text:
It's not that it gets better, per se, but it gets frothier and more enjoyable with ever more Maggie Smith bitchface. (Series 2 is a mess and I hear series 3 is more of the same; if the charms of series 1 aren't doing it for you after a few more episodes, I'd just stop.)
I was going to recommend State of Play (the original BBC miniseries) but it doesn't seem to be available on Netflix streaming. The first season of Archer is up there, though!
I enjoyed World Without End, but it's only something like six episodes long. It's a Netflix original series. Worth a try if you're into medieval costume drama type things.
Also I recommend Borgia (as opposed to The Borgias, basically the same show but not produced by enlightened topless Canal Plus). Lots of intrigue and sex and violence.
I guess "If you don't like Downton Abbey, you'll like Archer" makes sense as a recommendation.
4 - You're in the danger zone, Ned.
Upstairs, Downstairs. Although I'm guessing you've seen it. But Downton motivated my wife to re-watch it, and she at least enjoyed it thoroughly on a second viewing.
It does get better in a soap opery but (IMO) satisfying way, though the legal/business aspects of the show are kind of a consistent weak spot, though not a particularly important one. Also at this point the show may be suffering from overhype syndrome for first time viewers.
If you don't like Downtown Abbey, you'll be certain to like Zardoz.
The problem with Upstairs Downstairs is that it's about 5 billion episodes long.
If LB doesn't want to be awesome and watch Archer but instead wants to stick to costume dramas, I've heard good things about Lark Rise to Candleford, which seems to be available via Amazon Prime streaming.
apo's recommendation of A Town Called Panic. enthusiastically seconded (thanks, btw) My kid has been on a Sweden kick and we've been enjoying Wallander, lots of outdoor filming. Microcosmos. I've been meaning to watch After Porn Ends which looks at the lives of actual ex-porn stars, a question close to the one that Kanye + Kim's announcement raised for me. But our just-watched netflix list is a big part of my browsing with an 11-year old, so no. Memento and pretty much anything with Harold Lloyd are good.
The first season of Archer is up there, though!
There's two seasons on Netflix. What the shit, snarkout.
Netflix also has the entire run of Star Trek TNG which has held up pretty well. I've also enjoyed going back and watching the Donofrio years of Criminal Intent.
Hulu plus has the all seven seasons of The Shield now and Grimm has been more entertaining than I thought it would be, with the caveat that I'm usually watching it with my wife on Friday nights and there's alcohol involved.
You could watch Kingdom, which is not a costume drama, but mild and pleasing and Stephen Fry-y. (Really, it's Murder She Wrote with Norfolk local color rather than Maine. Also, not so much murder. CA was very fond of it because his gran lived in the area they filmed in.)
Let me once again make my standard pitch in these threads for the best TV show of all time, Heimat.*
Someday one of you will watch it!
*Including Part 2.
13 - Also Spooks ice queen Hermione Norris playing Fry's drunken roundheels sister.
I'm amazed/terrified that GSwift can enjoy the Shield given his day job.
In my view streaming Netflix basically sucks it but they do have the Rockford Files.
House of Cards on Netflix looks promising but I have not seen it yet. I plan on watching it this week.
You have to stick with it until you get at least to the awesome episode (you'll know). But I'd also say definitely quit after season 1.
"Look at the incredible impact Downton Abbey has had over here. It's a perfect example of how America is fascinated by British culture."
I've watched the first two seasons of Archer, shamefully, and am planning to watch the rest when it's on Netflix.
My view of British culture is pretty much 33% period costume drama, 33% unfogged, and 33% based on Top Gear, so my view is that British culture is confusing.
21. You may rest assured that none of those three is even remotely representative.
If you want the real picture watch Ali G: Indahouse.
Damn, this post prompted me to discover that Kolchak: The Night Stalker is available on Netflix streaming; now I will be up all night seeing how many episodes I can get through. The Thick of It (on Hulu) is pretty great, though probably best in smallish doses (the invective can get a little fatiguing). Better Off Ted (on Netflix) is also fun.
Is The Pallisers on Netflix? I bought the dvds from Amazon years ago and they're good fun. If you're into that sort of thing.
I second the recommendation of Better Off Ted.
The Hour is a beautifully shot, stylish, wonderful show about newscasting in the '50s arcwelded to a beautifully shot, stylish, incredibly stupid show about skullduggery. But the costumes are very nice.
Better Off Ted was great.
21: sounds pretty accurate, actually. Most of us spend a third of our time worrying about our social position, a third of our time commenting on eclectic web magazines, and a third of our time wanting to kick Jeremy Clarkson in the head.
Oh! The Forsyte Saga is on Netflix. Worth watching. (And the books of course worth reading if you haven't.)
I second the recommendation of Better Off Ted.
STILL unavailable in Knifecrime Island.
Oh my god, don't watch this last week's if pregnant.
I enjoy both Downton and Archer, though watching the latter makes me insert "Hurray for metaphors!!" into too many conversations. And season 3 isn't up on Netflix, the jerks.
we made it through maybe three episodes of Downton. it's a soap in stuffy costumes. meh.
if you want a real soap, watch Revenge!
Most of us spend a third of our time
worrying about our social position worrying about our mum paying her winter gas bill, a third of our time commenting on eclectic web magazines updating our FB profile, and a third of our time wanting to kick Jeremy Clarkson in the head telling the kids to shut up because Eastenders is coming on.
I really like Misfits, which is entirely on Hulu. It's South Park/Always Sunny -esque in its obscenity but with much more of a heart than either and more thoughtful.
I'm in the middle of the second season of Justified via Netflix, which I've really enjoyed so far (caveat: if you don't like seeing people get shot, you will hate it).
32: I really wanted Revenge to be the revenge procedural it was for the first few episodes.
Does anyone else like telenovelas? Apparently the only distribution channel is dish television. Netflix doesn't have them, buying the 99 dvd sets is super-expensive, and the bodegas that sell pirated music near me don't do DVDs.
Started watching Breaking Bad. First three episodes are good so far and I heard it gets better. But I do chemistry so it has a special charm, although I called bullshit when they showed a high school chemistry teacher with 12 1-gallon jugs of HF in his store room. No fucking way.
Archer fans might also enjoy Home Movies, on Netflix streaming.
Netflix has the first season of American Horror Story now, which is worth the price of admission just to watch Jessica Lange be awesome.
if you want a real soap, watch Revenge!
Every time I watch an episode of that show I think "this isn't actually very good, and I'm not really even enjoying it. I'm not going to watch this anymore", and then I come back to it anyway.
We just finished season 3 of The Tudors. I've watched worse.
I second Justified. I've never watched Downton but from what I hear of it, Justified is the anti-Downton. Little exposition, amusing characters, lots of action and jokes.
But, yes, I think at least one person is shot in each episode in the first season or two, so if that's not your thing you won't like it.
I'm realizing that something like half of the TV I actively watch is on FX.
Recently I've been watching a lot of DVR'd episodes of "That Metal Show" which my Girlfriend accurately describes as "Like The View, but for Dokken fans." I can't really recommend it for anyone but me.
RuPaul's Drag Race. New season!
45: I'm just mad at you for not going on that Metal Cruise for us.
39: Yes! The Franz Kafka/Metamorphosis rock opera is unforgettable.
You have to stick with it until you get at least to the awesome episode (you'll know)
Which is that? I was conned into watching the fifth and sixth episodes and they were both pretty dire.
The best home movies song is Freakie! Outie!
50 is entirely correct.
My current guilty pleasure is Market Warriors, which I can't recommend to anyone unless you really like watching annoying people rummage through flea markets and haggle over prices, with the narrator from Antiques Roadshow telling you more about the items. Which I have an endless appetite for. And technically only 3/4 of them are annoying; Bob is fine.
Louie season one is on streaming, so if you've been missing out on that, there it is. Almost painfully funny most of the time.
I've started watching Alias on streaming, all seasons are available. It's completely ridiculous (a CIA agent discovers that she's really working for the anti-CIA, and so becomes a double agent for the real CIA, then discovers that her estranged father is also a double-agent with the anti-CIA for the real CIA), but so very entertaining. Garner's default expression is "holy shit I am in so much danger right now", and she spends at least 2 minutes of every episode sprinting either towards or away from something.
I can't believe nobody told me how good this stupid show was while it was on. Presumably everybody but me knew.
I have been enjoying, in a sick way, everyone else on Twitter getting all bent out of shape about idiots on BBC Question Time. You don't have to watch it! If you get rid of your telly, you don't even have to use any willpower to not watch it!
I've even stopped compulsively listening to Prime Minister's Questions. Awesome though the theory is, in practice it's mostly dreadful hack politicos asking plant questions in order to suck up to the whips, the PM repeating his talking points, and the Tories doing their North Korean Mass Games act every time a woman tries to speak.
They only have one season of America's Funniest Home Videos on Netflix, and I dunno about you but I can't stand Tosh.0, but they do have all three Jackass movies, so that's a solid twenty hours or so of people getting hit in the groin.
The Thick of It (on Hulu) is pretty great, though probably best in smallish doses (the invective can get a little fatiguing).
Seconded on all counts.
Also: Battleground on Hulu; Leverage (not sure if it's on Netflix); Whites on Hulu but there are only about 10 episodes.
Pitch: Jackass, but with politicians!
I started watching Alias when it first aired, but I was fresh off the mess they'd made of The X-Files and recognized that the same thing would eventually happen. Years later, I unlearned that lesson and watched Lost straight through.
Leverage is on Netflix but not instant. I'm sure I would have watched it all by now otherwise.
Come to think of it, I enjoyed Lost, knowing it wouldn't have anything close to a satisfying resolution (and was pleasantly surprised whenever they answered anything at all), so I suppose I should go back and watch Alias.
19: I'm not really seeing the offense there. It'd be ridiculous, but other than that.
And I don't think there are packs of rabid Jane Austen fans out there, just the usual bunch of people who don't ordinarily read anything more than fifteen years old but make an exception for Austen because the novels are fairly short and straightforward. (I love them, don't get me wrong, but as eighteenth or nineteenth-century novelists go, Austen is less threatening than most of the alternatives.)
I'm really excited to start Alias.
