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Saturday Night Open Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 08:18:25 PM EST
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For Lt. Neil Armstrong.

In other news, Republicans have postponed the start of their convention due to Tropical Storm Isaac.

Tonight on TV: The 2012 London Hyde Park concert is on VH-1 and Palladia ("Hard Rock Calling") with Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Paul McCartney and more.

Snooki's in labor in New Jersey.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

< Republicans Then vs. Republicans Now | Welcome to Lorenzo, Snooki's "Little Guido" Has Arrived >

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    Saturday Night Open Thread | 74 comments (74 topical)

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    And Usher got custody of his kids .... (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by oculus on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 09:29:44 PM EST


    My daughter is home - visiting (5.00 / 3) (#17)
    by ZtoA on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 11:56:13 PM EST
    from LA. She worked at a west coast law firm doing operations and is now moving to an even larger international law firm. She was actually recruited. She is so very funny about lawyers and working for them from an operations pov. She loves working in a large law firm and she happens to be very organized. She was an english major (going to get her MBA at some point) and really knows how to write, has IT skills (which she seems to have been born with) and managing major tech upgrades. Don't know where she got any of that from :)  (I'm treating :) as punctuation)  :)

    I got her some new clothes today, which was so fun since she is simply the perfect size for --- really expensive clothes. Apparently. Lucky for me since she absolutely could not afford any of the pieces I bought her and I could care less about fashion and don't need it in my biz, so WTH I'll buy them for her. So there I sat in the dressing room, looking rather old and fashion challenged with frazzed hair watching her slip into the future.

    She could run the State Department. Or so I keep telling her. I have been trying to tell the 'kids' (early/mid 20s) that they need to pay attention to politics and directed her to Jeralyn's posts re republican platform. Oddly, the kids take so many things -like her rights- for granted. They should NOT take them for granted! After going to rural midwest for a family reunion this summer she should realize that she and her peers need to defend their rights.

    To discuss politics passionately in public... (none / 0) (#29)
    by Dadler on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 01:44:47 PM EST
    ...in this country is to be considered mentally unbalanced.  Our problems of apathy, and being more than simply apolitical but ANTI-political, are what I would call the hand on the national knife currently slicing the wrists of a suicidal nation.
    Selfish wealth and greed are the knife, btw.

    I hope your daughter can genuinely listen to her elders on this issue.  After all, the real mark of intelligence is the willingness to say "I don't know" and listen to those who do.

    Peace.

    Parent

    She's smart (5.00 / 3) (#31)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 02:32:18 PM EST
    She'll figure it out.  My daughter got tired of listening to me but she's figuring it out.  I hated listening to my grandparents, blah blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda...then I came to fully grasp what they were talking about when my own life started taking the hits.

    Wanna know what one of the freakiest things is that I've seen lately?  All these people who have never in their whole lives worked for anything other than the government talking about how horrible the government and government jobs are.  They've never held down a position of any kind in the "real" world, and they talk nucking futz...such hypocrites too.  I've taken to telling them I can't hear them talk about government intervention because they are all walking talking living government intervention.

    Parent

    Yes, freaky and rather insane (5.00 / 1) (#34)
    by ZtoA on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 03:32:25 PM EST
    And many rural anti-government conservatives get farm subsidies. Whole communities depend on them. No one mentions them when talking about cutting spending.

    Was listening to local radio interview 3rd party candidates. One was in the "Constitution Party" and he was very anti regulation. He was also extremely anti abortion too, and actually advocated the death penalty for women who get an abortion. I don't think his position was well thought out or articulated. And what does he expect? Arrest the woman (cops at taxpayer's expense), post abortion, put her on death row for years and years and years. At taxpayer's expense. Involve the courts - taxes again. If she has other children the state gets them services and maybe into foster care. More expense. More big government. I had the impression that he actually wanted a punishment like in The Kite Runner, where at halftime at some sports stadium hapless sinners were stoned to death....sort of like entertainment. And this Constitution Party guy has the gaul to call himself christian. OK, rant off.

    Parent

    All the wounded bystanders in NYC (5.00 / 2) (#26)
    by Peter G on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 11:53:05 AM EST
    at the Empire State Building shooting were injured by police gunfire, the Commissioner now admits.  There was no "gun battle," either; the executed gunman never fired another shot after killing his victim. However, he did point his gun at police ordering him to surrender, which in law would authorize an immediate response with deadly force.

