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"content": "\u003cp>Most of us take it as a given that “look don’t touch” is no way to encourage budding scientists. And every good teacher knows the stay-in-your-seats, nose-in-your-textbooks approach to pedagogy is no way to get anyone interested in the natural world. But when San Francisco’s Exploratorium first opened in 1969, it pioneered the practice of hands-on “informal learning” through real life experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today visitors to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.exploratorium.edu\">Exploratorium\u003c/a> know the place as a giant fun-house of sensory stimulation and touch-and-feel scientific experimentation. Over the past 43 years, loads of Bay Area families have made the trek to the Palace of Fine Arts so their kids can tinker to their hearts’ delight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> As of Thursday, April 17, 2013, the long schlep is over. From 10:00am until 11:00pm on \u003ca href=\"http://www.exploratorium.edu/visit/opening/april17\">opening day\u003c/a>, the new Exploratorium at Pier 15 will host outdoor exhibits, demonstrations, and activities to celebrate its lovely indoor/outdoor space just a few blocks from the Ferry building and the Embarcadero BART. The museum’s increased accessibility means it’s not just a locals-only secrete anymore: the bridge-and-ferry crowd, not to mention the tourists are sure to swarm to the museum after a pastry at the Ferry Building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the first things you see at the new facility is a sign that says “You Can’t Fail a Museum.” And with three times more space and 150 new exhibits to discover, you can’t age out of it either. The experience begins even before you enter the museum: the atrium features visitor lockers that become musical notes when you hold the handles. The new site expands on the museum’s groundbreaking tradition to offer exhibits that encourage touching, tinkering, and interactive investigating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/04/16/explo.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>George Cogan, the new Chairman of the Exploratorium’s Board of Directors, said, “The bigger mission of the Exploratorium is to foster a more perfect democracy.” The museum seeks to inspire visitors to think for themselves, rather than accept whatever truth is marketed to them. “Science is too important to leave to politicians,” Cogan continued. “We as citizens have a responsibility to learn about these things and ask questions that influence what we do around the world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Frank Oppenheimer founded the Exploratorium in 1969, the concept of out-of-the classroom education was novel. After a scientific career in service of the government (in the 1940s he worked with his brother Robert on the Manhattan Project), Frank found himself blacklisted and turned to high school science, building a range of creative teaching methods. He took his students to the dump, scavenging for used abandoned auto parts to teach principles of mechanics, heat, and electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Frank’s dedication to pedagogy continues through Exploratorium programming today. Currently the museum’s Teacher Institute trains over 500 teachers a year in such exploratory curriculum, improving on — if it’s possible — classroom field trips to the dump. Additionally, 80% of science centers around the world use a version of Exploratorium exhibits. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/04/16/explo2.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>The museum is, of course, primarily a place for DIY exploration. And one of the coolest things about the Exploratorium is that it’s a place where you can trick kids into learning. Pedaling on a stationary bike shows you how much energy it takes to power a radio, a light bulb, or a fan. The human behavior gallery can teach you how to detect a poker face. In the Seeing & Listening gallery, kids can use their jawbones to listen — like snakes do. And in the Tinkering Studio, visitors can build, make, hack, create, invent, and experiment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the Bay side, the explorations move toward natural science, with a Bay Observatory and exhibits about water, fog, wind, rain, sea life, and tides. Outdoor exhibits include a Fog Bridge, a 150-foot long pedestrian bridge designed by Japanese interdisciplinary artist Fujiko Nakaya. Nakaya warns that the immersive fog can be disorienting. People can lose their balance. Kids can get freaked out. But, she says, “Let them cry. It’s only for a few minutes.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next Exploratorium is bigger and snazzier, but the fundamental principles of its conception remain the same: always question, always seek out new ways of approaching scientific information. As you amble through the exhibits, someone may beckon you to stop at the Explainer’s Station. “Can you make your mind stop thinking?” a staff member calls out, ready to engage in conversation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Exploratorium opens at Pier 15 on April 17, 2013. For \u003ca href=\"http://www.exploratorium.edu\">more information\u003c/a> visit exploratorium.edu.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Most of us take it as a given that “look don’t touch” is no way to encourage budding scientists. And every good teacher knows the stay-in-your-seats, nose-in-your-textbooks approach to pedagogy is no way to get anyone interested in the natural world. But when San Francisco’s Exploratorium first opened in 1969, it pioneered the practice of hands-on “informal learning” through real life experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today visitors to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.exploratorium.edu\">Exploratorium\u003c/a> know the place as a giant fun-house of sensory stimulation and touch-and-feel scientific experimentation. Over the past 43 years, loads of Bay Area families have made the trek to the Palace of Fine Arts so their kids can tinker to their hearts’ delight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> As of Thursday, April 17, 2013, the long schlep is over. From 10:00am until 11:00pm on \u003ca href=\"http://www.exploratorium.edu/visit/opening/april17\">opening day\u003c/a>, the new Exploratorium at Pier 15 will host outdoor exhibits, demonstrations, and activities to celebrate its lovely indoor/outdoor space just a few blocks from the Ferry building and the Embarcadero BART. The museum’s increased accessibility means it’s not just a locals-only secrete anymore: the bridge-and-ferry crowd, not to mention the tourists are sure to swarm to the museum after a pastry at the Ferry Building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the first things you see at the new facility is a sign that says “You Can’t Fail a Museum.” And with three times more space and 150 new exhibits to discover, you can’t age out of it either. The experience begins even before you enter the museum: the atrium features visitor lockers that become musical notes when you hold the handles. The new site expands on the museum’s groundbreaking tradition to offer exhibits that encourage touching, tinkering, and interactive investigating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/04/16/explo.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>George Cogan, the new Chairman of the Exploratorium’s Board of Directors, said, “The bigger mission of the Exploratorium is to foster a more perfect democracy.” The museum seeks to inspire visitors to think for themselves, rather than accept whatever truth is marketed to them. “Science is too important to leave to politicians,” Cogan continued. “We as citizens have a responsibility to learn about these things and ask questions that influence what we do around the world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Frank Oppenheimer founded the Exploratorium in 1969, the concept of out-of-the classroom education was novel. After a scientific career in service of the government (in the 1940s he worked with his brother Robert on the Manhattan Project), Frank found himself blacklisted and turned to high school science, building a range of creative teaching methods. He took his students to the dump, scavenging for used abandoned auto parts to teach principles of mechanics, heat, and electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Frank’s dedication to pedagogy continues through Exploratorium programming today. Currently the museum’s Teacher Institute trains over 500 teachers a year in such exploratory curriculum, improving on — if it’s possible — classroom field trips to the dump. Additionally, 80% of science centers around the world use a version of Exploratorium exhibits. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/04/16/explo2.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>The museum is, of course, primarily a place for DIY exploration. And one of the coolest things about the Exploratorium is that it’s a place where you can trick kids into learning. Pedaling on a stationary bike shows you how much energy it takes to power a radio, a light bulb, or a fan. The human behavior gallery can teach you how to detect a poker face. In the Seeing & Listening gallery, kids can use their jawbones to listen — like snakes do. And in the Tinkering Studio, visitors can build, make, hack, create, invent, and experiment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the Bay side, the explorations move toward natural science, with a Bay Observatory and exhibits about water, fog, wind, rain, sea life, and tides. Outdoor exhibits include a Fog Bridge, a 150-foot long pedestrian bridge designed by Japanese interdisciplinary artist Fujiko Nakaya. Nakaya warns that the immersive fog can be disorienting. People can lose their balance. Kids can get freaked out. But, she says, “Let them cry. It’s only for a few minutes.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next Exploratorium is bigger and snazzier, but the fundamental principles of its conception remain the same: always question, always seek out new ways of approaching scientific information. As you amble through the exhibits, someone may beckon you to stop at the Explainer’s Station. “Can you make your mind stop thinking?” a staff member calls out, ready to engage in conversation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Exploratorium opens at Pier 15 on April 17, 2013. For \u003ca href=\"http://www.exploratorium.edu\">more information\u003c/a> visit exploratorium.edu.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Most of us love a good scary story. These days, with so much of our time spent gathered around the flickering glow and woody crackle of the internet, it’s there our new monsters are rising from the shadows. And what better place than a dark room and a lit screen for scaring ourselves a little? Humans have been scared of the dark since our inception, when our poor night vision was up against the eyes of the large predators looking to eat us while we slept. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this vein, Slender Man is a tall, underfed, black-suited gentleman who goes around stalking children and YouTubers, causing memory loss, paranoia, and sometimes even the unstoppable urge to make fan art. Doesn’t sound too bad? Well to add to the freak-out factor: if you look too long, he snatches you with his tentacle arms and drags you back into the dark from whence he came.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BswJKtn_9o?rel=0&w=500&h=281]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much like the urban legends of old, the Slender Man meme caught on in small communities, forums, and subreddits, and more specifically through a paranormal pictures Photoshop contest held by the Something Awful (SA) Forums in 2009. This wasn’t just any contest; the participants had to not only create spooky images, but also pass them off as real on several pro-paranormal forums. Two photographs, which lead to the entire subsequent phenomenon of Slender Man, were posted by user Victor Surge with the following descriptions:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/04/08/slenderman1.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px\">\u003cbr>“‘we didn’t want to go, we didn’t want to kill them, but its persistent silence and outstretched arms horrified and comforted us at the same time…’ – 1983, photographer unknown, presumed dead.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/04/08/slenderman2.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px\">\u003cbr>“One of two recovered photographs from the Stirling City Library blaze. Notable for being taken the day which fourteen children vanished and for what is referred to as ‘The Slender Man’. Deformities cited as film defects by officials. Fire at library occurred one week later. Actual photograph confiscated as evidence. – 1986, photographer: Mary Thomas, missing since June 13th, 1986.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The popularity of these images and indeed just the idea of Slender Man grew online (mainly on \u003ca href=\"http://www.4chan.org/\">4chan\u003c/a>). In 2009 the \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/user/MarbleHornets\">Marble Hornets\u003c/a>\u003c/i> YouTube channel was launched with a mysterious ‘found footage’ video claiming to be from a friend who had subsequently disappeared; sounds familiar right? \u003ci>Marble Hornets\u003c/i> follows, both stylistically and with plot points, the cult 1999 horror film \u003ci>The Blair Witch Project\u003c/i> and the more recent but still well-loved \u003ci>Paranormal Activity\u003c/i>. The \u003ci>Marble Hornets\u003c/i> style lends itself especially well to an audience already steeped in amateur video. Those watching have a willingness to believe in and experience the results of in-depth research, making \u003ci>Marble Hornets\u003c/i> and the alternate reality game that goes along with it, lean-forward media in every way. This chronicling of “The Operator”, as \u003ci>Marble Hornets\u003c/i> refers to the creature, has, as of April 2013, over 290,000 subscribers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This new stage of life for the old ghost stories is strange and interesting. The Slender Man meme spread virally and was far more successful than its older counterparts partially because of its well timed arrival. It’s the first time the subcultures of the Internet have had an urban legend all their own. It used to be that stories spread through summer camps, camper to camper as an oral tradition, but the emotional high, the voluntary fear in a safe place, was highly dependent on who was telling the story. Get a dud and the legend fell flat, but in the right hands those stories scared the bejesus out of us. Now, online, scary stories take on an intensity beyond their childhood levels. The mythology doesn’t just stop at the end of the \u003ci>Marble Hornets\u003c/i> playlist. Fans, Slender Man ‘believers’, and conspiracy theorists alike contribute their own research and ‘first hand accounts’ to forum sites, adding to the layered mystery. Next time you’re in need of a good fright, pull up a browser; the scary awaits.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Most of us love a good scary story. These days, with so much of our time spent gathered around the flickering glow and woody crackle of the internet, it’s there our new monsters are rising from the shadows. And what better place than a dark room and a lit screen for scaring ourselves a little? Humans have been scared of the dark since our inception, when our poor night vision was up against the eyes of the large predators looking to eat us while we slept. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this vein, Slender Man is a tall, underfed, black-suited gentleman who goes around stalking children and YouTubers, causing memory loss, paranoia, and sometimes even the unstoppable urge to make fan art. Doesn’t sound too bad? Well to add to the freak-out factor: if you look too long, he snatches you with his tentacle arms and drags you back into the dark from whence he came.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/0BswJKtn_9o?rel=0'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/0BswJKtn_9o?rel=0'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much like the urban legends of old, the Slender Man meme caught on in small communities, forums, and subreddits, and more specifically through a paranormal pictures Photoshop contest held by the Something Awful (SA) Forums in 2009. This wasn’t just any contest; the participants had to not only create spooky images, but also pass them off as real on several pro-paranormal forums. Two photographs, which lead to the entire subsequent phenomenon of Slender Man, were posted by user Victor Surge with the following descriptions:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/04/08/slenderman1.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px\">\u003cbr>“‘we didn’t want to go, we didn’t want to kill them, but its persistent silence and outstretched arms horrified and comforted us at the same time…’ – 1983, photographer unknown, presumed dead.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/04/08/slenderman2.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px\">\u003cbr>“One of two recovered photographs from the Stirling City Library blaze. Notable for being taken the day which fourteen children vanished and for what is referred to as ‘The Slender Man’. Deformities cited as film defects by officials. Fire at library occurred one week later. Actual photograph confiscated as evidence. – 1986, photographer: Mary Thomas, missing since June 13th, 1986.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The popularity of these images and indeed just the idea of Slender Man grew online (mainly on \u003ca href=\"http://www.4chan.org/\">4chan\u003c/a>). In 2009 the \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/user/MarbleHornets\">Marble Hornets\u003c/a>\u003c/i> YouTube channel was launched with a mysterious ‘found footage’ video claiming to be from a friend who had subsequently disappeared; sounds familiar right? \u003ci>Marble Hornets\u003c/i> follows, both stylistically and with plot points, the cult 1999 horror film \u003ci>The Blair Witch Project\u003c/i> and the more recent but still well-loved \u003ci>Paranormal Activity\u003c/i>. The \u003ci>Marble Hornets\u003c/i> style lends itself especially well to an audience already steeped in amateur video. Those watching have a willingness to believe in and experience the results of in-depth research, making \u003ci>Marble Hornets\u003c/i> and the alternate reality game that goes along with it, lean-forward media in every way. This chronicling of “The Operator”, as \u003ci>Marble Hornets\u003c/i> refers to the creature, has, as of April 2013, over 290,000 subscribers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This new stage of life for the old ghost stories is strange and interesting. The Slender Man meme spread virally and was far more successful than its older counterparts partially because of its well timed arrival. It’s the first time the subcultures of the Internet have had an urban legend all their own. It used to be that stories spread through summer camps, camper to camper as an oral tradition, but the emotional high, the voluntary fear in a safe place, was highly dependent on who was telling the story. Get a dud and the legend fell flat, but in the right hands those stories scared the bejesus out of us. Now, online, scary stories take on an intensity beyond their childhood levels. The mythology doesn’t just stop at the end of the \u003ci>Marble Hornets\u003c/i> playlist. Fans, Slender Man ‘believers’, and conspiracy theorists alike contribute their own research and ‘first hand accounts’ to forum sites, adding to the layered mystery. Next time you’re in need of a good fright, pull up a browser; the scary awaits.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "'House of Cards': An Evolution in Content",
