The New York Times laments television's invasion of the pub scene, and Stephen K. Hindy of Brooklyn Brewery is looking for a place he can think.
Is TV the bane of your neighborhood bar?
Beer is great for inducing conversation. Television is great for killing it. And no, banal one-line cheers and jeers at a sports game don't count.
On the other hand, sometimes you don't want to talk to someone. Then the television is your friend.
Or, you have no one to talk to. Then you have a place to rest your attention besides looking into your beer.
Then again, television usually sucks, and you don't even have the remote to endlessly search for something better that probably isn't there anyway.
Ideally, you can go to the pub with another human being you trust. Then you have conversation, and no television is definitely a good thing. After a beer or two, the friend might leave, but by now you'll be feeling OK.
Still, bring your cell or blackberry or iphone just in case. Then you can pretend to use it if all else fails, and people will think someone cares about you.
If they think another human has found you acceptable, you just might be able to jumpstart another conversation. And so on.
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