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You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Dog Blogging / The Walking Dogs (Open Thread)

The Walking Dogs (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker|  April 6, 201611:34 am| 127 Comments

This post is in: Dog Blogging, Domestic Politics, Movies, Television

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I’ve had complaints that all photos of my dogs look alike because so many of them depict the hounds in repose on the sofa. In my defense, that’s where they are 90% of the time. But just to prove that we do see daylight occasionally, here’s a picture from our morning walk:

p&d april 2016

What a pair of assholes, huh? Open thread!

PS: Regarding the title, I’m still fuming about “The Walking Dead” cliffhanger. Am I alone in that?

Also too, what is the worst movie you’ve paid to see recently? For me, it’s “The Hateful Eight,” hands down. Luckily I only rented it at home instead of paying full cinema freight, or I’d be even more pissed about having no way to recoup the two hours and 47 minutes I wasted watching that piece of shit film.

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Reader Interactions

127Comments

  1. 1.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 6, 2016 at 11:36 am

    They have rather well rounded behinds, some might even say Tunchesque.

  2. 2.

    Raven

    April 6, 2016 at 11:36 am

    Knuckleheads

  3. 3.

    Iowa Old Lady

    April 6, 2016 at 11:38 am

    keeybbooaarrdd prrooblllllllllllllllllllllemmss

  4. 4.

    Miss Bianca

    April 6, 2016 at 11:39 am

    Yeah, but they’re *nice* assholes….

    Haven’t paid to see any movies lately – mostly get ’em on DVD from the library. But I will confess that I pulled the plug on “Mad Max” not too long ago. I thought I had to watch the others in the series before getting around to “Furiosa”. Have been assured that I am wrong.

  5. 5.

    Joseph Nobles

    April 6, 2016 at 11:40 am

    I caught wind of the possibility of that cliffhanger a week before it ran, so I was all ready for it. As I was processing it, I thought it may be the only way to really lose a major character and keep the audience. We now have until October as an audience to deal with it. And then who it will be gets us to the first episode of the next season. However, if it turns out to be Abraham (the only guy there currently able to take a shot to the head and still remain upright in my opinion), the buildup will be a waste – he’s not that major a character. Before the “take it like a champ” line, I thought they were setting it up to be Maggie.

  6. 6.

    jacy

    April 6, 2016 at 11:43 am

    Walking Dead finale was a stupid, cheap gimmick that wasn’t in any way narratively satisfying. Fuck you, Robert Kirkman and Scott Gimple.

    I liked the Hateful Eight, though. (and that’s the only movie I’ve paid to see in the last six months…..)

    Close on my new house Monday — can’t wait to be able to walk my dogs to the park!

  7. 7.

    Germy Shoemangler

    April 6, 2016 at 11:47 am

    I am apparently one of the few people who enjoyed Batman v Superman. I loved seeing Soledad O’Brien, I loved the realistic way the Daily Planet was portrayed, with budget cuts and pinching every penny (and really enjoyed Laurence Fishburne as Perry White), I loved Lex Luthor’s attempt at a speech at a fancy ball, where he gets tangled up in his own psychosis, I really like that special effects nowadays can actually show superheroes doing superhero stuff.

  8. 8.

    trollhattan

    April 6, 2016 at 11:48 am

    @jacy:
    Congratulations on the new casa. One of life’s more stressful endeavors, it’s great to finally move in and put your stamp on it.

  9. 9.

    dr. bloor

    April 6, 2016 at 11:48 am

    I’ll repost this from the other thread since it was mortally wounded by the crossfire in the last one:

    They like him. They really, really like him!

  10. 10.

    Tokyokie

    April 6, 2016 at 11:50 am

    I used to literally go see every movie that came out, sometimes going to four or five movies a day. I no longer have the time or the patience to do that, so I tend to skip the ones I figure I won’t like. But I liked — but wouldn’t recommend — The Hateful Eight.

  11. 11.

    trollhattan

    April 6, 2016 at 11:51 am

    @Germy Shoemangler:
    Confess that after being an accidental viewer of Man of Steel (plane flight ) I will never willingly get within a zip code of that director’s product.

  12. 12.

    Big Ol Hound

    April 6, 2016 at 11:53 am

    Those are a beautiful pair of assholes compared to Trump and Cruz.

    How about the lady who jumped all over Gov Scott calling him an asshole.

  13. 13.

    Germy Shoemangler

    April 6, 2016 at 11:54 am

    @trollhattan: I’ve never enjoyed a movie on a plane flight. Last summer I spent almost ten hours on a plane, watching movies, some of them quite good, but I didn’t enjoy any of them.

  14. 14.

    Woodrowfan

    April 6, 2016 at 11:57 am

    I thought that was Rosie and Lillie for a sec, then realized it wasn’t a Cole post. Was thinking “man, they look big!”

    I see so few movies nowadays I can avoid the real stinkers. Avoiding BMvSM. rather watch Gotham on HULU. I did see “Frozen” on a plane flight in 2014 and was bored stiff.

  15. 15.

    SarahT

    April 6, 2016 at 11:58 am

    @dr. bloor: Man that’s impressive ! But what’s a John Simon Guggenheim fella like that doing hanging around a place like this ?

