Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Republicans do not trust women.

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

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Petty moves from a petty man.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

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

“But what about the lurkers?”

Let me file that under fuck it.

You are here: Home / TV & Movies / Movies / Open Thread: Tales From Within the SW Madness

Open Thread: Tales From Within the SW Madness

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Couple lighter stories, for a change. From Fusion, a movie theater manager describes the human tsunami:

… It felt like the population of a small town migrated into the lobby of the theater I manage for the movie on Thursday night. This was great timing, since most of my young staff were stuck in exams, concerts and prior commitments. (Apparently, the only people in town who couldn’t be at the movies that night were theater staff.)

In a single moment at 7 p.m., we had to process more people than we normally do on an entire Friday night of business. These are the moments you learn that hell is real, and we are living in it. The huge crowd stressed the power supply to the point that the frozen drinks machine kept breaking and the oil line for one of our two popcorn kettles burst open, knocking it out of commission. In a situation like this, I could have 50 staff and it would not make a difference.

The worst part about these big opening events is that the 7 p.m. show has to start in all formats: 2D, 3D and IMAX. A company also bought out an entire theater and gave every attendee concession coupons…

There were few actual costumes among the Star Wars crowd. More vintage shirts and themed hoodies. A lot of lightsabers, only one of which I had to ask someone to turn off during the movie. The buy-out crowd had no trailers, so went straight in with an eruptive cheer. The 2D crowd ended their trailers with an explosive cheer that could be heard from outside the building. The 3D crowd was inexplicably silent throughout the movie, even during the obvious cheer lines, like when Harrison Ford saunters in. I will never understand why…

It’s not all broken equipment, under-staffing and garbage up to the ears, though. There were good moments. A person two towns away drove 26 miles to see our midnight show because his local theater closed after the 7 p.m. show and he needed to see it again. An elderly couple sat through the credits and told me how they dated while the first movie was out and saw each one together and were so happy to have this new memory and experience…

(I have the suspicion that “elderly couple” was probably in their 50s/early 60s, but it’s still kinda charming.)

From the Washington Post‘s religion section, history prof Matthew Bowman explains “Everybody loves Star Wars.But here’s why Mormons especially love Star Wars“:

When The Empire Strikes Back, the second film of the “Star Wars” saga, opened in Salt Lake City in May 1980, many Mormons left the theater convinced that they had seen a familiar face. By the time Return of the Jedi hit Utah’s rental shelves in the mid-1980s, the rumor was hard to escape in Mormon country: The Jedi Master Yoda was based on Spencer W. Kimball, who served as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon Church, from 1974 to 1985…

Unfortunately for the Mormons, Stuart Freeborn, who designed Yoda, did not mention Kimball when he cited his inspirations. But looking more closely, it appears that the Mormon identification with “Star Wars” is only one manifestation of a deeper Mormon fascination with the genres of science fiction and fantasy…

**********
Apart from whimsy, what’s on the agenda for the evening?

Reader Interactions

235Comments

  2. 2.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Running for president is a lot of responsibility, maybe that’s weighing on you.

    I have sent a text to your pups suggesting that they step up the cuddles. Hope they haven’t lost their phone privileges.

  3. 3.

    Steeplejack

    @Baud:

    The strain of the campaign is weighing on you. Maybe you need to totally unplug for a long weekend at the Baud family compound.

  6. 6.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: On a more serious note, it seems like I grieve in layers. I wonder your trouble sleeping might be related to losing your mom?

  8. 8.

    Rashi

    Everybody loves Star Wars? Why? If you haven’t seen the 2014 German film Phoenix you really should.

  9. 9.

    Baud

    @WaterGirl:

    I was depressed about that at a random time a couple of months ago. It hasn’t weighed in my mind recently, but who knows with the psyche?

  11. 11.

    Gimlet

    Sad.

    “Refugees should stay where the hell they are,” said Jerry Lewis bluntly. “Hey, no one has worked harder for the human condition than I have, but they’re not part of the human condition. If 11 guys in the group of 10,000 are ISIS—how can I take that chance?”

    Lewis is not alone in this feeling; as of last month at least 31 governors rejected President Obama’s push to accept Syrian refugees into their states. Reports of ISIS now having access to a machine that makes American passports and recent revelations of the holes in our vetting system, borne out in the horrific San Bernardino terror attack, are just a couple of the factors legitimizing such pushback from the American people.

    Lewis then said that President Obama was “never prepared” for ISIS and suggested that he was not a real leader…

    “I think he’s great,” said Lewis of Trump. “He’s a showman and we’ve never had a showman in the president’s chair.”

    “Well, we had Ronald Reagan,” Arroyo interjected.

    “Well, that’s different,” answered Lewis. “You can’t make do a comparison on Ronald Reagan because I can do three hours on him with just praise, he was so good.”

  12. 12.

    Baud

    @WaterGirl:

    I was depressed about that at a random time a couple of months ago. It hasn’t weighed in my mind recently, but who knows with the psyche?

    ETA: I have a couple of comments in moderation because of an email error. Hopefully this makes it through.

  13. 13.

