5 de janeiro de 2008

Talk About Saturday Night Fever!


Implacable weather! (A very dickensian phrase, mind you!). Damp, moist, wet, dreadful, endless. Nothing better to do than stay conveniently at home (hubby went out for a coffee but Blonde is not in the mood to face the dampness outside). TV was on a while ago, not anymore. Blonde doesn't watch that much TV (gosh, it's still dickensian!), just the news occasionally. But she watched the news today. In fact, she watched, listened more than she watched would be a better description, part of the 8 o'clock news on RTP1.
And was that time well-spent! (No, this is not dickensian anymore!).
The atrocities in Kenya were covered in a matter of seconds. However, the extreme cold weather in the American East Coast, the floodings in California and Australia and the intense Winter in Eastern European countries were given immense minutes of broadcast. And right at the end, surprise, the astounding news that President Sarkozy and singer-model Carla Bruni were visiting Petra in Jordan as a couple. In-between pieces of news that don't last in anyone's memory and shouldn't occupy precious already overloaded neurons.
Naturally Blonde was informed of whatever important and interesting is going on in the world today. Of course, that, being this January, it's always very relevant to know that it is very cold in Northern latitudes. And, obviously that being the mutinies and the overall rebellion in Kenya a very nasty, ugly, violent subject, the issue should be aired with as little attention as possible not to harm viewers susceptible nerves. Not to mention the fact that not knowing the latest love affair of the French President is equivalent to utter ignorance (and Blonde wouldn't want that now, would she?).
After the news, Blonde was home alone. TV still on. A most educational and interesting programme followed, something like "Provedor do Cliente" but in a TV viewers' format. And yes, this was extraordinary (or so Blonde thought). The topic under scrutiny in the programme was precisely how should the news be broadcast (and here Blonde would most definitively have something to say, opinionated as she is).
Everybody complained about the excessive amount of time devoted to football, and within football to those three clubs everybody knows, everybody was resented at the excessive coverage of the Maddie affair, everybody said that cultural events are not given coverage (actually someone even suggested that the news should open occasionally with a news about theatre, but c'me on let's not go over the moon, ok?) and so on and so forth. Blonde's question: if they know this at RTP, why do they persist with the fait divers format that makes news seem like a vaudeville show?
The best was yet to come and Blonde really had a few laughs.
In that same very instructive programme, Blonde got to know that RTP Internacional and RTP África broadcast each day 5 and a half hours of "Praça da Alegria" and "Portugal no Coração". This was a treat Blonde wasn't expecting on such a lifeless Saturday evening. What fun and joy! Blonde imagining the immigrant communities being treated to shuch enlightened shows that have everything to do with the places they live and which present an image of a very developed, culturally productive and stimulating country! And 5 and a half hours every single day! Wow, that was entertainment at its very best! Blonde had as much fun as if she were watching "Black Adder". And the comments of the Portuguese living in Canada... That was hillarious! And what the people in the PALOPs had to say... Blonde was really amused. So amused she couldn't have all this much fun to herself and had to come and share it.

20 comentários:

quintarantino disse...

And I thank you Blonde, but tell me... doesn´t poor Blonde have no more TV channels to be seen? No BBC World? No Sky NEWS? No CNN? No Al Jazeera English? No France 24? No Mezzo? No? Gee... pity you. Of course your are doomed to watch all those wonderful news and programs.

Blondewithaphd disse...

I stand corrected Quinn: Blonde doesn't watch much PORTUGUESE TV! She watches other stuff that doesn't have Portuguese as main language;

Tiago R Cardoso disse...

Tinha de ser dois estadistas a reconhecerem que não vêem a televisão portuguesa, pois eu um trabalhador inc... ups !!!, quase que me enganava... já me vejo lixado para perceber Portugal quanto mais tentar perceber o resto do mundo...

Mas prometo assim que entender aqui a nação dedico-me aos outros, é capaz é de demorar um bocado...

quintarantino disse...

Got you :)

Blondewithaphd disse...

"Estadistas" Tiago? I don't see any "estadistas";)

quintarantino disse...

