Below are 20 journal entries, after skipping by the 20 most recent ones recorded in Baron Dave Romm's LiveJournal:

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Friday, January 11th, 2013
3:29 pm	20121221 Trip to Oregon and Back: Minnesota and North Dakota Public Facebook Gallery (which will be added to): 201220-23 Road Trip to Oregon Part I: MN, ND, MT, ID Brief background: Carole's grendkids by her son are now in the care of her daughter in Oregon. Getting them to their aunt was a long process, largely with Carole's help, and this is the optimal situation for them. For Winter Break, the kids are at home but the daughter and boyfriend are still working. Carole offers to fly out to babysit and visit. The basic problem is that Bend, Oregon is not an easy place to get to by air. Geting to Portland is easy, but getting her up into the mountains is expensive and would be physically taxing. So I offer to drive. We've been meaning to take a long trip for a while. Indeed, we were planning an overnight excursion to The House on the Rock when she hurt her leg. We were forced to cancel that. Further, my 2012 Camry has never been tested. Time to take a road trip! My deal was: We had to do tourist stuff as well as babysit. Carole agreed. I made sure our AAA memberships were up to date and made a TripTik for the route west. Changed the oil and rotated the tires. Bought an iPad w/cellular connection to take/edit/post photos on the road as well as serve as a connection to emergency services. Made checklists of chargers and electronics. Bought enough trail mix, bottled water and other stuff to last us if we got caught in a snow drift for three days... Say... when did I become the organized one? Oh dear. Car with Trip Mileage 0, Mpls 12/20/12 ( Journey begins under the cutCollapse ) In the Bismarck hotel, we registered for a hotel at the next jump: Bozeman, Montana with a stop for a dinosaur museum. Then a long night's sleep. Continued in 20121222 Trip to Oregon and Back: Montana. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, January 6th, 2013
10:10 pm	Preliminary stats from trip to Oregon Left Dec. 21, 2012CE. Returned Jan. 6, 2013CE. Tired, terse. More later, but in the meantime: Miles driven: 4212.4 Grandkids visited: 2 Nephews visited: 1 State troopers met: 1 Major snowstorms encountered: 0 Lowest temp recorded by car: 0 (several times, and temps often in single digits) States visited: 8 (not counting MN) Continental divides crossed: 2 (one each way) Museums visited: 3 Monuments carved out of mountains visited: 2 LEDs arranged as animals and other zoo/kid stuff: around a million Religions discussed and/or practiced: 4 (counting the various Native American religions as one) Cameras used by Carole and me: 6 Pictures taken by me: around 850. (Hard to pin an exact number due to various backups and edits on the fly.) Number of statues of bison photographed: 8 (I think) Number of bison photographed: 1 by me, Carole got around 6 Camera shy ospreys: 1 Back ends of mountain goats barely missed: 1 Wood-heated houses lived in: 1 Hotels stayed at: 8 Below average restaurants visited by randomly picking places: 1 Interesting people met along the way: lots! It was a great trip, if exhausting. I'll start working on the photo galleries... tomorrow. (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, December 1st, 2012
10:02 am	iPad recommendations? Anticipating a drive to Oregon later in the month, I finally joined the 21st Century and got an iPad. 4G, ATT cellular capable but haven't gotten the service as yet. Downloaded a bunch of apps and tested out taking and posting photos. Now what? Any recommendations on apps? What do you recommend? What should I avoid? What (free) games are fun and don't cause carpel tunnel syndrome? Which data plan would you recommend for a two-week trip where I might not be within wifi range much? (18 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, November 30th, 2012
10:28 am	Final NaHaWriMo wrap-up and Astro Boy reflections Well, a whole month went by and I wrote a haiku every day except the first day, when I posted one of my favorites to get me started. Technically speaking, I wrote a haiku for every day, since I got behind around Thanksgiving but caught up today (11/30/12). I did better than previous attempts to write a limerick each day. These turned out mostly as either "news headlines with scansion" or "multi-sensual images". I will leave it up to the reader to decide which is which. Third batch: Patriotic geeks May have saved the election Karl Rove sputters bile A new world provides Natives share their rich bounty American fare One two three four five Six seven eight nine ten e Leven twelve thirteen Sunlight from below Flush softly off buoyant clouds Journey's final glow Powerball jackpot Needs dream of fantasy prize To motivate me Still