Thursday, March 04, 2004

There are people who are addicted to watching The Weather Channel. This is true. I saw a report.

I'm pretty sure there are worse addictions. But no addiction could possibly be duller.

Who has that much fasincation for barometric pressure? Who thrills to the emergence of a low pressure zone? What kind of person sits on the edge of their seat and listens to percipitation reports for the Midwest?

Don't these people know that they're missing "The Osbornes"?

Weather interests me when it's in my general vicinity. The Weather Channel features weather that's happening a great distance from me. I just can't bring myself to care what the pollen count is in Delaware.

There's a direct correlation between the distance I am from a hurricane and the amount of concern I have about said hurricane. The farther away it is, the less I care about it.

But The Weather Channel knows how to capture viewers.

Disasters.

I can't flip past a tornado without stopping to watch. And as I watch the funnel of destruction suck up the homes and dreams of some hapless family, I can't help but think.

"Cool."

Not because some family has lost everything, but because it's just cool watching the house break apart and the pieces fly through the air. That's something you can only see on The Weather Channel.

And it's kind of addicting...

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