This is really an interesting topic to me.

My husband is always complaining that there is no interesting TV proglam at all. He watches morning news on TV for 1hour before going to work, and nothing else. In his free time, he reads books or uses computer for hours. I am sure he is a person who can do without TV.

As for me, I watch TV news for 1 hour with him in the morning, a soap opera for 1 hour during lunch time, and a variety show for about 1 hour with my kids in the evening.
I am not good at using computer, and I don't think PC can fill the role of TV.

I don't think there will be big changes in these ten years, because there are lots of old people who watch TV for many hours during the daytime. I admit TV sponsors are changing. Nowadays, there are so many commercials for insurance companies like アリコ　ずっと安心　or health food companies who sell グルコサミン.

BTW, what do you mean by ''gets me going a bit''?
does it mean that ''makes me angry''?

Hi, Amo and Noriko

I hope you feel better now. Please keep warm and take a good rest.

•  panda
• 2011年11月 8日 22:44

Hi David and everyone,

My father always told us children to early go to bed, so I didn't know there was a special program called "Kohaku Uta Gassen" on the New Year's Eve till when I was 11 years old. At that time, I felt that it was not fair because only adults enjoyed watching such an interesting program alone. I liked watching music programs every day, in particular, pop songs, but my father didn't like them. I was really happy at nights when he stayed out. Now, I don't watch much TV and admit I spend more time to communicate with friends through social media. Even so, I still need TV for watching news, documentaries, special programs, weather forecasts, comedies, dramas, movies and so on. Only if I were much better at computers, I might find my computer gives me everything I need. I think people like me will still exist in ten years, so will TV.

Hi Panda,

"Get me going" was new to me, so I checked it on the net. "Get someone ~ing", it seems to mean like "人に～始めさせる." それで「このブログでジャパン・バッシングはしたくないけど、日本のテレビの話題は（申し訳ないけど）(僕を）少々その気にさせるものだ。」みたいな感じかなと思いましたがどうでしょうか。

•  tsuneko
• 2011年11月 9日 00:04

I forgot to tell you I have noticed some changes over recent years. Many sponsers tend to spend less money on commercials. More viewers prefer on-demand sites as you mentioned.

•  tsuneko
• 2011年11月 9日 00:20

Hi David and everyone,

I wrote a comment last night, but when I was about to post, pc fleezed so I couldn't. I will post it tonight.

Hi Panda,

Thanks for your words, I am getting better, but I still have a runny nose.
By the way, "give someone going" does have a meaning "make someone angry" I think.

I've got to go, bye now
amo

•  匿名
• 2011年11月 9日 08:37

Thank you, Tsuneko

Now I see the meaning. It means ''get me going Japan-bashing a bit''.

Thank you, Amo

I guessed the meaning last night, but now I think Tsuneko is right.
I am happy to know you are getting better. Now I hope your PC gets better, too!

•  panda
• 2011年11月 9日 09:30

Hi David and everyone,

I’m not good at talking about this kind, so I hope not my opinion get off the point.

>what are your TV viewing habits?
Pursuing subtitles. David described that “everything anybody says now comes up as subtitles to emphasize how funny or unbelievable it is”.
I can’t be helped reading it but I think subtitles are a bit pushy, and am tired with it.

 Have you noticed any changes over recent years?
Yes, I have. You don’t have to go to the video/dvd rental store and you can watch films on your pc, with no fee.
However I hate to watch them on pc because pc screen gives my eyes and brain terrible fatigue, so that I still like to do on TV.

>Do you think TV as we know it now will still exist in ten years?
Partly, yes.
Partly means, ten years later is soon be arrived.
My parents will be in their 80s, I don’t think they would get rid of TV and buy or use another social media instead.
But if cheaper and more user-friendly ones would come up, or the situation would be changed( for example, government force us to buy another devices, like this times change, analog to digital) elderly people have to make up their mind, then TV might be extinct.