Mrs. E highly recommends Damages, available on Netflix instant. Don't know if that would be a good choice for LB, though—do actual lawyers enjoy shows about lawyers?
I would be so much fonder of X-Files if I had stopped watching soon enough. I Googled "alias jumped the shark" and random commenters on the web seem to agree that I should stop watching after season 2. Would you agree, or did you not make it that long?
64 to 58.
63: If it's something I really don't know anything about, it's okay (which there's plenty of room for in the legal profession). Anything close enough to what I do for a living, though, and I get testy and impatient.
I don't think it's streaming anywhere, but the A&E version of Nero Wolfe is quite good.
I watched all of Alias (caught up on the first two seasons, then watched the rest as it was broadcast). I think it goes steeply downhill mid-second-season; they took advantage of having a broadcast slot right after the Super Bowl to rearrange the premise of the show. There's still lots of Jennifer Garner and/or Victor Garber to watch, if that's what you're watching for, but it loses a lot of the double-agent edge and complexity. Also, the whole series made it impossible for me to trust J.J. Abrams with serial plotlines ever again (I avoided watching Lost because of that, and having heard how that wandered around and ended up, I think it was the right choice).
64: Honestly, you could probably just go through a list of the best episodes (and there are some fantastic ones) in any order. It's not like the continuity will be missed.
But don't take our word for it:
Pay and benefits should be as competitive as practical, working conditions safe, harassment policies in place and strictly enforced, and employee views and opinions respected.
I second the recommendation of Better Off Ted.
I fourth it. Fantastic, criminally overlooked show.
Other wholehearted recommendations:
Breaking Bad
The Thick of It
Arrested Development (duh)
Black Books (on UK Netflix, don't know about US)
Green Wing (likewise)
15 Storeys High (ditto)
On House of Cards, I've no idea if the Netflix production is going to be any good, although for what it's worth the buzz seems to be positive. The original BBC mini-series is great fun.
I haven't started watching it yet, but have had Wilfred (streaming Netflix) recommended vociferously by multiple people.
Are the House of Cards sequels worth watching? I enjoyed the original a great deal but presume that there are diminishing returns.
I think they're worth watching, though to be honest I haven't for some time. They definitely aren't as good, or as believable.
71: Black Books and Green Wing are both available on streaming Netflix here. The Thick of It and 15 Storeys High seem not to be there at all (I seem to recall seeing the former, so that might be a recent deletion).
I'll try Black Books again -- I gave it an episode or two a while ago and it didn't grab me.
The first episode of Black Books - setting everything up - is rather less compelling than the rest where there's more of a rhythm. My brother was lukewarm at first but loved 2 and 3. "Nobody is prepared to admit that wine doesn't have a taste!"
I'll repeat my recommendation that LB might enjoy William and Mary (with Martin Clunes).
Is it on Netflix or Hulu?
71: how did you manage to watch it? Do you have a US DVD player or something?
71: The Thick of It is on Hulu for free. (A Hulu *exclusive* as it never tires of reminding me.)
I second 34's recommendation of Misfits. It's like Heroes, except that it doesn't take itself so seriously and is a lot funnier and has plots that make sense and is set in working-class England and... well, I guess the only thing it has in common with Heroes is the low-budget, low-stakes superpowers, but still, I like it.
Another recommendation: we're liking Lost Girl.
If the BBC bought an American period drama about everyday life among the robber barons and some English pundit cited it as a perfect example of how Britain is fascinated by American culture, wouldn't you guys be justifiably offended?
The problem with analogies is that it's so hard to make them fit. For example, your hypothetical show seems to have much more in common with actual American culture than Downton Abbey does with British culture. (Never having seen it, but that's the impression I get, anyway.)
63 -- The wife likes Damages, but I find it infuriating. Intermittently, anyway.
Misfits has been sitting in my Hulu queue for a while. I think this thread will push it up to the top.
If the BBC bought an American period drama about everyday life among the robber barons and some English pundit cited it as a perfect example of how Britain is fascinated by American culture, wouldn't you guys be justifiably offended?
That got me thinking -- are any of the Kardashian shows broadcast in Britain?
Lately I've been watching Dr. Who because my niece is super into it. So far, I've seen season 2* of the current doctor. Which are the best seasons/doctors? (I've never seen any other episodes.)
*'Cause season 2 is what happened to be in at my local library.
I liked the first new doctor best, then the next one, then the current one.
Black Books is great. Especially once (as others have said) it gets into its flow.
Downton Abbey, the first series is fine in a slightly preposterous soapy manner. It goes completely insane for the later series. We still watch it, but it's definitely in a 'so bad it's almost good' sense, rather than pure enjoyment. It doesn't help that most of the characters are completely unsympathetic. Wet Matthew, Bitchy Mary, the Actually Not Unattractive Sister That Everyone Treats Like She's Quasimodo, etc.
re: 85
All of them, I think. UK tv, once you get away from the main three or four terrestrial channels, is full of US reality TV.
89. The real question is whether anybody watches anything but the main terrestrial channels and Sky Sports, apart from people staying in hotels on business trips when it's snowing out.
Oh, YES to William & Mary, and to Doc Martin.
Fishlips Clunes is strangely compelling.
30: Better Off Ted isn't on Netflix or Lovefilm or even DVD over here, but if you're willing to pay the iTunes TV tax, it is available.
Kid A loves Misfits. I just got a bit confused the only time I watched it. We are watching Girls together though, which amuses me as she is rather Hannah-like. We just finished watching Rome (I bought the dvds for her as she has been studying Julius Caesar), and can go back to The Wire now.
We have been watching all the Scandi stuff - Borgen atm, loved The Bridge.
Can't see how one could ever get tired of the invective in The Thick Of It. I think of C at work as basically Malcolm Tucker ... friend of mine went to see some play last year with Peter Capaldi in it - then texted me to tell me she'd waited at the stage door and got him to swear at her. I wonder if he gets bored of that?
Have never watched Downton. Have got the first 3 series of Breaking Bad on dvd (very cheaply from HMV before Christmas), so looking forward to starting that when this series of Borgen finishes.
And the kids and I are up to series 10 of ER! So not too much further to go ... After that I am going to make the girls watch The West Wing I think.
It doesn't help that most of the characters are completely unsympathetic.
Even from the first episode, I was wondering if there was anyone who could plausibly be rooted for. I had it narrowed down to the limping valet and/or the blonde housemaid. Maybe also the redheaded housemaid. Everyone else seemed to have established themselves as either unpleasant or actively boring (butler, earl) immediately.
90 - Sky Atlantic! Which is almost swaying my Murdoch-hating but tv-loving stepMIL into attempting to talk my equally Murdoch-hating but not so tv-loving FIL into getting Sky.
92 - Does nobody just download stuff illegally anymore?
After that I am going to make the girls watch The West Wing I think.
I really liked that as it was airing, but you might want to give it up after about season four, IIRC, when the writers decided that it was self-indulgent making the characters appealing and occasionally successful, and stopped doing either.
Oh, and Kid A and I watched The Following last week (on the strength of the Rome/Mark Antony/James Purefoy connection) - anyone watched that? Worth carrying on with?
89, 90: So, still no definitive answer on whether Britain is fascinated by American culture.
96 - oh, I watched it first time round. But I think I missed the worst couple of series when it changed to a channel that we weren't paying for at the time, and then picked it up for the final election. So I'm not definite about it, but it's been nice having something to bring us all together for 40 minutes whenever we are all in the house with nothing better to do, and something long (and mostly PG-rated) so we don't have to think about it much seems best. It'll be another 6 months before we finish ER anyway.
It's funny, we really don't watch TV together as a family at all. Buck and I watch an hour or so after the kids are in bed. Anything they're watching themselves, though, is usually something that would make my eyes bleed from the pain, like Glee, or the eighteen millionth episode of something on Food Network (Robert Irvine Doesn't Like You Even A Little, or whatever the show's supposed to be called.)
Which are the best seasons/doctors?
Generally whichever ones you watched as a kid.
I've always loved the early seasons of the 4th Doctor (Tom Baker). They really had a great "gothic horror meets scifi" vibe going for a while.
98. Definitely fascinated by the culture of a particular district of Los Angeles; likewise Orlando. People who
read the Guardian like to regard themselves as sophisticated would add New York and possibly San Francisco. For the rest, fascinated in the sense of a rabbit in the headlights.
92 - Does nobody just download stuff illegally anymore?
Well, obviously, but I assume ajay was referring to it not being available legally.
I find it amazing that the thing middle schoolers watch when left to their own devices is ... the Food Network.
I found Damages unwatchable and suspect LB would too, for similar reasons.
I'm sure it's not on Netflix, but the last season of Boardwalk Empire was actually good after two seasons of interminable slow. I agree with Apo about FX-- pound for pound best programming now on US TV. Oh, you know what's on Netflix? The League. I'll bet LB would enjoy that in a horrified way. The guy who's the son of Kroll is one of the better lawyer characters of our time.
ms bill and I like Doc Martin, esp the early ones where he is getting settled in Port Wenn. Is the weather in Cornwall as good as that series makes it seem?
Downton Abby is starting to pall. I liked how once one of the men appeared for dinner in black tie and the others asked why he was wearing his play clothes.
The star of Downtown Abbey is the architecture. Whenever I check out that show I want to mute the sound and just check out the rooms...go in another room, characters!
The new season of Girls is pretty funny, if you like excruciating-awkward funny. It gets at something real about single-in-your-early-20s.
I'm also sort of enjoying Enlightened, it's a very ambitious show
Recommendation before reading other comments: Cougar Town (horrible name, awesome show) and Bunheads.
I think Girls this season is pretty bad. But I only liked, didn't love the first season, so YMMV.
The new Doctor Who is good from series 3 on.
Man vs Food! I said to my girls that I knew a surprising amount of women who admitted to somewhat fancying Adam, and as way of explanation, said something about enjoying eating. The 14 year old made a comment that made it clear she had taken what I'd said in a lewd fashion. No, not that!
I avoided watching Lost because of that, and having heard how that wandered around and ended up, I think it was the right choice
Lost is really good for three or four seasons. no, it doesn't end well, but it had a lot of promise.
