Guessing we could use something a little less warlike. Well have I got just the thing for you. Guess who’s eight today??
That’s right, everybody’s favorite gray goofball, Samwise! Here he is flaunting the new collar we got him. And don’t worry, he got plenty of actual cat treats too. Click to embiggen. Open thread! I’m just hanging out watching Reacher, how about you all?
War For Ukraine Day 166: The US Announces the Next Military Aid Package To Ukraine
Dangerman
Penultimate “Better Call Saul”. How BCS could end up being better than “Breaking Bad” is pretty amazing…
…and just give Carol Burnett the Emmy for guest star (or whatever the category is called) now and be done with it.
ETA: 1. Missed it by THAT much. Pisser.
Eric S.
I’ve been taking weekly French lessons. Today was Week 5. Days, months, numbers between 20 and 69.
Ken
Feeling a little ill. Too much schadenfreude, I think.
Emerald
“Midnight Mass” on Netflix. Extremely intriguing. Just finished episode three. My sis and I think we’re figuring it out. Well done indeed, so far! After that we’re doing “Sandman.”
piratedan
Dark Skies here, about damn time someone did Hillerman’s work justice….
C Stars
Scrolling Twitter. Wifi wasn’t working on my phone and I was out running errands all day so I didn’t know about the raid until a few hours after it happened. Now I feel like I have to catch up on obsessively reading hot takes. HBD to Samwise!! Our house rabbit is in a very mischievous mood and I predict he will keep us up tonight by loudly chewing things he shouldn’t be chewing.
Major Major Major Major
@Emerald: I hear great things about Sandman.
Jackie
Happy Birthday, Samwise! You look extremely spiffy in your new collar!😻
Nothing like celebrating your birthday with TFG’s house being raided! A birthday to remember!
Raven
Damn epidural is keeping me awake again!
schrodingers_cat
Reading about the Mara-Lago raid was the best thing to get up to.
Raven
We finished Irma Vep and The Staircase and both were pretty good.
Jackie
@schrodingers_cat: Morning Joe is going to be LIT! 😁
SiubhanDuinne
Oh Samwise, you gorgeous grey guy! Happy birthday!
Wyatt Salamanca
@Dangerman:
I think that’s highly debatable. I’d call it a toss-up as to which of the two was the better series.
The casting of Carol Burnett was a stroke of genius, I only wish her character had been introduced earlier in this final season.
Feathers
Just watched Shin Godzilla, the 2016 Toho film by Hideaki Anno, creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Very, very good. The film is mostly set in offices and conference rooms as the Japanese government attempts to deal with the crisis, made almost impossible because everyone is so bound by protocol and hierarchy. Except a bunch of stinking nerds!
The Godzilla scenes are wonderful. He is decidedly non realistic, being both beautiful and clearly there to provoke the human story that unfolds. Worth tracking down. (My library had the Blu Ray.)
Saw Top Gun: Maverick last night, basically to get out of the heat. Surprisingly good. Very annoyed by the “5th generation fighters” that allegedly left the scrappy underdog US pilots woefully underequipped, but the Pentagon was certainly involved in the making. As spectacular an action sequence as it was, I had serious questions about the number of planes sent on the final mission. It’s because they are making a good story, but it felt like cheating. Also found myself oddly emotional remembering who I was when I watched the first movie and how my life’s turned out.
Both films felt like they were in conversation with The French Dispatch, my other library flick, which had each scene calibrated visually and stylistically to serve its place in the story, from B&W to color to animation to an actual play written about the events which occurred in the film…. Apparently it needs a second viewing, but don’t know that I’ll give it one before it goes back.
C Stars
@Feathers: I am not immune to the charms of a Wes Anderson film, but at some point while watching the French Dispatch I realized that I was in another room reading and the movie was still playing. It was so unengaging that I had just wandered off and not really even noticed it.
Feathers
@Raven: Does Irma Vep deal with the Maggie Cheung film? I was a huge fan of hers from her Hong Kong film days. She ended up briefly married to Oliver Assayas. Saw all seven hours of Les Vampires in the theater. I know I’m going to see it, I just want to be prepared.
