The Good Wife (season 2 thoughts)

(Spoilers: Season 2 ahead)

I should probably wait, I only have 4 episodes left to go in the second season. I could wait to express my thoughts then, but I can't wait.

The Good Wife is one of the most incredible TV shows in history. The first season was brilliant, and I never thought the second season could best it. After all, the more episodes I see, the more attuned to its nuances I become, the more famliar with its tricks I am and the harder it gets for the show to surprise me, or catch me. And yet the second season is twice, maybe three times as good as the first. The episodic punch takes a back seat to the amazing storyline. The depth of the protagonists takes center stage here and each individual is illuminated with considerable depth and nuance. And a truly impeccable ensamble cast of frequently recurring guest-stars puts together one of the richest worlds I've seen portrayed in drama. It's just wonderful.

The question of Alicia's morality or lackthereof continues to startle and progress. The last couple of episodes actually had them defending the good guys for a change.... almost. In the latest episode, our Lockhart/Gardner crew discover that the company they're in legal battle against has been embezzling its assets, but they can't bring it to the police because then those assets would be frozen and Lockhart/Gardner won't make any money.... so Will Gardner extorts money from the company by threatening to bring criminal charges. Weirdest thing is, nobody even said anything about it. Nobody was like "So hey um, we're extorting this company. This is way illegal."

Lockhart/Gardner has done countless things in the grey area of the law, small bending of proper conduct here and there. They've also wantonly represented murderers, and drug kingpins, and benefited from the criminal activities of other people. Not to mention they've horribly misled and screwed over people in ways that are completely legal, as lawyers sometimes do. But they've NEVER done anything so transparently criminal before, nothing so unobtusely against the law. And so I'm sitting here wondering..... is this eventually going to 'come to a head' and meet some sort of conclusion? Or, are our heroes simply going to be 'the badguys' for the whole show? Am I watching The Sopranos now? Is Alicia Florrick the new Walter White?

On the romantic side Alicia still doesn't seem much inclined to either of her potential suitors. That would be great if she was secretly a lesbian, though it's unlikely. As it turns out, Kalinda slept with Peter long ago, which is pretty messed up. She must have just done it for political reasons, which begs the question of how many other people has she slept with? This will probably be the final nail in the coffin for Peter, unfortunately, but even worse I hope it won't ruin Alicia and Kalinda's relationship. Again Kerry plays the good samaritan, going to bat for Kalinda when she'll probably never reciprocate his feelings. I adore that FBI agent that keeps trying to seduce Kalinda, hopefully they'll get together someday. I wonder if Kalinda is holding off on getting together with her because she's with the FBI, or because Kalinda is timid about her feelings.

Will's casual sex partner, who initially only served to make Alicia jealous, has turned into a full-fledged serious girlfriend with a decent amount of depth and romance -- one who I (and I think the rest of the audience too) am rooting for! Which is great. They could be setting us up to let Alicia finally try to make real amends with her husband Peter. Or.... they could be lining duck in a row so that when Alicia and Will finally get together, we won't even be able to enjoy it because they'll leave a Pompeii of emotional destruction in their wake.

I never thought I'd see Eli Gould have a love interest. It's a shame it didn't work out, although understandable. Under normal conditions all hope would be lost, but with the brilliant consistency of recurring characters in this show, I actually think they might get a third chance (she's had two episodes about her already!). He deserves a nice girlfriend, aside from Kalinda he's probably the coolest character.

I also liked how they cut out the big issues early. I was expecting the Lockhart & Gardner VS Bond, and the Kalinda VS Blake battles to make up the season's climax. But instead they concluded those storylines with about 8 episodes left, and brought in new controveries. Clever, keeping us on our toes. Wouldn't be surprised if the end of the State's Attorney election came around with a couple episodes left.

I guess that's enough for now. See you next time!

The Good Wife

While I absolutely hate how my taste is ever-changing, never knowing what I'll be interested in next month, having to repeatedly reinvent myself as my entertainment interests morph, having to perpetually succumb to an errant muse... At least it can be pretty funny sometimes, the tangential paths my interests take.

I believe it was exactly a year ago today when I watched my first episode of The Good Wife, strictly because the episode featured Miranda Cosgrove. At the time I wasn't interested in drama, so it was a fleeting experience. But now I've been powering through the series. I'm a handful of episodes into Season 2, and only a handful away from Miranda's episode!