My impression of British TV from staying in hotels:
25% "panel shows" that are set up as some sort of competition where they bring in a panel of random celebrities, mostly comedians and suddenly tell them to make up jokes about random topics. In the US this sort of thing is limited to sports talk.
25% horrible American movies. No good movies, just bad ones. And no non-American movies.
25% travelogues starring Michael Palin or Alan Davies or somebody
25% reality TV. There is some stupid crap, but compared to US there is a higher proportion of shows about real people living vaguely real lives.
The scripted TV shows seem to only exist on DVD and streaming services.
FX-- pound for pound best programming now on US TV
This phrase has a very poorly defined meaning even when used in the specific context in which it originated--to compare fighters across weight classes. Outside of that context, it's complete gibberish. Are you intending to convey something other than: "FX has the best programming now on US TV"? If so, what?
Lost is really good for three or four seasons. no, it doesn't end well, but it had a lot of
promise topless Sawyer. Which worked for me.
Addendum: "Top Gear" would be in the "travelogues" category.
I actually thought the final seasons and ending of Lost were pretty good.
104, 113: pound for pound s/b renminbi for renminbi
113 -- it does by far the best job of marshalling its resources, so that while it is a different "weight class" than say HBO or a traditional network (ie cant afford a Game of Thrones, pays Louie CK basically nothing) its programming is really excellent. Happy, motherfucker?
104: I loooove The League, though I spend most of each episode cringing.
If I start watching X-Files, at what point does it jump the shark?
Definitely fascinated by the culture of a particular district of Los Angeles; likewise Orlando. People who read the Guardian like to regard themselves as sophisticated would add New York and possibly San Francisco
So. pretty much exactly the same as U.S. -Americans living in the Heartland. Just as I suspected!
My favorite doctor is actually the current one, which surprised me quite a bit since I've watched from the start of the reboot and was unprepared for such a youngster. But I think he's really good!
Things that are streaming on Netflix - we've been watching a lot of The Vampire Diaries. Not exactly high brow and LB might hate it, but oh man, I enjoy it for the Twilight jokes alone.
I am still on Portlandia episodes.
I watched all of Weeds. Amusing. Got a little annoying at the end.
I enjoyed Archer too. Arrested Development is excellent.
Happy, motherfucker?
No. I may never really be happy.
Does nobody just download stuff illegally anymore?
Yes. Doctor Who, actually. Hulu has everything else recent we'd want to watch, but I can't find episodes of Doctor Who until like two years after their original air date. If anyone knows how, I'm listening. (For reference, we have no cable, just Internet. We have a very nice new TV and Blue-Ray player which are set up for Hulu and Netflix.)
The new Doctor Who is good from series 3 on.
Do you mean series 3 with the 10th Doctor? The British series/season thing confuses me even without ever changing doctors.
I loved the first few episodes of Downton, but then it went steadily downhill, and by the end of the first season I gave up. It was just one ridiculous contrivance after another. I'm told it doesn't get better. Pretty to look at, though.
CCarp or anyone else, is Tudors actually good? I saw the first episode and it seemed awful, so I stopped (although I love the idea of Jeremy Northam as Sir Thomas More). I'm reading Hilary Mantel's books on HVIII right now so I'm re-interested in the era. But what I like about Mantel is how closely she hews to documented histories, and I don't think I'll like Tudors if it strays too far.
119 - By the Robert Patrick season, definitely. The thing is, I still like a lot of the monster-of-the-week episodes even after the mythology episodes have gone completely off the rails. I'm pretty sure all my favorite episodes are in the first five seasons.
I was going to recommend State of Play (the original BBC miniseries)
Oh hell yes.
I'll also second Justified, although I've really only watched the second and third seasons. My girlfriend and I just started the first season over the weekend, and it's kind of amazing just how much the show has changed in its relatively short lifespan.
I'm pretty sure we saw State of Play on Netflix, although maybe that was back when we were still getting disks. Loved it, anyway.
126. BBC is planning a series of Wolf Hall/Bring up the Bodies scripted by the guy who did Tinker, Taylor... I should wait for that.
I'll also second Justified, although I've really only watched the second and third seasons. My girlfriend and I just started the first season over the weekend, and it's kind of amazing just how much the show has changed in its relatively short lifespan.
I suppose this isn't really a spoiler: Goggins's character was originally going to be killed off in the very first episode.
I don't think it's streaming anywhere, but the A&E version of Nero Wolfe is quite good.
You can borrow my DVDs, LB.
Also, you should watch Prime Suspect on streaming Netflix if you haven't already.
some recent UK shows that do not suck: Foyle's War, Sherlock, Luther
The Tudors isn't very good, except for maybe the soft porn.
Goggins's character was originally going to be killed off in the very first episode.
Seriously? He's the best thing on the show!
As soft-core porn, it's really good history.
The problem with analogies is that it's so hard to make them fit.
Like pith helmets.
Oh, yes, Sherlock is great, if a tad trashy. I mean, not by the standards of the Tudors or whatever, but it's sort of throwaway drama, for want of a better phrase. Not sure if it's on Netflix US or Hulu though. It's not over here.
Sherlock's on Netflix in the US. I almost liked it a lot -- thought both of the leads were great, thought the writing was very entertaining on a line by line basis -- but the plots could have used quite a bit more in the way of actually making any sense.
Which means I will be eagerly awaiting the third season whenever it happens, but I expect to be annoyed by it.
re: 139
'Could do with a bit more in the way of actually making sense' could be a succinct summary of Moffat's writing style.
true, that
The whole naked Irene Adler factor could be increased also.
Seriously? He's the best thing on the show!
And that's why they decided to keep him around.
If you can completely put aside any considerations of logic and sense, the new American Sherlock Holmes series, "Elementary" is enjoyable. Although now that I think about it, I've never succeeded in staying awake for an entire episode.
Sherlock's on Netflix in the US. I almost liked it a lot -- thought both of the leads were great, thought the writing was very entertaining on a line by line basis -- but the plots could have used quite a bit more in the way of actually making any sense.
That was my reaction as well. I was continually impressed by how good the two leads were, and disappointed by how little point there was to anything that was going on.
I second the recommendation of A&E's Nero Wolfe series.
The pilot episode of Justified is basically the Elmore Leonard story "Fire in the Hole," from his collection When the Women Come out to Dance , and indeed Boyd Crowder dies at the end. (The same collection contains the back story of Karen Cisco from Out of Sight, too.)
I agree that season 8 is when the X-Files went south. I looked over the episode list from those seasons and I can't remember most of them, though I think it's true that there were some okay monsters-of-the-week mixed in there. I mean there must have been some reason I kept watching until the bitter end.
To be fair, "Sherlock" was advertised as "does not suck", not as great television. And in the same conversation as things like the Tudors.
Oh, I liked Sherlock about as much as I like anything. I just don't like anything much.
The Tudors is a lot more surprising if you don't realize there was more than one Cromwell.
132: You can borrow my DVDs, LB
I'll take you up on that. Although I'm a little dubious about any adaptation of Wolfe -- I think I'm likely to get immediately hostile when it's not exactly what I was imagining during while I read all forty-some-odd of the books in high school.
I kind of wanted to grow up to be Saul Panzer.
I recently watched the pilot episode of Dead Like Me and was really impressed. I'm looking forward to the rest of it, and can report back, but unfortunately it isn't available on streaming so I don't know that it would be a useful recommendation.
151: They'll probably bug you. They bugged me -- even though I basically liked the series. And while I adore Timothy Hutton*, his take on Archie was not mine.
*He will always be a skinny 20yo in a PIL shirt to me.
fwiw, LB, if you might fancy like murder mysteries, or WWII era period stuff, Foyle's War is genuinely well done.
Carp or anyone else, is Tudors actually good? I saw the first episode and it seemed awful, so I stopped (although I love the idea of Jeremy Northam as Sir Thomas More). I'm reading Hilary Mantel's books on HVIII right now so I'm re-interested in the era. But what I like about Mantel is how closely she hews to documented histories, and I don't think I'll like Tudors if it strays too far.
They'd probably annoy you then, or at least, me. I also (for some inexplicable, grounded nary a bit in reason) hated the actress that played Anne Boleyn, which also colored my perception of the show.* I did enjoy what I watched, but only if I actively turned off my brain.
The thing is, I still like a lot of the monster-of-the-week episodes even after the mythology episodes have gone completely off the rails. I'm pretty sure all my favorite episodes are in the first five seasons.
I still love pretty much every season of X-Files for precisely this reason. J'adore monster-of-the-week anything.
*Thank god she doesn't have too much screen time in Game of Thrones, or she'd ruin that for me as well.
J'adore monster-of-the-week anything
Such a charming combination of pretentious and trashy!
152: I like that show, but the rest of it doesn't live up to the complete awesomeness of the pilot and the first few episodes.
J'adore monster-of-the-week anything.
You should definitely watch Lost Girl -- not good, but genuinely fun (particularly if you find low budget charming).
the complete awesomeness of the pilot
I was really impressed. That must have been a tough pilot to write -- it delivers a lot of exposition while maintaining good control of tone.
156: I think I shall take that as my epitaph. Thank you.
157: I have the first episode ... I keep meaning to give it a try! (But then I start watching things like The Carrie Diaries and Hart of Dixie instead, which is pretty much why no one should ever listen to my television recommendations. (But they're fun, really.))
By the way, is the first half of Breaking Bad season 5 available streaming anywhere? Netflix instant only goes through the end of season 4 so far.
I don't even own a streaming service.
The Tudors is bloody terrible, btw. Although quite entertaining in bits for the usual blood, intrigue and nudity reasons. It starts off barely plausible, with a skinny dark-haired Irish Henry VIII, and then gets steadily less plausible, and the accents and acting even more wildly daft.
The Tudors is a lot more surprising if you don't realize there was more than one Cromwell.
Also it turns out that like 80% of Tudor England was named Thomas.
Sorry if pwnd, but honest-to-god, somebody got a ladder, climbed up and unscrewed my TWC connection.
Been out for 28 hours.
Anyway, series to watch via Netflix?
(Anohana, which actually has a very long title; or Haibane Renmei, or Paranoia Agent )
Now to read the thread
A Russian history professor once lamented the tragic lack of imagination for names in the Russian royal family -- if they had more than three boys, at least two of them were likely to be named Ivan.
