Epeolatrix

The shows I miss are: Profit. Maladjusted man played by Adrian Pasdar rises in corporate ranks through clever but horrible acts. It would have fit in well with that batch of jerk protagonists like The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men, etc. But it was too early and people were shocked and appalled, so it lasted one very short season. Century City. Near-future legal ethics drama featuring Viola Davis, Ioan Gruffudd, Hector Elizondo, and Kristin Lehman.. Technically science fiction, because the issues dealt with all involved things like “man doses other man with some sort of recording technology so that he can experience that man having sex with his wife, and she finds out: can she have that man charged with rape” or “members of a boy band sue one of their members for breach of contract because he doesn’t want to take youth-prolonging drugs”. Basically it's if Black Mirror was a legal show, but lighter in tone. I think drama people ignored it because it was science fiction and SF people ignored it because it was a legal drama. Vengeance Unlimited, starring Michael Madsen. It was a deranged version of "Have Gun, Will Travel". Madsen played a man called Mr. Chapel who offered to proved justice for people who’d been wronged and ignored in legal recourse. The gimmick was that the price for his help was either a million dollars or a promise to do him a favor should he come calling. He didn’t carry a gun, but his methods were highly questionable and occasionally violent. It got crushed because it was in the same time slot as Friends.

The one thing that caught my attention was when L&O: UK remade (as S3, Ep 1 'Broken') a US episode (S10, Ep 2 'Killerz') that was drawn from two UK homicide cases. I remember it being a big controversy because James Bulger's mother was all over all the news trying to get the episode removed from re-airings.

Did anyone watch the 10th anniversary show? I thought it was a great look back at the series and, as is custom, I got teary-eyed more than once. [It was an out of character retrospective, so no worries about spoilers.]

And Squidgygate, for the sake of fairness.

Or to make clone bodies for Palpatine that were guaranteed to have a high midichlorian count.

She was raised conservatively and everything she was being told to do was either not protocol for the occasion or it was just plain weird to her. Giving in to demonstrative and confessional behavior would have been largely alien, for reasons of age, class, and that she had to represent the Crown and not herself. Her private feelings were supposed to be private; not to mention the whole "stiff upper lip" thing. Diana's death forced her to adapt to a generational social change that she was ill-prepared for. The fact that she agreed give a speech at all, but especially agreeing to say "So what I say to you now, as your Queen and as a grandmother, I say from my heart." was a good compromise.

Wasn't posted to be a Meghan slam, it was just the top Google entry that answered the question of who pays for the royals' clothes.

According to Marie Claire: "Being royal comes with a lot of rules and obligations. On the upside, the job also comes with a pretty incredible wardrobe. Members of the royal family aren't expected to pay for the clothes they wear to official royal engagements. Prince Charles picks up the tab for the clothes Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry, and, now, Meghan Markle, wear to official events—and that budget has skyrocketed since Harry and Meghan got engaged."

Continuing my series of posts about nothing other than macarons, here's a fun cooking video from Binging with Babish. He recreates food from pop culture shows, and this is his macaron episode featuring Jon Favreau. The nice thing is that this has both a regular macaron recipe, but also includes a quick-and-simple version of just the cookie for parents who want an inexpensive treat they can make for their kids. (Or for people like me who want something like macarons but do not have an thoroughly equipped kitchen or superior baking skills.)

If not at Galaxy's Edge, at least they will sell through Williams Sonoma. Nevarro Nummies™ Macarons "Inspired by a sweet moment when a young Nevarro student debated sharing his treats with the Child, 21st-century artisans in California have created these ethereal French-style almond macarons capturing the essence of this scene with Nevarro Nummies™. For authentic galactic flavor, each exquisite treat is artfully hand-piped with a rich, creamy vanilla filling." However, they are selling for the excessive price of $50, so I'm going to stick to my local non-tie-in version.

In case this is useful for anyone.

