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Saturday Night Open Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Sat Apr 24, 2010 at 07:52:02 PM EST
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HBO debuts "You Don't Know Jack" , Barry Levinson's film about Jack Kevorkian, starring Al Pacino, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon and Brenda Vaccaro tonight. Danny Huston plays Kevorkian lawyer Jeff Fieger.

Sen. Lindsay Graham is up to old tricks. Now he's pulling support for the Climate bill because the Dems want to act on immigration.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

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    Saturday Night Open Thread | 33 comments (33 topical)

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    What Lindsey? (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by ruffian on Sat Apr 24, 2010 at 10:30:41 PM EST
    I thought you were pulling support for doing anything else this year because of your HCR outrage. Keep your story straight, please.

    Speaking of sanctimony, Jon Meacham of Newsweek is replacing Bill Moyers on PBS. One less check to write every year, so there is a bright side. I only wish boycotting Arizona was going to save me something.

    Say it ain't so, ruffian! (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by caseyOR on Sat Apr 24, 2010 at 10:51:53 PM EST
    Not Jon Meachum. I know born-again fanatics who aren't as sanctimonious as Meachum. Well, that frees up another hour a week for me to do something else.

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    Meecham gives me the heebie jeebies (none / 0) (#4)
    by esmense on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 01:59:07 AM EST
    His affect is like that of some pompous, cluelessly comic and self-important suitor and minor member of the clergy from a British novel of manners. But he's a noted, successful member of the American media. It's incongruous and disconcerting. Plus, the disparity between the banality of whatever he's expounding on and the oily self important way in which he expounds -- as if he is joydully blessing simple minded, good hearted and rightfully awed listeners with rare and heavenly insights -- creeps me out. Most of what he says is inoffensive enough, I guess, but I can't stand listening to him say it.  

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    Perfect (5.00 / 2) (#12)
    by ruffian on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 10:01:42 AM EST
    And also the way he is deferred to as moral arbiter on the group panels. Because, as they say, he "writes on religious matters".

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    Perfect (none / 0) (#7)
    by gyrfalcon on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 07:59:48 AM EST
    Wow, you captured Meacham perfectly.  Bravo.  This "minor member of the clergy from a British novel of manners" is exactly what he reminds me of, but I couldn't put my finger on it until you spelled it out.  And this "the disparity between the banality of whatever he's expounding on and the oily self important way in which he expounds."  Exactly so.

    And just think how much $$ they pay him at Time.

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    Wait, I just read he works for Newseek. (none / 0) (#9)
    by observed on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 08:17:08 AM EST
    Is Time paying him to write for the competition?
    Very clever!
    In a similar vein, can we pay Chris Bowers to write for NRO?

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    Oops. (none / 0) (#11)
    by gyrfalcon on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 09:17:16 AM EST
    Sorry about that.  I meant Newsweek.  They're so interchangeable, these guys...

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    Sounds like Polonius. (none / 0) (#8)
    by observed on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 08:13:45 AM EST


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    MEACHAM?? (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by shoephone on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 01:59:29 AM EST
    Who the heck is going to watch him? What a waste. I sat and listened to that man lie through his teeth one night on Washington Week in Review. I guess PBS wants to lose more viewers. Fine, let's give them what they want.

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    Graham crackers (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by Rashomon66 on Sat Apr 24, 2010 at 11:32:59 PM EST
    Sen. Lindsay Graham is up to old tricks. Now he's pulling support for the Climate bill because the Dems want to act on immigration.

    Graham is acting like a spoiled child who is upset because some other issue will now take focus off of the one he wants to have front and center. No wonder it is so hard to get anything done in Washington.

    Graham is reacting to jammed phone lines (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 07:35:16 AM EST
    to his office telling him just how "ex" he is going to be if he supports the bill.

    Parent
    Maybe Lindsey Graham has (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by KeysDan on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 11:24:55 AM EST
    made a bargain with the teapartiers--they will put the hinges back on his closet doors.

    Parent
    Well, there is no doubt that (none / 0) (#15)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 11:43:50 AM EST
    Graham is being closely watched over the issues of immigration and cap and tax (trade).

    And he is well aware of the watch. It will be interesting to see if he follows McCain and move to the Right.

    Parent

    Do you mean, (none / 0) (#16)
    by KeysDan on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 11:45:39 AM EST
    move "further to the right/"

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    Whatever works for you... (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 12:11:00 PM EST
    But you should understand that he is considered to be somewhat of a RINO.

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    Drill, baby, drill (5.00 / 5) (#10)
    by MO Blue on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 09:17:03 AM EST
    NEW ORLEANS -- The Coast Guard discovered Saturday that oil is leaking from the damaged well that fed a massive rig that exploded this week off Louisiana's coast, while bad weather halted efforts to clean up the mess that threatens the area's fragile marine ecosystem.
    ...
    Coast Guard and company officials estimate that as much as 1,000 barrels - or 42,000 gallons - of oil is leaking each day after studying information from remotely operated vehicles and the size of the oil slick surrounding the blast site. The rainbow-colored sheen of oil stretched 20 miles by 20 miles on Saturday - about 25 times larger than it appeared to be a day earlier, Landry said. link

    Who needs marine ecosystems anyway?