    More people heavily experienced (none / 0) (#33)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 03:08:52 PM EST
    with guns making those exact shots that are going to keep us all safe and or at least safer.

    Parent
    OMG (5.00 / 1) (#35)
    by Politalkix on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 05:49:58 PM EST
    link

    This is what the right wing propagandists feed their foot soldiers to keep the rage alive...

    I should be mad at you for (none / 0) (#37)
    by shoephone on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 06:56:03 PM EST
    making me click on World Net Daily! But these birther nutters seem to be digging themselves into even deeper holes, so I guess it's good to witness it.

    So...Corsi says the president is a raving red commie... yah sure, you betcha... bailing out Wall Street, the banks, and the auto companies is the mark of a commie...if you're a nutty birther. Corsi and Trump's -- and Romney's -- minions are like Pavlov dogs salivating for this stuff.

    Will the news media covering the convention finally and unequivocally declare the birthers beyond psychological help? Sadly, I think we know the answer to that one.

    Parent

    The abortion issue-Akin, Ryan and Romney (5.00 / 1) (#36)
    by Politalkix on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 06:50:41 PM EST
    Why it needs to be discussed publicly and thoroughly....Since 2010, restrictions regarding abortions have been initiated in 32 states...
    link

    Great stuff on the Akins contention (5.00 / 1) (#39)
    by Peter G on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 08:07:02 PM EST
    that a "legitimate rape" cannot cause a pregnancy a couple of days ago in the Volokh Conspiracy (conservative legal blog by some very smart profs).  Notes that the same bogus assertion was identified as something commonly claimed, and then rejected as scientifically invalid, by the federal court for the Arkansas Territory in 1820:
    The old notion that if the woman conceived, it could not be a rape, because she must in such cases have consented, is quite exploded. 1 Hale, 631; 1 Hawkins, ch. 41, sec. 8; 1 East, P.C. ch. 10, sec. 7, p. 445; 1 Russ. on Crimes, 677. Impregnation, it is well known, does not depend on the consciousness or volition of the female. If the uterine organs be in a condition favorable to impregnation, this may take place as readily as if the intercourse was voluntary. Taylor's Med. Jurisprudence.

    One of the cited sources is a leading English criminal law treatise published more than a century earlier than that, in 1716! C'mon Congressman Akins, get on board with the Eighteenth Century.  Oh, wait, that's just Enlightenment propaganda ... now I understand.

    Parent
    Extremely important (none / 0) (#38)
    by shoephone on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 06:59:17 PM EST
    But how do we get the major media to cover it truthfully? Every election year, I feel like I'm banging my head against the wall while listening to the lying talking heads.

    Parent
    Ha, Ha, Ha, LOL! (none / 0) (#72)
    by NYShooter on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 12:38:53 PM EST
    "But how do we get the major media to cover it truthfully?"

    Shoephone,  next time you decide to tell us one of your rip-roaring, knee-slapping, rib busters, please give us a warning that it's coming.

    Wiping off projectile scrambled eggs from my screen is just as messy as it sounds.

    "Major Media......truthful"........ gotta remember that one.


    Parent

    I think (none / 0) (#1)
    by CoralGables on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 08:37:33 PM EST
    Jeralyn has dipped into Fishcamp's Boat Drinks. Already today we've had Issac, Repbulicans, and now Satruday. Think I'll fire up the blender and have one myself.

    Maybe she's come down with... (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 08:51:39 PM EST
    oculus on a smartphone syndrome.

    Parent
    I do still hyphenate, (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by oculus on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 09:19:34 PM EST
    zb "e-mail."

    Parent
    That was the subject of a discussion... (none / 0) (#9)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 09:39:41 PM EST
    at work Friday.  I'm of the mind that it should be hyphenated since it is an abbreviation of electronic mail.  But then I'm old and set in my ways.

    Where do you stand on the use of a hyphen with "non"?  Nonexistent or non-existent?  

    Parent

    According to (5.00 / 2) (#14)
    by shoephone on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 11:23:48 PM EST
    the 15th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style (7.90) compound forms are generally not hyphenated, eg., nonviolent, nonevent, nonnegoitable, but would be hypenated if "non" precedes another compound form, eg., non-self-sustaining or non-beer-drinking.

    Chicago hews pretty closely to Webster's Dictionary on this.

