Hikari

@VBS & Besley Bean… if you are in disbelief that we seem to be trapped in a political “Groundhog Day” here in the U.S., imagine how we feel. It’s deja vu all over again and it wasn’t pleasant the first time around. Four years later, it’s even worse. The incumbent is an 80 year old man with obvious dementia who is a mere puppet of his party. Forcing him to run for reelection is tantamount to elder abuse because if the man is not oriented or even continent, Should he really have the nuclear launch codes? On the other side, the Challenger is a former president whose party seems to have become his puppet. He has openly admired Vladimir Putin, the sworn enemy of the United States. In addition, he is now a convicted felon on 34 counts of tampering with evidence to obfuscate his participation in an attempt to overthrow the results of an election that didn’t go his way. This is probably the first time in American history that a candidate with 34 felony convictions will be eligible to run in a presidential election and has a very good shot at winning. You could say we are in completely uncharted territory. This is a low point for the United States of America. There is another Civil War raging, and like the first one it is split along ideological lines. The art of politics is the art of getting along with your opponent, even when you disagree, and finding common ground to build on. It used to be possible to disagree with someone, even vehemently, without turning them into a personal enemy but we are so divided along party lines now, it’s scary. I have often reflected on why it is that the selection of national leaders is so so weak. I concluded long ago that the best individuals… The ones who are hard-working incorruptible and conciliatory do not pursue politics. They are too modest and on some level high-level politicians all have enough ego to think that they can do the job better than anyone else. Our two party system all but ensures that the people with personal wealth and an ability to raise millions of dollars in support of a campaign will be backed by their party for the nomination. How many thousands of better candidates are overlooked because they don’t have an Ivy League degree and a big war chest? Replacing our head of state every four or eight years is expensive, frustrating and inefficient. But the framers of our constitution wanted to ensure that the American leader would not get too comfortable in that role and overstay his welcome. The continental congress was prepared to make George Washington Presiden for life; That smacked too much of a king for Mr. Washington’s taste and he declined, insisting that he would serve only two terms and then retire to his farm in Virginia. Two terms was not law until 1945 but it was convention. FDR won a fifth term in 1945 shortly before he died and after that the limit was set at two consecutive terms. If Trump wins, he will only be the second man to serve two nonconsecutive terms as president…Grover Cleveland being the other. Do you know things must be pretty bad if the electorate is considering returning someone to office that they had already fired. The benefit to the American system of periodically every four or eight years going out with the old and in with the new is that no matter how bad a president is, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel as to how long we are going to have to tolerate this person as the chief executive. The system of monarchy works very well when you have a solid and dependable good person running the show. Her late Majesty Elizabeth will never be replicated. The crown found the right head that time. The United Kingdom would look vastly different if Elizabeth’s uncle had not abdicated for Mrs. Simpson. Can you imagine what a right mess the UK would be in if Harry was the heir rather than William?

VBS, Hello again! Theft is not “okay” but is often overlooked if the value of the items is not deemed worth the effort of prosecution. Under $1000 in value is considered petty theft—a misdemeanor. If one is convicted of “grand larceny”—$1000+, that is a felony. Generally you are not required to disclose misdemeanors on job applications but felonies are different. with the current push being toward self check out, retailers are having more and more prosecutions of people who take items without scanning and paying for them. Theft is a huge problem… Called “shrink“ in retail lingo, when the takings do not match the inventory. The biggest source of shrink is often the employees. It’s a depressing scenario. When I worked for a small retailer in a mall, we had to get searched every night before we left to make sure we weren’t stealing. Ironically I had worked for a huge department store prior to this and they didn’t have any such rule. Inflation is so bad post Covid especially for groceries that more people are being driven to steal. It’s like the dystopian future is here.

I don’t know what possessed me to come to this discussion tonight but here’s a few other uses for Q-tips besides crafts— Use them to clean tiny areas a cloth or brush can’t reach, like electronics and little crevices in the molding. Also good for removing gunk around bottle and jar necks. Don’t have a fancy eyeliner brush or shadow blender? A Qtip is the cheap solution. Great if you’re traveling And have limited space for cosmetics. Just be sure to keep them sterile and take care that you don’t get fibers in your eye. Also use to apply creams or medications to a small area, like zit cream or hair remover that you don’t want to get on your fingers. Work as lipstick applicators or to apply Vaseline and the like. Wetting it first is suggested! Apply solvents like jewelry cleaner to tiny areas and clean knickknacks. You could always color them green with a marker then stick them in your ears, not too hard!… And you are on your way to a Shrek costume! They work great to clean smudges of nail polish when doing a mani/pedi.