prefer desktop But shiny pulled me geekward First ipad haiku Nice computers are Sympathetic to my cause But not Powerball -- today's contribution to NaHaWriMo Not quite winter frost Leaves of autumn on the ground What coat should I wear? Image or events Cadence and senses engaged A month of haiku Now, I rest on my laurels. After a wait of over two years, the next disk of Astro Boy finally came off the Neflix "short wait" designation. I wasn't sure Carole would like the black and white early anime that I grew up with, and that turned out to be correct. So far, the pilot episode is the only one I would recommend to anyone who isn't nine-years-old, or isn't still nine years old someplace inside, but some of the episode have been better than others. The first one on Vol. 7 was one of the better episodes. Mysterious Cosmic Rays (click on Episode 31 in the left menu) is described thusly: "Gray Dorian is returning from Mars. Although he is a man in his 80s, he appears to be in his 30s. He has learned to harness cosmic rays to keep himself young. His former partner Dr. Geiger suspects that these experiments may have had grave side effects, which Astroboy soon discovers." As a tween, I got "Dr. Geiger" but the "Gray Dorian" reference went waaaay over my head. It's a remarkable piece of science fiction. For a 1963 children's show The episode opens with someone dying horribly in the middle of a crowded futuristic street, with a voice over placing the time as "the year 2000". Astro Boy and Dr. Packidermus J. Elefun, head of the Ministry of Science are called upon to investigate. They find Dr. Geiger, fortuitously. They also encounter Dr. Dorian, looking very young, and with an exceptional ring on his finger, which he says he made from Mars rocks. Dorian and Geiger had been experimenting with cosmic rays on living creatures, but Geiger didn't go the last step to experiment on humans so only Dorian was sentenced to the Mars Penal Colony for 30 years. We fairly quickly learn that Dorian had continued his experiments on Mars, and that Mars gets a different kind of cosmic rays than Earth (which is true, since we're closer to the sun) and he perfected his immortality research... as long as he drains other people. So it's a vampire story. With moral implications that are explored, though not particularly deeply. And that's the first half. The second half of the episode has Dorian turning into a monster, giving Astro Boy something to fight. I'm sure my nine-year-old self appreciated the battle scenes more than the vampire story, but nearly fifty years later I was croggled at the set-up. Carole said I could watch the other episodes without her. So I will. Having grown up on stuff like this, the later anime doesn't do much for me, and Astro Boy is as much nostalgia as pleasure. I certainly enjoyed this episode more than I did at the time. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 27th, 2012
12:31 pm	Thanksgiving in DC 2012 Public Facebook Gallery: 20121122-25 Thanksgiving in DC Carole and I had a short visit to Washington DC for Thanksgiving. We left early Thursday, the day of Thanksgiving itself. Not terribly crowded at 6am, and Delta was terrific with their wheelchair service for Carole, both here and in DC. Thanksgiving dinner was great, as usual. Brother Joe and Sister-in-Law (slaw) Patty are great hosts, and niece Antonia is now five ("five and two-thirds... no five and three quarters!") Brother Dan and slaw Joyce, nephew Jake and Patty's sister Sandy and nephew Alex rounded out the dinner. Turkey with all the fixin's. Yum! And we had a Leftovers dinner the next day, which continued to be Yum. Our tradition of seeing movies that Antonia would like was broken, as there were no Harry Potter movies to see. She and Sandy went to a kid's show and most of us went to Lincoln. Highly recommended. Screenplay by Tony Kushner and directed by Steven Spielberg, with amazingly great performances by everyone. I hardly recognized some well-known actors, as they were immersed in their characters and great dialog. Our only tourist day was Saturday. Dan, Joyce, Jake, Carole and I went to the comparatively new Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Hangar, opened in 2003. Has all sorts of airplanes and spacecraft. We saw an iMax movie about an air show which featured vintage planes racing; a half-hour of stuff mostly of interest only to those really into the planes. Not recommended. But the hangar itself is highly recommended, even though it's about 45 minutes from the city (depending on traffic). Sunday was a travel day. This was the first trip I've taken in a while that a) was in daylight and b) I had a window seat. One of the advantages of traveling at off times with someone needed wheelchair access. With my noise-cancelling headphones and a bunch of sudokus courtesy the Delta boarding pass print out, I was happy. The seats were smaller, but everything went smoothly. Not quite recovered. I'm a few days behind in NaHaWriMo, and we're prepping for a much longer trip over the winter break -- driving to Oregon. More on that closer to the event. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 21st, 2012
