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It used to be that small towns like Carrollton were the last vestiges of common sense and common courtesy, but it only takes one trip around the 25- mile circle of this campus to see just how wrong that is now.** - Larry Peel Is courtesy dead in the 21st century? The View From My Front Porch With Larry L. Peel larry@ioncinema.com I have been people watching lately. That's what I do; watch people, watch critters (like Stan), and write a lot - 1 am an English major after all. One thing 1 have noticed is that things have changed drastically in the last few years. Road rage is up. little old ladies have no Boy Scouts to help them across the road, and it’s every man for himself. It used to be that small towns like Carrollton were the last vestiges of common sense and common courtesy, but it only takes one trip around the 2.5-mile The best that popular culture doesn't have to offer By Kelly Quimby Staff Writer kellyjLiuimby@yahoo.com Part I: Broadcast television Though it feels socially alienating, there is some merit in only watching broadcast television. For those of us who can’t afford satellite or cable TV (or are just too stubborn to pay S6O to get it fixed) it is a broadcast world. Programming may be boring 80% of the time, but we have developed ways of entertaining ourselves that those with three hundred channels needn’t bother with. While satellite can bring you Adult Swim on those late nights, we stay up, searching through You Tube for Daily Show clips and discovering bands that MTV, MTV 2, VHI, BET, CMT, etc. do not loop two hundred times a day. Thankfully,the void left by all those channels cannot be filled by broadcast. Time is spent listening to records and reading newspapers. Old fashioned, I know, but we must learn about the newest arrivals of books from somewhere. Though I am ignorant of today’s popular culture due to broadcast shortcomings, I am somehow surviving... even if I do still possess old Taking Back Sunday t-shirts from my long past days of pop music enjoyment. For the rest of your reading experience, I ask you to look at the world through the eyes of someone who does not regularly watch ullfe meat deorgian The University of West Georgia University Community Center, Room 111 Carrollton, GA, 30118-0070 Editorial Line: (678) 839-6527 Advertising Manager: (678) 839-4783 Editorial E-mail: uwgpaper@westga.edu Advertising E-mail: paperads@westga.edu On the web at http://www.thewestgeorgian.com circle of this campus to see just how wrong that is now. Drivers cut each other off to get the few parking spaces, beat the traffic lights, just get to class before the professor locks the door. The only thing that really saves the student body from the true sense of road rage is the fact that approximately every 6 minutes you will find a patrolling UWG police officer. The effect that a strong police presence has on campus is reassuring because it not only aids in the safety and security of the satellite programming. Think of the movies you saw on Star/ and HBO that you otherwise wouldn’t have seen. Think of the South Park jokes everyone laughs about the next day in class, and imagine you did not get to see it last night or the night before, or any night this week for that matter except when you impatiently streamed a couple of videos from Comedy Central .com. Think about the material I’m about to recommend—not as the outcasts of American popular culture; instead imagine that you are one of those people who, like myself, survive on the outskirts of mainstream life. If you are one of these brave people, do not think that I am trying to be snide or insulting. We are in similar situations, and I respect anyone who feels the void left by the information they are not receiving. The Best of Broadcast Television (TBS and CBS not included because for the most part their programming is reruns or just not that great) Channel 2: ABC o Daytime • Oprah: has one of the biggest fan bases in the world. Her humble roots and philanthropic ways have made her an army of Angel Network do-gooders and almost every book recommended by Oprah’s Book Club makes the New York Times Best Sellers List (Monday-Friday 4:00 students, it can also lead to some valuable lessons being learned. In a recent 3-day period, UWG Police dispatch logs recorded 11 traffic stops on campus, but only 3 citations. That tells me that in nearly 75% of the cases the officer chose to speak to the student/driver and hopefully impart a lesson on safety and lawful behavior. Students should greatly appreciate that kind of commitment and dedication to their future as well as their safety. Try getting off that easy off campus. It won’t happen. Fortunately for pedestrian students of UWG, the police department doesn’t enforce the jaywalking laws. That brings me back to my thoughts on PM). o Primetime • Grey’s Anatomy: perhaps the most popular doctor show on the air right now. The fan base is mainly female, but can you blame us? McSteamy and McDreamy are perfect male specimens that represent a miniscule demographic of American MDs (Thursday 9:00 PM) • Lost: survivors of a plane crash stranded on a desert island. How could such a cliche concept be so dam confusing? Hopefully when new episodes begin airing next week some of our questions will be answered (Wednesday 10:00 PM) Channel 5: FOX o Primetime • Prison Break: William Fitchner plays a believable FBI agent and Stacy Reach humbly graces the show as a warden. Though the casting directors made a great choice by allowing Robin Tunney to play Veronica Donovan, she was killed off last August when she was shot in the head. Casting has not improved since (Monday 8:00 PM). • 24: A revolutionary concept for a primetime television show has made 24 a cult classic. Kiefer Sutherland is an excellent acto’- and every hour brings more action packed debauchery. Just one question, when does Jack Bauer sleep???