Linky Links

Some things I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Alan Sepinwall with an appreciation of Matthew Perry

- We see you. Noted.

- Daily Coach life lessons on investment. Good advice.

- How lawyers can use Chat GPT. Keep searching for uses of Chat GPT. (HT Steve Landry)

More Linky Links

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Heh Heh - now the 8 Northwestern students who claim they were the victims of hazing have hired legal representation. That endowment fund is going faster than I thought. Now now it seems like only the college President and AD are without legal representation. How long before they lawyer up?

- I think about this song and how prevalent it became in Hollywood often

- Alan Sepinwall of the new Justified miniseries.

- If you know your Bible this is both relevant and amusing

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Admit I did not see this coming - New England releases QB Cam Newton. That means rookie Mac Jones is the starter. Hats off to Patriots beat reporters Mike Reiss and Phil Perry who speculated months ago that Jed Hoyer may have been signed as the back-up specifically if this situation ever came to pass...  If Elon Musk put his mind to work on a competitor to Twitter I imagine, once launched, it would be a huge success. I'd certainly subscribe right away... Alan Sepinwall's appreciation of Ed Asner... Ilhan Omar (probably) on the Kabul airport bombings,  "Some people did something"... Remember wondering how the fact that FDR was crippled and confined to a wheelchair could have been kept hidden from the American people by a willing and complicit US press for all of FDR's Presidency? Well future generations will wonder the same thing about Joe Biden's cognitive decline... 

Carl Reiner

Entertainment and comedy giant Rob Reiner has passed aged 98.

Alan Sepinwall - Carl Reiner: Exit Laughing

Ken Levine on Carl Reiner

The Hollywood Reporter on a life of accomplishment lived with humor and humility

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

What would your "self" from 5-years ago think about where you are in your life today? Not your "self" when you were a child or your self from high school because those expectations were probably unrealistic - but your "self" from 2014. Would that "self" be pleased or tell the you of today that you need to improve in certain areas or accomplish certain things?... Deadwood: the Movie debuted last night on HBO. I'm waiting till I have time to properly enjoy it. Probably Sunday night. In the meantime here's an interview of W. Earl Brown (Dan Dority) by Alan Sepinwall... "The shelf life for inspiration is incredibly short. If you do not act on it when it sparks, consider it lost. If you can help it, don't interrupt inspiration. Act on it!" - Naval Ravikant... Have you ever laughed and cringed at the same time?... "What would Jesus do?" is a good tenet to live your life by but not at a wake. The family gets upset when you try to raise the dead. Trust me on this... GO BRUINS!!!

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Interesting - thieves have stolen sunken warships right down to the last bolts. Whodunit and how they did it remain a mystery.

- And just like that John Cusak was dead to me

- Alan Sepinwall's interview of Timothy Olyphant on the set of Deadwood: The Movie

- Sometimes I have the sense of humor of a 12-year old boy. This is one of those times. I laughed so hard at this.

- The Huawei ban is worth the pain. "The national security issues raised by the company's technology transcend any trade dispute." 100% agree.

Deadwood (the Movie)

Alan Sepinwall has a must read article on the upcoming Deadwood HBO movie for any self-respecting Deadwood fan.

The movie is made all the more poignant by the fact that show creator David Milch is suffering from Alzheimer's.

The movie debuts on HBO at the end of May and I can't wait!

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Succulent Pork would either be a good name for a band or a euphemism for a sex act...  Nice Anthony Bourdain appreciation by Alan Sepinwall... All of the Planet of the Apes movies (and TV shows) are based upon the novel by Pierre Boulle but yet he never seems to get any credit. Can you think of any other book that launched as many movies and spin-offs?... I'm going to play Delta Dawn by Helen Reddy in the next five bars I go to that has a jukebox as my own private joke and to watch the reactions... Quote for the day: "Anger is often what pain looks like when it shows itself in public." - Krista Tippett... Dad reflexes to the rescue... As far as the possible Lebron James to the Celtics move this off-season - I keep wondering "What would Red Auerbach do?" I think Red would sign LeBron (as long as the cost wasn't too high...

RIP James Garner

James Garner was one of my favorite actors. I loved Maverick and The Rockford Files. Alan Sepinwall has a good appreciation of Garner's genius.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

According to Darren Rovell - a Las Vegas bettor last night risked $400 on a 40-1 bet that a no-hitter would be thrown last night. Thanks to Homer Bailey - that betting slip is now worth $16,000... A map of the US based upon the beer that best represents the state... I wonder what gets better ratings - WNBA games on ESPN or anything on MSNBC. Either way - I'm guessing re-runs of Sponge Bob beats them both... Ernest Hemingway explains his love of alcohol... I feel lost not knowing what Jose Canseco thinks about the protests in Egypt... Alan Sepinwall called this the best fight scene ever on TV. I've been thinking and I can't come up with a better one... If Brett Favre develops testicular cancer - will he sue his cell phone company because of the radiation from his selfies?... Fantastic long read about Jason Everman who was kicked out of Nirvana and Soundgarden before finding his calling in the Special Forces... It's amazing but if Mark Sanchez were to retire today - the thing he'd most be remembered for is the "butt fumble". Not exactly what you want from your "franchise quarterback"... Serious question - can the Obama Administration point to a single foreign policy success?...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Watched the Pacquiao-Marquez fight while at a poker game. Everyone who had money on the fight (including me) thought Marquez was going to win this time... On this day in history in 1941 - Bob Feller becomes the first major league baseball player to enlist after Pearl Harbor. More than anything that he did on the field - it was this act that Ted Williams always associated most with Feller (and perhaps the thing he was most jealous of)... Interesting look back at The Sopranos by Alan Sepinwall. Put me in the camp who is more curious about what happened to the Russian that whether Tony lived or died at the end... When Marquez knocked out Pacquiao some at the poker table thought he might be dead. Seriously... Ken Levine decodes Hollywood-speak... Hipsters may think they invented snark but that was the name of author Jack London's sailboat over a hundred years ago...Oyster Pirates would be a good name for a band...

