A few culture notes, because I don’t think enough neurons are firing in my head to handle anything other than arts and entertainment at the moment:
Despite everything I expected, I’m enjoying “Game of Thrones.” I generally despise anything involving broadswords and magic, and GoT has a lot of the former, less of the latter, plus boobs (this being HBO). The characters tend toward ridiculous names, but are helpfully color-coded — the Peroxide Twins, the Strawberry Blonde Clan — or are recognizable enough that I can keep them straight from scene to scene, like Mayor Carcetti on “The Wire,” whom we learned last week was a eunuch. (He’s gossips and schemes. You know how eunuchs are.)
No one is more surprised by this than I am. I’m not a fan of David Benioff, who’s co-writing this thing, and haven’t been since I saw him speak at Michigan way back when. There’s way too much exposition-through-dialogue — Lord Dyphtherion, how go affairs at your castle Wickershamshire? Is your brother still recovering from the injuries suffered in that joust with dark knight Bubonicus? What was at stake? Some significant titles and land? — but Benioff knows everything sounds better in a British accent. And once you’ve got the initial sorting by hair color and subplot, it’s no harder to follow than any soap opera. I’d like a little more magic, though. I assume it’s coming. I hope it won’t be too silly.
As different from “Game of Thrones” as chalk is from cheese, “Treme” is back for its second season, now examining Katrina-scarred New Orleans from a distance of a year and change. This is when residents knew for sure just how much the rest of the country cared about them (not much) and when the overstressed institutions of social order, mainly the police department, began to break down. I’m so bummed Ashley Morris isn’t alive to see this, but fortunately, the people at the Back of Town blog are breaking down each episode for us, and if you’re not following along there, you’re missing something. I recommend it over any professional “Treme” criticism, including this Salon piece (spoilers galore), which boiled down to: I didn’t like this scene, ergo, suckitude.
Y’all know what a David Simon fan I am; I will put my little hand in his and follow him anywhere. But generally, I’m finding this season better than the first, and not just because I know everyone now. Detroit is New Orleans in a colder climate, with a disaster that struck in slow motion, rather than in meteorological form. But they have a great deal in common, and the questions Simon is asking are the same ones anyone with open eyes asks when they live around here, about responsibility, complicity and all the rest of it.
(The scenes with the crazy chef, Enrico Brulard, I can only attribute to Simon’s bromance with Anthony Bourdain, although they’re plenty entertaining. I love food and respect the craftsmanship that goes into preparing it well, but watching Brulard fuss over dishes was a useful reminder not to worry too much about anything that will be in the municipal sewer system in 24 hours.)
Finally, “The Killing” is starting to grate. (All these shows run on Sunday night, when I’m working. Thank my lucky stars for DVRs and on-demand cable) It started out so well, and now in episode six or seven or something, all I’m looking forward to is the end, when the red herrings are shoveled off the deck and we find out who done it, and I’m already worried we’re in for some late-arriving character who will come bearing a suitcase full of deus ex machina. I’m already tired of so much, which I’m now realizing is mainly clichés served up by Enrico Brulard, with artful presentation and some garnish you don’t recognize — the Female Detective Who’s Married to Her Job, the Innocent Party With a Secret, etc. And the rain! Lord, the rain. I know it rains in Seattle, and I know it rains a lot, but presumably people come equipped for it, and occasionally bother to put their hoods up.
I’ve seldom been as thoroughly hooked by anything as I was by the first two episodes of “The Killing.” I’ve seldom been so disappointed by what came afterward.
Your thoughts? It’s sweeps month, you know.
A little bit of bloggage:
Jim Cramer, profiled in the NYT magazine, discusses his joust with Jon Stewart, which wasn’t really a joust at all. Mr. Whinypants says:
“As soon as he started, I realized Stewart was on a mission to make me look like a clown. I didn’t defend myself because I wasn’t prepared. What was I supposed to do, talk about how often I had been right? Praise myself? Get mad? I was mad, but I didn’t want to give the audience any blood. The national media said I got crushed, which I did, and made me into a buffoon.” He looked at his plate and shook his head. “You have a whole body of work and then — ” He signaled the waitress for more coffee. “Stewart was the prosecutor, and I was Exhibit A. But what was the crime? What did I do wrong? I wasn’t running Fannie or Freddie. I wasn’t in charge at Countrywide. CNBC was completely good. Better than the Department of Justice. What I did every night was call these bad actors out. I sat there with Stewart and thought: He’s never even seen my show. He doesn’t even know what I do.” He paused for a moment. “Obviously I didn’t know what he does, either.”
Tell it to someone who cares, Jim.
The last people in the world to discover Donald Trump is not what he seems, speak:
“The last thing you ever expect is that somebody you revere will mislead you,” said Alex Davis, 38, who bought a $500,000 unit in Trump International Hotel and Tower Fort Lauderdale, a waterfront property that Mr. Trump described in marketing materials as “my latest development” and compared to the Trump tower on Central Park in Manhattan.
“There was no disclaimer that he was not the developer,” Mr. Davis said. The building, where construction was halted when a major lender ran out of money in 2009, sits empty and unfinished, the outlines of a giant Trump sign, removed long ago, still faintly visible.
Mr. Davis is unable to recover any of his $100,000 deposit — half of which the developer used for construction costs.
“Revere” — what a strange word to use in that context.
A long piece on Hillary Clinton’s term as SoS that I haven’t read yet, but plan to. Over the weekend, maybe.
Which will start soon. Enjoy yours.
4dbirds said on May 13, 2011 at 10:42 am
Because you mentioned Detroit I was reminded of a Facebook comment on a friend’s link: “The republicans will win in 2012 if they make “Where would you rather live? Dallas or Detroit” as their slogan”. I’m sure the commenter will swear he’s not a racist.
Bummer about The Killing. I haven’t seen the last two episodes but I have them taped. I’ll watch it anyway and hope I’m easier to please. 🙂 I so want it to stay good.
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Heather said on May 13, 2011 at 10:45 am
Nancy, just a quick correction: Littlefinger (Mayor Carcetti) isn’t a eunuch–the eunuch is Lord Varys, the bald, plump guy on the king’s council, or whatever they call it, with Ned Stark.
There are so many characters in the books it’s definitely hard to keep them straight. Some of the books have (very long) appendices which organize them by family or clan, but still, it gets confusing, especially when some of the names are so similar (Tywin/Tyrion/Tyrell). It’s hard to tell since I have read the books, but it seems like the screenwriters have done a pretty good job of condensing and streamlining the story for TV.
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brian stouder said on May 13, 2011 at 11:16 am
Jim Cramer, profiled in the NYT magazine, discusses his joust with Jon Stewart, which wasn’t really a joust at all. Mr. Whinypants says: etc etc
Irritants within Sorkin’s book Too Big to Fail were the constant (constant) references to CNBC. Almost every time a scene gets set, we are informed that ‘Paulson (or Bernanke, or Blankfein – the chairman at Goldman Sachs, etc etc) had CNBC on in the background’; sometimes this or that person would have Bloomberg on in the background, but most often CNBC gets the nod, and the narrative would often name this or that CNBC personality, who was busy ‘squawking’ there. Cramer himself gets several pages at a critical juncture early on in the narrative, when the folks at Lehman invite him into their office for an early-morning sitdown.
Another criticism of the author’s style was that, many times, when a new major figure was introduced, we would be told that he “looked much younger than his years”. This was often enough that I began to wonder if this was a subtle reward for selected, helpful sources .
Anyway – we don’t do HBO, so the game of thrones that pulled me in is Survivor, and Boston Rob. The guy is great, but he’s toast. The only question is, who will finally reach for the long knives, and end his reign? (my guess is, the women will co-opt the Federal Agent, and that will be that)
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Mark P. said on May 13, 2011 at 11:21 am
“Obviously I didn’t know what he does, either.”