"headTitle": "‘House of Cards’: An Evolution in Content | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>The first season of \u003ci>House of Cards\u003c/i>, a Netflix-original, Machiavellian political drama series, was released on February 1, 2013. In a little over a month the show has become the most streamed pieces of content in the country, according to Netflix. But with the internet already raving over the success of the show and Netflix frankly admitting to its pre-calculated popularity (essentially based on previous ratings of available Netflix videos) what is there left to talk about?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well there’s what we watch, how we are watching it, and why. Short format vs. long format content is a big divider on the internet these days and Netflix seems to have made all the right moves for long-form viewing. Not only is \u003ci>House of Cards\u003c/i> calculated to win as a political drama with its use of technology and self-referential narration, all topped with the well-loved Kevin Spacey, but Netflix specifically chose to release all 13 episodes of the first season all at once. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/03/10/houseofcards2.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unrestricted by weekly release schedules, this model means many viewers are devoting long weekends to watching the show in one go, a practice referred to as binge watching. This phenomenon isn’t new to streaming video; it dates back to well before television shows were even released on VHS, with über fans collecting recordings of their favorite TV shows on homemade tapes. While eventually whole seasons were released on VHS it wasn’t until soon after the invention of DVDs in 1995 that buying whole seasons of a show became mainstream practice. \u003ci>Buffy the Vampire Slayer\u003c/i> was watched by many not during its ‘theatrical release’ but well after the show was no longer on television. Fans could be found binge watching season after season on DVD.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Netflix CEO Reed Hastings says viewers prefer this more novelistic approach \u003ca href=\"http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/25/4029208/netflix-ceo-reed-hastings-says-house-of-cards-not-center-of-company\">saying\u003c/a>, “We think the season is like the book.” With novels the reader can control the speed at which they read the content, and while many readers are happy to keep books to a leisurely pace, series like \u003ci>Harry Potter\u003c/i> or \u003ci>Game of Thrones\u003c/i> can get readers in a frenzy, tearing through book after book to reach the end (i.e. binge reading).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like a novel, the show spends no time recapping or refreshing our memory of what happened last time, because it assumes the last episode was watched recently. This kind of devoted attention means the show can make twists and turns in detail-oriented content without fear that viewers will miss something or get lost. It keeps the world alive in the viewer/reader’s mind. Another similarity to novels is the buy-in, uninterrupted, ad-free experience. Each hour-long episode is actually an hour long, with no commercial breaks to loosen the grip of the plot or distract from the drama. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And this kind of ever growing complexity seems, from a step removed, to simply be the next logical evolution in television content. Steven Johnson, author of \u003ci>Emergence\u003c/i>, wrote in a 2005 \u003ci>New York Times\u003c/i> article, \u003ca href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/magazine/24TV.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&\">“Watching TV Makes You Smarter”\u003c/a> (2005), “Televised intelligence is on the rise. Think of the cognitive benefits conventionally ascribed to reading: attention, patience, retention, the parsing of narrative threads. Over the last half-century, programming on TV has increased the demands it places on precisely these mental faculties.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/03/10/houseofcards3.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/03/10/houseofcards4.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In graphs explaining story density, Johnson compared TV series from different decades. Here the vertical axis represents the number of individual story threads the viewer needs to follow, and the horizontal axis is time. With this type of visualization, \u003ci>Starsky and Hutch\u003c/i>, a TV darling of the ’70s, is revealed, even to those who have never seen the show, to be a simple, straightforward narrative, easy to follow with little attention required. \u003ci>The Sopranos\u003c/i>, a show loved by early 2000s audiences, by comparison, maintains a main storyline, as seen in the almost complete line of boxes near the bottom of the graph, but also knits in bits of other stories as it goes, making for a more dynamic, engaging and attention-demanding show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003ci>House of Cards\u003c/i> with its ad-free, long-format, binge-watching structural envelope allows for even higher levels of complexity than allowed by the old television format. The streaming environment provides space for more information and heightened complexity in both story lines and character development. Only the slow improvement in viewing technology seems to be controlling the speed at which we move from \u003ci>Starsky and Hutch\u003c/i> to \u003ci>House of Cards\u003c/i>. Whatever is the next, newest content viewing platform, we can be sure even more richly variegated stories are on their way.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The first season of \u003ci>House of Cards\u003c/i>, a Netflix-original, Machiavellian political drama series, was released on February 1, 2013. In a little over a month the show has become the most streamed pieces of content in the country, according to Netflix. But with the internet already raving over the success of the show and Netflix frankly admitting to its pre-calculated popularity (essentially based on previous ratings of available Netflix videos) what is there left to talk about?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well there’s what we watch, how we are watching it, and why. Short format vs. long format content is a big divider on the internet these days and Netflix seems to have made all the right moves for long-form viewing. Not only is \u003ci>House of Cards\u003c/i> calculated to win as a political drama with its use of technology and self-referential narration, all topped with the well-loved Kevin Spacey, but Netflix specifically chose to release all 13 episodes of the first season all at once. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/03/10/houseofcards2.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unrestricted by weekly release schedules, this model means many viewers are devoting long weekends to watching the show in one go, a practice referred to as binge watching. This phenomenon isn’t new to streaming video; it dates back to well before television shows were even released on VHS, with über fans collecting recordings of their favorite TV shows on homemade tapes. While eventually whole seasons were released on VHS it wasn’t until soon after the invention of DVDs in 1995 that buying whole seasons of a show became mainstream practice. \u003ci>Buffy the Vampire Slayer\u003c/i> was watched by many not during its ‘theatrical release’ but well after the show was no longer on television. Fans could be found binge watching season after season on DVD.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Netflix CEO Reed Hastings says viewers prefer this more novelistic approach \u003ca href=\"http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/25/4029208/netflix-ceo-reed-hastings-says-house-of-cards-not-center-of-company\">saying\u003c/a>, “We think the season is like the book.” With novels the reader can control the speed at which they read the content, and while many readers are happy to keep books to a leisurely pace, series like \u003ci>Harry Potter\u003c/i> or \u003ci>Game of Thrones\u003c/i> can get readers in a frenzy, tearing through book after book to reach the end (i.e. binge reading).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like a novel, the show spends no time recapping or refreshing our memory of what happened last time, because it assumes the last episode was watched recently. This kind of devoted attention means the show can make twists and turns in detail-oriented content without fear that viewers will miss something or get lost. It keeps the world alive in the viewer/reader’s mind. Another similarity to novels is the buy-in, uninterrupted, ad-free experience. Each hour-long episode is actually an hour long, with no commercial breaks to loosen the grip of the plot or distract from the drama. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And this kind of ever growing complexity seems, from a step removed, to simply be the next logical evolution in television content. Steven Johnson, author of \u003ci>Emergence\u003c/i>, wrote in a 2005 \u003ci>New York Times\u003c/i> article, \u003ca href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/magazine/24TV.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&\">“Watching TV Makes You Smarter”\u003c/a> (2005), “Televised intelligence is on the rise. Think of the cognitive benefits conventionally ascribed to reading: attention, patience, retention, the parsing of narrative threads. Over the last half-century, programming on TV has increased the demands it places on precisely these mental faculties.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/03/10/houseofcards3.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/03/10/houseofcards4.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In graphs explaining story density, Johnson compared TV series from different decades. Here the vertical axis represents the number of individual story threads the viewer needs to follow, and the horizontal axis is time. With this type of visualization, \u003ci>Starsky and Hutch\u003c/i>, a TV darling of the ’70s, is revealed, even to those who have never seen the show, to be a simple, straightforward narrative, easy to follow with little attention required. \u003ci>The Sopranos\u003c/i>, a show loved by early 2000s audiences, by comparison, maintains a main storyline, as seen in the almost complete line of boxes near the bottom of the graph, but also knits in bits of other stories as it goes, making for a more dynamic, engaging and attention-demanding show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003ci>House of Cards\u003c/i> with its ad-free, long-format, binge-watching structural envelope allows for even higher levels of complexity than allowed by the old television format. The streaming environment provides space for more information and heightened complexity in both story lines and character development. Only the slow improvement in viewing technology seems to be controlling the speed at which we move from \u003ci>Starsky and Hutch\u003c/i> to \u003ci>House of Cards\u003c/i>. Whatever is the next, newest content viewing platform, we can be sure even more richly variegated stories are on their way.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "3D-Printed Sculptures Inspired by Your Facebook Friends",
"headTitle": "3D-Printed Sculptures Inspired by Your Facebook Friends | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>3D printing is a mechanical process that creates tangible objects from digital models. It has been \u003ca href=\"http://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/connections/archive/2012/06/257656/\">cited as a game-changer\u003c/a> for aerospace and medical industries, and 3D modeling has been a subject of interest for local artists like Stephanie Syjuco, who created \u003ca href=\"http://www.stephaniesyjuco.com/p_particulatematter.html\">an installation of handmade sculptures\u003c/a> based on Google SketchUp users’ public designs. Although 3D printing has been around for decades, 2013 seems to be the year it will become more widely accessible, and \u003ca href=\"http://www.thecreatorsproject.com/\">The Creators Project\u003c/a> is leading the way by offering an affordable opportunity to create 3D prints of your Facebook data — sculptures that are generated using your internet friends and their interests. My initial reaction to this news was, “Whaaaat?” so I messaged the folks at \u003ca href=\"http://softlabnyc.com/\">SOFTlab\u003c/a> design studio to learn more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are three choices for the type of object you can generate, and the most abstract and artsy is the “Crystallized” geode format, designed by SOFTlab. During the design process, SOFTlab was looking for shapes that were similar but nuanced. They “gravitated toward the pet rocks of the ’70s that were actually marketed as each being different.” Geodes seemed to be the perfect fit for representations of unique groups of online friends, and SOFTLab “saw them much like friendships — a little rough around the edges, but way more intricate, faceted, and beautiful on the inside.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/03/02/3D.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>Essentially, the sculptures are Facebook data visualized in a three-dimensional way. I created the 3D model of my geode by selecting 20 Facebook friends to include as source data, and was required to share the image on FB. According to SOFTlab, “The spikes on the outside of the geode are generated by your friends. A larger spike means you have more friends in common with that person.” When they first started testing the 3D interactive model, one developer noticed that his ex-girlfriend appeared as a huge spike. The geode’s clustered interior spikes represent the “likes” of each friend. What you see in the final product is a representation of how many friends you selected, how much you have in common with those friends, and how active they are on Facebook. And isn’t that exactly what you’ve always wanted? Some art inspired by your carefully curated Facebook profile?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/X5AZzOw7FwA?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>Even if 3D printing still seems new and mysterious, its populist application is revolutionary and exciting as it moves beyond the world of design and engineering and is applied to the more playful aspects of life. The geodes are fascinating objects on their own, even without knowing how they were created — they feel like big rocks made of melted crayons. And SOFTLab puts it best, “It’s one thing to be able to move around a data visualization browser on a flat screen, but it’s a totally different game being able to hold it in your hands.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For \u003ca href=\"http://create.thecreatorsproject.com/\">more information\u003c/a>, visit create.thecreatorsproject.com.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>3D printing is a mechanical process that creates tangible objects from digital models. It has been \u003ca href=\"http://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/connections/archive/2012/06/257656/\">cited as a game-changer\u003c/a> for aerospace and medical industries, and 3D modeling has been a subject of interest for local artists like Stephanie Syjuco, who created \u003ca href=\"http://www.stephaniesyjuco.com/p_particulatematter.html\">an installation of handmade sculptures\u003c/a> based on Google SketchUp users’ public designs. Although 3D printing has been around for decades, 2013 seems to be the year it will become more widely accessible, and \u003ca href=\"http://www.thecreatorsproject.com/\">The Creators Project\u003c/a> is leading the way by offering an affordable opportunity to create 3D prints of your Facebook data — sculptures that are generated using your internet friends and their interests. My initial reaction to this news was, “Whaaaat?” so I messaged the folks at \u003ca href=\"http://softlabnyc.com/\">SOFTlab\u003c/a> design studio to learn more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are three choices for the type of object you can generate, and the most abstract and artsy is the “Crystallized” geode format, designed by SOFTlab. During the design process, SOFTlab was looking for shapes that were similar but nuanced. They “gravitated toward the pet rocks of the ’70s that were actually marketed as each being different.” Geodes seemed to be the perfect fit for representations of unique groups of online friends, and SOFTLab “saw them much like friendships — a little rough around the edges, but way more intricate, faceted, and beautiful on the inside.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/03/02/3D.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>Essentially, the sculptures are Facebook data visualized in a three-dimensional way. I created the 3D model of my geode by selecting 20 Facebook friends to include as source data, and was required to share the image on FB. According to SOFTlab, “The spikes on the outside of the geode are generated by your friends. A larger spike means you have more friends in common with that person.” When they first started testing the 3D interactive model, one developer noticed that his ex-girlfriend appeared as a huge spike. The geode’s clustered interior spikes represent the “likes” of each friend. What you see in the final product is a representation of how many friends you selected, how much you have in common with those friends, and how active they are on Facebook. And isn’t that exactly what you’ve always wanted? Some art inspired by your carefully curated Facebook profile?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/X5AZzOw7FwA?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>Even if 3D printing still seems new and mysterious, its populist application is revolutionary and exciting as it moves beyond the world of design and engineering and is applied to the more playful aspects of life. The geodes are fascinating objects on their own, even without knowing how they were created — they feel like big rocks made of melted crayons. And SOFTLab puts it best, “It’s one thing to be able to move around a data visualization browser on a flat screen, but it’s a totally different game being able to hold it in your hands.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>NPR’s Sam Sanders and Mandalit del Barco were backstage at the Oscars on Sunday, covering the awards show. They sat in the press room, where winners go for interviews during and after the show. Here’s a roundup of what they saw that you \u003cem>didn’t\u003c/em> see, in senior superlative form.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Most Likely To Stand By Her Man Until The End Of All Natural Time:\u003c/strong> Jennifer Garner\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of the people actually in the theater for the big show really don’t want to spend that much time in the press room. Yes, questions must be answered (and if you make it here, it means you’ve actually won!) but none of the VIPs were coming backstage just to sit for a while. Except for Garner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In what might have been the night’s sweetest moment, she sneaked into a chair right next to the radio table in the press room after the show — right behind us — to watch husband Ben Affleck answer questions after \u003cem>Argo\u003c/em> won Best Picture. As he spoke, she smiled up at him, and snapped pictures on her iPhone. She also mingled nicely with us lowly media folk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Most Likely To Drink With You Under The Bleachers Just Before She Wins Homecoming Queen:\u003c/strong> Jennifer Lawrence\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>J-Law confessed to us backstage that she’d had a shot before coming up for questions. She also said getting ready for the Oscars was chaotic: “The process today was so stressful. I felt like Steve Martin in \u003cem>Father of the Bride\u003c/em>, watching my house just be torn apart, and my whole family was getting ready. I mean, my friends stopped by. It was kind of fun, but it was mostly chaotic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said that when she tripped going up the stairs to get her Oscar, the one thing she was thinking was “a bad word, that I can’t say, that starts with F.” And she was totally OK with Seth McFarlane’s boob song, in case you were wondering.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Least Likely To Graduate:\u003c/strong> David Arquette\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David Arquette is apparently moonlighting as a journalist. In a truly Oscar-worthy performance, he showed up in the press room as the Sirius radio representative. He had media credentials, a place card and a chair and a computer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he asked questions like this one to Best Supporting Actor winner Christoph Waltz: “Are you excited about the possibility of a black pope?” To \u003cem>Paperman\u003c/em> director John Kahrs, he said: “What are you most excited about in your Oscar gift basket? There were condoms in there. If you don’t use them, I could use them, bro?” As the night wore on, Arquette was effectively blacklisted. The keeper of the microphones refused to let him ask questions. The look in Arquette’s eyes as he pleaded with Affleck and George Clooney to throw him a bone was truly something to see. And then the poor guy just disappeared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Most Likely To Use An Awful Accent In Theater Class But Still Be The Best Drama Kid:\u003c/strong> Quentin Tarantino\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Best Original Screenplay winner trotted out his much-maligned Australian accent yet again during his Q&A. In \u003cem>Django Unchained\u003c/em>, Tarantino makes a cameo appearance as an Australian indentured servant. He re-enacted a deleted scene, one in which his character discloses that after having worked three years in America, he still hadn’t paid off the cost of his overseas voyage. Tarantino went into his best \u003cem>Django\u003c/em> voice to give the punchline: “At least they didn’t charge us for the boat ride!” (Feel free to cringe.) And in response to a question about who exactly he makes his movies for, he replied: “I make movies for Planet Earth.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well, yes you do, Mr. Tarantino. Yes. You. Do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Most Likely To Be Censored:\u003c/strong> Mychael Danna\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The man who did the score for \u003cem>Life of Pi\u003c/em> had this to say when asked how it feels to hold an Oscar: “Well, I’m still learning how to hold it properly. You gotta put your thumb on the little butt here. And then you know you have it the right way. … So, now I know you gotta feel the little butt cheeks. So, that’s really what I’ve learned tonight.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maybe Seth “I saw her boobs” MacFarlane taught him that one. \u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/\">http://www.npr.org/\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=What+You+Didn%27t+See+At+The+Academy+Awards&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAzOTIwODA0MDEyNTA4MTM1OTcyMGJmMA001)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>J-Law confessed to us backstage that she’d had a shot before coming up for questions. She also said getting ready for the Oscars was chaotic: “The process today was so stressful. I felt like Steve Martin in \u003cem>Father of the Bride\u003c/em>, watching my house just be torn apart, and my whole family was getting ready. I mean, my friends stopped by. It was kind of fun, but it was mostly chaotic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said that when she tripped going up the stairs to get her Oscar, the one thing she was thinking was “a bad word, that I can’t say, that starts with F.” And she was totally OK with Seth McFarlane’s boob song, in case you were wondering.