Big Brother premiere tonight

If like me, ye socks may be looking for some mindless entertainment to take your minds off weightier matters.

In which case, the folks over at CBS have stepped-up in a big way this evening with the premiere of the favorite summertime guilty pleasure in this neck of the woods: Big Brother.

Starts at 8pm for those of you fortunate enough to live on the east coast. The rest of you will just have to check your schedules.

Watchin' the detectives

No, ye socks, yours truly is NOT referring to that great old Elvis Costello tune. Rather, Monday evening finds PBS premiering the latest season of "History Detectives" in this little corner of heaven.

They're going to be exploring an odd map of Iwo Jima, exploring the roots of a copperhead cane, and introducing more than a few folks (I suspect) to an odd instrument called a "Theremin."

More details at the show's website: http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/

Unplugged

Just got done watching my favorite Tuesday night show: NCIS.

The original series, not the new Los Angeles wannabe.

Anyway, this week's episode featured our favorite military crimefighters solving a case in the middle of a massive power outage.

It was kinda funny watching them have to adapt their gumshoe skills from internet technology and fancypants forensics to . . . well . . . gumshoes.

Anyway, got me to thinking just how reliant we've all become on technology to perform our day-to-day tasks.

Can you imagine going thru an entire day without blogging, surfing the net, blabbing on the cell phone, etc., etc.?!

Not an altogether bad thing to imagine.

But, let's keep that scenario in imagination-land.

Don't try this at Mass

OK, as if yours truly needed to find a way to make napping on the big brown sofa any easier, I've discovered a new channel on the recently-expanded cable package that does just that.

For ye socks who are blessed to reside in this little corner of heaven, it is channel #169 on Bright House. Ye out-o-towners will just have to find EWTN.

That stands for Eternal Word Television Network.

Now, at the risk of sounding completely sacrilegious, I have discovered there is nothing that puts me to sleep quite so fast as Mother Angelica's recitation of the Rosary. It is merely (divine?) conincidence that it is broadcast every day at just about the precise time the couch beckons me for a nap.

The rhythmic repetition of the Hail Marys, etc., goes on for a whole half hour, just long enough for me to recharge my batteries.

And, I wake up really feeling like I've gotten away with something. Not just because, maybe, subliminally I have done something remotely soul cleansing. More because I know there is no way I could possibly get away with this without the wonders of cable tv.

Not that I've ever really tried to snooze in a real church or anything.

Anyway, think less of me if it suits you, but this channel is getting added to my favorites . . .