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I have a lot of mixed emotions about ABC's new medical drama "The Good Doctor". The main character is surgical resident Dr. Sean Murphy played by famous child actor Freddie Highmore. You may remember him from the 2005 version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and Finding Neverland among other roles. My favorite of his films was "August Rush" in which he played a foster child who is a musical prodigy who goes on a journey to find his real parents. That one brought me to tears many times.More recently he played Norman Bates in his teen years in the TV series "Bates Motel".
The gimmick in this particular show is that Dr. Murphy is an autistic savant.
We've already seen a number of other TV dramas depict characters with Asperger's syndrome which is a form of autism that manifests itself mostly as extreme social awkwardness. My favorite such characters were Max Braverman played by Max Burkholder on the TV series Parenthood along with his mentor Hank Rizzoli played by Ray Romano. Another good example was Jerry "Hands" Epperson on "Boston Legal" played by Christian Clemson. We've even seen portrayals of surgeons with Asperger's syndrome when Mary McDonnell guest starred on three episodes of Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Virginia Dixon. Although Sheldon Cooper from "The Big Bang Theory" has never been officially labeled as having Asperger's, a number of commentators have suggested that he exhibits many of the characteristics.
However unlike all of these Asperger's examples, Sean Murphy goes way beyond the simple social awkwardness that we've seen in any of these other characters I've just mentioned. They do not describe his form of autism as Asperger's Syndrome. It is just described as "autism". This character exhibits a much more extreme awkwardness of personality. Highmore plays him with a very childlike voice and broken speech pattern more akin to someone like Dustin Hoffman's portrayal of Raymond Babbitt in "Rain Man". The childlike quality of his personality more closely resembles an adult with Down Syndrome.
Naturally when someone encounters this man-boy the last thing they would think was that he would be capable of being a doctor of any kind let alone a talented surgical resident. In the opening episode there is a meeting of the hospital staff in which they attempt to reject his entry into the surgical residency program. His cause is championed by hospital president Dr. Aaron Glassman portrayed by former West Wing staffer Richard Schiff. Glassman literally puts his career on the line and says that if Dr. Murphy does not succeed in the program, he offers to resign as the hospital president. Most strongly opposed to Murphy's position is surgical chief Dr. Marcus Andrews played by Hill Harper who you may recognize from Homeland, Limitless and Covert Affairs.
Theoretically one would expect me to be extremely sympathetic towards a character who has a disability and is attempting to overcome people's extremely low expectations of his capabilities. But the way this particular character is portrayed, I'm finding myself squarely on the side of Marcus whose attitude is "Get this freak out of my hospital and away from my patients."
It's apparent that each week Dr. Murphy is going to use his alternate way of thinking and perceiving to diagnose patients and save their lives in ways that escaped the attention of the so-called normal doctors. Without this proof of his medical genius there would be no way he would be remotely considered capable of doing the job. There's more to being a doctor then simply coming up with brilliant diagnoses and having skill with a scalpel. The ability to communicate and collaborate with colleagues is an essential part of the job for which Murphy is totally unsuited.
The fact that he was given the opportunity to take the job, stretches the credibility of the TV show almost to its breaking point. I think the only way to enter into the story is to consider it science fiction. Imagine an alternate reality where such a person could get a chance to take a job for which they are seriously deficient in necessary skills.
We get lots of flashbacks to Murphy's childhood. We learned of his abusive parents, that he ran away from home with his brother and they attempted to live on their own, and of his brother's tragic accidental death. The death of his brother along with the death of his pet rabbit led him to the field of medicine. He couldn't save either of their lives but maybe he can save someone else's. We also get glimpses into his relationship with his mentor Dr. Glassman who is been in his life since his childhood and the loss of his brother.
These flashbacks serve to illustrate his approach to events in the present day. But even further stretching the credibility that this person could be taken seriously, during the flashbacks Murphy goes into an almost trancelike stare as he recalls the events. Someone will ask him a question and he goes into this trance while we watch the events of his past play out. When the flashback is over, he is still standing there with a blank look on his face while everyone wonders what the hell is wrong with him. Then having gained the perspective he required from the flashback, he comes up with an answer to whatever was asked of him. The fact that he is not fully present in the current moment further stretches the credibility that anyone would or should take him seriously.
Clearly the intent of the authors and producers of the program is to challenge us to accept people who are "different" and not impose our prejudicial limitations upon them. After watching three episodes and despite watching him use his medical brilliance to save multiple lives, I'm still not convinced he can do the job. Maybe I'm like the racist fans of Archie Bunker who didn't see him in a negative light but saw him as a hero. Maybe I'm on the wrong side of what the creators of the show intended. But I can't shake my perspective even though one would expect me to be sympathetic.
I would not find credible a television show about a person like me who attempted a profession that required physical capability beyond my capacity to matter how sympathetic of a character I might be.
Apart from all of this, show is a really very well written, well acted, medical drama. While Murphy is the primary character, he is not the sole focus of the story. There is the typical politics and competition between the other surgical residents, the egos of the attending physicians, and the politics of hospital management that are the staples of medical drama shows like Grey's Anatomy and ER. On that level, the show works pretty well. The stories of the patients that they treat are compelling. The other characters besides Murphy are three-dimensional and considerably more believable than Murphy.
For now I'm going to sort of hold my nose and continue to watch the show to see where it goes. The non-Murphy parts of the story are sufficiently interesting to be entertaining and I'm curious to see what they do with the Murphy story as the show progresses.
So as I said at the beginning, I have very mixed feelings about this program but for now I'm giving it a very cautious rating of "I'm watching it".
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"Valor" is the CW network's entry into the crowded military drama genre. Both NBC and CBS also have a new military dramas this year that I've already reviewed here. This one centers around a female Army helicopter pilot. It's definitely geared towards the 20-something audience that is the typical CW network demographic. It's populated with lots of attractive young actors you never heard of. No grizzled veterans to be found.
Unfortunately it is not much of the way of interesting characters or plot either. Normally I would tell you about who is in the show, a bit about the characters, the bit about the plot. This is so generic cliché that it isn't worth my effort to describe it to you.
Unless you are greatly inspired by the story of a military woman trying to make her way in a man's world there's nothing much to see here. The action is not as interesting as NBC's new show "The Brave" and the character back stories are not as interesting and CBS's new show "SEAL Team". If you want a good military show, go watch "Top Gun" for the 10th time or try one of the other new military shows we just mentioned.
Obviously this gets my rating of "skip it".
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After spending eight seasons playing Dr. Hank Lawson on Royal Pains, Mark Feuerstein got away from comedy and played the bad guy on the reboot season of Prison Break. Now he's back to comedy in his new half-hour single camera sitcom "9JKL" on CBS.
In this show he plays Josh, an actor who had his TV series "Blind Cop" canceled and he lost everything in a nasty divorce. So he moved to New York into the apartment building where he grew up. He lives in apartment 9K next to his overbearing parents in 9J and his brother and sister-in-law and their baby in 9L.
His smothering overbearing mother is played by Linda Lavin and his goofy somewhat senile father is played by Elliott Gould. I really like both of them in these parts.
The question I have is can they really make a show out of the one joke that this guy has these overbearing parents and a nosy brother who live too close to him? In some respects that was the major plot point of "Everybody Loves Raymond". But that wasn't the entire story. Raymond was married with kids and although his parents were the major source of conflict and therefore source of comedy, it just wasn't the whole story. If the first episode of 9JKL is any indication, it doesn't go much deeper than that.
