I don’t remember ever having imaginary friends when I was a child. On the other hand, I’ve loved stories — books, TV shows, movies — my whole life. So maybe I’ve always had imaginary friends, and never outgrew them!
I just realized a problem with Facebook’s latest AI strategy: Most people outgrow imaginary friends when they grow up.
I unsubscribed from the Washington Post. I don't miss it.
Like many people, I canceled my Washington Post subscription when the Post declined to endorse a Presidential candidate this year. At the time, I thought I might come back if I missed it. But I didn’t miss it. The Post is not what it was during Trump’s first term; it’s replaceable.
That leaves the US with one good national newspaper, the New York Times. And that’s not healthy. Local journalism is dead in the US, too — also unhealthy.
@manton says he will never resubscribe to the WaPo. I’m not so rigid; I’ll come back if the Post starts doing work worth paying for again.
Facebook wants to replace your friends with bots
Meta wants to fill your social media feeds with AI-generated characters. They’ll have bios and profile photos and generate content, but they’ll be bots.
A big problem for Meta is that it is institutionally very dumb. … There are lots of smart people working there and its leadership clearly understands something about how people use social media.
But there is a vast sense of dumb in its attempts to deliver the next generation of its products.
I’m still very active on Facebook, but getting less so as Meta overthinks its products and my real-life friends and family wander away. I just want Facebook to just get the hell out of my way and let me see posts from the people, groups and pages I follow. That’s it. I’m fine with them throwing me the occasional ad to make money; Facebook ads are entertaining.
I don’t post these links to Facebook anymore because nobody sees them.
h/t @manton
Even Boomers who have saved for retirement are worried about outliving their money, and are living frugally to get by, according to a new study by Prudential Financial. This article focuses on wealthy retirees, but the study looks at retireees who are married with as little as $100,000 in assets, which is not much at all.
Today, I learned that HFY science fiction is a thing and that the acronym goes back at least 10 years. Although the subgenre goes back much longer — Isaac Asimov called it out.
Jimmy Carter Deserved Our Thanks and Respect, Not Our Sneers — Nicholas Kristof says Carter, who was reviled and ridiculed, will be remembered as one of America’s great Presidents and statesmen. “Hundreds of millions of people around the globe are living better lives because of his relentless efforts to overcome violence and disease.”
Military families scramble as new a anti-LGBTQ+ rule is poised to become law. — Republicans endanger military families.
I posted a multi-paragraph post to mitchw.blog earlier today, and my blogging software deleted all the paragraph breaks. Argh! However, I finally got it sorted, so if you are curious to read about my favorite TV shows of the year, it’s safe now.
Google Street View helped solve a year-old Spanish murder cause. Caught photos of what appeared to be a man dragging a corpse down a street and stuffing it into the trunk of a car.
The images were captured in the incredibly small town of Tajueco in Spain. And by small, I mean it’s home to barely over 100 people.
… this was a return trip for Google, but the company’s last visit occurred nearly 15 years ago.
Heather Cox Richardson analyzes the infighting in the Trump coalition. It’s the DOGEs, led by Elon Musk, versus the MAGAs. I can’t believe I agree with Laura Loomer here, but really I want both sides to lose.
TV: The coveted Mitch Wagner "Mitchie" awards for 2024
Man on the Inside. Ted Danson plays a retired and widowed engineering professor who answers an ad from a private detective to go undercover in a fancy San Francisco retirement home to find out who stole a resident’s valuable ruby necklace. Danson’s character approaches the job with verve and gusto. He falls in love with the community. He’s never in any physical danger (it’s not that kind of mystery).
The show is funny, entertaining and also philosophical and wise about aging, which I’ve been thinking a lot about lately because it is something I’m doing and plan to continue.
Sally Struthers stands out among many good performances, a reminder that she is a fine actor. Her career and reputation got done dirty after “All in the Family.” Yeah, she got fat. So what?
Ted Danson’s character lives in a beautiful house, immaculately kept. Every day, he puts on nice pants, a nice shirt, and often a neatly pressed sports jacket and tie with matching pocket square. This has inspired me to start dressing better every day — no, I’m not going as far as Ted Danson’s character, but lately I’ve been putting on a shirt with a collar rather than a T-shirt, and I’m easing out the sweatshirts in favor of sweaters and a flannel shirt. Hey, it’s a start.
Evil. A Black priest, Muslim-American atheist science wiz and lapsed Catholic woman psychologist investigate a Satanic cult in New York, on behalf of the Catholic Church. Scary, dramatic and funny. Watching it, I was many times reminded of an interview by actress Dee Wallace Stone, in which she said she loved doing horror because of the range it gave her as an actor: You got to do all the emotions portrayed in comedy and drama, plus terror (obviously) and murderous rage.