Mel
@Emerald: Watching Sandman right now. WOW. Tom Sturridge is pitch perfect.
Happy birthday to Samwise. What a handsome kitty he is.
Major Major Major Major
@Feathers: I need to see Shin Godzilla…
Raven
@Feathers: Yes, they are making a series based on the 96 film. The HBO version is directed by Assayas and he brings in a Hong Kong actress for a small role. It’s fun and now we want to the the original.
prostratedragon
Using the 7-day free trial at MetOperaHD to watch, and I do mean watch, Akhnaten. Taking an Act I intermission.
Feathers
@C Stars: Can totally see that. I ended up going to bed halfway through and watching the rest over breakfast. I think his characters work best when the stakes are low and we have time and space to observe them for a while. It did have some great moments though. I loved Frances McDormand’s observations about the young revolutionaries:
Realizing it doesn’t work as well detached from the performance and visuals.
LeftCoastYankee
Watching the CW “Kung Fu” on HBO streaming.
I really enjoy the bits of San Fran Chinatown history, the Chinese and Chinese-American culture, and the themes of teamwork, relationships, family and inclusion.
The main dramatic thread is a slightly better than the typical “young heroes defy logic with awesomeness!” fare I guess the CW is known for, but pretty much in line. The “action” is not overly long, and it’s cool that so many of the main (kick-ass) characters are women.
I can not for the life of me understand why this is named after/linked with the awful Carradine “Kung Fu” show from way back.
Feathers
@Major Major Major Major: Yes, you do! And apparently Anno is bringing us Shin Ultraman later this year.
Feathers
@prostratedragon: I watched a lot for this when they were doing a free stream every night during the pandemic. My faves were probably the most recent version of Parsifal and the Julie Taymor The Magic Flute.
HumboldtBlue
25 minutes of one of the most fascinating interviews I have watched.
Appalachian woman describes life.
ian
Popehat on Twitter
Fuck. Yeah.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Happy B-Day Samwise
Been binge watching Psych for the past few weeks. I highly recommend it, it’s a great dramedy with great characters
Feathers
@Raven: The original is great. Very indie French, people sitting around eating lots of meals. If you want more he did two films with Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria and Personal Shopper. All three are about the chaotic edges of the film industry. Sils Maria also has a great performance from Juliette Binoche as an actress being asked to play the older woman in a remake of an iconic film where she originally played the seductive younger woman.
Manxome Bromide
Samwise is an extremely handsome kitty!
SiubhanDuinne
@prostratedragon:
Isn’t it stunning! I saw at three times at the cinema.
rikyrah
Samwise😍😍😍😍
grammypat
Well, Samwise’s BD today on top of the Trump news, which is also the anniversary of Nixon’s resignation, just makes my BD today extra special. I’m quite a bit older, but honored to share the day with him.
rikyrah
@Eric S.:
Awe👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Martin
@Eric S.: I’m in the process of relearning French. Took 6 years of it in school, but that was 35 years ago. Very different process. It’s all in my head, I just need to recall most of it and fill in the gaps.
CaseyL
Samwise is very handsome, and stately, and his new collar is perfect. Purrfect?
I’m watching last night’s episode of West World.
Anotherlurker
@Feathers: I have a confession: I enjoy quality Kaiju films. The first Godzilla film (non Raymond Burr) is a masterpiece. It is beautifully shot, edited and acted. Director Ichiro Honda was a friend and colleague of Kurasowa .
I also like musicals. I have to say I’m very impressed with 2021’s “West Side Story”. It is beautifully staged, shot and acted. The production numbers were excellent, especially my all time favorite showstopper, “America”.
Spielberg is a meticulous director. Every shot is storyboared . He is an old school director with respect for all aspects of his art and the artists who have come before him.
Being a NYer, I enjoyed the locations and historical Easter eggs. This was a billboard, at the intro of the film that advertised the future construction of Lincoln Center. The ground that this wonderful venue is built on is the neighborhood that hosted the location filming of the original “West Side Story”.
Mnemosyne
Samwise! Give that friendly, floofy boy some extra scritches from me.
