The party was a smashing hit, I think my parents hand a good time, and my sister was invaluable with the set-up and clean-up. I wanted to choke my brother out with a strap-on for demanding I make him a mojito and then parading around the god damned party and causing everyone to want one, but other than that, everything went well.
The usual suspects are now hanging around and we are getting our drink on.
BTW- I love this. QUIT DYING SEAN BEAN:
Don’t ever get emotionally attached to a Sean Bean character.
jwb
Glad to hear the party was a success. Were the ribs as good as they looked?
jeffreyw
dessert?
Yutsano
There are worse ways to make a living in Hollywood than dying over and over again.
And your dad had a good time, regardless of his protestations.
cmorenc
Let me guess John: this is hardly the first time in your life your brother’s behavior has induced the urge to choke him with a strap. Brothers and sisters are like that.
Suffern ACE
Enjoying this phoney National Ice Cream Day holiday. Much better than Valentine’s Day.
Uncle Clarence Thomas
.
.
I don’t understand what you think President Obama is to do when his appointments can be vetoed by Wall Street and cannot be overridden.
.
.
Darcy Pennell
It’s okay to get attached to Sharpe! Sharpe never dies.
RossInDetroit
My dear brother visited for a day and we had a great time. Nothing too involved, just a few meals, walking the dog, chatting, ice cream. Summer days and family. Life is good.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
And we’re arguing over whether Rory is dying too often.
RSA
I’ll put in a plug for Equilibrium, a dumb but very appealing pastiche combining elements of Fahrenheit 451, 1984, Brave New World, and The Matrix.
SiubhanDuinne
@jeffreyw #2:
Peach turnovers! Want!
That nice glaze: is it anything beyond powdered sugar and milk (or even water in a pinch) and maybe a touch of vanilla extract — or do you do something extra to it? It looks divine, I am trying not to lick my iPad screen.
HumboldtBlue
‘Cept for Sharpe, he gets a 20-something Liz Hurley’s tits and never dies. Sharpe is the man.
SiubhanDuinne
John, I’m glad the party went so well. See, we all knew your dad would have a good time. He was just saying those curmudgeonly things the other day because he thinks that’s supposed to be in his job description now that he’s 70.
MikeJ
@Belafon (formerly anonevent): You watched a different version of the Gilmore Girls.
ruemara
It’s funny because it’s so damn true. Glad the party went well. BTW, I want a mojito too.
Southern Beale
John Cole entertains more than I ever did.
WaterGirl
Jeffreyw – those peach turnovers look delightful. I have some ripe peaches that I need to do something with tomorrow – do you have a recipe?
Yutsano
@jeffreyw: Okay question: how do you keep the liquid from the peaches from sogging up the filo?
Comrade Mary
Dude, all I ever did was throw some jello at my sister when I was 15 (belated revenge for her thwacking me with a hockey stick above one eye when I was 4).
American sibling conflict is weird.
EriktheRed
So what was the movie that had Sean Bean ripped apart by horses?
SIA
Oh, it’s not an emotional attachment.
different church-lady
You are hanging around drinking with friends. STOP FREAKIN’ BLOGGING AND GO ENJOY THAT.
djork
What, exactly, does this mean in West Virginia?
Garbo
Thank you. I came by especially for a party report. Glad someone helped you with clean-up. Tho, dogs are excellent at clearing away leftovers, in their fashion.
Southern Beale
Y’all ever go to PostSecret.com?
This one really struck me …
Scuffletuffle
@20
It’s about the black plague, can’t remember the name. Dont’ bother unless you are a Beanatic. Film is silly and depressing all at the same time.
On the other hand, Sean Bean…YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
ETA called Black Death, available on Netfix Instant.
