Every human being is comprised of a unique combination of traits and attributes that make us who we are. Some of them have been there since birth, while we discover others as we get older. And then there's genetics, which I'm starting to think has something to do with my being borderline addicted to infomercials in a previous life. Don't believe that's a genetic trait? Consider this - my grandma used to buy up a ton of stuff from QVC when we were growing up, that channel basically being a collection of mini-infomercials. As children, when we couldn't sleep, my sister and I would watch infomercials late into the night and later tell mom all about them and how we needed whatever this latest product was. And now my 27-year-old cousin has taken to watching any and every infomercial that comes on the television, though he has yet to buy anything. It doesn't help that he's currently laid up with back issues and has little else to do but watch TV. But if he starts buying anything, we're gonna have to stage some sort of intervention (I'm only half-joking here).
Being a former infomercial junkie, I can't help but to notice how the infomercial industry has completely changed. They used to be on really late at night (or early morning, depending on how you look at it) in half hour blocks and now there are mini-infomercials slipped into the commercial breaks of almost everything on television. Amazingly, a few of the people in these ads are the same people from the ads I watched as a kid (and they look damn good for having been hawking products for twenty some years). One lady in particular, she gives off that grandma kinda vibe, had such a hold on me that she probably coulda sold me air for $9.99+tax during the height of my obsession. Then of course there's Billy Mays (is it me or is it kinda creepy he's still on TV?), probably the dude everyone thinks of when they hear 'infomercial'. Honestly I did like him though cuz he was genuinely passionate about what he was selling. Now that pesky 'Slap Chop' guy...he gets on my last damn nerve. Although I have to admit that I did like the early version of that ad where he said, "You're gonna love my nuts" cuz it was funny, (especially after the after that whole fight with a transsexual thing, which was...interesting). It may sound funny but I think infomercials were so much better back in the day. Now people sell the stupidest things, most of them having something to do with looking younger or making one or another body part look larger. I find absolutely no joy in watching infomercials anymore. Maybe that's why I'm upset (jokingly) about my cousin taking to infomercials now, as opposed to when we were kids - cuz he missed all the good stuff ;p
