What Did You Watch? 2012-04-26 (Thursday)

[Ubiquitous]

I watched:

THE EIGHTIES AT EIGHT:
I discovered a station (theCOOLTV.com) that plays 80's music vids for an
hour. Yay!

THE BOB NEWHART SHOW:
"By The Way... You're Fired". Carol's lateest romance interferes with
her job.

KATHY:
OK, it appears the mystery is solved WRT her guess panelists. This week
was good, especially the nasty things she had to say about those filthy
whores, the Kardashians.

THE O'REILLY FACTOR:
• Can NBC be sued for editing the George Zimmerman 911 tape in the
Trayvon Martin case? Megyn Kelly analyzes the law on that.
• Alleged Trayvon Martin revenge beating a hate crime?
• Plus, the Great American News Quiz: The James Bond Edition...
.
What did you watch?

--
"If Barack Obama isn't careful, he will become the Jimmy Carter of the
21st century."

[Obveeus]

"Ubiquitous" <web...@polaris.net> wrote:

> THE O'REILLY FACTOR:
> . Can NBC be sued for editing the George Zimmerman 911 tape in the

> Trayvon Martin case? Megyn Kelly analyzes the law on that.

Unless the show juxtaposed this with the FOX 'silver spoon' lie, why even
bother claiming that they are addressing an issue rather than serving up
propaganda?

> What did you watch?

AWAKE: The sports game beating (ack, can it get any more generic) plot was
easy to predict the outcome of from about 30 seconds in. The sports game
betting plot was a bit more complex, but still lame. Fortunately, the show
saved itself with an interesting plot development regarding the son and his
girlfriend. If the son world is imaginary, Britten pulled a rabbit out of
the hat in the 'real world'. If the wife world is imaginary, then this
simply adds another deaed person into his pool of dreamyness. It is hard to
believe that the wife world isn't imaginary sometimes, simply because the
wife is so two dimentional.

[Ubiquitous]

In article <jnduuv$idj$1...@dont-email.me>, Obv...@aol.com wrote:
>"Ubiquitous" <web...@polaris.net> wrote:

>> THE O'REILLY FACTOR:
>> . Can NBC be sued for editing the George Zimmerman 911 tape in the
>> Trayvon Martin case? Megyn Kelly analyzes the law on that.
>
>Unless the show juxtaposed this with the FOX 'silver spoon' lie

There was no 'silver spoon' lie. Do try to get your facts straight.

[tdciago]

On Apr 27, 4:26 am, Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
> KATHY:
> OK, it appears the mystery is solved WRT her guess panelists. This week
> was good, especially the nasty things she had to say about those filthy
> whores, the Kardashians.

I haven't seen Teresa Strasser since she hosted "While You Were Out,"
so it was good to see her again. Lance Bass' personal assistant
didn't have too much to say, though she did contribute the running gag
about Lance throwing drug-and-alcohol-filled parties for underage
celebs. And Kathy's neighbor, Ryan, was a real curiosity. He's like
a cross between John Denver and a young Stephen King. I can't imagine
what he does for a living, but it must be lucrative if he lives next
to Kathy. Maybe he writes and sings songs about creepy towns in the
Rockies.

I loved Kathy and Maggie's tour of East Hollywood (E-Ho), aka the
"Mexicans Love Soccer Show." I am very happy to sit down and shoot
the breeze with Kathy every Thursday night. And I'm addicted to that
theme song.

COMMUNITY (NBC) - A good "Law and Order"-themed episode about the
murder of a yam. Actually, make that several yams. I guess we've
seen the last of Starburns, who supposedly was killed when his car,
with a meth lab in the trunk, was rear-ended.

30 ROCK (NBC) - A live show, which had me laughing out loud,
especially when I realized that was Jon Hamm in the "Amos and Andy"
spoof. Dr. Spaceman's cigarette commercials also had me giggling, and
the "Zou Bisou Bisou" number. How the cast pulled off some of those
quick costume changes I don't know. There were lots of cameos in this
one, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. The only thing I
couldn't understand was why Amy Poehler wasn't wearing a brunette wig
to play young Liz.

THE OFFICE (NBC) - I don't find Andy's pain funny. It's just
stressful. The funniest moment was probably Nellie eating the taco.
Her interaction with Darryl actually worked for me. Aside from that,
the opening and closing bits, as usual, were better than the middle.

PARKS AND RECREATION (NBC) - The big debate was pretty good, but Andy
was driving me crazy with his movie re-creations. That just went on
too long.

[Arthur Lipscomb]

30 Rock - West Coast feed of the Live episode. It started a little slow
but picked up. A couple of segments fell flat but others were great. I
may see if I can track down the East Coast version for a comparison.


American Idol - results show. Someone was voted off and I don't know
who nor do I care. As always, the Queen music was good.


Total Blackout (recorded) - SyFy game show that may be so bad it's
almost good. Contestants (various stereotypes straight out of central
casting) are brought into a pitch black room and told to guess what
they're touching, smelling, tasting or perform easy tasks while being
mislead about what they're doing. It's sort of like fear factor but the
fear is mainly in the imagination of the contestants. The over-the-top
antics of the contestants (too scared to touch a pineapple) was hard to
stomach. But for whatever reason I couldn't take my eyes off the train
wreck.


Don't Trust the B in Apt 23 - Already commented on. I thought it was
pretty good.


Hart of Dixie (recorded) - last week's episode where George catches
Lavon kissing Lemon and finds out they had a relationship. In the B
story Zoe falls for Green Arrow.


Private Practice (recorded) - Mainly background noise. I didn't follow
what happened.