  16. 16.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 6, 2016 at 12:01 pm

    I saw a great movie last week, Queen, streamed it from Google play. Its about a dorky and sheltered Delhi lass dumped the day before her big fancy wedding. She decides to take their honeymoon trip alone and discovers herself along the way.

    Kangana Ranaut was awesome, she won the National and the Filmfare awards for acting that year. Hard to believe that she is the same person who played the reigning super model in Fashion, she is the first on the catwalk.

  17. 17.

    dr. bloor

    April 6, 2016 at 12:02 pm

    @SarahT: Feeling superior, I would imagine. Good thing the Gugs people didn’t stumble on us.

  18. 18.

    John PM

    April 6, 2016 at 12:02 pm

    My wife hated the ending of the Walking Dead season finale and says that she is never watching again if Daryl gets killed. I think the producers are scared now after the shitstorm that hit when it looked like Glenn had been killed. I, however, was rooting for Glenn’s death because some major characters have to die in order to keep the show grounded. If the producers stay follow the comics, then I already know who is going to be on the receiving end of Lucille.

    I was more annoyed that it took so long to meet Negan and that he had such a long monologue. Also, Carol’s nervous breakdown does not feel convincing. However, I am liking Father Gabriel, Warrior Priest. I could see him in his own show now, like Kung Fu, The Walking Dead.

  19. 19.

    Shell

    April 6, 2016 at 12:03 pm

    Since I pay for HBO, this would be considered a paid movie, but ‘Pitch Perfect 2’ was absolute dreck. Come to think of it, most of their “New for Saturday!” movies usually suck. From ‘San Andreas’ to ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ have been reliably awful. Last week’s ‘Trainwreck’ wasn’t too bad, even if it did end with its own version of a ron-com’s ‘race to the airport.’

  20. 20.

    Germy Shoemangler

    April 6, 2016 at 12:04 pm

    After months of waiting, one of the most hotly anticipated comic books of recent years has arrived: Black Panther No. 1, as authored by superstar nonfiction writer and longtime geek Ta-Nehisi Coates. Publisher Marvel Comics announced in September that Coates — writer of the acclaimed Between the World and Me — would be penning the monthly comics series, with artwork from veteran penciler Brian Stelfreeze. The specifics of the narrative were kept under wraps, but one thing was certain: A lot of people who were fans of Coates and not necessarily fans of comics would be picking up this issue.

    http://www.vulture.com/2016/04/ta-nehisi-coates-black-panther-annotated.html

  21. 21.

    Germy Shoemangler

    April 6, 2016 at 12:06 pm

    @Big Ol Hound:

    How about the lady who jumped all over Gov Scott calling him an asshole

    I could almost hear the voice in Scott’s brain circuit yelling “Abort! Abort!” as he hightailed it out of the room.

  22. 22.

    SarahT

    April 6, 2016 at 12:08 pm

    @dr. bloor: Wonder if he had to make a speech to the Academy ? “I…am Mrs. Norman Balloon-Juice…”

  23. 23.

    Kropadope

    April 6, 2016 at 12:09 pm

    I didn’t stay awake for enough of the Hateful Eight to establish whether it was the worst movie I’ve paid to see recently. Even though I enjoyed Batman vs. Superman overall, I was still somewhat disappointed in it.

  24. 24.

    geg6

    April 6, 2016 at 12:09 pm

    I don’t pay to watch bad movies, if I can in any way avoid it.

    OTOH, I highly recommend “Concussion.” Saw it on PPV the other night and I totally see why Will Smith was pissed to not get an Oscar nomination. He’s really good in it, probably better than I’ve ever seen him in any film. And Alec Baldwin is also very, very good, better than he’s been in years. Plus, as a Pittsburgher, it gets to a lot of truths about the ‘Burgh and it’s people, both the good and bad. In addition, it turned me around on Cyril Wecht completely. I’ve always thought him to be a pompous, selfish asshole. Turns out that he certainly is pompous and an asshole, but he’s not selfish at all. He’s a pretty good guy underneath all the pompous assholery.

    And as much as I love football and my Stillers, I just wept through large chunks of this film. I used to see Mike Webster around town now and again, when he was going downhill fast and everyone just thought he was junkie. It really is like a punch in the stomach, facing that tragedy and then those of Terry Long and Justin Strelzyk and knowing what I know now. This is really going to affect my enjoyment of football from now on. I don’t know how much, but it will.

  25. 25.

    Forked Tongue

    April 6, 2016 at 12:14 pm

    I thought The Hateful 8 was pretty good, with a couple of scenes I disliked deeply. I can, however, tell you the worst book I paid for recently: The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair, a French mystery that somehow got rave reviews all over Europe–won the Goncourt Prize, for Christ’s sake. It was the most forlorn piece of shit I’ve ever tried to read, and I’ve read The DaVinci Code. Utter garbage. Got a quarter of the way through and gave up.

  26. 26.

    PurpleGirl

    April 6, 2016 at 12:15 pm

    @Germy Shoemangler: Wow. Our Tom Levenson is quite an accomplished man. Congratulations to him.

  27. 27.

