DramatistDreamer

When I used to post my criticisms of the show’s last 12-13 years and wrote about how horrible many of the characterizations were, a few people misunderstood and believed that I was belittling the actors themselves. This was never the case. When I talked about what an affront I found Craig to be in that final decade, I meant the characterization, not the actor. In fact, I mentioned more than once that I thought Hunt Block would have made a good Rick Ryan, a character that that had enough history for viewers to care but was enough of a blank slate to give a writer, director (were they still using them in those final years?) and actor a free hand. Ah Scott Bryce, the diplomat. He was honest yet tactful in his interviews about that time.

I tuned in during the 3rd set of this Djokovic/Alcaraz match, just in time for what looks to be a dud. Why is this Roland Garros crowd booing, again?

IKR? The press should have waited a little longer before writing fawning coverage of bluesky.

Who did nazi this coming, when bluesky is brought to you by the guy who brought that same lack of moderation to twitter? https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/08/blueskys-growing-pains-strain-relationship-with-its-black-community-moderation/?guccounter=1

This looks like some sort of progress is being made and is worth noting. I need a confirmation from the DOJ though.

And I agree with your assessment of Craig and Lily’s relationship. Another thing that I didn’t like about how the character was portrayed in the last 12 years was the covetousness and seeming quest for power, just for kicks it seemed, which had never been a motive in the past—desperation and even an apparent need to right a perceived wrong that comes across as revenge, that at least would have made sense but not what showed up onscreen in that last decade. I don’t think that Anne Sward got enough credit for how much chemistry she displayed with all her onscreen children, through all recasts. Those hospital scenes were moving. The good ole Mona Lisa. That scene featuring the argument between Kirk and Jared Carpenter and his daughter as Barbara casually eavesdrops. So much warmth in those scenes between Bob and Kim and the extension of that warmth to Hank. The scenes just flowed. I still can’t get over Lucinda trying to patch up Kirk and Iva’s relationship. Heavy handed but she meant well. It was obvious that Lucinda preferred Iva to Ellie. With Iva, she knew what she was getting, while Ellie was somewhat of a flake.

It would have been so easy and made so much sense to bring Grant back for a brief story arc by the end of the series. They wouldn’t have even had to rekindle the romantic relationship between Grant and Lisa but at least reunite them in such a way as to give Lisa some option, a hint at a romantic possibility.

From what I read a couple years ago, the Saudis are planning for the end of “big oil” by investing in solar, wind and ‘green energy tech’. Their insertion into international sports markets is ‘sports washing’ and trying to acquire a level of high prestige. Argentinian soccer star Lionel Messi is getting a lot of praise for turning down what was no doubt an obscene amount of money from the Saudis to play for Inter Miami in the MLS league. He said that his wife didn’t want to move so far and he didn’t want to play so far from home and also he has a house in Miami. Judging from the response from many of the PGA’s biggest players, they also understand the deal even if they still hate it. And yeah, I agree, those days when tennis had an abundance of big personalities with the games to match are over for the foreseeable future. Som many players now just want to put their heads down and “work”. You can’t really sell a whole lot of television time on major networks with that. I saw about a set of the match and it was fairly entertaining, from the portion I saw. One of the commentators observed that Muchova appeared to be limping towards the end of the match. For her sake, as well as the sakes of all those spectators who paid money for tickets to the women’s final, Muchova better be fit to compete well on Saturday or folks will be disappointed.

Cool. Thank you @DRW50! Since the character debuted in 1983, 98% of the problems that Craig got into were on account of his desire to hold on too tightly to family, whether it was his failing marriage (Betsy) or a child that turned out not to be his (Dani). It was completely out of character to twist the character into this snarky, selfish, power hungry guy who would toss his own son under the bus for a few moments of passion or a few measly dollars. And the way the relationships with Dani and Lily had corroded in the last decade of the show was truly vile.

