DRW50

Nothing against Meryl Streep, but my eyes went way back in my head when she and Hugh Laurie pretty much said the room was full of the people who were most endangered by Trump. It shows just how out of touch the average star is. I have to assume the director was trolling her by cutting to Annette Bening (who is about as establishment as you can get) yukking it up. It's disappointing, if not surprising, to see Hollywood make it all about themselves, and to see annoying media whores like Alec Baldwin mugging away with his Russian hat. The people who are getting screwed over don't have the luxury to have a chuckle on Twitter or Instagram.

I don't think Russia has that type of money to throw around. They're using it to build up their armies and whatever else. I guess some of Trump's advisers may have gotten a cut, but I think most of this was done by Putin through flattery and "bullshine," which is all Trump needed. I think if you play pals with Trump he won't want to bomb you. That's as deep as he goes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89zg3Yol47I

Thanks. At the time the Eve and Ed stuff was just about all I had interest in. It's interesting looking back - it reminds me of how complicated the show often was at this point, more than I remembered.

I didn't recognize her. I guess the...facial changes that she went through in her last years at GH have continued.

Cain and Kerry are two sides of the same coin - it's always someone else's fault, then they have moments of self-awareness. It's ridiculous that Dan has already taken Kerry back and that she is not able to see beyond "I've changed," but I do like the character so I just want to try to forget all this. If I can. I don't think she should be alone with Kyle, but unfortunately other than Lisa (a middle-aged, out of shape woman who can't raise a child), no one in his life is. Given that the kid who plays Kyle doesn't seem all that thrilled with the camera, I wonder if this with him seeing Cain lash out means when Joanie is released Cain will let him go. The scene with Cain punching Dan was so oddly filmed (Dan looked drunk and the part where he tried to run off made me laugh a lot). I did love that Cain, teenage boy at heart, had his hoodie up, which means bad [!@#$%^&*] is on the way. I really liked the scenes with Megan and Jai about Eliza. So glad we aren't getting a custody fight. And it was nice to hear Megan speak about her fears and compare to other parents in the village. Eastenders made this story all about the father (Mick) so I'm glad this is a contrast. I like seeing Aaron struggling over his insecurities and scheming to keep Robert. It's nuanced writing (by Aaron standards) and also payback for the affair. I do agree it gets tiresome. Moira pushing Cain away is sad, I agree. It mostly feels like stalling and stalling - they better hope viewers don't lose patience and move on. I have a feeling she will be pregnant and that will ultimately reunite them.

I think China is likely scared as much as they're happy about Trump, because he can do anything at any time. One of the problems with the global economy is that many of those who spread the word about its values were extremely out of touch. They never understood that a large chunk of their voter base didn't see this incredible progress and didn't understand that this is down to many factors, many of which can't be changed. This isn't just an American problem - it's happening all over Europe.

I get the feeling the show just didn't know what to do with her.

Thanks. That's fascinating. I didn't know most of that. I think they are definitely moving forward in ways we aren't but it seems like we're only getting a small part of the picture.

I guess this era was less worried about backlash over that type of comment, but I was surprised they had Erica say Natalie deserved what she got from Ross. It also reminds me again that the Richard Fields stuff probably wasn't planned all along. I'd also forgotten Langley was still around by this point. Those Nina and Palmer scenes have such a spark that the tedious material with Cliff and Matt lacks. I wonder how viewers at the time felt about all the breakneck changes Skye went through in these years.

Did either of these couples (I barely even know who they are - I don't know the second couple at all) have any fans to warrant major promos? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EJkZ2GLGB0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8daKDCx8s38

Not to make this into an AMC thread, but watch these "Make Pine Valley Safe" scenes and tell me this isn't eerily, horrifyingly prescient to fake news, ignorance, and our current political climate. When Enid Nelson is our voice of reason, we know we're doomed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TavparDCrjw

A good response to the fever dreams of Hillary for mayor: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/06/the-hillary-for-mayor-story-proves-that-we-learn-nothing/?utm_term=.25c860e6dc4a#comments

Hasn't China stagnated quite a bit in recent years in terms of economy? Even if Trump hadn't won this wasn't likely to happen here, because Congress is made up of extreme right-wingers. Even when Democrats and Obama held all reins of power briefly, they had to be very cautious. Obama's environmental plans in recent years were all through executive order. With that said, I can't pat China on the back for their brilliance when this is likely coming in part because they have no choice. http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/china-issues-350bn-anti-pollution-plan-as-smog-woes-mount-1.2926872

This is the last Y&R I have at the moment. It's got a bit of Lillie Belle (I didn't know she was around this early), so I hope you enjoy it as I did.

The show has no idea whether Ben is supposed to be a lost child, or an ungrateful son, or a headcase, or Phil Jr. They went from having him self-loathing and in denial to, within a few months, having an affair with one man while using a girl as a beard and in the meanntime going online to hook up with other men. He then passed an STD on to his girlfriend. When he finally came out after her fake pregnancy scam was exposed, they tried to give some "don't be afraid to be yourself" type pep talk from the new Johnny (who will be his love interest at some point I presume, unless Johnny is written out), but it fell flat, because Ben was written not as self-loathing, but as wanting it every way.

And Brooke is Mark Cuban.

Yes it makes a lot of sense. It's one of the big issues I have with the show (that and stories having no particular purpose or narrative - Ben's coming out story [re-coming out] was WRETCHED). I think we may be the only two fans, aside from hardcore stans, who like the new Johnny.

The worst part of this @Khan is I actually can hear KAC and Bannon yelling "I want blood!" AMC was trying to warn us.

And of course Saint Maria is Mike Pence.

4 GOP senators have said you can't do repeal without replace. Let's see if they stick to it. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/bob-corker-obamacare-repeal-and-replace

I wonder if it's going to be like one of those TV-movies where the person is suddenly pumped full of pills to keep them in check... I'd say he's stir crazy waiting for Obama to leave (and deep down realizing Obama will never actually "go" - I think Obama's going to be the most active post-POTUS since Jimmy Carter because he likely knows he has no choice in the matter at this point), but he is so all over the place it could be anything. Or everything.