The Good Wife is fast becoming one of my all-time favorite dramas. I haven't watched a drama in such rapid succession since Dawson's Creek. It presents the perfect balance of episodic punch and ongoing story to make it effortlessly enthralling. And its moral nuance makes shows I used to think were cool like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit look like a puddle of putrid milk, with their one-dimensional storylines and characters which are invariably caricatures of the most obvious stereotypes: the concerned father, the repressed mother, the sleazy criminal, an intern could write superior characters. And character development? There is none. o.e But back to a show that's actually good...

(Spoilers: Season Two ahead)

Season one was fantastic and I'm loving season two even more so far. Season two is making palatable things that repulsed me in season one, which is pretty darn impressive.

I absolutely couldn't stand the Will/Alicia romantic pairing in season one. And I still feel like for her to cheat would negate so much of her character, so much of what she did in season one (not that it wouldn't necessarily fit very much in line with where she's been going lately). At first Will just seeemed like an obsessive creep, a nuisance. But in season two Will seems to be getting a better wrap, he's being shown with other women and you can see what a catch he really has been all along. When the Childs deposition leaks and Will acts as Alicia's attorney, that scene was just awesome. Will was acting so powerful and protective. I still don't think Alicia should cheat but I can now get onboard for a hypothetical post-divorce relationship for them.

The Kerry/Alicia stand-off has been well-played thus far. Kerry was always sort of going back and forth on my "is he good or is he bad?" meter, but at this point I think it's safe to say that he's genuinely a good person. I can't think of anything he's done that is even in the legal grey areas that our 'heroes' frequently stalk. I'm really hoping he gets back to Lockhart/Gardner someday. But I digress. Alicia & Lockhart/Gardner of course win most of their cases but I don't think Kerry cares any less about genuine justice, he appears to care more. His assertions to Alicia that she is a bad person could be his attempt to psych her out and hurt her, but it's just as likely that he's being sincere. After all, what he's saying about Alicia is pretty much true.

Speaking of, Alicia's descent into the grey areas of the law has been very intriguing, and I feel like the intention behind it is to show you that this is exactly how it happened to her husband Peter. Peter Florrick starts out as this apparently corrupt guy, this borderline villianous figure and then through the series his profile has increased bit by bit. Then you see Alicia take the same path. She starts out as the steadfast moral compass, but then she, in her own words "grows up," she has to deal with real world circumstances. First it's just "sometimes helping people means being less than forthright, skirting the law a bit." Then it's "sometimes a lawyer has to help set free a murderer or a drug lord who isn't secretly innocent, and that's just part of the job. The justice system depends on mutual representation, right? My kids have to eat, right?"

Through Alicia you see how Peter must have fallen into the darker roads while always maintaining a genuine desire to do right. Still, I'm not sure WHY they're having us empathize with Peter, when it seems like Alicia is destined to leave him for Will. Are they just trying to make it hard on us? Make us understand the difficult position Alicia is in? Will Peter drop off the series if Alicia leaves him, or will he maintain a role like Kerry?

The ONE thing I don't like about this incredible season this far is... Kalinda's little feud with the in house supersleuth incurred from the merger with new firm partner Derrick Bond. It seems childish and unnecessary, very uncharacteristic for such a zenlike and intelligent character as Kalinda. I know from last season's director commentaries that in season 2 they're trying to dispel Kalinda's appearence of infalibility and expand on her character more, which is fantastic. But I don't understand her angle here, she's going to go berserk at this guy and yet she doesn't stand to lose anything? It's not like Lockhart, Gardner & Bond are going to fire one of their supersleuths, there's no need for the two to compete. Unless she's in love with Alicia and she feels that the new guy is relieving her of the role she has in Alicia's life. But I very highly doubt that. Love seems like the only angle that would cause such erratic and seemingly unnecessary action. If she's in love with the new guy then that's a major disapointment, I'm under the impression she's a lesbian. But I guess time will tell!

Now I'm off to watch some more...

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

Like all things, I stumbled on this book in a random tangential way. I noticed an article about its impending movie recreation on a film-news website while reading about a new contract Jennette McCurdy had signed. It seemed intriguing enough to me that I went out and got it. Besides, I've had such good luck with books this year.

Now, unlike most of the books I read this year (The Hunger Games, Good Moon Rising), Miss Peregrine's is not quite an unfettered masterpiece. But it's another entry into that beautiful genre of sci-fi/action/romance like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, and I'm very glad I read it. I can't go around expecting every book to be born of pure indelible ether, after all. A good book is still a good book, and future installments could get even better.

It's an interesting story that presents an intriguing sci-fi world, with lovable characters and a couple decent twists. In contrast to The Hunger Games (where I could have done with far less romance), the saving grace of this story was its romantic content, an adorable coupling I found fairly genuine and sweet. I hope we see much more of it in the next book(s).

