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Sunday Night TV and Open Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Sun Oct 24, 2010 at 08:03:44 PM EST
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Desperate Housewives should be funny tonight. There's also new episodes of The Next Iron Chef, Brothers and Sisters, football, and of course, HBO's Boardwalk.

On the dinner menu: Homemade spaghetti and meatballs.

TalkLeft moved to a new server over the weekend. It should be faster, but the automatic formatting isn't working in the post-writing window (comments are fine) so I have to post and then go back and add the formatting. Hopefully, it will be fixed soon.

What's on your mind tonight? This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

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    Sunday Night TV and Open Thread | 60 comments (60 topical)

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    My comments page comes up fast again. (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by andgarden on Sun Oct 24, 2010 at 08:20:39 PM EST
    Thanks!

    Mine Too (none / 0) (#2)
    by squeaky on Sun Oct 24, 2010 at 10:23:05 PM EST


    Parent
    My local PBS aired the first episode (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by tigercourse on Sun Oct 24, 2010 at 11:05:47 PM EST
    of the new Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Quite good and they did a surprisingly good job of moving the character into a modern world.

    It's also interesting to consider that in the original stories Watson was a veteran of the Afghan war. And he is in this one as well. We'll probably still be fighting wars there in another hundred years.

    I thought it was wonderful. (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by byteb on Sun Oct 24, 2010 at 11:30:28 PM EST
    Faithful to Holmes and Watson but in the 21st century.

    Parent
    I was surprized (none / 0) (#8)
    by nyjets on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 08:12:25 AM EST
    I was surprized how good the movie was. The writers had read the original stories and were clearly inspired. They did a great job.

    And I loved the line by Holmes "This is a three patch problem." I nearly choked to death after rearing the line.

    Parent

    I forgot that Watson was a veteran (none / 0) (#9)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 08:50:01 AM EST
    of the Afghan War.  When I was a kid I remember asking myself what the heck that was.  It sounded sort of French Foreign Legion romantic though.  Now that I'm grown, not romantic....not at all :)

    I think I will check this out.

    Parent

    Looking forward to watching that on my dvr tonight (none / 0) (#28)
    by ruffian on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 01:11:22 PM EST
    thanks!

    I also like the Lumen character on Dexter. Even her name. That is going to be intersting - the previews of next week look great.

    Parent

    The Velvet Underground... (5.00 / 1) (#36)
    by kdog on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 02:23:54 PM EST
    were always different...all dressed in black when the kool kids were rocking Day-Glo, singing about grimey when everybody else was singing about flowers and peace.

    Drummer Maureen "Moe" Tucker hasn't changed a bit...still marching to her very own drummer. Here's a little interview stemming from her appearance at some tea party rallies that I found interesting.  

    Though she insists she is not a tea-partier, but an independent thinker.

    Cuomo and New York (none / 0) (#5)
    by Politalkix on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 12:05:03 AM EST
    This article appeared in the New York Times.
    Please remember that Cuomo is the Governor-in-waiting of one of the bluest states in the country. Yet, I do not see an embrace of FDR's economic policies in Cuomo's plan to fix the unemployment problem in New York. Given this fact, how fair is it to criticize the President for not adopting New Deal economic policies to solve current problems of the whole country?


    This is getting (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by lilburro on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 11:59:26 AM EST
    sad.  Obama gets a pass for the past two years because of something a candidate for Governor says he'll do (or not do)?  OOOK....

    Parent
    This is getting funny (none / 0) (#57)
    by Politalkix on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 08:36:27 PM EST
    because of people like you, MT and the rest of your ilk. I am not seeing much reaction in this blog even if Cuomo seeks "to transform the state's weak business lobby into a more formidable ally, believing that corporate leaders in New York have virtually surrendered the field to big labor.".
    I can only imagine how each of you would be frothing at the mouth about the President selling out labor or insulting them if President Obama said one-tenth of what the would be Governor of NY said.
    I do not care whether the President "got a pass" or not, but I would like to see consistent standards being applied. There is a little thing called intellectual honesty.....