There are other plot lines as well. Josh is trying to figure out how to start dating after his divorce. The second episode is all about his attempts to have a one night stand because he apparently has never had one before. He dated his high school sweetheart, college sweetheart, a series of six-month relationships followed by the woman he married and then divorced. Of course he fails when his mother makes the one night stand girl her new best friend. The other subplot of episode 2 is that his father bought too many bananas. Yawn.
The show has a very annoying and overbearing fake laugh track. It is single camera edited rather than filmed in front of an audience. Even if it did have an audience, it would still need the laugh track because it isn't really that funny.
As I said earlier I really like Lavin and Gould and was a big fan of Feuerstein from Royal Pains but I think two episodes was plenty enough for me to get this rating of "Skip It".
"Me, Myself, and I" is a new single camera half-hour comedy created by producer Dan Kopelman who is most famous for his other coming-of-age comedy "Malcolm in the Middle". When I first heard about this show it was obviously a show with a big gimmick and I wondered if that's all it was. Fortunately it seems the gimmick works pretty well.
It's a life story of Alex Riley as told through three different time periods in his life over a 50 year time span. The main character is portrayed by three different actors in each of those time periods. The young Alex is 14 years old in 1991 portrayed by Jack Dylan Grazer. He recently appeared in the Stephen King horror film "It" but has few other acting credits.
The show starts with him in the midst of three major turning points in his life. The young Alex is uprooted from his home in Chicago when his mom marries an airline pilot and they moved to LA. The most difficult part of this move for him is that he absolutely adores Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls but is suddenly transplanted into LA Lakers country. He is a bit of a nerd and loves inventing things.
His new stepbrother Justin takes him under his wing and tries to help him navigate life in a new school environment. He calls him "little brother" even though he's only 30 some days older than him. In the opening episode Justin plays the role of wing man as Alex tries to hook up with one of the hottest girls in their class. Justin is played by Christopher Paul Richard who has previously appeared as one of Bobby Axelrod's sons in the Showtime series "Billions".
The adult Alex is 40 years old and takes place in present-day. He's played by SNL veteran Bobby Moynihan. Here he is a struggling inventor whose company was worth about $2 million but now has fallen on hard times and is on the verge of bankruptcy. He's recently divorced and living out of a friend's garage. He's trying to put his life back together and still be a good father to his nine-year-old daughter. At the end of the episode he finds out his ex-wife is moving out of town and taking the daughter with her. His business partner and sidekick Darrell is played by Jaleel White who you'll remember from his iconic childhood role of Steve Urkel on Family Matters.
The older Alex is 65 years old in the year 2042. He's portrayed by veteran comic actor John Larroquette. In the opening episode the turning point for this stage of his life is that he recently recovered from a heart attack and decided to retire as CEO of his now successful technology company Riley industries. He is searching for what he's going to do with the rest of his life. We will avoid spoiling a minor plot twist near the end of the first episode that hints at where that part of the story is going.
The show is funny, has a lot of heart, and is well written and acted. At first I thought it was just a ripoff of the multi-time period approach to the hit NBC drama "This Is Us". And while that may be true, they pull it off successfully. It is a little bit rushed to trying to get these three different stories moving along in just a half-hour comedy. The first episode was about 60% young Alex, 30% adult Alex, and 10% older Alex. We will have to see if subsequent episodes shift that balance so we get more of the other stories. Still if it remains mostly a coming-of-age story about a young Alex that would be okay. The writing does a pretty good job of tying the story together. Events in one of the time periods connects to the other time periods. Think of it as a sort of one person rather than three-person version of "This Is Us" with all of the heart and comedy and not any of the tearjerk aspects.
I also can't help but make contrasts to the new series "Young Sheldon". If you are looking for a coming-of-age story about a nerdy young kid and how his childhood influenced his adulthood then this is a much much better choice than Young Sheldon. In many ways this is the show that Young Sheldon could've been but isn't. One of the reasons this show might succeed where Young Sheldon will not is that we can see the adult and the older versions of the character evolve along with the young version. This show is not saddled with 10+ seasons of history of its adult character with which it must somehow correlate and provide some sort of continuity.
For now I'm giving it a somewhat tentative raising of "I'm watching it". I suggest you check it out and see if it resolves your disappointment in Young Sheldon.
Marvel comics is continuing to expand its TV offerings with 2 new series this season. On ABC we have "Marvel's Inhumans" and on Fox we have "The Gifted". This is in addition to 6 seasons worth of offerings on Netflix of various Marvel heroes with more to come and Marvel's Agents of SHIELD already on ABC.
"Inhumans" is more closely related to Agents of SHIELD. In Agents we've already been introduced to these so-called inhuman characters. Basically if you have a particular genetic marker and come in contact with a substance called Terrigen it transforms you and gives you some sort of mutant ability. In Agents there was a plot line in which Terrigen was released into the world's water supply and people are randomly popping up with these superpowers. Some use them for good others for evil.
In this series we have a group of humanoid alien inhumans living in a secret domed city on the moon called Attilan. They are led by a Royal family who all have mutant abilities. However some percentage of the population of this hidden lunar city do not develop these abilities when they go through Terrigenesis. Most notably Maximus the brother of King Black Bolt. Maximus is played by Iwan Rheon you will recognize as Ramsey Bolton from Game of Thrones. He stages a coup and the royal family have to flee to earth. It appears to be earth at approximately the same time. As Agents of SHIELD because people they encounter on earth seem to be aware of Inhumans.
The first two episodes were pre-released in IMAX theaters before the show aired. It got mixed to bad reviews. My initial reaction was that I was glad that I didn't waste my money on IMAX tickets. In general it's not a bad show but it's nothing extra special. The cast of characters includes… King Black Bolt played by Anson Mount who you will recognize from the AMC Western series "Hell on Wheels". His mutant ability is that if he speaks even the slightest sound he emanates a huge destructive shock wave. This ability resulted in the accidental death of his parents when he first developed it as a teenager. As a consequence he communicates through sign language. The writers of the show made up their own sign language because he is not from Earth and therefore would not use such systems as American Sign Language.
The Queen of Attilan is Medusa portrayed by Serinda Swan. She has floor length red hair that she can control like an appendage. In the opening episodes she is captured by Maximus and he shaves her head to render her powerless. There are a variety of other mutant characters insufficiently interesting to detail here.
The only other memorable character is a 2000 pound giant dog named Lockjaw that is capable of teleporting anywhere including to earth. He's responsible for helping the royal family escape. The character is rendered in full CGI and claims to be the first regular TV character to be full CGI. Press interviews reveal he's going to be a bit of comic relief but so far he's been nothing but my proverbial plot driven technology.
It's a little bit difficult to judge what the actual series is going to be like. The family of Royal Inhumans are going to be stranded on earth currently in Hawaii. They are being hunted by Royal guards loyal to the brother Maximus who has overthrown them. Somewhat like Star Trek: Discovery the first two hours are almost a prequel to the actual series itself.
Again there's nothing really wrong with the show but it just isn't anything very special.
The other offering based on Marvel characters is Fox's "The Gifted". It's more closely related to the X-Men movies. It takes place at about the time of the recent X-Men film "Logan" or possibly slightly before. It is in an era where the X-Men have "disappeared" and the government is rounding up mutants… some because they are dangerous and others "for their own safety".
The basic plot revolves around the Strucker family led by the father Reed Strucker played by former True Blood vampire Stephen Moyer. He is in Atlanta prosecutor who specializes in prosecuting mutant criminals however he seems to have some sympathy for them. He has a wife and two teenage children. Unbeknownst to him his daughter Lauren has had mutant abilities for a few years. She has to reveal them in order to save her brother Andy who accidentally discovers his own mutant abilities. He is a young teen who is being bullied at school. The bullies dragged him from the high school dance into the locker room to torment him. He unleashes shock waves that nearly tear down the school in a scene reminiscent from Stephen King's Carrie.