Also, Miss Peregrine's tackles the concept of science fiction inter-generational (stunted growth) dating far more cleverly than does Twilight. Instead of a creepy 100 year old vampire trolling highschools for teen girls, Miss Peregrine's 88 year old Emma has the excuse of having been isolated in de facto confinement since she was first a teen. It's heavily hinted that all the children, no matter how many years they've lived, retain the mental age that coincides with their youthful appearance.

As far as the sci fi and action elements go, something feels just a smidge 'off' about it. I can't tell if beneath this story there's a richer mythology, or if the author is just making things up as he goes along. Hopefully in a few years, the succeeding books will prove that Ransom Riggs (can that really be his birth name?) had every stroke planned out in the most immaculate detail like the impeccable work of JK Rowling. I look forward to future installments.

Flawless TV Blocks

I know I already did something exactly like this. But last time I was focused more on crafting a palatable, sustainable home network. It would work well IRL but it was a little messy on paper, too many twists and turns. I value simplicity above most things. I wanted to go back and do some definitive programming blocks. No alternating slots, nothing but the five star shows, the ones you can show 5 times a week. Also threw together some weekend blocks at the end... y'know, for those shows that are good enough to show two times a week.

Each block is headed with a loose timeframe and the type of programming encased within....



FLAWLESS TV BLOCKS
----


Early Morning Action Cartoons


X-Men: The Animated Series
ThunderCats (2011)
Gundam Wing
Dragon Ball Z (first 3 seasons)
Dragon Ball Z (first 3 seasons)
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender




Midday Sitcom Block


iCarly
Victorious
Shake It Up
Life With Derek
Everybody Hates Chris
Reba
Reba
Victorious
iCarly




Nighttime Adult Cartoon Block


South Park
South Park
Futurama
Futurama
The Boondocks
The Boondocks
Beavis and Butt-head
Daria




Deep Night Drama Block


The Good Wife
Dawson's Creek
Breaking Bad




WEEKEND BLOX (SAT & SUN)
------



Early Morning Sitcoms


Good Luck Charlie
Wizards of Waverly Place
Friends
Roseanne





Morning Dramas


Gilmore Girls
Glee
Being Human
Being Human
The Sopranos




Midday Adult Cartoons


The Simpsons
American Dad
Family Guy
Metalocalypse
Frisky Dingo
12 oz Mouse
Aqua Teen Hunger Force




Evening Sitcoms


ANT Farm
Jessie
Seinfeld
Seinfeld
What I Like About You
George Lopez
Awkward




Deep Night Anime


His & Her Circumstances
Berserk
Neon Genesis Evangelion

-

Epilogious note: Certain shows (The Simpsons, Family Guy, Seinfeld), are good enough for a weekday slot, but are simply so extensively overplayed that showing them five days a week on my station would not be palatable.

Taylor Swift at Heinz Field, 6/15/11

It's taken me nearly six months to find the proper words with which to describe the rather bit of fun I had at the Taylor Swift concert I attended. Not that I've been working on writing this all that time, but rather that until now, the event was so fresh and vivid, writing about it appeared simply unnecessary, as though it would dumb it down. I saw a number of great concerts this year, and I may get around to describing the rest, but the best was clearly this.

Taylor Swift w/ Needtobreathe, Randy Montana and Danny Gokey at Heinz Field
June 15th, 2011, Pittsburgh PA


SETLIST


1. Sparks Fly
2. Mine
3. The Story of Us
4. Our Song
5. Mean
6. Back to December (incl. Apologize and You're Not Sorry)
7. Better Than Revenge
8. Speak Now
9. Fearless (incl. Hey, Soul Sister and I'm Yours)
10. Last Kiss
11. You Belong With Me
12. Dear John
13. Enchanted
14. Haunted
15. Long Live


16. Fifteen
17. Love Story

I'm about to gush uncontrollably for a handful of paragrphs, but it's not hyperbole, nor is it even the result of fanatical appreciation (prior to this show, Taylor wasn't even one of my first tier favorites, the concert is what made me into this much of a fan).... That night at Heinz Field with Taylor Swift was one of the most magical experiences of my life. It's the kind of thing I am liable to reminisce over for the rest of my days, that's how beautiful it was. But let's backtrack a moment...