( Monday 9:00 PM) • American Idol: Personally, I hate this Jesse Duke, Editor-in-Chief Stephanie Smith, Advertising & Business Manager Larry Peel, News Editor Josh Boatright, Sports Editor Elizabeth Bounds, A&E Editor Josh Grubb, Photo Editor Rebecca Cheek, Copy Editor Yen Nguyen, Distribution Manager Erik Waters, Webmaster Doug Vinson, Advisor OPINION H courtesy. Yes, it is true that Georgia state law gives pedestrians the right of way in crosswalks. However, the association of crossing signals at intersections where there are traffic lights tempers that right. Does that stop the students who believe it is their god given right to cross when they feel like it? Of course not. I would be willing to bet that most students crossing at the TLC don’t even know there are signals in place that are supposed to regulate their movement. Those that do likely don’t care. The funny thing about it all though is that the same students who will walk out into the path of oncoming cars are the same ones who will sit and curse the pedestrians who walk in show, but because of the overwhelming attention it receives, I couldn’t very well skip over it. You would think that the shock factor would subside alter two or three seasons, but no, the American people drink it up, so Fox won’t cancel it.,., unfortunately (Tuesday 8:00 PM, Wednesday 9:00 PM*), ’ • Bones: based on actual forensic anthropologist. Dr. Temperance Brennan! Emily Deschanel) w ith ex-vampire David Boreanaz, the show is good background noise on lonely Wednesday nights (Wednesday 8:00 PM) • MADtv: (Saturday 11:00 PM) though it no longer has the all-star cast with which it began and Michael McDonald is the only recognizable face, there might be a few mildly funny sketches every now and again. • Animation Domination: Sunday nights on Fox is a magical time. The lineup boasts the best animated comedies on broadcast television. The Simpsons begin the night, King of the Hill follows, then Seth MacFarlane rules for an hour with Family Guy and American Dad. Possibly the best broadcast night of the week. (Sunday 8:00-10:00) o Late Night: If you are lucky, on certain days of the week, mainly after the 10:00 News, you can catch reruns of Malcolm in the Middle and King of the Hill. Channel 11: NBC o Daytime front of their car later on. A few weeks ago a visiting professor from Great Britain was in Atlanta on a convention when he decided that he too was better than us Yanks, and decided to cross at a location other than a marked crosswalk. According to news reports, the man was tackled by Atlanta Police, handcuffed and jailed for the offense. I bet if the UWG Police did that a couple of times we would suddenly find people actually can observe crossing signals. Pedestrians on this campus are selfish in other ways too. They seem to think that just because they are no longer in their cars that they are more entitled to • Jeopardy! It tragic, really. An intelligent show that once occupied a primetimeslotisnow lighting for ratings against Oprah Winfrey. Poor Alex Trebek. The bump is a speculated reason for the mustache removal...(Monday-Friday 4:00PM) o Primetime • World News Tonight with Charles Gibson: Undoubtedly the most accurate and informative daily news show' on broadcast television. Gibson was an excellent choice to fill the shoes of Peter Jennings though he doesn’t quite reach Jennings’ stature in the journalism realm. • Heroes: Personally, I never miss an episode of this show. I have an affinity for mutants. X-Men has been my comic of choice for over ten years (Betty & Veronica comes in a close second...) and when I watched the pilot, I knew I would be a devoted fan. My only suggestion would be to kill of Nikki/Jessica as she annoys me, but besides that one minor glitch, Heroes is unrivaled (Monday 9:00 PM) • My Name is Earl: A show that somehow seems vaguely in touch with my own life. Jason Lee is one of the funniest men (with one of the best mustaches) on primetime. Jamie Pressley is perfect for her role and Ethan Suplee (Randy) has achieved a healthier weight and career. (Thursday 8:00 PM) • The Office: At first I could not pinpoint what was Copyright Notice The West Georgian, copyright 2007, is an official publication ot the University of West Georgia Opinions expressed herein are those of the newspaper staff or individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of university faculty or staff. Letter Submission Policy The West Georgian welcomes letters to the editor. Letters may be mailed to: Editor, The West Georgian, University ot West Georgia, Carrollton, GA, 30118, or sent via electronic mail to: uwgpaper(2i westga.edu. All letters must be signed and include a phone number and mailing ad dress for verification purposes. Letters should not exceed 350 words and should be submitted by 5 p.m. the Sunday prior to publication. Editors reserve the right to edit for style, content and length. be in a rush than those still hunting in vain for a place to park. It is an incredibly common sight to see a vast line of students who approach a crosswalk and rather than stop for 45 seconds or so to cross as a group, choose to flow in a single line like a run of ducks. Not only is it rude, but also incredibly frustrating to the people who are waiting in line in their cars as the entire population of the Quad tries to get to the apartments in single file. It is amazing to me that this University has so few accidents and pedestrian vs. auto encounters. I suppose that is the sole consolation in this mess. No one has died....recently. so different about the Office. I mean, like American Idol it was a sensation in Britain that found fame across the pond. Then I realized, no stupid background music. Just acting and comedy. Extremely funny comedy. I do not believe Steve Carrell has ever made a dumb career move. (Thursday 8:30 PM) • Scrubs: And I thought NBC had cancelled this show. Silly me! After w atching the Scrubs musical two weeks ago, I fell in love with the show yet again. 1 do not believe there is a better use of fantasy sequences (except maybe Family Guy) anywhere. Though Scrubs has to fight with Grey’s Anatomy for ratings, I don’t think Grey ’s is even comparable. Forget the over attractive cast of Grey’s Anatomy, Scrubs is the doctor show to watch (Thursday 9:00). o Late Night • The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (Monday- Friday 12:00 AM) • Late Night With Conan O’Brien (Monday- Friday 1:00 AM) • Saturday Night Live: no matter how' much sketch comedies continue to decline, NBC will not give up. Now, not only do they have the ruined remnants of this once great sketch comedy show, but NBC also has Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip a “dramady” about a sketch comedy (which is a pretty accurate seeing how it is as boring as SNL) and 30 Rock which also isn’t funny and features ex-unfunny SNL cast member Tina Fey.