Saturday 27 June 2009

I threw my t.v away today

I THREW MY T.V AWAY TODAY



Well....it was a few days ago now,but i like the title.So why did I throw my t.v away?Well theres a few reasons really.I can safely say it WASN'T a spur of the moment thing.Im 25 years of age and I can't remember a single day when I havn't watched t.v.ever since being a kid.If someone said to me a few months ago 'hey,throw your t.v away,you don't need it',I would of asked them if they've taken their crazy pills today!

But now.Today.Im sat in my living room without a t.v.I have no live feed for t.v in my house WHAT SO EVER.

It all started a few months ago when me and a friend were talking about the fact that here,in the uk,we pay a t.v licence of about £14.00 a month.thats about £150 a year.And what do we get for that?......bbc1 and bbc2.awesome....amazing.TWO whole channells.yes count them...TWO.

All the other channels are free,because ,they make their own money advertising...and whatever else little tricks these billionaires put into practice through t.v to take yet more peoples money out of their pockets...like shows where you can text or ring in to vote at a premium rate.... exactly the same tricks that the bbc were investigated last year for,because they were making all this money while people were still paying their t.v licences.....hmmmmm???Questionable at the least.

Next thing I'm getting a letter off the t.v licencing company saying that I've missed a payment,and that if I do not immediately make a payment they will take me off the pay monthly scheme.

CHEEKY BASTARDS!!!They've got 6 months worth of my money and they are sending ME threatening letters because I'm late with a payment,even though im 6 months ahead with my payments....HOW ABOUT YOU TAKE THE SOUL OF MY FIRST BORN CHILD ASWELL YA NAZI BASTARDS!!! Now let me explain-

Here in the uk we can pay monthly if we can't afford a whole year at once...thats nice of them isnt it.......except it isnt.For this privilige you have to make double payments for the first 6 months.yes.then they always have 6 months of your money.What do they do with this money.How much do you wanna bet that they will be investing this money into some sort of high interest account,therefore earning even more money with other peoples money.....its SCANDALOUS.

Now that letter really riled me up...how DARE they.

I DECIDED FROM THAT DAY ON THAT THE BBC,AND THE T.V LICENCING (ROB YOU ALL DAY LONG) COMPANY WERE NEVER GOING TO GET ANOTHER PENNY OUT OF ME AS LONG AS I DRAW BREATH.

My friend hasnt had one for four years now.they've been sending him letters for three and a half years threatening him with the imaginary radar van,which never materialises.Now dont ya think that in three and a half years he should of been 'caught'...yeah me too!Maybe all the threats are just propaganda and scare tactics to make people pay without any hassle.The bbc know that what they are doing to people is unjust.Maybe THEY are scared that,with the right spark,everyone will turn around and say NO!

SO! With all this floating around my head,I carry on with my business for the next few months-while at the same time not paying the t.v licence.

Then one day I get a phone call from the t.v licence company saying that my licence has nearly run out.With this I tell the woman on the phone that I wont be renewing my licence.She then asks me where my new address will be so I can get a licence there,to wich i replied 'im not moving,I just wont be watching t.v no more.'--

This is where my next reason for not having a t.v started to formulate in my mind....the shock in the womans voice was audible over the phone.I think that if I was there I would of seen the colour drain out of her face......

This woman was genuinly SHOCKED that I didn't WANT t.v anymore....

Now I was obviously lying to her at this point.I was going to carry on using my t.v without paying.But the shock in her voice got me thinking about how t.v is part of everybodys day to day lives.To not have t.v is anatheme in todays society.You just don't hear of it.You can walk in any bodys house who you know (or who you don't know)and you can near enough guarantee that their living room will be centred around the t.v.....how their room is set out all depends where the t.v is.Its the same in every household.We are a nation of cabbages who sit staring at the t.v.Either on our own or with a bunch of people.Which is worse.Imagine a room with nothing but people in it.Ten people if you like.What will them people be doing?They will be talking to each other and interacting,and learning new things about each other and having a laugh.They might even get bored with the room and decide to go out somewhere.

Now imagine that room with ten people in again but this time put a big t.v in there....what will happen now???Half of those people will be watching t.v.and the other half might be talking quietly so as not to disturb the others.Then they will probably end up going quiet at some point because everyone is watching the t.v...BOOM!!A room full of people being quiet and staring at the t.v.


This got me thinking.Does t.v stunt our spiritual growth?Does t.v hold us back from actually doing something with our lives?If you walk into a room that is centred around a t.v,does your mind automatically close up to the people around you in anticipation for watching said t.v?

I took a look at my living room.Now I live in a 1 bed flat so I havn't got a big room anyway...

My room was cluttered.My room consisted of a three seater settee with two arm chairs.A desk with my decks and mixer on for djing.A guitar.A stereo to plug my decks into.A glass coffee table.And then my t.v with a dvd player,a video player,and an xbox 360 all hooked up to it.

Now throw in a few piles of cd,s,and also a few piles of dvd,s and loads more clutter that you end up hoarding,and uve got a pretty good idea of my 'living' room.All squashed in, centred around my t.v.


Looking at my living room in this new light made me feel sick.Something had to be done!

First thing first I dragged my t.v out and everything connected to it,and packed it all away.

This one bold move got rid of loads of stuff out of my room and loads of wires and plugs.I already felt better.Then I got rid of all my cd's(either gave them away or binned them)bar a couple I really wanted to keep,and moved all my dvd,s into my bedroom.I did this knowing that one day I'm going to get rid of the majority of my dvd's in the near future too(as part of my spiritual spring clean),but for now my beloved dvd collection can stay in the bedroom...one step at a time eh!

