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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Jacksonville mayor offers tours of historic courthouse that will become City Hall No fish, no funding for problem dams Since You Asked: What are those structures on the Table Rocks? Storm causes SoCal slides, but no serious injuries reported Get Up & Go: Dec. 13 Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Gang-related shooting in Portland sends 3 youth to hospital Emergency services Jail lobby commotion sends man back to cell 30 minutes after release Medford police cite 25 in illegal camping enforcement sweep Emergency services Politics and Elections Time running out for O&C funds GMO vote recount still shows little change GMO labeling votes recounted under careful watch in Jackson County Kent Bush: First Amendment doesn’t mean what you think it means East Medford's the charm Education A lesson in giving Hedrick student council works to clean up the language Table Rock solid: Elementary school praised for keeping attendance up Eagle Point superintendent invited to White House Eagle Point secures perimeter of Table Rock Elementary with new fence Environment No fish, no funding for problem dams Most residents speak against gas pipeline Coalition asks for defense of GMO ban Home Help: Make your new house feel like home Bighorn sheep reintroduced along Klamath River State News Gang-related shooting in Portland sends 3 youth to hospital GMO labeling proponents concede defeat Tribes can decide whether to legalize pot Lawyer says football player had altercation Congress keeps Coast Guard helicopter flying Nation - World Grand jury won't indict Ferguson cop in shooting Obituaries Steven Luke Duncan Death Notices Cory Davis Donna Marie Pitblado Lyle Walther Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Sports Latest Stories Crater freshman pulls upset at tourney Local soccer players make all-state teams Wilson rallies to knock off South Medford Setzer's 24 point carry Crater to tourney romp Spartans win eighth straight Varsity 541 College Sports Ducks, Beavers fall in NCAA tourney Long helps No. 14 Iowa State rout Iowa Scandal-free Heisman show focused on football Andersen calls OSU, Corvallis the ‘right fit’ Gordon seeks one more long run to win Heisman Pro Sports Pistons snap 13-game losing streak Knicks’ Anthony says he won’t drop no-trade clause Tringale, Day open three-shot advantage Manziel confident he’ll remain poised in start Rose is a thorn to Trail Blazers, scores 31 Community Sports Keeping Fit: Runners need to do more than run to stay in shape RESULTS/STANDINGS LOCAL EVENTS Business Latest Stories Rental owners group reports 2.48 percent vacancy rate Blog: It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like... K-BAR ignites agriculture boom beneath Table Rocks State lags on grocery inspections Blog: Bear Creek Plaza next up on the market Real Estate News Rental owners group reports 2.48 percent vacancy rate More sales, but no change in residential housing median price Dear Monty: Violation of HOA rules creates conflict Farmers file suit over GMO crop ban People In Business People in Business, Dec. 3 People in Business, Nov. 18 Transportation Allegiant Air will resume Medford-Phoenix service May 22 Agriculture K-BAR ignites agriculture boom beneath Table Rocks Southern Oregon wine industry had a robust 2013 Farmers file suit over GMO crop ban Lawsuit seeks to overturn Jackson County's GMO ban or net $4.2 million for farms Latest count shows Measure 92 supporters narrowing deficit Opinion Latest Other Views: Riley leaves strong legacy at OSU Our View: Cheers and jeers Letters to the Editor, Dec. 12 Guest Opinion: Suit threatens family farms and democratic vote Granlund cartoon: Flu shots less effective this year Editorials Other Views: Riley leaves strong legacy at OSU Our View: Cheers and jeers Our View: Sentencing reform pays dividends Our View: Find middle ground on timber policy Our View: Making sense of Medford crime numbers Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Dec. 12 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 11 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 10 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 9 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 8 Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Suit threatens family farms and democratic vote Guest Opinion: SOU pool decision short-sighted Guest Opinion: It's time for biologists to let OR-7 go dark Guest Opinion: It's time Oregon put a price on carbon Guest Opinion: Are we the preferred path to global devastation? Lifestyle Latest stories Barry Lewis: Getting into the holiday shopping spirit Play local, pay local Blog: BOOK IT! Friday: Playing the Extremes Community blog: Gobble gougeres as appetizers or with light meals Looking Up: It's Geminid meteor time! Food Community blog: Gobble gougeres as appetizers or with light meals Community blog: Choose presents cooks can cherish, not regift Roasted vegetables are rich, flavorful Food for Thought: Meal-planning hacks to help you dine fast and healthy Kitchen Call: Hints for gluten-free holidays Home and Garden Rogue Valley Christmas light displays Remodeling your attic: Know the details before you start Dear Monty: When a lawyer’s fee is four times higher than the quote Home Help: Make your new house feel like home Troubleshoot common water boiler problems Health Health Watch: Curb your kitchen cravings this holiday season Community blog: Unsubscribe.com Community blog: Redefining Family Dr. Murray Feingold: Say it like you mean it Community blog: Guiltless Holidays Better for our Health Hiking Biking Faith Religion news: Pope aims to expedite sex abuse rulings Milestones and Achievements Time running out for O&C funds Hire 'em and pray for snow Madi-Stiles A New Song Rogers-Horn Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Phil Newton & David Pinsky