How can someone who works in the media not know what Jon Stewart does? This Jim Cramer must be the one that just got back from a years-long trip to another planet.
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John Alexander said on May 13, 2011 at 11:25 am
Dead-on about The Killing ( pun -intended) – the feeling at the end of each episode now is very much one of disappointment more than anything else.
In fact you can see the decline in quality by watching the last few minutes of the later episodes- the first few ended in a dramatic fashion with interesting twists to the plot:now it’s just -slow.
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moe99 said on May 13, 2011 at 11:26 am
Heather, I watch GOT with 4 other folks. We’ve all read the books, several of them have read them twice, so any stray questions about characters are answered quickly. One thing we are all agreed on is how closely the show hews to the novels. This is a series that is loosely based on the Wars of the Roses so its going to get a lot worse before it gets better (we hope, but the written series is not completed yet). There is also a bit of an homage to Dorothy Dunnett’s Game of Kings the first in her Lymond series (which has been thankfully finished for many years). I highly recommend Dunnett’s Lymond and Niccolo books if you like detailed historical fiction.
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LAMary said on May 13, 2011 at 11:27 am
HBO was one of the things that went away when the household income dropped and the college tuition went up. I’m ok with that. I don’t get all shushy on Sunday nights when whatever I’m hooked on comes on, and although I admit to the truly sick guilty pleasures of the Real Housewives of Wherever, it’s rerun so many times there’s no need to schedule around it.
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Julie Robinson said on May 13, 2011 at 11:48 am
We don’t do HBO or even cable, but what with Netflix and hooking up the computer to the TV for Stewart and Colbert, we still don’t have enough time to get everything watched. But I never miss 30 Rock, and I think I’m in love with Tina Fey. I so totally get Liz Lemon and am laughing out loud the whole show.
Which is a good way of saying I just finished Bossypants and want everyone to read it. Like the author, it is funny and smart and a little poignant, and a very good read.
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nancy said on May 13, 2011 at 12:18 pm
Thanks for the correction on that eunuch question, Heather. I should have known the eunuch would be the bald, plump one — hair loss and increased body fat being one of those eunuch things. (Also, if I were a man who’d lost my testicles, I’d eat to compensate.)
I have to say, though, I giggled when the slave woman said, “The khalisi is hungry. Go get some ducks!” I wanted the knight or whoever to say, “How many?”
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Deborah said on May 13, 2011 at 12:21 pm
When we got our new TV and moved it into the library instead of the bedroom I never watch TV anymore. I barely watched it before. It would be different if we had HBO, which we don’t. I used to watch Rachel Maddow every once and awhile but I don’t even do that anymore. She started to bug me, she seemed too critical of Obama all the time. Little Bird has HBO and I’m sure she’ll have something to say in this thread about GoT she loves that kind of thing.
I spend my time reading blogs, watching DVDs (on the new TV) and reading books on my iPad (and occasionally in print) now. I don’t miss TV, except when I read these posts about Treme.
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Jakash said on May 13, 2011 at 12:42 pm
Same deal in our household, Julie. I used to love HBO and miss it occasionally, but there’s so much other stuff out there that I more often feel relieved at NOT being able to watch all these new shows, such as the ones mentioned by NN above. It isn’t easy paying no attention to Mad Men hype so that we can enjoy it fully when it hits Netflix, but we manage. (I realize that that’s on AMC and not HBO…)
I believe I would currently give 30 Rock the nod over Modern Family as the funniest show on TV, but they’re both hilarious. We have Bossypants from the library, but haven’t gotten started on it yet. We HAVE sampled quite a bit of the Tina Fey publicity whirlwind that has accompanied the release of the book. She is the best.
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prospero said on May 13, 2011 at 12:43 pm
South Riding is way better, and it has Laura Linney, who is so gorgeous it’s ridiculous. She isn’t actuallly Emma Peel, but face it ladies, only one woman was ever that perfect. And knew it for a fact.
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Sherri said on May 13, 2011 at 12:56 pm
On rain and “The Killing” – while it does rain, and rain often, in Seattle, it doesn’t usually rain that hard, so no, lots of time, we aren’t bothered to put up our hoods, or use umbrellas. I sometimes forget when I come back east to visit family that when it rains there, I need to use my hood, because you get really wet when it rains there.
My husband keeps complaining about the rain in “The Killing” being too hard. “It doesn’t rain like that here!”
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prospero said on May 13, 2011 at 1:04 pm
Jakash, the problem is that morons voteane wmeting as brilliant as Terriers gets canned. What I’d like to know is who the fuck Watches Survivor? AND what the fuck is wrong with you? Deborah, there is outstanding TV these days, But it all gets cut short. Terriers was surely as good as it gets. Anybody that didn’t love that was a Phillistine, a pawdeen. Any of these half-hour comedies, they aren’t Cheers or MASH. MASJ rerins to this day are way funnier than any of the current drivel.
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prospero said on May 13, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Sherri, You made me think of CS Lewis on the subject of weather. How we feel things.
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Jolene said on May 13, 2011 at 1:14 pm
Absolutely right about the rain, Sherri. I lived in Seattle for five years, and, while it does rain hard sometimes, it’s not the occasional hard rain that gives the place its atmosphere–either real or psychological. It’s the constant dampness, drizzle, and mist. They do get the general color scheme right–the blue-grayness of the place.
Although I’ll likely follow it through to the end, I, too, am disappointed in how the show is unfolding. I keep wondering how many missed flights and other delays Linda’s fiance is going to put up with and why she doesn’t just say, “I’m not going to be able to leave until we solve this case.”
I decided not to invest in GoT, but am still following The Borgias, so my Sunday evenings are also full of TV. It’s had some low points too, but seems to be picking up again. And even when it’s slow, it’s got Jeremy Irons and gorgeous costumes.
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Catherine said on May 13, 2011 at 1:19 pm
Every time I go to Seattle, the weather is gorgeous. I think the rain is a myth they put about to keep the Californians away.
Julie, Bossypants is in the nightstand stack but not at the top yet. I read a lovely excerpt from it, “Prayer for My Daughter.” Favorite lines:
“Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes. And not have to wear high heels.
“What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.”
Full prayer, here: http://bit.ly/i14Erj
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Rana said on May 13, 2011 at 1:23 pm
Sherri, I also agree on the misperception of PNW rain versus Midwestern rain. I went to college in Portland and I didn’t own an umbrella at any point during my four years there – a hat and a decent outer layer were more than adequate. Here it’s better to own an umbrella so you don’t swelter in your rain gear.
I have similar reactions whenever I watch CSI. For a show set in Las Vegas (and occasionally the surrounding desert) there’s an awful lot of rain. C’mon, people, get creative and figure out a way to create atmosphere that doesn’t require precipitation.
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ROGirl said on May 13, 2011 at 1:40 pm
After Six Feet Under and the Sopranos I dropped HBO. I’ve been catching up on True Blood, Hung (recognized local locations where they filmed, like Somerset), and the Wire with DVDs from the library.
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Bitter Scribe said on May 13, 2011 at 1:46 pm
I just got done interviewing a food industry consultant for a trade magazine article. He was making a point that food depends on repeat customers, and said something to the effect that, It’s not like Donald Trump, where you can sell someone an apartment once and you don’t care if he doesn’t like it.
When your name is used as a metaphor for “ripoff,” you’re in trouble.
