Rome

WOW, what a great show!! Given the production costs, it only lasted 2 seasons, and that's a big pity.

Everything, from the acting to the screenplay, the costumes to the sets, the music to the direction is top notch.

According to history books, the Rome of the old days was both fascinating and terrifying, intriguing and dangerous. Shrewd calculations went into both politics and relationships and the show portrays this exceptionally well.

The series rotates around two centurions, Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo. The former rises through the ranks of the formidable Roman military apparatus, while the latter just tags along, alternately arguing with or helping his friend.

They interact with a huge cast of characters that includes Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony, Cleopatra, Brutus, Octavian, Pompey Magnus, and many more, whose fortunes rise or fall as quickly as the wind can change direction.

Most shocking and interesting is seeing how both evolved and backwards the Romans' thinking could be, how much things have changed and yet, how some things never change, and how much better off we'd be if some aspects of their society were still with us (for instance, their open-mindedness).

All in all, this show falls squarely in the don't-miss it category.

Grade: 10

On the Lot

Ray and I started watching this new reality show and it's pretty good, so I wonder why the ratings are so bad. I'm not a fan of the American-Idol-format (which, thankfully, has been trimmed down because of poor ratings), with long winded presentations between contestants, frequent commercial breaks, and a full hour for the elimination process, but the concept is good.

A bunch of wannabe directors compete for a $1-million development deal at DreamWorks (that is, Steven Spielberg) by casting, writing, producing, and directing their own short films every week. One by one they are eliminated by the audience, which votes for its favorite films. The one with the least votes, is cut.

Some of the films are very good, others are weird but interesting, and then there are those that aren't so good. Usually their directors get the boot.

Anyway, give it a try, it's playing till the end of August. You might enjoy it too.

Good for you!

Today Paris Hilton was released from jail (too soon if you ask me, and I'm sure we'll soon witness her latest shenanigan on some stupid tabloid cover). She's scheduled to do an interview with Larry King, but apparently he got her only after she was turned down by someone... more desirable. Barbara Walters:

"Look, I've done prison interviews before, but people like the Menendez Brothers were really important news stories," said the creator and cohost of The View. "This wasn't. And even though I'd already written my questions, when all that pay-for-play stuff happened, I suddenly felt this was not up to my standard. It... felt... sort of... tawdry."

"The whole thing somehow was beneath me," she added.

Walters revealed that it was ABC, not she, who initially wanted the interview. "For them it was ratings. For me it was respect," she says. "I'm fortunately at a point in my life where I can choose what I want, and this was solely my decision."
[...]
"They respected my decision and walked away,” she said. "Some agreed with my decision, some didn't. For me it was just a question of respect."

Hats off to you, Barbara, you made the right choice for so many reasons...

Band of Brothers

I watched this entire HBO miniseries in the space of a couple weeks and I was blown away by it. Being produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks you sort of expect a good product, but everything can turn out to be a dud. Fortunately, this didn't.

It's the story of "Easy Company," a group of paratroopers that was involved in some of the most important battles that helped turn World War II around and gave us the final victory over Hitler's army.

There are also interviews with the surviving soldiers at the beginning of some episodes, which poignantly remind you that all you're about to see really happened.

And what you do see, is astounding. So many times I was just shaking my head, thinking we should show this to every civilian leader (like Bush and Cheney) who never experienced what it is like to fight in a war (like Bush and Cheney) and who's thinking of declaring war on another country (especially if for all the wrong reasons... like in Iraq).

War really is horrible. What soldiers go through in war cannot be fathomed and it's impossible to believe that they aren't deeply changed and scarred forever, but this miniseries does a very good job of trying, and certainly succeeds as much as it is possible.

Grade: 9.5

A Quote By:

J. Michael Bailey, a psychologist at Northwestern University:

“We’re reaching a consensus on a broad question, Is sexual orientation something we’re born with or something we largely acquire through social experience? The answer is clear. It’s something we’re born with.”

