Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it.

I hate commercials. Really, really hate them. I understand that they serve a purpose- and I don't blame companies for wanting to advertise their products- it's good business sense, after all. But I still hate them.

We didn't have commercials while we lived in England. We only had AFN- and the "commercials" on those channels were put out by the Air Force. Notices, reminders, etc... but no product pushing. I didn't realize what a blessing that was until we came back to the states.

The reason I really hate them right now, is because my children (The Boy, in particular) are old enough to be captivated by them. Especially infomercials.

The Boy is convinced that we absolutely HAVE TO HAVE aqua-globes. He is fascinated by the concept- and tells me with amazement that they will keep our plants green! Nevermind that we don't have any plants. I do not have a green thumb. I have never had the desire to have house plants. This doesn't stop The Boy from watching that infomercial wide-eyed and then tell me "We need to get that"

When we go to the grocery store- he wants poptarts. He wants cereal straws. He wants gushers, and fruit roll-ups, and whatever drink that is currently advertised with the annoying "respect the pouch" campaign.

These are food items that I have NEVER bought for our family. And I have no intention of starting. Right now The Boy accepts "that's not on our list" as reason enough- and doesn't complain. But the fact that he knows about these products annoys me. That he feels he needs these products annoys me.

We're getting rid of our cable soon- and I can't wait. We have quite a collection of movies and television shows on DVD. So we won't be bored. But we will get to enjoy our television minus advertisments.

Heaven.