    Parent

    Forgot to add... (5.00 / 1) (#15)
    by shoephone on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 11:42:21 PM EST
    I think on the other thing you are technically correct: even Webster's still lists the spelling as "e-mail" in its 11th edition. But I suspect it will be listed as an unhyphenated word in future editions, because a lot of these spellings change with common usage. I already see it spelled as "email" in most places.

    Parent
    LOL. I see I misspelled (none / 0) (#19)
    by shoephone on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 02:00:15 AM EST
    both nonnegotiable and hyphenated. Some editor.

    I have good intentions... my typing fingers often misbehave.

    Parent

    So funny that you said this, as my (none / 0) (#5)
    by Anne on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 09:25:39 PM EST
    first thought when I saw the post title was, "what is Jeralyn drinking today?"

    Sometimes, we're all a little dyslexic, I guess...

    Parent

    Glenn Greenwald's column in (none / 0) (#6)
    by oculus on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 09:28:31 PM EST
    "The Guardian" had a couple typos too.

    Parent
    Everyone needs a proofreader, I think... (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by Anne on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 09:37:15 PM EST
    our brains have an uncanny ability to substitute what they expect to see for what is actually there...

    Bloggers don't generally have that kind of editorial oversight, which is a shame, because sometimes those typos are kind of embarrassing.

    For some reason, I just have a thing for grammar and spelling; maybe I should go into editing...

    Parent

    I blame spellcheckers (none / 0) (#20)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 06:07:24 AM EST
    Before them I was a better than average speller now I am much worse... Knowledge unused is knowledge abused?? But my biggest problem is just leaving words out.. either my brain is faster than my fingers or my fingers are faster than my brain.

    I favor the former but it is probably the latter.

    Parent

    Me Too. (none / 0) (#24)
    by easilydistracted on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 10:00:09 AM EST
    I blame spellcheckers

    And I'm reminded of how reliant on their use I've become each time I compose a handwritten note or letter.  

    Parent
    I blame spellcheckers (none / 0) (#21)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 06:07:25 AM EST
    Before them I was a better than average speller now I am much worse... Knowledge unused is knowledge abused?? But my biggest problem is just leaving words out.. either my brain is faster than my fingers or my fingers are faster than my brain.

    I favor the former but it is probably the latter.

    Parent

    Do you also blame automated spellcheckers (none / 0) (#25)
    by Peter G on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 11:22:30 AM EST
    for double-posting (## 20 & 21)?  ;)

    Parent
    Nope and if someone can tell me why (none / 0) (#27)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 12:21:52 PM EST
    randomly happens I would appreciate it.

    I'm PC Vista using Google Chrome.

    Thanks in advance for your help.

    Parent

    The brain sees what it expects ... (none / 0) (#28)
    by Robot Porter on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 01:24:45 PM EST
    to see.

    This is why it's so difficult to proof your own work.

    As someone who writes for a living, I use proofreaders when I can.  And when I can't I have a number of tricks to avoid common errors that spellcheckers won't catch.  Such as missing words and the incorrect words.

    In the old days, books, magazines and newspapers did at least four proofreading cycles on everything.  Few do anymore.  They just don't want to spend the time or the money.  Mainly the money.

    Parent

    Before I file anything in court (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by Peter G on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 02:19:12 PM EST
    I have someone else who works for me -- and I hire for this skill, among others -- proofread it carefully.  That person is not necessarily another lawyer.  Then I proofread it myself a second time.  This usually gets the number of errors in a 15- to 40-page document down to the single digits; hopefully none of them too awful. It's also surprising how errors you missed in two prior proofings jump out at you after you convert the word-processed document into a PDF for electronic filing.  More often than not, I have to trash the first PDF, go back to the doc and make more corrections.  But nothing gets them all.

    Parent
    I blame my kindle (none / 0) (#32)
    by Amiss on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 03:00:01 PM EST
    It is just too easy to jump in and check on things.  It is even sadder that I used to proofread for M.C.I. a printer of city codes for a great part of the U.S. and also several newspapers. I think I have just aged enough that I don't care about minor errors as much and just let them slide.

    Parent
    For Me... (none / 0) (#62)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 09:47:04 AM EST
    ...it's not one thing, from my lifelong poor spelling and grammar skills, to the total lack of cooperation from my over sized fingers, to my habit of writing how I speak, to my brain operation at like 100 wpm while my brain sends about 25 wpm to my hands.