The individual States' GDP

This is a really interesting map. They matched and renamed each state according to its GDP (Gross Domestic Product, the market value of all goods and services produced within a country in a year) and which country around the world has a comparable one. Connecticut's is like Greece's:


The author's take:

[A] ranking of the economies on this map does serve two interesting purposes: it shows the size of US states’ economies relative to each other (California is the biggest, Wyoming the smallest), and it links those sizes with foreign economies (which are therefore also ranked: Mexico’s and Russia’s economies are about equal size, Ireland’s is twice as big as New Zealand’s).

Here's the complete list:

1. California, it is often said, would be the world’s sixth- or seventh-largest economy if it was a separate country. Actually, that would be the eighth, according to this map, as France (with a GDP of $2,15 trillion) is #8 on the aforementioned list.
2. Texas’ economy is significantly smaller, exactly half of California’s, as its GDP compares to that of Canada (#10, $1,08 trillion).
3. Florida also does well, with its GDP comparable to Asian tiger South Korea’s (#13 at $786 billion).
4. Illinois – Mexico (GDP #14 at $741 billion)
5. New Jersey – Russia (GDP #15 at $733 billion)
6. Ohio – Australia (GDP #16 at $645 billion)
7. New York – Brazil (GDP #17 at $621 billion)
8. Pennsylvania – Netherlands (GDP #18 at $613 billion)
9. Georgia – Switzerland (GDP #19 at $387 billion)
10. North Carolina – Sweden (GDP #20 at $371 billion)
11. Massachusetts – Belgium (GDP #21 at $368 billion)
12. Washington – Turkey (GDP #22 at $358 billion)
13. Virginia – Austria (GDP #24 at $309 billion)
14. Tennessee – Saudi Arabia (GDP #25 at $286 billion)
15. Missouri – Poland (GDP #26 at $265 billion)
16. Louisiana – Indonesia (GDP #27 at $264 billion)
17. Minnesota – Norway (GDP #28 at $262 billion)
18. Indiana – Denmark (GDP #29 at $256 billion)
19. Connecticut – Greece (GDP #30 at $222 billion)
20. Michigan – Argentina (GDP #31 at $210 billion)
21. Nevada – Ireland (GDP #32 at $203 billion)
22. Wisconsin – South Africa (GDP #33 at $200 billion)
23. Arizona – Thailand (GDP #34 at $197 billion)
24. Colorado – Finland (GDP #35 at $196 billion)
25. Alabama – Iran (GDP #36 at $195 billion)
26. Maryland – Hong Kong (#37 at $187 billion GDP)
27. Kentucky – Portugal (GDP #38 at $177 billion)
28. Iowa – Venezuela (GDP #39 at $148 billion)
29. Kansas – Malaysia (GDP #40 at $132 billion)
30. Arkansas – Pakistan (GDP #41 at $124 billion)
31. Oregon – Israel (GDP #42 at $122 billion)
32. South Carolina – Singapore (GDP #43 at $121 billion)
33. Nebraska – Czech Republic (GDP #44 at $119 billion)
34. New Mexico – Hungary (GDP #45 at $113 billion)
35. Mississippi – Chile (GDP #48 at $100 billion)
36. DC – New Zealand (#49 at $99 billion GDP)
37. Oklahoma – Philippines (GDP #50 at $98 billion)
38. West Virginia – Algeria (GDP #51 at $92 billion)
39. Hawaii – Nigeria (GDP #53 at $83 billion)
40. Idaho – Ukraine (GDP #54 at $81 billion)
41. Delaware – Romania (#55 at $79 billion GDP)
42. Utah – Peru (GDP #56 at $76 billion)
43. New Hampshire – Bangladesh (GDP #57 at $69 billion)
44. Maine – Morocco (GDP #59 at $57 billion)
45. Rhode Island – Vietnam (GDP #61 at $48 billion)
46. South Dakota – Croatia (GDP #66 at $37 billion)
47. Montana – Tunisia (GDP #69 at $33 billion)
48. North Dakota – Ecuador (GDP #70 at $32 billion)
49. Alaska – Belarus (GDP #73 at $29 billion)
50. Vermont – Dominican Republic (GDP #81 at $20 billion)
51. Wyoming – Uzbekistan (GDP #101 at $11 billion)

The first seven are really amazing.

