| Author | Message | ||
     Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9336 Registered: 05-2005 |
I watched three and a half episodes of the Simpsons, all of which were recent, one brand new, none of which I’d seen before. I didn’t laugh once. I kept watching out of fascination and curiosity, thinking each successive episode must be an aberration. It’s hard to fathom why people are getting paid to write this rubbish. Fool me once, shame on the Simpsons’ producers, fool me three and a half times, shame on me. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9344 Registered: 05-2005 |
Covid lockdown live session by Saint Sister and Lisa Hannigan - Irish women in different parts of the country collaborating beautifully. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIlA237p 5So | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4415 Registered: 03-2005 |
I used the wrong thread for my Chills documentary entry, sorry. This morning I watched "The Garden of the Finzi Continis," the 1970 adaptation of the book by the same title. Though there's a little dead spot around 32 minutes which I had to skip, aside from that, it's all here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxSPu25x bQw | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9403 Registered: 05-2005 |
I just watched a documentary on Kenny Rogers. He may have been cheesy, but his long career makes for interesting history. Coward Of The County wasn't even mentioned, which was odd. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9407 Registered: 05-2005 |
Filthy Rich, a four part documentary on Netflix about Jeffrey Epstein. I watched the whole four hours in one sitting. Hopefully Maxwell survives long enough to get to trial and spill her guts about who did what and when in order to try get her own sentence reduced. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9424 Registered: 05-2005 |
The new version of War Of The Worlds is fantastic. I'm loving it. And hating those alien bastards. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9425 Registered: 05-2005 |
My respect for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez just went even higher after a powerful speech prompted by a Republican's sexist comments to her. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020 /jul/23/aoc-speech-video-ted-yoho | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9445 Registered: 05-2005 |
Guster - Doin' It By Myself [Live with the Omaha Symphony]. I don't know if I've ever heard anything by Guster before, but I just came across this video and it brought a big smile to my face. Another band to check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81VPyGmp 8RI | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9459 Registered: 05-2005 |
I went to the cinema for the first time in at least six months, maybe longer. There were four people in the theatre. It was an Icelandic film called A White, White Day. In contrast to its title, it was very, very dark. I don't know when I last went six months between seeing films. Sometime in the 80s, probably. It felt almost like I was seeing a film in a cinema for the first time. It was so loud. The film is cinematically brilliant, but don't go to see it looking for a good time. Good times will not be had. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9462 Registered: 05-2005 |
R.E.M. - Live from Glastonbury Festival, 1999. A brilliant show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DurDZkK5 8VE&feature=youtu.be | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9478 Registered: 05-2005 |
I went to see a new Australian film called Babyteeth in a cinema this afternoon. It's very powerful and very moving. It's on various streaming services too, so you'll be able to see it from home. https://www.babyteeth.movie/watch-at-hom e/ | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9499 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Salisbury Poisonings, which just started on SBS in Australia last night. The first episode was riveting. Has anyone else seen it? | ||
| Burgers Member Username: Burgers Post Number: 166 Registered: 05-2005 |
The BBC broadcast the Salisbury Killings a couple of months ago. I knew the story but thought the mini series was excellent and pretty true-to-life. If you can find it, White House Farm is an astonishing watch. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9526 Registered: 05-2005 |
A PBS documentary on big pharma and America’s opioid epidemic. It focussed on the supply, rather than demand, side. It’s shocking stuff. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9542 Registered: 05-2005 |
I saw Bill & Ted Face The Music this afternoon. It’s great. Rarely has a sequel so brilliantly lived up to what came before. I was the only person in the cinema. I’m pretty sure that is the first time that’s ever happened to me. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9546 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Duchess, on Netflix. Nothing to do with royalty, I hasten to add. It’s a new show from comedian Katherine Ryan. It’s good, though maybe straining too hard for transgression. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9549 Registered: 05-2005 |