    WaterGirl

    I was away for a few days at Christmas. Has anybody here mentioned that there seems to be a new Sherlock coming up this Friday?

  16. 16.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Guessing that was in response to my comment? My heart/brain seems to remember anniversaries that I don’t, but if I think about it when I can’t sleep or I’m feeling blue, sometimes I can figure out the connection.

    On a lighter note, I predict an email scandal for Baud 2016! may be on the horizon! Just pick up the bat phone if you want to discuss this with your advisor. (that would be me.)

    edit: either I have lost my mind or you added a link to my comment. could be either one, I guess. :-).

  17. 17.

    Central Planning

    Nothing much planned for this evening here; I’ll probably look for something low-key to watch on Netflix/Prime/Hulu with the wife.

    Tomorrow I get the carpal tunnel stitches out. Under the ace bandage has been itching like crazy, so it will be nice to actually scratch there for once. Fingers all seem to be fine. I’m noticing the tingling more in my left hand now (which I know I have to schedule for next year some time).

  18. 18.

    Rashi

    Why don’t links open in another tab? Mormons love Star Wars because it and their religion are both fantasy. In that regard, every believer should love da Star Wars.

  19. 19.

    WereBear

    Trying to get something done, but it is pointless. (Nonetheless, I am commenting on Balloon Juice :))

    I have enough energy to do my job. Well enough that my boss said so. But it takes all my spoons and when I get home I can’t do much. Sigh.

  20. 20.

    Baud

    @WaterGirl:

    I would love to call you, but as part of my commitment to transparency, I have pledged to discuss matters of state only on a publicly accessible blog.

  23. 23.

    Steeplejack

    @Gimlet:

    Where the fuck is this from?!

    If you can’t be bothered to provide a link, could you at least mention the source? I know you’re not incapable, because you always manage to bring over the free-floating text and dump it.

  25. 25.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: What??? Have I lost my position as one of your key advisors? Finding that out in a public way on the blog is distressing. I suppose you also break up with people via text?

    (Where is the interobang when you need it?!)

  29. 29.

    khead

    I just can’t get past this quote in the light hearted Star Wars story.

    But Star Wars was different. It felt like the population of a small town migrated into the lobby of the theater I manage for the movie on Thursday night. This was great timing, since most of my young staff were stuck in exams, concerts and prior commitments. (Apparently, the only people in town who couldn’t be at the movies that night were theater staff.)

    It’s Star Wars. You knew the town was coming. I’m guessing there are tons of other young folks who weren’t stuck in exams, concerts, or prior commitments and could use the money. So, STFU and hire them.

    /Get off my far, far away galaxy.

  32. 32.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    Yes, it has been mentioned a few times, and that degenerated into a predictable argument about Benedict Cumberbatch. Good times.

  37. 37.

    Central Planning

    @WaterGirl:

    I am heading off to watch Firefly.

    I’ll have to run that by the missus. I know we watched it back when it was on broadcast TV. That might just fit the bill for something fun and light. We’ve also been binge watching 30 Rock; just something we can giggle at. My mom said we should go to the movies and see Brooklyn. Said it was a really good, non-violent, tear-jerker. That’s all well and fine except for that last piece.

  39. 39.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Germy:

    Never, ever liked him. Never thought he was funny. The only thing he was ever in that I liked was The King of Comedy, and then only the scenes in which he was bound and gagged and in fear of his life.

  41. 41.

    Steeplejack

    @Central Planning:

    [. . .] I’ll probably look for something low-key to watch on Netflix/Prime/Hulu with the wife.

    I am in the process of “upgrading” my TV setup, i.e., fixing and organizing things that I have been half-assing for months (or years). Finally going to (re)connect the TV to the Internet. I have Amazon Prime but haven’t been watching anything. I am probably going to renew an old Netflix subscription and am considering Hulu as well. My question: Is there one of the three that you would drop, or do you watch each one enough to make the cost worthwhile?

  45. 45.

    Steeplejack

    @Germy:

    I don’t really care much about that. Just curious about the source. As I mentioned on a thread last night, I am going through a patch of blog fatigue, and certain things are grating on my proverbial last nerve more than usual.

  46. 46.

    Central Planning

    @Steeplejack:

    Is there one of the three that you would drop, or do you watch each one enough to make the cost worthwhile?

    I use all three. Hulu has things like the Daily Show and The Nightly Show. Netflix seems to have fewer new movies than Amazon but had Jessica Jones for example or the Bill Murray Xmas special . I use an Amazon Fire TV Stick to get all three. I’ve also cancelled cable, so having all three services is cheaper than a standard cable/satellite service.

    Also, I have kids that stream all sorts of Spiderman/Batman/superhero cartoons from Netflix, so that’s well worth it. My monthly internet usage is somewhere between 400-500GB, the most of which is streaming (HD) content.

    ETA – fixed blockquote

  49. 49.

    Baud

    @Steeplejack: The odd show that I haven’t recorded. I’ve also started renting movies on demand through Google Play. A few glitches, but generally pretty good quality.

  50. 50.

