DramatistDreamer

Free Ad-Supported Television Especially when the U.S. television market is generally so risk averse. I am not surprised that an Australian production is the entity that Amazon has chosen to take on this enterprise, less ossified than the U.S. market.

Yes, Speaker Pelosi did incredible work in her position over administrations! There is a really strong Frontline PBS episode about her and everyone who cares for more insight on Pelosi should watch that episode. One thing that stayed with me is the quote from her where she attributes ‘knowing how to count’ as being of the utmost importance. That means she knows where the votes are and when it’s prudent and possible to get those votes and when it’s not. Very important skill that Pelosi learned from her upbringing in Baltimore.

So, House Republicans have stated that their top priority is to investigate the Biden family? Not to advocate solutions for working class families or blue collar workers or suburban soccer moms, or whatever they usually campaign on, but to launch investigations on the Bidens? Do the voters crying about inflation as their reason for voting for the GOP this midterm election realize they are not the top priority? Some might genuinely not care but others who think a GOP House would balance the scales somehow are in for the rudest of awakenings.

Has anyone here been following the development with the recently cancelled Aussie soap opera “Neighbors” being revived/rebooted through Amazon’s free streaming service? How many years have I been saying that ad-supported streaming is a genuine possibility for classic daytime soaps? I feel like digging up my old thread in the Soaps section where I railed all about this, lol.

How many years have I been talking about F.A.S.T. and its possibilities for continuing daytime dramas??! Guys! I was shouting into the void then, I guess. Even before F.A.S.T., in fact, I have been talking about daytime dramas being revived via ad-supported streaming. Aargh!

Maybe I am being philosophical about this because from the moment that I learned that Musk was in talks to buy Twitter, I knew this is where things would land. I even warned someone who urged that I give him a chance (didn’t some folks say the exact same thing about Trump?) It is unfair that bad actors, especially deep-pocketed ones are allowed to be so abusive and destructive and go on with their lives (especially as well-intentioned people who are just trying to live suffer). I think of this often as my mind flashes to the likes of Leslie Moonves, who is somewhere enjoying his millions after having left such chaos and destruction (and even in a few cases, despair) over decades in his wake.

People are engaging in a type of ‘gallows humor’, musing about meeting up on AIM and ICQ, it’s amusing but it’s also a reminder that there is always the possibility of yet another innovation replacing what was once the hottest form of communication and media. As most of us on here are soap fans, we know all too well how possible it is for one form of media to supplant another, even one that has been a steady presence for decades. It is a harsh reality. Another reality is that behind all this change and upheaval, there are usually stories of hubris and greed that belie that chaos.

There are no easy ways, that’s the entire point. Twitter was very good at amplifying social justice issues but there were never any guarantees that it would last. And in the past few years, it was being amplified and used by the likes of the Saudis, Chinese, Russians and other repressive governments. There were ways that social justice groups communicated before Twitter and there will be ways again, regardless of what happens to Twitter. It’s sad to see what has happened to such a promising platform but that is why I never got fully attached to it. I could see the harassment, the doxxing, the misinformation and maybe that’s why I could never get too invested.

JMO but social media will splinter. It’s gonna be a long time before you see the type of mass gathering platform that draws various factions and political persuasions to the same platform. Many people have complained about Mastodon being decentralized and uninviting because it is not a big tent, comprehensive platform but that might be the more sensible way to be going forward. People control their own mini-platforms, where they set the rules and where those who can’t or won’t abide by those standards, won’t be allowed on, or allowed to stay. Minimizing trolling and all that antagonistic behavior. Also, there’s always message boards.

Resignations galore, which is why Musk had to close shop for the time being. https://news.yahoo.com/twitter-exodus-begins-musk-hardcore-014125819.html

Whoa, looks like “Twitter 2.0” is swarming Jimmy Fallon.

That news about Tulsi Scam-ard was released last week and when I saw the brief headline, I thought it was the least surprising thing I had heard in months. She was destined to land there. I just heard someone describe the state of Twitter as being like being in a burning Tesla where everyone is trapped inside.