As a result the family has to go on the run to avoid being arrested by federal "Sentinel Services" who have broad powers to detain any dangerous mutants. Reed turns to a mutant underground group that he has been pursuing in order to help his family escape. It looks like the story is going to be equally divided between the story of the family and the mutant underground.
This series has a very dark tone to it as the mutants are presumed to be dangerous terrorists whether they are or not. The themes of prejudice and racism are prominent in the series as they are in many of the X-Men stories.
Again unfortunately the opening episode focuses mostly on setting up the series and it's a little bit difficult to see exactly where it's going from here. Overall I would say that the action and special effects are more interesting than Inhumans and the characters certainly are more interesting. It is apparently going to focus mostly on the teenage kids which tells me the show is reaching for a young adult audience along the lines of Hunger Games, Divergent etc. It almost looks as though the show would be along the lines of something you would see on CW network.
In general I'm giving both series a "Could be watchable" rating with more emphasis on "The Gifted" than "Inhumans". We will have to see where each of these go to see if they develop more compelling stories or interesting characters or if they are just another opportunity for Marvel to cash in on more of its B-list characters.
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This season we have at least three new military themed dramas of which I'm aware. I've seen two of them and around neither of them are anything exceptional they are mildly interesting and unfortunately quite similar. The two we are talking about today is NBC's "The Brave" and CBS's "SEAL Team". Yet to come is CW network's "Valor" about U.S. Army helicopter pilotspremieres October 9.
NOTE: there are minor plot spoilers from the premier episodes.
"The Brave" opens with some text reminiscent of NBC's other flagship dramas "Law & Order". It says "The defense of the United States and its citizens relies increasingly on two groups… The intelligence analysts in Washington, who uncover and interpret threats. And the Special Forces operators tasked with eliminating." That pretty much sums up what the show is about. We have a group of analysts back in Washington DC led by Patricia Campbell who is played by Anne Heche. And we have a small group of special forces operators led by Adam Dalton played by Mike Vogel. You might recognize in from the sci-fi series "Under the Dome" in which he played Dale Barbara. The rest of the cast is not anyone you would recognize.
The opening episode involves the rescue of a female American doctor who is kidnapped by terrorists while working in a relief mission overseas. Our heroes are tasked with rescuing her. Just as they are about to rescue her, they discovered she was kidnapped not as a hostage but to treat a wounded notorious terrorist leader. The dilemma then comes… Which is more important? Killing the bad guy or rescuing the princess… (Whoops excuse me the female doctor).
The show is strictly procedural with reasonable amounts of action and pretty good special effects. At least in the initial episode we didn't spend a lot of time developing the characters, their personalities, or the back stories. We do know that Heche's character recently lost a son in battle somewhere and there are whispered questions about whether or not she got to be back to work given her recent tragedy. That's about the extent of the subplots. Presumably incoming episodes we will get to know more about the characters but this one seems to be strictly about the action. The trailer for the second episode is also a hostage rescue mission of some kind.
I will give the show for one thing. There was a minor plot twist that I thought was a plot hole. A terrorist which had been subdued suddenly escaped. I thought it was a plot gimmick to allow the escape just so there would be more danger and more action in the rest of the episode. As it turned out they let the terrorist escape as part of a plan to get the bad guy and rescue the doctor all right this same time. I guess I got cynical by so many shows with obvious plot holes that was a bit refreshing that what appeared to be a hole was actually a pretty clever twist.
"SEAL Team" is CBS's entry into the field. It stars David Boreanaz who has just come off 12 seasons of playing FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth on "Bones". I did not recognize any of the other cast from either TV shows or films.
In contrast to "The Brave" this one deals at least 50% with the back story and regular lives of the characters. Boreanaz's character has an ex-wife and teenage girls. Part of the show has him in mandatory therapy to deal with the loss of one of his team members under his command. He continues to stay in contact with the widow of his dead teammate. Another member of the seal team has a pregnant wife at home. The show is going to be much more character driven. Whether or not those characters are interesting enough to keep you watching is yet to be determined. A lot of it seems a bit cliché so far. With its combination of action and family drama back stories this show is quite reminiscent of the 2006 military drama "The Unit".
The plot for the opening episode is sadly extremely similar to the opening episode of "The Brave". This story is slightly reversed in that they are sent to try to capture a high-value terrorist alive and along the way discover that a hostage is being held. Again the dilemma of which is more important… Rescuing a hostage or capturing the bad guy.
Without giving away the entire plot of those shows, the outcome of these extremely similar situations is quite different. I will stop short of calling SEAL Team resolution of story more "realistic" and say perhaps it is a slightly darker yet somewhat more probable outcome.
Neither of these shows even come close to being "must-see TV". But both seem to be reasonably watchable with a fair amount of action if that's what you're looking for. And depending on whether you want more family back story and character development or whether you want a mostly procedural action drama you can pick between the two accordingly. I'm going to give both of them a couple more episodes before I decide which if either will become regular viewing.
For now I'm giving them both a reasonably strong "might be watchable" rating. We will let you know if CW's entry into the field "Valor" has anything extra to offer.
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If I had to give a one-word review of Young Sheldon I would have to say "disappointing".
Don't get me wrong here… It's a very well-written, well acted, well produced program. It just isn't what I expected. I am a HUGE fan of "The Big Bang Theory". I've seen every episode some of them multiple times. It is currently my favorite sitcom on TV right now. It probably ranks in my top three or four sitcom favorites of all time alongside such classics as Seinfeld and M*A*S*H. So when I heard they were going to make a spinoff series based on the early life of Dr. Sheldon Cooper I was really excited.
I think my biggest problem with it is I'm not entirely sure it's a comedy. While it did have a few funny moments there were more parts that could be better described as poignant, sentimental, heartfelt or many other adjectives not necessarily comedic.
The adult Sheldon comes across as eccentric and at times childlike but because he's an adult your approach is to laugh at him. The other characters put up with his eccentricities with an attitude of "Oh well… that's Sheldon. You take him as he is flaws and all." And it's easy to laugh at him. But in many ways he really is sort of a pathetic character. You take that same pathos and apply it to a preteen child I'm not sure it's so funny. You end up feeling more pity for him and it's harder to laugh at him.
Given the tone of the series, I applaud the fact that they are not doing it as a typical three camera sitcom taped in front of a live audience. It's a single camera edited program with no live audience and no laugh track. That was a good choice. Again especially because I'm not really sure it's a comedy.
I've heard people compare it to shows like "The Wonder Years" but I never saw that program. So I can't really comment on that. Many have suggested that Sheldon Cooper is an excellent example of someone with Asperger's syndrome. I think the young Sheldon perhaps confirms that diagnosis. So appropriate comparison among TV families would be Max Braverman in Parenthood. Although that show did have its funny moments spread throughout, you'd have to call it a drama for the most part.
If we take Sheldon's Asperger's as a disability, one could draw comparisons to the cerebral palsy character JJ DiMeo in "Speechless". But that character is not at all deeply flawed in his personality as is Sheldon. You can sympathize and empathize with him and the show is definitely played for laughs even though it does contain some poignant moments. In Speechless you can laugh at the situations that JJ encounters without laughing at him personally. You're not making fun of him or his limitations. That formula just won't work with Sheldon.