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Jakash said on May 13, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Boy, I’m fairly hesitant to actually disagree with you, Prospero, but I’ve watched MASH and Cheers reruns recently and been very disappointed by both. I used to like them both, but, to me, many of the episodes don’t hold up well. I don’t know if you’ve watched them or not, and certainly tastes differ, but both 30 Rock and Modern Family are laugh-out-loud funny to me. MASH and Cheers, at least the episodes that I’ve seen lately, aren’t anymore. That being said, there’s more of a heart to those old shows. Whereas 30 R and MF are, to a large extent, funny for the sake of being funny. But funny is what I’m looking for in a sitcom. Now, we never watch reality shows, so at least I’m not guilty on the Survivor count…
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virgotex said on May 13, 2011 at 2:09 pm
On behalf of all us hooligans over at BOT, thanks for the props, NN.
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Deborah said on May 13, 2011 at 2:09 pm
You better believe that when Mad Men comes back next year I will be glued to the TV on those nights. I also came to like Breaking Bad, so when that returns I’ll watch that.
Catherine, I have had the same experience as you, every time I have visited Seattle the weather has been sunny. I’ve been there maybe 4 or 5 times because my husband’s brother lives there, or I’ve been there on business.
Speaking of business trips, next week I’ll be in Detroit, one of those whirlwind all business trips, but this time at least it’s in the center city area which I’ve never been in before. The only other places around there that I’ve been is the airport during layovers, Dearborn to go to an advertising agency for business and to Cranbrook with some of my husband’s architecture students.
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Jolene said on May 13, 2011 at 2:18 pm
Deborah, a week or so ago, the NYT 36 Hours travel feature was about Detroit. Doesn’t sound like you’ll have much time for looking around, but it might be worth checking out.
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paddyo' said on May 13, 2011 at 2:26 pm
So it’s TV review day, is it?
— Game of Thrones: I’d never heard of, let alone read, the books but have become Hooked-B-O on the series. Peter Dinklage’s dwarf-rogue Tyrion Lannister is my fave character, closely followed by plucky swordsgirl Arya Stark (actress Maisie Williams’ first credit, I believe). Arya’s daddy, Sean Bean (Eddard Stark, “The Hand of the King”), is dependably disagreeable, as always, which is good. Cool geography for this imaginary kingdom, too, though I agree that the exposition is heavy-handed, particularly last Sunday’s. Never thought I’d relish the words, “Winter is coming . . . .”
— Treme: Even MORE great music this season! The overall dark turn of plots (last Sunday’s episode was a downer for just about every character featured) is a more realistic post-Katrina than the somewhat upbeat play of season 1 (the Ashley character excepted, of course) and just more interesting. But I am sooo ready now for Kim Dickens’ Janette to fillet, chop and puree Victor Slezak’s insufferable NYC chef Enrico into creme Brulard and get on back to cookin’ in the Quarter.
— The Killing: Agreed to all of the above. It rains wayyy too hard and often in that version of Seattle. The twists and turns of potential suspects are getting soggier than a wet copy of The Seattle Times, too. I’ve been telling my viewing companion (she’s where I get my HBO fix, DVR’d for weekends and Wednesday nights) that I think Belko Royce (Brendan Sexton III), that shifty family “friend” and co-worker of the dead girl’s dad, had something to do with it.
And finally, Prospero, I never thought it would hook me, but I-the-fuck watch Survivor, too, thanks, and this season’s a clinic by “Boston Rob” (a four-time player; the series has been around for 20-some seasons now). I agree, Brian, Rob’s not long for the game now, but watching him thoroughly manipulate everybody AND play an expert game this season has been an ultra-guilty pleasure. He’s also very lucky: Had he been sorted into the other tribe at the start (as was arch-villain Russell), he’d have been voted out weeks ago.
And as for Cramer: That Bozo may only amount to the court-jester of the Wall Street scandal, but he still deserves whatever scorn is heaped upon him. Cry us a river, Jimbo . . .
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alex said on May 13, 2011 at 2:32 pm
A follow-up on Fort Wayne’s yellow dog running as a Democrat for a council seat (discussed here by Nance the other day). Turns out he has been disqualified because he registered to vote in Milwaukee during his little “vacation” there the past few months.
I was freaked when I saw the picture because he’s a panhandler I’m always avoiding like the plague. Very creepy vibe and hygiene that’s even more frightful. OMFG.
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paddyo' said on May 13, 2011 at 2:32 pm
P.S. — As much as I liked 30 Rock the first two or three seasons, it feels lately like it has jumped the shark . . .
Bring on Breaking Bad!
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brian stouder said on May 13, 2011 at 2:36 pm
What I’d like to know is who the fuck Watches Survivor?
[excitedly] I do!! I do!!
AND what the fuck is wrong with you?
[subdued, raspy whisper] Good God! Technically unexplainable, although I’m sure Pam could produce a pretty good 20 page monograph on that subject
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Sue said on May 13, 2011 at 2:38 pm
I am decades past this time in my life, but I WANT THIS BOOK!
http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/05/13/go.the.f–k.to.sleep/index.html?hpt=C2
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mark said on May 13, 2011 at 2:52 pm
Thanks for the link to the Vanity Fair Clinton piece. I’ve become a big fan of HRC as Secretary of State, and I was happy to read it. A strangely unsatisfying profile. Not exactly superficial, but not much deeper. Her influence has been huge, I think, and the article hints at, but never really digs into the magnitude of the changes she has brought and the extent of her authority, particularly abroad.
One area where I’m not on her bandwagon is our involvement in Libya. “Days, not weeks” we were told. Oops. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110513/ap_on_re_us/us_us_libya
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prospero said on May 13, 2011 at 2:56 pm
The killing is about to be ex in my house. Terriss? Jack Bauer?? South Riding, on the other hand, is positively amazing.
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Heather said on May 13, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Thanks for the tips, Moe. I will check them out. Although I tend to treat the GoT books like beach reads–there’s a lot of scanning and flipping ahead. Great story though. And his descriptions of the meals are always amazing.
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Judybusy said on May 13, 2011 at 3:04 pm
I’ve not heard of GoT, either, but did begin the epic Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. I think I’ve read 8 of the thirteen published. Initially, I was captivated—lots of strong female characters, creative magic, interesting world full of various cultures. There are people on the side of evil and people battlig them, including a Christ-like main figure. Now, I’m getting to the point, Just Get to the Final Battle, already! It also has a kajillion really active characters, some who die but get reinarnated as the opposite gender. Even so, I’ll probably finish; they are easy entertainment.
I don’t watch a lot of current TV. For some reason, I love NCIS. We tend to Netflix stuff from BBC, such as MI5 and an earlier series, Doc Martin. We also got completely hooked and burned through the new (and completed) Battlestar Galactica series. I will always, always mourn the loss of Firefly. Stupid Fox.
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Dexter said on May 13, 2011 at 3:15 pm
All this week I keep thinking of this week’s Treme episode and raynola’s Back of Town post (May 10).
I’m the guy who tried hitch hiking to New Orleans, went stone broke in Slidell and never made it, but I love Treme the show and ray really poured his heart into that post. The whole New Orleans scene has held my keen interest since I read that book by John Kennedy Toole so many years ago.
I read a lot of blogs and Back of Town blog has some real soulful contributors. I love those folks.
I usually only watch one network show a season, and this season it is The Chicago Code, on FOX-TV. And , of course, it’s been shit canned. I have become used to such games. Why even watch a show when you just know it isn’t ever coming back after one short year?
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brian stouder said on May 13, 2011 at 3:21 pm
pssst –
and The Kennedys was good stuff, too!
(and I’ll concede every point regarding its cheese factor)
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prospero said on May 13, 2011 at 3:24 pm
And for disliking novels based in wizards etc. Try th eamber novels by Roger Zelazny. Most of it takes place in the real world, And whatever you say Breakout kings is enttrely better. No whiny. One red herring too many. And obnoxious pard is just an asshole. And the equivalent of wifey that doen’t get the obsession, pardon my ass. f he was half a man, he’d share Linden’s obsession, In the last two years, there were two shows better written and more interesting, Life and Terriers. Too smart for moron TV watchers, I’m aure this shit is only around for the softcore, It isn’t for the intelligence of the writing. And for theKi;;ing, when does one of the ggrieved prents kill the rb guy in error?