11:00 am	Bones and pre-Thanksgiving Haiku Bones is one of the graphic yet geeky crime shows. Based on the real-life adventures of forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs, the scientists of The Jeffersonian (a barely Tuckerized version of The Smithsonian) help the FBI solve murders by identifying the victim and explaining how and when they died. The main character is very geeky, and several of the supporting characters as well. The shows have been better and worse over the years, but have sustained through eight seasons. "The Patriot in Purgatory" is the best one so far. Several shows did Veteran's Day episodes; even Hawaii 5-0 managed a good one. The Bones episode covered the most ground and came to a satisfying conclusion. Wade through the Hulu commercials. Probably NSFW, but well worth your time even if you're unfamiliar with the characters. I had to wait a week before it appeared free on Hulu. Click here if the embed doesn't work. Carole and I will be in Washington DC from tomorrow (Thanksgiving) until Sunday. Her phone will take messages and I'll check here and FB so you might not notice we're gone. I may not be able to do a daily haiku for NaHaWriMo. We shall see how inspired and/or busy I am for the weekend. In the meantime, here are my entries Nov. 13-21: A freaking huge head Endeared the Mekong Dolphin For Josh to adopt Syrup on the side Breakfast treat hearty for all Housekeeper burns toast -- re Sex Charges False Tea Party insists MInd control conspiracy Weak minds buy snake oil -- re Top Georgia GOP Lawmakers Host Briefing on Secret Obama Mind-Control Plot Offended by sex Reckoning with system of Chicks and balances Money trickled up Bankruptcy for the third time Twinkie businessmen Conservatives don't Believe in America Put troops in danger -- re The CIA asking Congress and the White House not to tip off terrorists Green turns to amber Urgency amid caution Time to turn is now Uplifting words dance Mop-topped Liverpudlians All you need is love Almost packed are we Time moves slow the day before Remember undies Happy Thanksgiving all! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, November 16th, 2012
7:32 pm	Adventures in Culinary Multiculturalism: Lychee Pork Butt and White Fungus Bird's Nest drink Well, it worked. Carole came in with 2.79 lbs of frozen pork butt. I've never made pork butt; I don't keep kosher but however this particular edible is not high on my list of things to try. I persevere. After getting crock pot advice from Carole and looking at a few recipes online, it seems that there are basically two ways to approach cooking it: Salty or sweet, though sometimes in combination. Since I'm trying to be as low-salt as possible, I went with sweet. And most of the sweet pork recipes are for other parts of the pig. So I was on my own. I was going to pick up some pineapple (in a can) and apples, and make a sort of ham-like dish. Going into one of the oriental stores on Nicollet (in the middle of the block btwn 25th and 26th, opposite the Thai place), I found canned pineapple... and next to it was a can of lychees in syrup. Next to that was mango slices in syrup. I went with interesting. If I'm going to play with my food, it's going to be fun. And the store had an apple. They also had White Fungus Bird's Nest Drink. What the heck. Got two cans, one for me, one for Carole. Cooking was easy. Put the pork butt in a crock pot, added some cloves, a dash of Bragg's no-salt added liquid amino, some of the juice from the lychee can, and water. Set to 325°. Every hour or so I'd baste the thing, adding water and juice as necessary. After about three hours, I added the rest of the cans of mango and lychee, cut the apple moderately finely, a little more water, and reduced the temp. It sat for another hour and a bit. Yum! The pork fell apart like pulled pork (once I'd cut the string off) and the fruit was great. The drippings made great gravy bread. While there was salt in the syrups, I didn't add any, and no other spicing. Carole didn't like the drink, claiming it was "slimy". I didn't find it so; tasted a lot like the cream soda I invariably associate with hospitals: Very vanilla. Non-carbonated, it needed stirring. Not too sweet, so I eventually finished off both of them. The can is in both English and what turned out to be French and Vietnamese. I can't go so far as to recommend the drink, but it was an interesting change of pace, and there are (probably) medicinal properties associated with it. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, November 12th, 2012