    EconWatcher

    April 6, 2016 at 12:17 pm

    If anyone missed “99 Homes,” by all means see it. It has a speech about our messed up system that is almost Shakespearean in its perfection. Plus Laura Dern, which was like seeing an old friend again after many years. (She’s aged rather better than I have.)

  28. 28.

    AkaDad

    April 6, 2016 at 12:17 pm

    While cliffhangers are certainly frustrating, it’s all the stupid decisions they make that makes me want to stop watching the show. The decision at the quarry last season was one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen on any show.

  29. 29.

    scav

    April 6, 2016 at 12:18 pm

    @Germy Shoemangler: Nah, that skull looked like he was increasingly proud of himself and preening as he wandered out with his coffee. The screams of the flattened are pure validation of his self-worth and to get them fresh!

  30. 30.

    Germy Shoemangler

    April 6, 2016 at 12:19 pm

    Searching for “unprofessional hairstyles” and “professional hairstyles” on Google Images exposes a stark racial divide in what’s assumed to be appropriate for business settings. Spotted by @bonkamona, the results differ somewhat by platform or query wording, but the ethnic issue remains: professionals are pale-skinned, unprofessionals dark-skinned.

    Google’s algorithm is a trade secret, so it’s hard to tell where the bias sits between engineering, traditional SEO efforts, link-tracking, etc. The top “professional” headshots link to pinterest boards and inane listicles, whereas the “unprofessional” shots are mostly to serious, aware discussion of the issue of ethnicity, hair and professional environments.

    http://boingboing.net/2016/04/06/professional-and-unprofessiona.html

  31. 31.

    Amir Khalid

    April 6, 2016 at 12:21 pm

    @Germy Shoemangler:
    Once, on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Los Angeles, I read an unabridged copy of Moby Dick from cover to cover. I do not recommend taking flights that long even when absolutely necessary.

  32. 32.

    Shell

    April 6, 2016 at 12:22 pm

    A lovely, kinda overlooked film- ‘Learning To Drive’ with Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson. On PPV, discounted.

  33. 33.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 6, 2016 at 12:22 pm

    @dr. bloor: I loled at the semi-feral cat, Tikka reference.

  34. 34.

    Elizabelle

    April 6, 2016 at 12:22 pm

    Liked “Django Unchained” a lot more than “The Hateful Eight”, but I wouldn’t call the latter a bad flick. Do not count on eating for several hours after, though.

    Think it would have been better with more explanation of Daisy’s character and how she came to be a criminal, rather than the physical cruelty and blood of the last hour, which got repetitious. Liked the stagecoach scenes and beautiful snowy Colorado (standing in for Wyoming?) just fine.

    Quentin Tarantino says he wrote a backstory for Daisy, but we never saw it and so the gang’s actions were pretty much gratuitous.

    The exploration of post-Civil War race relations was very good, I thought. A lens through which to view today, and how we as a nation in whole have never dealt fully with the Original Sin. (Although there has been progress, unquestionably, along with the backsliding.)

    Have never seen The Walking Dead. Would I like it?

    Also, boxer butts are cute. They need to get somewhere, dang it.

  35. 35.

    Uncle Ebeneezer

    April 6, 2016 at 12:23 pm

    The WD cliffhanger pissed me off. They built up the entire season to culminate with Negan’s arrival and a vulgar display of his power meted out against a character that would rip our hearts out. We didn’t get that. I would have rather seen one of my favorite characters killed off than have this to-be-continued extension into next season. It wouldn’t have made me any less likely to continue watching. GoT, Boardwalk Empire and other series’ have killed off beloved characters at the end of a season and if anything it always made me excited to see how the show would progress without a character that I thought was crucial to the show. This WD cliffhanger left me feeling short-changed and pretty much ruined all the momentum that had been built up. I would hate to lose Carol, Rick, Michone, Maggie or Carl, but I think that the show needs to lose somebody the fans love in order to make Negan’s beatdown as harsh as it’s supposed to be.

    Most of the outrage I saw about Glenn was that he did NOT die. The whole head-fake was silly and alot of fans felt like his survival was a cop out. I like him as a character but he can go and I’d be fine with it.

  36. 36.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 6, 2016 at 12:23 pm

    @Amir Khalid: How long was the flight? Any stop overs?

  37. 37.

    Elizabelle

    April 6, 2016 at 12:23 pm

    @Amir Khalid: Yer still a fast reader.

  38. 38.

    Forked Tongue

    April 6, 2016 at 12:23 pm

    @EconWatcher: Have you watched the HBO series Enlightened? Laura D. was fantastic in it.

  39. 39.

    Gin & Tonic

    April 6, 2016 at 12:26 pm

    @Elizabelle: I’ll bet he skipped over the cetacean anatomy chapters. Everybody does.

  40. 40.

    Germy Shoemangler

    April 6, 2016 at 12:26 pm

    @Amir Khalid: If I hadn’t had movies or a book on my long flight I would have gone stark raving mad. We of course flew coach, the equivalent of flying in a crowded greyhound bus over the ocean.

    A few years ago I read Moby Dick in its entirety and enjoyed it. I found it to be amazingly cinematic. It depressed me that it was a flop for Herman Melville. Didn’t he end up working in a customs office, convinced he’d failed as a writer?

  41. 41.