Katja Herbers plays the psychologist Kristen Bouchard, and she goes from wholesome Mom to professional psychologist, cool-headed demon hunter and occasional sex vixen when the role demands it. She’s a Dutch actor, but she believably plays an educated native New Yorker. Mike Colter (“The Good Wife,” “Luke Cage”) plays David Acosta, who is at first studying to become a priest and then becomes one. He’s a big, handsome fellow, and of course there is much sexual tension between him and Dr. Bouchard. Aasif Mandvi, formerly a correspondent on The Daily Show, plays Ben Shakir, the Muslim-American atheist and science wiz. Also watch for the four Bouchard prepubescent daughters who are almost always together and talk at the same time; Christine Lahti as Dr. Bouchard’s hot Mom; Michael Emerson, known to me from “Lost,” playing a smarmy villain in that actor’s excellent, smarmy style; Andrea Martin, known to me from SCTV and “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” as a tough nun; and Wallace Shawn as a priest.
The show is surprisingly smart on the conflict between faith and science, and on portraying the Church as a corruptible human institution and also a vessel of God. As I become more spiritual, one of the characters' throwaway lines about religion and science has become a touchstone for me — that God exists and loves us, but reveals Himself entirely through the workings of the universe.
The Lincoln Lawyer. Mickey Haller, a high-priced Los Angeles lawyer, defends murder suspects who happen to be innocent and also happen to have scads of money to keep him in fancy suits and Lincoln cars. Becki Newton steals the show as Lorna Crane, Haller’s ex-wife, friend and office manager, who looks, dresses and talks like a Real Housewife but is smart and ruthless in defense of the innocent. It’s a lighthearted, unchallenging show.
The Diplomat. Keri Russell, ex of “The Americans” and “Felicity,” plays a U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, and Rufus Sewell plays her husband, a former diplomat who can’t stop meddling in state affairs. Light, complexly plotted and fun, with a “West Wing” vibe.
High Potential. A quirky former cleaning lady for the LAPD turns out to be a genius and helps them solve crimes.
Slow Horses. I loved the first season, but Julie hated it, so I’ll either find time to watch it on my own or forget about it. I’ve got two ten-hour flights in February and March, and I’ve already got about 73 hours of TV lined up for them.
Bad Monkey. Based on a Carl Hiaasen novel, and the only thing I’ve ever seen onscreen that captures Hiaasen’s dark humor — one gag in the show involves a severed arm — his big heart, quirky characters and keen sense of Florida locations. The show stars Vince Vaughn. Gen X irony seems to be the extent of his acting range, but he’s great at that, so he’s cast pretty well here.
Doctor Who.
Fallout. A gross-out post-nuclear apocalyptic science fiction comedy-drama. Walton Goggins has a dual role, in flashbacks as a handsome, wholesome cowboy actor of the late 1950s and early 1960s, who becomes a murderous mutated ghoul with a missing nose. Goggins is such a great actor he doesn’t need a nose.
Shogun.
Manhunt. A 19th Century procedural about the hunt for John Wilkes Booth in the days following Lincoln’s assassination. Oligarchs take advantage of the power vacuum following Lincoln’s assassination to ensure they get their payday and that American Blacks get Jim Crow instead of true emancipation.
Resident Alien. Comedy science fiction starting Alan Tudyk as an alien trying to blend in in a present-day American small town and slowly falling in love with the community. It’s “Northern Exposure,” but it’s an alien in Colorado instead of a New York Jew in Alaska. Hey, both main characters are doctors.
All Creatures Great and Small. Life in a country veterinary practice in rural Yorkshire, England in the 1930s. Peak comfort TV. Lots of people wearing sweaters.
Funny Woman. Based on a Nick Hornby novel and set in the 1960s, a beauty contest winner from England’s Blackpool comes to London dreaming of becoming a comedy star like her idol, Lucille Ball. After some struggling actress travails, she stars in a hit sitcom of the era and rubs shoulders with the beautiful people on Carnaby Street. Season Two is currently airing in the UK, but I’ve seen no indication of its coming to the US. However, I’m in no rush; much as I loved the show and novel it was based on, the story seemed complete in one season.
Julia. A historical drama about Julia Child’s cooking show launch in the early 1960s and her rise as a celebrity chef. Disappointingly canceled after two seasons.
1923. Angst and gunplay in 1923 Montana, starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, and created by Taylor Sheridan. A prequel series to “Yellowstone.” The characters are miserable and violent all the time, and any joy they feel is fleeting and merely a setup for more misery and violence. So we loved it.
For All Mankind
Currently watching
The Rockford Files. The 1970s TV series is finally streaming without commercials, on Amazon Prime. It still holds up. The dialogue is fast and witty, the plots are complex and twisty, James Garner as Rockford is as dry and cool as a good martini. Yeah, the clothes are goofy but the cars are cool.
“Columbo” is on Amazon Prime too, also presumably without commercials. I’m looking forward to watching that.
Shetland. Season nine of the murder mystery set in the remote, desolate and beautiful Shetland Islands in northern Great Britain. If you didn’t get enough people wearing sweaters in “All Creatures Great and Small,” you’ll get even more here. So much wool it makes me scratchy to watch.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Pew pew pew.
WSJ: The Progressive Moment in Global Politics Is Over . Maybe so. But what next?
House GOP Fixin' To Screw Up Speaker Vote, Imperil Trump’s Inauguration, Cause Us To Die Laughing. Gary Legum at Wonkette: “It’s wild to think that at some point down the road, the fate of the planet could really hinge on what decision these fuckwits make here.”