An interesting video on the decline of vinyl record sales this year, presented by a guy who bases his look on Satan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT27I7qv 0ZA | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9550 Registered: 05-2005 |
The guy is in Canada and is basing his piece on a sales decline there, but predicts it will spread. I think he’s right, given the state of the world and the crazy prices being charged for some records. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4449 Registered: 03-2005 |
I've undoubtedly purchased more vinyl this year than in the previous ten years. That's because CDs are less consistently available and I still like to have a physical version. In addition, I get a kick out of having copies of albums that I really like which I know are rare. My recent Cool Sounds -- Dance Moves purchase falls into that category. I do agree, however, that the pricing of too many records as a dad-rock luxury bauble threatens to kill the medium. If that becomes the norm we simply won't be purchasing much music on vinyl. That's reinforced by the larger economic situation. But I've always been a skeptic of the vinyl revival anyway. For example, my sealed, unplayed Cool Sounds record has a side-long scrubbing noise on Side Two. It's a pressing fault in no way related to the fact that it was shipped all the way from Oz. It's the sort of thing I remember having to put up with back in the old vinyl days. It's not a rare occurrence and it's not something I miss. It's why I will always try to get a CD version if it's available and in the case of a vinyl purchase I'll listen to the download burned onto a good quality CDr far more often than I'll listen to the vinyl. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9551 Registered: 05-2005 |
A UK TV show called Drifters, which I just recently heard about. A lot of it is on YouTube, which is good as it’s not on any channel or streaming service I have. It’s very funny. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drifters_(TV_series) | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9552 Registered: 05-2005 |
“Dad-rock luxury bauble” - I love it, Randy. That’s going to become my new insult of choice. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9574 Registered: 05-2005 |
Phoebe Bridgers: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert. This is brilliant. She is a serious talent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?campaign_i d=116&emc=edit_pk_20200915&instance_id=2 2208&nl=paul-krugman®i_id=33795071&se gment_id=38113&te=1&user_id=cbe1711fb1a9 b330cf9b74a05c3e7b1b&v=2bOigld3D1k | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9582 Registered: 05-2005 |
Seth Myers reports, yet again, on Trump’s endless lying. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bRI37BC sZs&t=626s | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9589 Registered: 05-2005 |
What I will be watching in just over five hours - Paul Weller live at the Sydney Opera House https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/digital /season/music/paul-weller.html?ecid=EMT% 3AWeekend_Stream_Round_Up_20200918_Paul_ Weller%3AFind_out_more&bId=277196321&acI d=477683248&mid=PDM37929&utm_source=emai l&utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=Weeken d_Stream_Round_Up_20200918_Paul_Weller&u tm_content=Find_out_more I don't know if it will be geoblocked, but it's worth trying if you are interested. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9592 Registered: 05-2005 |
Heat rays on protesters now? As often happens, Seth Myers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZEFY9Ke -dk and Stephen Colbert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8-3NMZp cSQ do a better job of explaining the news than the news does. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9595 Registered: 05-2005 |
Des, a drama about the serial killer Dennis Nilsen. I read the book it’s based on 25 years ago. The first episode was excellent, and in keeping with what I remember of the book. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9597 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Weller gig is great, by the way, as is the rest of Des. Covid sure is increasing my screen time. | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 1793 Registered: 10-2006 |
Italian X-Factor Socially distanced judges, no audience, all a little bit quiet and clinical, but energised as usual by the bunch of musically obsessed youngsters stepping tremblingly up to the microphone to put their lives on the line, in a career sense anyway. Just as the world outside at the moment seems to be swamped by a deluge of highly talented young female singers, songwriters and musicians, it’s the young women on this programme who seem to raise the bar, this time round with a green-haired guitarist who produced an extraordinarily moving version of Joni’s Case of you, which had the panel’s resident grizzled muso weeping gently into his beard. Then, at the end, a tormented poetess in a tea-cosy hat with a fascinating voice pulled off some sort of mash up of two songs I’d never heard before and kept us all transfixed. If she can hold her teetering personality together, she should go all the way. Anyway, one TV evening a week dedicated to music for a while, good to have it back. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9605 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Replacements - Can’t Hardly Wait, the new/old video to herald the remastered Please To Meet Me box set https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvGjAYH- Nq4 | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9618 Registered: 05-2005 |
