Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Petty moves from a petty man.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Let me file that under fuck it.

Second rate reporter says what?

Consistently wrong since 2002

Innocent people do not delay justice.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

You are here: Home / TV & Movies / Television / Open Thread

Reader Interactions

51Comments

  6. 6.

    clayton

    You should have been watching Independent Lens. Very inspiring and enjoyable.

    Apparently my black cat either strong agrees or disagrees since he just climbed up my back.
    Ouch.

  7. 7.

    Shari

    @MikeJ:

    Can’t you guys see this?

    This entry was posted on Monday, April 9th, 2012 at 10:00 pm and is filed under Television. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  9. 9.

    John Cole

    @Auguste: Well, I happen to like the show. I think it is fun, I love Angelica Huston, I think Katherine McPhee in leotards and yoga pants in HD makes every single day worth living, I like the normalization of gay relationships without everything being over the top, and my father and mother, who spend two weeks in Canada every summer to go to play and spend a week every fall on Broadway watching plays love it, and I like the fact that because of the show I get to spend an hour chatting during commercials about what we like about the show.

    So you think it sucks. I don’t, and neither do a lot of people. So eat a bag of salted dicks.

  10. 10.

    stoned stats

    The time is not on the frontpage I see. What you posted I think is from the permalink. @MikeJ the time was def on in the old version. I never realized what it meant to me before it was taken away.

  11. 11.

    lamh35

    Focusing on What’s Important in the Trayvon Martin Case

    One of the sadder aspects of Trayvon Martin’s death is how it’s becoming a touchstone for a nebulous and unresolvable “conversation around race” instead of a touchstone for discussing the horrendous job Martin’s local police department did in investigating his death…

    …For some reason there’s this notion out there that Trayvon was killed on Monday, Al Sharpton showed up on Tuesday, and there were marches on Wednesday. There’s an entire contingent of critics who are much more comfortable attacking Sharpton, or wondering why “black on black” crime doesn’t attract any protests.

    … more importantly the protests aren’t merely about Trayvon Martin’s killing, they are about the failure of a police department to rigorously investigate a crime… At its root, Trayvon Martin’s killing is a law and order case, and you would think conservatives would latch on to that. Instead, with few exceptions, we are being told that the true calamity here is the presence of Al Sharpton.

  13. 13.

    JGabriel

    __
    __
    stoned stats:

    i’m dying for the time of the post on the front page. Thx.

    __
    Seconded. Well, okay, I’m not dying for it, but I would like to see it return. Not a big deal, but it’s nice to see how long a post has been up.

    .

  14. 14.

    cthulhu

    My now-ingrained feminism could not allow me to enjoy the ad. Sure, she’s at the top of the brewing game but still judged by her appearance. On the other hand, the joke would have worked with a male brewmaster so maybe the concept is post-feminist?

  16. 16.

    JGabriel

    __
    __
    PeakVT:

    The Chinese government is unhappy with the latest Happiness Report. So it censored it.

    __
    We don’t even have a happiness report.

    In U.S., U.S. decides if it’s happy with you.

    .

  17. 17.

    mainmati

    Lived in GB for a while. Newcastle Brown Ale is an industrial brew. It may once have been a “real ale” but that was a long time ago. Real craft ales now exist here in the good ole USA as well as in England. In GB, there’s a whole movement to bring back real ale; that’s how much they take quality seriously.

  18. 18.

    handy

    @John Cole:

    So you think it sucks. I don’t, and neither do a lot of people.

    You know who else a lot of people didn’t think sucked?

  21. 21.

    James Hare

    I dunno — calling that beer ad out as sexist kind of ignores the whole history of beer ads. It’s not the Swedish bikini team, right?

    In the hyper-macho beer market I think it’s a pretty stunning thing to even admit women are involved in the production of beer. Having been to a few breweries in my day it’s rare to see any promotional materials that feature women. At Magic Hat it’s clear women are basically around to serve beer, not make it. That’s in way-liberal Vermont. That’s not to call into question Magic Hat’s commitment to feminism (I have no idea one way or the other) but to give a space for comparison.

    From the photo another poster put up, I’m sure she could easily have been featured in the ad; however, where’s the punchline?

  22. 22.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @stoned stats:
    @MikeJ:

    This entry was posted on Monday, April 9th, 2012 at 10:00 pm and is filed under Television. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

    It’s right there.

  23. 23.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @JGabriel:
    @dww44:

    This entry was posted on Monday, April 9th, 2012 at 10:00 pm and is filed under Television. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

    And likewise.

  24. 24.

    catpal

    I like Smash alot too. I like that its about Broadway, NYC, Debra Messing, and Anjelica Huston is hilarious.

    I get the best TV and Netflix recs from here. thanks John.

  26. 26.

    PeakVT

    @SiubhanDuinne: It’s there, but why bury it in a bunch of verbage that is usually far enough down that you have to scroll to see it? The date is already at the top. Why not put the time next to it?

  27. 27.

    Ronzoni Rigatoni

    @mainmati: Many many many years ago, while visiting friends in Taffs Well, I was introduced to Newcastle Brown when it was a real ale. I think I was probably the first person in the world who “smuggled” a six-pack into the US (it wasn’t exported then because there were no preservatives added). Good times.

    Oh, well…
    Taffy was a Welshman
    Taffy was a Thief.
    Taffy came to my house
    And stole a pot of Beef.

  29. 29.

    burnspbesq

    @texascowgirl:

    Where the fuck are our millionaires and billionaires?

