Cats and kittens, grab your mittens; Its Will Mackavoy and Van Morrision taking you thru the night and into the mystic...

Fuck…  I wish writing come as easily to me as it seems to come to Sorkin sometimes.  The pull away shot from outside his apartment railing…  with Into the Mystic swelling onto the screen.  

It was a moment.
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Episode: ‘First thing we do, Let’s kill all the Lawyers’

So season two starts with a deposition.  The Newsroom retracted a story about an operation in Genoa.  A story that I believe is fictional and after doing a quick google search - it appears to be based on a story that CNN/Time retracted on Operation Tailwind…

My biggest problem with Season 1 of the Newsroom is that stories came to easily.  They always got stories right and when they were late on one, they magically had ways to get the story straight before anyone else.

Season 2 - starts with a flash forward where they appear to have gotten one very wrong.
That said…  they appear to be up early on Drone Attacks…  Romney and Occupy Wall Street.   The last one was a little annoying…  in that Sorkin (thru Neal) - explains to Occupy organizers that their work will be for naught because they’re too broad in their heady demands.   I’m not disagreeing with that view point…  but it’s historical revisionism like this where he inserts himself in a way to stand atop facts years later, whilst stroking his chin - that fucking infuriates me.

Sub plots…
Maggie - went Riot Girrrl after going on assignment.  We may not be subjected to her problem between choosing between Jim and Don.

There were three things in the episode that drove me nuts: There was a comment made about mildew on a suit.  Mackavoy had to have his suit cleaned…  and there was frame where a guy came in and they fixated on him setting his wet suit on the floor.   It means something.  I don’t know what yet…

Know your British Rock

Movie Binge

I don’t know what possessed me to rent: Identity Thief, Spring Breakers and Seven Psychopaths at the same time…  but they were all movies I didn’t catch in theaters.

Identity Thief : was surprisingly awful… it’s really just a physical comedy that occasionally throws in some foul language.  There’s also a love scene that involves safe-words and pegging you’ll likely never get out of your head.

Spring Breakers - I really don’t know what to say about this movie, except it gets better when Franco is introduced.   I didn’t really care for it all that much tho’. Harmony’s best work (IMHO) is still KIDS.

Seven Psychopaths - Sorta in the spirit of Smokin’ Aces, this movie sorta sputters along as one of the characters finds himself in the middle writing a script about Seven Psychopathic killers and a hyper-violent gun fight playing out in front of him…   It’s a hot mess and recommend avoiding it at all costs.

I should have gone out of my way to see Kings of Summer or Pacific Rim…

PAPA : Special When Lit

Saw a documentary (Special When Lit) on Netflix a couple of weeks ago about Pinball…  One of the most interesting parts about the documentary was learning that there was a Professional & Amateur Pinball Association group.

One of the things they do is hold a World Championship Tourney every year and offer T-Shirts for attendees.   I hope to attend and participate next year.

Till then, check out some of the swag I picked up from them…

Mind Your Manners

When I heard that Pearl Jam announced a new album (Lightning Bolt) and single (Mind Your Manners) after lunch today…   I cringed a little, reached for some headphones and gave the track a listen.

Much to my surprise the song reminded me of: Comatose/Brain of J. (Yield is really growing on me as the years pass along)/Spin the Black Circle….

I don’t feel comfortable saying that I really like the track….  It weighs in at 2 minutes and 40 seconds.  The song benefits from Brendan’s production work…   I don’t really understand the extended break between now and the release of the album tho’.

I also don’t quite get all the vector art.  Then again, I’ve never really understood a number of their other creative art directions.

Anyhoo, give it a spin if you’re feeling nostalgic. 

Rivals 2

MTV’s  the Challenge  RIVALS 2 starts tomorrow, which means my sister and are going to participate in our first Reality Fantasy League together!

Here are the rules for scoring:

Challenge

Making T.J. say, “You killed it”: 25 points 

Making T.J. verbally express his disappointment in your behavior: 35 points 

Making T.J. dramatically break character: 20 points 

Cross-dressing: 10 points 

Winning elimination challenge: 10 points 

Winning final challenge: 50 points 

Leaving show due to injury: -50 points 

Announcing you are “in control of the game” (or something close to it): 5 points 

Slandering someone’s sexual performance: 25 points 

Cannibalism: 100 points 

Causing the arrival of a vehicle with a siren: 20 points 

Assault of an inanimate object: 10 points 

Cold sore possession: 15 points 

Wearing another contestant’s name jersey in support: -10 

Misspelling a single syllable word during the spelling challenge: 25 points 

Throwing a challenge: -25 points 

Being the target of PED accusations: 25 points 

Hooking up with your ex-spouse: -10 

Emotional/Verbal

Female Crying: 5 points 

Male Crying: 20 points 

Asking if a fellow cast member is there “for the right reasons”: 10 points 

Saying, “I didn’t come here to make friends”: 10 points 

Trying to make someone cry and succeeding: 25 points 

Trying to make someone cry and failing: -5 to -25 points (commissioner’s discretion) 

Blaming parents for poor behavior: 10 points 

Calling a friend or relative at home, crying, and saying, “Everyone here hates me”: 20 points 

Threatening to sue fellow cast member: 25 points 

Being subject of an intervention: 30 points (Celebrity Rehab stars excluded) 

Plugging an acting, modeling, or singing career: 10 points 

Singing song in front of two or more people: 20 points 

Romantic/Sexual

Open-mouth kissing: 5 points per participant 

Coitus (or pulling over covers in bed): 25 points per participant 

Denying coitus: 10 points 

Fraudulent denial of coitus: 20 points 

Fraudulent claim of coitus: 25 points 

Participating in threesome: 50 points per participant 

STD scare: 30 points per sexual partner 

Pregnancy scare: 50 points per sexual partner 

Intentional nudity: 20 points 

Unintentional nudity: 5 points 

Hitting on the show’s host: 5 to 15 points (commissioner’s discretion) 

Possession of concealed erection: 10 to 25 points (commissioner’s discretion) 

Revealing past career in pornography: 50 points 

Violence

Verbal Fighting: 5 points 

Physical Fighting: 25 points 

Decisively winning physical fight: 25 points 

Throwing drink in someone’s face: 5 points 

Having unexplained black eye, fat lip, or bloody knuckles: 25 points 

Being restrained or lectured on camera by security or production staff: 25 points 

Requesting to be assaulted: 10 points 

Invoking show’s rules as only reason for not committing assault: 10 points 

Attempting to fight show’s host: 100 points 

Drugs/Alcohol

Extreme intoxication: 5 to 25 points (commissioner’s discretion) 

Vomiting: 10 points 

Having car keys taken away: 5 points 

Being kicked out of bar or club: 20 points 

Religious/Volunteerism

Violating stated religious beliefs: 25 points 

Attending church: -10 points 

Non-court-ordered volunteer work: -25 points 

Early Departures

Being kicked off show: 100 points (must be eliminated outside of game play) 

Causing others to threaten to leave show: 15 points 

Threatening to leave show and not following through: 15 points 

Threatening to leave show and following through: 30 points 

Hot Tub/Helicopter Bonus

Any points earned in hot tub and/or helicopter are scored at double value.