Staged, a Covid lockdown comedy with David Tennant and Michael Sheen. I’ve just watched the first episode and it’s very good. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9629 Registered: 05-2005 |
I just watched The Last Temptation Of Christ for the first time in more than 30 years. What an incredible film. I’d forgotten a great deal of it, but some of it I remembered as if I’d seen it yesterday. The use of Peter Gabriel’s music throughout is so powerful in enhancing what is happening. | ||
| David Gagen Member Username: David_g Post Number: 460 Registered: 02-2007 |
Agree, one of my fav films. So misunderstood by many people of faith. So thought provoking with such amazing music. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9634 Registered: 05-2005 |
David, it was on SBS last night. Check their listings as they often show a film again soon after. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9638 Registered: 05-2005 |
TED talks are not something I've watched much of, but I just came across this one from a few years ago and found it very interesting. https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_anholt_w hich_country_does_the_most_good_for_the_ world/discussion#t-869367 | ||
| David Gagen Member Username: David_g Post Number: 462 Registered: 02-2007 |
I think I still got a DVD of it Ill watch this weekend Padraig. Ha still watching DVDs | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9642 Registered: 05-2005 |
Me too, sometimes, David. It’s incredible how quickly DVDs went from being cutting edge to almost quaint. I was still watching VHS tapes on occasion until the late naughties, then DVDs exclusively, then a brief detour into Blu-rays before starting to use streaming in January 2015. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9645 Registered: 05-2005 |
The debate. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4464 Registered: 03-2005 |
Shut up, man. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9646 Registered: 05-2005 |
This clown. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4465 Registered: 03-2005 |
Everyone knows you're a liar. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4466 Registered: 03-2005 |
Oops. I got it wrong. It was supposed to be in the third person. My guess is that Chris Wallace had enormous fun. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9647 Registered: 05-2005 |
A lot of people are blaming Wallace for losing control of the debate. Short of getting out of his seat and smacking Trump, I don’t know what else he could have done. I thought Biden did well and hopefully will have convinced a few waverers over to his side. I’m glad he called Trump a clown. I think it was deliberate and not a slip made in haste. It immediately distanced Biden from the debate abuse Hillary Clinton put up with from Trump four years ago. I also thought Trump did well in shoring up his base with the same old bloviating*, though he did less well if he was hoping to win back the suburban white women who have switched to Biden in their droves. * Thanks Randy for introducing me to this word maybe 10 years ago here. Disgracefully, at the time, I accused him of making it up. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4467 Registered: 03-2005 |
When Biden said "shut up, man" in that mellow but dismissive way he has, I think he successfully voiced the thoughts of a huge number of people watching. Then there was Trump saying "you're number two" to Biden. That might literally have been intended the kindergartner's way. I think Wallace will be dining out on stories of that debate for a long time. He must have gone straight off to a socially distanced cocktail party after leaving the premises. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9650 Registered: 05-2005 |
Stephen Colbert’s take on it all https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3kkpVbO csA | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9651 Registered: 05-2005 |
And Cory Brooker’s response https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_ls5xpX X1s | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9652 Registered: 05-2005 |
Booker, not Brooker. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4468 Registered: 03-2005 |
