People,
I love television shows. I'm assuming you do too [this may not be true, but if you're reading my blog, you clearly have some discretionary time on your hands and must enjoy pop culture to some extent; I'm just putting two and two together].
When you love something, people like to ask you what your favorite is of that thing. I think this is usually impossible. This can be partially explained by my crippling indecisiveness when it comes to unimportant matters. But part of the problem is that these questions often cover such vast numbers and disparate varieties of options. How do you compare Arrested Development and LOST? You don't; you just declare one the best TV comedy and one the best TV mystery-adventure.
So if we're within a genre, I'll give you my favorite (though how's a nerd to decide between Firefly and Battlestar Galactica?). The question, then, obviously, is this-- what's my favorite coming-of-age TV show? And the answer is a resounding
The Wonder Years
There's just something about Kevin Arnold
I'm no TV expert. I can't even name very many shows in this category. But the Fred Savage / Daniel Stern powerhouse is, to me, way ahead of anything else that comes to mind. The other Savage's show (Boy Meets World), while a classic, can't hold a candle to it. My favorite show as a kid (Saved by the Bell) can't hold a bell to it. And since the only other challengers coming to mind are My So-Called Life, Blossom, Degrassi, Malcolm in the Middle, and the Lizzie McGuire show, I think we're ready to crown the champion.
[But for the record, second place goes to Freaks and Geeks. Third place, probably Doug.]
Furthermore, I'd say that regardless of genre, The Wonder Years is one of the best shows ever made. Why, you ask? (Oh, you didn't ask? You mean I typed that?)
1. The Wonder Years captures, with eerie perfection, the journey of male adolescence.
1a.) Girls
Kevin's awkward but magical first kiss. His internal monologue describing one girl as having "the best-smelling hair in the entire 7th grade". The way Kevin or Paul can move on from one girl to the next in one day. The way that having a steady girlfriend is the measure of one's coolness and thus self-worth. The realistic and tragic scenario of Kevin letting down a girl that he genuinely likes, but only as a friend. The way that any time he meets a new pretty girl, he loses his grasp of the English language completely. These moments are Kevin's story and our own, because they're transcendent hallmarks of every man's childhood.
1b.) Internal voice vs. spoken words
Our words and our thoughts are never farther apart than during middle school. We get such an extensive glimpse into Kevin's thoughts that this stark contrast is hilariously on display.
1c.) Friendship
Two friendships anchor this awesome show-- Kevin and Paul (guy best friends) and Kevin and Winnie (guy and girl). In the former, we get touching displays of loyalty, forgiveness, and wingmanship. In the latter, because male-female friendships are doomed, we get an on-again-off-again, will-they-won't-they relationship.
2. The cultural landscape of the show is fascinating.
The 60s and 70s were crazy and important times in our country's recent history. Sadly, I wasn't alive during them. But by watching the Wonder Years, I get glimpses of the effects of the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and Woodstock on a middle-class white family like mine.
3. The show's soundtrack is sick. And by sick I mean ill. And by ill I mean nasty.
The makers of the show decided to keep the background music, even when not a part of the scene, in time with the show's era. So by watching and listening, you get to hear all kinds of classics by Hendrix, The Who, The Byrds, Steppenwolf, Carole King, The Doors, Cream, James Taylor, Simon & Garfunkel, The Monkees, Three Dog Night... you catch my drift. Those are good bands.
4. The narration is brilliant.
The interactions between Daniel Stern's narration and Fred Savage's facial expressions and words are just so good. You have to watch the show and behold the glory. But more than that -- and this, I think, sets the show above others like it -- the words spoken by the narrator are incredibly well-written. At times hilarious, at times deeply profound and moving.
5. Sweet cameos.
Speaking of Boy Meets World and Saved by the Bell, Ben Savage and the guys who played Zack Morris and Screech all make cameo appearances. Other notable appearances include John Corbett (from Wheeling, WV), David Schwimmer, Seth Green, Alicia Silverstone, the guy who played Donkeylips on Salute Your Shorts, Juliette Lewis, and the guy who played Faraday on LOST.
What about you?
FYI I think my "wonder years" were 1997-2000
Well, if that list didn't send you straight to your Netflix queue, I'm pretty sure nothing will.
What do you think of The Wonder Years?
What's your favorite coming-of-age TV show?
Jon
Friends,
Happy February 15. Across the country, flowers are quickly withering and floors are strewn with empty chocolate boxes. Many single people are breathing a collective sigh of relief, and many others are trying to ignore the impending feelings of how ephemeral romance is.
In light of this, I wanted to blog about romance. I've already given a supposed manifesto (pep talk) on being single, a vehement rant about inconsiderate online rejection, and my airtight case for the impossibility of male-female friendship. These are all my main talking points when it comes to romance, or at least the phase of it I'm in now (prolonged singleness).
Well, all my main talking points except for the one that's too personal and requires too much honesty -- why being (seemingly always) single sucks and how I deal with it.
The main reasons I've never given this area a Tangent are:
A. I want this blog to be funny. Wrestling with singleness isn't funny.
B. I want this blog to be about things that have little or nothing to do with me. I want a random person to be able to come here and have a thought-provoking read and some laughs without necessarily knowing me or liking me in real life.
C. Those rare times when I touch on my personal life, I want it to be something like a rap video, not a heartfelt issue that seems to beg for pity or commiseration.
