A Blind Spot for Headlines

Sometimes it's handy to have a blind spot.

I can't imagine how fully-sighted people do it. Whether you're watching CNBC, MSNBC, CNN, or (*dare I say it) Fox News, there's no end to the visual information. Clocks, news tickers, stock tickers, ticker tickers (just wait, they're coming), local temperatures and sports scores... How can you pay attention to any of it? Not that the talking heads at the top of the screen have anything worthwhile to say.

My roommate and I sometimes play the "How Much of This is News?" game when he puts on an "all-news" channel. Between the previews for upcoming stories, the recaps of previous stories, the commercials, the celebrity gossip, the pointless alerts, and the promos for specials, it's usually about 10% news. The percentage drops with the on-screen appearance of Lou Dobbs.

Still, I'm thankful that I only have to put up with the main-event crap: the talking head. I can't read any of the other stuff on screen, except when they put some giant word on the screen like "WAR," "TAXES," or "IKE" (which confused me until I realized that they weren't talking about the late President Eisenhower). I am thrilled to live in a world without a constant running headline. I love my ticker-less existence. I wish you all could join me.