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Least Likely To Graduate:\u003c/strong> David Arquette\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David Arquette is apparently moonlighting as a journalist. In a truly Oscar-worthy performance, he showed up in the press room as the Sirius radio representative. He had media credentials, a place card and a chair and a computer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he asked questions like this one to Best Supporting Actor winner Christoph Waltz: “Are you excited about the possibility of a black pope?” To \u003cem>Paperman\u003c/em> director John Kahrs, he said: “What are you most excited about in your Oscar gift basket? There were condoms in there. If you don’t use them, I could use them, bro?” As the night wore on, Arquette was effectively blacklisted. The keeper of the microphones refused to let him ask questions. The look in Arquette’s eyes as he pleaded with Affleck and George Clooney to throw him a bone was truly something to see. And then the poor guy just disappeared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Most Likely To Use An Awful Accent In Theater Class But Still Be The Best Drama Kid:\u003c/strong> Quentin Tarantino\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Best Original Screenplay winner trotted out his much-maligned Australian accent yet again during his Q&A. In \u003cem>Django Unchained\u003c/em>, Tarantino makes a cameo appearance as an Australian indentured servant. He re-enacted a deleted scene, one in which his character discloses that after having worked three years in America, he still hadn’t paid off the cost of his overseas voyage. Tarantino went into his best \u003cem>Django\u003c/em> voice to give the punchline: “At least they didn’t charge us for the boat ride!” (Feel free to cringe.) And in response to a question about who exactly he makes his movies for, he replied: “I make movies for Planet Earth.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well, yes you do, Mr. Tarantino. Yes. You. Do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Most Likely To Be Censored:\u003c/strong> Mychael Danna\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The man who did the score for \u003cem>Life of Pi\u003c/em> had this to say when asked how it feels to hold an Oscar: “Well, I’m still learning how to hold it properly. You gotta put your thumb on the little butt here. And then you know you have it the right way. … So, now I know you gotta feel the little butt cheeks. So, that’s really what I’ve learned tonight.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maybe Seth “I saw her boobs” MacFarlane taught him that one. \u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/\">http://www.npr.org/\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=What+You+Didn%27t+See+At+The+Academy+Awards&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAzOTIwODA0MDEyNTA4MTM1OTcyMGJmMA001)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "'The Lizzie Bennet Diaries': A Modern Take on Austen's Classic",
"headTitle": "‘The Lizzie Bennet Diaries’: A Modern Take on Austen’s Classic | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003ci>Downton Abbey\u003c/i> meets the internet in the innovative new web series \u003ci>The Lizzie Bennet Diaries\u003c/i>. This modern reboot of \u003ci>Pride and Prejudice\u003c/i> envelops the viewer in the romance and twisted fate of the Jane Austen novel in a whole new way: remade in the guise of a personal vlog. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Austen’s five Bennet sisters have been simplified to just three; reserved Jane and wild Lydia frame the meddling moderator, Lizzie. Lizzie Bennet is a self-confident 24-year-old woman navigating the end of grad school, an energetic and marriage-crazed mother, and two sisters with lives all their own. Her older sister Jane is a sweet girl, but self-deprecating, keeping her emotional cards close to her chest. Lydia, a minor internet star herself, is a bubbly, social shopaholic. The cast is rounded out with a few recurring characters and some delightful caricatures. Lizzie’s parents, for example, never appear on camera, but are portrayed — like much of what happens in Lizzie’s off-camera life — through what she calls “costume theater.” For these plays, she, her friends, and sisters reenact previous conversations from bars, parties, or their own living room. The mechanism activates what would otherwise just be Lizzie’s exposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/02/24/lbd.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px\" alt=\"\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The modernization of the story has left most of the major plot points intact with a few twists. Marriage proposals are made into job offers and palatial estates are remade into start-ups. Regency era concerns are made new. Jane Austen’s liberation of female characters gave them choices in marriage; they could marry for practicality, equal temperament, or even love, but were cautioned to steer clear of too much emotion lest it be taken advantage of. The modernization of the plot observes the girls struggling with old problems in new ways. Take Lydia: with premarital sex no longer a cultural taboo, a sex tape surfaces and threatens to be released online. Austen’s Lydia is a girl who cares little about the repercussions of her actions, the disgrace she brings on her family, or the damage she does to herself. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Lydia of the \u003ci>The Lizzie Bennet Diaries\u003c/i> starts out equally frivolous and hardheaded, in episode 87, “An Understanding”, Lydia opens her eyes not only to the cruelty done to her by George Wickham but also to how her own actions have led to her vulnerability. The potency of the conversation between Lydia and Lizzie speaks not only about the actions of the plot, but to the online treatment of women as a whole, particularly the power of the camera in an age of pervasive video documentation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LdEPWt0R60?list=PL6690D980D8A65D08&w=500&h=281]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The above is just one example of how \u003ci>The Lizzie Bennet Diaries\u003c/i> keeps the audience aware of the complexities surrounding the Bennet story. Lizzie’s point of view is often challenged in ways that reveal not only Austen’s intentions, but the bias inherent to the genre of personal vlogs. It speaks to the online presence in all our lives and our over-sharing on it, by equal turns our lies and honesty in front of thousands of viewers. As Lizzie points out in episode 89, “For someone who puts so much of their life online, you wouldn’t think that secrets would be an issue. Who knew. Turns out that telling the internet isn’t the same as telling my sister.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aside from Lizzie’s perfect skin, coifed hair, and unnatural makeup making the whole thing feel vaguely unreal, the show is still a drama and the writing especially is prone to over-dramatization. Yes, the romantic coil of Austen’s writing is lost in the first-person intimacy of of the show, and yes, the tragic epic-ness can spill over into being sickeningly sweet, but the few over-the-top episodes should not turn viewers away. \u003ci>The Lizzie Bennet Diaries\u003c/i> is newfangled with deep roots, beautiful, and well-constructed. Few remakes have captured the essential feeling of the source material while simultaneously having their own voices as well as \u003ci>The Lizzie Bennet Diaries\u003c/i> does. The episodes, sadly, are nearing the end of the book, and while we don’t know yet how it will all resolve, here’s hoping there are more reboots to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can view \u003ca href=\"lizziebennet.com\">\u003ci>The Lizzie Bennet Diaries\u003c/i>\u003c/a> at lizziebennet.com.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ci>Downton Abbey\u003c/i> meets the internet in the innovative new web series \u003ci>The Lizzie Bennet Diaries\u003c/i>. This modern reboot of \u003ci>Pride and Prejudice\u003c/i> envelops the viewer in the romance and twisted fate of the Jane Austen novel in a whole new way: remade in the guise of a personal vlog. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Austen’s five Bennet sisters have been simplified to just three; reserved Jane and wild Lydia frame the meddling moderator, Lizzie. Lizzie Bennet is a self-confident 24-year-old woman navigating the end of grad school, an energetic and marriage-crazed mother, and two sisters with lives all their own. Her older sister Jane is a sweet girl, but self-deprecating, keeping her emotional cards close to her chest. Lydia, a minor internet star herself, is a bubbly, social shopaholic. The cast is rounded out with a few recurring characters and some delightful caricatures. Lizzie’s parents, for example, never appear on camera, but are portrayed — like much of what happens in Lizzie’s off-camera life — through what she calls “costume theater.” For these plays, she, her friends, and sisters reenact previous conversations from bars, parties, or their own living room. The mechanism activates what would otherwise just be Lizzie’s exposition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/02/24/lbd.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px\" alt=\"\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The modernization of the story has left most of the major plot points intact with a few twists. Marriage proposals are made into job offers and palatial estates are remade into start-ups. Regency era concerns are made new. Jane Austen’s liberation of female characters gave them choices in marriage; they could marry for practicality, equal temperament, or even love, but were cautioned to steer clear of too much emotion lest it be taken advantage of. The modernization of the plot observes the girls struggling with old problems in new ways. Take Lydia: with premarital sex no longer a cultural taboo, a sex tape surfaces and threatens to be released online. Austen’s Lydia is a girl who cares little about the repercussions of her actions, the disgrace she brings on her family, or the damage she does to herself. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Lydia of the \u003ci>The Lizzie Bennet Diaries\u003c/i> starts out equally frivolous and hardheaded, in episode 87, “An Understanding”, Lydia opens her eyes not only to the cruelty done to her by George Wickham but also to how her own actions have led to her vulnerability. The potency of the conversation between Lydia and Lizzie speaks not only about the actions of the plot, but to the online treatment of women as a whole, particularly the power of the camera in an age of pervasive video documentation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/9LdEPWt0R60?list=PL6690D980D8A65D08'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/9LdEPWt0R60?list=PL6690D980D8A65D08'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The above is just one example of how \u003ci>The Lizzie Bennet Diaries\u003c/i> keeps the audience aware of the complexities surrounding the Bennet story. Lizzie’s point of view is often challenged in ways that reveal not only Austen’s intentions, but the bias inherent to the genre of personal vlogs. It speaks to the online presence in all our lives and our over-sharing on it, by equal turns our lies and honesty in front of thousands of viewers. As Lizzie points out in episode 89, “For someone who puts so much of their life online, you wouldn’t think that secrets would be an issue. Who knew. Turns out that telling the internet isn’t the same as telling my sister.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aside from Lizzie’s perfect skin, coifed hair, and unnatural makeup making the whole thing feel vaguely unreal, the show is still a drama and the writing especially is prone to over-dramatization. Yes, the romantic coil of Austen’s writing is lost in the first-person intimacy of of the show, and yes, the tragic epic-ness can spill over into being sickeningly sweet, but the few over-the-top episodes should not turn viewers away. \u003ci>The Lizzie Bennet Diaries\u003c/i> is newfangled with deep roots, beautiful, and well-constructed. Few remakes have captured the essential feeling of the source material while simultaneously having their own voices as well as \u003ci>The Lizzie Bennet Diaries\u003c/i> does. The episodes, sadly, are nearing the end of the book, and while we don’t know yet how it will all resolve, here’s hoping there are more reboots to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can view \u003ca href=\"lizziebennet.com\">\u003ci>The Lizzie Bennet Diaries\u003c/i>\u003c/a> at lizziebennet.com.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Downton Abbey Recap: Bizarro Downton and the City of Angels",
"headTitle": "Downton Abbey Recap: Bizarro Downton and the City of Angels | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Well friends, somehow it happened. We made it to the very last last episode of Season 3. How far we’ve come! Why, when we started Little Sybbie was just another nameless fetus living in Ireland and Big Sybbie was, well, alive. Remember, as always, \u003cb>SPOILER ALERT\u003c/b>. And also, as always, stay tuned for the Character Ranking at the end of the recap. WHO WON SEASON 3? Hey, no peeking!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We begin without the dog’s butt which can only mean one thing: DISASTER. A year has passed. So I guess we have to feel less sad about Dead Sybbie and more happy about Cute Sybbie?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apparently the family is organizing to go on a fly fishing trip. Everyone, including the staff, looks very sad about this. Is this because they have all become vegans in the last year and they ethically don’t eat fish anymore?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sad Panda Molesley (which I’ve been misspelling all season by the way, but he’s such a Sad Panda NO ONE EVEN NOTICED OR CARED) says something sad and stupid. The Molesley character is basically exactly \u003ca href=\"http://30rock.wikia.com/wiki/Lutz\">Lutz from 30 Rock\u003c/a> (RIP), right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is the future from last episode so Thomas and Jimmy the Traitor are working together but Jimmy uses his serious face the whole time because he is scared of gays and even though Carson and Robert are total allies, I guess they forgot to do an awareness seminar during New Staff Orientation this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Upstairs, in their Rooms of Romance, a Barely-Perceptibly Pregnant Mary is being coddled by Matthew, who thinks she should avoid the trip they are about to take. Mary, ever the modern gal, says: “Darling this isn’t 1850, no one expects me to stay inside until the baby’s born.” Seriously Matthew, look at her. She’s like only in her second trimester! She could run a marathon if she wanted to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A year later and: Edith and her editor, sitting in a tree, calling each other on the telephone and just “happening” to be in Scotland at the same time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At breakfast (have they STILL not left yet?), everyone seems to have longer hair. Or at least Matthew does. And Carson seems to have a strange interest in Mary’s prenatal care. I love this sub-sub-subplot of Carson and Mary being SOOO CLOSE. I wonder if they have friendship bracelets?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And finally, everyone is \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8LSbKiVa0U\"> going to Scotland\u003c/a>. They are leaving Branson in charge of the dog so it must mean they trust him. Hopefully, Branson and Isobel will become revolutionary friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Side note: I know it’s bumpy for the pregnant ladies but train travel is SO romantic. Let’s travel by train somewhere, just you and me, once this whole thing is over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, there seems to be a very special, very pretty new maid. Plot point clearly but like seriously, check out Edna’s face. What is this? \u003ci>America’s Next Top Model: Downton\u003c/i>?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Isobel’s it looks like the doctor is trying to stir up a little autumn romance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking of romance, back at the big house, Edna is putting Ethel-level moves on Branson in the breakfast hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then we arrive at a castle in Scotland where pretty dangerous Cousin Rose is hanging out! I want to see a kilt. Maybe Cousin Rose can have an affair with an older man in a kilt?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, a fat man in a pork pie hat enters the scene and immediately starts flirting with Mrs. Patmore. It looks like Daisy and Ivy are on good terms because together they find the whole thing very amusing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Scotland, the castle staff turns out to be a \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bizarro_World\">Bizarro\u003c/a> version of the Downton staff. Bizarro O’Brien is even more evile than Real O’Brien with worse hair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At dinner, a bagpiper in a kilt pipes around the table. He is either flirting with Cousin Rose or doing a traditional pre-dinner annoyance, to distract everyone from the horrible Scottish food (BURN).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There appears to be a little domestic turmoil between Shrimpy and Susan, whoever they are.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back home, Branson and Isobel are TOTALLY getting revolutionary together by talking class warfare at their own special luncheon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Scotland, a pregnancy question: how come Anna isn’t pregnant? And I still contend that Mary is nowhere near due. She’s like 100 pounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bizarro downstairs, O’Brien schemes with her new friend. Or maybe they just talk. They are both so conniving, it’s hard to tell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Bizarro drawing room, Fake-Pregnant Mary-Beyoncé cruelly judges Edith’s future true love, the editor, who has shown up with his own set of tails. Surprise surprise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in Real Downton, Edna the Gorgeous is stalking Branson. This girl is destined for the fate all forward ladies in Downton must suffer. Also, she has a bad luck “E” name. See: Edith, Ethel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the village, I literally can’t understand a thing this shopkeeper says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, everybody giggles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in Scotland, Robert calls his daughter an “amateur” and tells her editor/love interest that he can’t really understand why he hired her. He could use an awareness seminar himself. In other news, the editor looks a LOT like the old guy who left Edith at the altar, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pretty Rose cries and sneaks a smoke outside WITHOUT A SWEATER because her mom is sooo mean. The Bateses are there though, to cheer her up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, in Downton: Isobel and the doctor SITTING IN A TREE.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyone else getting a little dizzy from all the super-speed travel? In Scotland, the editor turns out to be named Michael and his BASIC FACT is that he’s in love with Edith. Still, they do not kiss.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mary, the Hater of All Things Edith, is being a jerk to Michael. Matthew appears to have Stockholm-syndrome, because after Mary tears down her sister’s love interest for the millionth time, he tells her that he KNOWS she is nice “’cause I’ve seen you naked and held you in my arms.” Um, yeah. It’s quite possible to see a not nice person naked and even hold one in your arms from time to time. False logic dude.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Downton, a fair is coming to town and Carson allows everyone but himself to go. Sacrifices you make when you are butler, in charge of everything, but as he says: “uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Scotland, it is becoming clear that this Susan character is a real b-word (“bad-mooded-person”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Downton, in the burn of the episode, Thomas says of Mrs. Patmore that she’s a woman “only technically.” Snap!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Highlands, Robert and Shrimpy stalk deer. A little history: these places used to be filled with people farming until they were all run off for the rich lords and their sheep. Yay!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, miles away, Mrs. Patmore is so adorable in love. Luckily Serious Mrs. Hughes is around to give her the Downstairs Lady-version of the birds and bees talk… the wife talk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Bizarro Downton, the Bateses take a little romantic picnic. Snooooooze.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Out on the moors or whatever, Shrimpy opens up to Robert about how he and Susan don’t like each other. Clearly. I wish he would open up about why this is such a major plot point for the episode.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For some strange reason, Matthew and Michael are on their own special stalking expedition. I don’t understand Scotland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ladies’ maids are whispering. I am so confused by pretty much everything.