May 18th, 2010 / 3:21 pm
Random

Bad Entertainment

I read good books, listen to good music, but when it comes to TV, the trashier the better. I watch bad reality shows, like MTV/VH1 shit. Well, I used to back when I had a TV. Now, I just have the internet and I don’t care enough to watch that shit online, much less find the Canadian sites (show aren’t quite as easily accessible here as in the States). So come on people, fess up: What are your embarrassing indulgences?

149 Comments

  1. jereme

      naruto. i watch it religiously with my son.

  2. Salvatore Pane

      I have a 200 game Nintendo collection. By Nintendo, I mean Nintendo Entertainment System. From the 1980’s. It’s pretty sad, but there really is nothing better than drinking highballs while playing Ducktales on an old, shitty television.

  3. Lily Hoang

      Last summer, we bought old Nintendo games for our Wii (which doesn’t work anymore without a TV, lame). I watched my husband play Punch Out for a long, long time. Then, of course, the new version was released. More Punch Out, yes.

  4. Roxane Gay

      Well I’m not embarrassed by them but I watch Law & Order SVU, One Tree Hill and Alias obsessively. OTH was better during Seasons 1-5 but 6 and 7 are so over the top as to also be enjoyable. Alias, well, there’s no better show and I truly mourn that the series was cancelled. I hope SVU stays on the air forever. There’s something so relaxing about the L & O formula.

  5. Ryan Call

      or chipndale rescue rangers!

  6. ce.

      I’ve recently gotten into Firefly, but I don’t know if that classifies as “embarassing indulgence.” I suppose it might to some. I suppose anything might to some.

      Sometimes, my wife and I watch and provide our own commentary to Celebrity Apprentice.

  7. Lily Hoang

      Used to love Law & Order SVU. Sad to not watch it anymore.

  8. jereme

      i totally still want to have hardcore sex with gadget.

  9. darby

      my guilty pleasures are more in the video game realm like guitar hero or super mario games. lately i have been watching american pickers and pawn stars on history channel. i can watch shows like that, or like deadliest catch. also am really fascinated by 18 kids and counting. those are “reality” shows to me. i cant stand shows that have panel judging, or any kind of judging, or also anything that is like actors acting to a script that isn’t a cartoon. i get like instantly pissed off that people are acting, i dont know. like i want to throw a banana at the tv and say, stop acting! so i cant really watch most trashy shows, though my wife gets addicted to them. if i am watching tv, 9 times out of 10 it is something on pbs or the history channel.

  10. Ryan Call

      thought they only canceled the original?

  11. Joseph

      people would say my affinity for gilmore girls is an embarrassing indulgence. but I think gilmore girls is good.

      I watched every episode of the OC as the episodes actually aired.

  12. Ryan Call

      or princess toadstool

  13. darby

      mrs pacman

  14. jereme

      i always thought of the princess as a cocktease.

      always the victim.

      always needing saved.

      snore.

      gadget was building planes out juice jugs and hair pins.

      she was like mcguyver but with a cartoon mouse pussy.

      made me rowr.

  15. davidpeak

      i re-watch old episodes of lockup on hulu. i don’t know why. i just…i’m fascinated by prisons.

  16. ce.

      man, i’m really, really glad i’m not the only one. to this day, i prefer the mousey look in girls.

  17. Salvatore Pane

      Oh, God. I play Rescue Rangers all the time. In the novel I’ve been working on, I incorporate a bunch of NES screenshots and this definitely made it in. I’ve been searching for the sequel for six years but can’t find it anywhere.

  18. Salvatore Pane

      Oh, sweet Punch-Out. I finally got to try the original arcade version (it’s really different) at Barcade in Brooklyn. Definitely worth a stop if you’re into retro gaming,

  19. Joseph

      prisons smell like very terrible mac & cheese.

  20. jereme

      the arcade version is what i started out on.

      but that was only punch out. nes made it MIKE TYSON’S PUNCH OUT.