Thanks for the two links Pádraig. Cory is a big favorite of mine. He ran in the primary as a sort of Alyosha Karamazov figure. If there hadn't been too many candidates on the dais he might have been able to cast more of an influence on the tone and positions of the rest of candidates, but even so he and Biden are natural allies. Youtube automatically shifted me on to Bernie Sanders' response on the Jimmy Kimmel show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO1o66Ti 2bA As Richard Nixon might have said, "let me make [it] perfectly clear" that Bernie is 100% onboard this time around. I'm sure he, like me, assumed Hilary would win in 2016 and thus indulged in wound-licking and indifference back then. Now he knows better. There is no hand behind his back with fingers crossed. He's going to stump for Biden among his fans in a serious way. I will readily admit that I found myself wishing I could see Donald Trump trying his act on Bernie. It's easy to be the Monday morning quarterback but what I think might have been effective for Biden is if he had seized upon Trump's behavior and just kept talking to the TV audience--looking at the camera as he generally did--with a rap along the lines of: "This is what this election is about. Do you want four more years of this refusal to engage, to respect others? Four more years of division instead of collaboration? Four more years of this behavior with our longtime allies? Do you want four more years of blatherskite* and refusal to take any positive action on behalf of the American people for any purpose, whether health care, Covid or climate change?" It would have been a way to exploit Trump's behavior as Exhibit A. I'm hoping that's what most voters watching the "debate" came out thinking to themselves. *I thought that this Scottish expression would not be an option but it sounds like what it means and according to the Oxford Dictionary it's actually considered more "American" now. Indeed, if it reached the ears and understanding of US voters of Celtic background in the battleground states it might turn some of the Trump demographic right around. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9653 Registered: 05-2005 |
Speaking of Celtic, I liked how Biden referred to himself as “Irish-American Catholic” as a way of distinguishing himself from Trump. Maybe Biden has referred to himself that specific way before, but if he has I haven’t heard it. I know reporters regularly refer to him that way; I just haven’t heard Biden himself say it. Also, did you get the impression that Biden got significant debate preparation help from Obama? The cadence and listing style Biden used when Trump wasn’t talking over him were definitely Obamaesque. The more I think of it, the better I think Biden did. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9654 Registered: 05-2005 |
Also, I saw about 15 minutes of a documentary called Hillary. In the bit I saw, Hillary and Bill Clinton were filmed, separately, talking about the Monica Lewinsky affair. It was excruciating. I just thought, why are they publicly putting themselves through that more than 20 years later? The cynic in me wonders if it’s just all for material gain, if the Clintons are getting a cut of sales of the documentary series. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4469 Registered: 03-2005 |
I don't honestly know, Pádraig. Certainly it seems a good idea to refer to himself in that fashion when in the so-called "Rust Belt" states. My friend who you met when we were in Dublin to see Microdisney grew up in Scranton. He said everyone in town was either Irish Catholic, Polish Catholic or Italian Catholic except for a tiny sprinkling of Jewish citizens. If I can handle watching the thing again I'll look for Obama aspects in Biden's performance. It makes sense that he might have absorbed some of that by osmosis after 8 years working with him. Honestly, what I viewed last night was such a barrage that I couldn't possibly notice something like that. I'm hoping Rob chimes in here at some point. Comments by any of the board participants would be rather nice but, well, this isn't a political board so I can't blame anyone for wanting to avoid the topic. I find other perspectives--especially ones from outside my own country's perceptual bubble--quite valuable. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9656 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, I'm particularly thinking of when Biden started to list what was wrong under Trump; saying America had become more unequal, divided, racist, violent. He was looking down the barrel of the camera, on a roll, then Trump started acting up again and Biden lost his momentum. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9657 Registered: 05-2005 |
Seth Myers goes to town on Fox News. Easy target, but nicely done. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTY_FDO2 TXw | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9661 Registered: 05-2005 |
I’m watching When Harry Met Sally on TV. It must be about a quarter century since I last saw it. Great film. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9662 Registered: 05-2005 |
The trailer for the new Borat film. The world could do with a laugh. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvPTCvUn NQA | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9666 Registered: 05-2005 |
Seth Myers hits it out of the park again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vhIwqDa fN8 | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9671 Registered: 05-2005 |
This Colbert clip is great, even if completely overtaken by subsequent events https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67YsTZFh Jio | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9672 Registered: 05-2005 |
