The Day of the Doctor Has Arrived!

Don't worry!  This is a spoiler free post as the show has not aired.  But it is the most important thing that will be happening today.  Even if the Huskies manage to beat the Beavers.  We are a mere 3 hours away.  I should be getting ready to head out because I have a ticket to see it in the theater with some friends.  However the sore throat and headache that I have been pretending does not exist will not go away.  And I am making the painful decision to be responsible.  Thankfully there is a little Doctor Who series 7 marathon to support my choice.  And hopefully with enough juice and water I can beat this stupid thing away.  Thanksgiving is almost here, I have to be in tip top shape.

So while I'm waiting for the 50th Anniversary to start (3:02:20 according to the BBC America countdown ticker that is in the corner of the TV screen, let's discuss what else is happening.

I watched Castle last night (finally), so I'm all caught up.  I know what you mean about needing an overarching story.  I mean, they needed to work out the personal drama (and wrap up last season's proposal cliffhanger and Beckett's new job), so I get that.  But I'm excited to see this happening. And I really think they have needed something like 3XK returning, as opposed to it coming back to Beckett's mom's murder again. Outside of the death of her mom, they have lacked something that sticks around and pops up often enough that people remember it (Krystal asked me for a refresher on 3XK after I watched and I couldn't give a ton of information).  I explained it was like Palant on Bones (not sure I'm spelling that right).  And I'm glad to see this on Castle as it's kind of a staple of a long-running crime show.  [I guess you could insert here an argument that following a formula relates my prior post about a lack of originality, but it's a crime show, it's not about original formulas, it's about good characters so that you don't care that it's following the same formula as all the other crime shows before it.]  Bones has had a couple, Palant and that creepy lady who was played by the actress from the Wire who buried people alive or something.  Anyhow, it was creepy and on-going.  The Law & Order with Vincent D'Onofrio (Criminal Intent?) had Nicole Wallace (played perfectly by Olivia D'Abo) and it was only a few episodes, but it was memorable, and I only watched a few reruns.  You gotta have a nemesis, and the creepy 3XK is the perfect match for Beckett & Castle.  Her brilliance and his outside of the box thinking present the ideal challenge for the meticulous sociopath. 

You should definitely start Newsroom, that should be a top priority.  It is so good.  Haters be damned, it is idealist Sorkin at his best (okay, maybe 2nd best, early West Wing is impossible to beat, although that might have been when he had the cocaine problem, so I don't know that it's appropriate to say he was at his best then?).  When you get through that, I want to make a case for giving Arrow another chance.  I feel like so many shows fall off in their second season (both Revenge and Once Upon a Time went through season 2 like they had no idea where they wanted to go, with too many storylines and a general lack of focus, but thankfully both are back on track with clear focus in season 3), but Arrow has come into its own.  The first season was entertaining, and I grew to really like the characters, but it wasn't solid, and a lot of the time I was just watching for Oliver to take his shirt off.  This season there are quality twists and turns in every episode, but it still manages to not be too busy.  There is a lot going on with returning villains and a secret bad guy that he doesn't even know about yet (not to mention the huge shock at the end of the last episode), but it's never too much.  Also, I don't know exactly how Summer Glau is going to fit into this all in the long run, but I just love anytime she's on a show because she is awesome.

Random tangent: I've been thinking a lot about this healthcare.gov snafu and how it seems completely ridiculous that we are incapable of accomplishing this technological task while elsewhere in the government the NSA is hacking into pretty much everything.  Now, my technological skills are nothing spectacular, but I do understand that creating that kind of website and sneaking into all aspects of our lives requires slightly different capabilities, so I'm not suggesting that the NSA guys make that ACA website (although come on, they could totally do it), but I think it just highlights some of our misplaced priorities.  Spying on citizens and allies? Top notch effort. Making sure that our new system that is trying to give everyone access to affordable health care is easy to sign up for?  Eh, we can phone that in.  That said, people who are getting up in arms over this (Congress) can just calm down.  These things take time.  We are talking about millions of people.  Also, I think I'll just type NSA in here one last time, perhaps it's like Beetlejuice and if you say it 3 times, they show up.  Only in this case, they just start reading the blog.  Welcome, NSA guys to our pop culture heavy blog.  

