From My Brother’s Facebook Page
I saw this before the SOTU and meant to post it then, but I forgot. I want to get it up today, though, to reflect his thought process earlier today:
I have a choice of what to watch on television tonight:
Both shows highlight a character with an ego that borders on the arrogant, draws pleasure from baffling their subordinates, has a demeanor defined as dispassionate and cold, and has a flair for showmanship while laying out an elaborate trap to capture their prey.
Should I watch the BBC Sherlock on DVD or the State of Union Address?
Choices….
I hope you enjoyed Sherlock, Kerry.
Heh.
Patterico (9c670f) — 1/28/2014 @ 9:23 pmI did something worthwhile tonight, which means I skipped the SOTU address. I taught a bunch of utes winter camping skills, including retort, or boil in bag cooking.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 1/28/2014 @ 10:17 pmfood stamp should get a do-over just so we can know for sure if he meant to be this lame
happyfeet (8ce051) — 1/28/2014 @ 10:19 pmPresident Narcissus obviously won’t, but maybe someday a future President will discontinue the practice of delivering the SOTU address in person and will simply send it in writing to Congress, the way Presidents did from Jefferson’s time to Taft’s time.
JVW (709bc7) — 1/28/2014 @ 10:46 pmNo shit Sherlock…http://youtu.be/eX5CjcYdOjY
pdbuttons (631b6d) — 1/28/2014 @ 10:56 pmJVW @4, I was thinking I’d do exactly that if I were the next Preezy. I’d send it over and issue a press statement saying we’ve had enough gas, lies, and otherwise big talk for the next 500 years and it’s time to have a President who actually wants to get things done then some light weight who wants to listen to himself flap his pie hole.
For two reasons. One, because it’s true. Two, because Tiger Beat plans to stay in DC and be a media darling and I’d miss no chance to chop him off at the knees and make him look like the cheap attention whore he is in order to make the contrast greater. And consequently my job easier.
Steve57 (dcc128) — 1/28/2014 @ 11:01 pmSherlock would have been a much more entertaining thing to watch, I suspect.
Since you would have to force me (or pay me substantially) to actually sit through a SOTU from a president I liked, I cannot say this absolutely…
Smock Puppet, Gadfly, Racist-Sexist Thug, and Bon Vivant All In One Package (225d0d) — 1/29/2014 @ 6:34 amAlso recommended series:
Continuum
Smock Puppet, Gadfly, Racist-Sexist Thug, and Bon Vivant All In One Package (225d0d) — 1/29/2014 @ 6:35 amOrphan Black
LilyHammer
House of Cards (two versions: American Netflix and BBC, both good)
I watched Sherlock attempt to deliver a Best Man speech last night with my daughter. It seemed a *much* more effective and pleasant use of my time.
And at least Sherlock recognizes that he is a “high functioning sociopath”, has people he truly cares about, and tries (however occasionally and unsuccessfully) to behave “normally” for them, which is more than can ever be said for Ø.
LibraryGryffon (1996ab) — 1/29/2014 @ 6:50 amI watched true crime shows last night on TV. It was better than watching the true crime unfold at the SOTU.
rochf (f3fbb0) — 1/29/2014 @ 7:09 amI would watch anything else to avoid a SOTU speech delivered by FUBAR MCFUSTERCLUCK. We watched a recording of the first episode of “Klondike.” Most enjoyable.
Bar Sinister (b48c12) — 1/29/2014 @ 7:16 amI watched some reruns of the Big Bang Theory. I figured that there would be more truth in fiction than would ever be uttered by Barack Hussein Obama.
Paraphrasing Mary McCarthy’s famous statement about Lillian Hellman, “every word Barack Obama says is a lie, including ‘and’ and ‘the.’”
The televiewing Dana (3e4784) — 1/29/2014 @ 8:22 amWallander. I think the Swedish TV version is better than the British TV version, having watched all of the latter and half of the former. Both are really good.
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. Phyrne Fisher is a wealthy flapper who’s moved to Australia in the 1920s, who becomes entangled in solving crimes and her boy-toys’ sheets. The costumes (especially hers) are sublime. The other characters we care about. She teaches judo … and birth control. She carries and uses a pearl-handled gold-plated revolver. The official detective of the town doesn’t approve of her activities but needs her help; his sergeant is in love with her maid. Snappy dialog, smarter than usual villains, multi-episode character arcs … what’s not to like? Only season one available on line so far, is what!
htom (412a17) — 1/29/2014 @ 8:29 amMaybe Obama is as bored by his speeches as the rest of us are:
Luke Russert’s Twitter feed said “Told that in the Capitol hold room Obama wanted ESPN but said staff prefer he watch the filing in on C-SPAN ahead of #SOTU.”
Obviously the “staff” included at least one adult. How annoying that must be for Obama.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 1/29/2014 @ 7:48 pmOrphan Black I really can’t get into, Continuum is something else, and of course, looking forward to House of Cards,
narciso (3fec35) — 1/29/2014 @ 8:06 pmFor people who like to read, and like Westerns, and like mysteries, I recommend A.B. Guthrie’s “Sheriff Chick Charleston” series of books. About a 1970s rural Montana sheriff. The narrator is his “deputy” whom we meet when he’s seventeen, and this is A.B. Guthrie we’re talking about, so there’s no smut or gratuitous gore, just good writing.
nk (dbc370) — 1/29/2014 @ 8:21 pmWell, I recommend it for the same reason I like Continuum and Person of Interest… the thing that makes the show is the byzantine factionalism at the heart of events. OB is more a personal level of factionalism — everyone has their own agenda, it’s not about “group” agendas.