I've just been to see The Trial Of The Chicago 7 in the cinema. It's a fantastic film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVb6EdKD BfU | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9685 Registered: 05-2005 |
This South Park comment on the current state of America is powerful https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1XaSxfK 0Ok | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9686 Registered: 05-2005 |
I know Stephen Colbert is mostly preaching to the converted, but he does it so well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPKfx6y7 DIQ | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9691 Registered: 05-2005 |
I’ve just watched the first episode of The Comey Rule. It’s good, though being based on Comey’s book it naturally skews to his version of events. His reopening of the Clinton email investigation 11 days before the 2016 election was when I knew Trump would win. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9696 Registered: 05-2005 |
The latest Colbert clip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6XXWcbs Eq4 I’m constantly astonished at how lame Saturday Night Live jokes are when Colbert and Myers hit it out of the park night after night. And SNL only has to do it once a week. Whatever the SNL writers are being paid, it’s far too much. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9697 Registered: 05-2005 |
And here’s the latest Myers clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N36qgxcd 5XU | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9700 Registered: 05-2005 |
The VP debate. It was far more edifying than the presidential debate last week. Harris did as well as I’d expected from an obviously very smart, capable person. Pence did better than I’d expected and was disciplined in speaking to the Republican base and will have swung over some waverers and independents. He may even have flipped some Democrats over to the Trump side, but Trump will lose them again next week. It was very annoying that the moderator didn’t rein in Pence when he repeatedly went over his allotted time, but Harris did that sometimes too, though far less often. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9701 Registered: 05-2005 |
Pete Buttigieg leaves the Foxymorons speechless https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3Aelt0Q 9aU | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4474 Registered: 03-2005 |
That's pretty funny Pádraig. "Foxymorons" is an excellent name for that gang. Buttigieg is seriously talented. He busted that question with an efficiency that, well, only a guy who worked for McKinsey can manage. I hope he doesn't waste his next few years at Notre Dame. | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 1377 Registered: 04-2005 |
As Woody Allen said (are we still allowed to mention him ?) as far as Nazis go, satirical articles in the NYT are all very well, but sometimes baseball bats are what are needed. Even John Crace in the Guardian seems to be finding it hard to sum up the humour these days. I worry for his mental health having to report daily on the UK situation. How did we end up here ? And Brexit still has to kick in. Thank goodness I've got French citzenship. I've got lots of doubts about Macron's motives, but in terms of intelligence when you compare him to Trump or Johnson it's night and day. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9704 Registered: 05-2005 |
That fly on Pence's head has now grown up to be a mansect and wants to enter politics himself https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW_08LCW p34 Best quote from the clip: "Have you ever heard of insect politics? Neither have I." | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9705 Registered: 05-2005 |
Also, thank you, Randy. I’m here all week, or until Covid is over, whichever comes first. Try the dexamethasone. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9706 Registered: 05-2005 |
Andrew, if the UK doesn’t give in soon with a humiliating backdown, the people of Britain won’t know what hit them come January. They’ll wish it was only baseball bats. The Brexit-supporters have it coming, but I feel sorry for those that voted against it, including my family and friends in the UK. And speaking of deluded British people, I find it incredible that Prince Harry is asking people to vote for the US head of state when he doesn’t support the UK being allowed to vote for its head of state. That’s reserved for one Anglo-German family. | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 1800 Registered: 10-2006 |
So, Mr Kerr is French, and I’m soon going to be Italian - the least likely Italian ever, maybe, since most locals apparently think I dress like “a homeless person” and spontaneous physical touching is just impossible for me. Still, I’m very excited because I have my Final “You are Now Italian” exam coming up soon. I just have to brush up on the three tests I have to perform live in order to gain definitive Italian citizenship which will not be easy in front of a board of judges including our mayor and ex-Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini. First I have to cook 100 grams of spaghetti EXACTLY AL DENTE. And with the right amount of salt. That’s a tricky one, I almost never get the salt right. Following that, I need to give a short 5-minute talk on a subject chosen anonymously by one of the judges, “Things Mussolini Got Right”. Reading out loud in Italian! Not a breeze! Last, and most difficult of all, I have to surreptitiously BRIBE one of the judges to let me pass, WITHOUT any of the other judges noticing! That will be the crunch test right there! And I’ll try to smarten up for the occasion, too. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9711 Registered: 05-2005 |
