I’m a man.

That statement carries with it all sorts of connotations. Being "a man" implies that I’m more physical than women, brawnier, coarser, and, in general, not as detail oriented as women.

I’m happy to report that I fit that description quite well, though I could stand to be bit brawnier, but that’s what health clubs are for.

Being a man also means that I tend to stay away from movies, books, and tv shows where there’s a lot of talking that centers on feelings. Men, in general, don’t talk about feelings, and we tend to not want to hear others talk about them either. We put up with the women in our lives when they talk about their feelings because if we didn’t there would be no sex, which is not an option.

When it comes to media we like action. We like to see things blow up, we like to see cars go fast, and we like to see as much of the female anatomy as an ’R’ rating will allow. We will even tolerate some talk about feelings if we are rewarded somewhere in the movie with a good sex scenes or some spectacular explosions. Preferably both. At the same time.

I freely admit that I am no better than most other guys when it comes to movies. The promise of sex and violence will hold my attention long after the normal three second limit has expired. So imagine how puzzled I am after realizing that I’ve watched a TV show that has nothing exploding, not one car is ever shown, and not even a plunging neck line is shown, from beginning to end. Worse: I enjoyed it!

The show in question is called In Treatment, and it stars Gabriel Bryne as a therapist and all of the ’action’ takes place in his office. It’s a half hour podcast available at the iTunes Store.

Laura during mid-meltdown in In Treatment

I watched the first episode called Laura (Monday’s session) and it’s about the session this woman, Laura, has with her therapist.

What was so compelling about a woman yammering away at her therapist? At first, nothing, but give it time and soon you can’t look away. Yes, the woman cries, gets all snotty, is fraught with indecision, and she talks, and talks, and talks.

But listen to what she says.

Mr. Bryne barely says 50 words throughout the show, but it’s enough to keep Laura talking, and he listens. So we listen.

Yeah, I know, it’s weird listening to a woman without any hope of sex, but give it a shot. Thankfully, you won’t feel a need to watch Oprah or get a hankering for an Orange Spice Mocha Latte, but you may actually enjoy yourself. That can’t be a bad thing, right?

I’m also a fan of science. I read the science news websites and magazines like stock brokers read the Wall Street Journal. I don’t do anything with all of that info, but it’s fun to me. For instance, did you know that lineage of all blue-eyed people can be traced to one person that lived 6,000 to 10,000 years ago?

Does knowing this info helps me to enjoy exploding cars or fast women any better? No, but it’s a cool bit of info all the same, and if you get a kick learning such scientific tidbits then you are going to love Discovery News, a podcast available at the iTunes Store.

Horsing around with pain in Discovery News

There are well over 80 episodes of Discovery News, each about three minutes long and each focusing on some cool facet of science. Whether it’s uncovering the mysteries of mummies or exploring the causes of allergies, you’ll find lots of cool stuff to ponder.

I particularly enjoyed the Cool Jobs series which examines many science-based occupations, like Mosquito Repellent Researcher. Now there’s a job that many won’t line up for, but is cool nonetheless.

Discovery News is a good find, so check it out.

Being a man also means that my sense of humor is tuned to a different frequency than that of most women. Humor to guys can be as overt as Moe poking Curly in the eyes while bonking Larry on the noggin with a sledgehammer, or as subtle as a well placed fake arrow through the head.

Regardless of whether or not you like The Three Stooges you’ll probably get a kick out of The Mortified Shoebox Show, which takes square aim at all the weird crap we did as kids.

One of the many reasons to love The Mortified Shoebox Show

These are side-splitters. No kidding. I throughly enjoyed the episode titled I Hate Drake. Maybe it’s because I’ve been there. I won’t go into it further as the memories are still fresh... and painful.

There are only five episodes, but more are promised and the current crop is good enough to watch several times.

Of course, you can grab The Mortified Shoebox Show at the iTunes Store.

Well, that’s a wrap for this week. Excuse me while I go and watch bikini clad women drive fast through a field of explosions while wearing fake arrows through their heads.

By the way, there’s a new game available for iPod users: Bomberman, from Hudson Software.

If you’re a fan of vintage arcade games then you’ll fondly remember Bomberman as one of the top time wasters of the day. The iPod version looks like a faithful reproduction of the classic and should be a lot of fun because we get to blow things up.

I’m in heaven.

More free stuff at the iTunes Store:

Vern Seward is a writer who currently lives in Orlando, FL. He’s been a Mac fan since Atari Computers folded, but has worked with computers of nearly every type for 20 years.