I have a bad news.
I went to see my doctor yesterday to take a check my long lasting cough.
He said that it may have been a pertussis/ whooping cough!
He said again that patients who are in their 40’s are increasing.
Be careful everyone, and if you would have heavy cough( or have a cold with runny nose, light cough) I recommend you to go to the doctor as soon as possible.

noriko

•  noriko
• 2011年11月 9日 09:39

Hi David and everyone,

I like watching TV! Having said that, the Japanese programs I regularly watch are only news in the morning and in the evening.
I occasionally watch sports, documentaries, interviews and some other ones. Apart from that, I have cable TV and watch dramas such as NCICS, BONES and some other programs. I'm into "Glee Project" at the moment. I don't see each program when it is aired, and record it. I watch it at my convenience. It sounds like watching videos,doesn't it? Or you can enjoy lots of programs "on-Demand" sites on(?) NHK, so you don't need to watch TV on live.

As tsuneko said, when I was a child, I was looking forward to watching the year end big program called "紅白歌合戦" every year. I was allowed to watch it when I was 10(one year earlier than tsuneko^^) because I had to go to bed around 9. Those days, watching TV was a kind of the entertainment that family members enjoy together, but these days, people seem to have spent their times individually and to be connect to the Interneta lot more, as David mentioned. Millions of people are connected to social media such as facebook, online games , and they feel like enjoying communicating with each other. You can also watch videos on You Tube whenever you like.

Situations have been changing, and yet I don't want to think that people may find their computers give them everything they need.
I think that TV as we know it now will exist in ten years, even though the content and the style might change a little bit.
In ten years, I'm in the midst of elderly, and I have no idea with the life not having this !

Hi noriko,
Oh,sorry to hear about that! It is getting
colder, so take good care of yourself.

Bye for now,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2011年11月 9日 13:11

Correction,

pc fleezed> my pc froze

Give someone going> get someone going

Hi Panda,

Me too, after reading tsuneko's comment, I think she is right:)

I am taking a break and take a nap now!
Good night!

amo

•  amo
• 2011年11月 9日 15:29

Hi David and everyone,

I don't watch much TV. I prefer reading to watching TV. I only watch news, travel programs, English dramas and movies and some programs that I find interesting. As David mentioned, some Japanese programs are mundane, foolish; not all Japanese programs are such that: there are some good programs too. Although TV viewing figures are dropping, still some people watch TV for long hours. And people are so susceptible to what TV covered. For example, if one program told that one particular food is healthy and work to lose weight, many people go to supermarkets and buy that food the next day and they will soon sold out.

TV is like a friend for elderly people. There are many lonely elderly now. They even talk to people on the screen, like "Good Morning" in the morning although the person doesn't talk back. Besides most elderly can't use high-tech gadgets, so I think TV is still necessary for them in 10 years' time.

Hi noriko,

That's too bad. Please take care of yourself! I hope you get well soon.
My youngest had mycoplasma and had been coughed long but he recoverd now.
Everyone, wash your hands, gurgle and take enough rest!

Fumie

•  Fumie
• 2011年11月 9日 22:27

Hi　David　and everyone,

Long time ago I have heard about you mentioned that TV would make peaple stupid. But when I was young I didn't think so and I wanted to know something new by the TV . There were many kind of programs broadcasting and I was interested in all of them. I was looking forward to watch them every week.

After I grow-up, My life style had changed. Then I couldn't watch TV as much as I could before. But I always watched some of dramas. They were very interesting storys and the hero and the heroin were in the same generation with me. It was not only reason to watch them but those casting inspired me at that time. And now, I don't watch TV so much. Because these days TV programs are very boring for me then I watch news and documentarys. But I don't have time to watch them
on live so I record them and watch when I have free time. It's very convenient.

In Japan, everyone is wacthing less and less TV is an accepted fact. But there are many peaple that they like to watch TV. So the problem is not serious and the TV will exist over ten years I hope so.

katherine

•  Katherine
• 2011年11月 9日 22:32

Hi David,

It seems that we need some time to get used to this new system of this blog. Hope the things will work smoothly this week, too:)

About Japanese TV, I just watch NHK news programme in the morning. At night, I watch foreign dramas, so I don’t know much about current Japanese TV shows. When I was a child, I liked to watch TV programmes like documentaries about wild animals, travelling, quiz shows, animations and mystery dramas. Of course, I have watched variety shows before and I admit they were fun, but I don’t think I can enjoy them now. They become boring and just annoying.

>The only new thing is that everything anybody says now comes up as subtitles to emphasize how funny or unbelievable it is.
I think this is one of the reasons that I stopped watching TV shows. Those subtitles are really annoying.

Hi noriko,

Sorry to hear about your cold and hope you will be better soon.