Zoe Perry does a reasonable job as Sheldon's mother and her characterization matches well with the portrayal by Laurie Medcalf. I saw one reviewer suggest that the show would be better if she was the focus of the show and they had Medcalf do the voiceover instead of Jim Parsons as the adult Sheldon. I think I might agree with that. His twin sister provides a few comedic moments with her snarky comments. His older brother and father sort of cruise through the show without contributing anything useful to the story.
One of the things that makes the adult Sheldon not be totally pathetic and unlikable is the way that his character has evolved in recent seasons mostly through his relationship with his girlfriend now fiancé Amy Farah Fowler. The problem is we don't have an opportunity for young Sheldon to grow because we already know what a deeply flawed person he was in the early seasons of Big Bang.
We know that at some point along the way his dad is going to die so that's going to be a real downer. Annie Potts has been cast as his MeeMaw for future episodes so she may add something interesting to the mix.
I hate to say it but I think the whole concept behind the show is deeply flawed and I'm not sure what can be done to fix it.
For now I'm giving it a very mild rating of "Could be watchable". I will continue to give it a chance for a few episodes but I'm not very hopeful.
It was 51 years ago that the original Star Trek series premiered on TV. Since then we have had 4 other TV versions of Star Trek and over a dozen movies. So one has to ask do we really need another TV series in this franchise. After seeing the first two episodes of the new Star Trek: Discovery, I think the answer is a definitive yes. Well… Maybe it's not so much that we need it but we can definitively say that it now that it is here, it is a very welcome and worthy addition to the long-running franchise.
Although it is a bit early to tell, it appears that for the first time the central character of a Star Trek series is not going to be the captain. Our central figure is Cmdr. Michael Burnham, an African-American female human played by Sonequa Martin-Green whose previous credits include 8 episodes of The Good Wife, 7 episodes of Once Upon A Time and most notably 69 episodes of The Walking Dead. In the opening scenes one might guess that she was a Vulcan. She's wearing a hooded costume on a desert planet so you can't see her ears. She is speaking in very logical, precise, Vulcan-like manner. Throughout the opening episodes however we find out that Burnham is a human whose parents were killed in a Klingon attack. She was raised on Vulcan as the ward of none other than Sarek who is, as all Star Trek fans know, the father of Spock. In this version Sarek wonderfully played by James Frain.
Not only is Sarek her adoptive father and adult mentor, they also share a long-distance telepathic link courtesy of a special mind meld during a near-death experience when she was a child. Throughout the opening episodes she communicates with him either by subspace radio or by this telepathic link wherein he advises her on her current situations.
We also have flashbacks that show her first days in Starfleet wherein she appears to be even more Vulcan-like then she is in the current time period. Speaking of time period, this series takes place just 10 years prior to the events of the original Kirk/Spock/McCoy original series.
During the first two episodes Cmdr. Burnham is assigned as first officer of the USS Shenzhou which is captained by Capt. Georgirou portrayed by guest star Michelle Yeoh. The fact that she is listed in the opening credits as a special guest star is your first clue that she isn't going to be around for very long. We will try to avoid too many spoilers and not tell you exactly what happens.
The only other major character we get to know in the first two episodes is Saru played by Doug Jones who is accustomed to playing aliens in fullface makeup. He was recently seen as Cochise in the alien invasion series Falling Skies. Jones by the way grew up in Indianapolis, attended Bishop Chartard High School and Ball State University. In this show he is the science officer and is constantly cautioning the captain to play it safe. At first he comes across as cowardly but later we learn why his background makes him so overly cautious. He explains that humans live on a planet that has a food chain with humans at the top but on his planet everything is either exclusively predator or prey. His species was always the prey. They were essentially bred to be eaten. Their entire life was based on the idea that they were destined to die. However in the second episode when the only option available was to fight, he is not hesitant to help the crew plan the attack on the Klingons. Essentially his character is constantly in a fight or flight situation and while he often chooses flight over fight, when all else fails he is definitely up to the task of fighting.
Given the unique background of Cmdr. Burnham being a Vulcan-raised human and the unusual back story of science officer Saur there appear to be rich opportunities for great storytelling in future episodes.
Again trying not to provide too many spoilers, Cmdr. Burnham will not be serving on the USS Shenzhou in future episodes. She will be transferred to the USS Discovery under the command of Capt. Gabriel Lorca played by Jason Isaacs. He did not appear in the first two episodes. You may recall seeing him in the one season USA Network series Dig.
Essentially the show is going to do a bit of a reboot after these first two episodes so it's a little bit difficult to know what the actual series is going to be like.
The storytelling is definitely up to excellent Star Trek standards and is a worthy successor to previous versions of the franchise.
The set design, props, and most of all CGI special effects are way beyond what we would come to expect from a Star Trek TV series or any TV series for that matter. The opening scene on an alien planet is so far beyond the kind of alien planet environments that we saw in the original series 50 years ago that it makes the old show looked totally ridiculous. One of the criticisms of this new show is that the sets are so detailed and technical that they seem out of place in the canon of Star Trek stories as a prequel to the original series. The critics accuse Star Trek Discovery of being noncanonical as if it is using technology that didn't exist in the original series. I don't find a problem with that. In the first two episodes I didn't see any real technology that seemed out of place in a ten-year prequel. Just because they spent more money designing the sets and props and the CGI is so far superior to anything that we were capable of creating with practical models 50 years ago doesn't mean that we violated any continuity. At least that's my opinion.
The other major deviation from previous incarnations of Star Trek is a complete redesign of the Klingon race. Click here for a video showing the differences. We're told that the Klingon consist of various tribes or houses that have been split from one another and that part of the plot of the opening episodes is an attempt to reunite the Klingon race. Each of the various tribes seems to have a different facial structure. All of them have fullface head makeups not just the traditional Worf-like forehead piece or the even more minimal Klingon makeups from the original series. That lack of continuity doesn't bother me but it may bother some people.
A quick browse through YouTube reviews have been mostly negative because people are saying "it betrays 50 years of Star Trek" but that so-called betrayal is only continuity issues such as the redesign Klingons. I've not seen any negative reviews that really answer the question is it contrary to the heart of Star Trek. I don't think it is. So if you don't like the continuity errors, don't collect a prequel. Call it a re-imagination. The JJ Abrams Star Trek films get away with changing things because of a alternate timeline excuse. Even though this series doesn't have that gimmick excuse, I still think people should judge it on its own merits as good sci-fi entertainment and if it has the same level of quality we expect from Star Trek. One negative review described it as "Game of Thrones" in outer space. Pardon me but I've got no problem with that.
Overall everything that we've seen the way of special effects over these opening episodes makes it look very much on par with a current theatrical movie and far beyond what we normally see on a weekly TV series. They are definitely putting in a lot of money into special-effects on this show. Now it may be that they blew their entire CGI budget on these opening episodes to get you hooked and the quality may deteriorate in future episodes. We will have to wait and see.
One of the disappointing parts of the show, this may seem trivial, was the opening title sequence. The new theme song seems Star Trek worthy with lots of audible references to previous themes and it even concludes with a few bars of the original Alexander Courage theme song. However the graphics are completely uninteresting. They are animated set of technical drawings and some other strange animation. I would've rather seen a traditional Star Trek opening sequence with the spaceship flying through space. See for yourself in this YouTube video.
