TV Stinks! (or it will soon)

DVR, instant movies, internet streaming -- just three of the countless wonderful reasons to spend even more of your precious time watching TV in the 21st century. And now there's another enhancement to television viewing on the horizon that will make it even more irresistible. You may have heard the term "smell-o-vision" before, as it has been used jokingly to describe the concept of simultaneously watching and smelling TV programs. It's been speculated and dreamed about for many years now, and it looks like it might actually become a reality in the near future. I am so freaking excited about this new invention,  I just HAD to blog about it today. An article I saw online recently on Gizmodo said that scientists at UCSD, in conjunction with Samsung, are hard at work perfecting a device that will attach to your tv and will dispense aromas that reflect the subject matter of the program you're watching.  According to this article, "the technology works by using a 100x100 matrix of thin metal wires that heats any one of 10,000 smell-forming aqueous solutions, allowing for 10,000 different smells. The researchers tested two different perfumes, and found that the smells were perceptible up to 30cm away." How cool! I can't wait to watch the Food Network with one of these gizmos attached to my TV. And shows set on the beach will be so much better when they make my living room smell like tanning lotion and boardwalk french fried potatoes. But I'm hoping the gizmo will come with an "off" switch, 'cause I'm thinking there are some types of programming that would definitely NOT be enhanced by smell-o-vision (Post-game locker room interviews and cat food commercials are two that come quickly to mind.). Please,  Samsung, rush this product (with an on-off switch) through research and development so those of us who want one can pick one up at Target on our next trip to buy paper products and toiletries. I can't wait for the day when I can watch reruns of Charlie's Angels and I can enjoy the mingled scents of hair spray, cheap cologne, and easy money. I'm staying tuned...

SUMMER IS HOT!

Here's a little poem
In honor of summers past...

Ode to a Firefly

Firefly, flying by

Illuminating the dusky sky

Your fleeting glow catches my sleepy eye

Firefly, flying free

Not taking life too seriously

I’m looking at you, are you looking at me?

Firefly, flying past

Over the clover growing in the grass
Signaling summer has not yet passed

If I could talk to you

I’d ask you to explain

How your fire stays lit

Through the thunder and rain

I’d tell you how happy

I am when you're around

I'm eight years old again
And life is a playground.