I’ve been staying with my mother, who still uses a landline and an answering machine (with a tape) like it’s 1994. “Ghost” calls are a daily occurrence—sometimes multiple times a day, always from 9 - 4ish. Even more bothersome, and occurring during the same time window are robocalls that go like this: Me: Hello? RC: Hello?…..Hello?…. Hello? Me: <Click> The Hellos sound like a human voice, but it’s obviously recorded on a loop because the inflection never changes. Sometimes after the second or third hello, a person will launch into a spiel for some business But usually it’s just dead air between hellos. On a bad day we can have half a dozen of these type of calls and it’s gotten to the point where I don’t want to even answer the phone. It’s advisable to say nothing if you get a call like this, or do not reply if you get a call that is someone’s voice saying “can you hear me?” Or say who is this? Do not answer yes or no because scammers Can record your responses and then use them to access your accounts. I get a lot of solicitation calls on my cell but I do not answer any number I don’t recognize, especially if it’s a one 800 number. But on the landline with no way to see who’s calling, we don’t know if it’s a scammer or a family member calling. It’s getting very tedious.

@Carol and Caya A successful surgeon has mastered the art of dispassion when he or she is working. It would help a great deal in a surgical career to be capable of such detached rationality and cool thinking under pressure. I don’t suppose the first year med students who faint at the sight of blood or puke while dissecting a cadaver finish the program—or at least do not become surgeons. A natural aptitude for professional detachment coupled with a dozen or so years of meticulous training produces people who are capable of cutting into other people’s organs while they are still alive. That’s a rarified skill set but I don’t think every person who can do this deserves the label “psychopath”. Surgeons are controlling their emotions in a specific professional environment, not that they don’t experience any. A psychopath doesn’t feel anything ever, regardless of what he or she is doing. Other people exist for them like ants in an ant farm to a hobbyist. That being said, the power and access to drugs and sharp implements does make the medical profession a highly attractive hunting ground for a psychopath. I believe that it was sir Arthur Conan Doyle, himself a physician, speaking through his signature creation, SH, when he wrote “When a doctor turns bad, he is the worst sort of criminal imaginable”—Or words to that effect. I think sociopaths and psychopaths can be found in every endeavor of life. They are found in higher than usual concentrations in professions of power like medicine, the law, law-enforcement, and captains of industry and business…And show business and the visual arts are stuffed full of them relatively speaking because those are high risk high reward lots of ego fuel environments. The unifying characteristics of sociopathy and psychopathy which exist on a spectrum are a lack of empathy for others and a belief in their superiority. Someone can be sociopathic without being violent or even necessarily committing any actions that break the law. Their personal relationships are going to be shallow and there will always be some façade management happening because they often have to fake feelings or interests they do not have in order to fit in. They can be mild mannered and law abiding—until they experience some stressor that makes their mask crack. I think psychopaths by definition commit violent acts and crimes just to try and feel something, or because they are bored. Usually they will manifest other mental problems too like schizophrenia or low IQ and will be too disorganized or unstable to avoid coming to the attention of the authorities. There is a lot of overlap in these diagnoses, but I don’t think either condition is “curable”. It’s not just the person’s behavior (what they do) but the fundamental personality (who they are). A crucial part of their humanity is missing—Stolen from them or never there to begin with. As such they could be said to have a profound birth defect that was not their own doing. Is it fair then to call them evil and undeserving of life or freedom? Maybe not “fair” as such—but is the prey wrong to protect itself from predators? That’s what the sociopaths and psychopaths are—apex predators. They care no more for you ir I than a hawk cares for a mouse—only as dinner or something to torture and play with. You and I are the mice who can only pray that either the hawk doesn’t see us or he gets locked up so he never will.