I recommend you check out other videos from the Star Trek YouTube channel for more behind-the-scenes info about series.
https://www.youtube.com/user/startrek/
The biggest problem with Star Trek Discovery is its availability. While the opening episode was broadcast on CBS network, it left you with a cliffhanger. Episode 2 and the remaining episodes which will appear weekly are only available using a subscription paid service called CBS All Access. Outside the US where CBS All Access is not available, the show is airing via Netflix. I don't know if it's possible to use a VPN to spoof Netflix into thinking you are outside the US. If it were available on Netflix everywhere then it would definitely be worth it to subscribe to Netflix because of all of the other things that you would get along with it.
The real question is if it is worth it to subscribe to CBS All Access just to get Star Trek Discovery. Of course after the airing of this first episode, subscriptions of the new service increased phenomenally as was expected. In some ways we have to presume the entire creation of this new series is just a gimmick to get people to sign up for the new subscription service. As of right now, the only other original programming available on CBS All Access is the reboot of "The Good Wife" as a show called "The Good Fight" staring all of the original cast and characters except for Julianna Margulies. The first season of "The Good Fight" already streamed late last year and was an excellent series especially if you are a fan of the original "The Good Wife". Although there are new original series in the works for CBS All Access, currently these two shows are the only original programming and everything else is reruns at archives of CBS programming.
While I imagine diehard Star Trek fans will find it worth it to sign up for CBS All Access just to watch the new series, the irony is that the average Star Trek fan probably has the technical skills necessary to acquire the series from bootleg sources without having to pay for it. Until and unless something more compelling than Star Trek Discovery and The Good Fight are available on CBS All Access is available, I doubt that the average TV watcher will bother to subscribe.
Meanwhile Star Trek fans will definitely want to see this new series and they will watch it by whatever means available whether that is from legitimate subscriptions or other methods.
For now I'm rating it "I really like it".
By the way it occurred to me that the initials of this series are "STD". It took everything I had not too title this review "STD is infectious" 🙂
Posted in I Like It, TV Review	| 2 Replies


I fell in love with neurology on day one of my clerkship year in medical school. To me, the opportunity to help patients and families through complex illnesses is simultaneously challenging and incredibly rewarding. I ultimately chose to sub-specialize in movement disorders because I enjoy being able to form long-term relationships with patients and families, and I'm optimistic that a disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson disease is within reach. I'm also a core faculty member of Duke's Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities, and the History of Medicine, where I develop programs to help students and trainees understand the patient's perspective, improving clinician resilience and mitigating burnout. Outside of work, I am an avid runner and cyclist, looking forward to exploring trails around the Triangle.
My research interests within movement disorders include "real world" lifestyle interventions, such as improving physical activity through mobile technology and gamification, like FitBits. We can also use these new technologies to reduce disparities in access to care and improve health for everyone.


My son and I couldn't go out today. We usually visit the playgrounds in the afternoon. The level of yellow sand in Seoul is "very unhealthy" according to the US Army's Yellow Sand/Asian Dust Monitor System. It is advised that young children and the elderly should avoid all outdoor activities. Those with heart and lung problems should stay indoors too. Unless you have a medigap, it's costly to get sick. I hope it will be better tomorrow as we wouldn't want to spend the day indoors on a weekend!
Next Post:My Sassy Girl (Hollywood remake) soon?
ooohhh! better stay indoors for now then or maybe you can do other fun stuff while it's not safe yet to go out.
It is really expensive to get sick nowadays.


Since Fredericia welcomed the first cruise ship in 2014, it has developed into an attractive and popular cruise ship destination with approx. 20 annual calls. It only took a few years for the interest in the small city to grow, and the growth in the number of calls is thanks to dedicated efforts from ADP, the Municipality of Fredericia and Visit Fredericia that together market and sell the destination to the international cruise industry.
Fredericia is a city with a unique history, authenticity and courtesy which appeal to the international cruise ship guest. The town has Northern Europe's most well-preserved ramparts but also perpendicular streets and historical monuments, and together with the tourist guides' stories, they make the scene for a unique visit to the city.
Fredericia is in the heart of Denmark, close to unique tourist attractions, including 3 from UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites such as Kongernes Jelling - Home of the Viking Kings, Christiansfeld and the Wadden Sea. Furthermore, Cruise Fredericia offers visits to LEGOLAND®, Hans Christian Andersen's childhood home in Odense, Egeskov Castle at Funen, Koldinghus or Ribe that, in addition to being Denmark's oldest town, also offers visitors an authentic Viking experience.
The central location, excellent operational facilities and 15 metres of water make Fredericia a destination that attracts the cruise line companies. A 370-metre long cruise ship quay only a 10-minute walk from downtown is something that cruise lines cannot get anywhere else.
"When it comes to central docking near the town on guest satisfaction, Fredericia has been ranked as number 2 out of 218 destinations worldwide. And when it comes to guest satisfaction for the welcoming ceremony on the cruise quay, Fredericia was ranked 17th out of 218 destinations worldwide", says Cruise Manager Line Tange.
In the summer of 2019, the Disney Cruise Line will call seven new ports in Europe, including a first-time visit to the destination of Fredericia in Denmark. The seven new ports are part of the Disney Magic's tour of Europe.
One of the very large cruise ships, MSC Preziosa, provided ultra-short notice about their arrival at the Port of Fredericia on June 15, 2018. MSC Preziosa had around 3,800 guests aboard, which came from all over Europe.


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Not only New York is the most famous city of US but is also known as the greatest city of the world. It is an important city for international trading, finance, fashion, art, technology, education, media and entertainment. The population of the city is over 8 million citizens. More than 800 languages are spoken in New York. It is an ideal tourist destination and there are over 50 million tourists a year who are attracted by the landmarks of the city. If you are looking for cheap car hire New York JFK International Airport then compare prices with us.
The empire state building is one of these attractions with over thousands of people visiting the building every day. It was the world's tallest building for nearly 40 years and is still regarded as one of the greatest buildings in the world. The view from the top of the building is magnificent and people wait in lines in order to get their tickets to go all the way to the top.
The statue of liberty is another signature landmark of New York. It marks the friendship of the people of France and the U. S and the statue was a gift to the U. S by the French. It is regarded as a symbol of freedom and it welcomes the immigrants who come to the great city for a better life. Car hire New York JFK International Airport is the best way to view near by attractions.
Some other attractions include The Rockefeller center. It is a great place for entertainment both for locals and for tourists. There are also guided tours to visit the headquarters of the United Nations. You can see the entire structure from the inside and can see every department and its importance.
Another popular place is the Times Square and it is the most famous and the most visited area in the city. It is the heart of the city and the extend area is also known as the theatre district. It is the new home to the New York Times and the headquarters is now moved to Times Square.
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Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds wins the Fall 2018 Iowa Youth Straw Poll.
Republicans have swept the Iowa Youth Straw Poll for the Iowa Gubernatorial race and all four Congressional races.
Students chose Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds over Democrat challenger Fred Hubbell in Iowa's gubernatorial race, Congressman Rod Blum (R-Iowa) over State Representative Abby Finkenauer (D-Dubuque) in Iowa's 1st Congressional District race, Republican challenger Christopher Peters over Congressman Dave Loebsack in Iowa's 2nd Congressional District, Congressman David Young (R-Iowa) over Democrat challenger Cindy Axne in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District Race, and Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) over his Democratic challenger J.D. Scholten in Iowa's 4th Congressional District race.
Almost 40,000 votes by students representing hundreds of schools participating in 92 of Iowa's 99 counties have been counted in the unscientific poll.
Below is a list of schools that participated.
Americans for Prosperity (AFP) released two new videos featuring Congressman Bruce Braley's (D-Iowa) chicken incident and man-on-the-street interviews.


I find it is usually the first.
