaking Bad, but it seems like something I would be interested in. I've never heard of The Killing. I watched The Bridge and couldn't get into it, but maybe I'll try again. Same for Peaky Blinders. House of cards is definitely on my list to watch (we have Netflix too). I'm not sure about Sex in the City, but I might try it out. Thanks for all of the suggestions! :)

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  2. We cut the cord (both cable and basic TV) years ago. Netflix and YouTube is our source for television, so we've been fortunate to miss many of the ads.

    What amazes me is that there is so much data on voter exhaustion after being bombarded with political ads. And yet, they keep coming. Like it truly will make any difference at this point (or even months ago). Even Hillary had admitted exhaustion and a need for shorter campaigns (I agree with her on this).

    Zero recommendations. Maybe you can pass along some?

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    1. We have an over the air antenna and have had one since probably 2009 and then added in Hulu Plus a couple of years ago. Unfortunately living in PA (a state that actually matters this year) we get a lot of ads, no matter whether it's youtube, hulu, or over the air. :(

      I've been hearing the same about election fatigue! It really is ridiculous!

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  3. I don't have cable, just antenna (which does allow us to watch debates, but not the constant coverage or ads, which is lovely). But we do have a Roku box, and get TV shows through Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. I LOVED Stranger Things, but that's a Netflix original. SO GOOD though. I don't really watch other shows. We were watching Mr. Norril and Jonathan STrange (or is it the other way around? And did I misspell everything?) which I think is PBS, and that is good fun, too. Enjoy your new cable options -- I bet you'll find some shows that you love! And I totally agree with you on that candidate. Ugh all the way.

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    1. I've heard good things about Stranger Things....maybe I'll check it out if we decide not to keep cable. Or maybe we'll just get netflix too. It's good to have options. Plus I've heard it's supposed to be a bad winter so there may have some extra cooped up time this year.

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  4. We do the hulu/Netflix/amazon thing. Being new Pennsylvanians coming from ny this is actually the first time my husband and I have been exposed to this level of ads. Who makes all those bobble heads ? I can't wait til it's over.

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    1. I didn't realize that you were a fellow Pennsylvanian! Now I'm curious where you live in PA. We're in suburban Pittsburgh. The ads are definitely worse than the last presidential election, but I think that's because for whatever reason our state matters this year.

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  5. We have Netflix and Amazon Prime and that's plenty for us! Netflix was so much better earlier before they switched to manufacturing their Netflix originals but we still find some stuff to watch. You'll probably get some nice and new shows on cable!

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    1. We had netflix years ago (like back when you ordered DVDs from them). Seems like forever ago!

      We're already finding some fun things. I'm addicted to the National Geographic channel.

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    2. We don't have a TV but National Geographic channel sounds great! I love watching documentaries online ;-).

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  6. Dh & I have cable -- always have -- although we switched providers when we moved. They have three different package tiers, & we got an excellent deal on the first tier package, basically getting it free when bundled with our home phone and Internet. However, we recently upgraded to the next level because we weren't getting several channels we used to get with our old provider, including CNN. (I am starting to regret doing this, because it is ALL dh is watching lately!! lol) The third & highest tier is the one with all the premium movie channels, HBO, etc. Sometimes I feel a pang when I hear of a really good show we don't get, but really, we have way more channels than we ever watch as it is.

    Have never tried Netflix (don't know the first thing about how to set it up, lol). Besides which Netflix Canada is inferior to the U.S. version, or so I've heard, and they have been cracking down on people who pirate the American version.

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