    And now this super annoying habit I have picked up in which my fingers refuse to type contractions and just leave the the first word, so does or can comes out when I mean doesn't or can't.

    There is also the issue where I change part of the sentence and either fail to change all the verbs to match the change, or my mind simply reads them they way they should be, not they way they are.

    I really wish we had a minute window to make quick changes, because proof reading sometimes doesn't work in my head until it's been posted.  Preview catches some, but I always notice my mistakes when I can't actually change much more accurately.

    But as far as spellcheck, well I do not believe I would have graduated college without it.  I often ponder that I might be digging ditches w/o spellcheck.  It's always been my weakness, memorization.  I am a conceptual person, and spelling is anything but consistent.  So while my math skills are second to none, my grammar skills are that of a child and only with the assistance of spellcheck am I able to get thoughts on the screen with some degree of legitimacy.

    I would say any given day, I have to Google the word I am trying to spell because spellcheck isn't finding it.  And several times a week I need to put it in context for Google to be of assistance.

    Parent

    This is my biggest problem (none / 0) (#71)
    by sj on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 10:51:11 AM EST
    There is also the issue where I change part of the sentence and either fail to change all the verbs to match the change, or my mind simply reads them they way they should be, not they way they are.
    Also when restructuring I will sometimes leave a word in its original location.  

    That's my biggest problem.  Not my only one :)


    Parent

    I was doing too many things (none / 0) (#10)
    by Jeralyn on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 09:53:09 PM EST
    at once, writing, choosing the video from about 10 versions of the song, watching the concert, reading the news articles, and I didn't check. I also make more typos on my laptop since the screen is smaller. I appreciate you pointing them out, I seem to stare right past them and don't notice them.

    I better go fix Republicans, I missed that one too.

    Parent

    I'm convinced that our brains "see" what (5.00 / 2) (#11)
    by Anne on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 10:27:49 PM EST
    is supposed to be there, and that's why we all miss these obvious typos; if you ever want someone to give your writing a second look for that kind of thing, don't hesitate to ask.

    Parent
    When I worked in kid's books (none / 0) (#12)
    by nycstray on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 10:34:56 PM EST
    on the art end, we (artists) even read through the manuscripts from the first all the way to published. We needed to for line breaks, page layout etc, but after awhile you started reading like a proofer/editor. Kinda fun and it made me better at proofing things that really do need to be proofed, but I only have my eyes handy. (did that make sense?!) I loved catching things that had already been through all the 'word' people :)

    Parent
    Jeralyn, if you have the ability to (5.00 / 13) (#16)
    by shoephone on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 11:44:16 PM EST
    go fix the Republicans, we should be electing you to higher office.

    Parent
    I'm posting this again on a current thread (none / 0) (#3)
    by DFLer on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 08:59:13 PM EST
    sorry.

    Even though Nyad had to quit her swim, there was interest here in her. Just got this link today

    Check out my friend's song about Diana Nyad on youtube. here

    How people voted (none / 0) (#13)
    by Politalkix on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 10:52:30 PM EST
    in the last 4 decades. link

    Despite all the scorn heaped on them, the savviest voters over the years have always been in the 18-29 age group. Do not know what happens to people as they age! :-(.

    He's baaaaack...... (none / 0) (#18)
    by desertswine on Sat Aug 25, 2012 at 11:59:56 PM EST
    Maybe.  The Rocket goes 3 1/3.

    Sugar Land (none / 0) (#65)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 09:52:14 AM EST
    It's huge news for the Skeeters, really kind of funny.  All I can guess is he is doing this to smooth the ruff edges.  I think he still thinks he can get into the Hall of Fame, and maybe he's right.  This is certainly changes the minds of the locals.

    And it's a huger deal to have a figure like Clemens playing for the local Skeeters.

    Parent

    Wow.. time to toss my (none / 0) (#22)
    by observed on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 08:31:33 AM EST
    Fritjof Capra into the dumpster. Time to give Chopra's quantum healing bible a rest.
    It's time to start quantum jumping my way to a better life.
    Amazing.. and this is based on 30 years of rigorous scientific study.
    Thank you, google news, for showing me this link, all because I changed my preferences to show more physics.
    First step... transfer knowledge of proper punctuation from an alternate self.
    After that, I may try to become an accurate speller. The whole world is my oyster now, and I'm not afraid to start big!

