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  • EADD Moderators: Pissed_and_messed | Shinji Ikari

What's Good On European And African TV v. Baking Bread

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Pilates sounds ideal Shambles. I went to an introductory session but i just couldnt do it at all. You have to isolate and use muscles i dont think i even have, so i couldnt even get started on it. Fortunately buying an ergonomic pc chair and cycling more often has cured my bad back problem, it locked into a stoop around 10 years ago when i snatched at something on the floor to pick it up, i could barely move for a week, but gradually started walking again which eventually eased it up.
 
BBC.1 tonight at 23.55 is a film titled 'Shifty'.
It's a drama about a drug dealer who is visited by an old friend while he struggles to manage a rival, a supplier,a desperate addict and family opposition.
From what I recall it wasn't too bad a film.
 
Recent watchings worth a recommendation include...

Project Nim - excellent documentary about the infamous 70s experiments trying to teach chimps to use sign language. I just so happened to have been reading a book that mentions the particular experiment that this doc is about over the festives and is quite the eye-opener to see the full story. At the risk of spoilerising slightly, ensure plentiful hankies cos is quite the vertitable emotional rollercoaster. Nearly had me blubbing in places and I'm not usually a blubber at such things. I was incredibly stoned at the time though :o

Hidden Kingdoms - More nature but this time all state of the art pix and Stephen Fry Narration. The Beeb have obviously thrown a lotta money at this one and must admit it does look incredible. Not so sure about the overly scripted nature (:D) of it though. It feels more like a Disney film than a BBC nature doc, frankly. Far too manipulative (especially the godawful overblown musical score which is just plain irritating :\) but must admit it did hook me all the same. Worth a watch purely for the visuals but got my reservations about the concept.

Big Brother Watching Me: Citizen Ai Weiwei - Brilliant Storyville doc about, as the title may suggest, a year in the life of an artist on the shitlist of a police state. It really doesn't matter what you think of Ai Weiwei's actual art (if you know it or not for that matter) cos the points made are universal. What is it actually like to live in a police state? Given his international fame he's a bit of a special case but still gives good insight. And if nothing else you can't help but boggle at the sheer balls of the fella. Especially from about halfway through. Would any of us here have the balls to do any of that? Much as we'd like to think so I suspect the truth would be different. Man's a legend. And there are some really touching glimpses of what "the little people" think over there even though their stories cannot be told cos - if nothing else - they don't have the backup of the international community watching.

Probably some other stuff cos have been zonked and semi-zonked on the sofa for days, but that's plenty to be getting on with. All on iPlayer, probably not for much longer so hop to it, y'all :)
 
Instabump for the new House of Fools episode wot I just watched. Still surprised nobody else has mentioned it. Perhaps it's just me stuck in a bit of an early-90s timewarp but even sat alone listening under headphones I keep catching myself making actual outloud snortylaughysniggerygiggly sounds. More or less on a line by line basis. I should probably grow up but whilst there is such simple joys as farty floorboards 'n' stuff I don't rightly see the point <3
 
Naked Rambler on BBC 1 was pretty interesting the other night. Should be on iplayer.

When is GOT back??
 
Oh there's plenty judgement in most of his docs. Not so much in his later more "serious" ones (like the prison and paedo ones etc) but the early ones are just plain vicious =D

Watched some of his late 90s Weird weekends one the other day, some of them are as funny as fuck
 
^ You see the Paul Daniels one? Bit of a fave of mine. Even when you don't have any real interest in who he's interviewing they're always very watchable. The Jimmy Savile one is downright creepy given what emerged many years later (as if it wasn't creepy enough at the time :D).
 
Naked Rambler on BBC 1 was pretty interesting the other night. Should be on iplayer.

It is cos I just finished watching it. Fairly mixed opinions for me. On the one hand I'm all in favour of people standing up for their beliefs, and I do think it's a shame that Western society (actually probably more or less all societies for the last few thousand years or so) have made such a direct perceived connection between nekkidness and sex - usually assumed to be some kinda perverted sex at that. It's just a body when it comes down to it. There's nothing initrinsically offensive about a body nekkid or otherwise.

However, he did seem to be going out of his way to be confrontational about it - deliberately choosing to walk past a school just as the parents are picking their kids up is just a bit bloody stupid if nothing else. No it's not a sex thing but it's no bad thing to take other people into account too and he knows as well as anybody that anything involving nekkid men and children is gonna upset parents. There are better ways of making a point.

There was a bit of a nasty undercurrent of selfishness rather than the stated freedom too. It's that old question of where do my rights end and yours begin really. I admire anybody who has such strong beliefs and will stand by them in such adverse circumstances (7 years in solitary?!?) but he also had young children at the time and doesn't seem to have given them a second thought. Why not wait until they're grown up then do the nekkid protesting?