For this concert I went alone, resolved to assuage some of the self-conciousness that had dogged me at the Miranda Cosgrove concert (which I attended with a good, but rather uninterested friend). The choice worked out perfectly. Having someone with me, even if they had been a great friend and a big Taylor fan to share the experience with, would have drawn attention away from the subtle magic of the venue. To avoid congestion from city traffic, I arrived to (and later left) the venue by taking a nicely-sized brisk walk along one of Pittsburgh's majestic rivers, a perfect primer and coda to an electric night.

The open air stadium treated me to a picture-perfect summer evening with just the right warmth, the right measure of softly meandering wind, to conjure up all those wistful feelings of formative summers spent as a youth, when the world seemed alive with wonder. But instead of inspiring ideas of lost innocence and regret, as those wistful summer winds most often do, I was instilled with a sense of glory, because the event I was engorssed in was -- for once -- worthy of those lost summer days, typified by Taylor's set-closing Long Live, an indellibly brilliant ode to the very experience we were all in the midst of living.

The setlist was pefect, even better than I hoped. With enthralling hit after hit after hit, it felt like the first time I saw the great Tom Petty. Except instead of reiterating past glories the umpteenth time like Tom, Taylor was in the midst of her very first victory lap. Undeniably at the peak of her powers, more culturally relevant than anyone in her field, playing all of her newest material, touring her greatest album yet made, still vital and alive and meaning it, this was Taylor's first outing after she had soured to the summit of Earth's good graces with her career-defining Fearless album and tour. It was almost like seeing Pink Floyd tour Wish You Where Here in 1975, or witnessing Nirvana tour In Utero in 1993.

Like In Utero, Speak Now repeats the basic formula from its preceeding masterpiece album, but transfuses it with a wealth of newfound maturity and nuance. There's no question, Fearless boasts Taylor's best few songs. But Speak Now is a stronger, smarter, more consistent album throughout: featuring her most arresting lyrics and her most divine instrumentations. Plus it rocks the hardest, making for the best live experience. Which means it's pretty amazing we got to see her play nearly every track, plus the best of Fearless.

The show featured a total of 5 tracks from her two hit-packed previous albums, even though she could have easily and reasonably spent more than half the show recapping their biggest cuts. That means we got 12 of the 14 songs from Taylor's new album -- this is how a hungry young artist works, they don't dwell on last year's triumph. We got to see Speak Now done as powerfully as the band will ever be able to play it. Many of these incredible album cuts may never be seen again in concert, and I feel privileged to have recieved them. A sprawling, ferocious extended rendition of the pounding 'Better Than Revenge,' all the symphonic punch of 'Haunted' tapped to fill a football stadium, the tender textures of 'Dear John' enhanced with firework firepower... plus an earnest, solo ukelele version of 'Fearless,' it was an expert set.

I look anxiously forward to going back and seeing Taylor's shows year after year, as I have with Tom Petty. And while by 2020 I'm sure I'll be about as sick of hearing You Belong With Me and Fearless as can be (despite these being two of the best songs ever made), I can't wait to see all the incredible album cuts from Taylor's next albums. And I can't wait to complain about how boring her Greatest Hits setlists are in 2030, if she goes that route (and while I'd prefer she didn't, she will). I want to be there to witness it all. I can't wait to become an enduring part of this phenomenon, because this phenomenon may have become an enduring part of me.

Top 5 CD-Rs of 2011

I was raised on rock music, and in rock music the album format is of crucial importance. To this day how my brain interprets music is based around the album mindset, except that what I listen to is increasingly culled from a variety of sources rather than strictly from standard albums. So I've gotten into the habit of putting together definitive mixes that end up feeling and acting to me as though they were real albums.

2011 has been far and away the most lucrative year for music in my life, and that applies to CD-Rs & mixes as well. Here are just a handful of the mixes that have been most important to me this year.


#5 Raps

1. Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin') -- Dr. Dre feat, Jewell, RBX, Snoop Dogg
2. Let Me Ride -- Dr. Dre feat. Jewell, Ruben
3. Who Am I (What's My Name?) -- Snoop Dogg
4. Gin and Juice -- Snoop Dogg
5. The Next Episode -- Dr. Dre feat. Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg
6. Still D.R.E. -- Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg
7. Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang -- Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg
8. Tha Shiznit -- Snoop Dogg
9. The Day the Niggaz Took Over -- Dr. Dre feat. Daz, RBX, Snoop Dogg
10. Only God Can Judge Me -- 2Pac & Rappin' 4-Tay
11. Holla at Me -- 2Pac
12. Wonda Why They Call U Bitch -- 2Pac
13. Life Goes On -- 2Pac
14. Caught in a Hustle -- Immortal Technique

I'm not the most dedicated rap fan in the world, but I'm extremely passionate about the material that hits me. While most of this year was spent on exploring very recent pop music, I also had a soft spot for older g-funk rap. It's not a very diverse set but it's excruciatingly badass and combines, with a few notable omissions, most of my favorite rap songs of all-time.