    Uncle Ebeneezer

    April 6, 2016 at 12:26 pm

    @Amir Khalid: Podcasts are a good option. One of my favorites (TheBlackGuyWhoTips) often does 2-3 hour length episodes, especially when they do Game of Thrones and Walking Dead recaps. So I loaded a bunch of them on my phone and was able to make the 15 hour flight from LA to Hong Kong much more manageable (though flying that longs still stucks no matter what.)

  42. 42.

    dedc79

    April 6, 2016 at 12:27 pm

    Blankenship sentenced to 1 yr in prison

  43. 43.

    Gin & Tonic

    April 6, 2016 at 12:27 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat: I flew a non-stop LAX-MEL a couple of years ago. 15+ hours. But I can’t stay awake on airplanes.

  44. 44.

    Germy Shoemangler

    April 6, 2016 at 12:30 pm

    @dedc79: That’s all?
    Seems light.

  45. 45.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 6, 2016 at 12:30 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: More than the flight, I hate the lay overs.

  46. 46.

    Bill

    April 6, 2016 at 12:32 pm

    http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/justice-antonin-scalia-gmu-law-school-acronym-controversy-assol-asslaw

    I’ll just leave this here.

    Personally I think ASSLaw is a perfect name for a school honoring Scalia. Apparently George Mason disagrees.

  47. 47.

    dedc79

    April 6, 2016 at 12:33 pm

    @Germy Shoemangler: I think it was the max for the charge he was convicted of (conspiracy to violate mine safety standards).

  48. 48.

    raven

    April 6, 2016 at 12:34 pm

    Happy Valley is awesome.

  49. 49.

    Marmot

    April 6, 2016 at 12:34 pm

    Also too, what is the worst movie you’ve paid to see recently?

    Prometheus, by far, though that wasn’t all that recent.
    I saw Snowplow? Icebreaker? On a long flight last year, about a train that’s constantly in motion in post-apocalyptic Earth, which is all snow and ice. So dumb.

  50. 50.

    Mike J

    April 6, 2016 at 12:34 pm

    @Germy Shoemangler: Jury found him not guilty on three felonies, but convicted on one misdemeanor. Getting any jail time is a victory for justice.

  51. 51.

    Gin & Tonic

    April 6, 2016 at 12:34 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat: I had a terrible layover going JFK-TPE once – it was just a refueling stop in Anchorage at like 0400, with pretty much nothing open and no place to go, since you were stuck in a transit area which didn’t even have enough seating for the number of people on the plane. Sat on the floor for like an hour.

  52. 52.

    Elizabelle

    April 6, 2016 at 12:36 pm

    @Germy Shoemangler: One year is the maximum sentence. 29 miners, dead six years and a day.

    Don Blankenship gets 365 days, at most. And that’s because he was so directly involved in his company’s operations that he could be found guilty. Think of the layers of plausible deniability for actions that most C-suite types are swaddled in.

    DOJ pushed for the max sentence; B’s lawyers will appeal. I hope he goes to prison in the meantime.

  53. 53.

    Elizabelle

    April 6, 2016 at 12:37 pm

    @Marmot: Snowpiercer?

    That one got good reviews. Maybe for style. Have not seen.

  54. 54.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 6, 2016 at 12:38 pm

    Here is Rani (Queen) in her fugly sweater that is color cat puke at a night club in Paris. I loled when she put the said fugly sweater in her ginormous bag.

    Kangana’s Rani was so real, I have known so many Ranis, hell I may have some things in common with her. I do love to lug a ginormous bag everywhere I go, may be not to a club, though.

  55. 55.

    Elizabelle

    April 6, 2016 at 12:39 pm

    @Bill: ASSOL was fine too.

    Missing an H and an E (but not he for whom school was renamed). But gets point across fine.

    Antonin Scalia is still dead.

    Also, Charles Koch and some other brave anonymous soul coughed up $30 million for GMU to rename the law school.

  56. 56.

    Elizabelle

    April 6, 2016 at 12:40 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat: Sounds like a good flick. Will get around to it, one of these days.

  57. 57.

    Bill

    April 6, 2016 at 12:41 pm

    Worst recent movie: The Martian. Bored me to tears.

    I loved The Hateful Eight though. Nobody builds and releases tension in a movie like Tarantino.

  58. 58.

    Germy Shoemangler

    April 6, 2016 at 12:45 pm

    A Republican congressman has openly said that Wisconsin’s new voter ID law can tip the scale in November for this key presidential swing state.

    Rep. Glenn Grothman made the comment to the local NBC affiliate, in an interview at Ted Cruz’s primary victory party in Milwaukee.

    “Take me forward to November — you know that a lot of Republicans, since 1984 in the presidential races, have not been able to win in Wisconsin,” said local reporter Charles Benson. “Why would it be any different for Ted Cruz, or a Donald Trump?”

    “Well, I think Hillary Clinton is about the weakest candidate the Democrats have ever put up,” Grothman said, before then adding: “And now we have photo ID — and I think photo ID is gonna make a little bit of a difference, as well.”

    http://www.rawstory.com/2016/04/wisconsin-republican-gives-up-the-game-voter-id-law-will-help-defeat-democrats-in-november/

  59. 59.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 6, 2016 at 12:46 pm

    @Bill: Any movie that has Matt Damon is best avoided. I loved Interstellar till he showed up. He even made the spy flick, The Good Shepherd boring as hell. Husband kitteh wanted to see Martian, I was like, go alone.