    I'm finding the place where the Cubs have (none / 0) (#23)
    by ruffian on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 09:32:13 AM EST
    won the World Series...and staying there.

    Parent
    Have any of you seen the Obama (none / 0) (#40)
    by oculus on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 11:20:32 PM EST
    "documentary" which sold more tickets than a couple movies opening this weekend?  Anyone know who pd. for it?  

    Here: (none / 0) (#41)
    by oculus on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 11:31:04 PM EST
    link

    Parent
    I saw it advertised and checked it out (none / 0) (#44)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 01:12:01 AM EST
    briefly.  Isn't this only in indy theaters?

    Parent
    No (none / 0) (#47)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 06:48:15 AM EST
    it's not just in indy theaters. It's in my area with the Carmike Theaters. I think it's just showing in areas where there are lot of tea partiers. I expect this movie to do as well as that Ayn Rand movie.

    Parent
    It looked like that to me too (none / 0) (#53)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 07:45:11 AM EST


    Parent
    Chris killed it again at the wrap up (none / 0) (#54)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 07:58:10 AM EST
    Joe asked everyone what they had learned this morning.  Chris Matthews said that he learned that good health is a European idea!  Get that boy up in the early mornings more often!

    Parent
    Definitely Playing in Tampa... (none / 0) (#66)
    by ScottW714 on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 09:54:08 AM EST
    ...shocker I know.

    Parent
    That movie is based on a book by a (none / 0) (#42)
    by caseyOR on Sun Aug 26, 2012 at 11:36:03 PM EST
    right-winger named Dinesh D'Souza. The book is titled The Roots of Obama's Rage.

    D'Souza co-directed with John Sullivan. The movie is distributed by Rocky Mountain Picture. Check out their website for a look at their releases this summer. RMP is heavily into Tea Party-favored story-lines.

    D'Souza is one of those people that the mainstream media likes to call a "conservative intellectual." He falls into the same group as Ross Douthat.

    The movie is a rightwing hit piece brought to you courtesy of the Citizens' United- loving U.S. Supreme Court.

    Parent

    Charlie Crist supports Obama (none / 0) (#43)
    by shoephone on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 12:45:24 AM EST
    Was this already posted around here somewhere?

    Charlie Crist pens a piece for the Tampa Bay Times, in which he declares his support for Obama.

    As Republicans gather in Tampa to nominate Mitt Romney, Americans can expect to hear tales of how President Obama has failed to work with their party or turn the economy around.

    But an element of their party has pitched so far to the extreme right on issues important to women, immigrants, seniors and students that they've proven incapable of governing for the people. Look no further than the inclusion of the Akin amendment in the Republican Party platform, which bans abortion, even for rape victims.

    The truth is that the party has failed to demonstrate the kind of leadership or seriousness voters deserve.

    Ruh-oh. As if Hurricane Isaac wasn't proving to be bad enough for the GOP conveners, here comes Florida's former guv to further rain on the Romney/Ryan parade.

    When we had crooked (none / 0) (#74)
    by fishcamp on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 09:24:46 PM EST
    governors like Lawton Childs we could at least understand what they were doing.  With  Charlie and now Rick nobody including them knew/knows what's happening.  And with Jeb, well there was that family of his.

    Parent
    The new episode of (none / 0) (#45)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 01:17:33 AM EST
    The Newsroom is awesome

    Wasn't it, though? And they replay it (5.00 / 1) (#46)
    by Anne on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 06:34:38 AM EST
    so often that I can go back and catch all the stuff I missed when I risked blinking or allowed a stray thought to momentarily divert my attention from the typical Sorkin, everyone's-talking-really-fast, moving-between-present-and-past production...heaven help you if you were looking away when any of the the "X Hours Earlier" screens were up...

    I have really enjoyed this show, not the least for the way they routinely excoriate and flay the Republicans, and most especially the Tea Party, and for allowing me to live out a fantasy that some day we will have a media that actually does speak truth to power.  The soapier side is fun, too.  Will Maggie ever figure out that she's with the wrong guy?  Are candles really that powerful?

    The people who really need to be watching are the ones who have taken the Democratic Party on a decade's-long detour away from long-standing Democratic ideas and ideals in the name of "getting things done" and "bipartisanship," and have thoroughly sold out to corporate interests and their own 10-year plan for fame and fortune.