    Anne Laurie

    @Central Planning: If you want something ‘fun & light’, may I suggest the British series Pie in the Sky? (Available through Netflix but not, alas, streamed.) The individual episodes are (mostly) self-contained, well-constructed, the mysteries require just enough thought to keep you attentive. And the lead actors (Richard Griffiths & Maggie Steed) actually convey one of the best portraits of a happy, long-term marriage I can remember seeing on film, which makes it especially nice for watching as a couple…

  51. 51.

    Germy

    @Baud: I remember, about 20 or so years ago, reading articles by muscular dystrophy kids (grown up) who said they didn’t like the way he treated and talked about them. I never found him funny or interesting. And his views on women comics are dumb.

    A few days ago, the Jerry Lewis-directed “Three On A Couch” was on TV. I watched some of it just to see if my opinion would change, but no, I found him obnoxious and pretentious.

  52. 52.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Whew. I was kind of upset there for a moment! We are definitely going to need a bigger boat a bigger server.

    @Steeplejack: I thought everybody loved Benedict Cumberbatch. What did I miss?

    @JPL: I am excited, too!

  54. 54.

    Steeplejack

    @Central Planning:

    Thanks for the feedback.

    One of the things I need to “fix” is whether to use the Fire Stick I have sitting around here somewhere, use the built-in apps in my (not so) smart TV (vintage ’09 or ’10) or (very slight possibility) get a Roku box.

    Also need to do something about the TV sound—which is what got this whole “upgrade” thing going in the first place. I’m still using the TV’s built-in speakers, even though I have—again, sitting around here somewhere—a set of semi-upscale computer speakers and even a modest receiver and a pair of bookshelf speakers that could be pressed into service. Before Christmas I installed a Sonos Play:1 speaker for my brother at his beach house, and I remember thinking, “Oh, that’s what good sound sounds like. Now I remember.”

  55. 55.

    Corner Stone

    @Steeplejack: HuluPlus is the shit. Hulu with commercials is garbage. Netflix is useful for some certain series. Amazon Prime for movies is awful and a complete waste. Anything good you may want to watch you have to pay extra for.
    BTW, Joe on FixerUpper has completely grown on me.

  56. 56.

    Cacti

    Having been raised Mormon, some of the “deep doctrine” of the church is definitely pretty sci-fi.

    ETA: And the Spencer Kimball/Yoda story remains a popular faith-promoting rumor for the Mormon tribe.

  63. 63.

    gogol's wife

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Could anyone be moved even to crack a smile by those horrible movies?

    I do laugh when David Letterman says, “Hey lady,” but not when Lewis himself does.

  64. 64.

    ArchTeryx

    @Gimlet: That’s an awesome example of both Moving the Goalposts and Special Pleading all for the price of one. Leave St. Reagan alooooone!

  65. 65.

    Steeplejack

    @Anne Laurie:

    I have been catching Pie in the Sky now and then on one of the lesser PBS stations here in D.C. It’s on four or five times a week, and you’re right: it’s amiable and intelligent, and the episodes are self-contained enough that continuity is not a big problem.

    I’ve also been drifting into two other British shows: New Tricks (retired cops tackle cold cases) and Waking the Dead (forensic cops do forensic stuff, but without all the CSI bullshit).

  68. 68.

    Germy

    @Cacti: Is drug abuse rampant in the Mormon community?
    I’m not joking; I understand there is a serious addiction epidemic in Utah and among young Mormons.

  69. 69.

    schrodinger's cat

    Car Purchase Update:

    My search is over, got financing from my credit union and put a deposit on a 2012 Prius v from a no haggle local place run by a gay couple. Test drove it and got it checked by the mechanic, it has a clean Carfax and Autocheck and is on the lower end of the KBB price range.

    Thanks to all BJers who chimed in with helpful comments and suggestions.
    Getting it tomorrow. Boy that was exhausting!

  70. 70.

    gogol's wife

    We’re on a break (salute to Downton!) between the two Julian Fellowes shows about great houses. We watched them the other night, but we’re enjoying them again a second time. He’s very charming.

  72. 72.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Germy:

    He didn’t. That was Eddie Redmayne, in The Theory of Everything. Benedict Cumberbatch played Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. The two films were released and promoted almost simultaneously last year. I keep mixing them up.

  74. 74.

    Germy

    @gogol’s wife: A large part of his early nightclub act was stolen from other comedians. One struggling black comedian in particular.

    Lois Badsen: I understand that at one time they were at – whether it was the Paramount – it wasn’t the Palace I think it might have been the Paramount when Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis came on stage and they were doing Stump and Stumpy, and Nat Nazarro came down the center aisle from the back, “You’ve stolen my act!” You know. And went through the whole big thing and its a story that told many times over in black show business. But those people that were there and that remember, know that Jerry Lewis indeed is very deeply indebted to James Cross.

  75. 75.

    Steeplejack

    @JPL:

    I know that I could get on the Google and hunt down the source. My point was that if you bring something here to inform and/or entertain the Juicetariat, why make potentially scores or hundreds of readers hunt down the source if they want “the rest of the story” rather than just providing a link with the item? It’s efficient and it’s polite.