Whatever comes in the 'continue' part is what the link will say when you use the More tag. Some say Keep Reading or Read More of this Article. But it can say anything you want, such as "Read On, If You Dare Sucker!".
In the html editor there is a simple button that says more.
In the visual editor is a little icon that looks like a ripped piece of paper that says "Insert More Tag" when you hover over it.
Wherever you place this tag in your post is where the break on the front page will be. This gives you control over how the article appears and keeps you from having full posts on the front page.
The more link contains a CSS class so you can do all sorts of nifty things when styling it, like using an image. But this will have to wait for another post.
Do you use the More tag? Why or why not?
Hi Stratos – Thanks for reminding me about the article – that's something I've wanted to try but I haven't yet.
But, if the post is very short then there is no need of more tag.
.-= Nihar´s last blog ..July 2009 Blog Traffic & Income statistics =-.
Hi Nihar – That's true – really short posts don't need it.
Thanks Kim – I wondered how people did this. I used to display a partial feed in the reader but folk complained. Would this be the same as doing that, or different?
I use feedburner and it doesn't affect it. With a regular feed Firefox truncates them anyway and IE shows the full feed.
The partial feed should only be affected by the feed settings under Settings > Reading.
Furthermore, my page loads faster now since my posts tend to be rather picture-intensive..
.-= ZQ @ Best Travel Blog´s last blog ..Yummy Cheese and Curry Sausage in Vienna =-.
Hi ZQ – I've never done tests but I had a feeling it would keep people on the site longer.
I use the More Tag frequently because I think it gives a blog more of a magazine appearance and encourages visitors to skim a few articles and dive deeper when they're interested.
I've read reasons against using a More Tag — which is that if someone is excited enough to read as a casual visitor, they don't want to have to click through.
I can see that, but I think the benefits outweigh that risk. Adding layers of click through is more important when I write an article that's mostly a link to something else or an embed like a video. In that case I've been exploring the idea of writing an article with a still of the video, and changing the video embed code so that when people click through for the video, it will auto-start.
.-= Gib Wallis´s last blog ..5 Reasons Why Twitter Isn't Lame and Isn't Only Stalkers and Marketers =-.
Hi Gib – I think the benefits outweigh the risks. And I don't really understand it when people get bent out of shape over an extra click. Some people need real problems.
I also like more tag and think it is recommended. You can control the outlook of you front page and avoid making it too heavy.
Most people does not like excessive scrolling while reading. but some people should avoid using it if they tend to use very attractive headlines but relatively less interesting/useful content as it will give a feeling of cheating.
.-= Chinese Girl´s last blog ..Photo Changchun Nong an Ancient Pagoda =-.
Hi – Nice to see you back :-) I agree that it's not that useful with short posts.
I guess a lot depends on the look and feel you're going for with the blog. Obviously it's great for a blog that prefers a magazine or grid look (such as a cool tips blog like this one!), while personal bloggers may prefer home page and full post.
I generally go for the one featured post (in full) then 4 teasers. Also, the More tag cuts into your feed, and that can put people off reading it from RSS or email subscriptions.
.-= Danny Brown´s last blog ..Marketing the Bruce Campbell Way =-.
Using the more tag doesn't truncate the feed. At least not with feedburner and google reader. I see a full feed for all of my articles with both.
my theme provides this option by default, but i wonder what happens if I use more tag explicitly. Any idea?
.-= Madhur Kapoor´s last blog ..Create Photo Mosaics with AndreaMosaic =-.
Hi Madhur – I really like using it. Although occasionally I forget and then I have a full post on the front page.
Hi Kim. I used this feature when I started blogging, but then found that people preferred to see the entire post in their reader. Now that I've read your response to Cath I'm considering going back, but will have to investigate how to do it properly so that the whole post shows up in Reader. I didn't know that was possible.
I do use it from time to time. I dont think I use it enough though. About once a month, I go though all of my posts and use the "more tag" when I want to display more posts on my homepage.
.-= carla | green and chic´s last blog ..Link Love – Cleaning Day =-.
I tried the More tag on several blogs with different themes. I never made it work.
.-= david´s last blog ..12 Steps to Greatness =-.
Hi David – Perhaps the themes are using excerpt rather than content …?
can somebody pls throw some light!?
.-= Vandana´s last blog ..Facebook Resizes Fan Page Tabs – FBML Users Take Note! =-.
Thanks for the post Kim, helped alot with me figuring out why the more tag wasn't working for me on my blog.
Hi Dave – Great! I'm glad the article helped.


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Community & Relationships
Activism & Advocacy
Education, Arts, Humanities, & Sports
Right Livelihood & Green Economics
8 Black Eco-Poets Who Inspire Us | Sierra: The national magazine of the Sierra Club
Contemporary scribes draw links between environmental and ancestral resilience. Eco-poetics may be a recently christened genre, but of course, humans have been writing poems about nature for centuries.
Can Music Ever Be Green? An Overview Of The Changing Musical Climate
Recent terminological developments including 'ecomusicology', defined by Aaron S. Allen as a discipline considering 'musical and sonic issues, both textual and performative, related to ecology and the natural environment'
Gen-X Is More Creative Than Gen-Y, According to Harvard | Inc.
Roughly twice as many "talent professionals" are looking to hire Millennials than looking to hire Gen-Xers, according to a recent survey reported in USA Today. Research reveals that workers in their 40s and 50s are on average smarter than everyone else in three key areas.
For One Chicana Rocker and Memoirist, Music is Activism, and a Way of Life
For more than 20 years, the Chicano rock band has done it their way — rejecting sponsorship money from tobacco or alcohol companies (a choice Gonzalez refers to in the book as "professional suicide") and using what she calls "participatory community art practices." It's not uncommon for the band to invite neighbors to workshops to co-write songs…
The Sealey Challenge: An Expansive Way of Reading Poetry | Literary Hub
The Sealey Challenge is a call to action, to any one who'd like to participate: read 31 poetry books or chapbooks of your choice in 31 days. There is no prize waiting at the end; instead, participants are left with the knowledge of 31 fresh voices, a sense of belonging to a discovered community, and—hopefully—a newfound (or renewed) love of poetry.
Why 'All We Can Save' Will Make You Feel Hopeful About the Climate Crisis
A new anthology spotlighting women climate leaders offers solutions, encouragement, and an invitation to join the movement. The book is a feast of ideas and perspectives, setting a big table for the climate movement, declaring all are welcome.
How to Fight Fascism Through Literature | In These Times
Arundhati Roy's new book "Azadi" raises important questions about how we can resist authoritarianism by expressing not only outrage but joy. In the early 2000s, historian Ramachandra Guha called Arundhati Roy crazy…
Meet the PhD Student Inventing a New Scientific Language in Welsh
In Cardiff, Wales, Bedwyr Ab Ion Thomas, 23, is conducting his doctoral research on medicinal chemistry entirely in the Welsh language at Cardiff University. While it may seem ordinary for a researcher to work entirely in their native language…
The Great Unread: On William Deresiewicz's "The Death of the Artist"
From Silicon Valley and its boosters, we hear: "There's never been a better time to be an artist." Anyone can easily market their own music, books, or films online, drum up a thousand true fans, and enjoy a decent living. We see proof of this, time and again, in profiles of bold creators who got tired of waiting to be chosen, took to the web, and saw their work go viral.
What Kind of Sonnets Will Computers Write? | Catapult
If poetry is an act of discovery for a writer, then even a computational poem has to uncover something new. Computers can outperform people. I have never beaten a calculator at long division or memorized the entire catalog of a library. But soon after I started a doctorate in computer science, I began to realize just how much computers were inching their way into new and wild domains.