Good luck, Stuart. I assume you're kidding about the tests, but being Italy, I'm not 100% certain. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4475 Registered: 03-2005 |
It's the failure of human memory. A month or two ago, a passage in Giorgio Bassani's "The Gold Rimmed Spectacles" pulled me up short. The narrator is presumably a version of the young Bassani himself. He's contemplating the newly enacted "Racial Laws" in Italy: "I thought of our own ghetto, of Via Mazzini, of Via Vignatagliata, of the blind alley Torcicoda. In a near enough future, they, the goyim, would once more have forced us to swarm there, in the narrow, twisting lanes of that wretched medieval quarter from which, when all was reckoned up, we had emerged only some seventy or eighty years ago." How many years has it now been since WWII? I haven't slept so well ever since. Is this an inherent limit to human memory--one life span and that's it? There's the old cliche about people becoming older, wiser and sadder. I'm at peace with the idea of becoming older and, if I'm lucky, wiser. It's the "sadder" part that I'm not enjoying. A huge chunk of the people in my country are disappointing me in a profound way. And I can't flee from it; I see versions of something similar in many of the countries of Europe and in the U.K.. We're supposed to be the species that records history. But that only serves us if people read it. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 2012 Registered: 08-2006 |
Oh, Stuart, your post cracked me up. I can help you with the test. 100 grams of dried pasta takes one half teaspoon of salt and takes about 9 minutes to get al dente. The thing Mussolini got right was getting shot. And I think I speak for the crew when I say we'll take up a collection to pay your bribe. And Randy, fret not, my friend. Good things are ahead. I know it. | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 1801 Registered: 10-2006 |
Thanks, Rob. Unmarked bills in a plain brown envelope, to be left on top of the toilet cistern in Bar Angoletto. As you leave, just say to the grumpy Romanian barman, "Say hi to the Scotsman for me." He will offer you a glass of Romanian red on the house. Do not, under any circumstances, drink it. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9719 Registered: 05-2005 |
Australia v New Zealand in rugby. Come on Wallabies, restore some national pride. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9720 Registered: 05-2005 |
That was one of the most phenomenal rugby Tests I've ever seen. It ended 16-16 in Wellington, so Australia's almost 20 year search for an away win in New Zealand continues, but what a magnificent game. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9727 Registered: 05-2005 |
Echo & The Bunnymen - Shine So Hard, beautifully restored. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8q14frW Q-U | ||
| Fred Tadrowski Member Username: Ftadrowski Post Number: 121 Registered: 03-2015 |
Last night, I watched Dennis & Lois, a documentary about the New York super fans. I first heard about them when they made an appearance in the Mekons documentary and then they appeared in Steve Hanley's The Big Midweek: Life Inside The Fall by making the mistake of organizing and putting the expenses of their infamous 1998 US tour on their personal credit cards. The film was sweet and a nice escape from our current reality. I guess The Happy Mondays also wrote a song about them. | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 1379 Registered: 04-2005 |
Cheers Pádraig for the Bunnymen ! Never seen that before. I saw the band for the first time at Tiffany's in Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow (1981?). "Over the Wall" was perhaps the greatest opening I've ever seen to a gig. Will Sergeant's guitar being panned from one side of the hall to the other. | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 512 Registered: 05-2005 |
Saw a solo set of Ian McCulloch (with a second guitarist) 5-6 years ago. Simple but worth to go. He's a real entertainer. | ||
| Fred Tadrowski Member Username: Ftadrowski Post Number: 122 Registered: 03-2015 |
Nice little film there. Researching after watching I found out that John Smith is a well-known avant-garde London filmmaker. His short film The Girl Chewing Gum is hilarious and is also on youtube. I have fond memories of going to see Echo & the Bunnyman in 1984 with opening acts of The Fleshtones and unknown to me at the time Biilly Bragg. They were a great live band at the time. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9746 Registered: 05-2005 |