14: I have watched Heimat, but only part one. It is indeed a masterpiece, but not quite the bestest thing ever. Although I can't think of much better, but I haven't watched BerlinAlexanderplatz or whatever, the Fassbinder thing.
Netflix instant only goes through the end of season 4 so far.
Huh. It's available here, but that's possibly because it's never really had much of a "proper" TV audience in the UK. Based on the general rule for airing TV, I would have expected Season 5 not to go on US Netflix until the next season started, but this is the final season, so maybe it will when the DVDs go on sale.
re: 166
And the other Nicholas or Alexander?
I adore Timothy Hutton
You should watch Leverage. While it has definite flaws and Timothy Hutton's character is sometimes irksome, it's funny and moves along quickly enough for most of the gaping plot holes to slide by.
Parenthetical and whoever else likes that sort of thing should watch Supernatural. Not that I've ever watched it, but I'm sure it's great. I know for a fact that two of the people involved with it are great, and that should obviously be sufficient.
I want to watch Justified just to see how Kentucky is portrayed and if they bothered to get a diction coach or have everyone going around doing the same generalized Foghorn Leghorn thing Hollywood assumes is spoken from Norfolk to El Paso. But I don't really enjoy watching people get shot all that much so...
125: Yes, I mean series 3 with the 10th Doctor. Though looking at the list of episodes, series 2 is better than I remember. David Tennant's take on the 10th Doctor only really settles down in the last two episodes of series 2.
I had the same reaction to Dead Like Me as Parenthetical. The first few episodes make it seem like it's going to be great, but then it sort-of meanders after that.
Lost Girl is terrible, and yet I must watch it. I like the way it deals with the long shadow of Buffy by giving all of the Whedon-like dialogue to one character.
Alias is Grade A television for two seasons and then plummets into awfulness. The ending of Season II I still sometimes go back and watch on youtube.
171: It's on my list. I assume I'll like it.
172: I'm told that the accents are definitely not accurate Harlan County, but they're also not Foghorn Leghorn. Kentucky is certainly not portrayed favorably--nearly everyone in Harlan County is a criminal, a junkie, poor, stupid, or some combination--but it only occasionally boils over into high caricature.
I don't really enjoy watching people get shot all that much so...
The current season is less shooting and more snakes, if that helps.
Oh yeah, Weeds. I am a broken record but: it's fun at first! I've seen the first 7 seasons except I skipped one because it looked like it was going especially stupid places. Whether you will like it depends entirely on whether you're amused by Mary Louise Parker and Justin Kirk, with bonus points in later seasons if you think Hunter Parrish is hot. Season 7 proves the theory that Michelle Trachtenberg can brighten up even the most tired series. It's not that the writing ever gets really bad on the level of characters, it's just not a premise that was meant to last more than a few seasons. Eventually you get tired of seeing Mary Louise Parker in another horrible predicament.
Why am I going on about this? Work avoidance!
Damages is fun because it's the only thing I've seen that is written at such a pitch of melodrama that Glenn Close can't make the whole thing ridiculous by stomping all over it like Godzilla.
Eventually you get tired of seeing Mary Louise Parker in another horrible predicament.
This, however, is mitigated by the fact that I will never get tired of seeing Mary Louise Parker in various states of undress.
Or even a singular state of undress.
Alias is Grade A television for two seasons and then plummets into awfulness
I watched Alias ages ago and remember basically liking it and thinking that Lena Olin was fantastic (and Victor Garber was fun).
I tried to re-watch an episode recently and decided that it was impossible for me to enjoy it after having watched Chuck. I had been able to suspend disbelief the first time around but the second time, having been primed by Chuck, I kept wanting to watch it as parody.
Supernatural is a terrific series, I would have mentioned it before if I'd realized it was on streaming (which I just discovered it is). You've gotta love a group of writers who decide to make angels as weird and terrifying as any other supernatural creature.
The dude who created The Tick is one of the writers on it. (And my friend plays an angel, a role which has earned him no end of preteen-and-older female admirers.)
The dude who created The Tick is one of the writers on it.
Okay, this is pretty much what it would take to get me to watch a TV show about angels.
170: the first season of that was much better than what followed. You could just imaging the meeting where they decided to dumb it down and go more mainstream.
I don't think the angels show up until like the 3rd or 4th season.
Angels, no angels, a writer from The Tick is enough to put it on my list.
What 186 said.
You could just imaging the meeting where they decided to dumb it down and go more mainstream.
John Rogers mentioned on his blog that they discovered through test screenings that a large chunk of their audience does not care in the slightest about narrative coherence or plausibility. They just want to see the bad guy get his/her comeuppance. Given that, I can't say as I'm surprised they dumbed it down.
186: Well then I assume you've watched Angel ?
186, 189: And, apparently, Firefly.
I seem to remember that his time on Angel was not very happy.
I'm working my way through Campion on Amazon Instant Video - I've not checked Netflix for it. The adapters tend to step on the best lines from the books, though.
Huh, I never knew about the various Tick - Venture Brothers - Whedon connections.
Re: Tudors: You're not supposed to like Anne Boleyn, I don't think. Or anyone in her family. They take a lot of liberties: it's not history, it's drama. Henry is played charismatically, if sort of manic and amazingly capricious: there's not a minute you'd wish to live in a monarchy. I thought the actress playing Katherine of A was very good, and you find yourself liking More until he starts burning heretics, and then suddenly all that preening integrity doesn't look so admirable. And the politics is hilarious: Henry allies with the French and the HRE each against the other, switching pretty much as soon as one or the other agrees to an alliance.
Henry Czerny is marginally better as Conrad Grayson than as the Duke of Norfolk -- but they really should have kept him on past the first season, because without him, we get Catherine Howard as just a lost waif (so far) rather than another attempt at a political play by courtiers.
188: About 27%, maybe? Has someone pointed this out to the Democratic strategists?
Teaching is hard work.
Preach it, brother.
Sifu Tweety, if Mischa Collins is a friend of yours, but you're not intending to watch the whole series, I highly recommend season 6 episode 15 to you, "The French Mistake." Sam & Dean are thrust into an alternate universe in which they are actors on a show called Supernatural; Collins' bit playing himself is hilarious.
"Friday Night Lights" is great. I binged on the first 13 episodes in about a day and a half, and now I'm waiting for a friend to catch up so we can watch it at a less unhealthy pace.
Dead Like Me was great all the way through even if the rest of the episodes aren't quite as good as the early ones.
Those who like Archer should like The Venture Bros.
I guiltily enjoyed the first season of Downton but couldn't stand the second season. I find this season more like the first.
Supernatural is good fun (though it's been a while since I've watched it.
If you like sci-fi weirdness give Lexx a try. Please. I can't be the only one out there who thinks it's one of the best things ever.
Re: Tudors: You're not supposed to like Anne Boleyn, I don't think. Or anyone in her family
For reasons I can't quite figure out, I was walking down the hall today (well that part I can figure out the reasons for: it was to get from one place to another) thinking about Mary Stuart through the filter of Schiller and getting just furious about what a bitch Elizabeth was. What the loosely historical fuck?
And I renew my endorsement of Friday Night Lights. That Tammy Taylor would have straightened Elizabeth I right out with her endearing mix of patience and sass.
I know it sounds all "I don't even have a TV," but it may be that a handful of Portlandia bits is all the TV I've seen since The Wire. These other programs, they're better, you say?
Speaking of TV, since you all are racists and like talking about accents, maybe you should have a conversation about racism, accents, and the Volkswagen Super Bowl ad.
I'm certain I'm going to get all sorts of grief for this, but The O.C. was really great, for all the reasons outlined in this article. (Plus, I love picturing Ira Glass in tears over it.)
I will recommend Eureka from SyFy as a kind of great formulaic tv show - smart people do something dumb (which will distroy the world obvs) and then dumb sherrif fixes everything. There was a serious reboot somewhere along the line to beware if you're jumping between seasons.
I also can't stop watching Lost Girl even though I'm not entirely sure I like it. Well that's not true - I have stopped because I can't deal with the wolf guy moping all the time.
I spoiled this season of Downton Abbey to see if it was going to be a soapy as Season 2. I hated how many story lines they would start and resolve over a single episode. Give me some time to care dude!
This "hydro batiste" thing is starting to grow on me. Speaking of which, time to be indulgent and go read in the bath. This is why I don't have tv recommendations. But Lillian Faderman's book about Boston marriages among prominent professional women in the 19th and early 20th centuries is every bit as good as I expected it to be!
198: I heard about that but never have watched it; I'll check it out.
207 cont'd: that episode title alone is pretty fantastic.
thinking about Mary Stuart through the filter of Schiller and getting just furious about what a bitch Elizabeth was. What the loosely historical fuck?
Perhaps not all that surprisingly, I was thinking about the same thing at some point today. But then Leicester abandons her, bam! Er is zu Schiff nach Frankreich, bitch!
Those who like Archer should like The Venture Bros.
And yet, I just... don't. It's some missing ingredient in me, I'm sure.
203: I know it sounds all "I don't even have a TV
I know. I'm gobsmacked at the number of shows I've never heard of it. And that people have time to watch, apparently. I'm totally out of it. That said, I will be happy if I ever induce someone to watch Monster. Or even Detroit Metal City.
I always recommend an Australian show called Dance Academy. It could at times be taken for a teen soap opera with ballet, but for the most part it's very well done, and I've enjoyed it despite being neither a teenager nor a big ballet fan. Netflix has it.
211:I know of Monster, good stuff I'll get around to it someday.
Anime is time-consuming, and I will watch my early Sokurov and Fliegauf and Pen-ek Ratanaruang
Ya know, there is a lot of Web out there, and if you want to learn about something before you dive in, or get expert recommendations, and I guess if you learn how to evaluate reviewers, it just takes time. I research the fuck out of my entertainment.
Just requested the Nero Wolfe show from the library!
I'm amazed/terrified that GSwift can enjoy the Shield given his day job.
It's more twisted than you think. The Shield was just coming to an end when I started this job in 2008. Now that I'm a few years in and watching the series again from scratch I'm pretty sure I'm liking it even more the second time around.