Ramble aside (:D) interesting character but I suspect not half as interesting as he thinks he is.
 
random observation, but in the wire, you never see anyone smoking a joint. Hard drugs, particularly heroin, are shown being used frequently, yet you never see the corner boys toking on a zoot. You would have thought that, although crack/ heroin has a more dedicated market, weed would be a big seller too as most people in west bmore probably smoked weed, as apposed to the fewer yet more dedicated hard drug addicts. Surely there would still be a big market for weed, yet the gangs don't seem interested in at as a potential product.
 
heroin is presumably a bigger money spinner.

Is it just me or did The Wire feel more 'real' and 'gritty' than Breaking Bad ?

NSFW:
Dont get me wrong, Im loving it, Im loving the way Jessie's character is growing and developing most of all. The way hes earned respect from Mike and Gus in the way he handled the cartel dissing him as a meth cook was awesome. I think he learnt that pride/temper thing from Walt. I also find Hank very likeable, though im probably not supposed to as he's DEA. BB seems to have like a plateau of episodes of a very high standard, and then there's a string of exceptionally brilliant episodes thrown in too.


Please no spoliers from anyone, im still on season 3 or 4 cant recall just now.
 
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Is it just me or did The Wire feel more 'real' and 'gritty' than Breaking Bad ?

Well yes, Breaking Bad is almost more of a black comedy than an epic drama like The Wire. The Wire is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more ambitious and "serious" in its intent. Breaking Bad is just great entertainment. Dark in places but always tinged with comedy and definitely not meant to be realistic I don't think. Both are brilliant but for rather different reasons.

Hadn't noticed the lack of weed but I've never known weed dealers who sell smack - the folk who supply, distribute and deal the two tend to be very different groups of people.

Please no spoliers from anyone, im still on season 3 or 4 cant recall just now.

You do realise your posts are littered with spoilers for anybody else who hasn't yet seen Breaking Bad, no? ;)

[SPOILER=Hints]Spoils[/SPOILER]

=

Spoils
 
heroin is presumably a bigger money spinner.

Is it just me or did The Wire feel more 'real' and 'gritty' than Breaking Bad ?

Dont get me wrong, Im loving it, Im loving the way Jessie's character is growing and developing most of all. The way hes earned respect from Mike and Gus in the way he handled the cartel dissing him as a meth cook was awesome. I think he learnt that pride/temper thing from Walt. I also find Hank very likeable, though im probably not supposed to as he's DEA. BB seems to have like a plateau of episodes of a very high standard, and then there's a string of exceptionally brilliant episodes thrown in too.

Please no spoliers from anyone, im still on season 3 or 4 cant recall just now.

Breaking Bad is a dark comedy. The Wire is a serious drama. Apart from
that McNulty fake serial killer bullshit
 
Breaking Bad may be a dark comedy but it does focus on some fairly deep character observations and comparisons, and purposefully challenges stereotypes



(I still havent seen the wire yet)
 
I agree

Ive seen bits of the wire, never properly got into it. the sorpanos drew my attention away at the time
 
I also agree but The Wire is a whole other thing. The two aren't trying to do the same things so it's not really a direct comparison. Not quite sure what you'd compare The Wire with - I've never seen anything quite like it. It covers so much from so many angles that it doesn't really fit any specific genre (other than "drama" I suppose). Each series is really quite different to the others with each telling part of a much bigger story. You kinda have to see it. It's in a bit of a league of its own so not fair on other shows to make comparisons cos they don't even try to do what The Wire did.
 
Another lil bumpity-bump (seems I'm watching a lotta telly of late) cos just finished watching an olde David Attenborough series on Australia and thought this particular episode well worth a post. First one was good too so am expecting good things all round really. This second one is about a virtual ghost-town with but three (sparsely dotted around and about the place) fellas the locals refer to as "Hatters" (as in "mad as a..."). Think the given title of Hermits of Borroloola is perhaps a bit nearer the mark cos they certainly ain't mad. Unusual, yes. Not mad. Fascinating fellas one and all. The kinda people you don't really think actually exist in the world but surely do - just a very (very) long way away from anything and anyone else.

The style of it all is kinda quaint but that's a bit of a bonus, I'd say. Good stuff and the first episode wasn't bad either. Give it a go if you like people. In general or maybe just rather unique people.

The Artists of Arnhemland is also a goodie from the same series - 'bout Aboriginal art this time. Have always been rather fond of their style of art.

This particular series is almost more anthropology than nature. Is amazing how... almost Victorian it seems (the attitudes and stuff I mean) given it's within living memory. From more recent docs I've seen there's very few people who still really live the way they are shown here which is a real shame cos their more recent cousins don't seem to be doing so great at all. Terrible the things colonialism has done to people - so much lost and destroyed for the sake of ignorance and brutality. Nice to see glimpses of things that once were but kinda sad to know they really aren't "things" beyond tourism for the most part these days :(
 
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