     

    Parent

    intellectual honesty..... (none / 0) (#58)
    by nycstray on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 09:31:55 PM EST
    how about comparing what they do in office (if and when Cumo gets there) and what they said on the trail? I mean really? Comparing "just words" from Cumo to "just words" from Obama and his performance in office? Do you have a crystal ball?

    Parent
    I have no crystal ball (none / 0) (#59)
    by Politalkix on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 09:51:38 PM EST
    and neither do you. I think Cuomo will do a good job as Governor just as Obama is doing a good job as President.
    I hope you will follow your own advise and encourage others to do the same when making any comparison.

    Parent
    Where's the intellectual (none / 0) (#60)
    by lilburro on Wed Oct 27, 2010 at 11:35:52 AM EST
    honesty in comparing apples to oranges, state governance to federal governance?  You're right, this is getting funny.

    Parent
    Cuomo is FOS (none / 0) (#6)
    by squeaky on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 12:21:35 AM EST
    imo. He is riding on his fathers name.

    Parent
    It's clearly an unforced error (none / 0) (#7)
    by andgarden on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 07:39:50 AM EST


    Parent
    Most interesting episode (none / 0) (#10)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 08:56:12 AM EST
    of Boardwalk Empire yet for me.  "Maybe your cunny isn't quite the draw you think it is", Oh MY! And would a man set a self confident yet single mother up in order to better control her?  Would he play her heart strings too?  What a rat, or is he?

    Dexter (none / 0) (#11)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 09:43:17 AM EST
    had taken an cool turn.  I like the new female character.  I think she may be around for a while.  she is a very interesting character.

    Parent
    You think they'll keep her for the season (none / 0) (#15)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 11:26:38 AM EST
    like they did Jimmy Smits?  I like actress Stiles.

    Parent
    I actually thought (none / 0) (#19)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 12:06:26 PM EST
    she may end up as a new love interest.

    but who knows with that show.

    Parent

    He said in the first season (none / 0) (#22)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 12:24:45 PM EST
    he likes his women broken :)

    Parent
    damaged actually (none / 0) (#30)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 01:34:10 PM EST


    Parent
    but she is perfect (none / 0) (#32)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 01:35:51 PM EST
    she actually knows his secret.
    the only one who does.

    Parent
    True (none / 0) (#40)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 02:42:38 PM EST
    and she has a serious reason to rationalize why what he does is a public service.

    Parent
    also (none / 0) (#41)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 02:44:04 PM EST
    love that Harrison is becoming cheerily violent

    Parent
    As a NaNa I can't bring myself to focus on that (none / 0) (#43)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 03:07:14 PM EST
    right now.  We are having a problem with Zoey biting her baby sister at the moment.  I was a biter too, happens before you develop your empathy for others and is only about having power and control over others.  Biting your nonbiting sibling is so power inducing, they will do whatever you want just please don't bite me.  And Zoey is so hard headed she will not call me NaNa either, she has her own name for me and that is NeeNee and that's that too so just lump it.  It is endearing and when it comes to a full grown German Shepherd she just grabs the leash and runs off.  Other breeders are jealous because it would appear that I have a junior handler already. I'm okay with confident children, and then there is also the line :)  Naomi is a year old in a matter of days and she is already all smiles and Na Na Na Na Na Na when she wants something from me, she is so sweet you can't imagine.  She is so gentle and glowing from within.  Zoey is going as the devil for Halloween.  Naomi is going as a black cat.  We thought it might be cute if Zoey went as a witch, but doesn't a witch have control over her black cat?....ewwwww that was too creepy.  When we found the devil outfit everyone instantly started laughing so the devil it is :)

    Parent
    I thought maybe he was going to make her the nanny (none / 0) (#29)
    by ruffian on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 01:15:46 PM EST
    after the Irish lady quit. I think those stories will intersect at some point.