  60. 60.

    LAO

    April 6, 2016 at 12:46 pm

    @Mike J: At least he doesn’t qualify for “good time.”

  61. 61.

    greennotGreen

    April 6, 2016 at 12:47 pm

    Not exactly a bad movie because it could have been good, but Transcendence really bothered me. I think the writers and director were trying to make an anti-technology screed, but there were so many ambiguities that they didn’t seem to notice that I couldn’t tell. Anybody else see it?

  62. 62.

    Paul in KY

    April 6, 2016 at 12:48 pm

    @dr. bloor: Wonderful accomplishment for Tom. I was too busy crafting snarky responses to read it in previous thread.

  63. 63.

    Elizabelle

    April 6, 2016 at 12:49 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I’ll bet he skipped over the cetacean anatomy chapters. Everybody does.

    LOL. Picked up a copy of Nathaniel Philbrick’s Why Read Moby Dick? Haven’t even read that slender tome yet, but seems to say a lot about Melville and the times. Novel was not popular in Melville’s day; it found its moment after the age of whaling had passed.

    Here’s an NPR link on the Philbrick book. And a NYTimes book review, which warns

    “He halted the action to include a parody of the scientific classification of whales”

    Parody, you say?

  64. 64.

    ruemara

    April 6, 2016 at 12:50 pm

    @geg6: good to hear. I wanted to see Concussion but ⌚ ?not aligned at the same time.

    I have to pack and clear out my living room but I think I’ll go see Hardcore Henry and pray I don’t get nauseous. Bats vs Supes just isn’t my type of nerdcore. More of a catch it on cable thing.

  65. 65.

    greennotGreen

    April 6, 2016 at 12:50 pm

    Sorry about the excessive italics. Comment editing function is fubar on my iPad.

  66. 66.

    dedc79

    April 6, 2016 at 12:53 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    Think of the layers of plausible deniability for actions that most C-suite types are swaddled in.

    Which relates back to the issue of why DOJ hasn’t gone after wall street execs. You have a system that’s been set up with one of the express purposes being to shield these folks from any criminal charges. It’s not so surprising (however frustrating it is) that they tend to go after the companies with civil suits, and that any criminal charges tend to be brought against workers on the ground floor.

    That said, even though this is a short sentence, let’s also be careful not to understate the importance. No CEO wants to go to prison for a day let alone a year. This news will get their attention.

  67. 67.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 6, 2016 at 12:53 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Last trip to India, layover was at Heathrow, all brightly lit with spendy shops and my body clock was saying its 3 am. It was also noisy and busy as hell and all I wanted to do was sleep.

  68. 68.

    Paul in KY

    April 6, 2016 at 12:55 pm

    @Marmot: I was frequently yelling at screen about stupid/unprofessional shit they did that would never, ever be done in that situation. Did like it when the big alien got ate by the giant starfish thing.

  69. 69.

    Linnaeus

    April 6, 2016 at 12:55 pm

    Scumbag coal executive Donald Blankenship is going to jail:

    Donald L. Blankenship, whose leadership of Massey Energy Company transformed him into one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Appalachia, was sentenced on Wednesday to a year in prison for conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards.

    The sentencing, in Federal District Court here, came six years and one day after an explosion tore through Massey’s Upper Big Branch mine, killing 29 people. Although Mr. Blankenship was not accused of direct responsibility for the accident, the deadliest in American coal mining in about 40 years, the disaster prompted the federal inquiry that led to Mr. Blankenship’s indictment.

    In addition to the year in jail, Mr. Blankenship was fined $250,000 and is subject to a year of supervised release.

    Shoulda been more, but it’s better than nothing in the New Gilded Age.

  70. 70.

    Betty Cracker

    April 6, 2016 at 12:56 pm

    @raven: I love that show!

    @Bill: I thought “The Martian” was okay but a smidge too long. I do like some QT movies, notably “Kill Bill” I & II, and I thought “Pulp Fiction” was great. But I fucking hated H8ful.

  71. 71.

    Linnaeus

    April 6, 2016 at 12:57 pm

    @dedc79:

    Probably can’t expect much more in the New Gilded Age.

  72. 72.

    Paul in KY

    April 6, 2016 at 12:57 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat: That was one wild club! To this old guy, anyway.

  73. 73.

    scav

    April 6, 2016 at 12:59 pm

    Yea! Tom L! and in the opposite direction Yea Blankenship! What’s this odd experience of getting the snakes and ladders going to the proper individuals?

  74. 74.

    Calouste

    April 6, 2016 at 1:00 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat: I quite liked the Liberace biopic with Michael Douglas he was in.

  75. 75.

    Chris

    April 6, 2016 at 1:03 pm

    The last bad movie I’ve PAID to see? The Wolverine-in-Japan movie from a couple years back.

  76. 76.

    MattF

    April 6, 2016 at 1:03 pm

    Blankenship (WV coal baron) has been sentenced to a year in prison. Federal judge who sentenced him, fwiw, is the daughter of a coal miner.

