Saturday – spring! It was sunny and pleasant today in NYC.
Saturday – Mets win, 7-4, against the Yankees. Now if only they can be consistent. (I watched the last couple of innings on the big screen HDtv. Quite something.)
OhmiGod – Slate did it – a special issue on procrastination! Dare I read it right away, or put it off for later… 😉 I, the self-proclaimed Duchess of Procrastination, say no! No, I must read. Yeah, eventually…
Plus, reading this Slate article by Dahlia Lithwick and Emily Bazelon – about the military lawyers who have tried to make the Guantanamo military trials procedures (or standing up over how they don’t work) – made me feel proud to be a lawyer. The article even almost reaffirmed my belief that there is still such a thing as rule of law, the very concept that we’re supposed to be protecting from terrorism (in addition to, of course, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness).
I remember when PBS’ “Mystery!” was its own series; now it’s covered under the Masterpiece rubric. Well, at least they’ve a host again – this time Alan Cumming! (okay, not exactly Vincent Price or Diana Rigg) – but “Masterpiece Mystery!” will bring the return of Inspector Lewis (well, he did get promoted after Inspector Morse’s passing), and more episodes of Inspectors Foyle and Lynley; guess my summer tv viewing’s kind of set.
Science section of NY Times has this fascinating Q and A with Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa – and it’s quite a great story about how he, a former illegal immigrant, became a Harvard trained neurosurgeon. I don’t have concrete thoughts on the state of immigration, but sometimes I wonder if society forgets the values of immigration and how we should keep an open mind about how we handle it (or rather, handle it effectively).
Interesting NY Times article on the Chinese media’s coverage of the earthquake in Chengdu. I do wonder: could the earthquake change China (or more appropriately, how)? Or, at least, how the media (inside and outside) China can report or depict China?
Oh, and some thoughts on recent tv stuff —
–> watched most of “CSI: NY” – I don’t nearly follow this show as much as I’d like, but I do think NYC looks great every time on this show – the cinematography! The plot got silly (cabbie serial killer; NY’ers refusing to take a cab because of the situation — you’ve got to be kidding me?). Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise – great actor!) – got irritated when his more-or-less stepson Reed posted blog postings about the serial killer (which the kid defended as his job as a journalist). The relationship between Mac and Reed is a bit unusual – Reed’s the biological son of Mac’s late wife, who had given the kid up for adoption long before she ever met Mac – but I think it’s nice to give Mac a little emotional element.
Reed got kidnapped by the serial killer, and then when the killer forces him to blog on the drama of yet another dead victim, Reed cleverly inserts clues in the blog to have Mac and the CSI team save him and lead to catching the killer. Why wasn’t Reed’s (legal) parents at the hospital with Mac, who knows, but it was a sweet moment. It was also funny to see Mac snap over how all the technology within reach couldn’t lead to the killer (no, Mac, ultimately, you as a detective ought to put the clues together and come up with something – but, he figured it out).
I’ve always liked the chemistry between Mac and Stella (Melina Kanakaredes) – good friends indeed.
“Grey’s Anatomy” – hmmm. Is Meredith serious about getting therapy? Will Rose the nurse realize that Derek is so not relationship ready? Nice to see Mark finally acting like a doctor and maybe growing up (plastic surgeon who acts like an over grown teenager… no, really?). I so don’t want Miranda Bailey’s marriage to be over; this show needs someone stable. Christina and Meredith – both in their dark places.
“Lost” – well, that was interesting. More time shifting, as we get closer to the near future. NearFuture Jack does learn about Claire’s identity as his half-sister; we still don’t quite know how the Oceanic 6 became the 6 who got home, but it’ll be interesting – the machinations are starting to feel quite mechanical, but fun.