Kirk Spencer
@ EriktheRed Black Death. In fact, from the producer’s webpage here’s the full list:
00:07 – Don’t Say a Word (2001)
00:24 – Equilibrium (2002)
00:33 – Outlaw (2007)
00:39 – Airborne (1998)
00:43 – Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974 (2009)
00:51 – Essex Boys (2000)
00:57 – Ca$h (2010)
01:02 – Patriot Games (1992)
01:14 – Black Death (2010)
01:28 – Henry VIII (2003)
01:39 – GT
01:45 – The Island (2005)
01:58 – Clarissa (1991)
02:03 – Caravaggio (1986)
02:08 – War Requiem (1989)
02:20 – The Field (1990)
02:41 – Lorna Doone (1990)
02:47 – Scarlett (1994)
02:56 – Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
03:14 – Goldeneye (1995)
03:30 – The Hitcher (2007)
MikeJ
@djork:
$20, same as in town.
piratedan
I have to add my voice to the chorus for the Sharpe series. Spouse and I loved it, I liked the history and the storytelling (and the acting was pretty top notch, especially with the cast) and the spouse had lots of limber lads of liquid to gaze at as she adopted the Susan Sarandon “Oh My!” exclamation while perusing the male lead. It’s counterpart with Mr. Gruffudd as Horatio Hornblower was also quality entertainment. Nothing like well cast historical fiction for entertainment. If we could only see someone tackle Fraser’s Flashman series, that would be truly spectacular.
Yutsano
I occasionally wonder if I have more influence over the universe than I realize. Case in point: I ordered dinner tonight and had a tiropeta/spanakopita appetizer, normally four pieces. When it arrived, I got five, all spanakopita. Which I love more than life itself. I r very very happy right now.
Tara the antisocial social worker
So, Rosie didn’t cause any mayhem at the party, and Tunch didn’t steal all the food?
That’s just wrong. I want a refund.
CaseyL
It looks like the only way Bean hasn’t died in a movie is by being pushed out an airlock. A strange talent to develop, convincingly dying in so many ways.
Glad the party went well! Was all the food devoured, or will you have enough leftovers to not have to cook for a few days?
Hope you told Da “Happy B-Day” from all the BJers.
SIA
@ piratedan,
Not the same genre (and, well, not historical), but I’ve been wishing Masterpiece would do a new production of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories.
WaterGirl
@ SIA
Your comment made me think of the upcoming Masterpiece Theater mystery series (starts tonight) that stars the guy from Eleventh Hour. Rufus Sewell is very high on my list of incredibly attractive men.
Edit: was there an old production of the Lord Peter Wimsey series? I really enjoyed the books.
beergoggles
So glad this wasn’t you John.
After all, you are known for your calamities.
SIA
WaterGirl, oh yes indeed. I loved his character in Middlemarch and in The Last King. He’s purdy. :)
I’m in FL on business and the PBS station is in Spanish. No anglais. Strange. I told my right wing mother and she had a hissy fit. There is absolutely no topic we can discuss that doesn’t inch dangerously near one of her hot “issues”. Heh.
scav
WaterGirl: Two I think for Lord Peter. One with Sir Ian Carmichael and one with another guy I have to go look up. Back soon.
ETA: Edward Petherbridge
jeffreyw
@SiubhanDuinne: Just milk and sugar, but now I’m kicking myself for not adding a few drops of orange extract or similar.
WaterGirl
SIA, I have never seen him in anything but Eleventh Hour. But, damn, he is one good-looking man. And his Eleventh Hour character was also very smart, which i find very sexy. I guess that means Rufus Sewell is the definition of win-win. :-)
Each of the 3 upcoming ZEN shows is on several times, so I imagine you can catch it when you return home, unless it’s a very long business trip.
I find that family and politics are not a good mix. I am definitely the most liberal/progressive person in my family.
SIA
@ scav – Edward Pemberton or something like that? He was much better than Carmichael, but neither of them fit the bill. Hariet Walters was pretty good as Miss Vane. The production was pretty bad though. Time for a new one.