    ETA: I see there’s already been some comment on this.

  77. 77.

    Chris

    April 6, 2016 at 1:06 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    I finally got around to Pulp Fiction last year. My main takeaway was that Tarantino scripted himself into the movie so that he could shout the N-word ten times.

  78. 78.

    Elizabelle

    April 6, 2016 at 1:08 pm

    @MattF: Am thinking John “Coal State” Cole might have something to say on this later.

    Don’t recall if the “Freedom Industries” guy who poisoned Charleston(?) WV’s water has had his day in court yet. Sentences for corporate transgressors are woefully light, and legal briefs on their behalf copious.

  79. 79.

    WereBear

    April 6, 2016 at 1:10 pm

    @jacy: Glad to hear that good news is on its way to you :)

  80. 80.

    ruemara

    April 6, 2016 at 1:10 pm

    @Uncle Ebeneezer: I gave up on the walking dead about 4 seasons ago, but I love Rod & Karen’s recaps. Hearty recommend for the black guy who tips.

  81. 81.

    jacy

    April 6, 2016 at 1:12 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    Yes, Snowpiercer.

    Got good reviews, but it was pretentious with a capital PRETENTIOUS. Seriously wanted those two hours of my life back with interest.

    Last movie I really, really enjoyed was A Walk Among the Tombstones. Then again, I haven’t had enough time to catch the things I want to see. Mainly staying caught up with Better Call Saul and Gotham. The Boyfriend and I are looking forward to Bone Tomahawk with Kurt Russell if we can ever get time for date night again…. (and what is better for date night than a cannibal western?)

  82. 82.

    Csbella

    April 6, 2016 at 1:13 pm

    @Big Ol Hound:

    How about the lady who jumped all over Gov Scott calling him an asshole.

    Speaks to some of the anger that’s imploding the repubs.
    Material for a great campaign ad in the he

  83. 83.

    Paul in KY

    April 6, 2016 at 1:15 pm

    @MattF: Back in the Middle Ages (in London, for instance), for some kind of crime that got 25 regular people killed, a mob would have been waiting outside the court & if Bishop or Lord Blankenship didn’t have a very numerous group of armed guards, they would have grabbed his ass & hung him.

    He is sooooo lucky he lives in these more civilized times.

  84. 84.

    jacy

    April 6, 2016 at 1:16 pm

    @WereBear:

    Thanks! It’s a fabulous house — huge and rambling with lots of french doors, a separate office for me and a great yard. (and only 8 minutes from The Boyfriend instead of an hour). My main anxiety is migrating three dogs, four cats, a fish, and a very neurotic softshell turtle. Next week will be an adventure!

  85. 85.

    22over7

    April 6, 2016 at 1:18 pm

    Yeah, The Walking Dead finale was a turd and everyone knows it. Gimple has to be worried for his job. But in October, after we see what’s left of Glenn’s body, it should pick up again (I hope). After all, there’s a mole in Alexandria! How else did the Saviors know exactly when and where the gang was going? I’m looking at you, Enid…

  86. 86.

    Kropadope

    April 6, 2016 at 1:18 pm

    @Chris: Was better than the first Wolverine movie by a wide margin. And then there was the Last Stand, which was so bad another X-Men movie had to change history and undo it.

  87. 87.

    dr. bloor

    April 6, 2016 at 1:19 pm

    @Paul in KY: Just wait a while. If the R’s keep the House and Senate much longer, we’ll all be walking around looking like extras from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

  88. 88.

    Betty Cracker

    April 6, 2016 at 1:20 pm

    @Chris: I’ve heard similar takes on QT’s copious use of the N-word in his scripts. I’m in no position to tell anyone else how to feel about it, but it’s hard to miss that in most of his movies (the ones I’ve seen, anyway), the black dudes are usually the most virtuous characters. Maybe that’s a species of “magical negroism” of its own. I really don’t know.

  89. 89.

    ruemara

    April 6, 2016 at 1:24 pm

    @Betty Cracker: It is and it’s a problem

  90. 90.

    JPL

    April 6, 2016 at 1:27 pm

    @raven: Even though this years story line wasn’t as strong, I enjoyed it more. Since I live alone, last season was a tad intense to watch by myself.

  91. 91.

    Miss Bianca

    April 6, 2016 at 1:27 pm

    @Amir Khalid:

    whoa. You are either an impressively fast reader, or that was one long-ass flight. Or both.

    H’mmm…I’m thinking my next voyage thru’ Moby Dick will be on audiobook. That will be a *lot* of time in the car…

  92. 92.

    Paul in KY

    April 6, 2016 at 1:33 pm

    @dr. bloor: I’m dusting off my recipe for roadkill & branch soup.

  93. 93.

    guachi

    April 6, 2016 at 1:35 pm

    I hated the first Star Trek remake. It was awful from start to finish.

  94. 94.

    raven

    April 6, 2016 at 1:37 pm

    @JPL: I kept thinking something was going to happen with the girl across the way.

  95. 95.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 6, 2016 at 1:37 pm

    @Paul in KY: It was wild! Before her solo trip, her parents were sending her younger brother with her as a chaperone on dates.
    The scene before the club scene: she throws herself a pity party and gets drunk as skunk! Recounting how she has been such a good girl listening to everything everyone said.