  81. 81.

    Cacti

    @Germy:

    Don’t know about street drugs. But I do know that Utah leads the nation in per capita use of prescription anti-depressants.

  82. 82.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    He’s weird-looking. (He’s beautiful!) He’s not a good actor. (He’s a genius!) I hated him in x. (That was the best evah!) Blah, blah, blah. The usual.

  84. 84.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @David Koch:

    If I’m unable to watch in real time, I’ll check YouTube. Thanks.

    (And yes, I know what we see on CBS is not actually “real time” — it’s always taped a few weeks earlier, then edited for TV.)

  85. 85.

    Germy

    @Steeplejack: But do most people here follow links? Whenever I post a link I wonder if anyone will actually click. When I see youtube links posted, I’ll click, but if someone is commenting with a name I don’t recognize, and their link looks sketchy, I won’t click.

  86. 86.

    Gimlet

    @ArchTeryx:

    I never appreciated his humorous stuff. But all those hours and years on Labor Day weekends. His thoughtful comments on the death of Dean Martin. He really did a memorable and unexpected acting turn in “King of Comedy”.

    Until this, I had not read anything wingnutty about him. When I first read it I wondered if he had aged poorly and evolved late in life into a conservative extremist..

  92. 92.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack: You made me laugh out loud. Well, kind of an extended laugh, more like an extended chuckle.

    I’m sorry you’re experiencing the extended blog fatigue / cranky blog period. Hoping you continue to stick with us, I would miss you greatly if you were gone!

  94. 94.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Germy: I frequently follow links. And I try to make sure I source everything I post here; I tried to be scrupulous about that back when I was having a lot of back-and-forth with BiP in 2014. So it’s annoying when somebody drops a big chunk of text with no URL.

  95. 95.

    Steeplejack

    @Corner Stone:

    Was it you who told me she is Asian-American? I had been thinking native American princess, the old Texas-Oklahoma standard “I’m part Cherokee.” On an episode this weekend they showed her mother stepping in to babysit the kids while JoJo and her nitwit husband went off to tear down something, and Mom did not look Cherokee.

    (The husband’s actually not bad. I think he clowns it up too much for the show.)

  97. 97.

    Steeplejack

    @raven:

    Yeah, I’ve noticed that Amazon makes it a little hard to figure out what’s Prime—free—and what’s not. I was recommending Endeavour to someone else who has Prime, and I noticed it was really easy to accidentally veer from the free stuff to the “pay by the episode” stuff.

  99. 99.

    WaterGirl

    @lamh36: Thought of you last night as I was catching up on Season 3 of Luther. I was about to ask you if there is going to be a season 4, but I checked a second ago and see that there was a season 4 that just ended – how did I miss that? I must have removed my season pass from Tivo a couple years ago when they said there wouldn’t be a season 4. Now I am super bummed. :-(

    I do love me some Idris Elba. I was thinking again last night that he would be the perfect James Bond. I cannot understand how people can say Bond can’t be black. Maybe they have never seen Idris Elba?

  103. 103.

    Steeplejack

    @raven:

    Thanks. I looked at some sound bars on line, and the Vizio—if you’re talking about the sub-$100 one—received a lot of really good reviews. The others approached $200 and beyond really quickly.

    The hereditary disease of the Steepletonian men is consumer lust. It can’t be cured, only managed. The way that I manage it is by window-shopping until the fever abates. So I have been looking at all sorts of wild-ass audio/multimedia stuff. And then, if I absolutely can’t resist buying something, I’ll end up getting some really low-end but related thing, like $10 earbuds. That makes it go away for a while.

  107. 107.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack: When I got my flat screen TV a couple of years ago in March, I got the 500.00 Harmon Kardon audio bar thing with the separate speaker. Ask me if I have set it up yet. sigh.

  109. 109.

    Steeplejack

    @Germy:

    Not everyone will click/follow a link, but I would bet that most readers look at a link to make a judgment (even subconscious) about the value, veracity and provenance of the material.

  112. 112.

    Steeplejack

    @Comrade Luke:

    A friend who was here in town for Christmas was raving about Making a Murderer. Another reason to get Netflix hooked up.

    Her last Netflix recommendation was River, which was pretty solid.

  113. 113.

    dogwood

    @Comrade Luke:
    I really liked “Making of a Murderer.” It’s a good reminder that if crappy cops don’t have POC to bully and abuse, they have no problem screwing with the poor white folk.

  114. 114.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    The “season 4” was two episodes that BBC America ran on one night a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t watch it, but I think I recorded it.

  115. 115.

    gelfling545

    @Steeplejack: I have kept Amazon & Netflix & dropped Hulu. I find myself using Netflix most often or using the $16 attached antenna for broadcast shows. I am considering Sling but don’t know if I’d use it enough for the price ($20/month). Still less than cable, though.

  116. 116.

