--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu wrote: > > "Blacklist" is one of the better shows this season. A few weeks ago it > was revealed that Harry Lennix was hired to groom Obama. I tried > another episode of "Person of Interest" but felt it was still too formulaic.
There is no question but that POI is formulaic, but I'm addicted because of the possibility of seeing Amy Acker from time to time. I really like the lady. :-) > I gave "Atlas Shrugged II" a watch last night because there has been > some noise particularly by a bank CEO that it is being used as a > handbook for economic collapse. Sometimes I wonder how these people > become CEOs. Even Alex Jones in relationship to that article said that > Ayn Rand was a nutcase. She sure had a warped idea of the role of > government. Mikey would probably like it though since theres lots about > taking "other peoples money" in it. I'll pass. American politics -- and for that matter, American concerns -- rarely concern me these days, much less entertain me. > So maybe part of the reason you didn't like "Holy Smoke" was it was > about a cult kidnapper? Though they did sorta eke revenge on him. It's been quite a few years since I saw it, but as I remember the thing that set my teeth on edge was that it seemed to be a completely *unrealistic* portrayal of the deprogrammer thang. I suspect Jane Campion was projecting her feminist womyn ethic onto things, assuming (oddly like the women she would look down on who think the same thing about the men they marry or hook up with) that a deprogramming victim could "turn the tables" on her captor and deprogram *him*. That, plus the film contained the worst performances by both Kate Winslet and Harvey Keitel ever. Until the US remake of "Life On Mars," that is. Keitel took it over the top with that one. :-) BTW, and a total non-sequitur that will drive the sequitur-impaired up the wall :-), I just discovered another YouTube "treasure concert" that I like, similar in quality and impact to the Tori Amos NPR concert I posted earlier. This one's by Mark Knopfler: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGlGBIzN2ls <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGlGBIzN2ls> > On 02/03/2014 11:41 PM, TurquoiseB wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife a...@yahoogroups.com, wrote: > > > > > > Of your shows, I'm watching Person of Interest and Justified. > > Another show that I've been enjoying is The Blacklist. Unfortunately, > > my enthusiasm is starting to wane in that the James Spader character > > is the only one who holds any interest for me; better writing and > > casting could have made it a much better show. > > > > */In my original rap I forgot to mention "The Following," which I've > > been...uh...following mainly because of James Purefoy as the resident > > psychopath/cult leader. He's genuinely chilling, and scarily familiar > > in terms of NPD Gone Wild. Even though it's technically Kevin Bacon's > > series, as with "Hannibal" (Mads Mikkelsen in that case) it's the Bad > > Guy who makes it all happen. > > > > I may check out "The Blacklist," even though the IMDB synopsis doesn't > > seem to suggest that it's really about blacklisting. That would > > interest me more, because after all, I and a number of friends from > > the Rama trip really *have* been blacklisted. > > > > Back in the day, a number of parents angry that their sons or > > daughters weren't doing what they wanted them to do with their lives > > got together with the then-CAN (Cult Awareness Network) and started > > trying to actively put a number of teachers they considered (sometimes > > rightly) as cult leaders out of business. They would "plant" negative > > articles about them in the press, and in the case of the Rama - Fred > > Lenz trip, they tried to "dry up their source of income" by making it > > difficult for the students to find work. > > > > Thus one day in New York, I arrived at my job at a Wall Street trading > > firm to find a box on top of my desk with all my personal stuff in it. > > I was carefully watched by a security guard as I gathered up my stuff, > > turned in my badges and IDs, and was marched to the door. It turns out > > that my name had appeared on a blacklist circulated to IT employers in > > New York, identifying about 200 of Rama's students as cultists and > > "potential cyberterrorists." Most employers didn't bother to check on > > the legitimacy of this blacklist, and just fired the people whose > > names they found on it, or refused to hire them. > > > > In my case it turned out OK, because the company at least honored the > > terms of my contract and gave me two months' pay. Since I found > > another gig less than a week later, that was just "gravy," and so I > > didn't mind. But I had friends who were out of work for months until > > we managed to hire private detectives, get copies of the list, and > > create a minor ruckus in the press and in the Human Resources > > community about what was being done, by whom, and why. Then the > > blacklist faded away as quickly as it appeared. But still it was a > > nasty piece of business. > > > > Less nasty than the actual kidnappings by "deprogrammers" paid $25K a > > pop by the parents to abduct their adult children and "de-brainwash" > > them by brainwashing them. I witnessed one such kidnapping, and > > testified in court about it, putting at least two of these thugs > > (almost all of whom were ex-cons looking for an easy living and taking > > advantage of fearful parents) away in prison for a while. /* > > > > , > > > ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb@ wrote: > > > > > > Just for the heck of it, because I've got the day off today and I'm > > sitting in a cafe right now taking advantage of the relatively clement > > weather and the sun, but I've gotta write about *something* for it to > > qualify as a "cafe writing" break, so I guess TV is it. > > > > > > I don't know about anyone else, but TABB (Time After Breaking Bad) > > has been a real bitch. That series was so consistently excellent that > > it really gave you something to look forward to every week. About the > > only mainstream shows that have managed to fill that "I'll watch them > > every week no matter what" void are "Justified," "True Detective," > > "Person Of Interest," and "Lost Girl." I still give "Agents Of Shield" > > a try from time to time, hoping it will get better, but so far it > > hasn't. Sigh. > > > > > > Among new shows that I've stumbled upon, I'm giving a UK series > > called "The Musketeers" a shot, but I doubt I'll continue. I'm also > > watching a series about pirates called "Black Sails." This one I may > > continue watching. It's a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's > > "Treasure Island," showing the origins of Captain Flint and John > > Silver. Think the period authenticity, violence, sex, nudity, good > > actors, and production values that "Spartacus" brought to gladiators, > > only done with pirates. Sexy, fun, and so far replete with good > > performances from the actors. Go figure. > > > > > > What I'll be delving into soon, however, is a new set of great TV > > from Scandinavia and other places around the world uploaded by a guy > > who has become one of my "trusted resources" in the pirate 'verse. > > I'll download anything he puts up, because so far *everything* he's > > ever posted has been great. He turned me on to the original "The > > Killing" and "Borgen" and "Bron-Broen." So when he uploads a batch of > > new stuff, at this point I just download it and look forward to > > watching it. > > > > > > The first of these new potential gems I'll watch later today is from > > Wales, and all dialog was actually filmed twice, because they had to > > do it first in Welsh, then in English. It's called "Hinterlands" and > > I've only seen the first few minutes of it, but so far it'll be > > watchable just for the cinematography alone. > > > > > > There's the full set of "Bron-Broen 2" with BBC subtitles, of > > course, which I'll watch again to compare it with the fan-subbed > > version I had earlier. There's a well-reviewed series from Israel > > called "Prisoners Of War (Hatufim)" that I look forward to, and a > > series of mini-series specials called "Arne Dahl." Not to mention a > > few movies I'd never heard of, but will watch simply because he > > uploaded them. When you find someone with excellent taste, you've > > really gotta appreciate that. > > > > > > Anyone out there watching anything interesting? > > > > > > > >