Parks and Recreation (On Demand) - The episode from last week where
Leslie has to find a way to save money to prevent a department from
being shut down or people from being fired. It was OK.


The Office (On Demand) - Also from last week. Andy tries to stand up
for himself over his job being stolen and gets fired. It was OK.


Todd and the Book of Pure Evil (On Demand) - A student who also happens
to be a huge "pervert" uses the book to turn invisible and spy on the
girls while they change. The janitor somehow gets the blame for this so
the evil guidance counselor uses it as an excuse to fire him since he
knows the janitor routinely helps Todd. Todd and his reluctant gang set
out to prove the janitor's innocence. There was a lot of humor around
just how big of a pervert the invisible kid was as well as gross out
humor as various bodily fluids. Some aspects of this episode that
hovered between farce and retcon. The school now apparently has a DNA
lab that can return results in a day. It also has a database with the
personality profile of every student (which given the evil guidance
counselor has hidden cameras everywhere isn't *that* hard to believe).
The team genius can now repair and upgrade cybernetic parts (but given a
character has a robotic arm in the first place it's more or less
consistent). Despite being gross it was still pretty good.



(Saved for later: Awake, The Mentalist, Grey's Anatomy, The Secret
Circle, The Vampire Diaries, Parks and Recreation and The Office)

[Arthur Lipscomb]

On 4/27/2012 7:21 AM, tdciago wrote:

>
> COMMUNITY (NBC) - A good "Law and Order"-themed episode about the
> murder of a yam.

I would have recorded it if I knew it was a Law and Order spoof. But
it's probably better I watch it on OnDemand anyway since all the shows
on NBC Thursday night get cut off at the end.

>
> 30 ROCK (NBC) - A live show, which had me laughing out loud,
> especially when I realized that was Jon Hamm in the "Amos and Andy"
> spoof. Dr. Spaceman's cigarette commercials also had me giggling, and
> the "Zou Bisou Bisou" number. How the cast pulled off some of those
> quick costume changes I don't know.

I noticed they were often absent when they would do a wide shot of
everyone supposedly locked in the room together.

There were lots of cameos in this
> one,

I read Paul McCartney made a surprise cameo. Which character did he play?

and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

One of the reasons I want to see the East Coast feed is apparently by
the time they did it for the west coast they had a much harder time
keeping a straight face.

[Mason Barge]

30 ROCK -

More an "entertainment event" than particularly funny. In fact, it felt a
lot like SNL. But it was excellent, especially considering it was a
half-hour epi in a show that doesn't pull a big audience.

Best Moment: Cherie wiggling in a bikini (ala Goldie Hawn) during the
Laugh In segment.

Tina Fey did a great voice impression of Audrey Meadows. They should at
least have put a wig on her. Also, terrific set for the Honeymooners bit.
The jokes weren't terribly funny - they really could have used an Ed
Norton character, since he was always the funny part of the Honeymooners
anyway.

Grade: A

AWAKE -
Still my favorite show running. How they mange to tie so many plots
together is an achievement in itself. I watched it right after "Touch"
which doesn't take 1/10 the trouble with actually making the pieces fit.

The police procedural stuff got a little bit "same old", unfortunately,
with very standard murder and arson plots, very reminiscent of Law & Order
barebones. But they found a really inventive way to potentially scotch
Britten's move to Portland in the red world and an equally inventive way
for him to figure out that they were going to be grandparents.

The episode was kinda boring, kinda boring, kinda boring until the last
three or four minutes when BOOM, it all comes together. I think the show
is brilliant but you have to be willing to go the full hour.

Grade: A

TOUCH -
I watched Touch right before Awake and the difference in how much time and
effort the writers spend making everything work is noticeable. Touch is
written along the J.J.Abrahms line -- throw a whole bunch of odd events up
against the wall and see what sticks. The episodes are okay but you have
the feeling there isn't a really strong uniting arc that will ever be
resolved. Whereas Awake has the integrity of Rod Serling and you know that
things are going to work at the end.

Touch isn't too bad. As an episode, it had a lot of interesting stuff
going on and the conflicts got resolved. Hooray for love!

Grade: B

THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: The Crash of 1929

Really interesting account of the stock market from 1920-1930. It ignored
everythign about the Great Depression except the stock market, which
enabled them to give a lot of depth in 90 minutes. Plus, the local PBS
station put it on right before a replay of Frontline's new 4-hour series
about the crash of 2008.

This is *brilliant* television and should be required viewing for every
economics major starting, say, 25 years from now, when everyone will have
forgotten yet again that overheated, speculative, unregulated economies
are going to crash.

Grade: A+

[Jim T.]

On Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:30:36 -0700, Arthur Lipscomb
<art...@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

>>
>> 30 ROCK (NBC) - A live show, which had me laughing out loud,
>> especially when I realized that was Jon Hamm in the "Amos and Andy"
>> spoof. Dr. Spaceman's cigarette commercials also had me giggling, and
>> the "Zou Bisou Bisou" number. How the cast pulled off some of those
>> quick costume changes I don't know.
>
>I noticed they were often absent when they would do a wide shot of
>everyone supposedly locked in the room together.
>
>
>There were lots of cameos in this
>> one,
>
>I read Paul McCartney made a surprise cameo. Which character did he play?

He played Paul McCartney making a surprise cameo!

[Arthur Lipscomb]

I completely missed it. Was that East Coast, West Coast or both? The
way I read the report, he interacted with Alec Baldwin who didn't know
he would be there. That might work for one performance but not both.

[Ian J. Ball]

In article <jndl76$qho$4...@dont-email.me>,
Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:

> What did you watch?