Matt Damon starred as Ripley in 1999 for Anthony Minghella. Opposite Jude Law, a breakout role for him (Oscar nominated for Best Supporting Actor). Matt Damon displayed impressive chops for mimicry (Ripley’s specialty) and even learned piano to a high level for the role. Probably due to the general discomfort with the psychopathic personality, this Ripley is played more as a little boy lost who is forced by fear and self preservation into committing his heinous acts. He just wants to be loved and accepted, and is messed up due to a terrible childhood. The audience is primed to feel sorry for this kid who has to keep killing people because they just won’t stop being nosy. This Ripley murders, but seemingly against his will because the universe is conspiring against him. This is the modern interpretation of psychopathy, because I’m sure neither Matt Damon nor Anthony Mengele want us to view Tom as “evil” either. Not evil, just self-loathing, maladjusted, and unlucky. And cursed by perpetual loneliness. Patricia Highsmith’s antihero is a lot more detached and opportunistic and cold blooded. He enjoys playing with people. The Netflix series is taking its notes from Highsmith’s book, including the noirish feel. It’s a throwback to “Purple Noon”, the original Ripley movie in the 1950s. John Malkovich played an older Ripley in Ripley’s Game. I think the Scott portrayal will be more in the Malkovich mode then the Damon one. Come to think of it John Malkovich would’ve made an outstanding Moriarty. Maybe using terms like “evil” aren’t helpful, especially in diagnostic terms. As far as I understand it having read it this way, sociopaths are made through abuse or negative influences in childhood, and psychopaths are born. The difference between the two hast to do with emotional responses and their limbic systems. Sociopaths can still experience stress, fear and regrets. They Exhibit physical symptoms of stress and emotions. Psychopaths do not, so the phrase “Stone cold” is apt. They don’t feel anything and can remain exceedingly calm when committing their crimes. Based on this, I would say that Matt Damon’s Ripley is a sociopath and Highsmith’s Ripley and potentially Andrews Ripley are psychopaths. I would have to see the show to see what they come up with. This has nothing to do with an inability to distinguish right from wrong, what normal people would call the conscience. Sociopaths and psychopaths do not experience conscience in the same way, in terms of feeling guilt. They are well aware that their behaviors are antisocial and often break the law. They do not care. They care about the consequences of getting caught but they do not acknowledge societal norms as binding upon them and can justify their actions as necessary. The line that distinguishes the sane from the insane is sometimes hard to determine. I think it’s possible to be insane but also know right from wrong. Previous generations accepted the concept of evil and the demonic without question, but evil is out of fashion now. In our era we seek for justifications for behavior that hurts others. If unrepentant serial murder isn’t evil, I’m not sure what qualifies.

Just learned that our Moriarty is playing another world-famous psychopath, Tom Ripley. Brilliant casting, I daresay. https://deadline.com/2024/04/andrew-scott-ripley-sherlock-netflix-1235873701/amp/

I’ve always thought Sherlock Holmes would be attracted by the mathematical precision of baseball. A statistician’s dream. He also has a fondness for the equine nation based on one of my favorite stories, Silver Blaze, so maybe he’d like the racetrack. Getting this out of the archives; I had posted it on another discussion back in 2017. From the collection Sherlock Holmes in America comes a tale by Darryl Brock recounting an? early exploit of Sherlock Holmes in America, when a 21-year-old Holmes, having left university, met Mark Twain, titled as "My Silk Umbrella." Hartford, Connecticut, May 1875: On a fine spring day, Hartford's most famous citizen, Mr. Samuel Clemens, skives off from writing "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" to go the ball park to root for Hartford's hometown nine, 'The Dark Blues' in their highly-anticipated contest against the Boston Red Stockings in the newly-minted American pastime of 'base ball'. He overhears a nasally aggrieved English voice complaining, "But it's a glorified game of rounders! Why is the price so dear?!" This would turn out to be Holmes, says Clemens. What follows is a rollicking, often contentious transcontinental exchange of views on various topics, including the superiority of 'base ball' to cricket, or vice-versa, the criminal classes, and nothing less than the national character of two nations, at least. Also, the nascent consulting detective takes on one of his smaller, unheralded, and first-ever cases when he solves the theft of the American humorist's prized silk umbrella, given to Clemens as a gift from some English admirers on a recent trip to London. This match-up of two gigantic literary icons, one nearing his zenith and the other just on the rise is a humdinger of a tale, whether or not you actually believe that Sherlock Holmes visited Hartford, Connecticut when he was 21. Mr. Brock makes a very compelling case that he did.

Mycroft was my first exposure to Mark as an actor but I searched up everything I could find that he has appeared in. Like many character actors who disappear effortlessly into their roles and do the workmanlike labor of supporting the leads, his talents are underrated, but he stays humble…and busy! His scenes as Mycroft with his onscreen “brother mine” where the highlights of the series for me. I love the chemistry of the two Holmes boys. As I am the oldest and dare I say the smartest of my own siblings, I am partial to Big Myc. I feel we have a lot in common. It is a testament to MG’s skills that he deftly created a very specific and so memorable character despite not much screen time. He has taken the barely sketched in character of M given to us by ACD and brought him to glorious life. Not forgetting his contributions as screenwriter and producer. His Great Game episode in S1 was stellar—My favorite of that season. His contributions to the other seasons all had to stand out moments as well. A very well deserved award.

You might luck into a PBS broadcast or find the DVDs at your library. The show is a hit for ITV and a fourth season has been commissioned and is probably shooting as I write. I notice that most of these detective shows that go on location tend to shoot in the summer months. S3 was supposed to have 4 episodes but I only see 3 listed. Either the last episode got delayed or it got scrapped altogether. The second season was interrupted by Covid and may have also affected the schedule for the following year. I wouldn’t call it a necessary purchase but seeing Jason Watkins as Dodds is not to be missed. Tala Gouveia said there was some pushback against the show being too woke because she, black woman of Portuguese descent was cast as the lead. Technically Watkins is the star, even though his character defers to hers. More woke than a black DCI is a gay Detective Superintendent who is obliged to mention’my husband’ in every scene he’s in. Bath is on the bucket list. It makes a refreshing change from London.