I’m watching the count of the Australian Capital Territory (ie Canberra) election on ABC TV and listening to the count of the New Zealand election on Radio NZ National. Labor (without a u) will form government in the ACT and Labour (with a u) will form government in New Zealand. The most significant news is that Labour should be able to rule alone, a first since NZ changed its voting system to mixed-member proportional in 1996. There’s a state election in Queensland in two weeks’ time and then an election in the northern hemisphere three days after that. Two out of two so far for progressives in this batch of four elections. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9747 Registered: 05-2005 |
The New Zealand v Australia rugby Test from Auckland. Another fierce contest. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9750 Registered: 05-2005 |
John Peel's 45 Record Box Collection, a fantastic documentary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI3_12Z2 irw | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4482 Registered: 03-2005 |
Thank you for that Pádraig. It was the absolute perfect thing for a late Sunday afternoon here in Los Angeles. | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 1381 Registered: 04-2005 |
Oh yes cheers Pádraig for that ! He was such a large part of my musical education. Those nights spent listening to his shows. I remember so vividly sitting with the finger on the record button for the first session by New Order. As they say in the documentary he seemed unswayed by any idea of fashion or current tastes. One night, at the height of punk, he suddenly announced "You'll probably all going to hate this...and it lasts for bloody ages" and then played Dylan's "Desolation Row". I remember arriving on holiday in Scotland the day he died and being met by a friend at the airport, who told us the sad news. I'm not sure my partner understands to this day how I could have been so upset by the death of a DJ. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9753 Registered: 05-2005 |
Stephen Colbert is back, and he is on fire. This is hilarious https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we-LBylp YII | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9754 Registered: 05-2005 |
And Seth Myers is back too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcxRs_9I ZBs | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9771 Registered: 05-2005 |
The US election debate. I thought Trump did far better than in the previous debate. He was obviously coached well this time. I’ve never seen Biden stutter so much. I hope that won’t be read by anyone as weakness, but it probably will be by some. I think some undecided voters will now vote for Trump, but maybe not anywhere near as many as he needs to turn things round. There’s still a horrible possibility that Biden could win five million more votes but still lose in the electoral college. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9772 Registered: 05-2005 |
I just watched the new Borat film. Much funnier than the presidential debate. Maybe more likely to swing some undecided voters too. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9773 Registered: 05-2005 |
Colbert takes a more positive spin from the debate than I did. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXu7Ekl- 92Q | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9776 Registered: 05-2005 |
The AFL final. I’m going for Geelong, but they’re about to be beaten by Richmond. Ah well, it’s far from my number one sport. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9786 Registered: 05-2005 |
Seth Myers on Trump. The US president may be bad for America and the world, but he is a golden gift to the likes of Myers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXj7Hfrc 5PM | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9787 Registered: 05-2005 |
And the great Stephen Colbert. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VeOtiKQ CZY | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9794 Registered: 05-2005 |
Today’s Colbert monologue is not as funny as it mostly has been lately, but that’s probably to do with it being one week to the US election. It’s all too serious now. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9796 Registered: 05-2005 |
After a laughter blip, Colbert is back on fine form. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69ljuBr7 jIo | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9798 Registered: 05-2005 |
Seth Myers is on form too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suuRvvkV 7PE | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9802 Registered: 05-2005 |
Danny Elfman - Happy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjUjrE19 eyw&feature=youtu.be This is the first music video I've seen in years that has visual artistic merit. It's like an 80s video, when the record industry was awash with money for such fripperies as an eye catching video. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9804 Registered: 05-2005 |
Drive-By Truckers - The New OK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR8ec75o PrA This is also a great video. filmed on the streets of Portland, OR when a peaceful BLM protest was disrupted by overzealous policing and right wing thugs. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9805 Registered: 05-2005 |
Actually, overzealous doesn't cover it. The police were thugs too, but with far more weapons. |