Binge Watching II: HBO "True Detective"

Sooooo….one of the things is… with this new generation of screen entertainment….is beginning to manifest itself as a problem for me.  Binge Watching.  I expounded on this once briefly when I had the pleasure over about a month of watching “The Wire” from start to finish. % seasons worth.  Fortunately my wife was in her busy season and I really was looking for ways to kill time at night that did not involve drinking and this seemed like a healthy way to go but now I am not so sure… or indeed, not sure at.  In short, there is no sureness.

Since that time I have avoided diving into new series.  My somewhat addictive personality does not do well with temptations like this.  As a youngster and up through the first 6 months or so of having my first child I had a problem with video games.  Even in high school when I was in the thralls of romance with my eventual wife, I would sneak off to the arcade (yes, we had to go places to play video games) and pump quarters into Space Invaders.  I was unstoppable and by the end could play for 20 minutes to an ½ hour on one quarter.  This continued into college and thereafter, through Atari and into the first Nintendo System and finally ended when my wife was in the midst of some trauma with our new son and I said, “HOLD IT! I AM ABOUT TO SAVE THE PRINCESS!”  The Nintendo game was retired to my parents house and other than brief flirtations with Madden Football and Tony Hawk Pro Skater (which I justified as something I could do with my children) I really, rarely lost hours (or days) of time but that is because, like an alcoholic, I knew I had a problem.

The same thing occurred to me when watching The Wire, so being prudent (52 year old) person who has some minor level of self knowledge I decided not to go down the road with another series unless I could watch with my wife, which would severely limit my intake and ti9me consumption.  But…as I type this I am flying home from a delightful trip to Europe with my entire family and I discovered that the tricky people at American Airlines and their nefarious allies British Airways (The creepily named “ONE WORLD ALLIANCE” has endeavored to put TV reruns on these overseas flights and they got some HBO content, in the form of the “True Detective” series which just started this year (or at the end of last year).

My TV watching friends with HBO (fortunately we have Show Time which although they have some great series occasionally generally tends toward seedier stuff I am embarrassed to watch like “Shameless and “Californication”) told me “you have got to watch “True Detectives” and these are people who “know” me.  They have also been encouraging me towards “Game of Thrones” but it seems too trendy for me.  Anyway… I have fallen back into the abyss.

When flying to Europe it is of paramount importance to sleep on the way over.  This softens the jet lag and leaves you in a slightly better condition for arrival and the endless walking that every trip to Europe seems to make mandatory.  Instead I watched the end of a movie I walked out (Wolf Of Wall Street) and then a horrible, stupid movie called “Ride Along” with the dreaded “Ice Cube” and then discovered the HBO feed and “True Detective.

I have always like Woody Harrelson, even in “Cheers” but his list of films which amuse and entertain for include “White Men Can’t Jump” and of course “Zombieland”.  Matthew Mcconaughey is a little more problematic (he has always been too pretty) but recently has been wowing me in his last few films (even before “Dallas Buyers Club” and allows me to say the words that my friends say, that I never say… “I was wrong”.

These two guys are detectives in Louisiana.  Mcconnaughy has a dark past and Woody appears to be a good cop trying to make a go with a nice family and a sweet wife but as they work on a troubling case involving the ritualistic murder of a young lady… their lives and psyches start to deteriorate.  Whomever wrote it (and I don’t know because I am still on the plane and have no internet access, really built some characters and as the saga moves on through the seven episodes it becomes hypnotizing.  I was able to watch 3 on the way over and the last 4 on the way home and each episode totally failed to disappoint in any way as we dug more into the guys histories and back stories as they recount the investigation to two other detectives who are talking to them for reasons that remain unclear till we move towards the end.

Riveting.

Well scripted.

Well acted.

The season ended somewhat ambiguously and although i cannot understand how they might continue it, I hope they do.  This is worth your time and although I worry for my continued mental health… the Binge Watching continues.

Dos Peros

Soooo..what do you say about a man at 45 who suddenly comes up as the possible owner of two dogs? As regular readers know our family suffered a major psychological blow last year with our sons leaving (escaping?) to college. We dealt with that very well trying to focus the excess energy on our two remaining homebound, long suffering children. They did not seem to enjoy that. Then our old, tired, back surgeried mutt declined to a point where she was fairly unhappy... perhaps even tremendously unhappy...and she needed to be put to sleep. That was Rascal and Rascal was a smallish, skittish mutt who came into our lives when we were obsessed with the rearing of young children. The kids noticed we had a dog around but not much else. Anyway...Rascal was gone and my wife was thinking we did not need another dog but I began to plot and scheme.

For me, for whatever reason with all my insecurities, a family does not look like a family without a dog shambling around, sniffing people, barking at strangers, peeing wherever sometimes, sleeping in the same room and generally being around. (That is what we call a run on sentence). So I wanted a dog. I had a good friend who was very active in animal rescue and when she realized I was a candidate for one of her charges she went to work. She had us out to a birthday party where she had some friends who were dog people and also had her 7 or 8 dogs wandering around. She also had a book of the dogs available for adoption and told my wife when they would be at Pet Smart.

