(no subject)
* A fertilizer plant in Texas exploded in a town called West. 5-15 are killed, more than 160 wounded. They were still searching homes for survivors as I wrote this, so that's very preliminary. Several blocks of housing were hit as well as a nursing home. They are treating it as a crime scene at this stage of investigation. There is a loss of power and concerns about storms blowing toxic fumes to places people are. The fire still burns.
The Red Cross is responding, so donations of money and blood (if you can legally give) are your best bet to help.
* John Stewart and George Takei on "The Judgement of history:"
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook
* Stephen Colbert and Alan Cumming repond to "Accidental Racist:"
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,Video Archive
* Alan Cumming being delightful with Stephen Colbert:
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,Video Archive
* "Top Ten Ways Islamic Law forbids Terrorism:" http://www.juancole.com/2013/04/islamic-forbids-terrorism.html
* "An Illustrated Tour Of Australia's Museum of Copulatory Organs:" http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-04/illustrated-tour-australias-museum-copulatory-organs
* Today was terrible and exhausting in a whole bunch of ways I don't want to talk about and you likely don't want to hear.
* In Barney Miller I watched "Inquisition." This is the one where the cockroach from IA turns up on witch hunt for a gay cop in the precinct. This episode really upset me as a kid and is still rather hard to watch. It is all sorts of messy as far as coming out issues and discrimination goes. I get why it's like that. I get how it was likely important to do it this way to get the ordinary rather ignorant straight families of 1979 thinking. I get that, I really do, but this wasn't what I needed it to be at nine. On top of this I remember my huge disappointment at the cop out as to which character was gay. Oh look, no one in the core cast! Surprise! I hated it. I hated them all suspecting each other as if there was something wrong with being gay. I hated the weak sauce affirmations which felt like platitudes. I hated the tying it all up neat at the end when life isn't like that. I hated the week ally moderateness of it. I hated the whole thing, even though it did get out out the message of why job discrimination was stupid and unfair.
It was clumsy in the way a lot of the attempts to address issues of race in season five and six generally were. You can really see the change from the earlier seasons. There was something more subtle and less movie of the week about the first couple seasons. All through they keep trying to address tough questions and real societal issues from budget cuts to the pointless endless war against the sex trade to marital rape to prejudice in the work place to issues of gun violence. It's often problematic but even in the clumsier episodes they are genuinely trying work through stuff, but I am more uncomfortable when it's preachy whether or not I agree with what they are trying to do. I do not want to watch them to explain racism to Wojo as if he were five and no a grown ass man. I don't want cringe making racial stereotypes. I don't want a very special gay episode. I do want to know what happened to all the female characters. For sure, they'd apear now and then, and quickly disappear, but now except for the victims and perps they are gone. I like I better when they let people do their own thinking. I think the slow whittling down of the core cast is part of the problem. You lose diversity of voices, and that means fewer views represented, bu I could be wrong.
* "What Happens When You Throw Some Glow Sticks into a Waterfall:" http://www.boredpanda.com/glow-stick-waterfall-neon-luminance/
* "Mt. Hood and a Lenticular Cloud:" http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130417.html
This entry was originally posted at http://gwydion.dreamwidth.org/303508.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
The Red Cross is responding, so donations of money and blood (if you can legally give) are your best bet to help.
* John Stewart and George Takei on "The Judgement of history:"
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook
* Stephen Colbert and Alan Cumming repond to "Accidental Racist:"
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,Video Archive
* Alan Cumming being delightful with Stephen Colbert:
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,Video Archive
* "Top Ten Ways Islamic Law forbids Terrorism:" http://www.juancole.com/2013/04/islamic-forbids-terrorism.html
* "An Illustrated Tour Of Australia's Museum of Copulatory Organs:" http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-04/illustrated-tour-australias-museum-copulatory-organs
* Today was terrible and exhausting in a whole bunch of ways I don't want to talk about and you likely don't want to hear.
* In Barney Miller I watched "Inquisition." This is the one where the cockroach from IA turns up on witch hunt for a gay cop in the precinct. This episode really upset me as a kid and is still rather hard to watch. It is all sorts of messy as far as coming out issues and discrimination goes. I get why it's like that. I get how it was likely important to do it this way to get the ordinary rather ignorant straight families of 1979 thinking. I get that, I really do, but this wasn't what I needed it to be at nine. On top of this I remember my huge disappointment at the cop out as to which character was gay. Oh look, no one in the core cast! Surprise! I hated it. I hated them all suspecting each other as if there was something wrong with being gay. I hated the weak sauce affirmations which felt like platitudes. I hated the tying it all up neat at the end when life isn't like that. I hated the week ally moderateness of it. I hated the whole thing, even though it did get out out the message of why job discrimination was stupid and unfair.
It was clumsy in the way a lot of the attempts to address issues of race in season five and six generally were. You can really see the change from the earlier seasons. There was something more subtle and less movie of the week about the first couple seasons. All through they keep trying to address tough questions and real societal issues from budget cuts to the pointless endless war against the sex trade to marital rape to prejudice in the work place to issues of gun violence. It's often problematic but even in the clumsier episodes they are genuinely trying work through stuff, but I am more uncomfortable when it's preachy whether or not I agree with what they are trying to do. I do not want to watch them to explain racism to Wojo as if he were five and no a grown ass man. I don't want cringe making racial stereotypes. I don't want a very special gay episode. I do want to know what happened to all the female characters. For sure, they'd apear now and then, and quickly disappear, but now except for the victims and perps they are gone. I like I better when they let people do their own thinking. I think the slow whittling down of the core cast is part of the problem. You lose diversity of voices, and that means fewer views represented, bu I could be wrong.
* "What Happens When You Throw Some Glow Sticks into a Waterfall:" http://www.boredpanda.com/glow-stick-waterfall-neon-luminance/
* "Mt. Hood and a Lenticular Cloud:" http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130417.html
This entry was originally posted at http://gwydion.dreamwidth.org/303508.html. Please comment there using OpenID.