It really shows what a mastodon the United States' economy is as a whole in the world. It's like an unreachable peak.

Victory in MA!!!

The Massachusetts legislature turned down a proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage by a vote of 151 to 45, eliminating any chances of getting it on the ballot in November 2008.

In order for the proponents of the ban to succeed in putting it on the ballot in 08, they needed the proposal to be approved by at least 50 lawmakers in 2 consecutive legislatures.

In the previous one, they won the first vote with 58 lawmakers voting for the proposal. Between then and now, however, it appears they've lost 13 votes, more than enough to ensure their defeat.

Just this morning, the top-hater from the Massachusetts Anti Family Institute, Kris Mineau, said:

"When we hear rumors of possible changes of votes we contact that lawmaker immediately. Every indication we have so far is that our votes are holding firm. These are people of principle who believe in the people's right to define marriage."

He might want to think about finding a new bean counter...

So long suckers, now you have to keep spewing your hateful rhetoric until 2012!! Let's see how many sensible citizens will agree with you then:

Opponents of gay marriage face an increasingly tough battle to win legislative approval of any future petitions to appear on a statewide ballot. The next election available to them is 2012.

Farewell, The Sopranos

Last night aired the final episode of this TV series, the best I've ever seen.

I liked it. It didn't give you all the answers (just as David Chase, the creator, likes it) but gave you enough to satisfy, appease, and soothe a painful goodbye.

*** spoiler tag ***
(following text is white; highlight at your own peril)

Silvio is in the hospital and we don't know if he'll make it or not, but no one seems to think he won't. Phil dies quite gruesomely, and with him goes all the craziness from the New York crew. Or does it? Paulie agrees, although not gleefully, to become Tony's top earning guy, a position that carries with it a lot of risks (mostly of premature and unnatural death) as well as financial benefits. It's also a position of power he always wanted and regretted not attaining in the past (like when Tony picked Silvio as Consigliere or Christopher as his representative instead of him). As for Tony's other family, AJ seems to have overcome his the-world-is-fucked-up phase in favor of a more mundane job and the perks that come with it. Meadow seems in love and on a path to a satisfying career, if not to her parents, at least to her. And Carmela is, as always, at odds with how things are going: she's happy AJ didn't totally self-implode, but how long is it going to last? She's glad Meadow seems happy and poised for a good future, but what about the shattered dreams? She's relieved her husband lived to see another day, but how long before he's behind bars or worse, in a freezer?

As for Tony, I've asked myself if I would have preferred to see him die or not. I don't think so. The premise (and brilliancy) of the show has always been to make you care, a lot, for this guy who's not your conventional hero, anything but, but is still a "good" guy. It's almost like, that's the life he was born into, and he just tries to make the best of it. I'm glad he didn't die. He's worried about Silvio and saddened for Janice's loss of her husband Bobby, whom he had raised to the top echelon of the business, but he can still see through Janice's bullshit and her cunning to steal Uncle Junior's money for herself. And he's able to inoculate her tactics through one final visit to his once beloved uncle. He leaves him greatly saddened by the realization the he's now mostly an empty shell. The image of Tony looking at Junior with a couple tears pooling in his eyes and then just walking away speaks volumes. The final episodes built a lot of tension over whether Tony would ultimately get whacked or not, and that tension is sustained all the way to the last frame, masterfully. For me the brilliancy of the final episode resides in the shot of Tony in the diner waiting for his family and picking a song from the juke box. The artist, Journey, as in the journey we, the fans, have made, through the years with him and his two families. The song he picks, Don't Stop Believing, as if Mr. Chase were telling us, Ok, it's over, it had to end at some point, but this doesn't mean you should stop believing in this family, its values, its stories, its troubles. The other song from Journey pictured in the frame: Anyway You Want It, because in the end, Mr. Chase's goal has never been to serve us all the answers on a silver platter; he always made sure there was something left over for us to mull and comment or argue about (the Pine Barrens' Russian guy's fate anyone...?)

