In Defense of Lameness

In my lifetime, I've noticed a bit of a pattern. New things emerge in the world or become popular on a wide scale and I scoff at them. I might even let loose a diatribe on how ridiculous they are or possibly attack them with my particularly snide brand of sarcasm. Of course, time passes and I find myself with the opportunity to try these new treasures for myself, at which time I invariably fall in love with them.

Historically, the best example of this is with my coffee drinking habits. When complicated espresso based drinks were made popular by such chains as Starbucks, I was still in high school in Eastern Connecticut. Being relatively rural, we were not infiltrated by the tall lattes and venti caramel macchiatos as quickly as more "cultured" areas, so these new drinks kept the sense of "otherness" that made them foreign and dangerous. I can remember defending the simplicity of a Dunkin Donuts coffee (at the time Dunkies did not offer café options, as they do now) as the way a real American drinks coffee, vowing never to succumb to the allure of the new "fancy" drinks.

Now, of course, I often enjoy a grande latte with no foam. If you put foam on my latte I am going to pour it on the drink counter and storm out (not really).

Having recognized this pattern, I would like to share the two most recent things that I have opened my eyes to that I initially dismissed as "lame."

The first is the Wii Fit: the next step in Japanese-based Nintendo's quest to take over the world. It's a video game for the Wii that, along with the accompanying balance board, guides you through a series of exercises and focuses your attention on things like balance, core strength and endurance. My initial reaction to this contraption was that it's ridiculous: yet another way people could make exercising more convenient. Well, I survived enough basketball practices to know that exercising should be anything but convenient. Furthermore, the concept of working out to a video game seems like the kind of thing that would make Red Auerbach roll over in his grave.

Now, Holly and I own the Wii Fit. I used it one morning and I was very impressed. As a former personal trainer, I know that there are some very simple concepts to focus on when building basic fitness, concepts that people tend to ignore. These revolve around having a strong core and building functional strength while balancing your muscle groups. The Wii Fit "trainers" do a great job teaching these basic concepts while helping you work through an exercise routine...not to mention that the balance games are really fun. So, I retract my initial declaration of "lame." I was wrong and I now see the light.

The second example from the past month comes from the TV show "Battlestar Gallactica." (The new one, I'm not interested in the 70's version yet.) Beginning a while ago, Holly became a fan of the show after watching the first season on DVD while on duty on her ship. She became quite involved in the show, to the point of interjecting stories or lessons from BSG into our daily lives. As you can imagine, I rode her pretty hard about this. I'm not necessarily sure why, because I actually like science fiction (Star Wars, Star Trek, Ray Bradbury books, for the most part) but I couldn't help being a little cynical about the whole thing.

So, one day I offered to watch an episode with her. I was confused, terribly confused. The storyline of BSG is ongoing and jumping in at a mid-point is rather difficult. Early on, Holly would have to stop the show and explain to me some backstory item that made the action onscreen understandable. As I got into it, though, the show gathered me in it's momentum. The effects are good and the characters are engaging (an essential component for me) and it's a lot of fun.

Most important, though, is that the writers and producers have used their medium to tackle some major issues: things like how we define loyalty, freedom and justice. Many of the issues facing the crew of Gallactica can be drawn back to the challenges we've faced in our real world over the past decade. If you're willing to let it, the show really get's you thinking.

So, call me a turncoat or a flip-flopper if you want. I just like to think that I allow my eyes to be opened to my own ignorance. I guess the lesson is that stereotypes and snap judgements can be useful (we'd never get anything done if we carefully weighed all information in the world) but every now and then a little investigation will bring you a nice surprise.

If you disagree, you can go frac yourself.