Zhuzh is generally believed to be Polari, and seems to have been around since the mid-60s. "Borrowed from Angloromani yuser (“clean”, verb) and yusher (“clear”, verb), from Angloromani yus-, yuz-, yuzh- (“clean”) and yush- (“clear”), from Romani žuž-, už- (“clean”, adjective). Cognate with Hindi उज्ज्वल (ujjval, “bright”)" says the Wiktionary.

My TV stuff includes a stress ball in the shape of an anatomical heart with the Hannibal logo, a plastic business card with the alphabet used for the tv show/movie Alien Nation that you could use to decipher Tenctonese graffiti, a Bada Bing! glass from The Sopranos, a couple of bottles of True Blood soda, a vintage Watchers pendant from the old Highlander tv series, and an 'audio book' that is nothing but Agent Cooper's Dictaphone notes to Diane. There's also a few Funko Pops, and then 30+ books, but no one really wants to see all that listed.

He didn't get it wrong, it's just funny to say that he did because it allows for donut jokes. ["Where the Myth of JFK’s ‘Jelly Donut’ Mistake Came From", Smithsonian Magazine]

I loved this series. I started watching it because I was a criminalistics geek and a fan of Lance Henriksen, but very few of my friends even knew the show existed. I've had better success lately just by handing people season 1 of the DVDs. I also think its dark sensibility is well-suited to our times now, even if things like the tech are twenty years old. If you're interested in reading more about the series, there's an excellent book called Back to Frank Black. It has essays as well as interviews, and it's a pretty dense book (just over 500 pages). Also, "All proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to Lance Henriksen's preferred registered charity, Children of the Night, an organization dedicated to rescuing America’s children from prostitution."

I grew up in Seattle and we had grits.

FX begins a five-part documentary on Jeffrey MacDonald tonight at 8pm, based on Errol Morris's book A Wilderness of Error. "When Army surgeon Jeffrey MacDonald is sent to prison for killing his family, a storm of swirling narratives challenges our very ability to find the truth all the while overshadowing a chilling possibility: MacDonald may be an innocent man." Which gives you a good idea what the spin on this is going to be.

I thought it felt a little frantic in its pacing, but I chalked it up to it being her first episode. I follow her on Twitter and I have her book (which was really good), so I might be cutting her more slack about her nervousness. I do think that it takes the basic idea of the crime for granted, like, "Okay, we all know the story, but I want to look at it more forensically." I'm going to give the series at least another episode before giving up on it, in case it finds its footing.

Was it "The Curious Life and Death of..." with Lindsey Fitzharris?

New question: Does anyone know of any sites that they consider especially valuable for informative recaps? I'm only actively following "The Safe Negro Travel Guide to Lovecraft Country" on The Root, so I know I must be missing other good writers. [Yes, I know of the podcast Lovecraft Country Radio; I'm specifically looking for text, please.]

I really hope that there's going to be some sort of companion book of the show when it's done. I'd love to see the notes about references, costume design, set design pieces that have greater significance than we might notice at first, and so on.

Lovecraft Country Is Packed With Supernatural Symbolism, says Architectural Digest

I don't think it was her fear of being raped, exactly, but taking advantage of any anxieties she had about Tic. They'd last been best friends when they were young and in their science fiction club, but when he comes back as a man and a veteran, she's wondering if she can trust him like she used to. What if the war changed him and he's not the same as the person she liked / loved? The snake imagery was in her mind because of that biblical painting (hidden below in case someone doesn't want to see snake peen), and the magic of the house used that just to make things worse.

I didn't know it was available, so thanks for posting about it.

"Lovecraft Country Radio is the official podcast for HBO’s Lovecraft Country. Every week, host Ashley C. Ford discusses Lovecraft Country with one of the show’s writers, Shannon Houston. Join them as they dig into what inspired the writers room and explore how the show's 1950’s setting reflects contemporary issues." Download from wherever you get your podcasts. There's only the one intro episode so far, but I was pleased to hear it.