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MarkH said on May 13, 2011 at 3:30 pm
Cramer — Paddyo’ beat me to it, as I have ALWAYS labeled him the court jester of the finanacial world. The Stewart interview disappointed me in both Cramer AND Stewart. Cramer, because he was so stupid to go on the show, apparently without a clue that he was about to be made a pinata, and he let it happen. Stewart, because he is capable of taking apart much more culpable and sophisticated participants in the financial mess. Instead, he chose Cramer and succumbed to the easy cheap shots. Cramer is a buffoon and merely a symptom of all the shenannigans.
Now, OT — To our Hoosier friends: WTF? Aren’t you talking about this?
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_ec169697-a19e-525f-a532-81b3df229697.html
Goodbye, 4th Amendment.
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Jakash said on May 13, 2011 at 3:44 pm
We watched Chicago Code, too, Dexter. I thought it was entertaining and that they used the Chicago setting pretty well, which was why we watched in the first place. I’m not too surprised that it didn’t catch on, though, and I don’t really blame Fox, since the ratings just weren’t there. Even the creator of the show said something to the effect that the suits at Fox liked the show, but they have a business to run. I just wonder if they prepared for the possibility of it not continuing and wrote it so the good guys get the Alderman in the season (now series) finale.
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prospero said on May 13, 2011 at 3:44 pm
MarkH, this is just a continuation of anti-Constitutional bullshit from the Scalia court. It wasn’t long ago that liberal activist judges were the shibboleth of choice of right-wingers. There never were any, and now that the activist judges are all a bunch of Long Dongs, this rhetoric has disappeared. Activist fascist judges are apparently desirable. No citizen has ever been detained under false pretences, and every single fucking time, he’s given cops outright approval to search all his shit. Nobody has rights. But Scalia’s right to avoid recusal when he can appoint a pointy-headed little POS president that didn’t win an election, well that’s just fine..
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Julie Robinson said on May 13, 2011 at 3:49 pm
Dexter, like you I am reluctant to get involved with a TV show since it seems my tastes run counter to those of the programmers. Me like=kiss of death.
Here’s a bit of treasure from Bossypants:
“My Honeymoon, or A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again Either*
*If you get this reference to David Foster Wallace’s 1997 collection of essays, consider yourself a member of the cultural elite. Why do you hate your country and flag so much?!”
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paddyo' said on May 13, 2011 at 4:06 pm
BTW, the discovery of porn in the bin Laden raid apparently may be giving a whole new meaning to the term “thumb drive” . . .
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MichaelG said on May 13, 2011 at 4:13 pm
MarkH, a few years ago I would have been appalled. Today it’s just business as usual.
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MarkH said on May 13, 2011 at 4:14 pm
Well, thanks, Prospero. Mmm, not quite what I was looking for, but predictable nonetheless. This was the Indiana state supreme court, and I am optimistic that this decision won’t survive even your version of SCOTUS.
EDIT – Michael G, point taken. But, again, I’d like to think this trouncing of the 4th amendment is too extreme for survival.
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Suzanne said on May 13, 2011 at 4:14 pm
Mark H…
I didn’t know about this new ruling, but I’m not worried, since I can now take my gun to church, the public library (which, of course, if you listen to our gov., no one uses anyway), and even to work!
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Bob (not Greene) said on May 13, 2011 at 4:30 pm
MarkH — Wow. I can’t believe that this would make it past the U.S Supreme Court, but until then have fun with your police state, Indiana. “Vee are enterink your home zu make zure alles are zafe!” Riiiiiight.
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Judybusy said on May 13, 2011 at 4:30 pm
Completely OT, an informative and entertaining music video about fracking.
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brian stouder said on May 13, 2011 at 4:39 pm
Mark H (et al,) I sincerely disagree with your interpretation of this ruling. Unless I misunderstand, the court is not precluding the citizen from suing the offending police after the fact, but instead, they are avoiding giving the citizen the freedom to actively resist police at that moment. This seems to me to be essentially a sensible ruling; afterall, what is the alternative? Empowering citizens to shoot first, and ask questions later? Afterall, if I’m free to actively, forcefully resist a police mistake, am I thenceforward unshackled from any responsibility or obligation for “the public safety” (ie – if a riot ensues, still I’m perfectly free to resist and resist?)
Btw, while we’re speaking of the Indiana Supreme Court, they came up during the school voucher debate between a professor from Notre Dame, the FWCS Board of Trustees President, and the headmaster from Canterbury School earlier this week. One point they all agreed upon was that it will be very interesting when the legal challenge against our serious Syrian man Mitch’s sweeping new voucher law reaches the Indiana Supreme Court. There is an unambiguous, plain and blunt prohibition in the Indiana Constitution of expending public funds for “religious institutions”* .
Watch this space….
*Article One, Section 6: No money shall be drawn from the treasury, for the benefit of any religious or theological institution.
http://www.law.indiana.edu/uslawdocs/inconst/art-1.html#sec-6
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Joe Kobiela said on May 13, 2011 at 4:55 pm
Shout out to Mad Men and Breaking Bad I also like Men of a certain age. Just caught Bridesmade, Laugh out loud funny. Chicks will love it but I laughed all thru it.
I also noticed The reply’s I get on this sight arn’t numbered anymore. Strange?
Pilot Joe
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moe99 said on May 13, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Judybusy, I too loved the Wheel of Time series for the first 3 books then my ardor dropped off after that. My oldest son has continued reading them. I think Game of Thrones is a far, far better book.
And wrt to Seattle rain, maybe we have had it easy in the past, but this year we’ve had some gullywashers that rival those in the midwest. And we’ve yet to have a day where the temperature topped 70 degrees. We look a lot like that planet in Battlestar Galactica that was so dreary to live on. Many folks would like to move to sunnier climes if they had the opportunity. In my 30 years of living here, I’ve never experienced the dissatisfaction like currently.
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Little Bird said on May 13, 2011 at 5:04 pm
I do indeed like “that sort of thing” and have read all the GOT books, PLUS one of the graphic novels that has been put out (I’m trying to find the other(s?) at the book store. I think I’ve read each book at least three times, and love them. The HBO rendering is moving along at a pace that surprises me, but I love how much of the dialog is straight from the book.
There will indeed be magic to come, but it’s not at all like the magic of Robert Jordan’s books. More… realistic if you will.
I’ve read all the WOT series too, and have to say, the female characters got a lot smarter and less like ninnies with the new author who’s finishing up the series. The first four books are fantastic, but the series starts to get annoying by book eight or nine. The first one by the new guy Brandon Sanderson was a breath of fresh air.
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LAMary said on May 13, 2011 at 5:24 pm
Off topic and ewwwww.
http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-mrsa-bedbugs-meat-20110513,0,6080001.story
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Suzanne said on May 13, 2011 at 5:29 pm
You are probably right, Brian, about it still being legal to raise a ruckus after the police mistakenly enter your home, which does make some sense. Or at least keep a bad situation from getting worse.
I was wondering about the voucher thing pertaining to religious institutions. I figured no one would really raise any flags until some cult or (gasp!) Muslims started a school and we the taxpayer foot part of the bill.
Recently had an interesting conversation with a soon to be retired public school counselor friend of mine about the whole education situation here in Indiana. She is certainly no liberal, but said she is feeling “survivor’s guilt” for being able to stick it out to retirement while so many wonderful teachers are losing their jobs.