    I don't mean to make the show more than it is, but it does stir my Democratic self out of its disgusted corner a bit...

    Parent

    Mixed reactions here (none / 0) (#48)
    by ruffian on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 06:49:27 AM EST
    Have not seen the season finale yet, but the show in general is my favorite 'hate viewing'.   Is it really necessary for the women to be portrayed as incompetent idiots? Even Sloan, the best of the bunch, takes time from her work to ask if her butt is too big.  

    and that mock debate? Please.  Maybe if the other reporters had been allowed to participate and ask questions instead of stupidly portraying candidates it would have been about more than feeding Will's ego.  

    None of the supposedly funny moments land for me at all.

    If anyone besides the choir is actually watching this show, Will and Mac's preaching is going to turn them off.

    Parent

    It's Aaron Sorkin...this is what he does. (none / 0) (#55)
    by Anne on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 08:02:34 AM EST
    You're not supposed to watch it as if it were documentary TV; Sorkin tugs on our hopes for more from the Democrats - he did that to a fare-thee-well on The West Wing.

    No one would ever take Sloan for an incompetent idiot for doing what millions of us competent, non-idiot women do: worry that our looks affect how we are perceived in our jobs.  Considering that she is on-air talent in a field where what women look like is so much more important than what men look like, wondering about the size of her butt just makes her real.

    This is Sorkin - taking real bits and inserting them in quasi-fantasy situations with caricatures instead of characters - like that debate.  Of course we would never have seen anything like that in real life - but Sorkin taps into what we want to close our eyes and see, not what we see with our eyes open.  Anyone who's ever watched a real debate and muttered what they'd really like Gwen Ifill or Jim Lehrer or Brian Williams to ask gets that.  As does anyone who's ever wanted the candidates to respond with something other than bumper stickers and sound bites.

    I could easily pick the entire show apart: from Will's triumphant return to the newsroom after nearly bleeding out, to Charlie bluffing proof of phone hacking with a recipe for beef stew, it's a collection of improbable, unbelievable moments.

    So is life, I guess.  And since I'm living that in all its reality, I'm going to watch a TV show like The Newsroom with the part of me that likes to escape, that doesnt' insist that everything ring true or be true.

    Parent

    I know what you mean (none / 0) (#60)
    by ruffian on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 09:44:04 AM EST
    But I can't relax and enjoy a fantasy if it is straddling reality so awkwardly. I mostly see the annoyances.

    Somehow West Wing did not grate on me so much. Loved that show. Probably the better acting helped.

    I understand worrying about her looks, but not having the conversation in a walk and talk with a coworker she hardly knows - who incidentally is going to 'pretend' to harass her on the internet.

    I know I sound really harsh - probably because I had such high hopes for this show and was really disappointed.

    Parent

    I contrast it with my love of Breaking Bad (none / 0) (#63)
    by ruffian on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 09:48:58 AM EST
    which is a lot more unrealistic bur somehow gets my buy-in. Good writing and good acting is really all it takes.

    Parent
    I'm the same way about Damages; (none / 0) (#67)
    by Anne on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 10:02:57 AM EST
    there's a nod to what's going on in the headlines, but the underlying events taking place are just seven kinds of bizarre - and yet, with Glenn Close and Rose Byrne - and Janet McTeer, this season - somehow, it works.

    With Damages, you can't look away from the screen because there's a lot going on just in people's expression, in the exchange of glances.  And yet, who ever knows - or trusts - what Patty Hewes is thinking: is she really being nice, or is she plotting?  Does she have feelings, or is she just ice right to the center of her cold heart?

    Since this is allegedly the last season, I can't imagine how - or if - they will tie up the loose ends.  Who's going to get custody of Patty's granddaughter?  What's the real story with the old man in the nursing home?  What's the secret that Janet McTeer's character is hiding?

    I'm sure I will be left wanting more - and maybe that's a good thing - but it's just been such an intriguing show and plot.

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    Exactly - I don't have Direct TV so (none / 0) (#70)
    by ruffian on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 10:35:07 AM EST
    I don't have the new season of Damages yet - have to wait for the DVD. Didn't even know Janet McTeer was in it! Something to look forward to!

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    Catch Morning Joe (none / 0) (#49)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 07:33:16 AM EST
    Watch Chris Matthews kick Reince Priebus'azzzzzz in the "Elephant" lounge in Tampa.

