In the same line as the implication of Erik's and Ed's recent posts, I just can't take this election anymore. This is all insane. Watching Lynne Cheney say that Kerry "is not a good man" while her husband says that voting for Kerry is a vote for a future terrorist attack is really the "it's come to this" moment of the election. And with the slight possibility that the electoral college could tie, I've decided that I'm casting my ballot and going into hiding until it is all over.
Luckily, the mass media is helping me with my election-time exile:
Hey, if you are bored, leave a comment answering the simple y/n question (eleborate if you must): "When we wake up at 9:00am on Wednesday, Nov 3rd, will we know who the President is?" Unfortunately, I think no, we will not..
Ed says:
I have to cast my official "I don't fuckin' get it" ballot on the OC. I watched a re-run episode and it struck me as one of the worst things I could imagine sitting through. Isn't it just "Beverly Hills 90210"?
Since I really can't see the entertainment value in watching a poorly-acted TV show about the kind of people that you and I categorically loathe in real life, someone needs to explain to me how this show is tolerable let alone enjoyable.
erik says:
I don't really watch it either. However, I can see the appeal. I think it has that sort of soap opera drama sort of thing. The type of show where you will think that it sucks horribly if you just watch one isolated episode. Sort of like the West Wing that way.
Liz says:
My loyalty lies with nip/tuck.
mike says:
liz: dvds of nip/tuck sits at the video store, encouraging me to rent it. How is it? The fact that it is the darling of the FX network seems like enough of a strike against it, but many people are enjoying it (i've never seen an episode).
Ed: I can't imagine you sitting through an entire episode of the show.
as for why I like it, i find it ridiculously funny and clever. I think all (well, most) of the actors work extremely well – Good Acting isn't really the idea; the actors pull the trick of convincing you that their character is more or less how they are at all times.
(and the people who write it are total closet geeks; there have been at least three very to not-so-very hidden references to Magic : The Gathering alone. "could you have least told her the X-Men?" = brilliant)
Ed says:
Nip/tuck has its moments. It tries way too hard to be shocking every 8 minutes. Then again, subtlety has never been an f/x trademark.
Liz says:
I haven't really liked an hourlong show enough to follow if since the early seasons of The X-Files; my attention span tends to be short when it comes to television.
I am a recent convert to nip/tuck, but I think it's just for guilty pleasure. Ed already mentioned that it is really just a shockfest; in one episode they covered transsexualism, incest, Alec Baldwin, and statutory rape, all connected to one another and within the context of plastic surgery. I have no sympathy for any of the characters. They are all terrible examples of human beings, and I'm fairly certain that my love of the show is based on schadenfreude. Perhaps it's so obviously fictional that I find it easier to deal with than the reality tv that portrays the same type of behavior/ people.
Ed says:
Am I the only one horribly depressed by the idea that our expectations are so low that the OC counts as ridiculously clever and the West Wing is a good show if you watch it repeatedly?
Hugo says:
No. Both sides are gearing up to challenge the process/outcome in the courts. Lawsuits – its the American way to democracy.
erik says:
Basically my defense of the West Wing is always, and will always be my love of its idealism in the fact of the current real political absurdity. If you are willing to stipulate that entertainment's goal at any point in time is an escape from reality to a more pleasant place, then I feel perfectly justified watching a show that portrays the president and his staff as smart individuals who actually have the country and the world's best interests at heart.
Valerie says:
Am I the only one who doesn't really trust Florida anymore to honestly or fairly count ballots? I have this horrible feeling that if Kerry won that state (it's too close to call, for all intents and purposes), Brother Jeb would find a way to get the electoral votes sent to Bush. Is there some way we can have a nun with a ruler sent in to "keep them honest?"
Sadly, I don't think the election will be really over after the ballots are all cast. Especially because it's likely to be so close, it seems like there's going to be some sort of legal battle this time, too.
Arrrrgh…. It's embarrassing that our country has come to this.