My wife doesn't share my enthusiasm though. The Shield and Breaking Bad stress her out too much. Too much realism or something. She also complains now that no thanks to me she can't help but notice things in cop shows like how everyone's using poor tactics clearing a building or running around with their finger on the triggers like noobs.
I found it difficult - no, impossible - to watch an episode of Sherlock without finding myself wondering why they run about 90 minutes without having 90 minutes worth of material. I probably won't pick it up again now that they've apparently decided to do a third set of episodes.
Without claiming that Elementary is a better show, I'll say that I've continued to watch it mostly because it's nice to see an investigative-style show where the main character is not relentlessly an asshole to the rest of the characters and it's good enough as light entertainment. Plus, I think they're doing some interesting things with Lucy Liu as Watson.
Seconding Lexx. Oh, the brake calipers of doom.
I haven't seen all of anything video* --well, I haven't read the last season of Buffy yet -- but Bunheads may be a coming-to-adulthood story for a MPDG, which is interesting. Needs more training montages.
* and yet, I have read Sylvie and Bruno Concluded at least twice and it wasn't worth once.
Those who like Archer should like The Venture Bros.
And yet, I just... don't. It's some missing ingredient in me, I'm sure.
I do. Not as much as Archer, but a lot. Individual episodes can be somewhat hit or miss, but there's great characters in there like the Monarch's henchmen, the Monarch himself, and Brock Samson. I'dd say it's much closer in tone (and concept) to Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law, though. Which is also excellent.
British TV has basically six channels - the four historic terrestrial ones, the football (which is what 100% of Sky subscribers actually want it for), and all the other will-this-do shite, which can be considered as just one meta-channel.
You're not supposed to like 16th century aristocrats. Of course Elizabeth Tudor was a prize bitch. So was Mary Tudor, Mary Stuart and all Henry VIII's wives and sisters. The men, of course, were worse. If you want 21st century people to sympathise with your characters, set your story in the 21st century, or at least the late 20th.
running around with their finger on the triggers like noobs.
Surprising how often you see that. On posters too. Aaargh.
I tried to re-watch an episode recently and decided that it was impossible for me to enjoy it after having watched Chuck. I had been able to suspend disbelief the first time around but the second time, having been primed by Chuck, I kept wanting to watch it as parody.
Oh yeah, Chuck, I've been meaning to finish that. T. and I liked most of it, but something about the last season really turned her off it, and we didn't finish watching it together. There's nothing stopping me from finishing it on my own, though, I just haven't got around to it.
She watches a lot more TV than me. I'd rather spend some of my free time on games and stuff. She seems to like Suburgatory, Bones, and Revenge, if people still need more recommendations. And another show I watch is Castle. There are a couple more I watch, but wouldn't actually recommend.
There are a couple more I watch, but wouldn't actually recommend.
That opens up a whole 'nother line of inquiry.
Dexter seasons 1 & 2 fall into the watch and recommend category.
Dexter seasons 3+ fall into the watch (in the foolish hope that maybe they'll recapture more of what I liked about seasons 1 & 2) and do not recommend.
I could say much the same about True Blood, though the line of demarcation is less clear. More of a gradual descent into badness.
Catle falls into my "watch, but don't recommend" category too. I only really watch it because I'm a Nathan Fillion fan. The last couple of season's have been pretty iffy, with only a handful of standout episodes. And even at its best, it's still just a light police procedural.
See also Fringe, which I have actually recommended, but only to sci-fi fans of a certain type.
I always recommend an Australian show called Dance Academy. It could at times be taken for a teen soap opera with ballet
TeenNick was billing it as "Degrassi meets Black Swan." I still haven't seen the latter, so I can't really say whether that's accurate or not. But we liked it enough that, after the season finale of season 1 last year on Teen Nick, Rory found season 2 on Netflix and we plowed through that in like a week. "Teen soap opera" is a genre that works just fine for me, so YMMV, but it's thoughtfully done and the dance element was enough to persuade Rory to sign up for her first ballet class since she was 5.
225 was me.
I could say much the same about True Blood
This reminds me that I saw an episode of Gilmore Girls recently, and had two immediate reactions: a) I'd completely forgotten Melissa McCarthy was in this! b) why are they not pronouncing her character's name "Suckeh"?
With respect to disliking Anne Boleyn -- I'm perfectly comfortable not liking a historical character for all sorts of historical reasons. The thing is, I really like the historical Anne Boleyn (it's not like I think I'd want to be her friend, or something, but you know what I mean). But, and I find it inexplicable but sometimes it just happens with actors and actresses, I detested the actress. Am I alone in such things? Does this happen to others?
Strike the second historical in the first sentence, if you will!
My wife has such visceral hatreds for certain actors (e.g., A Jolie) that she simply cannot enjoy anything they are in. I guess I'm better at suspending disbelief.
That said, I found several of the facial expressions N. Dormer offers as Boleyn off-putting enough to distract from the story. I wouldn't watch something because she's in it. But I don't think I'd skip something that otherwise looked interesting because she is in it.
225: Have you recommended Degrassi yet? I don't think I've actually watched it since having kids or haven't much, but it used to be what I'd put on if Lee went out on a Friday night and I wanted to do some quiet knitting.
I guess we're really supposed to see N. Dormer's Boleyn as a tragic figure. She gives up her life at the insistence of her father and uncle, who want her to seduce the king, even though she's not interested. She ends up getting into it though, and plays the climber well, but gets above herself, thinking she can order the king about. And failing in the one true task for which the king has recruited her, it's sort of a lives by the sword dies by the sword sort of thing. We see it as an obvious frame-up -- made all the more obvious by converting Brereton from a royal friend who was actually taken down because the plotters wanted wealth under his control, but converted in the show to a proto-Jesuit who confesses to adultery with the queen because he was too cowardly to just kill her (as assigned by the Pope).
She dies well. Better than More, I think. Cromwell's death, which ends season 3, is probably the most gruesomely accurate.
Seconding Fringe.
And as long as someones recommending Degrassi I'm going to go ahead and recommend DaVinci's Inquest. I just wish Acorn would come out with seasons 4-7 (when it goes from really good to great).
223: Season 4 of Dexter is worth it for Lithgow.
I haven't read through all 233 comments (just skimmed), but has anyone recommended the UK crime drama Line of Duty? It's available on Hulu. There are only 5 episodes (I think?), but the 5 episodes form a tightly-plotted narrative arc. Okay, the plot does, at points, tend to strain credibility (it's a police-detective drama, after all), but great characters, solid acting, and overall just a lot of fun to watch.
Like LB, I watched one episode of Downton Abbey and was seriously underwhelmed. And I'm a viewer with 'Janeite' tendencies: if it's done well, if it's done properly, I'm willing to temporarily suspend critical faculties and sink into the welcome relief of a chintz-upholstered chair by a roaring stone fireplace in a stately English home.
Yeah, Lithgow was fantastic. The show in general did lose the plot, though. Dexter went from being a psychopath who might conceivably kill his sister trying to mimic normal human interaction* to a family man with an unusual hobby.
*What drew me in. I occasionally bake muffins and bring them into work following what I call the Dexter theory of office relations.
My wife has such visceral hatreds for certain actors (e.g., A Jolie) that she simply cannot enjoy anything they are in.
I have more of these than I used to. Nicole Kidman is president of the club I guess. Jack Black used to be, but then he was kind of perfect in Bernie.
231, 233: Yeah, I loves me some Degrassi. But it definitely fits more into my teachable-moments-parenting-prop quiver.


text: Renault taps Carat for Europe Published on September 13, 2000. Renault, Paris, awarded its $600 million European media buying account to Carat as part of the French carmaker's bid to centralize its regional media business. The win adds to the good news at Carat parent Aegis. The London-based holding company said pre-tax profit for the first half climbed 19% from a year ago to $49 million, on 73% higher revenues of $299 million. For the period, Aegis reported net new billings of $1.03 billion.Copyright September 2000, Crain Communications Inc. Most Popular In this article: News

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Procera Zirconia is a proven all-ceramic restoration no-prep veneer that's a perfect solution to cover stained, discolored or chipped, and for those who have spaces between their teeth.
Reasons for porcelain veneers:
These ultra-thin Vivaneers offer the combination of beauty and strength with excellent esthetic results and improved long-term performance. The Vivaneers can quickly deliver the smile you've always wanted, without shots, drilling or pain. Vivaneers are different from traditional veneers in that traditional veneers require shots to numb the mouth as existing teeth are shaved down with a drill.
Custom-made to fit your mouth, each veneer is delicately crafted to deliver a beautiful, lifelike look.
What does getting veneers involve?
Getting veneers usually requires two visits to complete the process, with little or no anesthesia required during the procedure. The teeth are prepared by lightly buffing and shaping the surface to allow for the thickness of the veneer. A mold or impression of the teeth is then taken and a shade (color) is then be chosen by you and the dentist to match your current teeth.
On the second visit, the teeth will be cleansed with special liquids to achieve a durable bond. Bonding cement is then placed between the tooth and veneer and a special light beam is used to harden and set the bond.
LUMINEERS® are dental veneers that are made of a unique porcelain known as "Cerinate" – a patented ultra-strong porcelain which is high-strength and is resistant to cracking and crazing.
The high-strength of Cerinate allows LUMINEERS to be made contact-lens thin, and without the increased risk of breakage. This means that dentists can place the veneers without the need for anesthetics, drilling of sensitive tooth structure, extensive preparation or temporaries.
Custom-designed for each patient, LUMINEERS are a painless way to bring out a healthy, beauty and natural smile – and what's more, they are proven to last for over 20 years!
Similar to LUMINEERS®, VIVANEERS® are just a different brand of the same product – ultra-strong porcelain which are high-strength and resistant to cracking and crazing.


text:
General OperatingUse my gift where it is needed most. General operating gifts support science education in regional schools for 5,000 students; connect 70,000 adults and children annually to the natural world; protect 550 acres of regional habitat; monitor and restore the health of our forests; and educate thousands of people about sustainable food systems.