#4 Pop 6: Dark Billboards


1. Skyscraper -- Demi Lovato
2. In The Dark -- Dev
3. Pocketful of Sunshine -- Natasha Bedingfield
4. Intuition -- Jewel
5. On The Floor -- Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull
6. Shots -- LMFAO feat. Lil Jon
7. Promiscuous -- Nelly Furtado feat. Timbaland
8. Electric Feel -- Katy Perry
9. Livin' The Vida Loca -- Ricky Martin
10. I Wanna Go -- Britney Spears
11. Friday -- Rebecca Black
12. Hold It Against Me -- Britney Spears
13. Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites -- Skrillex
14. Stay Here Forever -- Jewel

There have been so many great additions to my Pop series this year. This humble little collection I threw together to soothe my boredom when a new work schedule added a lot of walking to my routine, ended up gathering some of the the best songs I've ever heard: year-end classics Skyscraper & In The Dark, Nelly Furtado's magnum opus Promiscuous, and Jewel's beautifully sentimental Stay Here Forever, one of my favorite love songs.


#3 Mockingjay


1. Revolution Is My Name -- Pantera
2. American Flag -- Cat Power
3. Love The Way You Lie (piano) -- Rihanna
4. Straitjacket -- Alanis Morissette
5. Life Eternal -- Mayhem
6. Il etat une foret... -- Gris
7. The Fletcher Memorial Home -- Pink Floyd
8. Posession (piano) -- Sarah McLachlan
9. Glittering Blackness -- Explosions In the Sky
10. Fix a Heart -- Demi Lovato

I adore each of my three playlists inspired by the incredible Hunger Games series, but Mockingjay is the clear superior. It really captures the essence of the book's slide into disruption, madness, and psychological fatigue, while commanding an all-star cast of bands (considering none of them had to agree to be featured here).


#2 Annie On My Mind (Soundtrack)


1. Candlelight -- Imogen Heap
2. Super Bass -- Nicki Minaj
3. Again & Again -- The Bird & The Bee
4. The Best Day -- Taylor Swift
5. On The Radio -- Regina Spektor
6. In McDonalds -- Burial
7. We Are Broken -- Paramore
8. Fearless -- Pink Floyd
9. Thrasher -- Juniper Tar
10. Endorphin -- Burial
11. Brick By Boring Brick -- Paramore
12. All The Way to Heaven -- Melissa Etheridge
13. Misguided Ghosts -- Paramore
14. Fearless -- Taylor Swift

I felt Nancy Garden's all-time classic romance Annie On My Mind deserved a movie rendition so much, that I made up an imaginary soundtrack for it myself. I imediately couldn't stop listening to it, as it perfectly painted the novel in my head scene by scene, as well as culling several of my favorite love songs.


#1 Pop 4: Accelerating Horizons


1. Whip My Hair -- Willow
2. 21st Century Girl -- Willow
3. Tonight I'm Fucking You -- Enrique Eglasias
4. Fuck You -- Cee-Lo Green
5. Till The World Ends -- Britney Spears feat. Ke$ha & Nicki Minaj
6. Piece of Me -- Britney Spears
7. S&M -- Rihanna
8. What's My Name -- Rihanna & Drake
9. Thriller -- Michael Jackson
10. Billie Jean -- Michael Jackson
11. Beat It -- Michael Jackson
12. Who Says -- Selena Gomez
13. Never Say Never -- Justin Bieber
14. Grenade -- Bruno Mars
15. I'm Coming Home -- Diddy feat. Skyler Grey

While there are a few cuts I ought to have axed, this is probably the single strongest Pop collection since the original "Immaculate Pop, Volume One." With year-end bests like Selena's greatest accomplishment to-date Who Says, and the indelibly cool all-star Till The World Ends remix, 2010's greatest hits Fuck You and What's My Name, and a trio of the legendary Michael Jackson's primary jams, I sometimes wonder if I should have called it "Immaculate Pop, Volume Two."


Honorable Mentions: Dance Ether 1, Dance Ether 2, & Dance Ether 3


Over the year I made a trio of discs featuring the most jaw-droppingly siq extended dance club remixes by my favorite artists. There are some truly incredible remixes out there, in fact most of my favorite Lady Gaga tracks are on these collections rather than any of her standard albums. However, each individual mix is merely decent. If I put together the best songs from each into one mix, it would easily have made the list.