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MichaelG said on May 13, 2011 at 6:07 pm
Brian, it’s not just the resistance thing, although I disagree with you there, it’s that they have the court’s blessing to enter a person’s house without permission or warrant. That bothers me. I hope SCOTUS dumps this horrible decision but my confidence is frayed.
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Dexter said on May 13, 2011 at 6:27 pm
MichaelG: Now that I have your attention I am asking for lots of pictures this year. AMGEN Tour of California 2011 is coming right to SacTown.
This year’s race is so promising…with a climb up Mt. Baldy, too. I am supercharged; I can’t wait for the race to begin.
Versus Network.
http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/
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prospero said on May 13, 2011 at 6:56 pm
Judybusy,
For some reason, NCIS is a liberal punching bag. The show actually makes gung-ho America look moronic most of the time. The show is enjoyable because the actors are excellent, the writing is extremely clever, and there is amazing chemistry among the ensemble cast. It’s very easy to believe any of the characters would give anything up for any of the others. They obviously care a great deal about one another. Same is true about the LA version with J. It’s a case of the forces of good aqainst the wicked world, frequently including the government. Same reason Bones is so good. Smart , very attractive people that work together and are true-blue friends. Like Peachy and Danny (John Huston’s masterpiece, in my opinion, and about as good as Michael Caine and Sean Connery ever did.), Raylan and Boyd. Raylan will always save Boyd’s ass and Boyd will always save Raylan’s ass, until one of them has to kill the other. Mary and Marshall Marshall, another perfect example. Grace and Earl. Tony and McGee. Tony and Ziva. Gibbs and Ducky Mallard. Anybody that doesn’t get NCIS has something wrong with them, like no good friends. It’s not Walker, you idiots. If there is a political bent to NCIS, it’s liberal.
Chicago Code was brilliant. But if Terriers could get canned and Life couldn’t last, intelligent TV is always under the gun. People always talk about being able to care about a character. I think it’s crucial that characters care about each other. I think Buddy on Friday Night Lights is a pitiful wannabe, but Coach Taylor cares about him, so I do too.
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prospero said on May 13, 2011 at 7:10 pm
Educational vouchers are always a tax giveaway to constituents. No Republic sponsored voucher program has ever included enough cash for full tuition. So the little rich boys get subsidized and the black ones go to public schools properly impoverished. That’s the way we do it. Vouchers are a racist ploy. Money for nothing.
Dexter: Night on Mt. Baldy. A truly scary piece of music. I’m riding down off there even if it’s midnight and black as pitch.
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prospero said on May 13, 2011 at 7:40 pm
“I’ve seldom been as thoroughly hooked by anything as I was by the first two episodes of “The Killing.” I’ve seldom been so disappointed by what came afterward.”
The Difference Engine. Purely awful. The idea that everything from overseas is better TV is such an obnoxious trope. The Office was Stupid Brit and became painfully stupid American shit. Who subjects herself to such annoying excuses for human beings? It’s like a world created by Larry David. Please pass the pills. People find that shit amusing? Seriously? Larry David? What an asshole. You know he might be ready to do himself in eventually for being such a humorless onanistic shithead, but you can’t wait that long. Jerry Seinfeld his BFF? Bald fucking fuckhead. Seriously. Just shoot me, These people are monstrous assholes of self-importance. Who gives a shit?
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MarkH said on May 13, 2011 at 7:54 pm
Brian — I would be very careful of your notion that this Indiana Supreme Court ruling is all “nothing to see here”. It’s all about precedent and this is a clubfoot in the door. As the article states, the police can come into your house without a warrant, for no reason at all, and you break the law if you resist. What good is all the legal braying and post-invasion protest going to do if you’re injured or your property damaged or destroyed? That process of restitution could take forever. This is not the same thing as police being called to a house, as in the case cited, witnessing a crime and going in on probable cause. This gives good cover to all sorts of potential nefariousness. We have some good attorneys as contributors here, and I’d like to see moe or mark or others weigh in. To me, it’s open and shut unconstitutional.
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prospero said on May 13, 2011 at 9:30 pm
MarkH,
There are psycho cops the same way there are psycho any walk of life.. If you’ve ever been on the wrong side of one, you’d know haw what you’re saying rings true. I have. More than once.
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MichaelG said on May 13, 2011 at 10:39 pm
Dexter, I’m sorry to disappoint. For the first time in my history with the Amgen, it’s coming to town on a weekday. I’ve been a volunteer the last three years but not this time. I have a most important meeting at a job site out of town on Monday and I just won’t be able to be on hand for the race. It’s a wonderful spectacle and I’m unhappy at having to miss out but there’s not much I can do. I plan to be home for the evening replay.
I still can’t get over just how bloody FAST those riders are traveling. The finish line here in Sacto has always been set up so that they get four blocks of straight riding down a very broad, straight and smooth L street to the line at 11th and L. Sprinters rule and they seem to be going a thousand miles an hour. They’re blocks away and suddenly, in a blaze of color and confusion and screaming they’re past. The excitement, the electricity are unreal. You just have to go home and see the replay on TV to make sense of it. The reality of the live finish is so quick and so crowded with riders and fans and sounds and exhilaration that you simply can’t process it.
I hope the folks here at nn.c get Versus. VS provides excellent coverage with, what is for my money, one of the very best crews covering any TV sports event anywhere: Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwin and Bob Roll. The same people and the same quality you see at the Tour de France. Watch it if you can. I will.
The other bad thing is that the Lake Tahoe area is scheduled to see some freaky, off season weather on Sunday. Yes, snow and rain and misery and temps in the 30s. We’re expecting temps in the 60s here. Brrr. Average here in mid May is in the low 80s with 60s in the high country. Then CalTrans goes and closes Hwy 50 for repairs, effectively shutting out thousands of fans from the Tahoe stage. What a kick in the rear. I don’t know what the organizers will do. It’s a shame because they’ve shown great confidence in the Sacramento area as a real hot bed of cycling. Three of the eight total stages are here in the Auburn – Sacto – Tahoe area.
Maybe if somebody sacrifices a midnight chicken at second base. No, wait, that was BroomHilda rooting for the Giants. Sigh. California could sure use a break.
I’ve heard it suggested that maybe we should outsource our budget problems to India. They couldn’t do worse than the empty suits that occupy the dome now.
At least our State Supreme Court isn’t as loony as Indiana’s. And our Chief Justice is cuter than theirs.
http://www.law.ucdavis.edu/blogs/Deans/posts/confirming-the-new-chief-justice.html
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Bitter Scribe said on May 13, 2011 at 11:43 pm
I started out liking “Law & Order: LA” but why did they kill off that one cop so soon and make Alfred Molina, completely implausibly, into his replacement? They jumped the shark before there was even any water in the lagoon.
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Bitter Scribe said on May 14, 2011 at 12:06 am
I’ve always been an old-fashioned, police-the-police liberal. But I think the Indiana Supreme Court got it right.
I don’t see how allowing people to resist police officers, even when those officers make a mistake, is a good idea. How far can you go? Can you slam the door on the cop’s arm and maybe break it? How about shooting him?
Cops don’t roll out of bed in the morning and say, “Hey, I think I’ll enter somebody’s home illegally today.” They do that for the same reason anyone else makes a mistake: Because they’re human.
If a cop enters your home illegally, any evidence of a crime he may find therein is inadmissible and any arrest void. Then you’re free to sue his and his department’s asses off. Yes, that takes time, but guess what, so do most civilized procedures when compared with the law of the jungle.
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Dexter said on May 14, 2011 at 12:49 am
Thanks for the pre-race report, MichaelG. I do remember my first trip to Tahoe , and how beautiful it is. Too bad events are heading to disappointment there.