Late lab day, so only over-the-air fare:

The Vampire Diaries - O... M... G... Are they *really* going to drag the
horrible 'Originals' storyline in to *next season*?!! I guess if they do
that, I can officially drop this show again... :/
The only thing I did like is that, in this episode, Bonnie was
actually the one that "screwed" up - I hope the rest of them blame her,
and are shitty to her for a while. She really deserves that, IMO.

The Secret Circle - OK, now *that* was a twist I did not see coming!!
And more tension between Cassie and Diana though, as of now, Diana is
still playing at being the "good" one. I can't tell if it's an act on
her part (my suspicion), or whether she really believes it and will
somehow be corrupted to EVOL later.
Now this is a rare new show this season that I really hope gets
renewed - there's a lot of ground left for this show to cover in season
#2.

The Mentalist - FWIW, I found this episode tedious, except for a couple
of the gags that happened with Lisbon. But Summer (Samaire Armstrong) is
really starting to wear out her welcome. (I wonder if she'll end up
being Red John's victim in the season finale or something...)

Recorded for later: Missing, Person of Interest, Awake.

--
"We're gonna need a lot of therapy." - the character Rachel in "Bunnyman"
(named 1 of the 5 Worst Horror Films of 2011 by 28DaysLaterAnalysis.com!!)

[suzeeq]

Mason Barge wrote:

> THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: The Crash of 1929
>
> Really interesting account of the stock market from 1920-1930. It ignored
> everythign about the Great Depression except the stock market, which
> enabled them to give a lot of depth in 90 minutes. Plus, the local PBS
> station put it on right before a replay of Frontline's new 4-hour series
> about the crash of 2008.
>
> This is *brilliant* television and should be required viewing for every
> economics major starting, say, 25 years from now, when everyone will have
> forgotten yet again that overheated, speculative, unregulated economies
> are going to crash.
>
> Grade: A+

Since the Great Depression didn't really begin until after the market
crashed it had no part in this story. That's what triggered the
depression, the 20s was an era of relative prosperity for most people.

But I saw it Tuesday night and yep it was really a good program.

[Ubiquitous]

tdc...@aol.com wrote:
>On Apr 27, 4:26 am, Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:

>> KATHY:
>> OK, it appears the mystery is solved WRT her guess panelists. This week
>> was good, especially the nasty things she had to say about those filthy
>> whores, the Kardashians.
>
>I haven't seen Teresa Strasser since she hosted "While You Were Out,"
>so it was good to see her again. Lance Bass' personal assistant
>didn't have too much to say, though she did contribute the running gag
>about Lance throwing drug-and-alcohol-filled parties for underage
>celebs. And Kathy's neighbor, Ryan, was a real curiosity. He's like
>a cross between John Denver and a young Stephen King. I can't imagine
>what he does for a living, but it must be lucrative if he lives next
>to Kathy. Maybe he writes and sings songs about creepy towns in the
>Rockies.

And he's married to a hot woman! WTF?

>I loved Kathy and Maggie's tour of East Hollywood (E-Ho), aka the
>"Mexicans Love Soccer Show." I am very happy to sit down and shoot
>the breeze with Kathy every Thursday night. And I'm addicted to that
>theme song.

Yeah, Maggie's statement about Mexicans was a hoot! I'll be watching this next
week.

[thinbluemime]

Sounds like the Crash of '29 gets two thumbs up in here...This is right up
my alley of interest, off to download...

[Mason Barge]

On Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:24:04 -0700, Arthur Lipscomb

He couldn't stay up late enough for the West Coast show. They got Kim
Kardashian instead, and her joke was actually funnier.

[Seapig]

On Apr 27, 7:21 am, tdciago <tdci...@aol.com> wrote:

> COMMUNITY (NBC) - A good "Law and Order"-themed episode about the
> murder of a yam.  Actually, make that several yams.  I guess we've
> seen the last of Starburns, who supposedly was killed when his car,
> with a meth lab in the trunk, was rear-ended.

Somehow, I've managed to never see "Law and Order" but I still enjoyed
this, and it was an accurate parody of what I imagine "Law and Order"
to be.

> 30 ROCK (NBC) - A live show, which had me laughing out loud,
> especially when I realized that was Jon Hamm in the "Amos and Andy"
> spoof.  Dr. Spaceman's cigarette commercials also had me giggling, and
> the "Zou Bisou Bisou" number.  How the cast pulled off some of those
> quick costume changes I don't know.  There were lots of cameos in this
> one, and everyone seemed to be having a great time.  The only thing I
> couldn't understand was why Amy Poehler wasn't wearing a brunette wig
> to play young Liz.

This wins "best show of the night" for me. I saw the West Coast
version, and was impressed at how smoothly it went. I probably
laughed most at the "Amos & Andy" type show. My guess is that they
didn't put Amy Poehler in a wig because they wanted to make sure we
all recognized her.

> THE OFFICE (NBC) - I don't find Andy's pain funny.  It's just
> stressful.  The funniest moment  was probably Nellie eating the taco.
> Her interaction with Darryl actually worked for me.  Aside from that,
> the opening and closing bits, as usual, were better than the middle.

I used to enjoy the uncomfortable humor on this show, and its British
forebear. That was when they put the characters in uncomfortable
situations. Now I feel like they're putting actors in uncomfortable
situations, and it's not as much fun.

As for the opening and closing bits, I didn't really enjoy the
opening, with Smokey Robinson's fake death, having just seen him on
DWTS a few days ago. It would have worked better with somebody that
was further back in the memory banks. Can't really blame the writers
for that one; just unfortunate timing.

I laughed at the end, when they felt the need to show us that the dog
wasn't really dead. "Community" can kill Starburns, "The B in
Apartment 23" can kill a neighbor with her negligence, but heaven
forbid we let an imaginary dog die.