Continuum is something else, and of course, looking forward to House of Cards
Well, the BBC series is also very good… but watching it may give spoilers of things to come in the NF series…. much like having read “Game of Thrones”, one is not surprised by deaths that show-only people are outraged by.
This depends on how much they hold to the original trilogy of 4xEpisodes. So far, while the people have changed in some cases, there’s been an otherwise similar progression of events. Further comments might offer spoilers, so I’ll refrain.
Assuming they do plan to hold somewhat to the events of the original series (the writer of the original series is a writer in the new one, and an XP), then we’re at about the end of the 3rd ep of the first trilogy as of the start of the second season.
Smock Puppet, Gadfly, Racist-Sexist Thug, and Bon Vivant All In One Package (225d0d) — 1/30/2014 @ 5:08 amOh, and Lilyhammer. A dramedy, with the humor coming from a Comedy of Manners, the culture clash between the VERY American-Italian protagonist and his Norwegian surroundings.
The protagonist is a caricature, to be sure, but it’s still a valid representation of how an American would see things there, and be irked by their way of doing things.
Smock Puppet, Gadfly, Racist-Sexist Thug, and Bon Vivant All In One Package (225d0d) — 1/30/2014 @ 5:14 amthe lead writer for this one, Willimon, work for Yeargh Dean, and you can tell he’s dissabused himself of sentimental liberalism, Spacey is the villain, or antihero, and he gets the best lines,
narciso (3fec35) — 1/30/2014 @ 5:32 amSteven Van Zandt brings the same level of talent and ability in his acting roles that he brought as guitarist in the E-Street Band. Take that any way you want. As an differently-absurd parody of gangster films and a mockery of the Scandihoovian lifestyle, Lilyhammer is okay up to the fourth or fifth episode of the first season. It just gets annoying and tedious after that. Stale, all the novelty gone, and not ever really comedic, just absurd. Yes, I’m persnickety.
nk (dbc370) — 1/30/2014 @ 5:32 amUnfortunately, my access to this, at this point, is limited to Swedish, Italian, and French dubs. Given that I speak none of those, I’ll have to wait to watch the Swedish one. 😀
Thx. Will check both out.
Smock Puppet, Gadfly, Racist-Sexist Thug, and Bon Vivant All In One Package (225d0d) — 1/30/2014 @ 6:32 amTo each their own. Be a boring place if we all had the same tastes, wouldn’t it? 😀
Smock Puppet, Gadfly, Racist-Sexist Thug, and Bon Vivant All In One Package (225d0d) — 1/30/2014 @ 6:34 am}}} Spacey is the villain, or antihero, and he gets the best lines,
Well, in the original BBC version, the protagonist is a villain and antihero, too, though he’s a Tory, following in Thatcher’s footsteps. While his politics are somewhat criticized, it is his utterly ruthless power-at-all-costs nature which is the true villain.
I confess, I was rather pleased that Spacey is a Democrat, but it’s barely alluded to. It shows an intention towards balance, in that the flaw is in the politicians, not the political parties involved.
Smock Puppet, Gadfly, Racist-Sexist Thug, and Bon Vivant All In One Package (225d0d) — 1/30/2014 @ 6:38 amWell they are all Democrats, but he’s a pragmatic one, willing to entertain charter schools, not crazy about green energy,
narciso (3fec35) — 1/30/2014 @ 6:41 amI miss David Ehrenstein. He’s very good at the long-hair stuff. If you want to see a nice on-the-run-from-the-mob, comedy-drama, check out “Did You Hear About The Morgans?” with Sam Elliott, Mary Steenburgen, Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker. A silly story, but four attractive and sympathetic characters in a beautiful western mountain setting.
nk (dbc370) — 1/30/2014 @ 7:19 amAnd, you know, Norway is starting to look good to me. Socialism without the police state. http://www.my9nj.com/story/24574587/super-bowl-snipers
nk (dbc370) — 1/30/2014 @ 9:40 amI object to the characterization of Holmes as a narcissist. As Babe Ruth (or Dizzy Dean or Muhammad Ali) said, “It’s not bragging if you can do it.” And Holmes can do it – unlike the other subject.
Rich Rostrom (00fcaf) — 1/30/2014 @ 10:20 amLOL. Sorry, didn’t mean to hijack the thread 😀
Smock Puppet, Gadfly, Racist-Sexist Thug, and Bon Vivant All In One Package (225d0d) — 1/30/2014 @ 12:26 pmI find more objection to the SuperBowl being held in New Jersey.
The only reason Norway doesn’t do things like this is because the population of the stadium on Sunday will be very close to the entire population of Norway…. 😀
(yes: exaggeration for effect)
Smock Puppet, Gadfly, Racist-Sexist Thug, and Bon Vivant All In One Package (225d0d) — 1/30/2014 @ 12:30 pm