After wasting most of yesterday with TV and the occasional nap, I'm trying to actually get some stuff done. We just got our cable lineup expanded, and I'm beginning to realize just how MUCH of a time-waster TV has become. Too much to watch that is banal, stupid, destructive and in truly horrible taste.

I watched "The Man Show" last night. Here is a show that is, by definition, aimed at guys and basically sexist. I can live with that, because I don't really think, as a TV show, it really hurts anybody. But it keeps going over the edge in terms of taste (my taste, of course). I'm not talking about the dancing girls or the babes on trampolines, either. That seems like innocent look-at-the-pretty-girl fun to me, and there's nothing wrong with that kind of sexuality (remember, this is FOR guys). It's when they drag out vibrators and tampons and discuss female anatomy in detail that turns me off. Here' s a show that is actually rather clever in concept and has a lot of guy-oriented fun built-in. But couldn't it be just good, CLEAN fun?

I've noticed that, like the sudden incursion of the word "ASS" on network TV a few years ago, that on-screen talent can now say "nuts," referring to male anatomy. Like the word "wuss," these terms are used as a replacement, excuse, and even sometimes an apology for actual humor. (The only guy that uses the word "ASS" in any really clever way is David Letterman -- probably the funniest man on TV.) Ok, I have to admit that one of my favorite funny lines on cable is when the kids on South Park are attending a dreadfully dull school play and one of them says "Jesus Tap-dancin' Christ, when is this gonna be over?" But I've never been real religious so that kind of stuff doesn't bother me as much as explicit references to crotches and feces. Adult language is to be expected on some shows, such as the excellent "The Sopranos" as well as other HBO offerings. But there, it's really part of the story and the characters. On commercial TV, I feel kind of blindsided by it, plus, I have to be embarrassed when my kids hear it and look at me like I'm some kind of dirty guy for having it on.

I digress: back to my original point: TV has been taking over my life lately, and I'm not sure I like the effect. I've even written more than I wanted to on the subject. Maybe it's time to sign off for a while.