> PARKS AND RECREATION (NBC) - The big debate was pretty good, but Andy
> was driving me crazy with his movie re-creations.  That just went on
> too long.

The show was kind of a disappointment. I was never a fan of Ann with
Chris, but I was cheering for it - anything to put an end to Ann and
Tom. Unfortunately, it looks like we're not yet completely clear of
that nightmare. The movie recreations were funny, but it was hard to
believe that all those rich people, who came to watch the debate,
would have willingly sat through all that nonsense.

[Mason Barge]

Well, I'm really thinking of the parallel disaster going on in the midwest
agricultural sector. So I wanted to differentiate this as a show
concentrating on the causes of the stock market crash, as opposed to a
show about the causes of the Great Depression.

Agriculture did start to crash about 9 months after the stock market, but
the bubbles were surprisingly (and disasterously) close in terms of
chronology.

[tdciago]

On Apr 27, 11:52 am, Mason Barge <masonba...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 30 ROCK -

> Tina Fey did a great voice impression of Audrey Meadows.  They should at
> least have put a wig on her.

I thought she did have one, with a kerchief wrapped around it. But
yes, the impression was very good. And Alec taking Ralph's empty
threats and amping them up was also funny.

> Also, terrific set for the Honeymooners bit.

Yes. It depressed me every bit as much as the original. Oh, how I
hated that apartment.

[tdciago]

On Apr 27, 2:15 pm, Seapig <sea...@altavista.com> wrote:
> On Apr 27, 7:21 am, tdciago <tdci...@aol.com> wrote:

> > 30 ROCK (NBC)

>
> This wins "best show of the night" for me.

Same here.

> I saw the West Coast
> version, and was impressed at how smoothly it went.  I probably
> laughed most at the "Amos & Andy" type show.

After watching both versions, I thought East Coast was better overall.

>  My guess is that they
> didn't put Amy Poehler in a wig because they wanted to make sure we
> all recognized her.

That wasn't a problem with Fred Armisen. ;) Or Jon Hamm, for that
matter. It took me a couple of seconds to realize it was him, and
then it was so ridiculous that I burst out laughing.

> > PARKS AND RECREATION (NBC)

> I was never a fan of Ann with
> Chris, but I was cheering for it - anything to put an end to Ann and
> Tom.

Amen! She and the Wichita Lineman need to get together.

[Arthur Lipscomb]

On 4/27/2012 9:42 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:
> In article<jndl76$qho$4...@dont-email.me>,
> Ubiquitous<web...@polaris.net> wrote:
>
>> What did you watch?
>
> Late lab day, so only over-the-air fare:
>
> The Vampire Diaries - O... M... G... Are they *really* going to drag the
> horrible 'Originals' storyline in to *next season*?!! I guess if they do
> that, I can officially drop this show again... :/
> The only thing I did like is that, in this episode, Bonnie was
> actually the one that "screwed" up

What did she do? I noticed I lost track of what was happening around
the point Elena was getting the stakes out of her uncle(?)'s locker. I
went back about 5 minutes but couldn't figure out where I lost track of
things.

- I hope the rest of them blame her,
> and are shitty to her for a while. She really deserves that, IMO.
>
> The Secret Circle - OK, now *that* was a twist I did not see coming!!

What twist? I actually *was* paying attention but didn't notice a twist.

Interesting that the parents have finally got a clue that their kids
know about magic. Or did the parents already secretly know? Either
way, the kids and parents may be teaming up soon.

[Ian J. Ball]

On Apr 27, 1:00 pm, Arthur Lipscomb <art...@alum.calberkeley.org>
wrote:

> On 4/27/2012 9:42 AM, Ian J. Ball wrote:

> > In article<jndl76$qh...@dont-email.me>,

> >   Ubiquitous<web...@polaris.net>  wrote:
>
> >> What did you watch?
>
> > Late lab day, so only over-the-air fare:
>
> > The Vampire Diaries - O... M... G... Are they *really* going to drag the
> > horrible 'Originals' storyline in to *next season*?!! I guess if they do
> > that, I can officially drop this show again...  :/
> >     The only thing I did like is that, in this episode, Bonnie was
> > actually the one that "screwed" up
>
> What did she do?  I noticed I lost track of what was happening around
> the point Elena was getting the stakes out of her uncle(?)'s locker.  I
> went back about 5 minutes but couldn't figure out where I lost track of
> things.

This one isn't worth Spoiler space:

So witch-y ancient Mom was going to turn Alaric into a vampire-hunting
vampire, just like (now-dead) ancient Daddy was. But before she could
complete her plan, Alaric stabbed her. Thus, Alaric was going to allow
himself to "pass on" before he made the transition to full vampire,
just as Caroline's father (Jack Coleman) had done before him. But just
as Alaric was about to die for good, Bonnie (possessed by witch-y
ancient Mommy?... it was unclear) busts in there, and feeds him some
of her own blood. Hence, Alaric will now be a full vampire.

Clearly, the finale is going to end with the awful Originals and the
pathetic Salvatores teaming up to kill off Alaric, the new super
vampire-hunting vampire.

> > The Secret Circle - OK, now *that* was a twist I did not see coming!!
>
> What twist?  I actually *was* paying attention but didn't notice a twist.

Wow - you really *weren't* paying attention!

S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S

OK, you've been warned! Blah blah blah la la la The 'twist'/revelation
was that Nick, original member of the circle (who apparently "died" in
episode #1.5, "Slither"), and newcomer, ex-witch hunter Jake's
brother, is still alive, and is the "traitor" witch working with the
witch hunters. (They're going to have some explaining to do there -
Nick was still in the originally 'bound' circle, so how was he able to
do magic for the witch hunters on his own?!...)