MikeJ
@SIA: You can point out to her that in Floriduh Hispanics have traditionally been a solid republican bloc. Of course that’s no longer true.
scav
Funny how we can have such a clear idea of a character in our head. I once saw a photo of the man Dorothy Sayers supposedly used as a model and found it wildly unconvincing.
ETA: and my first two for a new adaption are Nine Tailors and Murder Must Advertise, in case anyone with power is lurking.
jeffreyw
WaterGirl
Yutsano
No recipe beyond the how to on the box, do not cook the peaches beyond just a warm up. the rest is the butter “juice proofing” the dough, and a bit of technique in the folding tho I get plenty of leakage at the seams. The condition of the phyllo is critical-no substitute for fresh as older dough will crack and leave a mess.
SIA
@ Mike, but, but….Marco Rubio! Up and coming! Actually, we don’t discuss politics. At all :(
@ WaterGirl, I’m recording it to watch this weekend. Did you see it? Was it good? Rent Middlemarch sometime, I think you’d love the character Sewell plays. Juliet Aubrey was excellent also.
Svensker
@ WaterGirl
A couple. My favorite was the Ian Carmichael series, although Ian was too old by the last one and it was a bit awkward, but he really captured Wimsey’s light patter with the underlying seriousness. That series was made in the 70s, I think. There was another series made in the 80s but I didn’t like that Wimsey at all, he was much too sensitive and nervy on the surface, which Peter never was except when he was falling apart. Very upsetting.
ETA: What Scav said.
ETA2: And then sia comes along and feels exactly the opposite. Ain’t humans funny?
WaterGirl
jeffreyw
hmm… i might have to stick with cobbler, then, since i have no experience with turnovers or phyllo dough. :-( they look so yummy, though.
SIA
scav, I think they should start at the beginning (Was it Whose Body? and then do them all. I loved Unnatural Death and Strong Poison.
What did the man look like? Lord Peter is described pretty well in the books.
ETA can’t believe I forgot my favorite of all the books, Clouds of Witness, where Wimsey’s dumbass brother gets arrested for murder.
middlewest
The scene with the cows is glorious.
Yutsano
@WaterGirl: Watch the Alton Brown episode on baklava. He has a great five minute mini-lecture on filo at the beginning.
(please note: there is no standard English spelling for filo. I just go with the fewest letters because I’m lazy. :)
jeffreyw
WaterGirl
Hmm…ever do a fried pie? Peaches work well, these are blackberry.
MikeJ
@Yutsano: φύλλο is just as short. But sort of annoying to type.
scav
SIA: Alas, it was only a headshot. Blond and unconvincing. Weedy? Didn’t look that bright but that’s always so hard to tell. I think he was supposedly one she sorta followed to France.
WaterGirl
It sounds like maybe i should just hope they do a new production of the Lord Peter series.
It is a bit upsetting when you have a character in your head and the one they cast doesn’t fit at all. i like the P.D. James adam dalgliesh character, and i really liked the original actor who played dalgliesh, and decidedly did not like the one in the newer ones.
The first ZEN mystery is set to record tonight at midnight. Can’t wait to see it.
Thanks for the tip on Middlemarch.
WaterGirl
@ jeffreyw
I have never heard of a fried pie. Looks yummy, though. Do you have a recipe for that? :-)
Yutsano
@MikeJ: Yeah. You kinda have to play with your keyboard settings and such. It’s similar to when you adjust your QWERTY keyboard to kana if you’re writing Japanese.
@WaterGirl:
OMG…you have not LIVED until you’ve had a fried pie. Preferably peach, but apple works just as well.
scav
WaterGirl: Nah, try Sir Ian if you can get them easily. I find him actually fairly close to the earlier more daft and Flimsey version of Wimsey and, well, I at least get a kick out of old BBC productions because certain elements of the atmosphere so dead to rights. Wimsey by Gaudy Nights has depths Ian isn’t reaching as well but (for example) the landscape and hunting scenes (if nothing else) in his Clouds of Witness are fun to see.
