What on Earth happened to public television?

I turned on Channel 13 (PBS affiliate in NYC) recently and the featured classic film was "Batman Forever." Yup.

As best I can tell, PBS isn't suffering for want of better films. If it was, I imagine there must be something better in Joel Schumacher's lacking oeuvre to justify an otherwise poor use of public funds.

Once upon a time PBS was the standard bearer of quality programming. Lately, the programming choices our public television network has made are a testament to how far removed PBS is from its commitment to deliver offerings consistent with a legacy of excellence.

As much as I love Pete Seeger, it's sad that PBS must disguise a two-hour fundraising infomercial as a "documentary" about the folk pioneer. Sadly, such is the state of PBS these days.

I'm no fool. I know PBS depends on the contributions of "viewers like you" for sustenance. I also know that these infomercials are food for PBS. I just wish that the Reel 13 Classic Movie Showcase didn't have to feature Val Kilmer in a rubber suit with nipples.

The incoming Republican majority in congress will almost certainly ensure a rough-road ahead for public television funding. For now, I can tolerate it, but it looks like PBS will only survive by becoming as generic and uninspired as the programming it used to set itself apart from.

The weather outside is frightful.

Change is almost always good

Homeowner.

Holy shit. It's officially a reality. Haley and I now own a condo in Jersey City. I'll admit, leaving New York City will be a tad bittersweet. I've been to cities big and small and none of them come close to matching New York City's grandeur. Still, I'm very excited about beginning this next chapter of our lives in a brand new place we can call our own.

From the looks of things, Jersey City has much in common with its big brother across the Hudson: chipped sidewalks, diverse cuisine and truly insane street people; it's those similarities that attracted me to JC. It's unabashedly corrupt politicians rake in money hand over fist from illegal business dealings with mafia affiliates. I can't summon an ounce of civic pride when I re-read that last sentence but it all makes for good copy in the morning news. Maybe life in Jersey won't be a carbon copy of an episode of The Sopranos but I'd wager that the JC politicians will do their best to fulfill my expectations. As long as money has value, crooks will be lurking just around the corner. Some crooks are near the top of the pyramid and those are the ones you really need to watch out for.

I'm not sad about leaving NYC for any inevitable loss of "street credibility." Fuck that. New York lost its street cred when it lost Brooklyn to the developers. Brooklyn is a shell of the wonderland it once was. Tradition and history have been replaced with vapid hipsterdom and the ever-expanding yuppie empire. We moved to Queens in 2008 in the hopes of starting a new life in a working class neighborhood. Then New York Magazine fucked it all up by declaring Sunnyside the 2nd best neighborhood in New York. It wasn't long before the skinny jean armada drifted across the Newtown Creek from Greenpoint and got down to the business of destroying a neighborhood. Change is good. I get that. That's why we decided to leave.

The upstairs neighbor in our new place is supposedly an FBI agent. This is unconfirmed but, if true, makes me feel a lot more secure in the unlikely event of a home invasion. Third floor occupants are a nurse and her young daughter. Also awesome in case our baby gets sick.

Life is good!