  21. Salvatore Pane

      I like when Nintendo re-released it as Punch-Out and just switched out Tyson with Mr. Dream. He looked slightly different but played exactly the same. O lost!

  22. Janey Smith

      I dialed 911 a long time ago . . .

  23. Nathan Tyree

      fuckers canceled my Law and Order.

  24. Nathan Tyree

      I’m re-watching firefly now.

      Great show

  25. Jon Cone

      Anyone for BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER?

  26. drew kalbach

      yes

  27. Amber

      Me too! I don’t know why, either. It’s repulsive/fascinating.

  28. Amber

      I don’t watch much TV, but the TV I watch is ALL exploitation-y and true crime-y. Forensic Files, Lockup, The Investigators, Policewomen of ____County. I’m fascinated with crime and prisons. In fact, I always wanted to be a criminal psychologist.

  29. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      Didn’t you post a picture of the game collection on your blog? That picture was amazing. Will you link that picture?

  30. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      Also, love that Capcom Ducktales game.

  31. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      I wish they had the Disney games on the Wii virtual console.

  32. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      Also Mickey Mousecapade.

  33. davidpeak

      oh holy shit i forgot all about mickey mousecapade. my childhood just came back. i just tasted flintstone vitamins. i loved that game.

  34. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      Firefly not embarrassing.

  35. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      Not embarrassing, no guilt

  36. brittany wallace

      i watch intervention online whenever i feel bored.

      also, beyonce’s new video/single is fucking sweet.

  37. stephen
  38. Ryan Call

      @ce. lets get drunk and watch the secret of nimh together.

  39. Ryan Call

      mickey mousecapade was so hard.

  40. Ashli

      Locked Up Abroad is the best show on televison; best direction, best acting, best cinematography, best everything.

  41. jesusangelgarcia

      shameless love, y’all. viva buffy!

      I also watch (gulp) this a second-rate substitute: vampire diaries… (hey, it’s a fun diversion after my 12-hour thursday workdays)

  42. mimi

      That video is sweet.
      The Notorious Betty Page x Julianne Moore in A Single Man x Naomi Campbell = Tyra Banks ain’t got nothin’ on B.
      And she can sing.

  43. mimi

      Oh yeah, and I watch The Tudors on DVD.

  44. Roxane Gay

      I was so surprised to see that cancellation.

  45. Kristen Iskandrian

      agreed re: SVU/L&O franchise. Pure comfort. It’s like this weird receptacle for all of these parts of myself I never knew I had.

  46. jereme

      naruto. i watch it religiously with my son.

  47. Salvatore Pane

      I have a 200 game Nintendo collection. By Nintendo, I mean Nintendo Entertainment System. From the 1980’s. It’s pretty sad, but there really is nothing better than drinking highballs while playing Ducktales on an old, shitty television.

  48. lily hoang

      Last summer, we bought old Nintendo games for our Wii (which doesn’t work anymore without a TV, lame). I watched my husband play Punch Out for a long, long time. Then, of course, the new version was released. More Punch Out, yes.

  49. Roxane Gay

      Well I’m not embarrassed by them but I watch Law & Order SVU, One Tree Hill and Alias obsessively. OTH was better during Seasons 1-5 but 6 and 7 are so over the top as to also be enjoyable. Alias, well, there’s no better show and I truly mourn that the series was cancelled. I hope SVU stays on the air forever. There’s something so relaxing about the L & O formula.

  50. Ryan Call

      or chipndale rescue rangers!

  51. ce.

      I’ve recently gotten into Firefly, but I don’t know if that classifies as “embarassing indulgence.” I suppose it might to some. I suppose anything might to some.

      Sometimes, my wife and I watch and provide our own commentary to Celebrity Apprentice.

  52. lily hoang

      Used to love Law & Order SVU. Sad to not watch it anymore.

  53. jereme

      i totally still want to have hardcore sex with gadget.