    Anne Laurie

    @Steeplejack: Oh, the Spousal Unit and I both adore New Tricks! — and that’s a series which really does reward watching in sequence, because while the story in each episode is mostly self-contained, the main characters really do grow & develop back stories over the years. It’s just winding up its final, 12th season (haven’t watched that one yet, since we get the discs when they’re released in the US), and all the original characters’ arcs have been wrapped up very nicely…

  117. 117.

    Renie

    Rarely get a chance to post in a thread that is active so here goes: Thanks to the posters who wrote about, Man in the High Castle, River and Rita. Have enjoyed watching all three of them. Would love to hear from others who have seen shows they have enjoyed.

  118. 118.

    NotMax

    @Steeplejack

    Older ears here as well.

    From the less expensive end of the spectrum, have an iLIVE soundbar and am quite happy with it.

    The model I settled on also includes a built-in FM radio. Single drawback (which I learned is common with soundbars) is that the package does not include a connecting cable, so had to make a second trek into town for that.

  119. 119.

    Gin & Tonic

    Unrelated, but a few of you are talking about Netflix. Their movie Winter on Fire about the 2013-2014 Maidan movement in Ukraine is gripping and very well done. Worth 2 hours of your time if you are at all interested.

  121. 121.

    Anne Laurie

    @Steeplejack: My take on Cumberbatch is that he is a more-than-competent actor with a very distinct face, who’s made excellent choices in taking roles best suited to his gifts.

    Of course I haven’t seen ST: Into Darkness, which seems to have soured some people on him. What with the internet and various forms of recorded media, there’s such a wealth of stuff I/we want to get around to watching, I have less and less interest in watching things just because ‘everybody’s seen it’ or ‘it’s such a controversial piece’.

  123. 123.

    Anne Laurie

    @Germy:

    But do most people here follow links?

    I can get cynical about commentors bitching about a linked article which they obviously haven’t bothered to read, but you may be certain that when a link goes wrong (whether a front pager’s or a commentor’s) it will be noticed & marked.

    Also, keep in mind that the pool of a few hundred “regular” BJ commentors are only a small part of the blog readership. There are lots of people reading your comments here that will never write to ask you about missing links, but they’ll judge you by the lack of them.

  126. 126.

    NotMax

    @Renie

    Glad to hear you enjoyed both River and Rita. If you haven’t sampled it, might want to give Monarch of the Glen a try. Just quirky enough to take the edge off the inherent soap opera-y parts.

    BTW, been meaning to ask as noticed that the first season is on Netflix – anyone watched Red Road? Stellar reviews, but looks so determinedly grim and borderline depressing that am reticent about sampling it.

  129. 129.

    Comrade Luke

    @dogwood: My takeaway is that law enforcement will screw over anyone they want, and get the full support of the rest of the legal process to do so. No one should think they’re safe; anyone can get framed.

  130. 130.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven:

    I was wondering about that. I have no pets of my own at the moment, but always love looking at other people’ scour-legged companions.

    (I still think the photo of the Bohdi/Bhodi the day you got him is one of the all-time sweetest pictures ever.)

  131. 131.

    lamh36

    @WaterGirl: It’s was a really “short” season…lol. Basically 2 episodes back to back with no interruptions or credits. Basically it was a made for tv movie type showing.

    The interviews from Idris Elba so far seems to be pushing for a live action film for theatre and you can see where the are kinda “rebooting” the series for that

  133. 133.

    Corner Stone

    @Steeplejack: No, that was not me. I have no idea. I just know she is a member of Hot Nation.
    Her hubby is a goofy over the top sort but they seem really easy matched for each other. If that ends I will be happy to accommo her at any and every opportunity in the near future.

  135. 135.

    dogwood

    @Renie:
    You must have an Amazon Prime account if you saw Man in the High Castle. So I’m gonna recommend you watch the first 3 seasons of The Americans, which are available on Prime. It’s not a show with a large audience, and I don’t think it is watched by many on this blog, but I think it’s been one of the best shows on tv since its premiere. Everyone I’ve recommended it to has really liked it.

  136. 136.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @NotMax:

    I love Monarch of the Glen. Helps that I’ve been a Susan Hampshire fan since the first iteration of The Forsyte Saga back in the late ’60s.

  137. 137.

    lamh36

    People forget what George Lucas did with ILM
    #GeorgeLucas
    #KennedyCenterHonors

    some of my fav sci-fi, fantasy, etc films are great thx to ILM and therefore…

  138. 138.

    Steeplejack

    @raven:

    Yeah, someone said at the start of the blog renovation back in November that this joint gets a million hits a month. Every blog I’ve ever seen numbers for, the ratio of readers/lurkers to commenters is huge.

  139. 139.

    raven

    @SiubhanDuinne: The “getting the house” together rampage continues despite the stomach virus and the princess was just sorting stuff and came across the 2015 version. I totally forgot what with the Tommy hatefest and the lectures by the Venceremos Brigade.

  143. 143.

    Mike in NC

    @raven: Is anybody watching ‘Doc Martin’ about a brilliant London surgeon who suddenly cannot stand the sight of blood and ends up as a GP in an eccentric Cornwall fishing village? He’s a completely antisocial, humorless dick but strangely sympathetic at the same time. We just started Season 6 streaming on Netflix.