    Is he spitting and drooling? (none / 0) (#50)
    by jbindc on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 07:35:41 AM EST


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    He managed to keep that under control (none / 0) (#52)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 07:43:24 AM EST
    He's morning fresh.  My husband said, wow, he wants to punch Reince Priebus in the face.  And I think he does when Reince starts the conversation out with how negative the Obama campaign has been verses Romney.  The birth certificate joke was about to get Reince Priebus punched in the face, among other things.

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    Was a great few minutes of live TV (5.00 / 1) (#56)
    by vicndabx on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 08:16:09 AM EST
    Almost as priceless,  the "oh, God, let it be over" looks on the faces of Joe & Mika.

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    It had to happen (none / 0) (#57)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 08:22:36 AM EST
    I find Morning Joe interesting at times, but Priebus was just running off at the mouth.  My husband asked me why Mika said nothing sig, he thought she was going to address Priebus but really didn't.  So Matthews did, and then yeah...Joe and Mika want to hide under a rock?  If Mika is supposed to be Democrat, she is the sort of Democrat that helped us lose every election in my lifetime...milquetoast.

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    Mika has always played (5.00 / 2) (#58)
    by brodie on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 09:35:02 AM EST
    the potted plant Dem for as long as the show's been on.  And she gets paid handsomely for basically sitting there saying nothing while the boys discuss serious stuff.  She then speaks up only to introduce the next segment.

    I think this is the way Joe likes it, and Mika seems not to have complaints except for the size of her paycheck compared to the men.  If she actually tried to assert herself more in the content of the show, I'd be sympathetic, but as it is she's probably wildly over paid relative to the actual amount of work she does.

    As for Chris, I particularly liked the way he made Serious Bipartisan Media Wise Man Brokaw uncomfortable with his spot-on rant that called it plain.  Chris forgot that you're supposed to merely allude to these things indirectly and then call out the other side for some alleged rules infringement to make the commentary acceptably balanced.  But he got Tom to finally say something to das Partiefuehrer Priebus that was direct and to the point.  Well done Chris.

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    Tom Brokaw is shameful (none / 0) (#59)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 09:38:43 AM EST


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    Ooops.....sorry.....Elephant Bar (none / 0) (#51)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 07:40:15 AM EST
    Idiot Lounge, dumba$$ watering hole.  Listening to these disgusting pukes talk about how they are going to close the gender gap is a little mind bending after all the Republican raping ultrasound wands they've waved in my face and in the air. And the arguing to make it as difficult as possible for me to get my hands on birth control month after predictable month.

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    But Ann Romney is so likable! (5.00 / 1) (#61)
    by ruffian on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 09:46:51 AM EST
    Us ladyfolk will just melt at the sight of her 18 grandchildren and forget anything we ever knew about policy. She is a one-woman gender gap closer.

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    Ah Chris Matthews (none / 0) (#73)
    by jbindc on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 12:47:44 PM EST
    Grand Arbiter of all that is "racist".

    One of my favorite quotes from Tweety:

    On Hardball, discussing Sen. Barack Obama's bowling performance at a campaign stop, Chris Matthews said to MSNBC political analyst Michelle Bernard:

    "You know, Michelle -- and this gets very ethnic, but the fact that he's good at basketball doesn't surprise anybody, but the fact that he's that terrible at bowling does make you wonder."



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    Since it is impossible to talk about (none / 0) (#64)
    by ruffian on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 09:51:40 AM EST
    Breaking Bad without giving things away, all I can say is that the season took a while to build momentum, but now it is like that train from a couple of weeks ago...

    Vamanos!

    I haven't seen this mentioned (none / 0) (#68)
    by brodie on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 10:12:42 AM EST
    anywhere, how weird yet kind of fitting that the two most celebrated male and female American astronauts, both having led very private lives after their space exploits, both died within about a month of each other, and rather unexpectedly.

    Armstrong was so out of the spotlight for so long that some apparently forgot his name -- as with the way NBC online headlined his passing by referring to him as "the first man to walk on the moon, Neil Young.". This stayed up for some seven minutes according to an article I saw somewhere.

    Singing "Harvest Moon"? (none / 0) (#69)
    by jbindc on Mon Aug 27, 2012 at 10:14:03 AM EST


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    Saturday Night Open Thread | 74 comments (74 topical)

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