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a lovely anachronistic moment in the drawing room, the discussion turns to Shrimpy’s upcoming overseas post and Violet says: “All the costumes of imperial rule are always so peculiarly unsuited to the climate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, in a surprise twist, Mary is mean to Edith. “Why must you sound so heartless?” Edith says to Mary. Uh oh. She thinks Mary just “sounds” heartless. Who’s going to break the bad news?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Real Downton, Branson is shaking it up by going to dinner with the servants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The doctor is also shaking it up, by asking Isobel on a date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even Matthew is on to Mary’s meanness in Scotland when he tells her: “You are horrid when you want to be.” Hey Mary: NO ONE EXCEPT CARSON LIKES YOU ANYMORE.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a cute non sequitur, Rose teaches Anna to dance a reel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in Downton, Jimmy and Alfred appear to be having a relationship. Is this why they both almost destroyed Thomas, because THEY are in love?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also: Edna is incredibly annoying. She has the cheek bones of a Brazilian swimsuit model and I don’t like it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The whole team heads for the fair where Mrs. Patmore gets HELLA flirted with by the man in the pork pie hat who apparently wants to marry her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the tug-o-war, all the men see a chance to prove their manliness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Matthew and Michael, new BFFs, fly-fish in the Highlands, Matthew lays down some hard truth on dreamer Michael, who thinks he can convince Robert that it’s cool for Edith to be his mistress: “You’ve been misled by our surroundings… we’re not in a novel by Walter Scott.” Historically accurate SLAM.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in England, the Downton boys win tug-o-war and all the ladies swooooooon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Scotland, my working theory is that everyone pretty much agrees Edith should be alone forever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the fair, Winner Jimmy is buying everyone drinks. While he gets ominously hammered, Alfred works on his audition video for \u003ci>Top Chef Downton\u003c/i> and Hughes watches Pork Pie Hat make out with strangers who are NOT Mrs. Patmore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drunk Jimmy gets jumped under a bridge and Thomas jumps in for true love and gets beat up instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Above the bridge, Doctor Clarkson is trying so hard to get it on with Isobel. Unfortunately, he has no game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Scotland, Rose is called a “slut” by her mom, which is a LITTLE accurate, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Down south, Thomas the Attacked is a bit of a hero. But he is also very bloody.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apparently when the staff went to the fair, they forgot about Baby Sybbie. Luckily, Grandpa Carson is there to give her hugs and kisses in the cutest scene of the series.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Up north, they have a traditional dance. I guess it is traditional to let maids dance? Bizarro O’Brien works on trying to out-evil O’Brien by drugging her drink. She could learn a thing or two about drugging from Larry the Drugger as whiskey just tastes like whiskey, which is both delicious and not exactly a roofie. Her terribly stupid plan backfires anyway when Drunk Sad Panda Molesley takes the drink off Real O’Brien.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More proof that Duneagle is really officially Bizarro Downton: the lord has lost his money, his marriage is in tatters, and he has a wife with brown hair and a wild young daughter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I am still unclear on a) why Anna is allowed to dance and b) why said dance is such a happy surprise for both Bates and Mary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back home in Downton, Hughes sets Mrs. Patmore straight about the Pork Pie Womanizer. Even though she looks lovely in her pink shirt, it is good she has realized that ultimately all he wanted was her sandwiches and not in a euphemistic way. That woman makes a mean sandwich! I’d marry her face off!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Scotland at the dance, Edith stands up for love while Mosley the Sad Panda becomes the season’s most ridiculous drunk. Known fact: Pandas can’t handle their liquor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Downton, Branson takes his shirt off. Pause. The Brazilian swimsuit model Edna walks in on him and can’t help but make a move. She’s the worst but I mean, can you blame her?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Duneagle, this tiny little dance is really incredibly un-exciting. Something is clearly up with Mary’s fetus and it is time for her to return to civilization. These Crawley girls have pregnancy problems. Also, why does everything Mary says to Matthew sound so ominous?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At home, everyone agrees it is time to fire the uppity maid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>FUTURE PLOT ALERT: It appears Rose is going to become the new Sybil! Who will her Branson be? Jimmy??\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hughes lays it out for Branson: no fraternizing with the \u003ci>America’s Next Top Model: Downton\u003c/i> cast members! Hughes is the dark horse for best character of the season: a) she’s down with the prostitutes and the gays and b) she’s so motherly and nice all the time!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mary gets off the train and looks, romantically, like she’s going to die. This is not surprising. Instead of foreshadowing the writing technique employed most in this episode is called “telegraphing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We can all let out a sigh of relief as Hughes sends Edna off, telling her this isn’t the life for her. She’s right. Brazilian swimsuit models need Brazil. And swimsuits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before they leave the Highlands, Robert gets the message the universe (the writers) are trying to send to him: HE’S SO LUCKY THAT HIS WIFE ISN’T UGLY.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rose is strangely excited to be moving to Downton… or maybe she’s seen a picture of Branson without his shirt? Will Branson be her Branson?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even at the hospital, about to give birth, I’m still convinced Mary is faking this pregnancy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the house, it suddenly occurs to everyone that we haven’t seen Thomas since The Fight for Honor, so Jimmy the Pretty goes into his bedroom, sending what we in the biz of liking boys call “mixed signals.” The whole episode turns into an “It Gets Better Video” when Jimmy decides he can be friends with Thomas even though he is gay. Message: once you get the holy crap beat out of you, other boys will be cool with your homosexuality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carson is so excited about Mary being okay after giving birth that he doesn’t even think to ask the gender of the baby. She is his all-time favorite in such an extreme way that I’m starting to think he’s her real dad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oh snap, Mary has a baby boy. FINALLY. A LEGIT HEIR in Downton. None of this baby girl tea party business. Matthew says to Mary: “You are going to be such a wonderful mother.” Does he mean a wonderful lady who wears dresses and gloves and lets someone else walk her baby around the grounds? Because I am pretty sure that’s what she’s going to be wonderful at.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It seems like everyone is so much more excited about the boy than about Little Sybbie. I still love you Sybbie!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then: in a flashback to \u003ca href=\"http://youtu.be/aQy_nJ1nlGE\">City of Angels\u003c/a>, Matthew gets unceremoniously smashed by a car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that, my friends, is the season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Character Ranking\u003ci> (for this episode)\u003c/i>:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>5. Edith:\u003c/b> Not her strongest episode, but still, she’s getting what she wants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>4. Branson:\u003c/b> This is just and only exactly for the scene in which he takes of his shirt followed directly by the scene in which he cries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>3. Mrs. Patmore:\u003c/b> She’s funny, she can cook, she looks good in pink and you know what? I like her attitude.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>2. Hughes:\u003c/b> I feel like Hughes should have office hours and just counsel everyone on how to be better people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>1. Baby Sybbie:\u003c/b> Yeah, we didn’t get a lot of her but what we did get was MAGIC. Get it girl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>FINAL TOTAL SEASON CHARACTER RANKINGS! \u003ci>(Please note: this is scientific and I used math to find out who really won this season, according to my ranking system.)\u003c/i>:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>5. Violet:\u003c/b> Strong season though not her strongest. She got weird there in the middle and isn’t quipping as much as usual.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>4. Sybbie:\u003c/b> For a character who didn’t speak one word this season, a big kudos to Baby Sybbie, the cutest member of the Crawley family, even if she is a Left Footer and a Branson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tied for 3. Daisy and Hughes:\u003c/b> Both solid, mostly friendly downstair-ers. Is Daisy the future Mrs. Hughes or will she become a farmer? TUNE IN NEXT SEASON to find out!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>1. Edith:\u003c/b> Yes, this was the season of the OTHER sister. She might have been left at the alter but at least she didn’t DIE. At least her husband didn’t DIE. Way to keep it together Edith and do something no one else in your family can do: land a job!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There you have it! Good night friends and see you next season!\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "SPOILER ALERT: This is the recap of the final episode of \u003ci>Downton Abbey\u003c/i> Season Three. Read and be hilariously informed at your own peril!",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Well friends, somehow it happened. We made it to the very last last episode of Season 3. How far we’ve come! Why, when we started Little Sybbie was just another nameless fetus living in Ireland and Big Sybbie was, well, alive. Remember, as always, \u003cb>SPOILER ALERT\u003c/b>. And also, as always, stay tuned for the Character Ranking at the end of the recap. WHO WON SEASON 3? Hey, no peeking!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We begin without the dog’s butt which can only mean one thing: DISASTER. A year has passed. So I guess we have to feel less sad about Dead Sybbie and more happy about Cute Sybbie?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apparently the family is organizing to go on a fly fishing trip. Everyone, including the staff, looks very sad about this. Is this because they have all become vegans in the last year and they ethically don’t eat fish anymore?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sad Panda Molesley (which I’ve been misspelling all season by the way, but he’s such a Sad Panda NO ONE EVEN NOTICED OR CARED) says something sad and stupid. The Molesley character is basically exactly \u003ca href=\"http://30rock.wikia.com/wiki/Lutz\">Lutz from 30 Rock\u003c/a> (RIP), right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is the future from last episode so Thomas and Jimmy the Traitor are working together but Jimmy uses his serious face the whole time because he is scared of gays and even though Carson and Robert are total allies, I guess they forgot to do an awareness seminar during New Staff Orientation this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Upstairs, in their Rooms of Romance, a Barely-Perceptibly Pregnant Mary is being coddled by Matthew, who thinks she should avoid the trip they are about to take. Mary, ever the modern gal, says: “Darling this isn’t 1850, no one expects me to stay inside until the baby’s born.” Seriously Matthew, look at her. She’s like only in her second trimester! She could run a marathon if she wanted to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A year later and: Edith and her editor, sitting in a tree, calling each other on the telephone and just “happening” to be in Scotland at the same time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At breakfast (have they STILL not left yet?), everyone seems to have longer hair. Or at least Matthew does. And Carson seems to have a strange interest in Mary’s prenatal care. I love this sub-sub-subplot of Carson and Mary being SOOO CLOSE. I wonder if they have friendship bracelets?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And finally, everyone is \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8LSbKiVa0U\"> going to Scotland\u003c/a>. They are leaving Branson in charge of the dog so it must mean they trust him. Hopefully, Branson and Isobel will become revolutionary friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Side note: I know it’s bumpy for the pregnant ladies but train travel is SO romantic. Let’s travel by train somewhere, just you and me, once this whole thing is over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, there seems to be a very special, very pretty new maid. Plot point clearly but like seriously, check out Edna’s face. What is this? \u003ci>America’s Next Top Model: Downton\u003c/i>?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Isobel’s it looks like the doctor is trying to stir up a little autumn romance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking of romance, back at the big house, Edna is putting Ethel-level moves on Branson in the breakfast hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then we arrive at a castle in Scotland where pretty dangerous Cousin Rose is hanging out! I want to see a kilt. Maybe Cousin Rose can have an affair with an older man in a kilt?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, a fat man in a pork pie hat enters the scene and immediately starts flirting with Mrs. Patmore. It looks like Daisy and Ivy are on good terms because together they find the whole thing very amusing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Scotland, the castle staff turns out to be a \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bizarro_World\">Bizarro\u003c/a> version of the Downton staff. Bizarro O’Brien is even more evile than Real O’Brien with worse hair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At dinner, a bagpiper in a kilt pipes around the table. He is either flirting with Cousin Rose or doing a traditional pre-dinner annoyance, to distract everyone from the horrible Scottish food (BURN).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There appears to be a little domestic turmoil between Shrimpy and Susan, whoever they are.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back home, Branson and Isobel are TOTALLY getting revolutionary together by talking class warfare at their own special luncheon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Scotland, a pregnancy question: how come Anna isn’t pregnant? And I still contend that Mary is nowhere near due. She’s like 100 pounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bizarro downstairs, O’Brien schemes with her new friend. Or maybe they just talk. They are both so conniving, it’s hard to tell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Bizarro drawing room, Fake-Pregnant Mary-Beyoncé cruelly judges Edith’s future true love, the editor, who has shown up with his own set of tails. Surprise surprise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in Real Downton, Edna the Gorgeous is stalking Branson. This girl is destined for the fate all forward ladies in Downton must suffer. Also, she has a bad luck “E” name. See: Edith, Ethel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the village, I literally can’t understand a thing this shopkeeper says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, everybody giggles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in Scotland, Robert calls his daughter an “amateur” and tells her editor/love interest that he can’t really understand why he hired her. He could use an awareness seminar himself. In other news, the editor looks a LOT like the old guy who left Edith at the altar, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pretty Rose cries and sneaks a smoke outside WITHOUT A SWEATER because her mom is sooo mean. The Bateses are there though, to cheer her up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, in Downton: Isobel and the doctor SITTING IN A TREE.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyone else getting a little dizzy from all the super-speed travel? In Scotland, the editor turns out to be named Michael and his BASIC FACT is that he’s in love with Edith. Still, they do not kiss.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mary, the Hater of All Things Edith, is being a jerk to Michael. Matthew appears to have Stockholm-syndrome, because after Mary tears down her sister’s love interest for the millionth time, he tells her that he KNOWS she is nice “’cause I’ve seen you naked and held you in my arms.” Um, yeah. It’s quite possible to see a not nice person naked and even hold one in your arms from time to time. False logic dude.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Downton, a fair is coming to town and Carson allows everyone but himself to go. Sacrifices you make when you are butler, in charge of everything, but as he says: “uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Scotland, it is becoming clear that this Susan character is a real b-word (“bad-mooded-person”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Downton, in the burn of the episode, Thomas says of Mrs. Patmore that she’s a woman “only technically.” Snap!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Highlands, Robert and Shrimpy stalk deer. A little history: these places used to be filled with people farming until they were all run off for the rich lords and their sheep. Yay!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, miles away, Mrs. Patmore is so adorable in love. Luckily Serious Mrs. Hughes is around to give her the Downstairs Lady-version of the birds and bees talk… the wife talk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Bizarro Downton, the Bateses take a little romantic picnic. Snooooooze.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Out on the moors or whatever, Shrimpy opens up to Robert about how he and Susan don’t like each other. Clearly. I wish he would open up about why this is such a major plot point for the episode.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For some strange reason, Matthew and Michael are on their own special stalking expedition. I don’t understand Scotland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ladies’ maids are whispering. I am so confused by pretty much everything.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a lovely anachronistic moment in the drawing room, the discussion turns to Shrimpy’s upcoming overseas post and Violet says: “All the costumes of imperial rule are always so peculiarly unsuited to the climate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, in a surprise twist, Mary is mean to Edith. “Why must you sound so heartless?” Edith says to Mary. Uh oh. She thinks Mary just “sounds” heartless. Who’s going to break the bad news?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Real Downton, Branson is shaking it up by going to dinner with the servants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The doctor is also shaking it up, by asking Isobel on a date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even Matthew is on to Mary’s meanness in Scotland when he tells her: “You are horrid when you want to be.” Hey Mary: NO ONE EXCEPT CARSON LIKES YOU ANYMORE.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a cute non sequitur, Rose teaches Anna to dance a reel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in Downton, Jimmy and Alfred appear to be having a relationship. Is this why they both almost destroyed Thomas, because THEY are in love?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also: Edna is incredibly annoying. She has the cheek bones of a Brazilian swimsuit model and I don’t like it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The whole team heads for the fair where Mrs. Patmore gets HELLA flirted with by the man in the pork pie hat who apparently wants to marry her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the tug-o-war, all the men see a chance to prove their manliness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Matthew and Michael, new BFFs, fly-fish in the Highlands, Matthew lays down some hard truth on dreamer Michael, who thinks he can convince Robert that it’s cool for Edith to be his mistress: “You’ve been misled by our surroundings… we’re not in a novel by Walter Scott.” Historically accurate SLAM.