And yes, nothing like turning on the telly and hearing Paul and Phil once again. Bob and Craig do an equally good job, too, at least when in France. I don’t know if this will be a dual telecast, with enhanced coverage on tape for prime time, with Bob and Craig, but no matter. Pulling for Levi Leipheimer here.
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moe99 said on May 14, 2011 at 1:04 am
I wish I knew enough 4th Amendment constitutional law to offer more than has been said by other commenters already. But, I will defer to others on this issue.
On the other hand, I thought this was pretty funny. Shortest deposition ever?
http://abovethelaw.com/2011/04/shortest-deposition-ever/
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ROGirl said on May 14, 2011 at 6:18 am
Prospero, self-indulgence thy name is Larry David. I get that it’s cringe-inducing and at times can make the viewer extremely uncomfortable, but it has its moments of high hilarity. Not much on TV makes me laugh these days, and even though it’s getting a bit rusty, LD still has it.
I guess you either like his schtick or you don’t.
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beb said on May 14, 2011 at 12:13 pm
Ffirst off, thanks moe for the “Shortest Deposition Ever” link. I can always use a go laugh in the morning. Sounds like a bitter divorce case.
As for whether a person should have the right to resist a police home invasion I’ll offer a counter situation — Capital Punishment for traffic violation.
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/capital-punishment-for-traffic.html
Digby has been on this issue for years and the number of new cases is somewhere between monthly and bimonthly. With so many death from the use of Tasers you would think the police would issue restrictions on their use. Instead the police seems to take the position that it was some unexpected pre-existing condition that was at fault and not the general idea of pumping 50,000 volts through somebody.
If the police invade a house by accident how is the home owner supposed to know that the police are the real police and not someone just calling out “police?” So of course people are going to resist the home invasion and not care who the invaders are. This isn’t a question about the law but about common sense. Criminalizing that is stupid.
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Jakash said on May 14, 2011 at 7:31 pm
Well, now you’ve gone after Seinfeld, the gold standard, Prospero. At least that’s consistent with not liking any of the current sitcoms, I guess. I’ve always wondered about how people can not enjoy that show. Half my family loves it, the other half agrees with you, P. Again, it seems to me it has to do with one’s tolerance for the ridiculous. Seinfeld (and Curb) really ARE about nothing, essentially, and are only going for the laughs and often in a preposterous fashion. If what you’re looking for are characters caring about each other, I’ll agree that there’s not a whole lot of that. Seinfeld and David may be “monstrous assholes of self-importance”, but they’ve made some pretty damned funny TV shows, nonetheless. Though I’m not among those that think Curb is even funnier than Seinfeld.
I don’t recall Lucy Riccardo working at the soup kitchen too often, as far as being self-involved goes. She seemed mostly interested in advancing her own silly schemes, and people seemed to like that pretty well, too. (Just as a probably lame example.) To me, Seinfeld was the rare show that actually was intelligent and clever (while still being silly) that managed to become wildly popular, too. I didn’t understand, given the general taste of the TV audience, why it succeeded so well, but that was fine with me. Jason Alexander (George Costanza) always said that when he got the scripts originally, he thought they were very funny, but didn’t think the show would be a success, because he didn’t watch TV.
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Jakash said on May 14, 2011 at 7:34 pm
Oh, and I gotta say, if you’d have told me that the first rave review of “Bridesmaids” that I’d read would be submitted by Pilot Joe, I’d have been pretty surprised… (I just haven’t read any others yet; I understand that it’s very well-reviewed.)
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Linda said on May 14, 2011 at 9:20 pm
Jakash, I understand your family’s split, even though I like Seinfeld. I thought it was magical that they could make a show that you looked forward to every week, even though it was full of people you wouldn’t want in your home. Maybe it’s because they went home promptly after a half hour each week. But I hated Curb Your Enthusiasm. It was curdled with Larry David’s petty ante bile, and sweetened with nothing else.
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moe99 said on May 14, 2011 at 10:42 pm
mark, just saw your post about Libya and I have to say, I rather agree with you. What a nice feeling. But it is tempered by the fact that the AAG who heads up the DSHS branch in my office is married to a fellow from Libya who was teaching in the economics dept at UW and is now the finance minister of the rebels.
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brian stouder said on May 15, 2011 at 12:56 am
That Vanity Fair article that our proprietress linked to, about our Secretary of State, was very good stuff.
Here’s a few bonbons from it:
Hillary’s personal connection to Sarkozy helped cement the coalition. In 2010, Sarkozy had gallantly steadied her after a shoe had come off her foot as she climbed the stone steps of the Élysée Palace. (“I may not be Cinderella but you’re certainly my Prince Charming!” Hillary inscribed a photo, which sits in his office.) Now, over mixed fruit and chocolate, the French president took the normal diplomatic flattery a step further in their “bilat” (diplo-speak for bilateral talks). “Hillary, I always like being with you,” he told her. “You are tough. You are smart. You are a good person.”
and another –
According to a firsthand account I heard an hour afterward in a hallway near the conference room, Berlusconi told Hillary, “The press is all over me. They think the U.S. is saying that I’m vain and stay out all night. I’m tired, Hillary, very tired. I had such a good relationship with ‘Beel,’ ‘George,’ and ‘Barack’—how can they say this about me?” Hillary explained that, as Berlusconi knew perfectly well, the cables were written by mostly lower-level people. “Look, Silvio, you and I have been friends for 15 years. I’ve been there. Nobody has had more things alleged—true or untrue—than me.” Mostly she let him vent. Her background as a politician and long history with Berlusconi and others wounded by the cables helped ease the tensions.
And one last goody –
When a young man at a town-hall meeting in Kyrgyzstan asks Hillary which designers she wears, she answers immediately: “Would you ever ask a man that question?” The crowd of young people laughed and applauded.
Aside from HRC, the Vanity Fair website also had an interesting slide show of Elizabeth Taylor at a “fat farm” back in the late ’70’s, including this one
http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2011/05/elizabeth-taylor-maury-hopson-slide-show-201105?currentPage=6
I’m thinking the guy getting the trim might also be getting some double-barrelled goodness, too
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coozledad said on May 15, 2011 at 7:04 am
Brian: I don’t know if that guy’s getting any trim. He looks too much like Richard Chamberlain.
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prospero said on May 15, 2011 at 10:32 am
The IMF rapist? Ripped from the headlines, but why aren’t Stabler and Olivia on this case? Well it’s all over newspaper comments on the net. Many commenters seems it’s got something to do with Bill Clinton, the Bilderbergers and Jewish bankers, though somehow I doubt there’s a video from the going away party in Ciudad Juarez where the housekeeper shows off her kneepads and explains how she’s going to NYC to give a hummer to the IMF chief.
I think what I dislike about Seinfeld more than anything (aside from the incessantly whiny line deliveries) is the total lack of any sense of human commonality on the parts of any of the characters. Sure, there are individual episodes that are funny, but the quintessential episode was the famous one about flogging the bishop. Please, The entire show, and the fictional lives of the characters was one long celebration of Onanism. If Seinfeld was a politician, it would certainly be Darth Nader.
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prospero said on May 15, 2011 at 11:00 am
I’ve been meaning to say that, for those of you that were following Downton, the new Masterpiece, South Riding, is even better. It’s two installments in, both of which are available free on the net. It’s very political, concerned with class and women’s issues, and the development of the modern Brit approach to social welfare.
Two shows to which I’d compare Seinfeld to unfavorably are WKRP and MASH, both of which were at least as well written, much better in the case of MASH, with ensemble casts, but with characters that care about each other and the wider world than their own navels. Seriously, the Seinfeld characters would generally screw each other over and take advantage of one another for the slightest personal advantage, convenience or comfort. Each was Frank Burns, and MASH certainly improved immensely with the replacement of Ferret Face Frank with Charles Winchester. As for WKRP, nobody could convince me there was ever a Seinfeld episode as funny as the Thanksgiving turkey drop. Not even close. Oh, the humanity.