at 2Hawk Winery Live Music in Local Clubs Over Easy serves 'pop-up' brunch Sundays Meet the real Jacob Marley Bob Haworth plays EdenVale Winery Theater Meet the real Jacob Marley This Nutcracker ballet will have a superhero twist Plumbing the depths of meaning TMTO presents 'A Christmas Carol: The Musical' Theater review: 'Fiddler' charms audience in magical Camelot performance Music Rating old-timers’ albums from 2014 Phil Newton & David Pinsky at 2Hawk Winery Handel's 'Messiah' set for this weekend Live Music in Local Clubs Bob Haworth plays EdenVale Winery Community Events Rogue Valley Christmas light displays It's a Hamazon holiday at the Playwright Public House 4 Things to do this Week Soroptimist holiday home tour features four houses this weekend Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists Dining Over Easy serves 'pop-up' brunch Sundays Ooblies Artisan Waffle Sandwiches Brunch at Loft Brasserie The Bohemian Club Thanksgiving comes early at Taprock Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Medford police cite 25 in illegal camping enforcement sweep ... Our View: Cheers and jeers ... Guest Opinion: Suit threatens family farms and democratic vote ... Medford police cite 25 in illegal camping enforcement sweep ... Our View: Cheers and jeers ... Guest Opinion: Suit threatens family farms and democratic vote ... Jeff Vrabel: What's the deal with the Giant TV Thing? By Jeff Vrabel, More Content Now MailTribune.com By Jeff Vrabel, More Content Now Posted Nov. 3, 2014 @ 7:40 am By Jeff Vrabel, More Content Now Posted Nov. 3, 2014 @ 7:40 am GHNS » Social News Alright, someone explain to me the TV Thing — ­specifically, the Giant TV Thing, the genetic impulse that’s caught on during this luminous holiday season that's making everyone point their monster SUVs to the Giant Electronics Store and obtain the largest, LCDest, most plasmalicious television they can afford, and by “afford,” I mean, “pretty much not afford.” (I’m seeing subprime mortgage people lurking outside Best Buy these days, clipboards in hand, wearing capes; I’m just saying.) You could fill libraries with the stuff I don't understand, but this particular shopping development has been troubling me ever since I realized I needed a column idea about eight minutes ago. But as what is apparently the last member of my immediate circle of friends to not have a television with the power and authority to order missile strikes on ISIS and/or see through the fabric of time, I’m starting to think that the problem is me, and the problem can only be remedied by spiraling further into debt in pursuit for a TV of absurd proportions so I can, I don’t know, see — in glorious, incandescent realism — Blake Shelton flirt with Adam Levine. Part of the issue is that A., I am embarrassingly cheap, and B., I believe my current TV is just fine, if admittedly a little older, and by “a little older,” I mean “evidently one of the 10 to 20 most elderly televisions in America.” People come by to gaze through my window in slack-­jawed wonder, guests huddle in the corner snorting to themselves, judging me. Somewhere, on whatever giant interactive map the Nielsen people use to track who's watching “Two and a Half Men” at any given time, there’s a massive red circle drawn around my house with a clown face next to it. Yet my giant, 4,000-­pound non­-LCD plasma­-free HD­-less TV, which was purchased in 2001 ­ or, in TV terms, too bowel­-clenchingly old to even begin considering talking about in adult company, is just fine for my needs, which are basically to put on a confounded “Bob the Builder” movie whenever commanded by my often tyrannical ruler of a son, even if the command happens to come in the fourth quarter. (Somewhere, incidentally, there’s a parallel universe where the local review boards are going nuts about all the development Bob is responsible for, but I'm pretty sure that part’s not on PBS Kids). And it’s not like I haven’t tried to understand the Giant TV Thing; I recently went so far as to ask the reigning IT wizard/technophile/nerd at the office ­ a man who can literally assume control of my computer at will and whose most recent TV purchase came all the way back in Christmas 2013,­ what the possible reason could be for upgrading something that he could not possibly have broken yet, since he does not own a toddler who regards the television as the most convenient local item to tap with the hammer I can't seem to hide well enough. (I'm 39. Seriously, it’s ridiculous.) “Because,” he began, and that was about the last English word I heard, as at this point, his monologue deteriorated pretty quickly into a series of four­-digit numbers. Ten-eighty was the only one I could make out, although he might have been talking about his address, or the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia, which that year gained independence after its founder, Prince Ruben, succeeded in establishing his authority in the mountainous regions of Cilicia, and I totally did not even Wikipedia that, so don't bother checking. The Lord ­and probably Optimus Prime­ knows that I am not against gadgetry, nor the lively and needless accumulation of same; Apple comes out with an iPhone that’s exactly the same as my iPhone and is eight molecules lighter and has a slightly light shade of grey on it, I'm there. Bang. It's pathetic. I embarrass myself. Yet I’m also OK with it. I mean, listen, no one here is arguing against giant fighting robots, but the question is, are giant fighting robots worth several hundred thousand dollars? The answer is simple: It depends on if it turns into an iPhone. Jeff Vrabel is a freelance writer who is totally pulling for Team Blake. He can be reached at jeffvrabel.com. By Jeff Vrabel, More Content Now MailTribune.com By Jeff Vrabel, More Content Now Posted Nov. 3, 2014 @ 7:40 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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