  54. darby

      my guilty pleasures are more in the video game realm like guitar hero or super mario games. lately i have been watching american pickers and pawn stars on history channel. i can watch shows like that, or like deadliest catch. also am really fascinated by 18 kids and counting. those are “reality” shows to me. i cant stand shows that have panel judging, or any kind of judging, or also anything that is like actors acting to a script that isn’t a cartoon. i get like instantly pissed off that people are acting, i dont know. like i want to throw a banana at the tv and say, stop acting! so i cant really watch most trashy shows, though my wife gets addicted to them. if i am watching tv, 9 times out of 10 it is something on pbs or the history channel.

  55. Ryan Call

      thought they only canceled the original?

  56. Joseph

      people would say my affinity for gilmore girls is an embarrassing indulgence. but I think gilmore girls is good.

      I watched every episode of the OC as the episodes actually aired.

  57. Ryan Call

      or princess toadstool

  58. darby

      mrs pacman

  59. jereme

      i always thought of the princess as a cocktease.

      always the victim.

      always needing saved.

      snore.

      gadget was building planes out juice jugs and hair pins.

      she was like mcguyver but with a cartoon mouse pussy.

      made me rowr.

  60. demi-puppet

      When I was little I had this NES Sesame Street game that, for whatever reason, completely terrified me. Big Bird was fucking scary. I still kind of wince.

  61. davidpeak

      i re-watch old episodes of lockup on hulu. i don’t know why. i just…i’m fascinated by prisons.

  62. ce.

      man, i’m really, really glad i’m not the only one. to this day, i prefer the mousey look in girls.

  63. Salvatore Pane

      Oh, God. I play Rescue Rangers all the time. In the novel I’ve been working on, I incorporate a bunch of NES screenshots and this definitely made it in. I’ve been searching for the sequel for six years but can’t find it anywhere.

  64. Salvatore Pane

      Oh, sweet Punch-Out. I finally got to try the original arcade version (it’s really different) at Barcade in Brooklyn. Definitely worth a stop if you’re into retro gaming,

  65. Joseph

      prisons smell like very terrible mac & cheese.

  66. jereme

      the arcade version is what i started out on.

      but that was only punch out. nes made it MIKE TYSON’S PUNCH OUT.

  67. Salvatore Pane

      I like when Nintendo re-released it as Punch-Out and just switched out Tyson with Mr. Dream. He looked slightly different but played exactly the same. O lost!

  68. Janey Smith

      I dialed 911 a long time ago . . .

  69. Nathan Tyree

      fuckers canceled my Law and Order.

  70. Nathan Tyree

      I’m re-watching firefly now.

      Great show

  71. Sean

      This one is easy for me: sports radio.

      Vapid, vapid, vapid. It is hell.

      I listen to it every day on the way to work. i have no idea why. I can’t stop.

      I love sports (live, or on TV, live) but sports radio is absolute obvious comment after obvious comment with commercial with obvious comment. Any drunk at a bar can say, “Well, the Lakers are too tall and too deep. It is what it is.”

      Blar

      I wish I could/would stop.

  72. Lily Hoang

      Hate to admit it, but I like Mike & Mike in the morning. I don’t listen to the show very often though.

  73. drew kalbach

      yes

  74. Amber

      Me too! I don’t know why, either. It’s repulsive/fascinating.

  75. demi-puppet

      Sometimes I hear that Colin Cowherd guy on a radio, and good Christ does he ever make me want to impale myself.

  76. Amber

      I don’t watch much TV, but the TV I watch is ALL exploitation-y and true crime-y. Forensic Files, Lockup, The Investigators, Policewomen of ____County. I’m fascinated with crime and prisons. In fact, I always wanted to be a criminal psychologist.

  77. ce.

      ha. my wife and i just adopted a cat last week and named her Brisby. one of my favorite animated movies ever.

  78. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      Didn’t you post a picture of the game collection on your blog? That picture was amazing. Will you link that picture?

  79. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      Also, love that Capcom Ducktales game.

  80. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      I wish they had the Disney games on the Wii virtual console.

  81. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      Also Mickey Mousecapade.