  148. 148.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    I moved into my current apartment (which I love) about three years ago, and it took me two years to “do something” with the last of the moving boxes—and that was with a friend enlisted to basically hold a gun to my head. So the place is very comfortable and livable now, but lately I have been having the nagging thought that I could/should get it to a higher level—not perfect, exactly, but something like . . . optimal.

    The TV/audio is one thing. I don’t listen to music as much as I might because I don’t have the previously mentioned receiver and speakers set up. I have a snorting desktop computer and a huge monitor that I haven’t gotten around to deploying because this notebook is just convenient enough to keep me lazy. Etc., etc., etc.

  149. 149.

    ThresherK

    Watching the Kennedy Center Honors.

    The non-famous guy is probably the K.C. director (the only one who isn’t famous on stage tonite) who came out to talk about the K.C. and the arts and stuff reminded me of the Price Waterhouse Cooper infospeck about how the Academy Awards voting is above-board and secure.

  150. 150.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    scour-legged companions = four-legged companions

    FYWARPF,AC

    Also ETA: Bohdi/Bhodi/BODHI

    I can spell jodhpurs and dharma and Gandhi, but this flummoxes me every time.

  155. 155.

    ThresherK

    @Mike in NC: We visited some friends who insisted that we try Doc Martin, for the first time, just in the autumn.

    It is a veddy, veddy British show, which means he has this ability to be like that, and somehow be sympathetic. And I also wonder how close the Cornwall setting is to Torquay, the home of Basil Fawlty.

  156. 156.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven:

    Right, but at this point I’m not even sure which is the right spelling and which is the misspelling! Anyhow, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care.

  158. 158.

    dogwood

    @Mike in NC:
    I’m re-watching Doc Martin right now. Enjoying it as much as the first time. I’m on season 5. After I finish watching season 6, I might just fork over $4.95 for a month of Acorn TV where the 8 episodes of season 7 are up and running.

  159. 159.

    Steeplejack

    @gelfling545:

    One thing that has stymied me is that Netflix and Hulu make it hard to figure out (ahead of time) what movies and series they have available. Right now I’m thinking I’ll go ahead and try them both and then try to be ruthless about dropping them if I’m not using them.

    I just went to the Netflix site and see that they have a “first month free” deal going, so that’s a good sign. I could be in and out at no cost. Although from what many people have said and recommended, I’m certain there’s enough on Netflix to keep me hooked. My brother literally said to me over the holiday that he would consider it a Christmas present to him if I would binge-watch Mad Men so we could discuss it in depth. He claims it’s our father’s life story (different career/industry).

  161. 161.

    Steeplejack

    @Anne Laurie:

    Yeah, I noticed a few continuity problems, because the local channel apparently is not showing the episodes in chronological order. There was one that ended with one of the cops about to run down a criminal nemesis with his car, so I made sure to record the next episode, but it turned out to be a completely different thing. WTF. So I have put it on the back burner for now.

  163. 163.

    Redshift

    @lamh36: I don’t hate them either. I enjoyed the first one, but didn’t think it was at all Star Trek-like. I thought the second seemed to have something closer to a Star Trek plot (though it also has its share of problems.)

    I enjoy Zachary Quinto’s Spock, and love Simon Pegg’s… Simon Pegg. Based on the trailer, I’m looking forward to the third.

  164. 164.

    lamh36

    Whatever you believe, you can’t listen to CeCe Winans singing “Blessed Assurance” and not see “God”!

  166. 166.

    Steeplejack

    @NotMax:

    Single drawback [. . .] is that the package does not include a connecting cable [. . .].

    This is a known thing. If I unearth the set of reasonably good computer speakers that I think I still have, I’m hoping to simultaneously unearth the RCA-to-3.5mm connector I will need to hook them up to the TV. Unlike you, though, I have a Radio Shack about half a mile away. Er, if it still exists. Haven’t been by there in quite a while. Anyway, Best Buy is only another couple of miles.

  169. 169.

    srv

    Outside the Beltway, the right is livid with new Speaker Paul Ryan’s trillion-dollar spending deal with Democrats. Conservative pundit Ann Coulter says Ryan, just seven weeks on the job, is ripe for a primary challenge. “Paul Ryan Betrays America,” blared a headline on the conservative site Breibart.com. And Twitter is littered with references to the Wisconsin Republican’s new ‘Muslim beard.’

    Maybe Bernie could do Spock’s Beard.

  172. 172.

    Redshift

    Speaking of British police procedurals, Ms. Redshift and I are watching Foyle’s War (on the recommendation of Craig Ferguson) and it is excellent.

  176. 176.

    NotMax

    @Steeplejack

    Radio Shack – gone. Best Buy – never on this island.

    Ended up going to Home Depot to get the TOSLINK optical cable the soundbar required. Price there was less than online!

  177. 177.

    Steeplejack

    @Baud:

    Dunno. Just repeating what was said. I doubt it’s a million different people, but with people coming in and, say, averaging as many as a hundred clicks a day, that’s still 10,000 people.