Children's Education FundThe Children's Education Fund is ACES most important fundraising drive of the year, supporting all of our ACES Ed programs. ACES must raise $400,000 to teach science classes to over 4,700 students, provide over 400 field programs for 48 regional schools, and deliver over 120 after school programs each school year.ACES Ed programs make 65,000 student contacts each year, providing curriculum rooted in experiential study of life, earth, and environmental sciences. The state of Colorado does not have the funds needed to provide sufficient science education to school districts. ACES Ed supplements this need, providing science education for regional schools, helping schools meet state and district academic standards. Help ACES in our work to change the world through environmental science education and make a tax-deductible donation to our Children's Education Fund today!
Click here to read our 2015-2016 Children's Education Fund brochure on Issuu.
Sustainable AgricultureACES at Rock Bottom Ranch is western Colorado's "school" for teaching people of all ages how to grow healthy, sustainable food. This means farming using priciples of ecology and natural biological cycles to satisfy human food needs while enhancing and protecting water, land, and climate resources. ACES' unique brand of sustainable agriculture at the Ranch melds 113 acres of wild lands and pristine riparian habitats with agriculture production and education. Support of our sustainable agriculture programs provides the opportunity to help educate both youth and adults how to grow food sustainably, highlighting replicable models of sustainable agriculture while providing local, healthy food for valley residents.
Forest Health InitiativesThere has never been a more critical moment to support forest health initiatives; which will provide long-term information on the state of our forests. Healthy forests provide vital resources for our community and the world. Locally, forests are the source of our drinking water, and globally, forests are a major player in the global carbon cycle, absorbing carbon emissions from fossil fuels. Your support helps ACES protect our forests and educate for the importance of healthy, natural systems through our Forest Health Index.
Summer Naturalist Internship ProgramWhat began with four interns in 1978, is now a thriving, highly-competitive program recognized by the Princeton Review as one of the top 100 internship programs in the country. Hundreds of young people who have made their start at ACES have gone on to meaningful careers in conservation and education, contributing in many ways to society and the natural environment. The core of ACES' Internship program involves bringing 14 Naturalists to Hallam Lake for a summer. A contribution of $5,000 covers the cost of one intern for the summer, or $2,500 covers the cost of ½ an intern for the summer. These generous contributions will help ACES cover the $70,000 cost of hosting fourteen 14 interns, but it will also continue to strengthen this already remarkable program.
Tomorrow's VoicesACES' Tomorrow's Voices program provides a rigorous academic curriculm for high school students where issues of ethics, diversite, liberty, and equality are explored in depth through environmental awareness and civic activism. Classes are open to students from all high schools in the Roaring Fork Valley and held weekly at Roaring Fork High School in Carbondale. Our enrollment reaches across different school districts, bringing together a diverse group of students; a feature critical to hosting meaningful discussions of core values and civics.


text:
Why use sunshine.co.uk?
Member of ABTA
Book with Confidence. sunshine.co.uk is an ABTA Member.
£1 Hotel Deposits
Book today, pay your balance 2 weeks before travel.
Save Money
Our customers say they saved money through booking with us.
ATOL Protected
Should a supplier cease trading, we can claim your money back.
- Satellite/TV
- Kids Pools
- Kids Playground
- Fitness/Gym Facilities
Silver Hotel has an outdoor swimming pool with childrens section and surrounding sun terrace and lawned gardens. Further leisure facilities include a fitness gym and a children's playground.
The restaurant offers buffet and a'la carte services with a menu of Bulgarian and international cuisine. There is also a pool-side bar.
Amenities and services available to guests include parking spaces and free WiFi in public areas, 24-hour reception and luggage storage.
Local charges may apply to some hotel facilities and others may be seasonal.
Guest rooms at the Silver Hotel have cable TV, a mini bar, an ensuite bath/shower room and a balcony.
Local charges may apply to some hotel facilities and others may be seasonal.
Map of Silver Hotel
Silver Hotel is located in the Chayka district, just 350-metres from the Cabacum beach and approx 2km from the centre of Golden Sands.
The town of Varna is approx 15km away and its airport around 22km, while Bourgas Airport is approx 113km.
Please note: the hotel locations shown are to be used for guide purposes only.
If you like 'Silver Hotel'...
Below we have a few hotels that you may also like to consider.
£1 Hotel Deposits
Book today, pay your balance 2 weeks before travel.
Flexible Payments
You can make balance payments at any time to suit you.
Customer Service
99% of our customers would recommend us.
Easy To Use
Simple step by step guide to booking your holiday.
Golden Sands Hotels
Search the sunshine.co.uk website:×


text:
The Bacon Brothers
Arlington Heights | Website
This event occurred in the past.
Map | Find Parking
Brothers Michael and Kevin Bacon have a style best described by their first album title, "Forosoco," which describes their blend of folk, rock, soul and country influences. Now, nearly 20 years later, The Bacon Brothers continue with their soulful sound and their latest offering of Americana 36 cents.


text:
Blogs written by and for ACA Members.
Find our member blogs by member name here!
What is the etiology of the psychological distress we purport to treat? Some of you keen counseling philosophers have already become suspicious of my question, so I'll ask it again in its most common form! What is the cause of mental "illness"? Now, if you're feeling that sinking sensation in the pit of your stomach, don't worry! I'm not going to ask you to examine your own philosophy regarding the nature versus nurture debate. I wouldn't do that to you. Instead, my question intends to go beyond, at least professionally, the nature/nurture debate to explore how the counseling profession benefits from the controversy surrounding the cause of issues that bring people to our care. My task hereafter is to convince you that the counseling profession gains legitimacy as a result of the quest to find a biological etiology for mental illness.
Before I proceed with convincing you of this benefit to the profession, I find it necessary to disclose my existential/feminist/multicultural slant, just in case you aren't a fan of satire. (Disclaimer: in other words, what follows is meant to be satirical in nature and does not represent the true beliefs of the blogger)My argument is clearly delineated in five points as follows:1.The concept of mental illness or disease (e.g., alcoholism) brings us comfort in knowing that we, ultimately, are not responsible for our condition2.Consequently, mental illness or disease in others is more excusable 3.Positron emission tomography (PET) scans allow researchers to explore differences between individuals based on the responses of neurotransmitters in the brain, thus proving the cause of mental illness as being rooted in biological flaw. This also serves to disprove environmental etiology, not because we know which actually causes the other, but because we can see proof of the biological side. So, there you go!4.The idea that illnesses like mood disorders and anxiety disorders can be caused by environmental stressors doesn't explain why these disorders are effectively treated with medication.5.Counseling, as a profession, doesn't have a lot of support for efficacy in treatment. Also, research supports the notion that effectiveness has little to do with type of treatment (Seligman, 1995). Without a biological etiology for mental illness, what are we effectively saying about the society in which we live? a.That people learn to cope with life stressors ineffectively?b.That we are chronically stressed, which leads to a myriad of psychological distress?c.That the medical model seeks to treat symptoms rather than causes?C'mon…Really? Our profession is financially justified in treating things for which others have no control. Conversely, should my "third party provider" really be expected to help me cover the cost of "treatment" for relationship issues? Get serious! Furthermore, "counselor" isn't even a protected term. The person who walks my dog is a "counselor." So are my barber, my lawyer, and every bartender I've ever met.
Counselors want it both ways; they want to function as servants for the status quo in their promotion of normality and, with this new social justice thing, work to change the very social structure they strive to protect. One hand's fighting the other! Maybe, just maybe, if there was a clear function or set of objectives for the counseling profession, they wouldn't need to latch on to biological causes of mental illness. Right now, however, counselors are analogous to that kid from your neighborhood who never really knew he was "tagging along." Remember him? That kid? Professionally, in many respects, that's you!
Listen "third wheel," the sooner you realize that you need a biological basis of mental illness to legitimate your profession, and that treatment of non-biological problems is an effort in mysticism, the better off you will be.
Kenneth Oliver is a counselor in Missouri and an assistant professor at Quincy University in Illinois.
Join/Renew NOW!


text:
Yesterday my beloved laptop decided to DIE!
Not that this was a surprise, but it's a surprise it happened so soon! I had an HP Pavillion Laptop, which has been overheating NON STOP which apparently was a problem with this model, well yesterday it finally overheated one too many times and it either will turn on for a total of 5 seconds and then shuts off on its own, or just won't turn on at all......
My biggest worry is getting all my information off of my hard drive, which isn't going to be a problem.
My big gripe though is with HP!!!! You know how you get a 1 year warranty with your computers normally? Well we had the same with my HP, I also had the same with hubby's Dell. However the difference.... When hubby's computer had an issue and was a couple weeks out of warranty (less than 30 days), Dell still honored it and helped him out for FREE.... HP however refuses to do so, I'm only 16 days out of warranty and they want me to ship my computer to them and pay them $389 to just SEE what the problem is.....
Can I get a big HELL NO!!! Why in the WORLD would I do that when I can BUY a new laptop for that price???? I'm so mad with HP right now, I'm not even going to spew out what I'd like to on this blog post, I will say though, as much as I had hoped to one day work with HP and my blog, that's a far cry from EVER happening, I'll never be purchasing an HP product again.
My lovely laptop may it R.I.P at only 1 year and 16 days old..... What a piece of GARBAGE!
So, until I have a permanent solution and brand new laptop, I'll be posting pretty sporadically only getting in what I must when I can get on a computer.... It's frustrating when EVERYTHING is on my own computer and I can't get to what I need!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Bare with my lack of posting....
Posted by Gina at 5:00 PM
Labels: daily life
1 comment:
- SafeHomeHappyMom said...
I am your latest follower!!!! You can also follow me at www.safehomehappymom.com
- March 1, 2010 at 6:18 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Ecurrency Team
Vendor: Ecurrency Team
Ecurrency Team is a registered partnership firm in India providing e-currency exchange services since 6 May 2014.
Payment Methods Supported
- WebMoney, PerfectMoney, Skrill , Neteller, Solid Trust Pay, Payza, PayPal, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Payeer, Payoneer, EntroPay and Okpay
Commission Rates
- Commission on deposits: 9%
- Commission on withdrawals: 9%
Note: Services rendered by this Payment Agent are only available to current residents in India.
