One of the great advantages of online technologies and media is that I have been able to follow and stay abreast of the 2008 Presidential Election from abroad in a way that I was simply not able to back in 2000 and 2004. As I have mentioned, turning to podcasts kept me informed but at the cost of reading. Sometimes I even had the tendency to lose control and use online sources to watch TV shows or purchase (yes, I purchase) music. But now that the election is over, I should be back in full swing, reading up a storm. The problem is that in spending so much time searching for the latest new reel, interview or video footage, I also formed an unhealthy liking for certain American TV shows (curiously, I almost never turn on my television set). Here’s the pathetic list:

These shows may appear to lack in any concrete redeeming value, but while podcasts and online newspapers allowed me be closer to my country politically, the shows keep me be closer to my country culturally. Plus, Gossip Girl has great shots of New York City, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The Office really make me laugh.