Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

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

Republicans do not trust women.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

“But what about the lurkers?”

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

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

There are times when telling just part of the truth is effectively a lie.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

You are here: Home / Archives for Medium Cool

Medium Cool is here once a week on Sundays at 7pm Eastern to offer a thread on culture, mainly film & books, with some TV thrown in.

We wanted to call the series Culture as a Hedge Against This Soul-Sucking Political Miasma We’re Living In, but decided that was a bit too long, so we settled on Medium Cool.

We hope it’s a welcome break from the anger, hate, and idiocy we see almost daily from the other side in the political sphere.

Arguments welcomed, opinions respected, fools un-suffered.

Remember: Medium Cool is on Sundays at 7 pm.

Medium Cool – Let’s Complain!!

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Medium Cool is a weekly series related to popular culture, mostly film, TV, and books, with some music and games thrown in. We hope it’s a welcome break from the anger, hate, and idiocy we see almost daily from the other side in the political sphere.

Arguments welcomed, opinions respected, fools un-suffered. We’re here every Sunday at 7 pm.

Tonight, this is COMPLAINTS!

What is it about the end of the season that leads show runners to make terrible choices?   Sometimes I think they should be taken out and shot, because they don’t care at all about their fan base.

We wanted to shake things up and make the season finale exciting, so we thought it would be exciting to kill off this character that everyone loves.

Reading variations of that makes me want to strangle them!

They do this for no good reason.  (except a high rating for their final episode of the season)

One exception to this is The Diplomat, which sometimes kills people off in their cliffhangers at the end of a season, but always with good reason.

Network TV used to care about their audiences, or at least they allowed us to think they did.  I think streaming shows used to care about them, too.  Now, there are lots of shows that get great reviews and “everyone” watches them and they get still get cancelled for some bullshit reason, that they may or may not share with the rest of us.

I remember when Numb3rs got cancelled so they could keep some other show that they even admitted wasn’t as good, because reasons.

In an episode of a network show that I will not name, a key character got killed off last week – and the only thing that cheers me about it is that this particular character annoyed the hell out of Steeplejack, who otherwise really liked that show.

Anyway, let the complaining commence!

In case you are new to Medium Cool, these are not open threads.

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Medium Cool – If Only We Knew Then What We Know Now

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Medium Cool is a weekly series related to popular culture, mostly film, TV, and books, with some music and games thrown in. We hope it’s a welcome break from the anger, hate, and idiocy we see almost daily from the other side in the political sphere.

Arguments welcomed, opinions respected, fools un-suffered. We’re here every Sunday at 7 pm.

IF WE ONLY KNEW THEN WHAT WE KNOW NOW.

I’ve been thinking about that recently.  It’s true in life.  True in politics.  True in relationships.  True in every aspect of life.

Tonight let’s talk about how roles and characters and plots and scenes and shows play differently than they might have before.  Movies and shows that couldn’t or wouldn’t be made now.  Scenes that play totally differently, now that we know more about the reality of how American police actually work.

Can edgy shows still be made, or is even Hollywood being cautious and bowing down to the current backlash?

I tried to watch the current Law and Order.  I’m not sure they’ve gotten the memo because the current lead prosector is a self-righteous pompous ass that I would love to punch in the face (if that’s how I rolled).

Could the show 24 be made now?  Would anyone watch it?   Would anyone want to watch it?  What about Scandal?

Could there be a Will and Grace now, only with a character who is trans?

Male actors are allowed to age – see Shrinking with Harrison Ford – you can still see the gleam in his eye and he’s still cute and charming – would people watch a show with a female character like that?

I see that Timothy Hutton is in the latest season of The Night Agent – it wasn’t that long ago that he was bumped from Leverage – does that mean that it’s cool for men to use their power over women again?

This is kind of rambling for me, but I’ll leave it as it is.   With all this rambling, I guess if you have even a remotely thoughtful thing to say that’s related to popular culture, that’s fair game in this thread.

 

In case you are new to Medium Cool, these are not open threads.

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Medium Cool – Memorable Trips, Vacations, Spring Breaks!

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Medium Cool is a weekly series related to popular culture, mostly film, TV, and books, with some music and games thrown in. We hope it’s a welcome break from the anger, hate, and idiocy we see almost daily from the other side in the political sphere.

Arguments welcomed, opinions respected, fools un-suffered. We’re here every Sunday at 7 pm.

On The Road - way2blue - Rarotonga, Cook Islands [1 of 2] 1
Photo by way2blue

Spring is springing up all around us, so I thought it might be fun for us to share our stories about spring breaks, summer vacations, and other memorable trips you’ve taken.

For me, all the best trips involve water!  (But I’m sure that comes as no surprise.)

In case you are new to Medium Cool, these are not open threads.

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Medium Cool – What Did I Miss?