And yet, in the event that some of you had a tough time this Valentine's Day, maybe my experience and lessons can be an encouragement. [If not, hey, you would have just spent this 15 minutes scanning facebook or twitter anyway, right?]
What I've learned about being single
In addition to "it sucks"
A few months back, my singleness hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been doing okay with it, even enjoying it at times, but you know how it is (unless you're one of those people who's always in a relationship or who got married when you were 21): more friends get engaged and married, more girls reject me, more rain and snow pour down on this dreary city...
Then God mercifully brought me to the point of such aggravation that I just had to turn off my activities and take a night to be with Him and listen to Him. I pulled out my journal and my Bible and said, "Teach me whatever I need to learn. Say whatever I need to hear. I need You to help me."
What followed in the next few hours has shaped my outlook on -- and my day-to-day struggle with -- this "season of life God has me in." God showed me things in my heart and mind that were crippling my ability to follow Him or to have any measure of contentment with my life.
These lessons were so significant to me that, hey, why not share them with a bunch of people online? I'm not sure of the best way to organize these thoughts. Sorry if I've failed to do so optimally. Here's the gist of what I wrote down last November:
1. I feel lonely. Why?
Ultimately, because I don't experience God's love. Something in me fails to connect with Him emotionally or refuses to believe that He really does love me. Because I'm not receiving this love that I so deeply need, I want desperately to receive it from a woman.
Response: believe God loves me, spend time with Him, cling to the truth of Eph 2:4 and Zeph 3:17, pray when I struggle to believe these things
2. How has this loneliness been affecting my faith?
Among other things, it has caused me to be bitter toward God. How could I possibly feel this way? Well, I think lurking somewhere below the surface of my faith is the ridiculous notion that if I follow Christ, I'm ENTITLED to receive whatever blessings I want. "If I want a wife, then as long as I'm following Christ, I deserve to have one promptly." When this ugly, miles-from-realistic expectation isn't met, bitterness ensues.
Response: focus on trusting His goodness and wisdom, pray for patience, be willing to forsake everything to follow Him
3. How have I been viewing myself?
Somehow I've tied my self-worth to my desirability to women. This is pretty much nothing but a complete lie spoon-fed to me by pop culture. The reality of my worth flows entirely from what God thinks of me, not what I've done or what any person thinks of me.
Response: be vulnerable with others about this, cling to the truth of Eph 1:4-14 and Heb 7:25, be thankful for God's many blessings
In the months since, this has crystallized to a very simple regimen:
1. Believe that God loves me
2. Trust His plan more than mine
3. Pray for patience
Anytime I feel sad or lonely or sense any bitterness, I try to "check myself" right away with those three steps. If I need a more thorough spiritual treatment, I go to some of the more detailed thoughts or responses above.
Thanks for reading!
If anyone made it this far
Well, there it is. Maybe none of you struggles with singleness the way I do. In fact, I sincerely hope that none of you does. But, for the sake of not wasting your time, if you didn't find this helpful, I hope you at least found it interesting.
If you're willing to join me in some vulnerability, I'd love to hear what some of your fears or lies are in romance and how you deal with them. If you'd rather not, I understand. I'll come back soon with something silly and fun.
Jon
Friends,
People -- good, ordinary, run-of-the-mill people -- do a lot of inconsiderate things. I'm pretty sure it's just leakage from the rotten, sinful, fallen, depraved, Grinch-sized hearts we're born with. But whatever the reason, we cut people off in traffic, slurp our soup, leave the toilet seat up, etc.
Most of this is just forgiven as part of being human (after a few seconds or minutes of anger). Hey, we all make mistakes. But one offense against humanity is so heinous, so egregious, so... putrid... that I'm sorry, people, but it has to stop. Now.
The worst thing that people do all the time
Hint: it rhymes with "shmullowing your dog to crap on public ground without cleaning it up"
I live in an apartment complex. There are plenty of things my neighbors do that annoy me, e.g. playing loud music, smoking weed. Sometimes I let these things go. Sometimes I write a letter to the powers that be. But I can emotionally rise above it and move on with my life.
And yet, when someone allows-- nae, encourages, forces, facilitates -- shis dog to defacate on public, grassy, walking areas and doesn't clean it up....
I can't even type words right now as I think about it. It breaks the scale of inconsiderateness.
[My feelings toward it are summed up quite nicely by several scenes from I Love You, Man. I would embed or link to them here, but now that I'm watching them, they are rife with profanities. Like I said, the scenes sum up my feelings pretty well.]
Why is this action so terrible? I'm glad I-pretending-to-be-you asked. Here are a few reasons:
1. It so clearly violates the Golden Rule. I know you don't like stepping in dog crap, irresponsible dog owner.
2. You are responsible for all caretaking of that animal, and you know it! When you purchased the dog, you entered a covenant with the pet and society that you would shield the animal from the harsh realities of this world and shield us from the harsh realities of that dog's excrement.
3. That ground is not your front yard. The fact is, you don't have a front yard. You live in an apartment complex. When you made that housing decision, you forfeited the rights to certain things, among them planting a tree wherever you want, a huge glowing Santa in December, and untended dog feces.
What will we do?
I'm just barely ruling out a mob with pitchforks
I believe that if I catch someone doing this, I should be able to punch him or her in the face. I don't care if it's an old lady-- an unremoved dog turd = a punch in the face. It has been suggested to me that one could take a more creative approach at revenge. The crap could be carefully collected and placed on the offender's doorstep.
What do you think? How severe a punishment should be meted out for this most repulsive transgression?
Jon