In the end, this show, as many before it and many after, is over. It's sad, and I don't know if a show will ever come along that will top this one on my personal list, but for now, it sits up there, shining down on television history with all the might of its unmatchable acting, writing, and directing.

The Sopranos was... is, the perfect show, the whole package. It is... IT.

Farewell. You'll be missed.

Grade: 10

Sodas' evil ingredients

More bad news for those who love sodas (I, fortunately, don't count myself among them anymore; I stopped drinking them when we adopted the kids and now not only do I not crave them, but I don't enjoy drinking them anymore):

A new health scare erupted over soft drinks last night amid evidence they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university suggests a common preservative found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA.

The problem - more usually associated with ageing and alcohol abuse - can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's.

The findings could have serious consequences for the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who consume fizzy drinks. They will also intensify the controversy about food additives, which have been linked to hyperactivity in children.

Concerns centre on the safety of E211, known as sodium benzoate, a preservative used for decades by the £74bn global carbonated drinks industry. Sodium benzoate derives from benzoic acid. It occurs naturally in berries, but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks such as Sprite, Oasis and Dr Pepper. It is also added to pickles and sauces.

Sodium benzoate has already been the subject of concern about cancer because when mixed with the additive vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes benzene, a carcinogenic substance.
[...]
"These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether.

"The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it - as happens in a number if diseased states - then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously. And there is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to damage to this DNA - Parkinson's and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing."

Why can't they put real, natural ingredients in foods and drinks? I'd be willing to pay a little more for something that doesn't kill me 20 years down the road.

What will Europe feel like in the future?

That question was answered by a team of scientists that looked at current studies on global warming and created a map that relocates Europe's capital cities to the present region that most closely resembles their impending future circumstances:


Warmer temperatures and less rainfall mean all the cities drift several hundred miles to the south, so, for instance, in 2071 London will look like Lisbon looks now and will be defined by heat, dust, and water piped in from Scotland; Paris will feel how central Spain now feels; Berlin, unbelievably, will be like north Africa; Oslo will be relocated to Teruel in north-eastern Spain; Barcelona goes to north Africa, and the closest present match for Rome is the Cypriot capital, Nicosia:

To help explain how global warming will affect many European cities, the scientists redrew the map of the continent by shifting a dozen capital cities to the places that most closely resemble their predicted climates for later this century.
[...]
Stéphane Hallegatte, a climate expert at the International Centre for Research on the Environment and Development in Nogent-sur-Marne, France, said: "We wanted to translate the information we get from climate models in a way that is easy to understand. It can be hard to appreciate what a three degree rise means, but people can look at this and really grasp the scale of some of the changes."
[...]
If emissions continue to rise, then by the 2080s scientists say virtually every summer in England and Wales could be warmer than during the 1995 heatwave.

One of the scientists behind the map says that it's also meant to help architects and officials who plan buildings, streets and services to adapt to the likely impacts of global warming, but I think its strongest message is for the common people, who can see clearly what global warming could mean for their everyday life.

I think it's a cool map but really scary. Turin, where I'm from, could feel like either Athens or Tunis, which are way hotter than what we're used to.

Desperate Housewives

This show, again, ended on a good note, which is fortunate, since season 3 wasn't terribly interesting: Bree was gone for several episodes (because of her real life pregnancy) and what was happening to the other characters was far from enthralling.

While many fans and critics complained about season 2 being much worse than the first, I liked that one (except for the Applewhites' storyline, which was a total waste of resources), more than this one, in which the creator, Marc Cherry, took back the reins.