    Who needs gasoline, natural gas and petrochemicals (none / 0) (#14)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 11:40:33 AM EST
    such as fertilizer??

    And the answer is, modern society.

    Parent

    IIRC drilling off the coast of Virginia (none / 0) (#22)
    by MO Blue on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 05:29:43 PM EST
    will produce 6 days of oil. Not a good trade IMO.

    Parent
    And oil shale (none / 0) (#23)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 06:21:08 PM EST
    will hurt he snail darter's first cousin and the polar bears will be hurt if we do ANWR...

    There is always an excuse.

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    There is always an excuse to (none / 0) (#24)
    by MO Blue on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 06:29:34 PM EST
    invest in destructive old technology rather than investing in less harmful alternatives or in developing new technology. Might be those big campaign dollars from the oil and coal industries.

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    I'm all for the new technologies (none / 0) (#27)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 08:44:31 PM EST
    Perhaps you can name me one that can either currently, or within 10 years, replace petroleum as a cost affordable energy source.

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    "Excuse" (none / 0) (#25)
    by jondee on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 06:46:38 PM EST
    there's always an excuse for why the neanderthals of conservatism cant alter their thinking about how nature and the biosphere works to accommodate new information.

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    The Intelligent Designer (none / 0) (#26)
    by jondee on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 06:58:48 PM EST
    would never bequeath to us a creation that we cant abuse in the same way forever and ever..

    Cuz we're good-doers not evil-doers.

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    Do you always answer yourself? (none / 0) (#28)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 08:45:01 PM EST
    lol

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    I thought I'd stand (none / 0) (#32)
    by jondee on Mon Apr 26, 2010 at 03:33:53 PM EST
    in for you while you were away studying more faith-based science..

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    You and thinking ? (none / 0) (#33)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon Apr 26, 2010 at 10:15:02 PM EST
    Heh

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    Why did Pacino talk like that? (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by Sweet Sue on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 12:38:17 PM EST
    "You don't know Jack" was a good movie with good performances but what was with Pacino's weird accent?
    Do New York/Hollywood creative types really think that's how people in Michigan sound?
    I was waiting for Marge Gunderson to show up and arrest him for stealing her shtick.

    Yes, it got in the way (none / 0) (#19)
    by Cream City on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 02:00:34 PM EST
    for me, too.  

    And I thought the film Fargo was hilarious -- but it was supposed to be so (even if the directors confused Minnesota and Dakota accents:-).  

    I don't think that we were to laugh at Pacino's attempt at talkin' down by da Great Lakes like a Michigander, dere.  I think that he and the directors confused the trolls with the Yoopers and ended up with a mishmash.

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    Considering (none / 0) (#21)
    by jbindc on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 02:27:33 PM EST
    The Yoopers don't talk anything like the people in the lower peninsula - theirs is more of a Wisconsin/Canadian accent.  No one in the LP says "da" or "yah".

    Parent
    Correct (none / 0) (#29)
    by Cream City on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 08:50:18 PM EST
    . . . but I have heard some "deres" dere.:-)

    p.s.  To be specific, that's a Northern Wisconsin/Canadian/Minnesotan accent.  Quite different from the more Germanic/Polish accent heard in Southeastern Wisconsin -- similar to the Dutch accent, in some ways, of some lower Michiganders.  But the the Southern speech patterns still can be heard in Southwestern Wisconsin.  Being closer to the Great Lakes, and which lake on two borders, vs. being closer to the Mississippi on a third border still can make a difference.

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    Actors rarely do accents well (none / 0) (#20)
    by cymro on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 02:08:04 PM EST
    Fake accents usually grate on people who know the real thing. The only thing worse than British actors trying to sound American is the reverse. Far better they stick to their own voice, IMO. Just what indecipherable accent is Meryl Streep going to affect this time? Give me Michael Caine and Sean Connery every time!

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    Many British actors do a great job (none / 0) (#30)
    by shoephone on Sun Apr 25, 2010 at 10:13:42 PM EST
    of "sounding American." Hugh Laurie should get Emmys for his House accent alone. And Cate Blanchett played American quite well in The Talented Mr. Ripley.

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    You'd be surprised (none / 0) (#31)
    by jbindc on Mon Apr 26, 2010 at 10:36:42 AM EST
    How many people on prime time, network shows are British or Australian or such, that are doing American accents.  Two of the actors on Trauma (one's from NZ and one from England), Simon Baker on The Mentalist, several cast members of Flash Forward  (although a couple keep their accents), Without a Trace, House (as mentioned), the mini series Band of Brothers had mostly English actors ( and I think The Pacific does too).  And that's what I can think of off the top of my head.  Don't forget how many Canadian actors there are too where an occassional accent slips through their "American" one!

    When I lived in Texas, a couple of my friends made a simat comment about actors attempting Texas accents and how bad they were at it.  When one of them commented, "No one sounds like that," I had to tell them that yes, they actually do!

    Parent

    Saturday Night Open Thread | 33 comments (33 topical)

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