  82. davidpeak

      oh holy shit i forgot all about mickey mousecapade. my childhood just came back. i just tasted flintstone vitamins. i loved that game.

  83. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      Firefly not embarrassing.

  84. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      Not embarrassing, no guilt

  85. brittany wallace

      i watch intervention online whenever i feel bored.

      also, beyonce’s new video/single is fucking sweet.

  86. stephen
  87. Ryan Call

      @ce. lets get drunk and watch the secret of nimh together.

  88. Ryan Call

      mickey mousecapade was so hard.

  89. Ashli

      Locked Up Abroad is the best show on televison; best direction, best acting, best cinematography, best everything.

  90. jesusangelgarcia

      shameless love, y’all. viva buffy!

      I also watch (gulp) this a second-rate substitute: vampire diaries… (hey, it’s a fun diversion after my 12-hour thursday workdays)

  91. mimi

      That video is sweet.
      The Notorious Betty Page x Julianne Moore in A Single Man x Naomi Campbell = Tyra Banks ain’t got nothin’ on B.
      And she can sing.

  92. mimi

      Oh yeah, and I watch The Tudors on DVD.

  93. Roxane Gay

      I was so surprised to see that cancellation.

  94. Kristen Iskandrian

      agreed re: SVU/L&O franchise. Pure comfort. It’s like this weird receptacle for all of these parts of myself I never knew I had.

  95. demi-puppet

      When I was little I had this NES Sesame Street game that, for whatever reason, completely terrified me. Big Bird was fucking scary. I still kind of wince.

  96. Sean

      This one is easy for me: sports radio.

      Vapid, vapid, vapid. It is hell.

      I listen to it every day on the way to work. i have no idea why. I can’t stop.

      I love sports (live, or on TV, live) but sports radio is absolute obvious comment after obvious comment with commercial with obvious comment. Any drunk at a bar can say, “Well, the Lakers are too tall and too deep. It is what it is.”

      Blar

      I wish I could/would stop.

  97. lily hoang

      Hate to admit it, but I like Mike & Mike in the morning. I don’t listen to the show very often though.

  98. demi-puppet

      Sometimes I hear that Colin Cowherd guy on a radio, and good Christ does he ever make me want to impale myself.

  99. ce.

      ha. my wife and i just adopted a cat last week and named her Brisby. one of my favorite animated movies ever.

  100. Miguel

      all 7 seasons of buffy are on netflix’s instant watch. i think this discovery has changed me as a person forever.

  101. Miguel

      all 7 seasons of buffy are on netflix’s instant watch. i think this discovery has changed me as a person forever.

  102. audri

      tetris, pacman, jeopardy, the world music show on link tv, dexter, bill maher, and anderson cooper.
      red handed.

  103. M

      the episode of my so-called life where juliana hatfield’s a christmas angel. it is amazing and terrible.

  104. audri

      tetris, pacman, jeopardy, the world music show on link tv, dexter, bill maher, and anderson cooper.
      red handed.

  105. Salvatore Pane
  106. davidpeak

      do you have to double-stuff?

      what percentage of the time do your games work on the first try?

      do you have 720?

  107. ZZZZZIPP

      ZZZZIPP PUT SOME GARAGE SALE CARTRIDGES INTO HIS PERFECTLY WORKING NINTENDO AND NOW IT DOESN’T WORK ANYMORE. HOW IS ZZZZIPPP GOING TO BEAT WORLD TWO OF SUPER MARIO 3 NOW

  108. ZZZZZIPP

      YEAH SPORTS RADIO IS AWFUL BUT THERE IS SOMETHING IN THE INFORMATION-COLLECTING NATURE OF IT THAT KEEPS ZZZZIPP LISTENING, EVEN IF THE INFORMATION ISN’T PARTICULARLY VALUABLE OR USEFUL

  109. Salvatore Pane

      All right, we’re going to dive into the really nerdy stuff now. About six years ago, Nintendo set up a phone line that you could call, say you had a broken Nintendo, and then they would send you the piece required to fix it (their on hold music is lifted straight from their games). The reason why most Nintendos just do that flashing screen thing when they’re turned on is because the pin connector (the little part you plug the cartridges into) gets so dusty because the system’s set up horizontally. That’s why every cartridge based system released since then has a vertical input for games.

