the internet
the internet really sucks when you don’t want to know about anything.
Word. My internet avoidance last reached this level of insanity during the 2006 NCAA Basketball Tournament, when I attempted to watch every game of the regionals via Tivo. Nearly every conversation I had - with friends, family, co-workers, or fellow MUNI passengers - was prefaced with, “I’m taping the game! Don’t tell me the score!” This was further complicated when I had to prepare a brief for a client named, no joke, George Mason. But I pulled it off, eventually watching Adam Morrison cry his eyes out versus UCLA at around 1:30 AM, completely unspoiled.
These Olympics are impossible. I inadvertantly spoiled an event for myself mere hours after the start of competition. Even if you manage to avoid news sites, instant message spoilers, sports headlines that appear as Gmail ads, and all normal human interactions, you are totally screwed if you miss the unpredictable TV broadcast. On the official site, every video of a swimming final is labeled with the name of the winner. It’s as if NBC is giving you the finger and saying, “Guess you should have sat through Mary Carillo’s trip to the Three Gorges Dam if you wanted that free relay to be a surprise, huh?”
In your face, still, France.