    I got fixated on Sgt. Batista's underbite last night - it is starting to creep me out. That is some jawline he has!

    Parent

    yeah (5.00 / 1) (#31)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 01:35:00 PM EST
    I think the nanny is going to have a story.  remember when they were joking about checking interpol?  I remember thinking they will wish they had done that.

    Parent
    Margaret's comment (none / 0) (#24)
    by StephenAG on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 12:38:59 PM EST
    could also apply to today's White House (heh... heh... heh...)! But whaddaya think about Van Alden's self-flagellating in the grand old Catholic tradition? O-M-G! All those scars on his back! Was he punishing himself or pleasuring himself (with the picture of 16-year old Margaret in his possession, nevertheless)?

    Parent
    That was creepy (none / 0) (#25)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 12:45:03 PM EST
    I thought maybe he was whipping himself because he thought she was attractive.

    Parent
    Or because he lost her to the enemy (none / 0) (#42)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 02:44:07 PM EST


    Parent
    new William S Burroughs doc (none / 0) (#12)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 09:48:28 AM EST
    with John Waters, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Gus Van Sant, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Sonic Youth, Laurie Anderson, Jello Biafra and David Cronenberg.

    A tender and vibrant portrait of the life and work of the Beat author and American icon, WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS: A MAN WITHIN is an intimate documentary that breaks the surface of the troubled and brilliant world of one of the greatest authors of all time. Burroughs was one of the first writers to break the boundaries of queer and drug culture in the 1950's. His novel Naked Lunch is one of the most recognized and respected literary works of the 20th century and has influenced generations of artists. Featuring never-before-seen archival footage of Burroughs, as well as exclusive interviews with colleagues and confidants including John Waters, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Gus Van Sant, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Sonic Youth, Laurie Anderson, Amiri Baraka, Jello Biafra, and David Cronenberg, WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS: A MAN WITHIN is a probing yet loving look at the man whose works at once savaged conservative ideals, spawned countercultural movements, and reconfigured 20th century culture. The film is narrated by Peter Weller, with a soundtrack by Patti Smith and Sonic Youth.

    link

    once in the 80s when I lived in Manhattan I walked into my usual coffee shop on the upper west side on a saturday morning sat at the counter and looked over and there sitting next to me was Burroughs with Lauri Anderson next to him.  it made my day.

    While President Obama urges (none / 0) (#13)
    by KeysDan on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 10:11:36 AM EST
    a vote for Democrats across the board (no matter what they have or are likely to do to us), he seems to be reserving for himself a more discriminatory voting choice in Rhode Island.  The president will not endorse Frank Caprio, the Democratic candidate for governor and will remain neutral.

    This is seen as a boost for Lincoln Chafee, the former Republican senator running for governor as an independent. Chafee was a moderate Republican who endorsed Obama for president.

    Like Anne says (none / 0) (#16)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 11:27:42 AM EST
    Obama is not a liberal :)

    Parent
    Frank Caprio has now said that Obama (none / 0) (#27)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 01:05:40 PM EST
    can shove it.  

    Parent
    What is O planning on doing there today? (5.00 / 1) (#34)
    by nycstray on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 02:06:24 PM EST
    Not campaigning for Dems right? So is he raising money for a party he isn't supporting in that state?

    Parent
    If ever there was another brand new (none / 0) (#37)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 02:29:28 PM EST
    action taken by our President that screams "it is all about me", this is it.

    Parent
    Caprio found out that Obama (5.00 / 1) (#35)
    by KeysDan on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 02:17:06 PM EST
    was not going to endorse him, and remain neutral,  from a reporter.  Guess, he was going to tell him while campaigning in RI sometime during the day, or something.

    Parent
    What a horrible way to find that out (none / 0) (#38)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 02:30:05 PM EST


    Parent
    and of course this was on our (none / 0) (#39)
    by nycstray on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 02:40:56 PM EST
    mid day local news here. next story . . . MO campaigning here this afternoon. {sigh} one can only hope that O gets at least some of his sh*t together at some point . . . .