Recent discovery and the reason I finally broke down and signed up for BritBox… MCDONALD AND DODDS Starring Jason Watkins and Tala Gouveia If you watch Netflix’s The Crown, you may recognize Jason Watkins as PM Harold Wilson in Season 3. His part was not huge, but his scenes with Elizabeth (Olivia Coleman) were a highlight of the season for me. So I was delighted to hear that Jason continues in work as the co-lead(he takes first billing) Opposite newcomer Tala Gouveia. The show is up to its third season, but the runs are brief, only two or three episodes each. So it didn’t take long to catch up. Watkins demonstrates his character actor prowess as he inhabits a completely different character here in both looks and manner to Harold Wilson. Indeed, so different is he that unless you recognize his name, you might not know he’s the same guy. Ambitious high-flyer Lauren McDonald left the London Met for the picturesque spa city of Bath In order to take a promotion to DCI. She is very young for the post, and anxious to prove herself. She gets assigned mild mannered socially awkward Detective Sergeant Dodds (no first name given) Who has been riding a desk and out of the field for the past 11 years. The top brass hope to get the new DCI to encourage Dodds to take early retirement by showing him he can’t handle field work any more. DS Dodds surprises everyone, including his DCI by being a quiet quirky deducing machine, with a specialty in research and a prodigious ability to absorb new information fast. McDonald is the mouth and the extrovert bluster fronting this team, but Dodds is the brain and the soul of deduction. This partnership is what Conan Doyle’s might’ve looked like if Holmes and Watson had switched personalities—and if one of them was a woman. In an already overstuffed genre field, this show distinguishes itself with its inventive casting and its gorgeous location—Bath has not been featured before in a detective drama. The tone is more akin to Midsomer Murders than Inspector Morse or Vera. I felt that the 90-minute running time per episode was too long, as the cases didn’t have enough heft to warrant that length. So there was a lot of extraneous padding which made for slow going at times. I think the show might have been slightly more successful as a 60 minute drama, allowing for six episodes per season rather than three. I would definitely enjoy seeing more opportunities for DS Dodds to flex his stuff.

P.S. As someone mentioned earlier, A Confession reunited Martin with ‘Mike Stamford’ (David Nellist) who plays Steve Fulcher’s DI, and advises him that he’s making a terrible mistake. Happier times by far in the St. Barts lab.

Only four years late to the party, but I finally watched “A Confession”. I recently signed up for BritBox. Solid work by MF as the lead of this gritty procedural drama based on a true-crime case in the UK a decade ago. MG plays Wiltshire detective superintendent Steve Fulcher whose unorthodox methods in coaxing a confession from a suspect accused of abducting a young woman have long-reaching ramifications for his career and the public perception of police conduct. DS Fulcher lost his reputation over the case, and resigned his commission, becoming a security contract advisor in the Middle East. I couldn’t help drawing comparisons between this detective and Dr. Watson. I asked myself whether if John Watson had chosen to become a police detective rather than an army surgeon, would he likely have taken the same course of action which Steve Fulcher did—Pursuing justice even though it meant breaking the letter of the law and putting his own career in jeopardy? I could only conclude that yes, he would, particularly after having apprenticed with Sherlock Holmes.

I just find it interesting that Mark Gatiss is the spokesman for Tom Hiddleston’s preferences in that area. Did the two have a meeting about it? Why is Mark announcing something that should come from Tom himself, if it has to come from anywhere? It seems presumptuous to declare something like that on another man’s behalf, doesn’t it? I haven’t been privy to this interview but perhaps that comment was meant in a humorous sort of way. Because being asked to comment about someone else’s love life who isn’t like, a best mate or family would be awkward. Well, Zawe seems a much better partner for Tom than Taylor Swift ever did, so I am glad they got together. When you find the right person, everything clicks. Tom seemed headed for confirmed bachelor territory or else he has an exceptional knack for privacy because he’d never been linked with anyone apart from the Swiftie Summer Tour several years back.

??? Are you saying there is already a HiddleBaby??! I have not been following HiddleNews lately. I know he was touted as the next James Bond after his work in the Night Manager. Tom Is insanely talented and incredibly bright, too. Indeed, one might say that a career in the Marvel universe isa waste of a double-First degree in Classics from Cambridge. There’s hardly an impression that he cannot do. I recommend everybody check out his turn as Prince Hal/Henry V in The Hollow Crown to see what Tom is capable of. Loki wastes him, really. I’m rather surprised that he’s into women. Zawe is a catch! In recent years I have had my wonderments about which team our Bendi is on. Some of his recent choices are definitely Pride Nation approved. Interesting times we live in.