I am busy. Crazy busy. But I had to stop by and wish everyone a Happy Mar-A-Loco FBI Raid Day. I hope all you jackals were as happy as I am on this fine day.
Mnemosyne
If we’re talking movies, folks who enjoy historical romance and rom-coms will enjoy Mr. Malcolm’s List, currently on streaming. It’s not high cinematic art, but it’s fun and fluffy and my girl Zawe Ashton runs away with it as the heroine’s best friend/nemesis Julia Thistlewaite.
Major Major Major Major
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): psych is great! I think Ive watched it 2.5 times.
Mike E
Hooray Samwise! Miss E’s pup turns 8 soon (we’re not sure when since she’s a rescue) and I got to visit my eldest sister and her vast menagerie (2 dogs 2 cats) last month.
I just re-binged Star Trek: Lower Decks in advance of its season 3 premier coming later this month.
Yutsano
SAMWISEKITTEH!!!
That’s all.
EDIT:
I need to do that too…
bluejersey43 (fka texasboyshaun)
Happy birthday, Samwise!
And Major, thanks so much for your help with rehoming Tado earlier this year. He seems to love Boston and is getting more snuggles and treats than he ever thought possible! You’re a real mensch :)
piratedan
based on THIS shoe dropping, we also have to remember all of the other irons in the fire:
J6 events
Trump under investigation in NY for tax evasion/fraud
Trump Administration issues with attempted subversion of Ga election officials
DOJ investigation of false elector slates
we still have outstanding from J6 questions about who coordinated with the militias (we suspect, but can we prove it, now maybe we can, ty Alex Jones), which may have been made more difficult with the Secret Service actions and will they be prosecuted for those actions?
Who did the WH work with to leave the Capitol underprotected and who compromised the response from the military?
Who paid for it for busing/housing all of these “patriots” into the city?
Who was working with the WH from Congress, MOC, staff?
There’s a whole lot more to uncover and I think all of this posturing and threats from the GOP is a knee-jerk response to understanding that the DOJ is serious and that if they are, they could be in actual fucking danger of seeing consequences from their actions.
Let it happen, would like to see justice pursued and let these cowards know that you don’t get to shit on 250 years of American Democracy just because you are the lackeys of some rich asshats.
still kind of shocked that the media hasn’t twigged to the fact that apparently, the jig is up and now their vaunted access is going to mean jack shit if all of these folks are serving time. I would enjoy seeing every complicit asshole marked for exclusion at a minimum from public service, from the secret service agents to the generals to the people that put their names down on a piece of paper as a false elector.
fuck them all.
HumboldtBlue
@piratedan:
A slogan everyone understands!
prostratedragon
Oh, and Happy Birthday to the ever-debonair Samwise! Not the first time I’ve kept a picture of his around for a while in a comfort tab.
prostratedragon
@SiubhanDuinne: Wow! Saw it at the Met back in May, and believe me it was worth a cross-country trip, would do it again in a heartbeat. Nevertheless, I’d also love to see it on the big screen. Really enjoyed seeing Fire Shut Up In My Bones that way. Something as visual as this Akhnaten production, working with the music, really gets into the mind.
prostratedragon
@Feathers: Perhaps I’ll check out The Magic Flute soon (suspect I’m going to subscribe). I think I heard it on one of their radio broadcasts recently and it sounded lovely — and I must confess I’m not Mozart’s biggest fan. But he wrote beautiful vocal music. I see the archive also has Mahagonny in a production from way back in 1979 that I saw on tv.
Steeplejack
@Raven:
Footnote: The original original, Les Vampires (1915), shows up on TCM occasionally. I think it is on YouTube, chopped up into “episodes.”
Steeplejack
@prostratedragon:
“Comfort tab”—good term! I’ve got a few of those.
Steeplejack
I crashed very early after a pleasantly soporific Midsomer Murders episode on Ovation, then snapped awake two hours ago. Got a good 5-6 hours of sleep, though. I’ve been catching up on the Trump news and other stuff. Thanks, someone, for reminding me to check Morning Joe later. It will be lit!
