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Apr. 23rd, 2015 05:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwydion* "Finance Is to Blame for Rise in Inequality:" http://time.com/3760439/finance-is-to-blame-for-rise-in-inequality/
* "Senator Warren cites 'rigged' process in concerns on trade deal:"
* "Nebraska man asks oil commission: Would you drink water contaminated by fracking?:" http://www.salon.com/2015/03/30/nebraska_man_asks_oil_commission_if_it_would_drink_fracking_contaminated_water/
* "Death penalty chaos likely to deepen with GOP social issue politics:"
* "The Anatomy of Rage:" http://seananmcguire.tumblr.com/post/115618460635/the-anatomy-of-rage
* "The Invitation Game:"
* "A New and Different Police Video:"
* "WUUUUUUUUUUUT?! - Everyday Low Ethics & The Water - Black Ice:"
* "What makes a baby crocodile smile?:"
* I have a massive stack of multiple bureaucracy things needing doing. I need a few days of no drama for getting them done. I haven't much hope of that. On the upside, Monday I did all the things needing doing. The ebays all got mailed, and as of today, I have insurance money and a shelf full of Hector goosh. Are the money problems solved? Not really, but I had a day left of food for my boy when I woke up and now I have lots.
* I've been watching the UK House of Cards trilogy. The first series was efficient and utterly brutal, perfect in it's way. It was well acted and tightly written with barely a shot wasted. I've heard a lot of polarized debate on the UK vs. US HoCs. To me, while the UK antecedents are clear in the US versions, they are very different things. I am not going to say which is better because the gap is so large. I will say that US HoC hits more of my buttons. It has room to. The first series hits some of the same buttons and is relevant to my interests, but it's streamlined format doesn't have room to explore Mrs. Urquhart, for example, and the larger role for Claire Underwood and the complexity of the Underwood marriage is such an important strength for the American series. While in the later series, Mrs. Urquhart gets a stronger role and the marriage more fleshing out, this is one of the places where the American version is using the expanded format to tell stories the UK version didn't have room for. The US version is just doing different things, telling a munch of different stories.
The second series... It has some really good things in it, like the King and his advisers or the Tim stamper arc, but the FU side is really repetitive. It's like they were having a contest to see how many times they could replay the same death footage from Series one. Once each episode would have been enough to remind people watching in real time of the back story and left that character's presence hanging over the plot. FU's relationship arc was just not quite different enough from series one, so it just felt like a retread. It just felt warmed over and was simultaneously extra awkward from a 21st century perspective because of rl events they couldn't have anticipated. Also, I am not convinced the end makes sense, but I could be misunderstanding something about modern constitutional monarchy.
Series three.... I'm trying to force myself to finish before it goes back tomorrow, but really, I'm mostly hate watching at this point, despite them making some good decisions like not constantly doing multiple season one death rehashes from season one, instead sticking to just enough to remind people what they are on about. There really are some good bits in this, particularly in the Parliamentary scrums and the like, and in the political jockeying amoung people all hoping to be the next FU. The problem is, I have lost interest in FU himself. What was wonderfully threatening ambiguous grooming by FU of a young protege in season one is my season three rote mannerisms. I've seen the same character play the same set of tricks too many times. FU has become boring and I keep wishing for him to fall so the thing can be over. House of Cards doesn't work if FU has no surprises and can't seduce us any more.
* "Game of Thrones S5, Ep02:" http://chrysreviews.tumblr.com/post/117037457485/game-of-thrones-s5-ep02
* Supernatural: Really? REALLY?!?! Crowley would be a bad, but understandable idea given his interest in Dean. Rowena flatly wants y'all dead and makes no sense at all.
* We need $700.00 for Property taxes this month. Our Financial Situation continues Scary: http://www.gofundme.com/cuovws or Lethran@gmail.com
* "Senator Warren cites 'rigged' process in concerns on trade deal:"
* "Nebraska man asks oil commission: Would you drink water contaminated by fracking?:" http://www.salon.com/2015/03/30/nebraska_man_asks_oil_commission_if_it_would_drink_fracking_contaminated_water/
* "Death penalty chaos likely to deepen with GOP social issue politics:"
* "The Anatomy of Rage:" http://seananmcguire.tumblr.com/post/115618460635/the-anatomy-of-rage
* "The Invitation Game:"
* "A New and Different Police Video:"
* "WUUUUUUUUUUUT?! - Everyday Low Ethics & The Water - Black Ice:"
* "What makes a baby crocodile smile?:"
* I have a massive stack of multiple bureaucracy things needing doing. I need a few days of no drama for getting them done. I haven't much hope of that. On the upside, Monday I did all the things needing doing. The ebays all got mailed, and as of today, I have insurance money and a shelf full of Hector goosh. Are the money problems solved? Not really, but I had a day left of food for my boy when I woke up and now I have lots.
* I've been watching the UK House of Cards trilogy. The first series was efficient and utterly brutal, perfect in it's way. It was well acted and tightly written with barely a shot wasted. I've heard a lot of polarized debate on the UK vs. US HoCs. To me, while the UK antecedents are clear in the US versions, they are very different things. I am not going to say which is better because the gap is so large. I will say that US HoC hits more of my buttons. It has room to. The first series hits some of the same buttons and is relevant to my interests, but it's streamlined format doesn't have room to explore Mrs. Urquhart, for example, and the larger role for Claire Underwood and the complexity of the Underwood marriage is such an important strength for the American series. While in the later series, Mrs. Urquhart gets a stronger role and the marriage more fleshing out, this is one of the places where the American version is using the expanded format to tell stories the UK version didn't have room for. The US version is just doing different things, telling a munch of different stories.
The second series... It has some really good things in it, like the King and his advisers or the Tim stamper arc, but the FU side is really repetitive. It's like they were having a contest to see how many times they could replay the same death footage from Series one. Once each episode would have been enough to remind people watching in real time of the back story and left that character's presence hanging over the plot. FU's relationship arc was just not quite different enough from series one, so it just felt like a retread. It just felt warmed over and was simultaneously extra awkward from a 21st century perspective because of rl events they couldn't have anticipated. Also, I am not convinced the end makes sense, but I could be misunderstanding something about modern constitutional monarchy.
Series three.... I'm trying to force myself to finish before it goes back tomorrow, but really, I'm mostly hate watching at this point, despite them making some good decisions like not constantly doing multiple season one death rehashes from season one, instead sticking to just enough to remind people what they are on about. There really are some good bits in this, particularly in the Parliamentary scrums and the like, and in the political jockeying amoung people all hoping to be the next FU. The problem is, I have lost interest in FU himself. What was wonderfully threatening ambiguous grooming by FU of a young protege in season one is my season three rote mannerisms. I've seen the same character play the same set of tricks too many times. FU has become boring and I keep wishing for him to fall so the thing can be over. House of Cards doesn't work if FU has no surprises and can't seduce us any more.
* "Game of Thrones S5, Ep02:" http://chrysreviews.tumblr.com/post/117037457485/game-of-thrones-s5-ep02
* Supernatural: Really? REALLY?!?! Crowley would be a bad, but understandable idea given his interest in Dean. Rowena flatly wants y'all dead and makes no sense at all.
* We need $700.00 for Property taxes this month. Our Financial Situation continues Scary: http://www.gofundme.com/cuovws or Lethran@gmail.com