11:04 am	NaHaWriMo Nov 1-12, 2012CE Here are my contributions to National Haiku Writing Month, starting with one I didn't write just to prime the pump. Lots of election coverage and current events get noted. Paper needs grading shows ken but not mastery student gets a B -- College professor haiku from Deb Geisler "Vagina," she says Scaring boys in Michigan With her lady parts Principal road work Repaving Nicollet Ave. Done for Twenty Twelve Raising suspicion Our clocks are not what they seem Fell backward last night Barrage of ads say Day of Judgment is at hand Polls close tomorrow Vote vote vote vote vote The bad guys don't want you to So vote already Polling is right on Republicans look stupid Nate Silver calls it Obama's mandate Is to be more liberal Just as he promised Republicans whine Suppressing five million votes Could not steal the night The wrong emphasis Was placed onto "betray us" Accent on the "us" Dorothy's plain dress doesn't scratch Seven Year Itch like Marilyn's frock -- re Judy Garland's Wizard of Oz dress fetching $480,000 To our warriors We cannot thank you enough Please accept haiku Coffee tastes different A bright world of muffled sound Smells of damp and cold (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, November 10th, 2012
10:12 am	My representatives represent me For the last few years, my president has been black, my governor was a businessman, my recently reelected senator is a woman, my other senator is Jewish and my representative is Muslim. I voted for all of them, and would do so again (except Obama, who can't run for president a third time no matter what Newt says). (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 4th, 2012
5:56 pm	The Difference Between Democrats and Republicans 2012 Well, here it is less than two days before the Nov. 6, 2012 election. I've been keeping a small text file of the differences between the two major parties, along with other notes on the same lines. Anyone who thinks there aren't stark contrasts between the parties or between the major presidential candidates is encouraged to read this list. ( long list of links and commentary behind cut, so only the interested can dive into politicsCollapse ) Republican voter suppression and outright fraud is an entirely different list, and very long. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
7:49 am	20121103 Barb Jensen Reading Barb Jensen reading from her book, Reading Classes at Magers and Quin 11/3/12 Barb read from her book and played music in a bookstore. A good time was had by all. Public FB gallery: 20121103 Barb Jensen Reading & Autographing (Comment on this)
Saturday, November 3rd, 2012
5:46 pm	Now on Dreamwidth... Fixed the Heartland Perverts 2012 entry of a few days ago... by cutting and pasting the exact same code into DW. Then tweaked the text and added a few links. Even the lj-cut works... (Comment on this)
Thursday, November 1st, 2012
7:35 am	Heartland Perverts 2012 A while back, on Facebook, I got into a discussiion about sex crimes and disgusting viewpoints. I had been keeping tabs on pervs in the news since the spring, both Republican and Democratic mentions. Not particularly comprehensive, and several stories were mentioned more than once. One of those "everybody does it" apologists for the Republican party chimed up saying one party was as bad as the other. Not so, I claimed, and Andre G. said, okay, let's compare lists. Finally, here is said list, put into handy chart form, with redundancies cleaned up and slightly updated from our original conversation. These aren't in chronological order, but all are within the last six or eight months. And to make the comparisons more visually striking, I added cites from the bottom of the table. This makes the comparison by party more dramatic. I have yet to see the other guy's list, but at least mine is now out there.( actual chart under a cut to make it easier for some of you to ignoreCollapse ) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, October 28th, 2012
12:17 pm	20121027 MN-StF Halloween at Dreampark Last night was the Halloween party at Dreampark, home of dreamshark and Richard, and also their wedding anniversary. A MN-StF meeting was held too, with filking on the third floor, various games played (I got lured into a game of Pirate Fluxx) and more food than the crowd could eat. A good time was had by all! I didn't get pictures of everyone who came and went, but I did try to capture the house and the spirit of the event. Public FB Gallery: 20121027 MN-StF Halloween @ Dreampark. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, October 20th, 2012