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in England, the Downton boys win tug-o-war and all the ladies swooooooon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Scotland, my working theory is that everyone pretty much agrees Edith should be alone forever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the fair, Winner Jimmy is buying everyone drinks. While he gets ominously hammered, Alfred works on his audition video for \u003ci>Top Chef Downton\u003c/i> and Hughes watches Pork Pie Hat make out with strangers who are NOT Mrs. Patmore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drunk Jimmy gets jumped under a bridge and Thomas jumps in for true love and gets beat up instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Above the bridge, Doctor Clarkson is trying so hard to get it on with Isobel. Unfortunately, he has no game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Scotland, Rose is called a “slut” by her mom, which is a LITTLE accurate, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Down south, Thomas the Attacked is a bit of a hero. But he is also very bloody.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apparently when the staff went to the fair, they forgot about Baby Sybbie. Luckily, Grandpa Carson is there to give her hugs and kisses in the cutest scene of the series.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Up north, they have a traditional dance. I guess it is traditional to let maids dance? Bizarro O’Brien works on trying to out-evil O’Brien by drugging her drink. She could learn a thing or two about drugging from Larry the Drugger as whiskey just tastes like whiskey, which is both delicious and not exactly a roofie. Her terribly stupid plan backfires anyway when Drunk Sad Panda Molesley takes the drink off Real O’Brien.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More proof that Duneagle is really officially Bizarro Downton: the lord has lost his money, his marriage is in tatters, and he has a wife with brown hair and a wild young daughter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I am still unclear on a) why Anna is allowed to dance and b) why said dance is such a happy surprise for both Bates and Mary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back home in Downton, Hughes sets Mrs. Patmore straight about the Pork Pie Womanizer. Even though she looks lovely in her pink shirt, it is good she has realized that ultimately all he wanted was her sandwiches and not in a euphemistic way. That woman makes a mean sandwich! I’d marry her face off!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Scotland at the dance, Edith stands up for love while Mosley the Sad Panda becomes the season’s most ridiculous drunk. Known fact: Pandas can’t handle their liquor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Downton, Branson takes his shirt off. Pause. The Brazilian swimsuit model Edna walks in on him and can’t help but make a move. She’s the worst but I mean, can you blame her?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Duneagle, this tiny little dance is really incredibly un-exciting. Something is clearly up with Mary’s fetus and it is time for her to return to civilization. These Crawley girls have pregnancy problems. Also, why does everything Mary says to Matthew sound so ominous?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At home, everyone agrees it is time to fire the uppity maid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>FUTURE PLOT ALERT: It appears Rose is going to become the new Sybil! Who will her Branson be? Jimmy??\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hughes lays it out for Branson: no fraternizing with the \u003ci>America’s Next Top Model: Downton\u003c/i> cast members! Hughes is the dark horse for best character of the season: a) she’s down with the prostitutes and the gays and b) she’s so motherly and nice all the time!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mary gets off the train and looks, romantically, like she’s going to die. This is not surprising. Instead of foreshadowing the writing technique employed most in this episode is called “telegraphing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We can all let out a sigh of relief as Hughes sends Edna off, telling her this isn’t the life for her. She’s right. Brazilian swimsuit models need Brazil. And swimsuits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before they leave the Highlands, Robert gets the message the universe (the writers) are trying to send to him: HE’S SO LUCKY THAT HIS WIFE ISN’T UGLY.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rose is strangely excited to be moving to Downton… or maybe she’s seen a picture of Branson without his shirt? Will Branson be her Branson?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even at the hospital, about to give birth, I’m still convinced Mary is faking this pregnancy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the house, it suddenly occurs to everyone that we haven’t seen Thomas since The Fight for Honor, so Jimmy the Pretty goes into his bedroom, sending what we in the biz of liking boys call “mixed signals.” The whole episode turns into an “It Gets Better Video” when Jimmy decides he can be friends with Thomas even though he is gay. Message: once you get the holy crap beat out of you, other boys will be cool with your homosexuality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carson is so excited about Mary being okay after giving birth that he doesn’t even think to ask the gender of the baby. She is his all-time favorite in such an extreme way that I’m starting to think he’s her real dad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oh snap, Mary has a baby boy. FINALLY. A LEGIT HEIR in Downton. None of this baby girl tea party business. Matthew says to Mary: “You are going to be such a wonderful mother.” Does he mean a wonderful lady who wears dresses and gloves and lets someone else walk her baby around the grounds? Because I am pretty sure that’s what she’s going to be wonderful at.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It seems like everyone is so much more excited about the boy than about Little Sybbie. I still love you Sybbie!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then: in a flashback to \u003ca href=\"http://youtu.be/aQy_nJ1nlGE\">City of Angels\u003c/a>, Matthew gets unceremoniously smashed by a car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that, my friends, is the season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Character Ranking\u003ci> (for this episode)\u003c/i>:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>5. Edith:\u003c/b> Not her strongest episode, but still, she’s getting what she wants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>4. Branson:\u003c/b> This is just and only exactly for the scene in which he takes of his shirt followed directly by the scene in which he cries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>3. Mrs. Patmore:\u003c/b> She’s funny, she can cook, she looks good in pink and you know what? I like her attitude.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>2. Hughes:\u003c/b> I feel like Hughes should have office hours and just counsel everyone on how to be better people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>1. Baby Sybbie:\u003c/b> Yeah, we didn’t get a lot of her but what we did get was MAGIC. Get it girl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>FINAL TOTAL SEASON CHARACTER RANKINGS! \u003ci>(Please note: this is scientific and I used math to find out who really won this season, according to my ranking system.)\u003c/i>:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>5. Violet:\u003c/b> Strong season though not her strongest. She got weird there in the middle and isn’t quipping as much as usual.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>4. Sybbie:\u003c/b> For a character who didn’t speak one word this season, a big kudos to Baby Sybbie, the cutest member of the Crawley family, even if she is a Left Footer and a Branson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tied for 3. Daisy and Hughes:\u003c/b> Both solid, mostly friendly downstair-ers. Is Daisy the future Mrs. Hughes or will she become a farmer? TUNE IN NEXT SEASON to find out!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>1. Edith:\u003c/b> Yes, this was the season of the OTHER sister. She might have been left at the alter but at least she didn’t DIE. At least her husband didn’t DIE. Way to keep it together Edith and do something no one else in your family can do: land a job!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There you have it! Good night friends and see you next season!\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>SF Sketchfest is coming to a close here in San Francisco and more than ever audiences are selling out seats not just for their favorite comedian or sketch show but for live podcasts. Interestingly not one podcast but one podcast network stands out from the crowd. Nerdist, the self-described “many headed beast,” is a podcast network, YouTube channel, and website all dedicated to the wide world of nerds. It features content on subjects scattered all over the nerd range of interests, from video games and sci-fi shows to bowling, sex, and all things music. Founded in 2008 by stand up comedian Chris Hardwick with one podcast, the network has grown significantly and was acquired as the digital division of Legendary Entertainment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three Nerdist podcasts — \u003ci>The Nerdist\u003c/i>, \u003ci>The Indoor Kids,\u003c/i> and \u003ci>You Made It Weird\u003c/i> — which all drew packed houses during Sketchfest, are great examples of the unique creator-run content coming out of the network. Jonah Ray and Matt Mira accompany Hardwick on \u003ci>The Nerdist\u003c/i>, his flagship podcast. Their weekly interview show covers notable writers, directors, actors, and comedians all with their own brand of nerdy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The Indoor Kids\u003c/i> is a video game podcast hosted by the same wife-husband team that produced \u003ci>The Meltdown\u003c/i> show at Sketchfest, Emily Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani. For their podcast, the couple and their friends discuss how games fit into adult lives. Pete Holmes, weirdo-in-chief, and host of \u003ci>You Made it Weird\u003c/i>, talks openly on his show about his divorce, sex life, eating habits, meditation practice, and complex religious beliefs. In each episode, Pete manages to coax surprisingly honest confessions and stories from his guests, comedians and performers who include Sarah Silverman, Zach Galifianakis and Jim Gaffigan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/02/08/nerdist2.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\">\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>Gigs on the road might help hone comedy chops but podcasts build audiences. The Nerdist shows have developed loyal audiences interested in smart comedy and honest conversation. The shows have developed professional networks surrounding them, but they also provide windows into the social scene behind stand up comedy in the United States. Guests and hosts frequently cross over between shows and projects, helping to promote fellow comedians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new gold star in content creation isn’t education or even money but making your own way, and doing it with friends. This kind of collaboration, an everyone-rises-together model, has become a defining factor of new media. It’s as common in podcasts as it is on YouTube. In this new world of content production, the competition becomes an asset. The podcast network thrives where the lone show flounders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/02/08/nerdist3.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\">\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>This interplay and the network’s alternative content is drawing comedy nerd audiences, specifically those willing to give real attention to offbeat topics. This allows, as Jim Gaffigan said on \u003ca href=\"http://www.nerdist.com/2011/11/you-made-it-weird-8-jim-gaffigan/\">Episode 8\u003c/a> of \u003ci>You Made it Weird\u003c/i>, “[Comedians] to be more vulnerable and more experimental.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s not all attentive crowds and insider jokes. “People’s attention is currency now, because we don’t pay for anything,” said Hardwick, speaking on \u003ca href=\"http://www.nerdist.com/2013/01/nerdist-podcast-youtube-titans/\">Episode 312\u003c/a> of \u003ci>The Nerdist\u003c/i>, bringing into focus one of the downsides of this two-way street with their audiences. “You’re getting this content for free whenever you want to watch it, wherever you want to watch it, maybe cut [us] some slack if it’s not down to the molecule, the way you wanted it to be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hyper focus allowed by interactive and dedicated audiences also exposes the creators to a steady onslaught of negative comments online. Podcasts have become the dominant model in comedy, allowing in-the-know fans to issue up-to-the-second critiques. For better or worse, these creators will find that someone is always listening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\n\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>SF Sketchfest is coming to a close here in San Francisco and more than ever audiences are selling out seats not just for their favorite comedian or sketch show but for live podcasts. Interestingly not one podcast but one podcast network stands out from the crowd. Nerdist, the self-described “many headed beast,” is a podcast network, YouTube channel, and website all dedicated to the wide world of nerds. It features content on subjects scattered all over the nerd range of interests, from video games and sci-fi shows to bowling, sex, and all things music. Founded in 2008 by stand up comedian Chris Hardwick with one podcast, the network has grown significantly and was acquired as the digital division of Legendary Entertainment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three Nerdist podcasts — \u003ci>The Nerdist\u003c/i>, \u003ci>The Indoor Kids,\u003c/i> and \u003ci>You Made It Weird\u003c/i> — which all drew packed houses during Sketchfest, are great examples of the unique creator-run content coming out of the network. Jonah Ray and Matt Mira accompany Hardwick on \u003ci>The Nerdist\u003c/i>, his flagship podcast. Their weekly interview show covers notable writers, directors, actors, and comedians all with their own brand of nerdy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The Indoor Kids\u003c/i> is a video game podcast hosted by the same wife-husband team that produced \u003ci>The Meltdown\u003c/i> show at Sketchfest, Emily Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani. For their podcast, the couple and their friends discuss how games fit into adult lives. Pete Holmes, weirdo-in-chief, and host of \u003ci>You Made it Weird\u003c/i>, talks openly on his show about his divorce, sex life, eating habits, meditation practice, and complex religious beliefs. In each episode, Pete manages to coax surprisingly honest confessions and stories from his guests, comedians and performers who include Sarah Silverman, Zach Galifianakis and Jim Gaffigan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/02/08/nerdist2.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\">\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>Gigs on the road might help hone comedy chops but podcasts build audiences. The Nerdist shows have developed loyal audiences interested in smart comedy and honest conversation. The shows have developed professional networks surrounding them, but they also provide windows into the social scene behind stand up comedy in the United States. Guests and hosts frequently cross over between shows and projects, helping to promote fellow comedians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new gold star in content creation isn’t education or even money but making your own way, and doing it with friends. This kind of collaboration, an everyone-rises-together model, has become a defining factor of new media. It’s as common in podcasts as it is on YouTube. In this new world of content production, the competition becomes an asset. The podcast network thrives where the lone show flounders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2013/02/08/nerdist3.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\">\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>This interplay and the network’s alternative content is drawing comedy nerd audiences, specifically those willing to give real attention to offbeat topics. This allows, as Jim Gaffigan said on \u003ca href=\"http://www.nerdist.com/2011/11/you-made-it-weird-8-jim-gaffigan/\">Episode 8\u003c/a> of \u003ci>You Made it Weird\u003c/i>, “[Comedians] to be more vulnerable and more experimental.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s not all attentive crowds and insider jokes. “People’s attention is currency now, because we don’t pay for anything,” said Hardwick, speaking on \u003ca href=\"http://www.nerdist.com/2013/01/nerdist-podcast-youtube-titans/\">Episode 312\u003c/a> of \u003ci>The Nerdist\u003c/i>, bringing into focus one of the downsides of this two-way street with their audiences. “You’re getting this content for free whenever you want to watch it, wherever you want to watch it, maybe cut [us] some slack if it’s not down to the molecule, the way you wanted it to be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hyper focus allowed by interactive and dedicated audiences also exposes the creators to a steady onslaught of negative comments online. Podcasts have become the dominant model in comedy, allowing in-the-know fans to issue up-to-the-second critiques. For better or worse, these creators will find that someone is always listening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Downton Abbey Recap: Good News For People Who Like Bad News",
"headTitle": "Downton Abbey Recap: Good News For People Who Like Bad News | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>So here we are. Halfway through the third season of \u003ci>Downton Abbey\u003c/i>. No one believed in us except for us! We’ve had some laughs along the way but now the honeymoon is over and it’s time to get down to the serious business of childbirth. Remember: \u003cb>SPOILER ALERT\u003c/b>: I watched the show and I am going to tell you what happened in it. Now, follow me, won’t you? Here we go, into the mystical land of English manners fetishism that we call \u003ci>Downton Abbey\u003c/i>…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We begin with Downton at night plus a doctor plus condescendingly smiling sisters. This can only equal one thing: baby time! But not yet my friends! Oh no, not yet. (Spoiler inside spoiler: I think that’s what this episode is ALL ABOUT.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before we see any sweet cute baby cheeks, let us head downstairs, where old Thomas is flirting with new Jimmy and Daisy is apparently trying to break the new maid’s spirit. I’m with Daisy on this one. She’s too chipper. She is what we call in my family, “cruisin’ for a bruisin'” — emotionally, of course.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Upstairs there is some drama over which doctor should be called. The town doctor, who knows Sybil inside and out, or the famous doctor, who is famous and oh so famous. Because of ego issues (that is directed at YOU Robert) it appears we will be treated to dueling baby doctors! I was hoping for a \u003ci>Call the Midwife\u003c/i> crossover, but I guess a sort of \u003ci>Obstetrician Apprentice\u003c/i> is good too. Who will get fired? Who will do the firing?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uh oh. It looks like Sybil wants a Catholic baby. Lord Grantham is a known hater of Catholics. Is this why he made that weird offhanded comment last episode? PLOT POINT.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, Thomas treats Jimmy to the MOST ROMANTIC CLOCK WINDING EVER. Oh how tender one must be with a clock. It can never be too hot or too cold. And how tenderly Thomas will caress you, Jimmy, and make sure you never get too hot or too cold either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anna — explaining her detective work to Bates in prison — has given me a new idea: \u003ci>The Killing: Downton Abbey:\u003c/i> Who killed Vera Bates? The beauty part is, it’s already been going on for 2 seasons, just like the original!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Mrs. Crawley’s, her do-gooder hire of an ex-prostitute who was kind of a lackluster maid to begin with seems dangerous but in a good way. I hope those two girls go crazy together and Mrs. Crawley becomes a can-can dancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back at the prison it is \u003ci>Downton Oz\u003c/i> again. There’s nothing I like more than people plotting in English accents. And it seems like the guard and the celly sure have a lot of time to plot. You’d think they would come up with an actual plan with all the jibberjabbering they are doing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While walking around the Downton village, Matthew says to Mary, about her father: “I think he equates being business-like with being mean or worse, being middle class.” The future is now, and in the future, Matthew and Mary are in constant class warfare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At dinner, the famous doctor, Sir Philip, is talking too freely about lady parts at the table. He points out there won’t be any problems and that Sybil will have an easy birth because she’s beautiful. It’s called science. Deal with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apparently the floodgates of inappropriateness have been opened because now Matthew is speaking a bit too freely about his man parts. The science whiz doctor tells him to calm down because “anxiety is an enemy to pregnancy.” What Sir Philip doesn’t know is middle class-ness is an enemy to pregnancy and Mary isn’t going to let any of those business-like sperm NEAR her eggs until Matthew starts acting like a gentleman by walking his dog, shouting people to bed and completely ignoring his finances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lord Grantham has a serious talk with Anna about Bates. I had forgotten that Robert and Anna share a love of Bates. In fact, maybe part of Robert’s problem is that he is missing his rock, the only man he loves, the only person who understands him. Get Bates out of prison! Downton needs him!