Friday 29 January 2016

Washington Post launches contradictory attacks on Sanders presidential run

The Washington Post reveals two distinct lines of attack running simultaneously on Sanders now that HRC is pushing the panic button (1) He's just telling voters what they want to hear but can't deliver (link)  (2) he's unelectable because his ideas are so radical that voters will find them repugnant. (link)
Those two lines of attack are obviously in some tension, although I guess, to be fair, the first is being applied to Democratic primary voters and the second to the general electorate. Still, the argument that his policies are shiny attractive baubles for the Democratic base and utterly repugnant to the portion of the electorate that would be in play for deciding the election strikes me as an implausible claim.

Sunday 17 January 2016

Mini Reviews

Some TV series and movies stuff I've watched recently w/ mini-reviews:

Goon: A slapstick hockey movie, not unlike "Slapshot". It was surprisingly good, imo, and not entirely farcical. Probably more interesting/fun to watch if you're Canadian and/or a hockey fan. (3.5/5)

The Drop: Great NY low level organized crime drama. Great late career performance from James Gandolfini, with some interesting twists. (4/5)

Making a Murderer: I was disappointed in this, (one of a very few, apparently), an okay documentary with some sensationalizing, but not great. I made it through 3 episodes and then just googled the rest of the story. (2.5/5)

The Following: It started out interesting, but too much killing and too implausible as a story about a psychopath, and there is such a thing as overdoing the surprising plot twists. That point comes when the viewer begins to assume that everyone is actually a bad guy.

Happy Valley: A really great BBC series about a frumpy strong but troubled police sergeant and a kidnapping. (4.5/5)