Becky and I don't watch a lot of television, that is to say, we don't have cable or local channels and haven't since 2007. It's not that we don't watch TV shows, we do, we just don't watch TV. This is partly due to my vicious hatred of commercials and, well, most advertising, and the fact that we don't have time.
That said, Becky and I have realized that some of the most distinct memories we have of the homes we've lived in are of the books we've read, TV shows we've watched, and video games I've played while there.
Highlands Apartments, Boone, North Carolina – When I moved to Boone to attend Appalachian State University, I moved into University Highlands Apartments on the Highway 105 bypass. Initially living alone, I met a nice girl named Becky whilst a student at ASU and she eventually moved into the space with me. A science-fiction fan for most of my life, I had never indulged in Star Trek.
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| It's a great book, but don't take his word for it. |
Becky, meanwhile, had been raised on Star Trek: The Next Generation, watching the show with her mother with religious devotion.
Soon I became enmeshed in the world of Picard, Riker, Worf, sometimes Guinan, and the lot. The show, created by sometimes-Shinto Buddhist, Gene Rodenberry, was a classic science fiction morality play full of peaceful resolution, heroic action, tolerance, and other things which made The United Federation of Planets an ideal place in which to live, and Starfleet a badass place to work.
Not nearly as campy as its predecessor, at least once the first episode came and went (Deanna Troi in a Starfleet skirt), the show took on a darker tone once conflicts with the Borg began. Still, the show stayed true to its heart, and Data, the non-emoting android, even got an emotional implant chip and learned the value of human swear-words.