It was not too much later when my wife told me she was going to “look” and that same day when she said “come over, I think I have found our dog.” Lily was there on her lap in the pet store nervous and shedding like it was snowing. Very cute. I walked her around and she skittered nervously, just a puppy. They said she was a Jack Russel/Beagle mix and she was very loveable. We took her hom, my daughter named her Lily after a few starts and stops with other names and....we had a new child. My wife focused her formidable skills on acclimating the dog getting firmly involved in:
1. Potty training
2. Diet
3. Exercise
4. Obedience School
5. Finding dog people for our rambunctious dog to play with

Sooner or later the dog started sleeping with us and became firmly embedded in the fabric of our family. Although she has too much energy it was good and with the recent Michael Vick thing I came to grips with the fact that Lily was a Pit Bull who had likely been discarded due to her smallish size. She looked liked one and acted like. If it looks like a duck and flys like a duck... But just as people told us, she was sweet, loveable full of energy and great to have around. In playing with other dogs it was rougher then I was comfortable with but tails were always wagging with all the dogs and everyone seemed to get along at the dog park.

So when my wife informed me that there was a 2 year old Labrador mix...Lola...who needed a home I thought, well...why not. Lola was owned by a couple who then had a small child and could not handle her anymore and was living with a single man who already had a dog and was hoping to find a good home. He assured us we could “try her out” but I knew from past history that when you get a dog, you tend to keep a dog. Lola is a sway back, bowl legged, ematiated dog, about 60 pounds of dog and on her way to 80 when we start to feed her. Her ribs stick through and she walks (shambles) around our house as we see if this is going to work.

It is amazing how much every new personality changes the dynamics of a household. This dog is even natured, calm and pleasant. She and Lily spent the entire first day wrestling, mouthing and of course humping each other going through all the dance of establishing the dominant dog of the house. It was all pretty pleasant and innocent with Lily walking around outside in our yard and peeing EVERYWHERE and then generally tussling on a non stop basis, tails wagging as they danced their dance. Lola has a lot more energy then Lily who although energetic has lived with the Beckers for coming up on a year and has acclimated herself to our slothful lifestyle. Lola has not been indoctrinated and by the end of the day Lily was tired so I separated them and took Lily upstairs to be with Sandy where she collapsed on the bed. My daughter let Lola upstaris and when she stuck her large face up on the bed Lily, the Pit Bull did not hesitate and made one quick violent snap at her head, catching her delicate noze in her teeth and ripping it. Sending Lola screaching downstairs to park by the back door, bleeding...as Lily settled back in on the bed. Lola seems to be a pretty gentle sweetheart and I think she was a little in shock but she cleaned up well but...it is a gash in the nose. Lots of blood.

Territorial...that was the other thing I read about Pit Bulls...territorial. She acted just as we should have suspected that she would. She was tired and wanted her space and she was laying in bed with Sandy..her master and was going to allow this final encroachment. Mid-life is odd. Stupidity never seems to go away and although we know the dog makes no sense it seems like the right thing to do. So, we are feeling our way. Seeing if this works out. Perhaps the second dog does not make sense yet...perhaps we need to get rid of another one of these kids? Food for thought.

Shaved and Crazy

What makes people go nuts? Booze? Drugs? Loss of privacy? Lack of sleep? Britneys’s well publicized melt down the other day is not all that instructive. The thing about celebrities is that we see them. They are covered, they are followed by paparazzi but are they any crazier then the rest of us? This diner thinkest not.

Celebrity brings it’s own share of nightmares. You have no privacy. As Britney has shown your relationships, weight gain, divorce, babies, shaved genitalia, partying, failure to have hit in 3 years, having baby with an idiot, finances, relaqtionship with your mother etc...etc...etc... There is no privacy and that would have to assist in making you.... I believe the legal term is “more crazier.”

Also celebrities are encouraged to act out and make headlines. With the web you can almost watch them any time of day...or more likely night. When they do something weird or stupid it is covered and under the theory that no publicity is bad publicity they do dumb and sometimes morally questionable things to get coverage and exposure (i.e. Britney’s recent “upskirt” shots and of course the Paris Hilton sex video.

When you add booze and drugs to the mix...well, then you get Anna Nicole Smith.

But I really do believe that these people are no different then any of us. Sure, most of them are prettier and they become mega wealthy but I think if you put the average 18 year old, from Ladue...or Arnold...or Chesterfield in the position that she is in....disaster cometh...and it cometh four thou. Think about the madness that is around us every day. Seemingly rationale people get divorced...and go crazy. Damaging their spouses, their children and themselves without a thought to the consequences. Rich people get bored with the lack of strife in their life and so turn to “recreational” drugs to liven things up. People with the lottery and some...fall apart.



I don’t know. I look at Britney like everyone else and shake my head. Pretty, reasonably talented, unbelievably rich. What a waste. I worry about her two kids. But really, is she any different then anyone else? Should i be more worried about the person I work with every day who seems to be having a hard time? Should I be more concerned about a family member who I can actually help? Britney is a car wreck. You cannot look away and what we are seeing right now is pretty sad but take lesson from it and look around. People are fragile. Take care of the ones God throws into your life.