  96. 96.

    aimai

    April 6, 2016 at 1:37 pm

    @Shell: Kingsman was so awful that I have completely given up on Colin Firth as a result. I literally shudder now when I see him in anything.

  97. 97.

    Betty Cracker

    April 6, 2016 at 1:42 pm

    @aimai: I disliked Kingsman too, but it didn’t put me off Firth. He’d have to kill a puppy to turn me against him.

  98. 98.

    Paul in KY

    April 6, 2016 at 1:44 pm

    @guachi: I thought it had some excellent scenes. Didn’t like it when the Romulan or whatever showed up in the spacecraft that looked like a transformer cutting weapon attachment.

  99. 99.

    MomSense

    April 6, 2016 at 1:47 pm

    I hated Spectre and couldn’t get through the whole flick.

    Fortunately I only watched it at home. Kids didn’t like it much, either.

  100. 100.

    Paul in KY

    April 6, 2016 at 1:48 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat: My Indian coworker gives it the highest rating!

  101. 101.

    Trollhattan

    April 6, 2016 at 1:51 pm

    Betty is holding back critical Florida News.

    ‘Monster cattle-eating alligator’ is shot in Florida

    A hunter in the US has told the BBC how he shot an 800lb (360kg) alligator that was feasting on his farm’s cattle.

    Professional hunter Lee Lightsey said the 15 ft (4.5m) beast was one of the biggest he had come across in 18 years and required a tractor to move it.

    Mr Lightsey and hunting guide Blake Godwin discovered the alligator in cattle ponds while supervising a guided hunt on Saturday.

    When the creature surfaced about 20ft (6m) away from them, they shot it.

    “Although this animal is huge I was not that surprised it existed,” Mr Lightsey said. “We have come across lots over the last 20 years that have been only a little smaller.

    “But what really drew our attention to this animal was the fact that it seems to have been feasting on the cattle on my farm, because mutilated body parts were found in the water. It was a monster which needed to be removed.”

  102. 102.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 6, 2016 at 2:04 pm

    @Calouste: Haven’t seen that one so can’t comment.

  103. 103.

    Elizabelle

    April 6, 2016 at 2:06 pm

    Merle Haggard done died. Aged 79.

    Dang it. And I coulda seen him in Long Beach, but didn’t go. Woulda, shoulda, coulda.

    RI what passes for Haggard afterlife Peace.

  104. 104.

    hamletta

    April 6, 2016 at 2:09 pm

    I haz a sad: RIP, Merle Haggard.

  105. 105.

    Trollhattan

    April 6, 2016 at 2:15 pm

    @Elizabelle:
    Awww, man. Bon voyage, Merle.

    I guess they can close Bakersfield now.

  106. 106.

    Elizabelle

    April 6, 2016 at 2:16 pm

    @hamletta: *sigh*

  107. 107.

    amygdala

    April 6, 2016 at 2:18 pm

    worst recent movie: Anomalisa
    Awful, awful film, even though I love animation and usually like Charlie Kaufman.

  108. 108.

    gogol's wife

    April 6, 2016 at 2:33 pm

    @dr. bloor:

    Cool! Congratulations, Tom!

    ETA: For those too lazy to click, Tom Levenson got a Guggenheim!

  109. 109.

    gogol's wife

    April 6, 2016 at 2:35 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    I was so happy to hear from two 20-something students this morning that they watch the 1995 Pride and Prejudice over and over again and are in love with Colin Firth. The generation gap isn’t so bad after all!

  110. 110.

    Doug R

    April 6, 2016 at 2:44 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Sounds like the Greyhound overnight bus from Vancouver to Calgary with the. “meal break”at roughly five am in Rogers pass, a fifty minute drive from any town and Everything costing at least fifty percent more. Plus really loud muzak.

  111. 111.

    different-church-lady

    April 6, 2016 at 3:00 pm

    The double-scroll bar is gone and everything is faster. Yay!

  112. 112.

    different-church-lady

    April 6, 2016 at 3:04 pm

    @guachi: But you gotta admit, the Romulan mining ship was one of the coolest production designs in cinema history. Especially the shot where the the USS Kelvin is this tiny little thing facing it.

  113. 113.

    kc

    April 6, 2016 at 3:08 pm

    , I’m still fuming about “The Walking Dead” cliffhanger. Am I alone in that?

    Oh, no.

    Cop-out cliffhanger finale aside, even though I’ve really loved the show, I’m starting to get a bit sour on it. Too nihilistic. Not to mention the indefensible stupid and inherently unbelievable shit Rick and his group have doing lately. I mean, sure, I can suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy a zombie apocalypse series, but I just can’t buy that Carol would suddenly decide she’s had enough of killing and leave the group and not expect anyone to come after her . . .

  114. 114.

    Betty Cracker

    April 6, 2016 at 3:13 pm

    @kc: Right? I still say the smartest people in the whole series were the folks who decided to stay in the CDC when it blew up in season one.

  115. 115.

    NotMax

    April 6, 2016 at 3:19 pm

    Commenter names shrunken way, way too small now, down into have to squint to see territory.