11:49 am	Welcome Mishka! After a very long and tiring process, mizzlaurajean and davidschroth went to Russia to pick up their new daughter. Friends and relatives greeted them at the Mpls airport 10/19/12. More pictures of Conjecture (with more to be added later) and of the airport greeting on the public FB gallery Conjecture & Mishka greeting. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, October 18th, 2012
4:16 am	New TV Shows 2012 third pass Arrow A- Emily Owens, MD B+ Nashville D Arrow: The Dark Green Knight Rises. Far closer to the Frank Miller Batman than the Denny O'Neil/Neil Adams Green Arrow, this Ollie North has Mad Arrow Skillz and is more than willing to kill to get revenge. You see, he was on this boat, screwing the sister of his girlfriend, when it blew up killing her and stranding him and his billionaire father in the middle of nowhere. The father kills himself and the other survivor so that Ollie would have a chance to live, which he does, if you call that living. He winds up on this uncharted isle (non-desert) for five years. Conveniently for the story (and more-or-less faithful to the comic), he learns archery and hand-to-hand combat. The first two episodes have been good without either of them breaking into great or descending into caricature. I'm going to be optimistic and keep it for a while. Hey, I like the dark Batman (though not The Dark Knight Rises, which was a season of 24 and not a story about obsessions). I was prepared not to like Emily Owens, MD. I'm not really fond of medical shows (though Carole is) and the heart-on-her-sleeve heroine turns on whether you like the heroine or not. But the pilot was gorgeously written. It reminded me of the better episodes of Scrubs; pathos without the over-the-top comedy. I'm not sure I like Emily just yet, but the ensemble acting was good, with believable and interesting characters. Nashville is the worst of the High School melodrama of Glee and the worst of the show biz backstabbing of Smash without the excellent singing and dancing to make you sit through garbage time. The country songs were okay, but not really better than that. I suppose that's a lot to lay on one episode, but neither of us were impressed. We have another on our DVR to be watched, which may be the last. A few episodes in: ( a bit more about shows reviewed in the first two passesCollapse ) (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, October 12th, 2012
11:54 am	Minneapolis rape statistics, explained A few weeks ago, akirlu posted an article WTF, Minneaota?, asking why Minneapolis led the nation in rapes per capita in the United States Cities by crime rate (click on the "Forcible rape" heading twice), based on the 2010 FBI crime stats. I asked Amy Lavender, the Crime Prevention Specialist for the Mpls 5th Precinct (where I live) about this, and she asked the lieutenant in charge of Sex Crimes for the city. This is Amy's reply, containing Lt. Dunlap's response: Hi Dave- I got this reply from Lt. Nancy Dunlap: Yes, the UCR (FBI-Unified Crime Reporting) definition of rape was very narrow-(see article below). Mpls has been counting all of these circumstances in CAPRS as rape for as long as I can remember-hence our numbers are much higher than agencies that were using the UCR definition. Our CAPRS criteria is based on out state statutes, not the UCR. This should change in the next years as the UCR definition has now been changed to better reflect all types of sexual assault. ( definitions of rape, and how they've changed since 2010Collapse ) Because the new definition is more inclusive, reported crimes of rape are likely to increase. This does not mean that rape has increased, but simply that it is more accurately reported. In addition, the UCR program will also collect data based on the historical definition of rape, enabling law enforcement to track consistent trend data until the statistical differences between the old and new definitions are more fully understood. The new UCR SRS definition of rape does not change Federal or state criminal codes or impact charging and prosecution on the Federal, State or local level, it simply means that rape will be more accurately reported nationwide. The Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) worked closely with White House Advisor on Violence Against Women Lynn Rosenthal and the Office of the Vice President, as well as multiple DOJ divisions, to modernize the definition. The change was supported by external partners such as the National Sheriffs Association, National Association of Police Organizations, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Major City Chiefs, Major County Sheriffs, and the Police Executive Research Forum. For more information about the Office on Violence Against Women, visit ovw.usdoj.gov. We remind all those in need of assistance, or other concerned friends and individuals, to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE. I hope this information helps! Amy Amy Lavender Crime Prevention Specialist 5th Precinct This explains why St. Paul's rape stats were higher in the list than the city's location for other crime stats. I hope this answers the question posed by my California friend. I would also suggest that updating an 85-year-old definition of a serious crime shows a major commitment by the Obama administration to women's issues and crime prevention. [ETA: I don't know why the italics work differently under the cut.] (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012
