The Native Iowan

A glorious Sunday morning this side of the planet. Weather has been pretty good. Only a couple inches of rain this past week. Have been gaining on all my projects. So far 2025 has been Okay…

Today we have a damn good UFC fight card. Doesn’t start until later so I’ll sit, ruminate, drink coffee and waffle-on…

One strange habit I have, watching commercial TV, puzzles those around me…

I do have “cable”, and am fully connected to all sorts of buttons on a couple different remotes that do things I am only partially aware of. My kids and grandkids go places and watch things I dont know about. But I like watching commercials…

In the 80s there was NO TV in the Solomons. It wasn’t until the very late 80s/ 90s that we got “video players”. I left the US in January 1981 and did not go back for a visit until December of 83. Upon re-entry to the US I found the modern TV with its modern commercials (and the whole cable TV scene) very interesting, very entertaining. I learned to watch the commercials to gain a handle on society. By watching what was being advertised, how it was being marketed, and whom it was targeted, I figured basic social confusions out.

The world had changed, the US had changed a lot in the few years I was gone.

People think I’m too old fashioned and dumb to learn all the buttons on the various remotes, but the fact is, I watch commercials. In many ways the commercials can be more creative, more informative, and more entertaining than the general programmes. Commercials are cool…And who isn’t waiting for the commercials to come in 24hours at the Super Bowl?

It is still very cool:

more later