Alan Sepinwall on Goon

Alan Sepinwall has posted a review of the movie Goon.

I agree with Alan in his assessment of the film. Big fan. If you liked Slap Shot - you'll like Goon.

Mad Men Season 5

Two Three interesting articles on Mad Men Season 5.

Toxic Fog - Mad Men's Fifth Season recap over at Grantland.

Alan Sepinwall has an interview with Matthew Weiner that's worth the read.

EDIT: Ken Levine also has a Season 5 Recap posted

Alan Sepinwall interviews Hodor

With Season II of Game of Thrones airing tonight on HBO - media critic Alan Sepinwall took time to interview one of the minor but more interesting members of the Game of Thrones cast. I have no idea why Alan asked to have this interview placed on this blog and not his own What's Alan Watching.

Alan Sepinwall: One question I've been asking any of the cast members is if they read the George R.R. Martin books first or if they have just tried to rely on both the directorial instructions and scripts. Have you read the books?

Hodor: Hodor.

Alan Sepinwall: Minor characters don't always have the opportunity to make an impact but you seem to steal each scene you are in even with limited dialog. How's the fan reaction been to your character?

Hodor: Hodor.

Alan Sepinwall: Could you elaborate on that a little?

Hodor: Hodor? Hodor, hodor, hodor, hodor. Hodor! Hodor, hodor.

Alan Sepinwall: Interesting. One question some in the industry have been asking is given your limited dialog on the show - does that impact your pay scale according to SAG rules?

Hodor: Hodor, hodor, hodor.

Alan Sepinwall: OK. I understand if you don't want to get into contractual details but can you at least let us know if they is any truth to the rumor that you will be releasing your own line of fragrances? And if so what will it be called?

Hodor: Hodor and Hodor.

Alan Sepinwall: Thank you so much for your time. Is there anything you'd like to say to your fans?

Hodor: Hodor.

A Very Die hard Christmas

Merry Christmas. Enjoy Guyz Nite's musical tribute to John McClane

HT Alan Sepinwall

The Tobolowski Files

I have recently become acquainted with The Tobolowski Files and I'm hooked. It it perhaps the best thing I ever discovered on the Internet. Stephen Tobolowski is a raconteur without equal.

You may want to read this NPR article as an introduction to the world of Stephen Tobolowski.

I have Alan Sepinwall to thank for this marvelous trove of hours of entertainment.

Mad Men

Last night's episode of Mad Men was just awesome is in the dictionary sense of the word. As always Alan Sepinwall is the place to go for Mad Men discussion.

Two thoughts about last night's episode:

1. So much happened last night and so many loose ends were tied up that is seems impossible that the show was just 1 hour long. This season of Mad Men seemed to be moving so slow and then BAM! Even with so much revealed last night you know that many more twists and turns are about to pop with the JFK assassination just around the corner (time-line wise).

2. Many people make Sopranos comparisons but last night's episode made me think the show was more in tune with The Wire. On that show all the lose ends for the season would be cleared up in the penultimate episode with the last episode acting as almost an afterword. Also in season 3 of The Wire you had Stringer Bell getting killed which made many wonder where the series would go from there. The main plot of the series was McNulty and the rest trying to get Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell but with Stringer Bell dead - where would the series go? Likewise in Mad Men the main plot line was the Dick Whitman / Don Draper secret. Now with the secret out (to his wife at least) - where does the series go? Many people thought season 4 of The Wire was the best of the bunch. I get the feeling things will get even better on Mad Men too.

Alan Sepinwall and Bill Simmons

Very interesting interview of Bill Simmons by Alan Sepinwall. Nothing earthshaking but just solid info and insight.

And Bill Simmons returns the favor by having Alan Sepinwall on his BS Report podcast.

The Wire - Season One

I'm a big fan of The Wire and I was engrossed by this Season One - episode by episode - review by Alan Sepinwall. The episode reviews are geared towards "veteran" viewers of The Wire - people who have seen the entire series and who won't bothered by spoilers. Sepinwall also wrote non-spoiler versions for newbie watchers of the series. I know that these were written almost a year ago but I just ran across them via the magic of the Internet.

There were many insights gleaned from the review of the first season but one that really struck me was:

One of the series' key themes is the folly of placing your faith in institutions, because they're designed to protect themselves and not you the individual. D'Angelo placed his faith in both The Game and his family, and they combined to drag him down and send his ass to prison for 20 years. McNulty put his faith in law-enforcement and found out that no one on either the local or federal level really cares about stopping the likes of Avon and Stringer. D goes to prison, Jimmy to the boat, and their institutions grind on with them on the margins.

This insight seems especially relevant today when the government seems to be strengthening the role of institutions in our lives and creating new institutions where none existed in the past. Are we trying to turn America into the Baltimore of The Wire? That's my fear.

Sepinwall also reviewed other seasons of The Wire. I can't wait to read his review of season two. If you read the reviews - make sure to take time to read the comments. Some of the best insights are found there and the show's creator, David Simon, even makes a guest appearance or two.