Anyway, like I said, this, along with "Person of Interest" are the new
shows this season most deserving of a second season - there's still a
lot of story left to tell on "Secret Circle"...

> Interesting that the parents have finally got a clue that their kids
> know about magic.  Or did the parents already secretly know?  Either
> way, the kids and parents may be teaming up soon.

The parents, e.g. Dawn and Charles, have always known the kids were
doing magic - indeed, it was the key part of their plan to get their
own magical powers back.

[Arthur Lipscomb]

OK. I caught all of that. I might not have noticed the plan wasn't
going 100% as intended but in the end the outcome was as they had
planned it. Other than Bonnie getting eaten but that wasn't really a
screw up on her part.

>
> Clearly, the finale is going to end with the awful Originals and the
> pathetic Salvatores teaming up to kill off Alaric, the new super
> vampire-hunting vampire.
>
>>> The Secret Circle - OK, now *that* was a twist I did not see coming!!
>>
>> What twist? I actually *was* paying attention but didn't notice a twist.
>
> Wow - you really *weren't* paying attention!
>
> S
> P
> O
> I
> L
> E
> R
> S
>
> OK, you've been warned! Blah blah blah la la la The 'twist'/revelation
> was that Nick, original member of the circle (who apparently "died" in
> episode #1.5, "Slither"), and newcomer, ex-witch hunter Jake's
> brother, is still alive, and is the "traitor" witch working with the
> witch hunters.

Oh yeah. I so was non impressed I forgot. I thought the witch hunters
was a misdirect set up by the father. I was slightly surprised it
wasn't the father they caught.

(They're going to have some explaining to do there -
> Nick was still in the originally 'bound' circle, so how was he able to
> do magic for the witch hunters on his own?!...)
>
> Anyway, like I said, this, along with "Person of Interest" are the new
> shows this season most deserving of a second season - there's still a
> lot of story left to tell on "Secret Circle"...
>
>> Interesting that the parents have finally got a clue that their kids
>> know about magic. Or did the parents already secretly know? Either
>> way, the kids and parents may be teaming up soon.
>
> The parents, e.g. Dawn and Charles, have always known the kids were
> doing magic - indeed, it was the key part of their plan to get their
> own magical powers back.

I think I forgot that too. I did catch Charle's comment about bringing
Casie back but the parent's scheming to get their powers back has been
on the back burner for so long I forgot who knew what.

[Ian J. Ball]

On Apr 27, 3:00 pm, Arthur Lipscomb <art...@alum.calberkeley.org>

As *who* had planned it? The plan did end up going off as *witch-y
Mom* had planned it.

But the Elena/Salvatore plan to *stop* her was ruined, by (possessed?)
Bonnie. So I'm hoping the Salvatore gang will be pissed at Bonnie, as
she single-handedly ruined everything.

[suzeeq]

Sure, combine the crash with the drought that devasted the agricultural
lands and you get a disastrous economic depression.

[thinbluemime]

On Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:26:13 +0100, Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:

> I watched:
>
> THE EIGHTIES AT EIGHT:
> I discovered a station (theCOOLTV.com) that plays 80's music vids for an
> hour. Yay!
>
> THE BOB NEWHART SHOW:
> "By The Way... You're Fired". Carol's lateest romance interferes with
> her job.
>
> KATHY:
> OK, it appears the mystery is solved WRT her guess panelists. This week
> was good, especially the nasty things she had to say about those filthy
> whores, the Kardashians.
>
> THE O'REILLY FACTOR:
> • Can NBC be sued for editing the George Zimmerman 911 tape in the
> Trayvon Martin case? Megyn Kelly analyzes the law on that.
> • Alleged Trayvon Martin revenge beating a hate crime?
> • Plus, the Great American News Quiz: The James Bond Edition...
> .
> What did you watch?
>

PERSON OF INTEREST

John Reese gets two stories this week, one set in 2010 and it's parallel
in the present.

2010 Flashback - Reese and his female CIA partner are interrupted during a
rough 'interrogation', by superiors who outline their next mission. Your
mission, Mr Reese, even if you choose not to accept it, is to go to China,
recover a laptop with the 'Stuxnet' virus code, designed by the USA, and
retrieve it before the enemy can release the code in an attack on the USA
security network.

Reese and partner arrive in China, recover the laptop/disk drive, and set
up night flares to attract their recovery craft. Each partner has been
assigned a hit on the other, unknowingly. Reese takes a bullet in the
shoulder and then laughs when he realizes his female counterpart that shot
him, has just set up a huge target with the flares. A night vision Apache
helicopter lights them up, but Reese gets away, or so it seems.

Back in New York, Fitch and Reese have a new number from the machine, this
time a security guard working for an armored truck company. Reese
infiltrates, and becomes a rent-a-cop. Several double crosses later, Reese
is shot again, by a member of the security company team, and Fusco
ultimately saves him and covers up the crime scene.

The last scene of this episode appears to tie the two disparate cases
together. In what looks to be Reese's apartment, two CIA operatives enter,
only to be taken out not by Reese, but by the female partner that was hit
by the China Apache helicopter attack.

Could this mystery woman be the super computer hacker that hacked into
Finch's system and taunted him?


Rated 5 out of 5 stars, if for no other reason, the script mentions
"STUXNET"

[Arthur Lipscomb]

I forgot there are multiple factions. I was thinking everyone was on
board with the witch's plan.