You don´t see, but you shall. Don´t forget, my dear.
We have a deal. You as first in command and me as your left wing adviser!

António de Almeida disse...

-Por defeito, o meu canal de TV é a SIC-N. Por vezes vejo um outro telejornal na RTP, a série sobre a guerra colonial, os jogos de futebol que me interessam na SPORT TV, ou algumas séries na FOX. Filmes apenas nas salas, ou em DVD, não estou para gastar 4H para conseguir ver um filme que dura 2H, a publicidade deixo-a para quem a quiser ver. E já é gastar algum tempo. Nem sei para que diabo é necessário existir um canal público de televisão, serviço público é outra questão, programas tabloides, consuma-os quem gostar do formato.

antonio ganhão disse...

So what about Sarkozi and Carla Bruni? Can’t get serious information these days…

antonio ganhão disse...

Por defeito o meu canal é a televisão desligada... (digo isto só para irritar o Tiago).

Blondewithaphd disse...

Dear Antonio de Almeida,
I liked that expression: "tabloid format", which is exactly what we seem to be getting out of public tv. But worse than that is that our tax money is sponsoring programmes that are everything but interesting or cultural or educational or informative. We're paying money that is literally going down the drain. And to get good tv, or at least have some choice in tv (because I believe there's no good tv) we have to pay extra for private channels and therefore something so simple as watching tv means a huge expense.

Blondewithaphd disse...

Dear Antonio,
Good point: good tv is no tv!!!

(Gee, don't tell me you don't know the Sarko/Bruni affair? Man, that's not watching the news!!)

Sara Hendrix disse...

Hello Blonde, I like TV. VH1, MTV, AXN, FOX are good.

Patrícia Grade disse...

Dear Blonde,

pois é, a idade é tramada e aqui o pessoal já anda pelas bandas da geriatria... Oh pá!Não sejam velhadas, sempre a queixar-se, sempre a queixar-se!
Então não é bom de ver a praça da alegria? e a operação triunfo horas a fio e aquele banhas à tarde a fazer figura de urso?
Oh pá! É que já não há pachorra para vos aturar, bolas!
Eu como não gosto de televisão mesmo, vejo o canal 2 às horas da Universidade aberta, às horas do cinema e as séries e os desenhos animados. Sim! Que indomável não é só dois excelentes neurónios, não senhora! A Indomável aprecia um serviço de quaidade (média qualidade, mas qualidade!)
Vá lá, toca a sacudir esse peso da idade de cima e a alegrar... com a praça da alegria, pois claro!

antonio ganhão disse...

Indy, fizeste um upgrade? Agora já tens dois neurónios? O que é que aconteceu ao teu neurónio solitário?

Patrícia Grade disse...

Antonio
é que agora circulo por blogs de primeira e naturalmente o neurónio procedeu à sua divisão molecular...
Se foi upgrade ou não... isso já não sei!

Blondewithaphd disse...

Darling Miss Vader,
I confess that when they do those "back to the 80s" sort of programmes I also like MTV and VH1;)

Blondewithaphd disse...

Blue Dearest,
I really don't know what sort of linguistic handicap you're talking about;) I don't even dare encrypting messages when you're around!
As for RTPi, yes it is a national catastrophe and shame being sponsored by our own money.

Blondewithaphd disse...

Indy darling,
Are you calling me an oldie?! You, whom I suspect are a girl my generation?! This girl here is very fine thank you for her age;)
Já agora quem é o urso banhoso da tarde? (my blond neuron didn't get that bit)

Blondewithaphd disse...

Indy and Antonio or Antonio and Indy,
Door yourselves well, door yourselves well!!

Patrícia Grade disse...

Dear Blonde,

O urso da tarde... olha, não me lembro do nome, só sei que a minha avó não perde um programa e isso não lhe anda a fazer bem ao cérebro.
Sim, também me parece que devemos ser da mesma geração, mas a idade, como dizia um velho sábio, não está noutro lado que não no coração e na cabeça!
gostei particularmente desse portuguesismo - door yourselves well!