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MichaelG said on May 15, 2011 at 12:34 pm
There are several inches of new snow up at Tahoe this morning. The hope is that things will improve as the day goes along. To that end, the start of the Amgen has been pushed back from Ten to One. I hope it goes well. It sure is cold and dark here in Sacto. Temps are in the forties here right now. Avg high for this date is 81.
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Catherine said on May 15, 2011 at 12:41 pm
Moe, your friend’s husband was on NPR Friday morning and made quite an impression. It was an amazing interview to hear — former econ professor turns rebel and bank robber for justice. He talked about how they basically robbed the central bank branch in Benghazi. My favorite quote: “Basically, [we] dug a hole. They were thinking about dynamiting the thing. But we were afraid whatever currency we have there would burn.” Podcast is here: http://n.pr/m7HiHV
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Dexter said on May 15, 2011 at 1:28 pm
..on top of it, here, MichaelG…website has coverage on Versus commencing at 5:00 pm eastern time…
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Jakash said on May 15, 2011 at 3:37 pm
Actually, Prospero, I don’t think I’d disagree with anything you said in your 10:32 a.m. paragraph about Seinfeld. The difference is in how funny we found the “long celebration of Onanism.” We missed the first episode of South Riding, so I had decided to skip it, but perhaps I should give it a look.
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Connie said on May 15, 2011 at 5:41 pm
Albom’s sappy column does a good deed. I ran into a blog post today that is thankful for Albom’s column about a homeless veteran that died recently. His column helped a group of longtime online friends figure out what happened to one of their group. I followed the various links and comments and was saddened by the story. http://feralgenius.blogspot.com/2011/05/lifes-joy-that-has-to-end-john-hannah.html
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prospero said on May 15, 2011 at 6:11 pm
The question of Seattle rain in The Killing is interesting. It reminds me of The Perelandra Trilogy. C. S. Lewis had characters that may have been saints or angels comment on continuous rain by suggesting that weather was just something to be embraced, no matter what it might be. It’s obviously atmospheric. It’s a bad time for every character you might care about, and plot advancement notwithstanding, we are still finding the characters compelling. Ahmed’s outrage at nearly dying, appparently for nothing but a father’s grief and his own personal heritage was greatly enhanced by being soaked to the bone. I thought that was very effective, especially when it still seemed as Mrs. Ahmed might be involved without his knowledge. I always find criticisms that a drama moves too slowly somewhat suspect, like critics that couldn’t make a movie with a gun to their heads that feel like they have to come up with a minute total about exactly how long they thought a director had gone over maximal. I’m not sure exactly how it goes, but it’s along the lines of “We cherish weather.” And I understand that feeling. Except for intense cold waiting on mass trans in a snowstorm when you live somewhere 10-12 in. doesn’t mean you don’t go to work. The blizzard of ’78 in Boston is the only instance in which I was ever stymied by weather, and even then, I wasn’t really. I went out into the teeth at about 7:30 am on day 2, having socked in several cases of Molson Golden the night before, along with several half-gallons of Mr. Boston dogass cherry brandy.. I waded through chest deep drifts and made it to a typical Massachusetts mom and pop about a mile away, where the owner had snow-machined to check his property. I bough every bit of Cappacola, salami, mortadella and provolone he had, and waded back neck deep to our place. From that moment on, we were blizzard central. And we cleared our cars and the neighborhood before the Town of Watertown, MA ever got around to it. And the weather was awe-inspiring. High skies that would have stymied a majoor-league outfielder. No wind, 25 very dry degrees. Gorgeous.
So anyway, I think if the weather is analogous to Linden’s Sturm und Drang, fine with me. The problem with instant gratification viewers is you get idiots that are too ADHD to realize how brilliant Rubicon was. So one more hour lost to nothing but Hines Ward actually being able to dance elegantly and Kirstie Alley, who I think is a terrific comic actress, stumbling around with avoir du pois. She’s a very beautiful woman with a serious intellect and impeccable comic timing. Speaking of sitcoms. Somebody that would find the studied hipster misogyny of Seinfeld more attractive than something like the Coach in love with the uppstairs waitress, is just full of shit. Seinfeld monumentalized human cruelty. Sorry that’s what I think. What defined these characters is how they were supposed to be friends, but would stab each other in the back at the drop of a hat, if it made their personal experiences even infinettesimally more comfortable. They aren’t even capabe of considering pleasure, just lack of annoyances. Despicable pieces of shit.
Y’all that defend Seinfeld. I’ve had enough to do with what you think to know you deserve better friends than that. I’ve never seen a single minute of either friends or Sex and the City, but from what I know, those shows have characters that actually care about one another. Maybe, maybe not. On the other hand, I’ve watched Hawkeye and Margqaret fall in love out of dire necessity, quite a few times. Two people that are smart as hell and competent as hell, and face the worst you can come across. Now was that a sitcom? And if so, what sitcom is going to touch that? What else is the point? I’ve said this before. When these sitcoms like Charlie Sheen’s make ads, do they actually attempt to put in funny jokes? I’ve never laughed at any of the ads, Not freaking close. To this day, you can see M*A*S*H. It is absolutely hilarious. Punking Frank was sort of entertaining, but Charles Winchester was a whole nother deal. Charles was a character that deserved respect and could give back what he was dealt. There was the episode where Charles taught the Korean musicians to play, I can’t remember, Song of Joy? This shit now compared to that sort of brilliance? Not close. Spending half an hour on mediocre crap comedy seems really stupid compared to an hour of some intelligent writing and some imagination. No joke. Where is any of this shit remotely funny? Seriously, this is not worth considering. I’m a dumbass? I am not joking. Charles Winchester and the orchestra blown up down the road?
seriously? Seinfeld is better than that? Assholes are assholes. Scumbags are scumbags. Some day, I might get to have Larry David confront me. I will beqt the shit out of the worthless POS.
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prospero said on May 15, 2011 at 6:44 pm
The question of Seattle rain in The Killing is interesting. It reminds me of The Perelandra Trilogy. C. S. Lewis had characters that may have been saints or angels comment on continuous rain by suggesting that weather was just something to be embraced, no matter what it might be. It’s obviously atmospheric. It’s a bad time for every character you might care about, and plot advancement notwithstanding, we are still finding the characters compelling. Ahmed’s outrage at nearly dying, appparently for nothing but a father’s grief and his own personal heritage was greatly enhanced by being soaked to the bone. I thought that was very effective, especially when it still seemed as Mrs. Ahmed might be involved without his knowledge. I always find criticisms that a drama moves too slowly somewhat suspect, like critics that couldn’t make a movie with a gun to their heads that feel like they have to come up with a minute total about exactly how long they thought a director had gone over maximal. I’m not sure exactly how it goes, but it’s along the lines of “We cherish weather.” And I understand that feeling. Except for intense cold waiting on mass trans in a snowstorm when you live somewhere 10-12 in. doesn’t mean you don’t go to work. The blizzard of ’78 in Boston is the only instance in which I was ever stymied by weather, and even then, I wasn’t really. I went out into the teeth at about 7:30 am on day 2, having socked in several cases of Molson Golden the night before, along with several half-gallons of Mr. Boston dogass cherry brandy.. I waded through chest deep drifts and made it to a typical Massachusetts mom and pop about a mile away, where the owner had snow-machined to check his property. I bough every bit of Cappacola, salami, mortadella and provolone he had, and waded back neck deep to our place. From that moment on, we were blizzard central. And we cleared our cars and the neighborhood before the Town of Watertown, MA ever got around to it. And the weather was awe-inspiring. High skies that would have stymied a majoor-league outfielder. No wind, 25 very dry degrees. Gorgeous.
