Succession

 I just finished watching Succession. It was grim and funny.  One of the funniest scenes is about the butter. My family was in the restaurant business and this is, in fact, a version of something I heard:

and then there is cousin Greg:

For All Mankind

For All Mankind is one of the best TV shows I've seen in a long time.  What if the first man on the moon was a Soviet cosmonaut? What if the Soviets put a woman on the moon first, and Nixon decided we had to do the same? What if there was a space race with moon bases? What happens when an arms race expands to space? The show combines the technological events of the space program with a focus on the families of the astronauts and the folks of NASA: the test pilot culture, Werner Von Braun, a young girl whose family crosses over from Mexico, high-ranking NASA officials living as closeted gay and lesbians, under scrutiny by the FBI. The cast and production are up to the task and the special effects are outstanding. The finale episode of season two was gripping and gut-wrenching. I can't wait for season three when we go to Mars in the '90s!

The costume designer Jill M. Ohanneson talks about designing for the late sixties and seventies settings of the show:

I have been rewatching seasons 1-2 of Mozart in the Jungle because I want to watch seasons 3-4, and I needed to remember what happened. I'm enjoying it again. It makes me want to go to New York, Mexico City, Havana...and to listen to all the music they feature. I also want to finish it and cancel my Amazon Prime subscription before the free trial is over because I'm trying to be principled and boycott Amazon although I rejoined it to get some BTS-related deal or other.

currently watching...

Chinese drama:
Tribes and Empires (56/75) better than Game of Thrones. In spite of some major script deficiencies, there are many terrific and subtle performances from most of the cast. I'm not always a fan of the cdrama historical fantasies, but this one has been consistently worthwhile.

Korean dramas:
Just Between Lovers (8/16) current crack. LOVE Junho, so glad he won an award. This is one of the ones that feels emotionally real.

Money Flower (16/24) makjang-a-palooza! but with Jang Hyuk and strong supporting cast, especially Jang Seung Jo, I'm hanging in there to see what grotesque plot twist comes next.

Master in the House (1/?), new variety show with Lee Seung Gi, Yook Sung Jae from BtoB
(who was so good in Goblin), Yang Se Hyeung, and the gorgeous Lee Sang Yoon aka Dimples, who was so damn good in that airport melodrama.

Hwayugi (3/20) terrific, but marred by production disasters. Hong Sisters so snappy dialogue, lots of ghosts and horror, Journey to the West character comedy.

I'm Not a Robot (20/32) absolutely silly but still charming. I have enjoyed Chae Soo Bin in all her big roles this year.

Jugglers (8/16) mostly fun. but I'm running out of steam. Not sure if I'll keep watching. Choi Daniel is entertaining, and the supporting cast is great, but the writing---so much meh.

Bravo My Life (36/60) This drama is so bad, so very bad in so many ways! The set design, the directing, the music choices, most of the writing. And yet... the cast really is chewing the scenery with this trope-y makjang-a-rama, especially Yeon Jung Hoon (uri vampire prosecutor), Hyun Woo. Kang Ji Sub is such a cheesy piece of beefcake, but he's won me over with his comedic timing. I don't know if I can stand it, though.

In the queue: Argon, Wise Prison, Black. 

Parody of Rupert Murdoch from Fry and Laurie: still relevant

Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie took on Rupert Murdoch as a target of satire on their show A Bit of Fry and Laurie. From Wikipedia:

"The show did not shy away from commenting on issues of the day. A sketch in the second series, in which a Conservative government minister is strangled while Stephen Fry screams at him "What are you doing to the television system? What are you doing to the country?", is an attack on the Broadcasting Act of 1990 and the perceived motivations of those who supported it. The pair would later attack what they saw as the Act's malign aftereffects in the sketch "It's A Soaraway Life", a parody of It's a Wonderful Life evoking a world in which Rupert Murdoch had not existed."

Mark Bittman's basics: flank steak

A very sweet person gave me a gift card to Magers and Quinn Bookstore, so I immediately bought Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, a book I had been craving for a while.

Flank steak was on sale at Lund's, so this is the first dish I have prepared with it. I marinated the meat in juice of an orange (didn't have lime), soy, ginger, garlic, salt, pepper. I left out the sugar because the orange is sweeter anyway. Instead of broiling it, I cut the piece of meat in half, and layered it with thinly sliced sweet onion in the slow cooker. I let it braise with the marinade until it was falling apart. I love it when onions are braised and soak up all the flavors. I ate it with moong dal.

Bittman also was part of the series "On The Road Again" with Mario Batalli, Claudia Bassols, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Food tourism in Spain sounds great after another snowy, slushy, gray January day.

Spain:on the road again from SOTRA on Vimeo.

Pop surrealism

What better antidote to an election hangover than Salvador Dalí on What's My Line?

"Dónde... está... la biblioteca?"

What comedy shows make you laugh out loud? The Simpsons? Glee? Big Bang Theory?

My new favorite comedy show is Community. Maybe it's because I work on a university campus, or because I teach Spanish, but I think it's also the quality of the writing and acting. The ensemble cast is made up a really talented comedians.

Here's a bit about studying Spanish:


Here is a fab remix by DJ StevecPorter of some bits from the show.

William Shatner reciting some of Sarah Palin´s speech

with bongo drums.

The Wire, season 6

I gave myself an early Christmas present and ordered seasons 1-5 of The Wire from Amazon because they had it on sale for half price. So when I woke up to the stories of Illinois governor Blagojevich's arrest, the profanity-aced transcripts of conversations recorded on wire-taps, I was not the only person who thought, it's just like The Wire!!! Immediately followed by the thought "why is The Wire over?" so sad!
Each season of The Wire featured the song "Way Down in the Hole"

I like all the versions of the song.

My favorite geeks

My favorite TV show right now is not Dancing With the Stars, which I've found quite disappointing this season: it's The Big Bang Theory, a comedy about four super-geeks and their neighbor Penny. It's hilarious in part because it reminds me so much of people I know (including me). The four friends are the type to play Klingon Boggle, are so engrossed in playing Halo that they ignore invitations by beautiful women, all want to dress up as The Flash on Halloween, and try to resolve their disputes by playing Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock. Sheldon is played by Jim Parsons; when Sheldon smiles, which he only does on one episode, he bears a striking resemblance to Jose Luís Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain's Prime Minister. His roommate, Leonard, is played by the guy who was Darlene's boyfriend David on Rosanne, and Sara Gilbert has a role in the show, too.