WaterGirl
@ Yutsano
I have never heard of Alton Brown, but I will check out the episode as soon as I figure out which one is the right one. Thanks!
SIA
scav – in Wimsey’s own words, he has a foolish face. My image (based on descriptions) is rather small but athletic frame, very pale blond hair slicked back, a long nose, beautiful hands etc. I always think of weedy as pertaining to a tall, thin somewhat unformed person, ie an adolescent.
I have spent some time trying to figure out who could play the part but haven’t come up with anyone. It would probably have to be an unknown but who was absolutely perfect, as Jeremy Brett was for Sherlock, David Suchet for Poirot, and Joan Hickson for Miss Marple. (And as an aside, I thought the recent Sherlock series was an 11 out of 10. Very, very clever and right.)
And yes, I need to get a life.
piratedan
@WaterGirl: you could catch him in that SF noir piece “Dark City” with a pre-Jack Bauer Kiefer Sutherland, William Hurt and the sighable Jennifer Connelly.
WaterGirl
@ scav
I wonder if they woudl be available at the video store or the library. Or are you thinking NetFlix?
Joel
It looks like Sean Bean was a little too young to have made the cut for two of the most epic death scenes of all time: Aliens and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
scav
SIA: Alas, headshot guy tended toward the dull, not foolish face. Still, utterly ditto on Sherlock and I thought Peter Davison made a spot-on Campion. I have no life either.
Yutsano
@WaterGirl: “Switched on Baklava”. Couldn’t find it on Hulu but the recipe itself is here. And the real secret to working with filo: go fast.
Sarah Proud and Tall
@ cmorenc:
“Strap-on” was the term used. The difference is illustrative of something, and quite disturbing when you think about it.
scav
WaterGirl: sorry, can’t help. I own them being a bit of a BBC and mystery fanatic.
WaterGirl
@ piratedan
Thanks for the tip. I will definitely check that out!
I can get it on amazon for about 7 bucks, but I will see if they have it at the video store. or maybe i’ll try the amazon movie thing since I have amazon prime. I didn’t even realize I could get free videos as part of amazon prime until this week.
@ Yutsano
I will track down switched on Baklava for the tips on filo dough. I would never try to make baklava, though. And thanks for the “go fast” tip. Do you happen to have a fried pie recipe?
KRK
Rufus Sewell fans should definitely check out the Taming of the Shrew episode of “Shakespeare Re-told” (Netflix has it). Yummy.
Yutsano
@WaterGirl: I don’t. However any good pie crust will work for frying, so hopefully that helps at all. Plus the person you want to bug for a pie dough recipe is MikeJ. He posted one awhile back that is supposed to be foolproof.
metalgirl
John, so glad the party was such a success! Rest up, mister! You’ve been working up to this for weeks (which has been fun to watch, thanks for sharing)!
KRK
Netflix has the Petherbridge versions of the Wimsey stories. And some of the Carmichael episodes as well.
WaterGirl
@ scav
Okay, I will try to track them down. I am quite a fan of BBC and mysteries, too. Do you watch Luther? I was able to watch season one, but I don’t get BBC america anymore.
Edit: @ KRK
Thank you! I don’t get netflix, but a good friend does. Yay.
Edit: @ Yutsano
I will ask about the pie crust recipe next time I see him here. thanks.
Yutsano
Waitaminute…no one is asking the truly important question: John, did you get any bread??
jeffreyw
@WaterGirl:
Why yes, I do have a recipe for that:
http://whats4dinnersolutions.wordpress.com/2011/06/18/mmm-fried-pies/
mds
Oh, indeed. I really wish there had been more of those. And speaking indirectly of Peter Davison and his putative future son-in-law:
Well, to be fair, Belafon, in Sean’s case we’re talking about twenty-one death scenes since 1986. While Rory’s death rate works out to … what time is it now? Though if I recall correctly, only two of the deaths were “real.”