      So I got that piece in the mail and installed it (it’s a really simple job; all you need is a screwdriver) and from then on it’s worked pretty well. You still have to fiddle with some games but that’s usually just a sign they need to be cleaned (I use Windex on a q-tip and go over the exposed microchip part at the bottom of the cartridge).

      I’m not sure if Nintendo still has that hot line, but you can get one of those parts off eBay pretty cheap, probably under ten bucks. It’s called a 72-pin connector.

  110. ZZZZZIPP

      THANK YOU SO MUCH SALVATORE

  111. mimi

      NERD ALERT

  112. Donald

      I’m sure you’re kidding, but I’ve noticed a few people on here being down on “nerds”. It’s kind of tragic. Like, you’re prominent personalities (I don’t remember which ones) on a blog, on the internet, about literature and poetry. What on earth do you think this is?

  113. Donald

      I like it on radio sports programmes in the UK when they have listener phone-in sessions. Tell us your opinion!

      Everyone I’ve ever heard phone in has been an idiot, an asshole or an embarrassment.

      It’s a kind of shuddering amusement.

  114. mimi

      I AM kidding, and am totally all for nerds in the most sincere way. I am a self-confessed (oops! almost typed ‘confused’) nerd.
      But I don’t play video games, so maybe that’s it?
      Just playin’.

  115. Salvatore Pane

      I own what I am.

  116. mimi

      Speaking of the UK, I like Top Gear.

  117. M

      the episode of my so-called life where juliana hatfield’s a christmas angel. it is amazing and terrible.

  118. jereme

      any self respecting nerd is not going to take what mimi said as an insult.

      relax.

  119. jereme

      salvatore,

      you will appreciate this. i was into console copying back in the snes days.

      send money to japan. video games for days.

      s/w pirating was a lot more fun than now.

  120. Donald

      I don’t need to relax, jereme, don’t worry. I am completely relaxed. I don’t believe I even implied the possibility of insult. I was just reminded of the (mild) hypocrisy I’d seen a few times on here w/r/t “the nerd”.

  121. Donald

      I haven’t really had time to play an games (or, in fact, watch much TV) in my life for the past year and a half. Bit of a downer. Although, actually, I don’t really feel like I’ve lost anything significant.

      I might try to finish Ico this summer, though.

  122. jereme

      hahaha, all the other hypocrisy you are cool with but the nerd hypocrisy required a response?

      okay brother. speak on!

  123. Salvatore Pane
  124. davidpeak

      do you have to double-stuff?

      what percentage of the time do your games work on the first try?

      do you have 720?

  125. ZZZZZIPP

      ZZZZIPP PUT SOME GARAGE SALE CARTRIDGES INTO HIS PERFECTLY WORKING NINTENDO AND NOW IT DOESN’T WORK ANYMORE. HOW IS ZZZZIPPP GOING TO BEAT WORLD TWO OF SUPER MARIO 3 NOW

  126. ZZZZZIPP

      YEAH SPORTS RADIO IS AWFUL BUT THERE IS SOMETHING IN THE INFORMATION-COLLECTING NATURE OF IT THAT KEEPS ZZZZIPP LISTENING, EVEN IF THE INFORMATION ISN’T PARTICULARLY VALUABLE OR USEFUL

  127. Salvatore Pane

      All right, we’re going to dive into the really nerdy stuff now. About six years ago, Nintendo set up a phone line that you could call, say you had a broken Nintendo, and then they would send you the piece required to fix it (their on hold music is lifted straight from their games). The reason why most Nintendos just do that flashing screen thing when they’re turned on is because the pin connector (the little part you plug the cartridges into) gets so dusty because the system’s set up horizontally. That’s why every cartridge based system released since then has a vertical input for games.