Finally, I wanted to show you yet another buzzfeed list. http://www.buzzfeed.com/kbweinstein/10-sad-truths-about-adulthood-no-one-ever-told-you-g105 I just want you to know that #4 is something I struggle with constantly.  I know that as a teacher you don't really have this, and I kind of envy that a little. 

The countdown continues, we're now at 2:34:11.  And Strax & Jenny & Madam Vastra are on this epsiode.  I love them.  I wonder if they'll make an appearance in the special.  

Sarah's encounter with the cookie elf has slowed down her progress considerably, but she does manage to cast a milk spell after rolling a 16 and escapes.  However next in her path is a frog who strongly resembles Kermit, but asks for a kiss to turn into a real boy, and thus is unlikely really Kermit. 

Jamie Writes to Speaker Boehner

We don't get super political on here a lot, but that's not because we aren't highly opinionated and aware of issues.  So I was listening to NPR this morning, like I do, and heard that the do nothing Congress was planning yet another vote to repeal the health care act in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling yesterday.  And it really pissed me off.  So I wrote a little letter to the Speaker.


Dear Speaker Boehner:
31 times? Seriously?  I get that your majority was voted into office largely thanks to a campaign of fear that centered on the health care bill. I know that you really don't like this bill, although I don't really know why. I mean, it's not perfect, and I would probably have gone another direction (which, man, would have sent you through the roof. If you think the current bill or anything Obama does even flirts with socialism, my health care thoughts would give you nightmares), but compromise is how we get things done. It is, however, an important step in making sure that all Americans have access to health care. You don't think health care should only be accessible to those who can afford its constantly increasing price tag, do you? I didn't think so. I really want to believe there is a person under all that orange. (Sorry, that was a little personal, but I am upset) And I know you don't want to spend more on it than necessary, or at least that is the rhetoric you are always spewing, so let's pretend that's what you mean. Of course this not wanting to waste government money thing is pretty weak when you are continually spending your time (which my tax dollars pay for) voting to repeal the same law over and over, even though nothing has changed.
Did we have an election yesterday that changed the Senate or the Presidency and I missed it? *Checks the internet* Nope. All that happened was the Supreme Court shut down one of your major arguments against this act. And it was led by one of "your" guys. That hurts, doesn't it?  Have a little cry and then let's move on.
I understood your desire to have a symbolic vote with your new majority the first time, even though you knew it couldn't go anywhere. You put it on your lit pieces and go back to your tea parties and say you tried and hope they give you a majority in the Senate and a Romney in the White House (although he could change his mind tomorrow) that will allow you take health care away from people with pre-existing conditions and young adults who need a couple more years because they can't get a job, etc.
Oh! That brings me to my point. Jobs. The economy, it's not so hot. Now, I don't think you can fix it. I mean, even if I had never taken an Econ class and believed that the government had a magic wand they could wave to just make it better, you haven't me given any reason to believe this Congress can get anything accomplished. Was that too harsh? Well, too bad. People are without jobs, losing their homes, and you're wasting time trying to take away their health care. See what I did there? I learned that watching pundits and politicians, many of whom are on your side. That may be exaggerated, but that's not the point. It's a good line and it gets the purpose of this little rant across. We have actual problems, and while I have no confidence in your ability to do anything about them, you could try.  Maybe even prove me wrong. I would appreciate it if you would quit voting on the same thing over and over again and wasting your tax payer funded time. If you can't come up with anything to discuss, just let me know and I'd be happy to give you some ideas. Or even better, ask President Obama. He has a ton of great ideas and I think you could probably even find some common ground if you stopped wasting time trying to make the extreme members of your party happy. The President is far more moderate than anyone but the far left wing will give him credit for (and with them it's more blame than credit), and no matter how many times you say that he's a crazy liberal trying to appeal to a left wing base, it simply isn't true. (I know you're going to say something about gay marriage, but that isn't appealing to a base, that is about accepting reality. Just stop or you're going to look like an even bigger moron than you & your party already do on this issue)
Just stop it with the same bullshit political gestures to appease your whackjob base. You lost this one. You're not going to get it back, and by the time you have the opportunity, people are going to be comfortable with the changes. They are going to like it, rely on it. So move on. Plenty of other issues to work on. That's kind of what we pay you to do.


Thanks for listening.  I feel a little better now.


Jamie



Books read: 31


Coming soon: Sarah writes a top ten list of things Congress could do with the time they have wasted trying to repeal the ACA.