[Ubiquitous]

In article <jneat5$mbh$1...@dont-email.me>, art...@alum.calberkeley.org wrote:

>Total Blackout (recorded) - SyFy game show that may be so bad it's
>almost good. Contestants (various stereotypes straight out of central
>casting) are brought into a pitch black room and told to guess what
>they're touching, smelling, tasting or perform easy tasks while being
>mislead about what they're doing. It's sort of like fear factor but the
>fear is mainly in the imagination of the contestants. The over-the-top
>antics of the contestants (too scared to touch a pineapple) was hard to
>stomach.

Jebus Cheeeerist, you weren't kidding about that!

[Remysun]

On Apr 27, 11:52 am, Mason Barge <masonba...@gmail.com> wrote:

> THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE:  The Crash of 1929
>
> Really interesting account of the stock market from 1920-1930.  It ignored
> everythign about the Great Depression except the stock market, which
> enabled them to give a lot of depth in 90 minutes.  Plus, the local PBS
> station put it on right before a replay of Frontline's new 4-hour series
> about the crash of 2008.
>
> This is *brilliant* television and should be required viewing for every
> economics major starting, say, 25 years from now, when everyone will have
> forgotten yet again that overheated, speculative, unregulated economies
> are going to crash.

Maybe, but the most recent turns have had great consequences, since
the Baby Boom was depending on the prosperity to carry them through
retirement.

Today's market also has the disadvantage of being too instantaneous
with a smaller increment than what the 1929 market had to deal with.
Back then, the margin was 12.5 cents (I don't think you could trade
below 1/8th of a dollar). That meant the markets moved when something
important happened.

Now, we can trade on a penny, subjecting stocks to the swings from
margin calls and other factors that are a chain reaction to unintended
oblivion.

In that way, it is probably even more important to learn from that
era's crisis, because the next decade is going to show more periods of
erratic behavior, as skittish retirees panic to protect what they
have, which is against the first rule of investment, which is to think
long term.

[Ian J. Ball]

On Apr 27, 1:18 pm, thinbluemime <thinbluemi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:26:13 +0100, Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
> > .
> > What did you watch?
>
> PERSON OF INTEREST
>
> John Reese gets two stories this week, one set in 2010 and it's parallel
> in the present.

> [snip]

>
> Could this mystery woman be the super computer hacker that hacked into
> Finch's system and taunted him?

I'm banking on it, yeah.

[Obveeus]

"Remysun" <remys...@yahoo.com> wrote:
On Apr 27, 11:52 am, Mason Barge <masonba...@gmail.com> wrote:

>> THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: The Crash of 1929
>>

>> This is *brilliant* television and should be required viewing for every
>> economics major starting, say, 25 years from now, when everyone will have
>> forgotten yet again that overheated, speculative, unregulated economies
>> are going to crash.
>
>Maybe, but the most recent turns have had great consequences, since
>the Baby Boom was depending on the prosperity to carry them through
>retirement.
>
>Today's market also has the disadvantage of being too instantaneous
>with a smaller increment than what the 1929 market had to deal with.
>Back then, the margin was 12.5 cents (I don't think you could trade
>below 1/8th of a dollar). That meant the markets moved when something
>important happened.
>
>Now, we can trade on a penny, subjecting stocks to the swings from
>margin calls and other factors that are a chain reaction to unintended
>oblivion.
>
>In that way, it is probably even more important to learn from that
>era's crisis, because the next decade is going to show more periods of
>erratic behavior, as skittish retirees panic to protect what they
>have, which is against the first rule of investment, which is to think
>long term.

One of the best tax steps that the government could take would be to place
an even bigger tax burden on short term capital gains (stocks held less than
one year)...and add a separate tax on 'shorting' if they aren't going to
outlaw the practice completely.

[Remysun]

On Apr 28, 7:20 am, "Obveeus" <Obve...@aol.com> wrote:

> One of the best tax steps that the government could take would be to place
> an even bigger tax burden on short term capital gains (stocks held less than
> one year)...and add a separate tax on 'shorting' if they aren't going to
> outlaw the practice completely.

Do they treat stock options from employment as regular income? It
shouldn't be a way to skirt the upper bracket rate with the lower
capital gains rate.

[Mason Barge]

On Sat, 28 Apr 2012 05:01:12 -0700 (PDT), Remysun <remys...@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>On Apr 28, 7:20 am, "Obveeus" <Obve...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> One of the best tax steps that the government could take would be to place
>> an even bigger tax burden on short term capital gains (stocks held less than
>> one year)...and add a separate tax on 'shorting' if they aren't going to
>> outlaw the practice completely.
>
>Do they treat stock options from employment as regular income?

It's complicated. Mostly, "incentive" stock options received by employees
are not taxed when exercised and given capital gains treatment.

[Obveeus]

"Mason Barge" <mason...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sat, 28 Apr 2012 05:01:12 -0700 (PDT), Remysun <remys...@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
>>On Apr 28, 7:20 am, "Obveeus" <Obve...@aol.com> wrote:
>>
>>> One of the best tax steps that the government could take would be to
>>> place
>>> an even bigger tax burden on short term capital gains (stocks held less
>>> than
>>> one year)...and add a separate tax on 'shorting' if they aren't going to
>>> outlaw the practice completely.
>>
>>Do they treat stock options from employment as regular income?
>
> It's complicated. Mostly, "incentive" stock options received by employees
> are not taxed when exercised and given capital gains treatment.

Which is a scam in and of itself since the employees are very frequently
given options at a much lower price than the stock actually sells for. So
the company stock sells for $100/share and the employees have the option to
buy at $50/share. As Remysun pointed out, it (the difference between
current stock price and option price) should be taxed as regular income when
the stock is purchased.

[thinbluemime]

Capital gains or losses are not accounted for tax purposes until the sale
of the asset. Imagine buying a home that appreciates while you live in it.
You don't pay taxes on the profit until it is sold.