It really did feel like not much was happening throughout the season, and then a lot happened in the finale, as was the case for season 2.

*** Spoiler tag ***
(I just discovered this, but it's the best way to avoid spoilers;
just highlight the following section to make the text readable... at your own peril)

Finally, Susan and Mike tie the knot, simply and romantically (is Ian gone for good? Who cares; the best thing about him was his accent...) So does Gabrielle, quite suddenly though, and she realizes her mistake right away. We'll see what happens with those two in September I guess. All I know is that he's one hell of a handsome man.

Lynette, after tip-toeing around a super-hot chef and causing Tom a lot of heartache, finds out she has a tumor in her brain. Suddenly, their marriage is back on track as the newly discovered illness puts the important things in life in perspective, and her mother moves in, much to her chagrin and opposition, to help with the upcoming difficult period when Lynett will have to undergo chemotherapy.

Bree is back just in time for Gabrielle's wedding, and as usual, is surrounded by secrets and lies. Let's hope we'll see more of her gorgeous son next season...

The shocker is delivered this time by Edie, who hangs herself after Carlos breaks up with her for having been lied to about having a baby together. She brought a lot of sparkles to Wisteria Lane, so I wonder if they'll introduce a new "tramp" to replace her and who it will be.

That ending... I surely didn't expect. It was quite a jaw dropping moment.

Paris is in the can...

... and I could not be happier. I can't care less for the bitch (because she could do so much with her name, money, clout, power, and instead just carelessly throws it all away, including her family name's respectability), and hadn't followed what had happened to her at all. Then, yesterday, I found a "timeline" of what brought her where she is, and I was astounded by her stupidity!!

In brief, the stupid cow was pulled over (and one) for drunk driving (barely or not, she was drunk, and she was stopped for driving erratically, so she deserved it) last September, and her license was suspended.

Then, in January, she was pulled over (and two) and told she was driving with a suspended license. She made a deal where she got probation, a fine, and was ordered to enroll in alcohol education by February 12.

On February 27, she was pulled over (and three) for doing 70 MPH IN A 35 MPH ZONE ... WITHOUT HEADLIGHTS!!

And as of April 17, over two months past the deadline, she still hasn't enrolled in alcohol education.

Now just imagine if this had happened to you or me, regular people, with no connections, or fame, or boatloads of money behind us. We'd have been in jail already!!

And to think that she even had the nerve of putting out a petition for her fans to sign to ask the governor to overrule the judge, who, she thinks, was overzealous, too tough, and wanted to make an example out of her.

Bullshit!! You broke the law, bitch, repeatedly, and you've clearly shown you don't think the law applies to you at all, so I think the judge was too lenient toward you. Heck, he should have given you a year!!

The thing that's most shocking is that, with all the money she has, she couldn't get a freaking driver to take her anywhere she "needed" to go? Damn, if my license got suspended I wouldn't drive anymore. I'd find another way to get around, and I don't have her means. What the fuck is wrong with her?! That's why I'm so glad the judge said "enough is enough" and taught her a lesson. She needed it!

Damn, I'm so glad the bitch's behind bars. Too bad she'll be totally safe. I'd have loved for some inmate to make her her bitch!!

Battlestar Galactica fizzles on finale

I forgot to post about this series' season finale, probably because it was totally inconsequential. The season wasn't bad up until the break this past winter. When the show returned for the final 7 episodes, it was a total letdown.

They would have done better by concluding the season without those 7 infamous episodes. The producers said that they had to rework those episodes and sort of make them on the spot, but there's just no justification for fracking up a show so good.

Suffice it to say that this was my #1 show coming into the 06-07 season and its finale has been so disappointing, I'm not even in a hurry for it to start again.

Now they're supposed to make a movie to be shown on Sci-Fi in the fall that revolves around the Pegasus and should tie things together nicely with season four.

We'll see.

I do want to give them the benefit of the doubt, because the show has been so good, I can't believe it's so dull now, but those last 7 episodes sure didn't help their cause.