    Parent
    Boston Globe (none / 0) (#14)
    by CST on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 10:27:02 AM EST
    has a polling on all the MA races.  It looks right now like the Dems have a slight lead across the board, but it's not comfortable by any stretch.

    The one person with a really comfortable margin (and over 50% of voters) is... Martha Coakley for D.A.  Go figure.

    The close races right now are for Gov. - with Deval Patrick the incumbent running against a former Health Insurance ceo Charlie Baker.  I finally saw some ads this weekend, all were anti-Baker, sponsored by teachers.

    The other big races are for the 10th and 4th district - although right now it looks like Barney is doing just fine.  Plus a few ballot issues trying to cut sales/alchohol taxes and complicate low-income housing permits.  Right now polling on that is like polling on Dems, slight lead for the status quo, not big enough to feel comfortable.

    Of course it wouldn't be politics without some scandals - whether it's the independant candidate for Gov. accusing the republican of sabotaging his campaign, or the republican candidate for the 10th district getting in hot water because he might have "witnessed and covered up the illegal strip search of a teenage girl in 1991".  This might have died, but the woman in question recently spoke out and it could be the tipping point in a close race.

    Right now, every house seat in MA is held by a Dem.

    I would hope... (none / 0) (#17)
    by kdog on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 11:33:15 AM EST
    strip-searching minors, "legally" or otherwise, would render one unelectable to higher office...but these are strange days populated with very strange people.

    Parent
    Always interesting how something that (5.00 / 1) (#23)
    by republicratitarian on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 12:37:36 PM EST
    happened 19 years ago comes out a week before an election.

    Parent
    yes but (none / 0) (#26)
    by CST on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 12:55:40 PM EST
    I think a lot of times people just aren't famous enough for anyone to notice/care otherwise.

    And actually, this isn't the first time it's ever come up.  It's just the first time it made big headlines, because previously, Perry wasn't worth big headlines.

    "Early in the campaign he glibly asserted that these cases had been publicly aired in his first run for state representative.  He has become the latest in a long line of candidates who have discovered that with higher office comes far greater scrutiny."  Link

    Parent

    Good point, and anyone who has been (none / 0) (#33)
    by republicratitarian on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 01:52:22 PM EST
    in a position of authority like that should answer the questions. I didn't have all of the background info. Thanks for the link.

    Parent
    one would (none / 0) (#20)
    by CST on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 12:10:12 PM EST
    certainly hope so.

    Parent
    Desperate Housewives hasn't been funny, (none / 0) (#21)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 12:14:44 PM EST
    or any good, all season long.

    I used to really like that show. The only thing good about it now is that it comes with women's lingerie ads during every commercial break...

    Omar Khadr pleads guilty to all charges (none / 0) (#44)
    by jbindc on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 03:38:25 PM EST
    You may remember him as the "child soldier" in Guantanamo.  Today he pled guilty to all charges.

    Omar Khadr pleaded to five charges including murder for throwing a grenade that mortally wounded the soldier during a fierce raid on an al-Qaida compound in Afghanistan in 2002. The now 24-year-old defendant also admitted to planting improvised explosive devices and receiving weapons training from the terrorist network.

    The exact terms of the plea agreement were not immediately disclosed. Khadr will now face a military jury for a sentencing hearing that is expected to last several days. The panel cannot impose a sentence more severe than the plea agreement. His trial had been scheduled to start Monday and he faced a possible life sentence.
    Lock me in Gitmo... (none / 0) (#45)
    by kdog on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 03:56:05 PM EST
    for 9 years and I'll confess to causing the Hindenburg disaster.

    Parent
    Maybe (none / 0) (#47)
    by jbindc on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 04:03:43 PM EST
    But sis lawyer said he'll probably get 8 years, 7 of them to be served in Canada.