So anyway, I think if the weather is analogous to Linden’s Sturm und Drang, fine with me. The problem with instant gratification viewers is you get idiots that are too ADHD to realize how brilliant Rubicon was. So one more hour lost to nothing but Hines Ward actually being able to dance elegantly and Kirstie Alley, who I think is a terrific comic actress, stumbling around with avoir du pois. She’s a very beautiful woman with a serious intellect and impeccable comic timing. Speaking of sitcoms. Somebody that would find the studied hipster misogyny of Seinfeld more attractive than something like the Coach in love with the uppstairs waitress, is just full of shit. Seinfeld monumentalized human cruelty. Sorry that’s what I think. What defined these characters is how they were supposed to be friends, but would stab each other in the back at the drop of a hat, if it made their personal experiences even infinettesimally more comfortable. They aren’t even capabe of considering pleasure, just lack of annoyances. Despicable pieces of shit.
Y’all that defend Seinfeld. I’ve had enough to do with what you think to know you deserve better friends than that. I’ve never seen a single minute of either friends or Sex and the City, but from what I know, those shows have characters that actually care about one another. Maybe, maybe not. On the other hand, I’ve watched Hawkeye and Margqaret fall in love out of dire necessity, quite a few times. Two people that are smart as hell and competent as hell, and face the worst you can come across. Now was that a sitcom? And if so, what sitcom is going to touch that? What else is the point? I’ve said this before. When these sitcoms like Charlie Sheen’s make ads, do they actually attempt to put in funny jokes? I’ve never laughed at any of the ads, Not freaking close. To this day, you can see M*A*S*H. It is absolutely hilarious. Punking Frank was sort of entertaining, but Charles Winchester was a whole nother deal. Charles was a character that deserved respect and could give back what he was dealt. There was the episode where Charles taught the Korean musicians to play, I can’t remember, Song of Joy? This shit now compared to that sort of brilliance? Not close. Spending half an hour on mediocre crap comedy seems really stupid compared to an hour of some intelligent writing and some imagination. No joke. Where is any of this shit remotely funny? Seriously, this is not worth considering. I’m a dumbass? I am not joking. Charles Winchester and the orchestra blown up down the road?
seriously? Seinfeld is better than that? Assholes are assholes. Scumbags are scumbags. Some day, I might get to have Larry David confront me. I will beqt the shit out of the worthless POS. HE IS not funny by a stretch of the imagination. You people have no idea. Whatever people may have as a moronic idea. We care about putting cash aside for the future college kkid Cole. First thing, I buy him a keyobard.
Whatever I think, I consistently think of Nncy as Brenda Lee. I reqlize ahe may not be too thrilled about that, but I would SAY, Brenda Ldee is soo fucking cool, she’s almost Grqce. Because Grqce i so much better than anybody might SAY. This is ridiculous. We love our loved ones. SHIT john qns JO3, i hqve qlreqdy qqnd forever loveed your wiwter. Wo I KNOW i’ve been portrqyed q
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MichaelG said on May 15, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Temps in the area are running 30 degrees below normal. It hasn’t been this cold since mid March. It looks like we’ll have record low max temperatures for the date. Pictures of heavy snow falling in Tahoe grace the TV along with the universal agreement that the only choice was to nix the day’s bike racing. The organizers cancelled the stage but apparently the riders had made clear their lack of enthusiasm for competing in 28 degree weather with five inches of snow on the ground and who could blame them.
They will ride tomorrow but there is some question about just where the event will start. Here we had hail, thunderstorms and heavy rain. What a day. What a bummer.
I bought a dresser for my daughter and ran it up the hill to Auburn and dropped it at my erstwhile wife’s house. It was freaking cold. My car was covered with hail. It was the first time in four years that I had been in what had been my, our house. It looked different. T looked beautiful as always.
We’re looking at rain and very low temps Monday and Tuesday. Monday’s second Tour stage will start – somewhere – and end in Sacramento. Earlier I noted a four block straight run to the finish in Sacramento. It’s actually seven blocks. Tuesday the third stage will start in Auburn and run through the eastern suburbs of Sacto to end in Modesto.
Sacramento is the only city to be visited by the race each of the five years of its existence. Assuming they get here tomorrow. The turn out and enthusiasm have been phenomenal. The Tour of California is a very big deal around here but I don’t know if it rates a mention in papers or on TV elsewhere. Dexter?
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prospero said on May 15, 2011 at 9:48 pm
‘ve been xome asshole, but really, you’re comsidw=eration iz ridiculous. Anybody that thinks Derrick Rose is Rajon Rondo is an idiot.
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moe99 said on May 16, 2011 at 12:22 am
GOT was really good tonight. My two sons were with us for the viewing and both were blown away.
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Jakash said on May 16, 2011 at 1:45 am
Sorry, folks, it’s not that I relish being told I’m “just full of shit” again, but my point was very simple, really. Situation. Comedy. Seinfeld took situations and, many thought, made them funny. Arguably very successfully. With, needless to say, the emphasis on arguably. Prospero, I concede the point that other shows featured more meaningful friendships, more touching relationships and much more compelling milieus.
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Dexter said on May 16, 2011 at 2:04 am
Hell no, MichaelG, it doesn’t, and that’s OK. I am grateful to have Versus so I can watch it. Yeah…disappointed but I understand…it was 50 and raining here in Ohio and I left my bike in the garage too.
I can’t even mow and man my yard needs it. I won’t mow in the rain.
Too bad Sacto doesn’t have desert weather this time of year…my wife’s visiting her daughter this week in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the weather is picture-perfect. To add to the joy, she is beating the house, so far. I told her to QUIT NOW. She has all week to lose it all, which she will.
She went there on a free travel voucher from when Delta jacked her around a few months ago. I just had to stay here because we have a cat and an old dog and the new dog, who is holy hell.
Last night’s Treme was joyful, generally, as Antoine’s Soul Apostles got it together. They sounded really good. I can feel the mood is lifting up into higher spirits..little glimmers of hope are rising in post-Katrina New Orleans.
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Dexter said on May 16, 2011 at 2:08 am
Moe, true…but it was sad to see Ned having SUCH a bad night.
I had sympathy as well as empathy going for the king who has grown too fat for his armor. This spring I gave two shirts to the charity clothing bin when the buttons were a little (read : a LOT) too snug. ha ha . 🙁
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ROGirl said on May 16, 2011 at 7:13 am
Jakash, I was a Seinfeld fan, too. I thought the whole point of the show was that it WASN’T about meaningful relationships. The characters were deliberately selfish, childish, self-absorbed and didn’t learn lessons from their mistakes. There were no group hugs or special episodes. Funny is funny, but if you’re looking for meaningful relationships in your sitcoms, Seinfeld isn’t the place you should expect to find them.
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Linda said on May 16, 2011 at 7:40 am
Honest, I thought the best thing about Seinfeld was that the disasters in it were so tiny and insignificant that you felt good about them–and they happened to people so shallow that you didn’t give a damn, either. But there was a tiny, shallow part of one’s own soul that Seinfeld showed the world–so selfish and petty, you were ashamed to show it to the world. But these petty little people wore their shallowness on their sleeve. Like George leaving behind a tape recorder to find out how board members really felt about him. And you could feel smug–no matter how selfish you were, unless you committed war crimes, you were never as creepy as the people in that show.
The only mistake they made was introducing and kiling off Susan. They couldn’t leave her in, because she was a real human with real concerns, and would have made the rest of them look like the nasty little kids they were. But kiling her off–with a relieved sort of laugh–introduced real tragedy and loss, with a disproportionately tiny consequence. The whole show should have left her out and kept its Lilliputian emotional proportions.
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