    I have no idea how they count clicks.

  178. 178.

    dogwood

    @Steeplejack:
    I don’t know what your situation is, but I’ve been retired now for 4&1/2 hrs. I didn’t watch many tv series when I was working because I could never keep track of when they were on. Since retirement I cut the cable and went to streaming. I have both a Netflix and Hulu account and am happy with them. For me it’s more about convenience than money. What I found initially with Netflix was that it was easier to browse its catalog online than on my tv screen. But unless, you are very narrow in your viewing preferences, I doubt you would run out of good stuff to watch on Netflix for several years.

  181. 181.

    Steeplejack

    @dogwood:

    Jeez, Acorn TV—there’s another potential subscription in the mix, mainly because I like Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and The Doctor Blake Mysteries, and I’m sure there is a lot of other good stuff there.

  182. 182.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @raven: I see they finally have a different commercial for the film out now. I always cringe when the horse and rider gallop over the edge in the first one. The second one seems to try to tell a story about the film rather than jack our emotions up to 11… Maybe they figured out that the first one would turn off a whole bunch of potential viewers.

    It looks like a very intense film.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  185. 185.

    lamh36

    @srv: to be honest, my main problem is the same problem I had with Star Wars, two of the most beautiful people in the world and ur covering their faces with ugly…I like my Idris and Lupita looking pretty

  188. 188.

    David Koch

    Jenny Han ‏@jennyhan

    Is this the most diverse #KCHonors of all the #KCHonors?? People of color on stage, in the audience, everywhere!

    0 retweets 4 likes

    Thanks Obama

  189. 189.

    dogwood

    @Redshift:
    Foyles War is a damn fine tv series. Another British show I enjoyed was MI-5. It was the first thing I watched years ago when I got my Netflix account. Ten seasons. Loved it.

  190. 190.

    Steeplejack

    @Redshift:

    I watched Foyle’s War from the beginning (on PBS), and when I belatedly came to Scott Ferguson on The Late Late Show he used to regularly crack me up with his minimalist but perfect Foyle. “You’ve been very bad, and you’re going to have to go to jail for a very long time.”

  191. 191.

    David Koch

    Trish Gannon ‏@trishg87

    Love the diversity of spirit and talent in tonight’s joyous Kennedy Center Honors #KCHonors

    1 retweet 1 like

    Just wait until President Trump makes it white again.

  193. 193.

    David Koch

    Mia G ‏@MiaGWatkins

    Greatly inspired by the #KCHonors right now

    Adam DJ Brett  ‏@adjbx

    #KCHonors has really stepped up their staging game

    Alice Fuller ‏@hollywoodlvwork

    Tears just flowing at #KCHonors….@CeceWinans is one of the few that can pull emotion out of you and make it appear effortless. #ThemWinans

    TRobles ‏@mtsrobles

    #KCHonors is the best thing on television all year!

    Amanda Nguyen ‏@chinosgirl01

    With a heart filled with joy that I am taken back to my childhood #KCHonors

  194. 194.

    dogwood

    @Steeplejack:
    A good share of the programs on Acorn, like Miss Fisher are on Netflix. I just like Doc. Martin enough to pay 5 bucks to see the latest season.

  195. 195.

    Anne Laurie

    @Steeplejack: Yeah, we moved into this house… 20 years ago. And we’re both packrats!

    Because there are Serious Repairs needed (roof, furnace, insulation, wiring) have been doing both major & minor ‘decluttering’ for the past couple months, which will continue for no doubt many months more. Spousal Unit just took me off the internet for half an hour by cutting through the wrong wire in the basement ceiling. He’s pretty handy, but not always quite as careful as I’d like…

  196. 196.

    Steeplejack

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:

    Speaking of which, I have to caution everybody that the previews for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight that have started to flood the TV make the movie seem “quirkier” and more humorous than it is. It’s a good movie, but holy shnikeys is it violent and gory!

    (Saw it in glorious 70mm Cinerama on Christmas Day.)

  197. 197.

    David Koch

    Madi Eckerson ‏@its_mad_dog

    Such a beautiful way to honor these amazing people! One of the best yet! Especially George Lucas!!!??#KCHonors @CBS @CBSTweet

    Kelli Bryant ‏@kbry16

    So powerful and emotional…i need to find my tissue box #KCHonors

    *Spoiler* The President breaks down and cries at the end when Aretha Franklin sings in honor of Carole King

  199. 199.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven:

    Tommy hatefest

    Infuriates and saddens me every time I think about it. I hope he hasn’t been scared off forever, although I wouldn’t blame him if he said “fuck all y’all, I’m outta here.”

  200. 200.

    Matt McIrvin

    The original “Battlestar Galactica” lifted a big chunk of its mythos straight from Mormon theology. And Adama was basically Brigham Young in space. (The reboot series removed most of the Mormon references.)

  201. 201.

    Steeplejack

    @dogwood:

    I got both seasons of Miss Fisher on DVD, then later noticed it was an Acorn thing. I highly recommend Doctor Blake. Also an Australian series, set in the early or mid-’50s. Troubled doctor (World War II) is called to be local coroner, solves cases that the police and powers that be would rather wrap up quickly and neatly or sweep under the rug.