Now this was done I had loads of room to work with.I turned my whole room around.nothing points to where the t.v used to be.

My room is now more open and clutter free.I believe this has had a positive effect on me,as my mind now feels more open and clutter free.When people come around I am more able to sit and have a conversation without thinking about the t.v.I think my friends are even getting good results as they seem more able to open up and have a conversation more.

I feel spiritually rejuvenated.Like a few different weights have been taken off my shoulders.

Doing this has opened up more oppurtunities to me,and I feel less like a mindless cabbage who just sits in front of the t.v all day waiting to be told what to think.

I can now put my mind into doing more fulfilling things that will help me to grow spiritually and help me to live a more fulfilling life before I die and turn to dust.


And above all I can say FUCK YOU T.V LICENCING. HAHA....

15 comments:

  1. Very well written. You have a point, myself, I rarely watch tv, I am however guilty of frequent interenet visits. While my own blog is more serious in tone feel free to read it.
    http://texasatheistteen.blogspot.com

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  2. i shall tell you this one does not need a tv if one has internet. youtube and hulu!
    one thing i would do is expand the 'about me' section...someone told me the same thing and it really is a good idea.i dont know why, but it is. I can tell that you are british...thats about it.
    http://bumblebeesies.blogspot.com

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  3. Here here! I am in the UK also but am originally from Australia where TV is free unless you want Sky or Foxtel. I am with Virgin here and have really given up on the tv in the UK as it is just constant repeats. We are about to move house and I love your idea. Maybe we will have a spiritual clean out too :)

    Toast to your courage!

    Julieanne

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  4. Good for you. I don't have TV either, and usually when I tell people that, they look at me like I'm insane. Oh well, I'm much happier not having it.


    www.homebrewdharma.blogspot.com

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  5. Wow, I can't believe all you have to pay is $14/ month....I'm from the US and there are only about 4 channels we could get for free...and really they aren't free because you have to buy all this equipment just to get them for free....(including BBC which happens to be the only channel I can get now that they took away analog)

    If you lived in the US you could expect to pay around $70 for the cheapest cable/dish and higher if you want more channels...or special channels...

    We don't have cable/dish...we think it's a waste of money....we just rent movies and play Xbox....but that too is rarely...we don't allow our lives to revolve around the television....there are way more important things than false reality!

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  6. It definitely seems like a good idea to at least limit usage. I usually have my television on, but rarely am paying attention to it... That in itself seems pretty unusual now that I think about it.

    My personal addiction is the internet, namely, and gaming to a lesser extent. I find myself aimlessly surfing way too often.

    I always have good intentions when I wake up in the morning, inspiration. It's all but drained mid-day, and I'm a mindless zombie by night.

    If you're remotely interested in a boring, overly personal therapeutic journal, feel free to check out my blog:
    http://violent-color.blogspot.com/

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  7. Yep, you pretty much just blogged my feelings on this subject. I hate that I'm charged more money for paying through direct debit monthly than I would be going to the post office, waiting in que with a bunch of social rejects to pay £150 at one go. Man, I'm pissed about this now.

    So there you go, job done... you blogged, I read, I agreed. I slaute you!

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  8. I totally love that you rock out without a tv!

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  9. Wow! I think your my hero!!! The fact I have to pay to watch my own t.v when I already pay to receive virgin media is disgraceful, but you actually have no t.v.! I wish I could do that! Maybe I will I'm seriously considering it now!!! WHen you have the internet who needs t.v!!!!Your amazing, fantastic blog!

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  10. Congratulations...!
    Now you can spend more time on the Internet...!
    Thanks, Roger / Florida / USA.
    http://truth459.blogspot.com/
    Ende...!

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  11. Wow thats practically unheard of. Congrats on the new change. I'm more of a computer person myself. Btw I had no idea about how you guys pay for television over in the UK.

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  12. This article made me laugh out loud, nothing like a bit of rebellion.

    I like to watch films on TV and that is about it. I find all these soap operas boring except maybe Heroes, which I haven't seen for months and months now. It's funny, I made up my mind a few years ago that I would stop watching TV. Well, nowadays, I can go for 6 months or more without watching TV. But, as I have to keep abreast of the news and current affairs I usually come on the Internet or read newpapers.

    I have been on public transport and in a lift with some allegedly famous people, actors and actresses in soaps on TV, but I didn't know who these people were. One time I was in a lift with some teenagers who were attending summer school at a University where I used to work, and they kept giggling, When we got out of the lift, I asked them what was so funny they were giggling because they saw some people from Hollyoaks. I know the name but never watched the show. I don't have time.

    At the moment, I have not watched TV for a few months now and I do not miss it. I am very big on self-improvement and I'm not going to improve my life, love and finances by watching TV am I?

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  13. I don't really watch TV either, and it bothers me when people I know have little to talk about except the latest episode of The Office or what have you.

    But giving up on things with "loads of wires and plugs" is a bad idea in today's world. There are many independent sources of news and entertainment on the internet that you can access with minimal exposure to advertising.

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  14. Wow...I really never thought of it like that. I just assume that every house will have a t.v. You have successfully made me feel like mindless zombie! Omgosh!

    This really made me think. Of everything that's in the way of our spiritual growth. I think that the more crap that we shove between us and God is making it harder to hear one another. LIKE T.V's. I want to throw it out right now!...

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  15. Look at the very bottom of the blog page. An advert for tv licensing. Lol

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