… And now MikeJ has me thinking about a Doctor Who / Gilmore Girls crossover. Oh, the humanity!
Martin
Tonight was simple steaks, ranch beans, salad, watermelon. Steaks, salt and peppered, a dusting of cornstarch both sides, shove them in the freezer for an hour. Toss them on a 700 degree grill for about 5 minutes or so per side – medium rare. Toss on a pat of butter and give them a rest for about 5 minutes.
Skipped the dessert. Aspiring to be less fat.
WaterGirl
KRK – the first thank you was for the Peter Wimsey info. You get a double thank you for the hot tip on Rufus Sewell.
RossInDetroit
Cold Comfort Farm. The first major thing I’d seen him in and he really caught my attention.
scav
mds: I think Rory’s got the deaths in alternative time-lines/universes title sewed up. And the Doctor accused Rose of being jeopardy friendly.
ETA: To burn many bridges at once, I’m of the species that is asking why Amy has died so infrequently vis-a-vis Rory.
WaterGirl
@ jeffreyw
Thanks! I will save you a piece of whatever I make. :-)
WaterGirl
RossInDetroit
I googled Cold Comfort Farm and I almost didn’t recognize him in the cast photo. Then found a bonus gallery of 82 rufus sewell phtoos. :-)
Yutsano
@WaterGirl: You can, incidentally, bake those bathed with an egg wash at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Or even pan fry in butter until the crusts are golden brown. That dough is very easy to mold into just about anything you want, sweet or savory.
ETA: it will keep frozen too! Just wrap tightly and thaw in the fridge!
Violet
Glad the party was a success, John. Knew it would be.
I ate up some chicken I made on Friday. Chicken breasts stuffed with goats cheese mixed with thyme from my garden. I made a cherry compote/sauce to put on top. It was yummy.
Dream On
Sean Bean dying? As consistent as Jennifer Jason Leigh taking her clothes off in a film.
suzanne
Glad it went well, John.
I can’t believe the weekend is over already. My house is still a shithole. Ah, well. At least I got to see Harry Potter.
SIA
@ Ross in Detroit – another great one! But I love any movie or story were everyone gets a makeover!
Brachiator
@scav:
On the other hand, sometimes the actor playing a character can make it is own, blowing away reader or author expectations. Ian Fleming’s original conception of James Bond was a bit Hoagy Carmichael blended with David Niven. And yet after Sean Connery nailed it, Fleming went back and made the Bond of the novels more like Connery’s character.
And oh yeah, Sean Bean had been in the running to be named the new James Bond, but in the end the closest he came to it was as the turncoat Double O in Goldeneye.
Joel
Still trying to figure out the movie where Sean Bean gets decapitated by the swordsman. The caption simply says “GT” with no year attached.
scav
Brachiator: Good point, although I think the only fights likely to out-combust the who’s the best Doctor are those organized around who’s the definitive Bond.
odp
Sean Bean doesn’t die in Stormy Monday, either.
odp
@87: GT = Game of Thrones
Joel
I noticed that the music comes from a video game coming out this fall. The trailer is pretty incredible, both in terms of graphics and storytelling. Glad I stopped playing video games sometime around 10 years ago. The games today look even *more* engaging and life-consuming.
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
I think at least a couple of the old Lord Peter Wimsey series with Ian Carmichael have been reissued on DVD. Seem to remember seeing them at the store lately. I will check on Tuesday.
I think they will look a little dated. They ran on Masterpiece Theatre in the early ’70s, and they have that “spare production values” feel of that time and genre. (Think Upstairs, Downstairs.)
ETA: As usual, should have read all the comments first.