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uppity Edith, the heroine of the season so far, scores a job writing a newspaper column! On one hand, yay! So glad she gets to have a passion other than gardening. On the other hand, boo! This is such a Lena Dunham situation. She’s a privileged white girl with famous parents who gets the world handed to her on a silver platter. Next thing you know, Judd Apatow will be ghost writing her HBO show. Wait, WHO IS WRITING \u003ci>DOWNTON ABBEY\u003c/i>?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Side note/that reminds me: the last person of color on this show was Mr. Pamuk. Just FYI.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Mrs. Crawley’s, Mrs. Bird still can’t say prostitute. Even though this makes her extremely virtuous, Mrs. Crawley still fires her and tells her she isn’t even cute enough for people to pay money to be with her in an intimate way. At least, she implies it. Oh Mrs. Crawley, I have a very good idea where this story line is going, and that is a ridiculous place, but still, I like your spunk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, a complicated love-rhombus is developing: Daisy loves Alfred loves Kitchen Maid loves Jimmy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a clutch hollandaise sauce move, Alfred proves to be the best cook ever! \u003ci>Top Chef Downton\u003c/i> won.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Upstairs, all the fancies have convened in the drawing room to discuss Sybil’s symptoms. As they should, everyone seems to care a lot more about propriety than Sybil actually living through childbirth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mrs. Crawley is forced to eat burned kidney souffle as punishment for carrying on about whores.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in the big house, Sybil is losing it. Does anyone know where her childhood friend Larry is? Though the good local doctor suggests it is eclampsia or whatever, I believe sneaky Larry may be back at the secret drugging game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Down in the drawing room, there are more high-level talks about Sybil’s condition. A lot seems to rest on the premise that Sybil might regularly have fat ankles. Sir Philip, the mad scientist, thinks this is a possibility. The unfamous doctor knows for a fact that it isn’t possible because she is a gorgeous swan from heaven (true, a boring swan, but a swan nonetheless). Lord Grantham, again doing battle with his ego, sides with Famous Phil. If Sybil dies this one’s on you Robert. Maybe you could benefit from a meditation retreat?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But just like that, a baby is born and the will-Sybil-live-or-die drama seems to be over and everyone is okay. Sadly though, the baby is a girl. Throw Robert a bone people! Give him a grandson! Someone less middle class than Matthew really needs to inherit this place quickly before it gets leased to a production company that wants to make a television show that appeals to the bourgeois!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, O’Brien’s devious matchmaking is coming off a little like pimping. I’m just going to say this: portraying Thomas, the only gay character in all of the show for the most part, as a person who manipulates other people into sleeping with him and who is inherently evil, is a bit problematic. But that’s a discussion for another time, because Jimmy is cute and they all have English accents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uh oh. It looks like the doctor who knew about the ankles was right, because in the middle of the night Sybil is flailing around and freaking out. However, if this was \u003ci>Obstetrician Apprentice\u003c/i> I would fire both doctors because it appears like this girl is dying and they are just standing there doing nothing about it. Look busy guys!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Um, did Sybil just die?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whoa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, Thomas crying! He really liked Sybil! Thomas crying is almost more touching than Sybil dying! Finally, a little humanity for the guy!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the opposite direction, Lady Grantham is getting creepy by talking to dead Sybil alone in the room with a completely flat affect. A little \u003ci>Psycho\u003c/i>. Just my opinion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I really can’t believe they killed Sybil. The thing with a TV show is that when someone dies, it is always murder. \u003ci>The Killing: Downton Abbey:\u003c/i> Who killed Sybil Branson? Maybe Edith really is writing this show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back upstairs, Mary is as cold as ever to Edith, who is continually trying to pass her an olive branch. Maybe Mary needs to head to the meditation retreat with her daddy. It’s called forgiveness girl. Get on the train.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the drawing room, heard-hearted Mary hates Matthew, who is just trying to get the estate’s affairs in order. Those two are never having a baby. Sorry team. Maybe Matthew and Edith? Matthew and the prostitute cook? But definitely not Matthew and Mary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In prison, Bates’ celly is still chit chatting with the dirty prison guard. Doesn’t anyone, like higher up, notice?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And oh snap. In the final scene of the episode, Cora blames Robert for the death of Sybil. Everyone’s getting a divorce! You get a divorce, you get a divorce, you get a divorce. And scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Character Ranking:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>5. Larry’s memory:\u003c/b> Oh how we wished for Larry this episode when Sybil went all Drunk Branson on everyone. But he wasn’t there and in his place was a fatal condition called “eclampsia.” We missed you Lar, and your old-timey date rape drugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>2. Branson and Sybil’s Catholic baby:\u003c/b> Though she doesn’t have a name yet, this baby is clearly the future of the show, which will henceforth be called \u003ci>Rasing Hope in Downton Abbey\u003c/i>. Already, she’s killed her mother and forced her dad to stay in his least favorite manor house maybe indefinitely. Don’t mess with this baby guys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>3. Thomas:\u003c/b> Get it girl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>2. Daisy:\u003c/b> Daisy’s been burned before. Remember when she totally liked Thomas? And now Alfred is hitting on the kitchen maid like it’s his job (IT ISN’T), I respect the shade she’s throwing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>1. Edith:\u003c/b> Activist, non-gardener, woman who drives, columnist. Should we just add showrunner to this list? Edith is a star and she will shine, shine, shine.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "\u003cb>SPOILER ALERT:\u003c/b> If you would like to remain in the dark about the details of \u003ci>Downton Abbey\u003c/i> Season Three, Episode Four, please avoid this post.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>So here we are. Halfway through the third season of \u003ci>Downton Abbey\u003c/i>. No one believed in us except for us! We’ve had some laughs along the way but now the honeymoon is over and it’s time to get down to the serious business of childbirth. Remember: \u003cb>SPOILER ALERT\u003c/b>: I watched the show and I am going to tell you what happened in it. Now, follow me, won’t you? Here we go, into the mystical land of English manners fetishism that we call \u003ci>Downton Abbey\u003c/i>…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We begin with Downton at night plus a doctor plus condescendingly smiling sisters. This can only equal one thing: baby time! But not yet my friends! Oh no, not yet. (Spoiler inside spoiler: I think that’s what this episode is ALL ABOUT.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before we see any sweet cute baby cheeks, let us head downstairs, where old Thomas is flirting with new Jimmy and Daisy is apparently trying to break the new maid’s spirit. I’m with Daisy on this one. She’s too chipper. She is what we call in my family, “cruisin’ for a bruisin'” — emotionally, of course.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Upstairs there is some drama over which doctor should be called. The town doctor, who knows Sybil inside and out, or the famous doctor, who is famous and oh so famous. Because of ego issues (that is directed at YOU Robert) it appears we will be treated to dueling baby doctors! I was hoping for a \u003ci>Call the Midwife\u003c/i> crossover, but I guess a sort of \u003ci>Obstetrician Apprentice\u003c/i> is good too. Who will get fired? Who will do the firing?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uh oh. It looks like Sybil wants a Catholic baby. Lord Grantham is a known hater of Catholics. Is this why he made that weird offhanded comment last episode? PLOT POINT.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, Thomas treats Jimmy to the MOST ROMANTIC CLOCK WINDING EVER. Oh how tender one must be with a clock. It can never be too hot or too cold. And how tenderly Thomas will caress you, Jimmy, and make sure you never get too hot or too cold either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anna — explaining her detective work to Bates in prison — has given me a new idea: \u003ci>The Killing: Downton Abbey:\u003c/i> Who killed Vera Bates? The beauty part is, it’s already been going on for 2 seasons, just like the original!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Mrs. Crawley’s, her do-gooder hire of an ex-prostitute who was kind of a lackluster maid to begin with seems dangerous but in a good way. I hope those two girls go crazy together and Mrs. Crawley becomes a can-can dancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back at the prison it is \u003ci>Downton Oz\u003c/i> again. There’s nothing I like more than people plotting in English accents. And it seems like the guard and the celly sure have a lot of time to plot. You’d think they would come up with an actual plan with all the jibberjabbering they are doing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While walking around the Downton village, Matthew says to Mary, about her father: “I think he equates being business-like with being mean or worse, being middle class.” The future is now, and in the future, Matthew and Mary are in constant class warfare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At dinner, the famous doctor, Sir Philip, is talking too freely about lady parts at the table. He points out there won’t be any problems and that Sybil will have an easy birth because she’s beautiful. It’s called science. Deal with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apparently the floodgates of inappropriateness have been opened because now Matthew is speaking a bit too freely about his man parts. The science whiz doctor tells him to calm down because “anxiety is an enemy to pregnancy.” What Sir Philip doesn’t know is middle class-ness is an enemy to pregnancy and Mary isn’t going to let any of those business-like sperm NEAR her eggs until Matthew starts acting like a gentleman by walking his dog, shouting people to bed and completely ignoring his finances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lord Grantham has a serious talk with Anna about Bates. I had forgotten that Robert and Anna share a love of Bates. In fact, maybe part of Robert’s problem is that he is missing his rock, the only man he loves, the only person who understands him. Get Bates out of prison! Downton needs him!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uppity Edith, the heroine of the season so far, scores a job writing a newspaper column! On one hand, yay! So glad she gets to have a passion other than gardening. On the other hand, boo! This is such a Lena Dunham situation. She’s a privileged white girl with famous parents who gets the world handed to her on a silver platter. Next thing you know, Judd Apatow will be ghost writing her HBO show. Wait, WHO IS WRITING \u003ci>DOWNTON ABBEY\u003c/i>?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Side note/that reminds me: the last person of color on this show was Mr. Pamuk. Just FYI.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Mrs. Crawley’s, Mrs. Bird still can’t say prostitute. Even though this makes her extremely virtuous, Mrs. Crawley still fires her and tells her she isn’t even cute enough for people to pay money to be with her in an intimate way. At least, she implies it. Oh Mrs. Crawley, I have a very good idea where this story line is going, and that is a ridiculous place, but still, I like your spunk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, a complicated love-rhombus is developing: Daisy loves Alfred loves Kitchen Maid loves Jimmy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a clutch hollandaise sauce move, Alfred proves to be the best cook ever! \u003ci>Top Chef Downton\u003c/i> won.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Upstairs, all the fancies have convened in the drawing room to discuss Sybil’s symptoms. As they should, everyone seems to care a lot more about propriety than Sybil actually living through childbirth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mrs. Crawley is forced to eat burned kidney souffle as punishment for carrying on about whores.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in the big house, Sybil is losing it. Does anyone know where her childhood friend Larry is? Though the good local doctor suggests it is eclampsia or whatever, I believe sneaky Larry may be back at the secret drugging game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Down in the drawing room, there are more high-level talks about Sybil’s condition. A lot seems to rest on the premise that Sybil might regularly have fat ankles. Sir Philip, the mad scientist, thinks this is a possibility. The unfamous doctor knows for a fact that it isn’t possible because she is a gorgeous swan from heaven (true, a boring swan, but a swan nonetheless). Lord Grantham, again doing battle with his ego, sides with Famous Phil. If Sybil dies this one’s on you Robert. Maybe you could benefit from a meditation retreat?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But just like that, a baby is born and the will-Sybil-live-or-die drama seems to be over and everyone is okay. Sadly though, the baby is a girl. Throw Robert a bone people! Give him a grandson! Someone less middle class than Matthew really needs to inherit this place quickly before it gets leased to a production company that wants to make a television show that appeals to the bourgeois!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, O’Brien’s devious matchmaking is coming off a little like pimping. I’m just going to say this: portraying Thomas, the only gay character in all of the show for the most part, as a person who manipulates other people into sleeping with him and who is inherently evil, is a bit problematic. But that’s a discussion for another time, because Jimmy is cute and they all have English accents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Uh oh. It looks like the doctor who knew about the ankles was right, because in the middle of the night Sybil is flailing around and freaking out. However, if this was \u003ci>Obstetrician Apprentice\u003c/i> I would fire both doctors because it appears like this girl is dying and they are just standing there doing nothing about it. Look busy guys!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Um, did Sybil just die?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whoa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, Thomas crying! He really liked Sybil! Thomas crying is almost more touching than Sybil dying! Finally, a little humanity for the guy!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the opposite direction, Lady Grantham is getting creepy by talking to dead Sybil alone in the room with a completely flat affect. A little \u003ci>Psycho\u003c/i>. Just my opinion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I really can’t believe they killed Sybil. The thing with a TV show is that when someone dies, it is always murder. \u003ci>The Killing: Downton Abbey:\u003c/i> Who killed Sybil Branson? Maybe Edith really is writing this show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back upstairs, Mary is as cold as ever to Edith, who is continually trying to pass her an olive branch. Maybe Mary needs to head to the meditation retreat with her daddy. It’s called forgiveness girl. Get on the train.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the drawing room, heard-hearted Mary hates Matthew, who is just trying to get the estate’s affairs in order. Those two are never having a baby. Sorry team. Maybe Matthew and Edith? Matthew and the prostitute cook? But definitely not Matthew and Mary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In prison, Bates’ celly is still chit chatting with the dirty prison guard. Doesn’t anyone, like higher up, notice?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And oh snap. In the final scene of the episode, Cora blames Robert for the death of Sybil. Everyone’s getting a divorce! You get a divorce, you get a divorce, you get a divorce. And scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Character Ranking:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>5. Larry’s memory:\u003c/b> Oh how we wished for Larry this episode when Sybil went all Drunk Branson on everyone. But he wasn’t there and in his place was a fatal condition called “eclampsia.” We missed you Lar, and your old-timey date rape drugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>2. Branson and Sybil’s Catholic baby:\u003c/b> Though she doesn’t have a name yet, this baby is clearly the future of the show, which will henceforth be called \u003ci>Rasing Hope in Downton Abbey\u003c/i>. Already, she’s killed her mother and forced her dad to stay in his least favorite manor house maybe indefinitely. Don’t mess with this baby guys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>3. Thomas:\u003c/b> Get it girl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>2. Daisy:\u003c/b> Daisy’s been burned before. Remember when she totally liked Thomas? And now Alfred is hitting on the kitchen maid like it’s his job (IT ISN’T), I respect the shade she’s throwing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Two bi-coastal best friends (SF and NY, naturally) experienced heartbreak within a day of each other, just before the holidays. And without their bestie nearby, these two women were at a loss for how to cope. I met Simone and Briana in college when they were studying fashion and photography, respectively, and have always known them to be cool and creative people — the type of friends that are so awesome that you can’t imagine why they’re single.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amid the post break-up blues, phone calls and tears, they came up with a positive way to distract themselves and support one another through a hard time. Armed with their camera phones, they created assignments for one another and spent a week doing one thing each day to make themselves feel better, sharing images along the way. At the end of the week they made a scavenger hunt and completed ten assignments in one day. They found the experience so helpful and important, that they continued doing it for another couple of months, and plan to keep it going for a year. As Simone says, “It hasn’t solved all my problems, but it has helped me move on and have something to focus on.” The tasks are sent the previous night, usually before midnight, to allow for planning. Some of the assignments included:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Make yourself a healthy dinner.\u003cbr> Take a photo in front of somewhere special to both of you.\u003cbr>Go to a park and read a book for 30 minutes without interruption.\u003cbr> Drink tea and do something crafty.\u003cbr>Buy yourself flowers.\u003cbr>Visit a historic/tourist spot in your city.\u003cbr> Write three appreciation cards for people in your life who wouldn’t expect it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://a.s.kqed.net/img/arts/blog/bff-healthydinner.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003cbr>A healthy dinner.\u003cbr>\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://a.s.kqed.net/img/arts/blog/bff-flowers.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003cbr>Flowers for myself.\u003cbr>\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://a.s.kqed.net/img/arts/blog/bff-someplacespecial.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003cbr>Somewhere special.