The Queen's Gambit is very good, really top-notch. I'd heard about this book in chess circles for years but somehow never got around to reading it, kinda glad I didn't now.

Thanks for the recommendation. That just showed up when I opened Netflix the other day and I was thinking of watching it.

Speaking of things just showing up for me on Netflix, although it's three years old, I just came across and watched an excellent three-part documentary on five directors who filmed documentaries and movies while in the army or navy during WWII. The directors were John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, George Stevens and Frank Capra. And their stories are told by five modern directors: Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo Del Toro, Paul Greengrass, and Lawrence Kasdan. The title is Five Came Back and it is narrated by Meryl Streep.

I highly recommend it. Here's the trailer:

+1 to Queen's Gambit.

For fans of Homeland there is a similar show called The Bureau.

I actually thought The Bureau was better than Homeland way more realistic. Berlin Station is really good too, if you like CIA/Spy type shows.

Anyone watching The Undoing on HBO? Two episodes in and I’m completely hooked. Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, and Édgar Ramirez.

Me, too. But who the hell would cheat on Nicole Kidman?

How To With John Wilson is terrific. A must watch. It asks, "How do you build a life" in the strangest ways.

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I would cheat on Nicole Kidman. So would Dom. You, perhaps not. But you have always been an anomaly, John. And I mean that in a good and wholesome way.

Sort of.

hey, you don't think Keith Urban is sometimes sick of her **** and wants to move on?

there's an old saying

Just finished this last night and loved it! I always wanted to read the book but always put it off and now I guess I will. I loved Tevis' The Hustler and Color of Money. I really wish The Color of Money movie followed the book as I found that story way better than the movie.

Watched the first season of The Bureau (French eng subtitle) as suggested in a recent post. Very good spy vs spy vs spy stuff with many characters leading double lives with dual motives and multiple country loyalties along with the master spy who risks his career and life for a beautiful foreign love. Supposedly based on real knowledge of the tricks and deep surveillance capabilities of a country's intelligence service. A lot of testing of agents to see if they will crack or reveal a lie. Kind of dry watching for the viewer since all spies have to maintain cool emotional control even under duress. Also mentally draining to keep track of who and why. I am starting Season 2 even though I feel someone is watching everything I do now. I may start posting in secret code.


Also watched Undoing ep 1 and 2. Kept thinking Hugh would crack some jokes and Julia Roberts would show up. Each of the leads seem a bit too jittery to me for an accomplished educated professional married couple in Manhattan. I don't care what the husband did or didn't do, but have to watch Nicole Kidman to the end.

What can I say? I'm old fashioned.

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Perhaps for a moment or two.

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Meh. regardless of who the spose is, the probability that a male will be faithful is and always will be inversely proportional to opportunity.

Just finished season 1 of Tehran. It's in Hebrew and Arabic mostly with some English, so might be a struggle for those who don't like subtitles. It's one of the best series I've watched recently.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10577736/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

I manage to watch quite a few series lately - COVID anyone -, so here's a fast recap :

Queen's Gambit : enuff has been said about this show already. Entertaining. Solid.

3% : Solid and promising first season which is overall better then your standard teenagers-goes-to-war-in-dystopic-times-show, but drops after that.

Omnisciente : Much more accomplished tthen 3% and definitely worth a watch. (Am only comparing both, because they both stem from Brazil).

Into the Night : Very good Belgium series where the mere presence of the sun has become fatal, thus making our heros literally race against time aboard an airplane. Looking forward to S2

Osmosis : Meh. A French show focussing on sexuality in a virtual realm.

Better then Us : A Russian futuristic series where robots have become prevalent and are reaching the Singularity moment. Promising thus far

Caliphate : Amazing Scandinavian series depicting the tribulations of women in the Muslim world.

Biohackers : Okayish German show on uni students involved in crime stuff, you know.

Sense 8 : Brought to you by the Wachowski's, you could do worse then this series. It had its moments, but there is enuff better stuff out there.

Money Heist : The first 2 seasons are solid, but gave up in S3 which felt like recycled material.

Upload : Light. Smart. Funny. A fellow is uploaded after his death in a virtual paradise.

Donald Sutherland is giving a wonderful, scary performance in The Undoing...just fantastic.

He needs to trim the eyebrows tho.

And another...

Tobias Menzies in The Crown as Prince Phillip is just superb.

New Animaniacs feels different than the old one:

There are a lot of topical/political jokes.

It feels like a show written for adults with kid jokes sprinkled in, as opposed to the original which felt more like a kids show with adult jokes sprinkled in.

The original was like a variety show with lots of different characters and segments but this one is pretty much just the Warners and Pinky & The Brain. They didn't create that many new characters to replace all the ones that are gone.

OTOH, there was a Teen Titans episode with Freakazoid and that one feels EXACTLY like the original. They even got David Warner and Ed Asner back and I assumed both of them were dead.

just wait until you get older and the list of things you prioritize grows longer than the time or shits you have to give towards controlling things like eyebrows, nasal, or ear hair.

Its probably a prop or they wanted it like that for the scene. Makes him extra scary in the scene where he was describing different kinds of ***********.

If that is for real, those are the longest eyebrows I have seen. lol

the older I get the more I wonder why my ears suddenly seem to need a lot of hair.

I always figured it's being diverted from your head to your ears and nose.

I shall repeat: How To With John Wilson has been my favorite TV of the year. Only six, thirty minute episodes on HBO, but every one resonates well beyond its stated topic. An incredibly moving show, especially for anyone who finds navigating life's simple comings and goings strange and complex.



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