    They’re pissed of at Obama because:

    (a) He took the time to get the military on board, instead of reversing DADT by executive order on his first day in office.

    (b) He has not defied Congress and spent his Ultra-Secret Presidential Slush Fund to bring Khalid Sheikh Muhammad to NYC for trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

    (c) His mind-control-fu wasn’t strong enough to get 218 Representatives and 60 Senators to vote for a public option.

    (d) All of the above.

  30. 30.

    cay

    It’ll make me sad the next time I have a New Castle. You’d think there would be one realm where a woman’s looks wouldn’t matter, but oh well. Fuck. Bourbon tonight, Mr. Cole. Black Maple Hill, small batch. Enjoy looking at your Japan prints!

  33. 33.

    David Koch

    AP has a fascinating story on how global warming is killing energy producers. With warm winters the need for heat has crashed, resulting in a glut of unused gas supplies. The oversupply has triggered a 50% drop in prices with analysis predicting another 25% drop.

    This December’s heating prices will be at rock bottom prices, on the rare days when a heater will be needed.

    The invisible hand giveth and taketh.

    http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_790462.html

  40. 40.

    David Koch

    Rove pushing the storyline that he’ll have $200 million is an indication that he’s having trouble raising money.

    It’s a grift.

    He’s trying to create the appearance that people are rushing in to give him money. Then he can go to fat-cats and say, “everyone else is contributing, why not you”, and “you don’t want it to be known you were the only one who didn’t contribute”, and more importantly, “of course, you’re contributing to a successful operation, just look at all the money we’ve taken in”. When they ask to see the books, he’ll say, “I can’t show you that because the donations where made on a confidential basis, but if you have doubts, look at all these newspaper articles”.

    It’s how they sold the Iraq war. They’d plant a story on aluminum tubes in the Times, then run out and say, “my gawd, did you see what the Times reported! It must be serious, if it’s being independently reported by the paper of record”.

    The grift isn’t new. It’s how snake oil was sold. A shill would buy a bottle and pretend to be cured of some ailment and then rubes would rush in to buy the shit because it was “independently” verified by the shill.

    That said, he’s still gonna have money, but it’s important to recognize how he’s using the press to create an appearance of momentum to drum up suckers.

  41. 41.

    Auguste

    @John Cole: Like any strongly expressed opinion about pop culture on the internet (or, indeed, any of my opinions whatsoever) I hereby accept the equal validity of your opinion that I can go fuck myself.

    I sense, however, a bit of the “why you gotta hate Broadway, you fucking hipster” in your framing of your pre-salted-dick invective, and I’ll just say that I’ll put my love of Broadway up against any BJ reader’s (if not your father and mother, because who knows.) What I wanted, desperately, was a good show about Broadway.

    What I got was shit.

    In my opinion.

  42. 42.

    suzanne

    I got back a bit late from a memorial for my next-door neighbor, who died this weekend of lung cancer. Lots of stories told, beers consumed, laughter and tears. 55 is too young–younger than my mother and in-laws. Still, he touched the lives of many people and that’s a good life lived.

    Feeling exceedingly mortal today. Argh.

  43. 43.

    Ruckus

    @suzanne:
    Today wasn’t a day like that for me. I’ve posted here before that I had to close my business but it is taking forever to shut it down and leave. So I can’t move on, stuck in limbo. So this last weekend the power steering pump in my truck crapped out and boy is that fun to fix. Which I haven’t been able to do so it has to be towed into a shop before I set it on fire. Then this morning sis calls, mom died. Now she made it to 94 and died in her sleep so that’s something. I can’t remember any funny mom stories, maybe some of her friends will.

  45. 45.

    Linnaeus

    Since it’s still April 9 on the west coast, let me wish you all a very happy Appomattox Court House day!

  46. 46.

    jon

    Is it shocking that a show about Broadway relies on exaggerated plotlines that come out of everything from Cher’s contract riders, the plot of Showgirls, T&A, A Star is Born, one third of the episodes of iCarly, and Skinemax programming? It’s got something for everyone.

    I suppose critics want realism. Yeah, right. The Sopranos had a mob guy going to a shrink. Riiiiight. For more accurate depictions of the intellectual leanings of the mob, try Ghost Dog. You want no soap opera? Sorry. May as well watch nothing but… I was about to say sports, but I know better.

  47. 47.

    jon

    Salted dicks aren’t found on shelves. You have to order them special at the butcher counter. They aren’t placed out there for display, either.

    It’s a bit like the different ordering options at In and Out. Animal Style, et cetera. You need to speak the code.

  48. 48.

    muddy

    @John Cole: I’m way too late to this party, but I just wanted to tell the gardeners here that there is a variety of pepper called Peter, which looks just what you’d imagine from the name.

    I used to grow and pickle them, wonderful gift. The sort of thing that makes men draw their knees together. So, not a bag of salted dicks, instead a jar of pickled Peters, probably more shelf stable.

  50. 50.

    The Golux

    @SiubhanDuinne: As others have mentioned, the time that you cite only appears on the page for the individual post. No time is shown for posts on the main page.

  51. 51.

    Death Panel Truck

    @John Cole:

    So you think it sucks. I don’t, and neither do a lot of people. So eat a bag of salted dicks.

    It’s always your way or the highway, isn’t it, Cole? No tolerance of criticism. You have the same hissy fit whenever anyone disses the Dreadful Grate.

    Yeah, I know, fuck off, eat salted dicks. Whatever.

    @Auguste: Your opinion doesn’t matter. Only Cole’s does.

Comments are closed.