  202. 202.

    Redshift

    And tangentially related to Star Trek, yesterday I finally got to see Allegiance, the Broadway musical inspired by George Takei’s experiences in the Japanese-American interment camps, and boy, is it powerful! And the performances are great, too. See it if you can, I think it only has a few more weeks.

    Also, after Trump’s approving mention of the internment as something we might want to try with Muslim Americans, George invited him to come see the show to learn about the reality. So there’s a seat marked “Reserved for Donald J. Trump” with a count of the number of days it’s been waiting. :-)

  204. 204.

    Eric NNY

    @WaterGirl: took me an alcoholism spat and anxiety/depression diagnosis to get over that one. Bless you, plus you’ve always had my primary vote.

  207. 207.

    Steeplejack

    @Redshift:

    Yeah, he’s a good writer. What first got me hooked on his show was that I noticed that he regularly had writers on as guests, and not just “huge bestseller of the moment” ones. I did a spit-take when I saw Jo Nesbø on there once (Norwegian crime fiction), and when he had Denise Mina on they traded stories about being at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe together back in the day.

  208. 208.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    Wow. Aretha can still bring it. I didn’t know she played piano, too. A great tribute to Carole.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  209. 209.

    PurpleGirl

    Hey people, you do realize that Jerry Lewis, the actor is not the Charles Jeremy (Jerry) Lewis who said the awful comments about Syrian refugees.

    While it’s interesting to see the comments on Jerry Lewis the actor, it’s weird at the same time.

  211. 211.

    Dmbeaster

    What sort of wacky religion would find it inspiring that a friggin rubber puppet with bad grammar appears to resemble their wrinkled old leader? Its up there with seeing Jesus in burnt toast.

  212. 212.

    Mike J

    @Dmbeaster: What kind of religion would applaud nailing Jews to trees? What kind of religion would like an eternal cycle of suffering until you can reach the void?

    If you need to define “religion”, you could do worse than “something that sounds moronic until you believe it.”

  213. 213.

    lamh36

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: she’s played piano alot in her younger years.

    She hasn’t really been playing alot as she go older, at least I hadn’t seen it. In fact, I was discussing with someone else that I hadn’t seen her play the piano in a while.

    And here she goes and plays it beautifully for Carole King…of course!

  215. 215.

    PurpleGirl

    @raven: Someone, I forget who, was asking about a calendar two-three weeks ago.

    @raven: Sometime in the past it was mentioned that BJ gets a few thousand distinct hits a day. I don’t know if the counter is still here — I haven’t looked for it lately — but it showed the kind of traffic BJ got.

  217. 217.

    PurpleGirl

    @NotMax: I loved Monarch of the GLEN. Waking the Dead was good too. As was Wire in the Blood. The original British Cracker had its moments.

  218. 218.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Steeplejack: Thanks for the link. I just read the CC, but he seems to have a strong case of the Cranky Old Teabagger Man disease.

    :-/

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  220. 220.

    PurpleGirl

    @Steeplejack: Yes, that episode of the World Over show was about Jerry Lewis the comedian/actor. But the Jerry Lewis who said that stuff about Syrian refugees is Charles Jeremy (Jerry) Lewis who was a California member of Congress for many years. I googled it just to make sure who said the stuff about Syrian refugees.

    Look the Jerry Lewis we know as the comedian could be a wingnut for all we know but the guy who said that stuff about Syrian refugees was a different guy who is definitely a RWNJ.

  221. 221.

    Steeplejack

    @PurpleGirl:

    Forget Google, I gave you the actual video of Jerry Lewis the comedian saying the actual, exact words. The link may be hard to see (the colors have gone wonky on my version of this site), but it’s the whole first sentence of my comment.

    ETA: You don’t have to watch the whole hour. You can click on the video’s time line to advance immediately to 48:10 or threabouts.

  222. 222.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @PurpleGirl: Sorry, but you’re incorrect about this. The Jerry Lewis (Joseph Levitch) who said these things is the old comedian guy, not the former Congressman.

    Not that it really matters all that much. ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  223. 223.

    Scapegoat

    @Comrade Luke: “Making a Murderer” is an incredibly riveting documentary about Steve Avery — the guy who did 18 years in the big house for a rape he was finally exonerated for through new DNA testing. I devoured the entire thing in a few days (hat tip to East is East for the recommendation).

    For those interested in social justice (gone awry), retaliation, and the abuse of power, it’s well worth checking out.

    The ten episode format is unusual for a documentary, but it (mostly) works and permits a very deep-dive with substantive material and in-depth commentary.

    Our justice system needs some serious attention…

  235. 235.

    Steeplejack

    @Paul in KY:

    Ha! More crack for the addict.

    Is B&O still around? For some reason I thought they were one of those brands that sort of went out of style. Maybe I just haven’t been moving in the right circles lately.

    Which reminds me: I need to dig out that box of audio/computer stuff and look for those speakers I might be able to hook up to the TV.

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