"We Need To Start Living As If We Are A Part Of The Ecosystem." Interview With Tomm Moore And Ross Stewart, Directors Of WOLFWALKERS
"It's very easy for Tomm and myself to get influenced by all of the Irish folktales and mythology, there's such a deep well to draw from, but I think this one tackles tales environmentalism and the divide of society," says Ross Stewart, co-director, alongside Tomm Moore, of Wolfwalkers, "I mean there's still a huge emphasis on family, like in Song of the Sea, but I think this tackles darker themes in it".
InterLibrary Loan Will Change Your Life | Literary Hub
Even in an age when we can buy most any book with a single click, the InterLibrary Loan system remains a beautiful creation—and one that is often free. It is also a pleasant metaphor: we are loaned knowledge from afar, but we have to take care of it. Just remember not to tear that white band.
Grants Celebrate Disability Culture | M. Leona Godin< | Writers & Poets
In October, twenty disabled artists were announced as the first class of Disability Futures Fellows and received grants of $50,000 each, to be used in whatever way is most useful in supporting their work. The new fellowships celebrate disability culture by honoring accomplished practitioners in a wide variety of fields, including writing, theater, dance, architecture, painting, and garment making.
14 Fabulous Contemporary Lady Nature Writers: The Greatest—and Greenest
For Women's History Month, we'd like to recommend 14 outstanding contemporary writers. Each of these women's words can make us reconsider or better appreciate our relationship to the natural world.
2019 BUCKET LIST: The Contemporary Adventure Canon
What does it mean to be a well-read outdoorsperson in 2019? We have 54 new ideas. Yes, we still love Cheryl Strayed and John McPhee, but here's an updated class of noteworthy additions.
Mi'kmaw student creates lab at Acadia to share traditional knowledge with future scientists
All first-year biology students at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., now learn about Mi'kmaw traditional knowledge thanks to the efforts of one student who was tired of seeing Indigenous perspectives ignored in science.
The Global Vaccine Poem: Do You See Us
My name is Mosab Abu Toha, and I'm a bilingual Palestinian poet from Gaza. Maybe unlike other parts in the world, Gaza has been in lockdown for many years. As a result, only a very small number of people could get the vaccine shots which were allowed to enter Gaza. I haven't yet received mine. Here is my poem.
Mind the Gap: Why Hockney's Piccadilly Line Roundel Uproar Signifies A Deepening Disconnect Between Art and the Public
Eddy Frankel explores why a slapdash but inoffensive logo design by the celebrated artist has caused such outrage, and how it symbolises the slow but sure decimation of arts education in Britain.
Where Did Music Come From? Here Are The Leading Theories
Did humans evolve to sing and dance, or did we invent our musical pastimes? Scientists are still debating the origin of this universal behavior.
John Hawkes: I Semi-Retired at 19. Which I Highly Recommend
The End of Sentence Star on His Punk Rock Ethos and The Road-Trip Movie That Took Him to Ireland
Two Native Writers Win Pulitzers | Indian Country Today
Writers Louise Erdrich and Natalie Diaz were named winners of the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in the categories of fiction and poetry — also included was Marty Two Bulls Sr. who was named a finalist in editorial cartooning on Friday.
Neurodiversity And Entrepreneurship: Onyinye Udokporo Shows Us Where The Creative Flair Starts
We've heard a lot about the entrepreneurial flair of neurodivergent billionaires like Elon Musk in the recent week, runaway successes with large companies and lots of infrastructure.
Written In The Wild: The Best Radical Nature Writing
From this land is our land to why rebel, the message is that if we take heed of the natural world, we can heal ourselves.
56 LGBTQ-Owned Bookstores You Can Be Proud to Support
Visibility allows people with marginalized identities to see themselves and their stories reflected in and worthy of art. As Oprah herself recently wrote: "When we see ourselves, our presence and existence in the world has been validated."
Books To Get You Started with Cli-Fi
As global leaders struggle to make firm commitments to reduce emissions and scientists discover ever more dangerous feedback loops and repercussions from climate change, writers are using the power of the pen to show us what the world might look like if we don't act soon to combat climate change.
Against Nature Writing by Charles Foster
As a writer seeking to experience and express communion with the more-than-human world, Charles Foster begins to wonder if language can do anything other than constrain and tame the tangled wild.
Reading YA Books May Increase Empathy and Integrity
A new study from University of Oklahoma researchers Jessica E. Black and Jennifer L. Barnes published in Psychology of Popular Media suggests that young people who read YA books may be more empathetic than peers who do not.
The Pandemic Moved Classrooms Outside. Let's Keep It That Way.
The pandemic forced schools to teach outside. Many teachers, parents, and kids want to keep it that way. Numerous studies have shown that outdoor learning helps students stress less and focus more, improving their overall well-being.
What the Warming World Needs Now is Art, Sweet Art | Grist
Here's the paradox: If the scientists are right, we're living through the biggest thing that's happened since human civilization emerged. One species, ours, has by itself in the course of a couple of generations managed to powerfully raise the temperature of an entire planet…
Olympic-Bound Skateboarder Lizzie Armanto on Rising Above Sexism and Making History | Maggie Ryan | Yahoo! Life
The progression of women's skateboarding speaks for itself. Armanto described how "immensely" the sport has grown in the past few years, especially on the women's side. "The gap between the 20th-ranked woman and first has become much closer. Now there's more than a handful of women capable of winning an event."
New Writing: Above the Tree Line | Teva Harrison | Granta Life
Teva Harrison is the writer wrote and illustrated In-Between Days, a memoir about living with cancer. Her writing and/or comics have appeared in the Walrus, Quill & Quire, Huffington Post, Carte Blanche, the Humber Literary Review, the Globe and Mail and many more. Born and raised in rural Oregon, Teva currently lives in Toronto with her husband.
Linguistic Diversity Is Key To Saving The Planet | Sustainability Times
If knowledge is power, why haven't we already saved our planet? We know how to slow down global warming, and we understand that monocultures destroy biological diversity, yet temperatures continue to rise, and our soil is covered with soy and wheat and eucalyptus, lined up like soldiers as far as the eye can see. It seems that objective knowledge about sustainability doesn't lead to action.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Paulette, Rene Among 6 Systems Being Monitored; No Impacts Expected in South Florida
The National Hurricane Center expects Paulette to weaken soon before strengthening this weekend, but is still not expected to impact South Florida.
Published September 10, 2020 • Updated on September 11, 2020 at 12:03 am
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami were keeping an eye on 6 systems in the Atlantic Thursday
Two of the systems were tropical storms, Paulette and Rene
None of the systems were expected to impact South Florida
The tropics remained active Thursday with as many as six systems being watched across the Atlantic Ocean as hurricane season was hitting its peak.
Tropical Storm Paulette had winds of 65 miles per hour and was moving west-northwest at 10 mph as of the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, but remained 850 miles from the furthest area of land and had no watches or advisories issued for it.
The National Hurricane Center was expecting Paulette to approach Bermuda as a hurricane. It was still not expected to impact South Florida.
The tropics remain active as NHC is monitoring 4 disturbances that have development potential over the next 5 days. A system in the eastern tropical Atlantic has a high chance of development, while two other systems have a medium chance. Get the latest at https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/1D3hZtXfpq
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 10, 2020
A second tropical storm, Rene, had winds of 45 mph and was also moving west-northwest at 12 mph while sitting 925 miles west-northwest from the Cabo Verde Islands, according to the NHC. There were no watches or warnings issued for Rene. It's expected to strengthen to a hurricane in a couple of days.
