Cross Town Thoughts
WeekEnder. Oscars maybe. Depends on travel conditions Sunday. Catch them on replay. Don’t care. Saw none. Better writing Showtime, HBO. Friends liked Argo.
Match play golf in Arizona. Wait for melting snow, freeze out. Tiger and Rory already gone. Where do Republican losers go? FauxNews. Brown. Romney? NBC last in ratings. Ditch Lauer, Gregory. Replace Today with Morning Joe.
Storm dodge. Weekend adventure. Manhattan, ho! Bon weekend.
Hilary Mantel gets vicious. Calls Kate Middleton a plastic breeding machine mannequin. None of which would describe the ManBooker queen. Bring up the “bones”. After her last travesty, she should focus on writing better royal fiction.
Mean knows no gender on this week’s Girls episode, called Boys. Ray’s attempt at a male bonding moment turns churlish when Adam’s claws come out. Jenna emerges from the tub long enough to slap Hannah right on her writer’s block.
Women of different means. Hillary hits speaking circuit. Sarah’s back at CPAC.
Downton out. Killing off cast faster than General Hospital. Heartwarming liaisons formed. Baby boy born. Happy. And then, poof. No more Matthew. Speaking of silly, GH bringing geezer couples (Luke&Laura) back. Fast-forward.
Woodward smacks down Rove on Fox! Bob looked at Karl and told him he’s writing a book called, Some People Never Go Away. Priceless. McCain and Graham non-stop steaming as Obama and Woods tee off together. Hope Tiger doesn’t take Prez “out” while Michelle and girls are skiing in Aspen. Dangerous.
Sweet to meet the lovely and captivating Lilly Leigh at La Fiorentina.
Another visit to my favorite Bryant barn in winter. Thanks Dr.Photog.
Amity Shlaes on Morning Joe recalling many hours spent in Northampton’s Forbes Library researching her new book about former local resident, President Calvin Coolidge. Actress Jane Lynch gleefully gushing to Kelly & Michael about Smith College, where her wife graduated and she received an honorary doctorate, “It’s a training ground for lesbians!” Smith’s P.R. Dept. thrilled.
SOTU watchers remarked Obama’s make-up strangely sallow. He looked whiter than Boehner. Pale showing by Latino GOP. Rubio’s nervous response speech. Ted Cruz bullying senate committee, questioning Hagel’s patriotism.
God doesn’t seem too happy about Il Papa’s unauthorized abdication right before Lent. Not much time to find a new CEO by Easter. In the words of mAdBen, “Pope is too pooped to pontificate.” It’okay. Church needs major change. Moral decay, corruption, patriarch-acy. State of the World. State of the Union. Maybe somebody up there is trying to tell us something
Fellowes’ Downton is sliding into daytime telly contrivances. This longer episode was packed with one-line zingers, though less story substance. The classes become more muddled as they all ready for a game of cricket. Bates’ whisper of “soap” to O’Brien, gives terrible Thomas a reprieve. He’ll stay around to stir the hornet’s nest, but the evil witch is finally muffled. For now. Lord Grantham’s political correctness is an anachronism at best. He’s my favorite nonetheless.
Sybil’s Tom has climbed upstairs with ease. Even Carson approves of his exemplary behavior. Edith’s editor is a younger version of her fey old beau. Is there another jilt in her future? The hackneyed wife-in-the-asylum plot. Next week season finale. Already? Too much TV. Monday workout, here I go.
Downton experiences the effects of Sybil’s legacy. She single-handedly shook the Abbey’s foundation, tearing down its walls of gender, class, and religion before taking her leave. LadyS was loved and respected Upstairs and Downstairs.
Dowager Countess leads the pack. Her barbs are back. It does seem a shame to waste a good pudding. Carson will be the last hold-out to tradition. Dr. Clarkson swallowed his pride to heal broken hearts. Truth is not always the best medicine.
Super weekend. Hope Strahan, EddieDe make the Hall of Fame.
Harbaugh BroBowl. Sibling rivalry on steroids. Go Jim! Go Niners!
Chuck ducked. After yesterday, Hagel should ditch DefenseSec job. Not only was his performance laconic, he sounded incompetent, and didn’t act like he even wants it. McCain, Graham, Cruz were rude and hostile, but Chuck was bad. Sad.
mAdBen, are you ‘mystery man’ bowling with Katie Holmes in your building?
SuperSunday Omelette w/ Kaepernick Capers. RecipeDetours. Bon Weekend.
Girls. Dr.Husband discovered them a year ago. Not literally. I heard him laughing out loud as he was watching something online. He said it was an intelligent, funny new HBO show about twenty-somethings. Called Girls. Really? Didn’t sound like my kinda thing. Should have known it’d be good. Dr.H has discerning taste.
Late to the game, after all of the hype and accolades this year, I finally succumbed. Have to admit, love the brave, smart writing. Lena Dunham is quite brilliant and talented. Took me back to those days in some ways. Don’t judge. Brian Williams’ daughter in Booth’s booth was over the line. Beyond creepy. It definitely ain’t Downton Abbey. But, I’ll keep watching.
There’s a pall over Downton Abbey as we greet Season 3. Despite our long-awaited anticipation of a lavish, happy wedding, it quickly turns into a bittersweet affair with everyone pocketing morsels of joy where they could. Shirley Maclaine pulls off the nouveau riche American pretty well and brings a level of levity to the cliché. Maggie Smith’s pallor mirrored the downbeat mood, and her jibes didn’t rise to their usual hilarity. So, the contrast of wits was lacking.
Upstairs, the men held the higher moral ground. While, it was the women’s strength of character that dominated Downstairs. In the end, it’s an uppity soap opera. There will be bumps along the road. Still, glad it’s back.
Side Trek . NYC 