DRW50

True. At times it's felt like a purgatory to me, with the worst to come (and I'm not one of those who is waiting for "Santa Mueller" to save the day so I don't even have that). I dearly hope that next year will prove me wrong, but I wake up every day wondering if this is the end. I guess a lot of people in the world have felt that way all their lives, so it reminds me of how privileged I was - and still am - compared to many.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/12/28/2018-america-new-year-economy-everything-is-awesome-216159 Politico has this every year for the last few years - it was especially glaring last year as I felt like we were going to hell. This year even he admits that anything "good" in America is stained by our resident and that the wonderful, wonderful economy actually isn't going to matter much for most people.

I tend to do most of my ranting over at Walford Web, but I agree. What surprises me is how slipshod the show still feels. I had no expectations for Yorke because I was not a big fan of his era and the show backstage has changed too much, but I thought the show would at least be more cohesive. Maybe it will once more of his own stories kick in, but at present is a mess. They did nothing to establish Stacey cheating on Martin - she suddenly just seemed disgusted by him and dropped her drawers. Then we hear that she just wants to feel free, which I could believe, but the show did nothing to build it up. The writing for Max is also baffling, as I get the feeling they'd rather be rid of him, but know they can't afford to lose him given how lousy the men are on there these days (Ian and Phil alone are totally unwatchable). And the show is lacking any sense of community or heart, as was glaringly apparent over the Christmas season. When Robbie and Donna are your most heartwarming element, something has gone wrong. I was thrown by just how nasty and unlikeable so many of the aftermath scenes were - how petty and how incredibly stupid and small Sharon and Billy looked. So many characters feel so small now, and so inconsistent. And on top of that, many have been, as mentioned, blatantly regressed. Eastenders is always trying to relieve and cannibalize its past. Nothing is left.

Oh - I didn't notice that. I saw it when people were talking about recent allegations about Alternet.

A reporter talks about racism/manipulation and pro-Bernie bias at Alternet. http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/la-na-sanders-black-reporters-20150917-htmlstory.html

I think this is Jennifer Bassey about 23 minutes in.

A man talks about the racism he experienced at Vice.

AW in particular had such three-dimensional and compelling characters you could have done so much with. As much as the last years weren't very good, I'm glad the show went off when many were still intact.

I do wonder. They did this repeatedly with interracial pairings (Thomasina and Ben were another) but I guess viewers complained or execs got scared.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5208463/Mika-Brzezinski-apologizes-Mark-Halperin-accusers.html Mika and Joe have bent over backwards from the getgo to carry water for these men and to try to discredit these cases (I remember them implying before the AL election that Roy Moore would have lost but because of the allegations he would now win). They've always been dishonest, stupid and manipulative, and they get too much of a free pass just because Trump hates them. They are no better than he is and don't deserve the credit.

I feel like the Republicans are mostly using Trump to do their dirty work and then in a few years can see him lose and blame his failures on Democrats.

I'm so far behind on this show and to be honest I don't even really want to catch up...

Eddie Drueding mentioned it was March 1984. I enjoy this period of AW a great deal - the cast was very rich, full of interesting, likeable, believable characters. The dialogue is often witty and the situations are compelling. I'm sorry that it ended up being torn to pieces not long after. What I love about AW at its best is that the characters feel like they're my friends. My only complaint is seeing that fake-ass Blaine. My heart was in my throat when Quinn was in her car. Sadly she didn't take the hint here to just start taking the bus. Does anyone know who the young couple in the Citrus Hill ad are?

No matter the material I always enjoy watching Julia in these episodes. She was such a unique character - one of the few times that such overly aware, sardonic types work over a long period of time without being irritating. I think SB is one of the only soaps that could have pulled this off.

The article is actually quite odd as they mostly interview people who didn't vote for Trump, and most of the people photographed in the article are black. It does a disservice to them because you would think they all supported Trump if you just look at the headline. Once again the NYT went for an easy, quick "gotcha" story over actual reporting.

I did. Here's the next one.