Help me out here Mason, is this the general basis the stock options are
taxes upon?

[Obveeus]

"thinbluemime" <thinbl...@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:58:25 +0100, Obveeus <Obv...@aol.com> wrote:
>> Which is a scam in and of itself since the employees are very frequently
>> given options at a much lower price than the stock actually sells for.
>> So
>> the company stock sells for $100/share and the employees have the option
>> to
>> buy at $50/share. As Remysun pointed out, it (the difference between
>> current stock price and option price) should be taxed as regular income
>> when the stock is purchased.
>>
>
> Capital gains or losses are not accounted for tax purposes until the sale
> of the asset.

The ability to purchase the asset at a discount price is a form of income
and should be taxed as such at the time of purchase. Let the buyer be given
a reference price (the current trading price) that will be used to determine
any capital gain/loss when the stock is eventually sold.

[thinbluemime]

A paper profit does not become a real profit until the asset is sold. If
the stock goes down in value while being held, the scenario you outline
would make for a really messy tax code in an already overburdened tax
system.

We are talking income tax, not property tax, which are different.

If I go to an auction (antique, storage bin,etc) and bid well and gain an
asset at a lower price than it's expected fair market value, I do not have
to pay taxes on the profit until the item is sold, no matter if it is
worth a thousand times what I bid and paid for it.

[Dano]

"thinbluemime" wrote in message news:op.wdg0b...@experience.belkin...

==============================================

I'm no expert. But the sale of a "home" that you live in, is considered
quite differently from investment property. Or stock options I'm sure.

[Mason Barge]

On Sat, 28 Apr 2012 11:19:56 +0100, thinbluemime <thinbl...@gmail.com>

I'm not sure whether you mean "basis" in the technical sense or general
sense.

Stock option taxation is *really* complex. If you are an employee and
receive an option as compensation, the spread could be taxed as regular
income (if the exercise value of the option is lower than the price of the
stock), it could be taxed at the time it is exercised or sold, or the tax
could be deferred until you sell the stock you obtain by exercising it. In
the latter two cases, earnings would be taxed as a capital gain. So if
you held the option for over a year and sold it, the sales price would
have a basis of 0 but be taxed at LTCG rates. If you exercised the option
and it did not qualify for deferred realization, you'd have to pay tax on
the spread (at LTCG rates if you'd held the option more than a year) and
you'd have stock with a standard basis, i.e. the price when purchased. If
you did qualify for deferred realization treatment, the basis of the stock
would be the face value of the option and the clock on LTCG would be as of
the date of exercise.

The basis if you paid tax on the option as regular income would be the
price of the stock upon which you based your original tax payment.

[Mason Barge]

On Sat, 28 Apr 2012 11:41:54 +0100, thinbluemime <thinbl...@gmail.com>

Yeah, but if someone pays you for services as an employee with something
other than cash, the value of the property received is normally taxed as
earned income, with a value as of the day you get it.

If you then don't sell it, you're in the same position as if you'd bought
it. If it goes down in value, you have a capital loss when you sell it,
and if it goes up in value, you have a capital gain.

Say your employer pays you for a week of work by giving you an ounce of
gold that is "worth" $1800. I mean, you could actually pocket $1800 by
selling it. You'd pay income tax on $1800 of earned income. Whether you
hold onto the gold or sell it is your choice. If you sell it you get
cash. If you hold onto it, it's just the same as if you'd bought an ounce
of gold for $1800.

[thinbluemime]

On Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:51:53 +0100, Mason Barge <mason...@gmail.com>

Thanks for the explanation, it is complex. It's no wonder the CPA's and
tax attorneys have full time employment, LOL

[David Barnett]

In article <jndl76$qho$4...@dont-email.me>,
web...@polaris.net says...

> What did you watch?

I watched:
IN PLAIN SIGHT: Drag Me to Hell
Marshall sure had good make up

PERSON OF INTEREST: Matsya Nyaya
What the hell does the title mean?

GAME OF THRONES: What Is Dead May Never Die
I found this less boring than the preceding 2 episodes.
I liked Tyrion's Don't Tell the Queen sequence.

NEW TRICKS: Moving Target

WHITECHAPEL: 3-04
Missed preceding episodes as I thought the airings were
repeats.

--
David Barnett

[David Barnett]

In article <jnee2s$ahb$1...@dont-email.me>,
art...@alum.calberkeley.org says...
>
> On 4/27/2012 7:21 AM, tdciago wrote:
>
> >
> > COMMUNITY (NBC) - A good "Law and Order"-themed episode about the
> > murder of a yam.
>
> I would have recorded it if I knew it was a Law and Order spoof. But
> it's probably better I watch it on OnDemand anyway since all the shows
> on NBC Thursday night get cut off at the end.
>
>
> >
> > 30 ROCK (NBC) - A live show, which had me laughing out loud,
> > especially when I realized that was Jon Hamm in the "Amos and Andy"
> > spoof. Dr. Spaceman's cigarette commercials also had me giggling, and
> > the "Zou Bisou Bisou" number. How the cast pulled off some of those
> > quick costume changes I don't know.
>
> I noticed they were often absent when they would do a wide shot of
> everyone supposedly locked in the room together.
>
>
> There were lots of cameos in this
> > one,
>
> I read Paul McCartney made a surprise cameo. Which character did he play?
>
>
> and everyone seemed to be having a great time.
>
> One of the reasons I want to see the East Coast feed is apparently by
> the time they did it for the west coast they had a much harder time
> keeping a straight face.
>
> The only thing I
> > couldn't understand was why Amy Poehler wasn't wearing a brunette wig
> > to play young Liz.

