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Ivan Osorio
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5 months ago
in Life Imitates The Simpsons, Part CCCXXXIV on OpenMarket.org
In the U.S., The Prisoner gained a cult following among libertarians. LA Times TV critic Robert Lloyd has a great obit --
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-mcgo...
"The Prisoner" was a television show of ideas -- the inalienable if inconvenient right to self in a world that demands your cooperation, if not capitulation -- which also distinguished it from pretty much every other television show I had ever seen. The fact that I was just then working out that my own junior high school was a kind of jail made its appearance timely and amplified its meaning, as did most everything else about that chaotic summer of the battlements.
"The Prisoner" was more than an idea, of course: It was an idea personified, and while it's fair to say that its artistic success was the lucky product of the work of many hands, it was McGoohan who made the series work. (That is perhaps why I am not yet more excited about AMC's coming remake, set to premiere sometime this year.) It was, metaphorically, his own story, having quit "Secret Agent" at the height of its success because it no longer suited him to play that role.
Nearly 40 at the time (and the father of three), he was heroic in a way that mixed the self-reliance of the classic secret agent with the comedy of the new age's anti-authoritarian tricksters. Good-looking, in an Everyman sort of way, he had a musical voice, a light step, a twinkling eye -- he was a bit of a John Lennon, come to think of it -- that in itself bespoke a kind of freedom. There was always humor in his contrariness, and if Number 6 was fated corporeally to remain a prisoner -- caught at the border by Rover, the bouncing ball from hell, or shown that his imagined escape was merely an illusion -- he remained himself. As hard as they tried, they could not wash his brain.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-mcgo...
"The Prisoner" was a television show of ideas -- the inalienable if inconvenient right to self in a world that demands your cooperation, if not capitulation -- which also distinguished it from pretty much every other television show I had ever seen. The fact that I was just then working out that my own junior high school was a kind of jail made its appearance timely and amplified its meaning, as did most everything else about that chaotic summer of the battlements.
"The Prisoner" was more than an idea, of course: It was an idea personified, and while it's fair to say that its artistic success was the lucky product of the work of many hands, it was McGoohan who made the series work. (That is perhaps why I am not yet more excited about AMC's coming remake, set to premiere sometime this year.) It was, metaphorically, his own story, having quit "Secret Agent" at the height of its success because it no longer suited him to play that role.
Nearly 40 at the time (and the father of three), he was heroic in a way that mixed the self-reliance of the classic secret agent with the comedy of the new age's anti-authoritarian tricksters. Good-looking, in an Everyman sort of way, he had a musical voice, a light step, a twinkling eye -- he was a bit of a John Lennon, come to think of it -- that in itself bespoke a kind of freedom. There was always humor in his contrariness, and if Number 6 was fated corporeally to remain a prisoner -- caught at the border by Rover, the bouncing ball from hell, or shown that his imagined escape was merely an illusion -- he remained himself. As hard as they tried, they could not wash his brain.
1 year ago
in SOTU Cuba Watch on OpenMarket.org
I can't speak for everyone at CEI, but I myself am opposed to travel restrictions, so yes. Allowing people to visit a country does not constitute an endorsement of its government.
1 year ago
in Mizzou Tigers and the Other SEC on OpenMarket.org
John,
Correction: The SEC suffered TWO defeats on New Year's Day, as my alma mater Florida lost a hard fought game against a Michigan team determined to send off their retiring coach, Lloyd Carr, with a bowl win.
Congrats on the Mizzou win.
Congrats, too, to Michigan, Coach Carr, and the Wolverine seniors for a great victory in one hell of a game.
You're right about disputes. I think every school has a day of ref infamy, as you describe against Colorado, that's long remembered. For Florida it was the disgracefully officiated 2003 meeting with Florida State -- by a crew from the ACC (FSU's conference). To this day, the phrase "ACC refs" makes Gator fans see red. ( Soon after the game, there appeared a t-shirt inscribed: "We Can't ACCept it!")
But regarding the SEC itself, loyalty obliges me to say, Geaux Tigers!
Correction: The SEC suffered TWO defeats on New Year's Day, as my alma mater Florida lost a hard fought game against a Michigan team determined to send off their retiring coach, Lloyd Carr, with a bowl win.
Congrats on the Mizzou win.
Congrats, too, to Michigan, Coach Carr, and the Wolverine seniors for a great victory in one hell of a game.
You're right about disputes. I think every school has a day of ref infamy, as you describe against Colorado, that's long remembered. For Florida it was the disgracefully officiated 2003 meeting with Florida State -- by a crew from the ACC (FSU's conference). To this day, the phrase "ACC refs" makes Gator fans see red. ( Soon after the game, there appeared a t-shirt inscribed: "We Can't ACCept it!")
But regarding the SEC itself, loyalty obliges me to say, Geaux Tigers!
1 year ago
in No Liability for Assisting in Fight Against Terrorism on OpenMarket.org
Today's Wall Street Journal also features an op ed in favor of immunity from liability for companies that assist surveillance, by Benjamin Civiletti, Dick Thornbugh, and William Webster -
http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110010805
http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110010805
1 year ago
in Simpsons Movie Speaks Truth to Power - SPOILER WARNING! on OpenMarket.org
There's also a quick jab at rent-seeking in government contracting (I won't give away where it occurs, though).
