My DVR still sucks. So does the GOP.

Usually, after a long day (either of school or work or both), I look forward to coming home to catch what's on my DVR. I see the usual -- Days of Our Lives, Jon and Kate Plus 8, Man vs Wild -- but I notice something else. It was listed just simply as: The Republican National Convention.

Oh, great! Why must you (my parents) fill up the memory on this machine with such nonsense?

But before I get to the mighty GOP, let me just vent at the fact that for some reason Comcast decided to do something called an "EAS" at 3:15pm. It stands for Emergency Alert System, but that's besides the point. When they do this, it turns off the DVR entirely, meaning it cuts off the show it was recording. And what was taping during this time? My guiltiest pleasure on television (besides the horrible, fake, phony, stupid, scripted-reality show The Hills): Days of Our Lives. So, while I was watching Sami plead to her lover, EJ, to help her get her daughter back from her ex-husband, Lucas, who had just gotten out of jail, and is now getting cozy with Sami's step-brother's ex-wife, Chloe...the DVR shuts off. Usually, these things only last 2-3 minutes, but for some reason, I missed about 20 minutes of the show. So irritating.

Question: what's an EAS supposed to be anyways? I understand what it means, but what exactly is it supposed to do? I've been alive for 22 years and have been watching television for about 20 of them, and I have yet to see that EAS/EBS put to good use. I'm a television major. I really should know. Whatever. I missed what could have quite possibly been the most important scene EVER on Days. Thanks for nothing, Comcast!

Look, the EAS being put to good use:


So, back to the GOP. I watched Sarah Palin's acceptance speech, and whaddya know? Part of it was cut off by the DVR, but I got a majority of it. Aside from the speech itself, I found myself paying attention to the commentary from television stations after the fact. The one we recorded was from MSNBC, so I believe it was during Hardball with Chris Matthews. There was a little panel discussing her "performance." I was curious to see what Fox was saying about their newest "Superstar Politician" as well, so I heard some of that commentary. I was disgusted...from both stations. Not necessarily because they both were praising Palin, but because of what they were praising her for.

Both were annoyingly particular about the fact that Palin has a way with words and presented herself very well...basically all the intangibles that have created this "buzz" about the new VP nominee. This frustrated me because the primary responsibility of television news is to inform the public. Additional commentary is welcome, but their first responsibility is to reiterate her positions on certain topics that most of the audience would want to know. So, I'm going to do my part. Here's a good link that provides Palin's position on ALL issues.

While I can certainly say she's a very good public speaker, my criticism was her lack of content regarding the issues in focus during this election i.e. Roe v. Wade, Global Warming, Social Security, the War, etc. Three things I can remember from her speech: attacks on Barack Obama, her family, and lipstick. It's unfortunate that I had to look online for all this information. I guess SF State deserves a big Thank You for engraving in me to distrust television news and the importance of using different sources to help find my answers.

I thought Tina Fey's impression was on point, and we even got to hear some of Palin's positions. Albeit, in a humorous way.


Those are just the few of the things I found wrong with the DVR and the GOP/Palin. Gosh, I hope we can fix it soon (oh, and the DVR as well).