I took a break from Christmas card writing and studying Korean to do a little channel surfing on cable TV.  I do that sometimes when I take a study break.  My wife thinks I’m great at finding interesting things to watch on the “stupid box.”  (“Stupid box” is the North Korean word for television; it is such a fitting word!)  There wasn’t much on at 1 p.m. on a weekday before Christmas.  I surfed until I came upon the classic movie “Tremors,” the Kevin Bacon featuring oversized worms that eat anything that moves (literally).  It’s probably the umpteenth time it’s been broadcast on cable.  I think the cable movie stations have it on permanent rotation.  It’s one of those movies cable features over and over.  Other films that are cable standards include Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s “Kindergarden Cop” and “Predator”, “National Lampoon’s Vacation” featuring Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo and “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” starring Steve Martin and John Candy.  Although I don’t watch TV that often, I’ve probably seen parts of “Vacation” dozens of times.  I always seem to stumble upon “Tremors” and “Vacation” halfway through the movie.  Whenever I turn on the TV and find  Kevin Bacon, Reba McIntyre, and Michael Gross talking in cheesy southwestern accents perched atop buildings or vehicles and fighting off grotesque earthworms with tentacle tongues.  I almost always stumble upon “Vacation” when the Griswold family is driving through Kansas en route to the Grand Canyon.  I usually turn it off after they drop dear old Aunt Edna off at their cousin’s home in Arizona.  Although I’ve seen these movies’ endings dozens of times, I rarely have a chance to catch the beginning.  Take the movie “The Ring” for example.  HBO aired the show ad nauseum a couple months ago, and I always found it on TV mid-way through the movie.  I’ve seen the ending about 4 times, but I’ve never seen the beginning.  I even thought about renting it so I could see the beginning of this intriguing flick, but why would I when I’ve seen the ending so many times?  I’ll wait until it cable airs it again, and maybe I’ll go see the next installment of “The Ring” due out next spring.  Maybe it’s time to get a TiVo and a TV guide so I can pre-record these shows and watch them in their entirety.  Until then I guess I’ll have to be content with watching half reruns.