Steeplejack
@Feathers:
I saw The French Dispatch in the theater when it came out—my first in-theater movie since pre-pandemic January 2020 (Weathering with You, recommended)—and liked it a lot. I am a Wes Anderson fan, but it did raise the question of whether a Wes Anderson movie could be too Wes Anderson. Not sure what the answer is—probably “yes” for non-Anderson fans—but it has stuck in my mind in a good way. I thought the story arc with Jeffrey Wright (as Roebuck Wright) was particularly good.
opiejeanne
Happy Birthday to Samwise, the lovely boy.
Annie is 8, and will be 9 in September but she’s too busy napping. to also wish him a happy birthday.
Stephen
You must check out Tucker Carlson’s twitter bio right now – fully vaccinated, pronouns she/hers, and a little Ukrainian flag!
Steeplejack
There’s a neighbor across the street with a motorbike who just fired up and blatted off into the distance. He does this around 3:30-4:30 quite often, so I think he may have a job, but I haven’t pinned down the schedule yet. But it’s an extended absence; he doesn’t come buzzing back after a 20-minute run to McDonald’s.
Why, yes, I am up in the small hours quite a bit.
Elizabelle
Samwise is flaunting that bowtie. Elegantly.
bjacques
Happy birthday to Samwise!
He reminds me of a certain infamous feline tourist from 100 years ago…
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24213552M/The_Master_and_Margarita
raven
@Steeplejack: Damn, I got the same thing across the street. Not the hours but the loud ass bike.
raven
@Feathers: Thanks!
lowtechcyclist
@schrodingers_cat:
I’ve been enjoying the outrage on the right. My fave so far has been the unintentional irony of Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s demand: “Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents.” Like failing to do so would be a Bad Thing.
Steeplejack
@raven:
I notice it especially because Threadkill Lane is a cul-de-sac, very quiet at night.
kalakal
A special treat for all nerds. I just love this sort of thing
https://youtu.be/KLEH8RJsYgI
lowtechcyclist
@prostratedragon:
Neither am i – too many notes. ;-)
Nonetheless, I get a kick out of “Please Don’t Play Your Violin At Night,” Beethoven’s Wig’s homage to Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.
raven
@Steeplejack: I noticed it because the house across the street shares a driveway with a lady who is confined to wheelchair and him driving down the driveway blasts the pipes even louder.
Feathers
@Steeplejack: As was common at the time, Les Vampires was a serial film, released in 10 “episodes” between November 1915 and June 1916. One of the reasons the film has such an odd, slapdash static style is that it was filmed in Paris during WWI and resources kept getting pulled for the war effort.
BTW, for people thinking of watching, it’s not a vampire film. Les Vampires are a criminal gang of underworld thieves. It’s part of the genre of crime adventure films that were incredibly popular in France.
@Steeplejack: I like Wes Anderson. I think a theater, instead of a hot apartment, would be a much better way of experiencing it. Realizing this is the first of his films I didn’t see in a theater.
Steeplejack
@raven:
Yikes. Not good.
My guy is not obnoxious; it’s just that all motorbikes sound a bit annoying (IMO), and it’s really noticeable in the dead of night.
Baud
@lowtechcyclist:
“Too late. Already flushed.”
Steeplejack
@Feathers:
Certain films require, or are enhanced by, a theater-like focus, if not actual viewing in a theater: no phone calls, no getting up for a snack, no “I’ll finish it tomorrow,” etc.
The big example of that for me is Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man. Incredible when seen in a theater, with the gorgeous B&W cinematography on a big screen, but I can see someone at home getting “bored” because of the low-key approach. Ugh.
raven
@Steeplejack: It’s funny, in the 23 years we’ve lived here we have had some great neighbors in the two ratholes across the street and we’ve had some real bummers. We’ll hold our opinions until we see what we really have. I got chastised here a decade ago when I tried to help a crazy family that moved it and it was a cautionary tale. BJ was right, go slow.
Steeplejack
@raven:
One of the greatest things in life is good neighbors. One of the worst—bad neighbors.
sherparick
Samwise is a very good cat.
Feathers
@Steeplejack: I think it was also the fact that it was hot and humid with two sets of fans running. Film was much improved in the cool of the morning. It also had the inevitable curse of anthology films, that some of the stories will necessarily be better than others.