Contact Details
Website: http://www.ecurrencyteam.com
Email: email@example.com
Telephone number: +919248136636
Disclaimer: Binary.com is not affiliated with the payment agent listed above. Each payment agent operates as an independent service provider and is not endorsed, guaranteed or otherwise approved by Binary.com. CUSTOMERS DEAL WITH PAYMENT AGENTS AT THEIR SOLE RISK AND PERIL. Customers are advised to check the credentials of payment agents before sending them any money. Binary.com shall not in any circumstance be held responsible for transactions made between customers and payment agents.


text:
dread, a descendant of Canaan, and the ancestor of the Hittites ( Genesis 10:18 ; Deuteronomy 7:1 ), who dwelt in the vicinity of Hebron ( Genesis 23:3 Genesis 23:7 ). The Hittites were a Hamitic race. They are called "the sons of Heth" ( Genesis 23:3 Genesis 23:5 Genesis 23:7 Genesis 23:10 Genesis 23:16 Genesis 23:18 Genesis 23:20 ).
M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition,
published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain, copy freely.
[N] indicates this entry was also found in Nave's Topical Bible
[H] indicates this entry was also found in Hitchcock's Bible Names
[S] indicates this entry was also found in Smith's Bible Dictionary
Bibliography InformationEaston, Matthew George. "Entry for Heth". "Easton's Bible Dictionary".


text:
Singing Teacher
Miriam Allan
Australian soprano, Miriam Allan, has been a soloist with leading orchestral and choral organisations all over the world including the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, Bach Collegium Japan, Les Arts Florissants, Le Concert d'Astree, Auckland Philharmonia, Concerto Copenhagen, Il Fondamento, Gewandhaus Kammerchor, Leipzig Kammerorchester, Concerto Köln, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. She has been fortunate to work with many of the finest directors and conductors, including Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Laurence Cummings, William Christie and Roy Goodman. She appears on numerous recordings, highlights of which include a recital CD of Handel's Silete Venti and Purcell Songs on the ABC Classics label; Pinchgut Opera's Giasone, Griselda, Fairy Queen and Dardanus; The Wonders of the World with Echo du Danube, Mozart's Requiem with the Leipzig Kammerorchester and Gewandhaus Kammerchor. She gave a concert tour of Australia with Ironwood Ensemble for Musica Viva in 2009 and has frequently returned to her native country for performances with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. After making her debut with Glyndebourne Festival Opera in performances of Purcell's Fairy Queen in 2009, Miriam continued with that production to Paris, Caen and New York in 2010. Miriam made her debut with Canadian orchestra, Les Violons du Roy last December for concerts of Handel's Messiah.
As a teacher, Miriam has been involved with the Thame Chamber Choir since 2010 offering individual lessons a couple of times per term. Her lessons are as varied as your vocal problems - her philosophy being to teach the student in front of her, not teach to a method or formula. She also works with the choir as a whole: looking at technical ways to improve the overall impact the choir can make in performance, reiterating that every member of the choir is vital and all contributions add to the whole.


text:
More than 1,000 Occupy Wall Street protesters have blocked cargo trucks at some of the West Coast's busiest ports, forcing terminals in Oakland, California, Portland, Oregon, and Washington state to halt operations.
While the protests attracted fewer people than the 10,000 who turned out on November 2 to shut down Oakland's port, organisers declared victory and promised more demonstrations to come.
"The truckers are still here, but there's nobody here to unload their stuff," protest organiser Boots Riley said. "We shut down the Port of Oakland for the daytime shift and we're coming back in the evening. Mission accomplished."
Organisers called for the "Shutdown Wall Street on the Waterfront" protests, hoping the day of demonstrations would cut into the profits of the corporations that run the docks and send a message that their movement was not over.
The longshoremen's union did not officially support the protests, but its membership cited a provision in its contract that allowed workers to ask to stay off the job if they felt conditions were unsafe.
Some went home with several hours' pay while others left with nothing.
Oakland longshoreman DeAndre Whitten, who lost about 500 dollars, said: "I hope they keep it up. I have no problem with it. But my wife wasn't happy about it."
Others, such as the truck drivers who had to wait in long lines as protesters blocked gates, were angry, saying the demonstrators were harming the people they were trying to help.
"This is a joke. What are they protesting?" said Christian Vega, who sat in his truck carrying a load of recycled paper. He said the delay was costing him 600 dollars. "It only hurts me and the other drivers. We have jobs and families to support and feed. Most of them don't."
From Long Beach, California, to as far away as Anchorage, Alaska, and Vancouver, British Columbia, protesters beat drums and carried signs as they marched outside the gates. There were a handful of arrests, but no major clashes with police.
Rain dampened some protests. Several hundred showed up at the Port of Long Beach and left after several hours.
The movement, which sprang up this autumn in New York against what it sees as corporate greed and economic inequality, is focusing on the ports as the "economic engines for the elite". It comes weeks after police raids cleared out most of their tent camps.
The port protests are a "response to show them that it's going to hurt their pocketbooks if they attack us brutally like that", Mr Riley said.
Protesters are most upset by two West Coast companies: port operator SSA Marine and grain exporter EGT. Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs Group owns a major stake in SSA Marine and has been a frequent target of protesters.
They say they are standing up for workers against the port companies, which have had high-profile clashes with union workers lately. Longshoremen in Longview, for example, have had a long-standing dispute with EGT.
In a statement, EGT officials pointed out that the company employs workers from a different union to staff its terminal. The longshoremen's union says the jobs rightfully belong to them.
While the demonstrations were largely peaceful and isolated to a few gates at each port, local officials in the longshoremen's union and port officials or shipping companies determined that the conditions were unsafe for workers.
In Oakland, several hundred people picketed before dawn and blocked some trucks from going through at least two entrances.
A long line of big rigs sat outside one of the entrances, unable to drive into the port. Police in riot gear stood by as protesters marched in an oval and carried signs. Protesters cheered when they learned about the partial shutdown and then dispersed.


text:
Research now uncovers that chili peppers can be a dieter's completely new buddy in the war towards extra fat. Chili peppers are usually renowned for their poignant, spicy flavoring that contributes zest to cuisine. Previously, numerous health experts, dieticians together with losing weight specialists claimed that spicy dishes enable reduce fat.
However, a new study is shown so that you can light that will proves they may have been right just as one active component in chili peppersgenerally called capsaicin was discovered to aid in weight-loss when it comes to curbing appetite, improving metabolic rate , along with boosting fat loss. Oahu is the trifecta of weightloss.
Research located in 2009 mentioned about the journal of Clinical Nutrition says that capsaicin cuts down cravings for food, therefore, people ingested less calories and fat loss ensued. Where very same year, a written report published inside the European Journal of Nutrition demonstrated that capsaicin decreases a endocrine named ghrelin, which may be identified for promoting cravings for food. The study signifies that capsaicin could be regarded as an invaluable advantage in soothing being hungry and also appetite.
Metabolic rate may be long deemed an iconic key to long-term weight loss. For those who have a quick metabolic process, you are a fortunate person in culture that may try to eat cheeseburgers, and other seductive pleasures and barely acquire fat. A simple metabolism will be the solution powering the thin figures of the youth. Although as we get older, our metabolism drops, and then for a couple of, considerably.
So that you can combat that, capsaicin may play a crucial role. That's mainly because various research laboratory and animal research record capsaicin hasten thermogenesis, the organic process associated with using up calories.
Within the 2010 research seen in the actual Journal of Proteome Study, capsaicin triggered different proteins by which eradicated body fat along with avoided the production of excess fat. Which proposes capsaicin may bear guarantee to assist you flatten your tummy.
However could it be harmless? Generally-speaking it truly is. Naturally, foods with higher capsaicin content, much like chili peppers might cause stomach complications, heartburn symptoms and perhaps peptic issues for many. Additionally, if you are consuming prescribed drugs including blood-thinners and in addition prescription drugs, it will be suggested to stop foods along with supplements containing capsaicin. Capsaicin might not be suitable for pregnant or perhaps nursing females.
Prior to go out to the food store to put on extra chili peppers, it is critical to note it should take a large everyday dose of capsaicin * 10 grams — to profit. The very best option is to consider a capsaicin supplement in pill or capsule form to have your daily does easily.
We surveyed quite a few capsaicin health supplements on the market. Of these we examined, the very best we found was obviously a brand referred to as Capsiplex. This particular brand attained our requirements for the best capsaicin dietary supplement according to four factors.
The scientific study was executed on Capsiplex, which clearly demonstrates its usefulness. Using this analysis, Dr. Karen Viera analyzed Capsiplex and located it made it easier for participants burn off around 278 far more calories before, during as well as after exercising more than a home trainer for an hour. The reason why is it boosts sleeping metabolic process and charges as well as burns carbohydrate food and fat. In addition, it confirmed anti-oxidant results, reduced blood vessels levels of cholesterol and also reduced fat build-up inside the liver. Exercising performance also proved reasonable improvement, which ends up in a lot more intense routines, which melts away far more calories.
Another reason precisely why we liked Capsiplex was because it's a exclusive patented matrix of excipients along with coatings that delivers you the positive aspects with no irritability as well as acid reflux disorder. That is because its covering was made to endure the lower Ph amount of the stomach in order that it keeps undamaged up until the capsaicin extract is manufactured in the larger PH quantity of a intestines; many capsaicin nutritional supplements available are not able to handle this challenge, so they produce lackluster outcomes.
Capsiplex may be highlighted positively in many Uk media which includes theDaily Mail, the Daily Express, the Daily Star, and in Star Magazine. Stars are purported to become using Capsiplex including Britney Spears, Kelly Osborne and J-Lo, along with model Nicola McLean who been dependent on it to be able to lose her excessive post-pregnancy weight. She reported falling 7 pounds within seven days.
Because of impressive media subjection, 50,346 specifically packs of Capsiplex soldout in 72 hours. Next, the result via customers have shown promise too. Amy J. reports being lower two dress sizes in About six weeks. Frank L., reports losing 8 pounds within 21 days. And Wendy B. boasts she's 11 lbs lighter following just 23 days. The producer states when you have a lot more than 14lbs to reduce, you are able to assume to lower as much as four lbs in your initial Seven days, and after that drop One or two lbs weekly thereafter. That's fairly remarkable inside our books. The organization dependent their product upon 3 decades of investigation while offering 24-hour help using their United kingdom office. They ship to all around the globe and give a fair value with regard to Capsiplex, considering it makes it possible to remove to 278 calories each day.