12:21 pm	The Bible on Marriage and Love Several years ago I wrote A Response to Orson Scott Card when he was trying to defend the notion that marriage was between one man and one woman. I talked of civil contracts and thousands of years of cultural contra-indicators. Rose is a sweet lady who has lived down the hall for longer than the 15 years I've lived here. She's a conservative Christian who, this year, will be voting for Obama but says she's going to vote Yes on the Minnesota Same Sex Marriage Amendment, defining marriage only as between one man and one woman. We have been trading Biblical citations in support of our positions. She's fond of saying, "Hate the sin, love the sinner." That's all well and good if there were sin involved, and if this were a religious discussion, but this is a civil matter and the Bible comes pretty hard on the "love" part. Here is my list, fairly quickly cobbled together for her but somewhat expanded and with links for the web. Quotes are from Biblos, King James Bible translation because I thought it would be more convincing to Rose. Jesus says nothing of hating gays, but talks much of love: John 13:34, 35 "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Romans 13:8-10 reads as follows (quoting Paul): "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Jesus was big on forgiveness and turning the other cheek. While I think there are limits to loving thine enemies, it's clear that you can only call yourself a follower of Jesus if love your neighbors who are following the Commandments, with love being the prime commandment. Some Bible (ie Old Testament) commentary on marriage: ( lots o' citations behind a cutCollapse ) Conclusion: The Bible and the New Testament say a lot about marriage and sexual relationships, but drawing any single conclusion is specious. The moral relativists want strict adherence to one passage but completely ignore others. Their Biblical logic is flawed. Marriage is a civil matter as much as a spiritual bonding, and if you're not going to support love then you must support the contract. Personal observation: We are created in G_d's image. It's a grave mistake to create G_d in our image. There's much that we don't know. What we do know is that virtually all religious figures, notably Jesus, want us to be nice to each other. (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, September 29th, 2012
12:14 am	New TV Shows 2012 second pass Neighbors A Ben and Kate B Elementary C Neighbors is probably too weird for most people, but not us. It's sort of the flip side of Third Rock From The Sun: A "normal" family winds up in a suburban enclave where everyone else is an alien. And not just any ol' aliens, no sirree. Incompetent, regimenting in a pyramid shape when called, child-loving, sports star-named aliens who have been on Earth for ten years waiting for their planet to call and tell them what to do. The new family finds out fairly quickly just what their neighbors are, and decides to stay. Sure, what the heck. Carole and I thought it was hilarious. But then, we grew up on My Favorite Martian and our suspension of disbelief can withstand gale force winds. I suspect this show will get the ax fairly quickly, but who knows. In any event, we liked it. Ben and Kate was recommended by various people after the show had aired, so I saw it on the network's web site a few days later. I wasn't nearly as impressed as some. The characters aren't aliens so disbelief for the utterly unbelievable was harder to achieve. Ben is the older brother of Kate. She has a daughter, and he's a completely irresponsible child-man with a black friend who decides to come home and stay with his sister. The best parts of the show were the five-year-old and Ben's friend. The pilot was stupid, but at least got them together. This may be another show I dismiss early but gets the ratings and sticks around. Still: On the bubble. Elementary is yet another "reboot" that I would like a lot better if they didn't pretend it was a reboot and just made a series. In fact, they did, called Perception, an almost identical show that's a lot more believable. Perception is sort of a cross between A Beautiful Mind and Numbers. A brilliant psychologist who suffers from schizophrenia and sees people who aren't there is finally released from therapy to teach at a college as long as he has a