A system off the coast of the Bahamas had a 50 percent chance of development when it was forecast to be in the Gulf of Mexico and moving west.
5G 1 hour ago
In the Gulf already was a system with a 20 percent chance of development that was expected to move southwest in the coming days.
Further in the Atlantic, a system with a 40 percent chance of development was to the east of Rene while moving slowly to the west. A system with a 90 percent chance of becoming a named storm in the next five days will move off the coast of Africa at some point Thursday, according to forecasters.
Sept. 10 is considered the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, though more than 60 percent of South Florida hurricane landfalls have occurred after Sept. 10, according to the National Weather Service.
September 10th: today is considered the peak of the #hurricane season in the Atlantic basin, however most #SoFla hurricanes since 1865 have hit AFTER this date. Median date of hurricane landfalls for S FL is September 21st. Stay prepared, we have a long ways to go! #flwx #swfl pic.twitter.com/UATrdWRUzv
— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) September 10, 2020
2020 hurricane seasonFloridafirst alert weather2021 Hurricane Season


Alex Trebek thinks about gender a lot, and along the same terms always: When a man wins, it's expected, and when a woman wins, it's extraordinary.
"So far, our battle of the decades, 1990s, has turned into a battle of the sexes! This week, three matches, three women have moved on. Is that good news for Claudia or does it put extra pressure on her? Mark and Dave might want to put extra pressure on her."
Leaving aside the wince-inducing and perhaps accidental innuendo, why is a three-episode-long streak during which women, and particularly women we already know to be great at "Jeopardy!," so remarkable? Perhaps because those three episodes each featured two men and one woman, but that has more to do with shortfalls on the part of "Jeopardy!'s" producers, not the women themselves.
In Trebek's universe, when a woman wins, a battle of the sexes begins, whereas when a man wins, the universe is in accord. He's been making remarks similar to his recent one that women "wager [less] because they figure, 'Oh, this is the household money, this is the grocery money, the rent money.'" When this reporter was on "Jeopardy!" in 2010, Trebek told the same thing to the audience during a break in taping -- that women are too focused on the family pocketbook to play the game the way it's meant to be played (discounting other possibilities, like the one that "Jeopardy!'s" questions are gendered in a manner that favors men). Trebek also told the audience, in 2010, that "men are just smarter," but immediately assured all present he was joking.
His consistent hammering of the point that women are dramatically lower wagerers than men (debunked doubly by Slate, which recently showed the average female wager is just a bit lower and that's not, necessarily, a worse strategy) shouldn't be taken seriously. It's a nasty, gendered assumption about the way women think, coming from a fellow who thinks it's worth remarking upon when women win at all.
Trebek is bizarrely preoccupied with the gender of the contestants onstage in manners large and small: At the end of the fourth episode last week, he took a pregnant pause before announcing the Final Jeopardy clue to the "gentlemen ... and lady" onstage. But, in any event, it ended up evening out: The final two games of the tournament were won by men. Trebek had nothing to say about it.


Despite being the better team for 80 percent of this game the Sky Blues were cruelly punished following 3 mistakes which created a score line that bore no reflection on the game.
The Blues dominated the first half and played the entire first period in the visitor's territory.
However, Carniny took the lead when a stray pass from midfield put the Sky Blues defence under unnecessary pressure and with a crisp finish the home team took an unworthy lead.
Carniny tried everything possible to unsettle the Blues, and they must count themselves lucky to have remained with 11 players on the pitch.
Despite this the Sky Blues kept pressing for an equaliser and they were desperately unlucky from a rasping Aidan McCluskey free kick.
The travelling fans thought the away team had finally made a much deserved break-through when Aaron Donnelly found himself one on one with the keeper, but agonisingly he could only manage to steer his shot narrowly wide.
The second half was a carbon copy of the first, the Blues dominated possession and created several clear cut chances but they just could not get the bit of luck their dominance deserved.
The Sky Blues had a header cleared off the line and they snatched at their shots when it seemed as if the goal was at their mercy.
Then when Carniny cleared a ball long to relieve the pressure, Shea McGuckin was slow to come off his line and Caolan Crozier had to intervene to get the ball away for a corner.
From the following set piece a poor clearance left a simple opportunity for the Carniny winger to extend their lead.
The final goal came after a stinging shot from the edge of the box was saved magnificently by Shea McGuckin but when the ball came back off the crossbar it rebounded to three Carniny players who found themselves free and any one of them could have scored easily.


As the 3rd largest Martin Luther King Holiday Parade in the United States, Oklahoma City's MLK parade attracted tens of thousands of supporters to celebrate the impact of his legacy and to unite our diverse communities further together. The 2017 King Holiday Parade was today, starting at 2:00 pm at N.W. 7th and Broadway Avenue in Automobile Alley.
This year's theme was "A Time for Change Is Now." The Oklahoma City Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Coalition had been organizing the parade and related events for 30 years and has made it into not only one of largest but also the most diverse in the country. This year's parade already had over 100 entries and was over an hour-and-a-half long.
Here is a selection of my favorite photos from this year's parade.
For more on the Oklahoma City Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Coalition, visit okcmlk.org.
Inviting Art Teaser Trailer #1 – Art's Not Trendy!


The Cawdor estates in south-west Wales in the nineteenth century.
This work is a consideration of the role and influence of the Cawdor estate in southwest Wales in the nineteenth century. The estate was by far the largest in this remote area, and consequently its influence spread far and wide. The fundamental belief in the stability of the land to produce an income for the owner was at its zenith when this study commences. However, as the nineteenth century progressed this belief was eroded by a combination of democratic, political and economic forces, until, by the first decade of the twentieth century, it seemed that all that was left for the majority of landowners was to sell-off their estates and abandon their so recently unassailable position of power and influence. This study examines the role of the Cawdor estate in this century-long demise and investigates how the Earls Cawdor reacted to the erosion of their influence. As such the study examines the main sources of their wealth-the agricultural estate, and to a lesser extent the industrial estate. As a major part of the agricultural estate was let out to tenant fanners, the treatment of tenants takes precedence, since without their rent the Cawdors would have enjoyed no life of conspicuous wealth. Exploitation of mineral wealth also assisted in swelling the Cawdor coffers; thus an examination of the industrial estate is undertaken to ascertain the extent of such involvement. As a concomitant to the expansion of the Cawdors' industrial estate, their role in the development of the infrastructure of south-west Wales will also come under scrutiny. As Anglican Christian paternalists the Cawdors' responsibility towards the established church and its revival and to the moral well-being of the poor via their education, will be explored. These areas brought the Cawdors into conflict with the fast-growing nonconformist denominations and the accompanying political Liberalism, and their reaction to these, and to the growing call for the new phenomenon of democracy are examined to ascertain how, if at all, the Cawdors were able to change their paternalist philosophy in order to cope with the newer political and religious forces. As leaders of the two counties of Pembrokeshire and Cannarthenshire their input to the political arena, both at a local level as Lords Lieutenant and magistrates, and at national levels as Welsh MPs, will establish their vital contribution (or not) to the political well-being of Wales. Finally, a picture will be drawn of the Cawdors' leisure pursuits in the countryside-hunting and shooting, horse racing and yachting-and of their life in the Metropolis, where much of their income from the estates was spent, whether at the theatre or in the purchase of art with which they adorned their homes. In conclusion, the impact that the Cawdors wrought on the immediate locality of south-west Wales and further afield will be assessed in order to decide whether they were a force for the good or otherwise.
The impact of Technium on the knowledge economy of South West Wales.