text:
The Combined Choirs of the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena, Allentown performed a Marian Concert Aug. 13 in tribute of the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima.
The apparitions began May 13, 1917, when 9-year-old Francisco and 7-year-old Jacinta Marto, along with their cousin Lucia dos Santos, reported seeing the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal. They continued monthly until Oct. 13, 1917, and later were declared worthy of belief by the Catholic Church.


text:
Katie Couric Announcement in the A.M.
Katie Couric | Happy Anniversary, Katie Holmes | 'Sopranos' Whack Music Budget | Sting's Mrs.: A Good Ex-Drunk | Follow-Ups: Billy Preston, Kiss Manager
Katie Couric Announcement in the A.M.
Katie Couric will announce that she's leaving the "Today" show tomorrow morning during her 15th anniversary celebration.
Expect this in the second half-hour of the show — between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. — when they roll out a cake and show clips of her many hairstyles. At that point, Katie is expected to say it's been a grand ride, but that it's time for a change.
The news is no shock at this point. The fact that Couric is leaving to anchor the "CBS Evening News" is the least well-kept secret in broadcasting since Howard Stern left regular radio for satellite.
But it's a big deal in so many ways: Couric inherits the brass ring in network news. Even if CBS' crown is tarnished, it's still considered — if only sentimentally — the standard in broadcast journalism.
Of course, Katie won't be the first woman there. That distinction belongs to Connie Chung, who briefly co-anchored with Dan Rather years ago. It was a disaster, but like all disasters the Chung episode was one more kick against the glass ceiling.
After Katie makes her announcement on "Today," expect Meredith Vieira to tell her fans on "The View" that she's leaving to fill Couric's spot. And then, who knows? Maybe Star Jones will come running in and kick out the imposter who took her place several months ago. Anything is possible!
Couric, as I told you weeks ago, actually takes a pay cut to leave "Today." If she'd stayed, NBC would have anted her up to around $20 million a year. At CBS she will earn only a little bit more than she's making now: $13 million. But she'll have the advantage of not waking up at 5 a.m. every day, and getting to be part of the prestigious "60 Minutes" team when possible.
She'll also be able to dictate changes in the way network news is presented, because her version will be different: more interviews in the studio, and less dependence on outside correspondents.
In fact, the only way that Couric's ascension to this throne will be worth it is if her "Evening News" becomes a destination for channel surfers. And that will mean hard-charging producers steering her toward hard-to-get subjects on the day the news happens.
Happy Anniversary, Katie Holmes
We met one year ago tonight. The occasion was the Broadway premiere of "Steel Magnolias." Before the show began, someone said, "Katie Holmes is here." I'd liked her work in "Pieces of April" and was happy to say hello.
During intermission, we talked. And at the after party we talked. She didn't know Tom Cruise. This is what she said: She'd moved to New York, wanted to see a lot of theater and learn about the city. She was living in my neighborhood and wanted to know where to do her grocery shopping. I told her about the world-famous Jefferson Market. When we parted, I remember agreeing to meet her there soon.
A few days later, she was still in New York. Holmes was photographed at a couple of events and the pictures are still available. By April 11, however, she had gone to Hollywood for a meeting with Cruise on a look-see about "Mission: Impossible 3." That was it. The next time anyone saw her, on April 27, she was with Tom, holding hands and professing true love in Rome. As I wrote last year, there are 16 missing days.
In short order, Holmes fired her longtime agent and publicist. She also severed ties with her newish manager. The rest is history. She and Tom are expecting a baby on or around May 5, the day "Mission: Impossible 3" opens in theaters. She didn't get that job. She got another one instead.
Yesterday, a German tabloid got an amazing interview out of Cruise. He said that there would be no wedding until the summer, way after the birth and the movie premiere. So let's rerun these facts: a sweet girl from a Midwestern family, a devout Catholic family, no less, who's had the same boyfriend for four years, is having a baby out of wedlock with no immediate plans to marry.
Something's fishy here, and it isn't the anchovies on the pizza.
The speculation is that the delayed wedding has something to do with a pre-nuptial agreement. There has to be some truth to this rumor. Katie's father and brother are both highly educated, respected lawyers. They are not about to let her sign a document forfeiting her rights.
The impasse, I am told, is that Katie has had little contact with her family recently. Insiders say that her Scientology monitors and Cruise are isolating her as the delivery date nears.
And without a paper, Cruise — who is worth a fortune — is not getting married.
As for Katie: I will celebrate our one-year anniversary by attending the premiere of Antonio Banderas' new movie, "Take the Lead." It looks good. I will speculate that Katie would have enjoyed the Jefferson Market's famous rotisserie chicken, that she would have gotten her pictures framed at the Greenwich Village Art Gallery, and had breakfast at Joe Jr.'s. She would have used Jerri's drycleaners and possibly the famous C.O. Bigelow pharmacy. She doesn't know what she missed, but I'll bet she has an idea.
Another great episode of "The Sopranos" aired on Sunday night, as Paulie Walnuts learned about his genealogy and Tony took the reigns of the business from his hospital room.
But some things are missing from this edition of "The Sopranos" and I'm not just talking about Dominic Chianese, aka Uncle Junior (totally missing for the third episode in a row) and Vincent Curatola (Johnny Sack had one scene). The music is gone, too. Last Sunday's episode reflected the change: it had just three song clips, the lowest number ever for the series.
"Sopranos" fans know that creator David Chase loves good music. In past seasons, the shows were filled with it. In particular, it was always fun to see which song he'd chosen for the closing credits.
Last year, the end credits included songs by The Kinks, The Commodores and Queen. Episodes over the first five seasons were literally stuffed with interesting and well-known music.
But so far this season, nothing. "The Sopranos" has been rather tuneless in this outing. The end credits have simply been anonymous instrumental music by either Pink Floyd or Daniel Lanois.
The show has managed to feature a few music tracks on Tony's hospital boom box, but they've been very careful to use just a few bars of each one — which means very small payments to the music publishers.
The reason, of course, is money. Getting the rights to popular songs — which have to be bought forever — can be as high as $50,000 a pop. With cast salaries climbing high as ever, you can bet the first item to be scratched off the budget was hit records.
Episode 3 relied on cheap, generic tracks from B-level doo-wop groups The Turbans and The Mystics, not to mention two tracks from something called Time Pools.
So what will happen? We'll have to wait and see. Maybe Chase is saving up his budget for the later episodes in this group. In the meantime, we'll have to console ourselves with tunes from the discount bin. David, here's a suggestion: "Love is Blue" is always available.
Trudie Styler keeps surprising me. She is the ultimate renaissance woman, if there were such a thing.
"If there were renaissance men, there were renaissance women," she assured me last night. The occasion was her performance in a one-act play at the Promenade Theater, part of a three one-act play grouping called Addictions that was presented to raise money for the Caron Foundation.
James Earl Jones, looking robust after a bad health year, took a center seat with his wife C.C. and told me. "I've healed!"
Elaine Stritch, who likes very little and is always vocal about it, praised Styler's performance as a recovering alcoholic in the first play, called "The Hurdle."
Chris Sarandon, the fine actor and first husband of Susan, was deliciously smarmy as an Italian with an accurate accent.
But Trudie continues to be a revelation. She has four kids of her own and two stepchildren, four homes, a movie production company, several charities that depend on her and a rock-star husband (Sting) who needs significant attention.
Last Monday, she and Sting did another theatrical presentation. That's two for Trudie in eight days.
"We rehearsed for the first time at 1 p.m. today," she told me.
But Stritch was right: the audience was glued to Trudie, who can range from haunted to comic to fragile and defiant without any trouble.
The play's writer/producer, Tricia Walsh-Smith, was unsurprised by Trudie's success.
"She came in and did it, and she was a natural," Walsh-Smith said. "But she was always an actress, before anything else."
Walsh-Smith wrote the plays and put them together with the Caron Foundation in memory of her brother, Kevin, who committed suicide at age 41.
The second play of the evening, a monologue called "Take the High Road," performed by Jessica Hecht, was about her experiences with his death. The third play featured comedienne Jackie Hoffman, Martha Plimpton and Peter Bartlett in an offbeat dialogue about death.
Follow-ups: Billy Preston, Kiss Manager
You might like to know that the Billy Preston situation has been temporarily resolved. In court the other day, Joyce Moore retained her medical power of attorney. Preston will remain in Arizona and continue to receive the best care.
In my report on Monday, I did leave out one fact until I was certain of it: when Preston fell into his coma, he was completely off of drugs. He'd entered a rehab facility, and was determined to get clean.
His subsequent illness and present semi-coma are the result of what may be proven to be medical mishaps at a Los Angeles facility where he'd wound up temporarily. His legacy is that timeless song, "You Are So Beautiful," which I hear is getting an updated treatment soon…
I have a new hero in New York Family Court Commissioner Nicolas Palos. Yesterday he got so angry with former Kiss manager Jesse Hilsen that he started screaming.
He said, "I have to make sure my words are clean for the record here," but he looked like was going to explode. The reason was that Hilsen could not tell him where his Social Security checks were going, what bank they were in or where his passport was located.
Initially, Palos was going to dismiss Hilsen's Family Court proceeding and send him back to bankruptcy court.
That would have meant that Hilsen — who's never paid child support or alimony from a 1984 divorce after making millions with Kiss — would have gotten out of jail in June after two years.
A flight risk, Hilsen would likely have split ASAP before his assets were located. But Palos hit the roof, and it was spectacular, when Hilsen told him he'd contact him with his answers "once I get out of jail."
Palos became infuriated — and rightly so. The court reporter must have had a field day getting Hilsen's tirade against the commissioner — who waited patiently, asked "Are you done?" and then lit into him.
Palos put the case over to May 4, and told Rita Hilsen's attorney to "bring everyone." That includes all of Hilsen's creditors, as well as those — like New York doctors Richard and Joan Packles Margolis — who may know where Hilsen's millions are hidden. Hilsen's ex-wife, Rita, continues to live in a shelter uptown. Palos, you rock!