    In this case, size matters.

  116. 116.

    alhutch

    April 6, 2016 at 3:19 pm

    @AkaDad:

    While cliffhangers are certainly frustrating, it’s all the stupid decisions they make that makes me want to stop watching the show. The decision at the quarry last season was one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen on any show.

    Oh this x1000! I’m so done with it now. So many stupid character actions/decisions due to lazy (or inept) writing.

  117. 117.

    misterpuff

    April 6, 2016 at 4:04 pm

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/07/business/dealbook/pfizer-allergan-merger.html?_r=1

    Thanks, Obama!

    BTW Trump, that is how we do it!

  118. 118.

    Uncle Ebeneezer

    April 6, 2016 at 4:12 pm

    @ruemara: We listened to a Fear The WD recap episode during a 5 hour drive to the Sierras, and enjoyed the recap so much that we actually said “Hmm maybe we should check it out?” I usually can’t stand silly zombie stories, but I’ve been surprised with how well done WD is in every regard. I had always assumed it would be like some kinda True Blood with lots of gore. Sure it has plenty of gore, but the show is so much more than that. Karen and Rod are the best.

  119. 119.

    Gin & Tonic

    April 6, 2016 at 4:18 pm

    @NotMax:

    In this case, size matters.

    Um, I can palm a basketball. Just sayin…

  120. 120.

    kc

    April 6, 2016 at 4:32 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    As it happens that was the episode that got me hooked on TWD. So eerie!

    I think at this point the show’s vision of humanity is just too bleak for me. I’m not looking forward to another season of the survivors of the apocalypse acting like warring biker gangs.

  121. 121.

    tarragon

    April 6, 2016 at 4:36 pm

    @different-church-lady: I still can’t scroll with the space bar, so at least there’s still stuff to complain about

  122. 122.

    Mike G

    April 6, 2016 at 5:21 pm

    But I will confess that I pulled the plug on “Mad Max” not too long ago.

    If you mean the new one — gawd, that was a piece of crap. And it seems like everyone else loved it including the critics. Maybe I just didn’t stick with it long enough, but the thirty minutes I watched were like being crammed into an oil drum of Loud and Stupid while it was being slammed with baseball bats.

    But all-time worst movie I ever paid for in a theater was Road House. After all these years it’s mildly amusing trashiness to watch on TV now, but what a piece of garbage.

  123. 123.

    chopper

    April 6, 2016 at 6:49 pm

    @Joseph Nobles:

    i think it’ll be abraham. even though in the comic it’s glenn, abe has turned a corner recently and started talking about how great it would be to have a family etc. total foreshadowing that he’ll get croaked.

    i had trouble watching it, mostly cause i’m starting to sour on the show. i know, zombie holocaust and all, but after a while you get sick of the comic-book type premise that every season they have to deal with some shit who’s a bigger psychopath and more dangerous than the last guy.

  124. 124.

    Brachiator

    April 6, 2016 at 7:06 pm

    @greennotGreen:

    .Not exactly a bad movie because it could have been good, but Transcendence really bothered me. I think the writers and director were trying to make an anti-technology screed, but there were so many ambiguities that they didn’t seem to notice that I couldn’t tell. Anybody else see it?

    It was not only bad, but annoyingly bad. I kept thinking, hmm, interesting setup, now if they do THIS, it will be really good. And then they would take the path of dumbness. The anti tech terrorists were stupid, and I have no idea why they had to try to turn Paul Bettany into Action Man.

    The movie would have been over in an hour had Johnny Depp just said, lemme explain what I am trying to do. What happened to him and why made no sense even in the movie’s world. The female lead was mopey. And ultimately the whole thing was anti climactic. Nobody wanted anything understandable, and worse, nobody got what they wanted. And even any attempt at a moral lesson about technology, about playing God, about anything, was muddled and irrelevant.

  125. 125.

    Brachiator

    April 6, 2016 at 7:11 pm

    @Mike G:

    .But all-time worst movie I ever paid for in a theater was Road House. After all these years it’s mildly amusing trashiness to watch on TV now, but what a piece of garbage.

    Road House with Patrick Swayze and Kelly Lynch and Ben Gazzara? They showed this on TV recently. Had not seen it in years. Great hot trash movie.

  126. 126.

    Brachiator

    April 6, 2016 at 7:22 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    . I’ve heard similar takes on QT’s copious use of the N-word in his scripts. I’m in no position to tell anyone else how to feel about it, but it’s hard to miss that in most of his movies (the ones I’ve seen, anyway), the black dudes are usually the most virtuous characters. Maybe that’s a species of “magical negroism” of its own. I really don’t know.

    I take it that you have not seen Django Unchained. The Samuel Jackson character ain’t virtuous. Neither is Django when you get down to it.

    Perversely, some white critics and viewers seemed to use faux concern about the use of the N word as a way to distance themselves from the movie.

    As an aside, the most unintentionally hilarious diss of Django boiled down to this: “why do we have to be subjected to a film about slavery? Are we supposed to feel guilty? Next week I will praise the zillionth film about the Holocaust. “

  127. 127.

    Betsy

    April 6, 2016 at 10:28 pm

    The Master. Great performances, awful, awful movie.

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