Anne Laurie
What I’d like to see from the BBC is more Albert Campion mysteries:“Coups Neatly Executed, Deserving Cases Preferred, Nothing Sordid, Vulgar, or Plebian.” Alas, Cate Blanchett is now too old (& rather too famous) to play Amanda Fitton…
Speaking of screen-characters who are quite different from their book-origins, anybody else here enjoy the Inspector Lynley Mysteries as much as I do? The book Lord Lynley is cardboard nothing and Sgt. Barbara Havers ‘a badly-dressed fat cow’, but Nathaniel Parker turns Lynley into a persuasively smart, sensitive individual whose upprr-clawse upbringing wounded as much as it empowered him. And Sharon Small is heartbreakingly good as a small, starved, forthright semi-feral of a Metropolitan Police striver who understands exactly how little the world is ready to grant her in comparison, without ever underestimating her own worth.
Brachiator
@scav:
I think that Matt Smith is the greatest Doctor evah, and although I think that Connery is the definitive Bond, I much enjoy Daniel Craig, and am glad to see that they are finally staring on a new 007 film.
Ultimately, I want the latest incarnation of a TV or movie character to succeed.
And I look forward to arcane discussions about who were the best batch of Musketeers after the latest version of The Three Musketeers opens this summer.
fbihop
Surprised at the lack of Breaking Bad discussion here. Best drama on TV right now, in my opinion.
Tonight’s 4th season premiere did nothing to make me reconsider that.
different church-lady
@ Yutsano (30):
That’s God telling you you should run for President.
Joel
@fbihop: Missed it tonight, but I cannot wait to see it.
Brachiator
@Anne Laurie:
Well said. Totally agree that here is an example of the TV version of the characters improving on the way the characters are depicted in the source material.
Sharon Small’s take on Havers is nothing short of wonderful. The way that she underplays the role often steals the spotlight from Parker’s Lynley.
On the other hand, I’m not sure if I am dreading or happily anticipating the Americanized version of Prime Suspect, with Maria Bello in a reboot of Helen Mirren’s Jane Tennison.
Yutsano
@different church-lady: Hmm. That might put a slight crimp on the emigration plans. Plus I don’t think the US is quite ready for a Marine first husband.
Danack
The music from the Sean Bean compilation is taken from the trailer of the game “Dead Island”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZqrG1bdGtg
PeakVT
I wondered earlier if any of the low-level staff at NotW had started dishing dirt, and the answer is yes.
JesterDel
I always thought if you mixed the two actors together – looks of Petherbridge, acting style/character interpretation of Carmichael – you’d have almost exactly how I imagined Lord Peter. I never thought either one on their own quite nailed it.
On the other hand, I think Harriet Walter did a great job as Harriet Vane in the 80s productions.
harlana
Who the hell is Sean Bean?
(crawls back into cave)
Cheryl from Maryland
Sean Bean doesn’t die in Lady Chatterly’s Lover either. But he does do other memorable things.
jinxtigr
Wimsey: and hung like a donkey, in French :o
I’ve not watched any of the TV, just read the books, with which I am well satisfied. Though I don’t speak French or Latin :)
Gregory
Not only that, he gets the girl!
Three-nineteen
I just wanted to say that I enjoyed every conversation in this thread. And I second the call for a new Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey series. David Tennant isn’t blond, but I bet he would nail the part.
artem1s
Sean is about the only actor I can think of who could make Boromir a sympathetic character. I totally bought his redemption and the scene where his is holding the ring (by its chain, mind you) is one of my favorite in LOTR. ‘such a little thing’.
I was actually kind of pissed off when he didn’t buy it on screen in National Treasure. Especially when you’ve got Keitel as the FBI protagonist. A complete waste of casting him IMHO.
ABL
Nothing beats Harry’s mashups. NOTHING.
cyntax
@Joel:
GT=Game of Thrones, the HBO adaptation of the George R.R. Martin books.
jake the snake
Dark City
also the evil Prince Leopold in The Illusionist.
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001722/
The Dude Abides
@108. And the added scene in the extended edition of The Two Towers made him even more sympathetic. The extended versions of both TTT and ROTK improved on the theatrical versions to a surprising extent.