I had a bit of a headache last night and really didn’t put 2+2 together until earlier today. Stay hydrated if you’re living in these areas. They claim yesterday was worse but it only looked worse. Today, I can see the smoke from my windows. I feel sorry for the people who must work outdoors (if it were me, I would be making a call to my union). I still carry at least one N95 mask with me for when I go into public spaces so, I wouldn’t be caught outside without donning a mask. According to weather forecasts, these hazy, smoky conditions are expected to persist until Saturday. Any and all outdoor plans will be postponed until at least Saturday then.

Seeing what has just happened with the PGA Tour and its merging with the Saudi owned LIV Golf Tour makes me concerned that tennis could definitely be vulnerable to a similar cash grab, as tennis always seems ready to align themselves with questionable figures.

Celebrating the life of Ama Ata Aidoo one of Africa’s foremost authors, who I was fortunate enough to have as a professor.

When SATC debuted, most of Manhattan was already unaffordable, particularly the areas the show was set in, and Times Square, UES, UWS down to Battery Park had already had the grittiness smoothed over. I agree though, I preferred the initial grittiness of the pilot but I understand why there was a retooling in favor of a fantasy NYC because it would appeal to other parts outside of NYC and the NYC metro area. I also think the criticisms of a whitewashed NYC scrubbed of ethnicity were valid.

It’s kind of weird to realize that tonight was the 25th anniversary of the debut of SATC. I am trying to remember what the initial reactions were, not the critics but on the street. I was living in Manhattan at that time but I don’t think that the pilot had generated that much buzz, it was more gradual from what I remember. Looking back now, the pilot felt more gritty though, a bit more NYC as it existed but the fantasy helped draw more people in imo.

Who was writing the show when Summer slept with Billy a few years ago? It feels like even back then someone may have been experimenting with writing Summer as though she were morphing into Phyllis-lite.

Admittedly, I have never seen the Sleepy Hollow television series, though I am a fan of Nicole Beharie (if that Doris Payne biopic ever comes to fruition, Beharie is the only actress that truly makes sense for the role, no offense to Tessa Thompson). From the little that I have read about the BTS machinations, it sounds like the word toxic is an understatement as a descriptor of the environment.

This has probably already been discussed but SAG-AFTRA has authorized a strike in case contract talks reach an impasse.

Yes, Sis!😘

Learning the lyrics to a few of the songs that she sang has helped my Brazilian Portuguese a lot, as well as being just a pleasure to listen to. R.I.P. Astrud Gilberto.

Yea, I know it’s in the NY Times but this Op-Ed, which speaks of the perils of ‘vocational awe’ and how industries can exploit workers who happen to love their jobs is especially relevant to this WGA strike. I have personally experienced this before on a number of occasions. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/05/opinion/employment-exploitation-unions.html?smid=tw-share

When it comes to the business of what goes up on the screen, directors and the DGA are in their own separate universe.

Hasn’t West been showing his ____ for the last 15 years now? I still remember how he and Tavis Smiley were clucking past the point of comprehension about Obama and sounding like some jealous and sour Sams using Smiley’s show as a platform. It was predictable what happened to Smiley and I always knew we’d get to this point with West, given some things I already knew about him, past behavior, even before the Smiley business. The greed is strong with him.

A few years ago, there was a certain number of the banking and business sectors that tried to promote the idea of a “cashless” society and at first, I was willing to hear them out but upon hearing more information, I decided that it would eventually become another facet of a divide along socioeconomic lines, with the ‘haves’ benefiting and the ‘have nots’ being at a marked disadvantage. We’re already getting a taste of the repercussions of this with some establishments that have tried to deny cash payments, for example an upscale fast-casual eatery called Sweetgreen (very popular here in the Northeast U.S.) which was forced to reverse their anti-cash policy after a severe backlash once the policy became public. Well, they do say that necessity is the mother of invention and necessity, and I guess necessity can also provide the incentive to transform and refigure.

Stanley Nelson has made a really good documentary on Harriet Tubman, which I just came across by happenstance. Has anyone seen it?