Will the pundits and the media remember that there is an actual election, next month? A runoff in Georgia?

Stacey Abrams who was the best gubernatorial candidate in GA (D-GA, which the audio for the Daily Beast article hilariously pronounced “Dee-Gah”) but the long and short of it is that White people overall did not vote for her, period). That in 2022, there has never been a Black woman elected to the governorship is an indefensible disgrace, especially when there is such a over-reliance on us to “get out the vote” as well as organize. It’s the reason why Tish James abandoned her campaign for governor. Yes, she said she wanted to finish the job where the Trump civil case is concerned but let’s be real, Kathy Hochul, even in the early stages of the primaries process, was already out raising James and James knew the calculus. I wish people would stop beating around the bush about the fact that America has no problems being the beneficiaries of the toil of Black women but are downright reluctant to see us in positions of genuine power. It happens in corporate boardrooms, offices of professed liberal non-profits and organizations. My friends and I discuss this at length, how they, with more education and experience are often dismissed for top jobs, while unwittingly training an underling upstart who will eventually become their boss. Until I see some breakthroughs of a Black women in charge of a state, I will continue to believe this. Please prove me wrong. I sincerely mean this.

Trump called his wife ugly and he seemed to get over that in record time, he’ll be tucking his tail between his legs and finding the next person to grovel at soon enough. Of course, there is a school of thought that says that between this and the insults directed at his wife, he cares a lot more about this. On another note-

Most of Hilary’s best written scenes were pretty much during her exit storyline. MM is habitually and consistently underutilized on this show. Isn’t that pretty much JG’s M.O.? Remember the conclusion to the Lauren/Carmine affair storyline? It went totally off the rails because JG wanted a fast way to break up Lauren and Carmine, while making Lauren look like a victim. It was nuts!

Apparently, there is a Dave Wasserman is trending because there is parody account using his name and calling races? Twitter is an entire mess!

An example of how politics is local and local elections are significant. Votes and voters are important.

While I don’t consider myself a conspiracy theorist, I can understand why some would think the timing of the release of this information is suspicious. After the elections this news comes out? https://indianexpress.com/article/world/after-months-of-stubborn-inflation-glimmers-of-hope-emerge-8262745/

…but there’s also this Chris Hayes who thinks this is somehow funny af.

Ah, okay, I see. Still, the thread is there not just for that day but for anytime you want to post any Afro Brazilian cultural points of interest. Also, I would love to hear your perspective on the aftermath of elections and how you or people you know are being impacted. There’s the Politics thread too.

Oh wow, it’s BHM in Brazil? Happy BHM @Joseph! There is a Black Lives Matter thread in the Off Topic Lounge. Feel free to post any interesting videos or snippets there regarding BHM in Brazil, I would be interested in seeing them. My Portuguese is kind of dire (lol) but I may be able to understand a little.

Looks like Women’s tennis is one of the sports under consideration for streaming on Netflix. I don’t know how serious this is. https://archive.ph/XqROR

Not only have I been ignoring the polls, I have been systematically overlooking and ignoring, skipping and posts touting polls. Yesterday, I just quietly showed up and voted. Hand-wringing is a waste of what little energy I have to spare these days.

Yeah, that was probably the best storyline that Griffiths ever wrote on Y&R of what I have seen of his tenure (I have since stopped watching) but even that doesn’t say much because it could have been so much better even before it ultimately flopped toward the conclusion. The affair should have been grounded in Michael’s constant attention to his onetime number one client: Victor Newman. Remember when Victor had Michael running all over town and it had Lauren frustrated? That would have been the perfect time to introduce Carmine into Lauren’s world. Then, it wouldn’t have been just about sex and desire but a real need for companionship and someone who makes her feel wanted. Of course, Josh doesn’t seem to understand one solitary thing about a woman’s desire and I doubt he ever will.