handler. He's so brilliant the police ask him to help, which he does even after the case has been "solved". It often works despite the premise, and we look forward to watching the show even though it hasn't really cracked our A list. Elementary features Sherlock Holmes, scion of a rich man who pays to have a handler accompany him after his release from therapy. This Sherlock Holmes is closer to the perceptive but annoying Shawn in Psych than the more directly derivative Gregory House. He was helping out Scotland Yard after 9/11, then started taking drugs and landing in a closed facility. On the day he was scheduled to be released, Holmes escapes because he was bored. Lucy Liu is very quiet (at least in the pilot) as Dr. Joan Watson, a former surgeon who is now a nanny to drug rehab patients. They live in NYC, land of polyglot accents, clever amoral murderers and bumbling police. I was hoping Elementary would try to be an updated They Might Be Giants, which was great, or even something more akin to the PBS series. But alas. If I can get past it not being much like the A. Conan Doyle detective stories, I can probably stand to see another show or two. At least until the new season of Perception. All three of these shows have aired one episode only, so these are just first impressions. We shall see. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 25th, 2012
11:10 pm	New TV Shows 2012 first pass The Mindy Project A Vegas B Mob Doctor D Revolution F Okay, the new fall season is just starting, and there are several new shows that either haven't started yet or that Carole and I just ignored. And all of these are based on one or two shows, so we may change our mind, but here they are. The Mindy Project is the kind of "beautiful successful girl can't find a man" show that I find hard to believe but sometimes watch anyway. What the heck; I still remember That Girl fondly and The Mary Tyler Moore Show was a classic. The pilot episode of The Mindy Project was great. Mindy, an OBGYN, has major problems with the men in her life, but has sex anyway. She's 31 and her dentist boyfriend recently dumped her for a Serbian coffee cake hostess (or somesuch) who's teeth he fixed. She gets drunk at his wedding and... that would be telling. Mindy, a South Asian born in America, is obsessed with romantic comedies like When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle, though the show reminded me more of Amelie. She's not afraid to talk about sex (considering that she delivers babies for a living) and neither are the handsome doctors around her. While I don't want to pronounce too much on the basis of one episode, it was easily the best of the lot we saw. Vegas is set in 1960, before things like Miranda Warnings, Atmospheric A-Bomb Test Bans, forensic science or not having bathrooms for whites only. Lots of good actors, and it was easily the best directed show. Dennis Quaid is very good as the former military MP who really just wants to ranch cattle but gets called in to be sheriff (by itself, more than one of the major sub-plots established). Michael Chiklis is the new mob boss in town, and has loads of fun chewing the scenery. All sorts of corrupt officials, favoritism and testosterone abound. A lot happened in the pilot, and most of it worked. Still, I'll give it a few more shows to perk. The Mob Doctor has an interesting saving grace: It's based on a true story. Still, hard to believe. A doctor saves her brother's life by making a deal for his debts to them, and she's on the hook. In the two shows on so far, she effortlessly bounces between her two lives. The hospital has no clue. The mob guys are sort of believable, but you'd think it would be easier just to have their own docs around. Carole is more into doctor shows than I am, and I might have given up after the first one, but we persevered. Could get better, but I don't have a lot of hope. Revolution is another JJ Abrams show, so you know it's going to disappoint. In the pilot, everything stops working. Electricity, automobiles, radio. Of course, guns work. Fifteen years later, everything is still out and bands of militia roam the country beating up on the folks just trying to survive. The hero, who may or may not have knowledge about the apocalyptic event, has a brother who happens to be a super killing machine. Awful. There was a second episode which we might have checked out, but it was opposite two older shows that came on: Castle, which is still good, and Hawaii 5-0, which slipped off our viewing schedule last season but was still our preferred choice over Revolution. If you liked The Road but wanted less background and more creepy paranoia, this is your show. Some of the older shows are still good: Alphas, Hell on Wheels. But we're having a lot of fun watching MeTV's reruns of Dobie Gillis. (4 Comments |Comment on this)