Bye for now,
amo

•  amo
• 2011年11月 9日 22:34

Hi everyone,
David said everything I'd wanted to say about TV programmes. Actually, I didn't watch TV much even before the switch to digital broadcasting, and now I can't watch TV at home. I haven't decided yet whether to buy a new TV set for me, because there are not very many TV programmes worth watching with Japanese world's best quality TV sets. As David mentioned, computers and stuff could give you everything you want, anyway. If TV exists in ten years, I guess it would be more like an iPad.

Hi noriko,
Hope you get well soon!

•  Jazmín
• 2011年11月10日 00:22

訂正；
”NCICS" should be "NCIS."

>Many older people said that this would make us stupid and cause problems for us later in life
----This sentence and Fumie's comment reminds me of a word "一億総白痴化." This word was said by a journalist and a social commentator "Soichi Oya"in 1957. He wrote an article concerning TV programs on some magazine:
A lot of stupid programs are aired on TV ,and these contents are same as picture story shows or less intelligent. The mass media such as TV or radio that are thought to be the most advanced ones would make every Japanese stupid.

Bye for now,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2011年11月10日 00:24

A friend of mine is writing a book in the US, and she needs an illustration of a character's tattoo. The English meaning she wants to express is "Stop running," meaning "Stop running away from things and face your problems" It doesn't have to be that, but she needs a one- or two-character kanji that means basically the same thing. Does anyone have any good ideas?

•  davidbarker
• 2011年11月10日 11:08

Just an answer to you. I think Ling would tell you the better Chinese characters, however this words came to me "直面(ちょくめん)する." It doesn't mean "not run away from things" directly but does mean "come up againt/face with." Look forward to other member's ideas.

•  tsuneko
• 2011年11月10日 13:16

Hi David,
How about 敢？
It means something like “doing things against all odds“.

•  Jazmín
• 2011年11月10日 14:18

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your warm words ^^
Yes, I hope I would be better soon.

PS. amo,

You too have been a bad condition,haven't you?
At the beginning my cold started with light cough and runny nose.
Take good care yourself and if your recovering would be slow or worse,
you'd better go to the doctor,again.

noriko

•  noriko
• 2011年11月10日 15:59

Hi David,

> "Stop running away from things and face your problems"

How about　勇気?

Ash

•  ashmoleanmuse
• 2011年11月10日 20:49

Thanks for your suggestions. Jazmin, how do you read that kanji?

•  davidbarker
• 2011年11月10日 22:40

敢is read "KAN".
And it is used, say, in 勇敢 "you-kan"
--means "brave".

•  Jazmín
• 2011年11月11日 00:06

Hi David,

That's a hard question. At first nothing sprang to my mind, but after reading others, 勇敢(ゆうかん) crossed my mind.

Good night,

amo

•  amo
• 2011年11月11日 00:07

Hi David,

I like the word that Jazmin mentioned "敢."

I borrowed this word.　　”How about "勇敢"?

*勇敢＝ゆうかん(音読み）
*敢えて＝あえて（訓読み）

Sorry,Jazmin, I answered how to read it.
Did I get it right?

Anne

•  匿名
• 2011年11月11日 00:21

How do you say about
対峙　''taiji'' meaning confront each other
or
耐忍　''tainin'' or 忍耐''nintai'' meaning tolerate

•  panda
• 2011年11月11日 07:37

Hi David and everyone.

It's very interesting to think about words to express the meaning that David mentioned,isn't it?

Another idea popped out.
How about "不屈（ふくつ）"? It means "does not lose courage." Some sumo wrestler use this phrase"不撓不屈" when he became the "yokozuna."

See you soon,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2011年11月11日 08:00

It's me again.
Sorry, "use this phrase" should be "used this phrase."

Anne

•  Anne
• 2011年11月11日 08:08

Hi David,

The character in the book is a hero or a heroine?

Kanji may look mysterious and exotic to non Japanese or non Chinese, however, kanji character tattoos are often poorly translated. It's more awful than T-shirts with random English words which don't make any sense to native speakers.

Hi katherine,

May I gently suggest that you use a spell checker before you hit the post button?

Ash

•  ashmoleanmuse
• 2011年11月11日 11:52

What a fun pattern! It’s great to hear from you and see what you’ve sent up to. All of the projects look great! You make it so simple to this. Thanks

•  abercrombie and fitch deutschland
• 2011年11月16日 12:16