\u003cbr>\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>Simone and Briana were surprised to see how differently they would interpret certain tasks, and how interested their friends and family were — they’ve had requests from others eager to get in on the action and suggestions for assignments. As Briana says, “Being a cynic by nature, it was out of character for me to suggest such an Oprah’s Book Club-type of assignment series,” but she found that it brings joy and positivity to her day. “We get to eat, spoil ourselves, and meet new people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Single or spoken for, the tasks seem like a great way to stay connected with friends and make time to feel good. Photography is now a populist, instant art practice that is shared through apps and social networks on the regular, so why not share that photo of your dinner or new nail polish with a little more purpose? Start 2013 off right by promoting positivity and BFF bonding.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Two bi-coastal best friends (SF and NY, naturally) experienced heartbreak within a day of each other, just before the holidays. And without their bestie nearby, these two women were at a loss for how to cope. I met Simone and Briana in college when they were studying fashion and photography, respectively, and have always known them to be cool and creative people — the type of friends that are so awesome that you can’t imagine why they’re single.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amid the post break-up blues, phone calls and tears, they came up with a positive way to distract themselves and support one another through a hard time. Armed with their camera phones, they created assignments for one another and spent a week doing one thing each day to make themselves feel better, sharing images along the way. At the end of the week they made a scavenger hunt and completed ten assignments in one day. They found the experience so helpful and important, that they continued doing it for another couple of months, and plan to keep it going for a year. As Simone says, “It hasn’t solved all my problems, but it has helped me move on and have something to focus on.” The tasks are sent the previous night, usually before midnight, to allow for planning. Some of the assignments included:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Make yourself a healthy dinner.\u003cbr> Take a photo in front of somewhere special to both of you.\u003cbr>Go to a park and read a book for 30 minutes without interruption.\u003cbr> Drink tea and do something crafty.\u003cbr>Buy yourself flowers.\u003cbr>Visit a historic/tourist spot in your city.\u003cbr> Write three appreciation cards for people in your life who wouldn’t expect it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://a.s.kqed.net/img/arts/blog/bff-healthydinner.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003cbr>A healthy dinner.\u003cbr>\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://a.s.kqed.net/img/arts/blog/bff-flowers.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003cbr>Flowers for myself.\u003cbr>\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://a.s.kqed.net/img/arts/blog/bff-someplacespecial.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003cbr>Somewhere special.\u003cbr>\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>Simone and Briana were surprised to see how differently they would interpret certain tasks, and how interested their friends and family were — they’ve had requests from others eager to get in on the action and suggestions for assignments. As Briana says, “Being a cynic by nature, it was out of character for me to suggest such an Oprah’s Book Club-type of assignment series,” but she found that it brings joy and positivity to her day. “We get to eat, spoil ourselves, and meet new people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Downton Abbey Recap: The Americans, Or Thomas, Stole The Subtext",
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"content": "\u003cp>Hello and welcome to \u003ci>Downton Abbey\u003c/i> Season 3 Recaps! From now until February, I plan to guide you through the rough waters of Downton in the Roaring (maybe not roaring in England) Twenties. Because, love, and Downton, is a battlefield, at the end of each recap, I will rank the top 5 characters of the episode in a scientific manner. I will use these rankings to decide who wins the season. Please note, these recaps will be \u003cb>FULL OF SPOILERS\u003c/b>, so either wait to read them until you’ve watched the show or, alternatively, just read them instead. Also, feel free to share your own thoughts about each episode in the comments. I won’t ever judge you. We are all in this together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And now, Season 3, Episode 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As always, we start with Laura Linney, who appears to be sporting a new outfit and a new hairdo. So much effort! Can’t they give her something more exciting to say? A poem to recite maybe? Moving on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We begin in spring 1920. While Daisy hasn’t aged a day, we know these are modern times because she is pushing a bike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But enough clearing of the writers’ throats. We move on to what appears to be a wedding rehearsal! So it’s happening! It’s really happening! Matthew and Mary are going to finally, officially, fulfill their destiny! Or ARE they? There seems to be a new sort of will-they-won’t-they tension and that is: will Sybil and Branson bring their underclass selves to Mary’s magical wedding day? Can I suggest they do not come? Sybil and Branson have zero chemistry and honestly, I would rather they stay in Ireland, off-stage, where we can all pretend they mean something to the plot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Enough upstairs! Time for a few close-ups on O’Brien’s sour face! I’m glad to see she hasn’t gone completely soft and that Thomas is still as devious as ever, though I don’t even know what he’s trying to be devious about. At this point it is clearly deviousness for deviousness’ sake. I missed this team of troublemakers but seriously, maybe it’s time for them to start a book group or get a hobby?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And now the drama begins! Lord Grantham is on the phone. THIS IS VERY MYSTERIOUS because as we know, the phone is a scary instrument of the Devil and Lord Grantham only uses it in extreme circumstances. The plot is thickening! Or at least we can pretend it’s thickening, even though it looks like someone forgot to add the flour (Daisy?). Also, do we STILL not have a new footman? Alert! Major plot point number 2!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m not going to lie, I’m kind of hoping Lord Grantham got that girl from last season pregnant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On to the jail where we are reunited with our truest loves: Bates and Anna. Now there’s some chemistry. Even in jail he is somehow a dreamboat and she is an angel flower from Heaven. New theory: Anna is Jesus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then sneaky, conniving, baby-murderer O’Brien gets her nephew the footman job! And we are introduced to the first non-penetrable joke or maybe historical fact of downstairs Downton: no footman should be over 6’1″. Is this part of Carson’s vaudeville act? Am I missing something? Also, is it just me or does Alfred the new footman look exactly like poor, dead William? Is this another subplot? The ghost of William coming back to torture Daisy? Is this why Daisy looks so pale?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now we are treated to a scene of Matthew and Mary talking dirty to each other while walking with Downton Abbey in the background. Does this mean the actual building will come between them? In bed? This is how I predict the show ends: the castle crushes Matthew in his sleep, out of jealousy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, the root of the drama with Lord Grantham is revealed: HE’S DEAD BROKE. That’s what happens when you invest in BRITISH NORTH AMERICA. I guess they can’t take out a mortgage on the house? Maybe because of its weird sexual relationship with Mary?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edith is becoming quite forward now, getting into gentleman’s cars and such. I like this. Another prediction: Edith will be triumphant in the end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In what appears to be a moment of postmodern surrealism, Matthew says to Mosley, as Mosley dresses him as if he is a paralyzed baby: “To be honest Mosely, I want to live more simply after the wedding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Everyone can tell this footman situation is going to be a problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thomas is trying to trick Daisy into starting her own personal strike. Two things about this: 1. The strike doesn’t seem like such a bad idea, even though we know it’s a bad idea, since it’s coming from Thomas. This logic is a little distressing. Daisy really should stand up for herself, right? But in the world of Downton, whatever Thomas says is bad so WHAT IS A GIRL TO DO? Which brings me to point 2: Daisy, have you not learned to never listen to Thomas yet? Seriously, fool me once…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apparently, the height of this new footman is going to be the hilarious thing for awhile so strap in. And also, Matthew’s going to dress up in coattails and go on about simplicity for at least 5 more hours. Sigh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dirty talk between Matthew and Mary continues, which makes me wonder: Matthew talks a good game, but will he be able to live up to the standard of love-making set by Mr. Pamuk?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Annnnnd here come boring Sybil and boring Branson. Someone has paid for them to come to the wedding of the century. Wah wah, she’s pregnant and has a new, subversive bob.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More plot thickening occurs: it turns out Matthew is like an heir magnet and Lavinia Swire’s dad put him on a list of people to give all his money to in the case of his inevitable death. I guess we can see where this plot is headed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the most subtext-less dinner to date, Branson is asked if it is “an Irish tradition” to not change outfits 15 times a day. Oh class warfare. Even Carson is mean to Branson. Apparently his mixture of uppity-ness, Irish-ness, fertility and inability to wear the correct color tie is altogether too much for anyone in the house. When did everyone get so fragile? Also, if we can we get a pregnant sex scene between Branson and Sybil, I promise I won’t call them boring anymore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We do not get a pregnant sex scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lord Grantham tells Cora about losing all her money to the Canadians, thus giving himself a chance to cry and win an Emmy. She seems actually pretty okay with the poverty thing, probably because she is a flexible, fancy-free American. As she says, “Have gun, will travel!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in the prison (did they film all these scenes at once?), Bates can’t seem to get behind Anna’s little Sherlock act when all she wants to do is love him and set him free! I see a spin-off in which Anna is a kind-hearted but hardboiled detective. She would look absolutely adorable in a detective hat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, jealousy and a need for more plot is eroding the Thomas/O’Brien pact of evil. This makes me sad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a fancy cocktail party the drama over Branson only having one outfit is played for all it’s worth. Sir Antony sees Larry, a hoity-toity former admirer of Sybil, put something in poorly dressed, “political” Branson’s drink and soon Branson is belligerent at dinner, which we can all agree is much more fun than the sniping about dinner/morning/whatever jackets. It turns out Larry is a dastardly villain who has drugged him! But the noble, disabled, Sir Antony calls him out and Larry’s drugging backfires with Matthew pity-asking Branson to be his best man! One idea for pepping up the wedding: have Larry try his drugs on the whole wedding party! Edith is throwing herself at Sir Antony like a true modern woman. I think what you say in these situations is: “Get it, girl.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back at the jail with another spin-off idea: Bates in an old timey version of \u003ci>Oz\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the Crawley house, without the drugs, boring Branson says to Violet and Mrs. Crawly re: dinner jackets or whites ties or something: “I see them as the uniform of oppression.” They ignore his boring political politics and make him look presentable for the wedding. Branson is clearly boring even himself at this point and he barely puts up a fight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And finally, HERE COME THE AMERICANS! Shirley MacLaine is finally on the scene in what appears to be a flapper outfit, with a maid who has absolutely amazing eyebrows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Things have really disintegrated as Mary is now talking dirty in front of her MOM in a nice precursor to the most annoying rich person pre-wedding fight ever to exist: should Matthew or shouldn’t Matthew hypothetically take a zillion dollar inheritance from Lavinia’s dead father which would hypothetically “save” Downton? I don’t think I side with Mary or Matthew in this fight. I’m beginning to, in fact, really hope that the house is actually in love with Edith and so crushes them both in a vengeful rage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The plot stays about the same thickness as obnoxious, petulant Mary accuses Matthew of not ever being on her side and storms off in tears.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Violet says: “I’m a woman of many parts.” Apparently everyone is talking dirty now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>New theory: the reason we are dealing with global warming now is because the girls of Downton had to wear sleeveless dresses all the time so all the coal in the country was used every night to keep them warm enough for dinner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the Matthew and Mary tension can’t sustain this show a second longer, Anna and Branson are called in to remind the fiances that they are the main characters of a hit TV show, so it’s time to get it together. Question: are Anna and Branson going to remind them every day that they love each other? Mary flaunts bad luck by opening her eyes during the pre-wedding kiss and thus dooms herself to a horrible, unhappy marriage. Oh well. Am I the only who thought Matthew was going to maybe murder Mary when he quoted Branson: “I will never be happy without you as long as you walked the Earth”?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s the day of the wedding and EVERYONE is talking about sex except of course for poor Edith, the virgin. Mary, who is definitely not a virgin, seems to have picked a first communion dress for her wedding. What does it mean? We will never find out because the wedding, the most important wedding of all time, as well as the honeymoon, are completely skipped over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Post-wedding the dirty talk reaches its vomit-inducing zenith when Matthew tells Lord Grantham his “eyes were opened” on their honeymoon. Gross.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally! Lord Grantham’s dog makes an appearance while the men smoke cigars and talk about financial ruin! Such a cute dog! More dog! Less caring about losing the estate! We don’t care about that! We want puppies!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new and exciting plot is introduced: Mrs. Crawly has started a home for repentant prostitutes! And a less fun plot point: Mrs. Hughes might have cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back at Downton, Anna’s missing Bates so she walks in on the newlyweds to “open their curtains” in the morning. Is this why we don’t get any sex scenes? Because ladies’ maids are constantly surprising people having romantic times in bed? When do the babies get made? I think I need a \u003ci>Downton Abbey\u003c/i> birds and bees talk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And here is Edith. Demanding what she needs from Sir Antony. Like I said earlier, get it Edith.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thomas uses his trickery, obviously, to get Alfred to do something terrible to Matthew’s dinner or morning jacket. His tails. I cannot keep these jackets straight. Is there not some sort of orientation for the new guys about Thomas? Can they at least post a sign in the downstairs hall telling everyone to not ask for or take any advice from him? This seems like an epic failure on O’Brien’s part, actually. Tell your nephew what’s up lady!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the drawing room, Mary and Violet try to wrangle with Shirley MacLaine (does anyone know her character’s name?) about money and it is the first time there is any subtext in this entire episode. The ladies seem positively gleeful about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At dinner, Alfred has embarrassed the family by burning a hole in Matthew’s coat! Surprise surprise surprise. Seriously. Post a sign. Just a picture of Thomas with a devious glint in his eye. Also, can people really tell the difference between these types of jackets? Who even cares when Mrs. Hughes might have cancer!? And when there’s an American maid (read: slut) running around kissing people downstairs?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Edith/Antony love affair is becoming complicated because Lord Grantham is a weird meddler. How young can Edith really be? And he clearly doesn’t like her, so why does he care if she does or does not fall for an older man whose arm is always in a sling?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The subtext-less dialogue finally reaches a breaking point when, back in jail, Anna tells Bates that Lord Grantham might lose Downton due to his money trouble and Bates says, straight-faced: “That makes me sad.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is a very long episode.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More drama ensues when people continue to wear the wrong color ties and insist on casual dining. Shirley MacLain doesn’t give up her cash and she gets ready to return to America, the land of the free and the lipstick-wearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, Bates gets agro in prison with his unnecessarily shady cellmate. In the final scene he appears to confess to murder. Is he doing this to stay dangerous in prison or, more likely in an episode where everyone says exactly what they mean all the time, Bates has just confessed to murdering his ex-wife Vera. And really, who cares? She had it coming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Character ranking:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>5. Lord Grantham:\u003c/b> Robert was all over the place: flip-flopping on Edith; throwing Cora’s money at some Canadian railroad scheme; crying in his PJs; losing his shirts. And yet, he remained very Lord Grantham-y throughout. And he brought out his dog at least once. Not a poor showing, all in all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>4. Larry, the Drugger:\u003c/b> While I doubt we will ever see this particular character again, he was kind of cute and he sure spiced things up, if for only one night. Larry, we will never forget you!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>3. Thomas:\u003c/b> It’s hard to stay evil for no real reason, but Thomas does it because he’s committed to the game. Respect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>2. Violet:\u003c/b> It was a weak episode, dialogue-wise, for everyone, but Violet did manage to throw in a couple zingers. She comes in second place, if only for the moment she mistakes her own son for a waiter because he is wearing the wrong color tie. LOL.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>1. Edith:\u003c/b> Though Edith is always the dark horse, she is clearly the only one taking control of her own destiny at this point. She wins episode 1, hands down.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "\u003cB>SPOILER ALERT\u003c/b>: This is a recap of last night's episode of \u003ci>Downton Abbey\u003c/i>, Season Three, Episode One. If you wish to remain blissfully ignorant of Downton goings on, do not proceed any further.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Hello and welcome to \u003ci>Downton Abbey\u003c/i> Season 3 Recaps! From now until February, I plan to guide you through the rough waters of Downton in the Roaring (maybe not roaring in England) Twenties. Because, love, and Downton, is a battlefield, at the end of each recap, I will rank the top 5 characters of the episode in a scientific manner. I will use these rankings to decide who wins the season. Please note, these recaps will be \u003cb>FULL OF SPOILERS\u003c/b>, so either wait to read them until you’ve watched the show or, alternatively, just read them instead. Also, feel free to share your own thoughts about each episode in the comments. I won’t ever judge you. We are all in this together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And now, Season 3, Episode 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As always, we start with Laura Linney, who appears to be sporting a new outfit and a new hairdo. So much effort! Can’t they give her something more exciting to say? A poem to recite maybe? Moving on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We begin in spring 1920. While Daisy hasn’t aged a day, we know these are modern times because she is pushing a bike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But enough clearing of the writers’ throats. We move on to what appears to be a wedding rehearsal! So it’s happening! It’s really happening! Matthew and Mary are going to finally, officially, fulfill their destiny! Or ARE they? There seems to be a new sort of will-they-won’t-they tension and that is: will Sybil and Branson bring their underclass selves to Mary’s magical wedding day? Can I suggest they do not come? Sybil and Branson have zero chemistry and honestly, I would rather they stay in Ireland, off-stage, where we can all pretend they mean something to the plot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Enough upstairs! Time for a few close-ups on O’Brien’s sour face! I’m glad to see she hasn’t gone completely soft and that Thomas is still as devious as ever, though I don’t even know what he’s trying to be devious about. At this point it is clearly deviousness for deviousness’ sake. I missed this team of troublemakers but seriously, maybe it’s time for them to start a book group or get a hobby?