      So I got that piece in the mail and installed it (it’s a really simple job; all you need is a screwdriver) and from then on it’s worked pretty well. You still have to fiddle with some games but that’s usually just a sign they need to be cleaned (I use Windex on a q-tip and go over the exposed microchip part at the bottom of the cartridge).

      I’m not sure if Nintendo still has that hot line, but you can get one of those parts off eBay pretty cheap, probably under ten bucks. It’s called a 72-pin connector.

  128. ZZZZZIPP

      THANK YOU SO MUCH SALVATORE

  129. mimi

      NERD ALERT

  130. demi-puppet

      I think my number one indulgence is ice cream. Oh good lord, ice cream.

      In terms of entertainment stuff. . . probably sports? I compulsively check the Pacers boxscores and news, even though I have become like 90% apathetic about the team. . .

  131. Donald

      I’m sure you’re kidding, but I’ve noticed a few people on here being down on “nerds”. It’s kind of tragic. Like, you’re prominent personalities (I don’t remember which ones) on a blog, on the internet, about literature and poetry. What on earth do you think this is?

  132. Donald

      I like it on radio sports programmes in the UK when they have listener phone-in sessions. Tell us your opinion!

      Everyone I’ve ever heard phone in has been an idiot, an asshole or an embarrassment.

      It’s a kind of shuddering amusement.

  133. mimi

      I AM kidding, and am totally all for nerds in the most sincere way. I am a self-confessed (oops! almost typed ‘confused’) nerd.
      But I don’t play video games, so maybe that’s it?
      Just playin’.

  134. Salvatore Pane

      I own what I am.

  135. mimi

      Speaking of the UK, I like Top Gear.

  136. ZZZZZIPP
  137. Donald

      Oh, yeah. I love the OC. I’ve watched every episode, albeit on DVD. I’ve watched the entire first three series two or three times.

  138. Donald

      Not at all! But, you know how it is, jereme. Life is hard. Everything is incredibly intolerable, all of the time. I tried to speak out about it all, but after a while I realised that I was just hurting those around me. I was hurting the people I loved, and foremost among them myself.

      So, now I just speak out as and when things occur to me. It’s for the best.

  139. jereme

      any self respecting nerd is not going to take what mimi said as an insult.

      relax.

  140. jereme

      salvatore,

      you will appreciate this. i was into console copying back in the snes days.

      send money to japan. video games for days.

      s/w pirating was a lot more fun than now.

  141. Donald

      I don’t need to relax, jereme, don’t worry. I am completely relaxed. I don’t believe I even implied the possibility of insult. I was just reminded of the (mild) hypocrisy I’d seen a few times on here w/r/t “the nerd”.

  142. Donald

      I haven’t really had time to play an games (or, in fact, watch much TV) in my life for the past year and a half. Bit of a downer. Although, actually, I don’t really feel like I’ve lost anything significant.

      I might try to finish Ico this summer, though.

  143. jereme

      hahaha, all the other hypocrisy you are cool with but the nerd hypocrisy required a response?

      okay brother. speak on!

  144. demi-puppet

      I think my number one indulgence is ice cream. Oh good lord, ice cream.

      In terms of entertainment stuff. . . probably sports? I compulsively check the Pacers boxscores and news, even though I have become like 90% apathetic about the team. . .

  145. ZZZZZIPP
  146. Donald

      Oh, yeah. I love the OC. I’ve watched every episode, albeit on DVD. I’ve watched the entire first three series two or three times.

  147. Donald

      Not at all! But, you know how it is, jereme. Life is hard. Everything is incredibly intolerable, all of the time. I tried to speak out about it all, but after a while I realised that I was just hurting those around me. I was hurting the people I loved, and foremost among them myself.

      So, now I just speak out as and when things occur to me. It’s for the best.

  148. Jessica

      Project Runway, zombie movies, Daria (finally out on DVD)

  149. Jessica

      Project Runway, zombie movies, Daria (finally out on DVD)