Yet to watch this episode, and so I don't know which
version we got here in Australia.

--
David Barnett

[Mason Barge]

On Sat, 28 Apr 2012 13:19:01 +0100, thinbluemime <thinbl...@gmail.com>
wrote:

>On Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:51:53 +0100, Mason Barge <mason...@gmail.com>
>wrote:

...

It's a national disgrace.

[thinbluemime]

On Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:48:37 +0100, David Barnett
<dbar...@bigpond.net.au> wrote:

> In article <jndl76$qho$4...@dont-email.me>,
> web...@polaris.net says...
>
>> What did you watch?
>
> I watched:
> IN PLAIN SIGHT: Drag Me to Hell
> Marshall sure had good make up
>
> PERSON OF INTEREST: Matsya Nyaya
> What the hell does the title mean?

According to the POI wiki
Mastyanyaya means the process of the "eating of small fish by the big
fish."


...sounds fishy to me :)

[Remysun]

On Apr 28, 10:58 am, "Obveeus" <Obve...@aol.com> wrote:

> "Mason Barge" <masonba...@gmail.com> wrote:

> > It's complicated.  Mostly, "incentive" stock options received by employees
> > are not taxed when exercised and given capital gains treatment.
>
> Which is a scam in and of itself since the employees are very frequently
> given options at a much lower price than the stock actually sells for.  So
> the company stock sells for $100/share and the employees have the option to
> buy at $50/share.  As Remysun pointed out, it (the difference between
> current stock price and option price) should be taxed as regular income when
> the stock is purchased.

But too, an employee is generally trying to improve the company so
that the price of the stock rises. Let's say they're aiming for $200/
share at 100 shares. That stock is now valued at $20,000. They bought
at $5,000, half of the $10,000 it should have been.

Full income tax at 30% would be $6,000. Capital gains at 15% is $2,250
from the $15,000 stock profit, plus $1,500 for the taxable income
which bought the stock for $3,750. Charging the income at the buy
price would be $4,500 in income with capital gains.

Anyway it's put, at the current rate, it looks like capital gains is
an effective way to game the system. If the price went down, the
taxable income would decrease at the higher rate as well.

[Mason Barge]

On Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:47:39 -0700 (PDT), Remysun <remys...@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>On Apr 28, 10:58 am, "Obveeus" <Obve...@aol.com> wrote:
>> "Mason Barge" <masonba...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> > It's complicated.  Mostly, "incentive" stock options received by employees
>> > are not taxed when exercised and given capital gains treatment.
>>
>> Which is a scam in and of itself since the employees are very frequently
>> given options at a much lower price than the stock actually sells for.  So
>> the company stock sells for $100/share and the employees have the option to
>> buy at $50/share.  As Remysun pointed out, it (the difference between
>> current stock price and option price) should be taxed as regular income when
>> the stock is purchased.
>
>But too, an employee is generally trying to improve the company so
>that the price of the stock rises. Let's say they're aiming for $200/
>share at 100 shares. That stock is now valued at $20,000. They bought
>at $5,000, half of the $10,000 it should have been.
>
>Full income tax at 30% would be $6,000. Capital gains at 15% is $2,250
>from the $15,000 stock profit, plus $1,500 for the taxable income
>which bought the stock for $3,750. Charging the income at the buy
>price would be $4,500 in income with capital gains.

You're really missing how stock options work.

[Remysun]

On Apr 29, 1:02 pm, Mason Barge <masonba...@gmail.com> wrote:

> You're really missing how stock options work.

Probably. I think I sent an unfinished email just to close some tabs.
All I'm seeing is a way to skirt payroll taxes.

[~consul]

'tis on this 4/27/2012 3:11 PM, wrote Ian J. Ball thus to say:
> On Apr 27, 3:00 pm, Arthur Lipscomb<art...@alum.calberkeley.org>

>> So witch-y ancient Mom was going to turn Alaric into a vampire-hunting
>>> vampire, just like (now-dead) ancient Daddy was. But before she could
>>> complete her plan, Alaric stabbed her. Thus, Alaric was going to allow

>> OK. I caught all of that. I might not have noticed the plan wasn't
>> going 100% as intended but in the end the outcome was as they had
>> planned it. Other than Bonnie getting eaten but that wasn't really a
>> screw up on her part.
> As *who* had planned it? The plan did end up going off as *witch-y
> Mom* had planned it.

Too many dead moms in the mix. I guess I got confused. So Ancient Witchy came back from the dead, was killed again. Possesses her daughter? Gets killed again? Possesses Bonnie? Is Bonnie's ancestor part of this? I thought that Bonnie's mom possessed her at the end.
--
"... respect, all good works are not done by only good folk. For here, at the end of all things, we shall do what needs to be done."
--till next time, consul -x- <<poetry.dolphins-cove.com>>

[Ubiquitous]

On Apr 27, 10:36 am, Arthur Lipscomb <art...@alum.calberkeley.org>

wrote:

> Total Blackout (recorded) - SyFy game show that may be so bad it's
> almost good.  Contestants (various stereotypes straight out of central

> casting) are brought into a pitchblackroom and told to guess what

> they're touching, smelling, tasting or perform easy tasks while being
> mislead about what they're doing.  It's sort of like fear factor but the
> fear is mainly in the imagination of the contestants.  The over-the-top
> antics of the contestants (too scared to touch a pineapple) was hard to

> stomach.  But for whatever reason I couldn't take my eyes off the train wreck.

I caught another ep of this show recently but theatrics of the
contestants was just too much.

[Steve Newport]

HOT IN CLEVELAND with guests Kevin Nealon and Jon Lovitz.

*********************************