    Parent
    So 16-17 years... (none / 0) (#56)
    by kdog on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 04:54:35 PM EST
    more than half without a trial.  Scary part is we've slipped so much that sounds almost reasonable. The future won't be so kind, I hope.

    Pretty stunning rebuke of the Canadian govt. in the CBC link.  

    NDP defence critic Jack Harris said the Canadian government's response to Khadr's case was "totally inadequate" and goes against human rights and international law because he was a child soldier.

    Canada, he told reporters outside the House of Commons, is the "only country in the world who abandoned" a citizen in Guantanamo Bay.



    Parent
    why the quotes? (none / 0) (#46)
    by CST on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 04:00:54 PM EST
    He was 15.

    From the nytimes:

    "several factors made the effort to prosecute Mr. Khadr for war crimes unusual.

    The centerpiece of the charges against him was not a conventional terrorism offense -- the targeting of civilians -- but the killing of an enemy in combat. Usually in war, battlefield killing is not prosecuted. But the United States contended that Mr. Khadr lacked the privilege of battlefield immunity because he wore no uniform, among other requirements of the laws of war.

    The uniform issue also led to a scramble by the Obama legal team to rewrite commission rules on the eve of a pretrial hearing for Mr. Khadr. Because Central Intelligence Agency drone operators also kill while not wearing uniforms, they rewrote the rules to downgrade murder from a war crime to a domestic law offense."

    Different rules for thee than for me.

    Parent

    He still killed someone (none / 0) (#48)
    by jbindc on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 04:09:51 PM EST
    A "child soldier" denotes a victim.  Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't, but he stood in court and said he was a murderer, among other things. I could have said "war criminal" too, but of course, that term doesn't denote the same amount of sympathy that a "child soldier" does.  

    I'll think about Tabitha Speer (widow of Sgt. Speer, whom Kadhr murdered) instead.

    Parent

    he killed a soldier (5.00 / 0) (#49)
    by CST on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 04:15:51 PM EST
    in a war.

    "Child soldier" is a description for what he was - if it denotes sympathy that's because it should.

    I guess you have no thoughts for the dead Iraqis whom Sgt. Speer might have killed.

    It's a war.  People die.  That's why you don't fight pointless wars.

    Parent

    I was not aware there were many, if any, (none / 0) (#51)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 04:28:25 PM EST
    Iraqis fighting in Afghanistan where Sgt. Speer was deployed as a medic. As a medic I think his job was to keep people alive, like he did the week before he was killed:
    Six days before he received the wounds that killed him, Sgt. 1st Class Christopher J. Speer walked into a minefield to rescue two wounded Afghan children, according to fellow soldiers.

    He applied a tourniquet to one child and bandaged the other, they said. Then he stopped a passing military truck to take the wounded children to a U.S. Army field hospital.

    Speer saved those children, his colleagues said.



    Parent
    my bad (none / 0) (#52)
    by CST on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 04:30:39 PM EST
    on the location and role of Speer.

    That being said - it's a WAR.  People die.  Even medics - on both sides.

    Parent

    Fair enough. (none / 0) (#53)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 04:37:00 PM EST
    And, apparently, in war, the Omar Khadr's of the world commit crimes and are held responsible for them.

    Parent
    he's the only one (none / 0) (#54)
    by CST on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 04:42:53 PM EST
    There are no other Omar Khadr's.

    The crime he committed was not wearing a uniform.  Which apparently doesn't matter if you're in the CIA.

    Btw - it turns out Hillary intervened to negotiate the plea deal.

    Parent

    Very interesting re: HRC. (none / 0) (#55)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 04:52:05 PM EST


    Parent
    would you prosecute (none / 0) (#50)
    by CST on Mon Oct 25, 2010 at 04:21:50 PM EST
    every member of our military and theirs who killed someone?

    Parent
    Sunday Night TV and Open Thread | 60 comments (60 topical)

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