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Medium Cool with BGinCHI – Backstories + Wind of Change

Tonight, let’s talk backstories.

I found this post in my drafts and as far as I can tell, I never posted it.  Even if I did, this post is from 5 years ago, so it should still be a fun conversation.

I can’t be the only person who starts watching a show and could use a primer on who the characters are.  For instance, Ovation is now airing Death in Paradise, starting with Season 5.  I watched all of Season 5 and it looks kind of fun, but I have no idea whether these characters have been on the show since day 1, or if we get a new head detective now and again.  I would love to know the backstory for the detective.  All I know so far is that he’s kind of an odd bird, and awkward, and he always solves the crime.  How big is this island in paradise?  With someone dying every week for more than 5 years, is there anyone left on the island?

And Doctor Who!  I started watching for the first time with the new doctor, and I really like it, but there’s so much I don’t know.  Like, does the Christmas episode have anything to do with the rest of the show, or are they stand-alone stories snatched out of time? I tried to start watching this year’s Christmas episode and I was totally lost before it had barely begun.

What if you’re watching Endeavor, but you never watched Inspector Morse?  (My situation.)  What should we know about the characters or their relationships from the future?

I started watching Better Call Saul without having seen Breaking Bad.  I started watching The Flash, and Arrow and Marvel’s Agents of Shield, without ever having read a single comic book.  I know a lot of stuff flies right over my head, but they are still enjoyable.

Do you have any questions about any shows you are picking up midstream?  Are there some shows that a person just shouldn’t try to pick up midstream?  Are there any shows you like where a person can start anywhere, and it doesn’t matter?

Update: I just wrote this post a week ago, and when i watched Death in Paradise last night, I discovered that they had traded out the head detective, just like that, with no warning, in the middle of a season! Wow.  But even though he has fallen in love and has gone off to London for the woman he loves, I would still love to know what his backstory was.

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Medium Cool – Whatever Floats Your Boat

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Medium Cool is a weekly series related to popular culture, mostly film, TV, and books, with some music and games thrown in. We hope it’s a welcome break from the anger, hate, and idiocy we see almost daily from the other side in the political sphere.

Arguments welcomed, opinions respected, fools un-suffered. We’re here every Sunday at 7 pm.

Taking a Break from the News 21
Photo of a riverboat by (1/12/26)

Let’s try something new tonight.

Tell us about anything culture-related that makes you happy.  And post a link to it, if you can.

But please don’t just list something or a bunch of somethings.  Talk to us about whatever it is., please.

That’s it!  Ready, set, go!

Any Oscar watchers?  Feel free to talk about that, too.  Personally, I’m usually only interested in the In Memoriam part.  Anyone know whether that’s usually at the end of the show?  Or partway through?  I hope it will be available later, also.

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Medium Cool – All the Women!

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Medium Cool is a weekly series related to popular culture, mostly film, TV, and books, with some music and games thrown in. We hope it’s a welcome break from the anger, hate, and idiocy we see almost daily from the other side in the political sphere.

Arguments welcomed, opinions respected, fools un-suffered. We’re here every Sunday at 7 pm.

Medium Cool – All the Women!

In honor of International Women’s Day, let’s talk about women and culture.

Writers.  Directors.  Dancers.  Singers.  Producers.  Musicians.

Actors.  Stars.  Poets.  Cowgirls.  Performers.  First Ladies.  (and more)

Moms who taught us a lot about culture.  Female characters in books and movies.

Women who were ahead of their time.  Women who paved the way for other women.

And especially women who have inspired you!

In case you are new to Medium Cool, these are not open threads.

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Medium Cool – Classics!

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Medium Cool is a weekly series related to popular culture, mostly film, TV, and books, with some music and games thrown in. We hope it’s a welcome break from the anger, hate, and idiocy we see almost daily from the other side in the political sphere.

Arguments welcomed, opinions respected, fools un-suffered. We’re here every Sunday at 7 pm.

Tonight let’s talk about the classics!

Medium Cool – Books That Shaped Your Views of Race

So let’s talk about classics.  But let’s expand it a bit.  Not just books like Moby Dick or Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice or A Tale of Two Cities.

I’m also thinking also about books like The Autobiography of Malcom X and Rules for Radicals and Our Bodies, Ourselves.  Authors like Marge Piercy or Katherine V. Forrest or Maya Angelou and books like The Color Purple.  Books where you found kindred spirits, and could read about people like you.

Two links to help get you thinking.  100 Must Read Classics chosen by Penguin books readers, and faber’s Black History Month Books: Classic Titles by Black Authors.

So… classical classics and irreverent classics and eye-opening classics – and you get to be the judge of what is a classic, it doesn’t have to be on anybody’s classic list but your own.

 

In case you are new to Medium Cool, these are not open threads.

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