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And now the drama begins! Lord Grantham is on the phone. THIS IS VERY MYSTERIOUS because as we know, the phone is a scary instrument of the Devil and Lord Grantham only uses it in extreme circumstances. The plot is thickening! Or at least we can pretend it’s thickening, even though it looks like someone forgot to add the flour (Daisy?). Also, do we STILL not have a new footman? Alert! Major plot point number 2!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m not going to lie, I’m kind of hoping Lord Grantham got that girl from last season pregnant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On to the jail where we are reunited with our truest loves: Bates and Anna. Now there’s some chemistry. Even in jail he is somehow a dreamboat and she is an angel flower from Heaven. New theory: Anna is Jesus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then sneaky, conniving, baby-murderer O’Brien gets her nephew the footman job! And we are introduced to the first non-penetrable joke or maybe historical fact of downstairs Downton: no footman should be over 6’1″. Is this part of Carson’s vaudeville act? Am I missing something? Also, is it just me or does Alfred the new footman look exactly like poor, dead William? Is this another subplot? The ghost of William coming back to torture Daisy? Is this why Daisy looks so pale?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now we are treated to a scene of Matthew and Mary talking dirty to each other while walking with Downton Abbey in the background. Does this mean the actual building will come between them? In bed? This is how I predict the show ends: the castle crushes Matthew in his sleep, out of jealousy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, the root of the drama with Lord Grantham is revealed: HE’S DEAD BROKE. That’s what happens when you invest in BRITISH NORTH AMERICA. I guess they can’t take out a mortgage on the house? Maybe because of its weird sexual relationship with Mary?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Edith is becoming quite forward now, getting into gentleman’s cars and such. I like this. Another prediction: Edith will be triumphant in the end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In what appears to be a moment of postmodern surrealism, Matthew says to Mosley, as Mosley dresses him as if he is a paralyzed baby: “To be honest Mosely, I want to live more simply after the wedding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Everyone can tell this footman situation is going to be a problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thomas is trying to trick Daisy into starting her own personal strike. Two things about this: 1. The strike doesn’t seem like such a bad idea, even though we know it’s a bad idea, since it’s coming from Thomas. This logic is a little distressing. Daisy really should stand up for herself, right? But in the world of Downton, whatever Thomas says is bad so WHAT IS A GIRL TO DO? Which brings me to point 2: Daisy, have you not learned to never listen to Thomas yet? Seriously, fool me once…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apparently, the height of this new footman is going to be the hilarious thing for awhile so strap in. And also, Matthew’s going to dress up in coattails and go on about simplicity for at least 5 more hours. Sigh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dirty talk between Matthew and Mary continues, which makes me wonder: Matthew talks a good game, but will he be able to live up to the standard of love-making set by Mr. Pamuk?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Annnnnd here come boring Sybil and boring Branson. Someone has paid for them to come to the wedding of the century. Wah wah, she’s pregnant and has a new, subversive bob.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More plot thickening occurs: it turns out Matthew is like an heir magnet and Lavinia Swire’s dad put him on a list of people to give all his money to in the case of his inevitable death. I guess we can see where this plot is headed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the most subtext-less dinner to date, Branson is asked if it is “an Irish tradition” to not change outfits 15 times a day. Oh class warfare. Even Carson is mean to Branson. Apparently his mixture of uppity-ness, Irish-ness, fertility and inability to wear the correct color tie is altogether too much for anyone in the house. When did everyone get so fragile? Also, if we can we get a pregnant sex scene between Branson and Sybil, I promise I won’t call them boring anymore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We do not get a pregnant sex scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lord Grantham tells Cora about losing all her money to the Canadians, thus giving himself a chance to cry and win an Emmy. She seems actually pretty okay with the poverty thing, probably because she is a flexible, fancy-free American. As she says, “Have gun, will travel!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in the prison (did they film all these scenes at once?), Bates can’t seem to get behind Anna’s little Sherlock act when all she wants to do is love him and set him free! I see a spin-off in which Anna is a kind-hearted but hardboiled detective. She would look absolutely adorable in a detective hat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Downstairs, jealousy and a need for more plot is eroding the Thomas/O’Brien pact of evil. This makes me sad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a fancy cocktail party the drama over Branson only having one outfit is played for all it’s worth. Sir Antony sees Larry, a hoity-toity former admirer of Sybil, put something in poorly dressed, “political” Branson’s drink and soon Branson is belligerent at dinner, which we can all agree is much more fun than the sniping about dinner/morning/whatever jackets. It turns out Larry is a dastardly villain who has drugged him! But the noble, disabled, Sir Antony calls him out and Larry’s drugging backfires with Matthew pity-asking Branson to be his best man! One idea for pepping up the wedding: have Larry try his drugs on the whole wedding party! Edith is throwing herself at Sir Antony like a true modern woman. I think what you say in these situations is: “Get it, girl.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back at the jail with another spin-off idea: Bates in an old timey version of \u003ci>Oz\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the Crawley house, without the drugs, boring Branson says to Violet and Mrs. Crawly re: dinner jackets or whites ties or something: “I see them as the uniform of oppression.” They ignore his boring political politics and make him look presentable for the wedding. Branson is clearly boring even himself at this point and he barely puts up a fight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And finally, HERE COME THE AMERICANS! Shirley MacLaine is finally on the scene in what appears to be a flapper outfit, with a maid who has absolutely amazing eyebrows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Things have really disintegrated as Mary is now talking dirty in front of her MOM in a nice precursor to the most annoying rich person pre-wedding fight ever to exist: should Matthew or shouldn’t Matthew hypothetically take a zillion dollar inheritance from Lavinia’s dead father which would hypothetically “save” Downton? I don’t think I side with Mary or Matthew in this fight. I’m beginning to, in fact, really hope that the house is actually in love with Edith and so crushes them both in a vengeful rage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The plot stays about the same thickness as obnoxious, petulant Mary accuses Matthew of not ever being on her side and storms off in tears.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Violet says: “I’m a woman of many parts.” Apparently everyone is talking dirty now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>New theory: the reason we are dealing with global warming now is because the girls of Downton had to wear sleeveless dresses all the time so all the coal in the country was used every night to keep them warm enough for dinner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the Matthew and Mary tension can’t sustain this show a second longer, Anna and Branson are called in to remind the fiances that they are the main characters of a hit TV show, so it’s time to get it together. Question: are Anna and Branson going to remind them every day that they love each other? Mary flaunts bad luck by opening her eyes during the pre-wedding kiss and thus dooms herself to a horrible, unhappy marriage. Oh well. Am I the only who thought Matthew was going to maybe murder Mary when he quoted Branson: “I will never be happy without you as long as you walked the Earth”?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s the day of the wedding and EVERYONE is talking about sex except of course for poor Edith, the virgin. Mary, who is definitely not a virgin, seems to have picked a first communion dress for her wedding. What does it mean? We will never find out because the wedding, the most important wedding of all time, as well as the honeymoon, are completely skipped over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Post-wedding the dirty talk reaches its vomit-inducing zenith when Matthew tells Lord Grantham his “eyes were opened” on their honeymoon. Gross.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally! Lord Grantham’s dog makes an appearance while the men smoke cigars and talk about financial ruin! Such a cute dog! More dog! Less caring about losing the estate! We don’t care about that! We want puppies!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new and exciting plot is introduced: Mrs. Crawly has started a home for repentant prostitutes! And a less fun plot point: Mrs. Hughes might have cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back at Downton, Anna’s missing Bates so she walks in on the newlyweds to “open their curtains” in the morning. Is this why we don’t get any sex scenes? Because ladies’ maids are constantly surprising people having romantic times in bed? When do the babies get made? I think I need a \u003ci>Downton Abbey\u003c/i> birds and bees talk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And here is Edith. Demanding what she needs from Sir Antony. Like I said earlier, get it Edith.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thomas uses his trickery, obviously, to get Alfred to do something terrible to Matthew’s dinner or morning jacket. His tails. I cannot keep these jackets straight. Is there not some sort of orientation for the new guys about Thomas? Can they at least post a sign in the downstairs hall telling everyone to not ask for or take any advice from him? This seems like an epic failure on O’Brien’s part, actually. Tell your nephew what’s up lady!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the drawing room, Mary and Violet try to wrangle with Shirley MacLaine (does anyone know her character’s name?) about money and it is the first time there is any subtext in this entire episode. The ladies seem positively gleeful about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At dinner, Alfred has embarrassed the family by burning a hole in Matthew’s coat! Surprise surprise surprise. Seriously. Post a sign. Just a picture of Thomas with a devious glint in his eye. Also, can people really tell the difference between these types of jackets? Who even cares when Mrs. Hughes might have cancer!? And when there’s an American maid (read: slut) running around kissing people downstairs?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Edith/Antony love affair is becoming complicated because Lord Grantham is a weird meddler. How young can Edith really be? And he clearly doesn’t like her, so why does he care if she does or does not fall for an older man whose arm is always in a sling?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The subtext-less dialogue finally reaches a breaking point when, back in jail, Anna tells Bates that Lord Grantham might lose Downton due to his money trouble and Bates says, straight-faced: “That makes me sad.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is a very long episode.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More drama ensues when people continue to wear the wrong color ties and insist on casual dining. Shirley MacLain doesn’t give up her cash and she gets ready to return to America, the land of the free and the lipstick-wearing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, Bates gets agro in prison with his unnecessarily shady cellmate. In the final scene he appears to confess to murder. Is he doing this to stay dangerous in prison or, more likely in an episode where everyone says exactly what they mean all the time, Bates has just confessed to murdering his ex-wife Vera. And really, who cares? She had it coming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Character ranking:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>5. Lord Grantham:\u003c/b> Robert was all over the place: flip-flopping on Edith; throwing Cora’s money at some Canadian railroad scheme; crying in his PJs; losing his shirts. And yet, he remained very Lord Grantham-y throughout. And he brought out his dog at least once. Not a poor showing, all in all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>4. Larry, the Drugger:\u003c/b> While I doubt we will ever see this particular character again, he was kind of cute and he sure spiced things up, if for only one night. Larry, we will never forget you!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>3. Thomas:\u003c/b> It’s hard to stay evil for no real reason, but Thomas does it because he’s committed to the game. Respect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>2. Violet:\u003c/b> It was a weak episode, dialogue-wise, for everyone, but Violet did manage to throw in a couple zingers. She comes in second place, if only for the moment she mistakes her own son for a waiter because he is wearing the wrong color tie. LOL.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>1. Edith:\u003c/b> Though Edith is always the dark horse, she is clearly the only one taking control of her own destiny at this point. She wins episode 1, hands down.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>This being the end of the year, 2012 wrap-ups are in full swing across the Internet and “Game of the Year” lists are no different. This year, the Bay Area’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.telltalegames.com/\">Telltale Games\u003c/a> features highly on many of those lists, and with good reason. \u003ca href=\"https://www.telltalegames.com/walkingdead\">\u003ci>The Walking Dead\u003c/i>\u003c/a> game has been well-loved, but considered too different for mainstream awards. Released in 5 episodes, the game resembles an interactive, animated TV show more than many video games. It consists of conversations, real-time events and tense drama, but no real fighting or leveling up. Instead of riding through wave after wave of shambling zombies, it focuses on an almost literary pace and detailed storytelling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The Walking Dead\u003c/i> game has none of the sprawling adventure of \u003ca href=\"http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls_V:_Skyrim\">\u003ci>Skyrim\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, which topped many lists from 2011 or the guns-blazing, heart-pounding action of \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_Effect_2\">\u003ci>Mass Effect 2\u003c/i>\u003c/a> from 2010. Its brilliance comes in its dependance on the players’ emotional interactions with the characters as it forces us to make tough decisions with little or no time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2012/12/26/goty1.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The Walking Dead\u003c/i> game was even praised on \u003ca href=\"http://www.psychologyofgames.com/2012/11/the-walking-dead-mirror-neurons-and-empathy/\">\u003ci>The Psychology Of Video Games\u003c/i>\u003c/a> as a clear example of game makers utilizing realistic facial expressions in characters to activate mirror neurons and generate genuine empathy during play. This is precisely why few game enthusiasts thought it was a contender for “Game of the Year,” a title usually reserved for big name, big money titles. It’s a welcome change to have such powerfully emotional games produced and commended for their accomplishments by the gaming community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/JuxotWssdPY\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen>\u003c/iframe>\u003cbr>\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2012/12/26/goty2.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>While \u003ci>The Walking Dead\u003c/i> certainly deserves to be named “Game of the Year,” the best bang-for-your-buck title would have to go to \u003ca href=\"http://www.borderlands2.com/\">\u003ci>Borderlands 2\u003c/i>\u003c/a>. A quirky, first-person shooter that doesn’t take itself too seriously, \u003ci>Borderlands 2\u003c/i> offers hardcore, heart-pounding gun fights against a fleet of unique and powerful enemies. Whether you want to fight pirate ninjas that attack with ship anchors or super badass construction robots that create new enemies as you frantically try to destroy them, \u003ci>Borderlands 2\u003c/i> is the game for you. The sheer volume of content, built-in re-playability, and yet-to-be-released extras make it a great value for the money and a joy to play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2012/12/26/goty3.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>Those two games aside, and for players more inclined to puzzles and platforming, \u003ca href=\"http://fezgame.com/\">\u003ci>Fez\u003c/i>\u003c/a> was this year’s shining star, rising to the top of the indie field. While it is a cheerful, nostalgia-drenched platformer, \u003ci>Fez\u003c/i> is a surprising, deeply layered game with codes and secrets concealed behind every level of its warm, retro 8-bit facade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With a new understanding of emotional buy-in developing in the field, as well as a newly booming indie market, 2013 promises to be a great year for games.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>This being the end of the year, 2012 wrap-ups are in full swing across the Internet and “Game of the Year” lists are no different. This year, the Bay Area’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.telltalegames.com/\">Telltale Games\u003c/a> features highly on many of those lists, and with good reason. \u003ca href=\"https://www.telltalegames.com/walkingdead\">\u003ci>The Walking Dead\u003c/i>\u003c/a> game has been well-loved, but considered too different for mainstream awards. Released in 5 episodes, the game resembles an interactive, animated TV show more than many video games. It consists of conversations, real-time events and tense drama, but no real fighting or leveling up. Instead of riding through wave after wave of shambling zombies, it focuses on an almost literary pace and detailed storytelling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The Walking Dead\u003c/i> game has none of the sprawling adventure of \u003ca href=\"http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls_V:_Skyrim\">\u003ci>Skyrim\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, which topped many lists from 2011 or the guns-blazing, heart-pounding action of \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_Effect_2\">\u003ci>Mass Effect 2\u003c/i>\u003c/a> from 2010. Its brilliance comes in its dependance on the players’ emotional interactions with the characters as it forces us to make tough decisions with little or no time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2012/12/26/goty1.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The Walking Dead\u003c/i> game was even praised on \u003ca href=\"http://www.psychologyofgames.com/2012/11/the-walking-dead-mirror-neurons-and-empathy/\">\u003ci>The Psychology Of Video Games\u003c/i>\u003c/a> as a clear example of game makers utilizing realistic facial expressions in characters to activate mirror neurons and generate genuine empathy during play. This is precisely why few game enthusiasts thought it was a contender for “Game of the Year,” a title usually reserved for big name, big money titles. It’s a welcome change to have such powerfully emotional games produced and commended for their accomplishments by the gaming community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/JuxotWssdPY\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen>\u003c/iframe>\u003cbr>\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003ccenter>\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://u.s.kqed.net/2012/12/26/goty2.jpg\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\" alt=\"\">\u003c/center>\n\u003cp>While \u003ci>The Walking Dead\u003c/i> certainly deserves to be named “Game of the Year,” the best bang-for-your-buck title would have to go to \u003ca href=\"http://www.borderlands2.com/\">\u003ci>Borderlands 2\u003c/i>\u003c/a>. A quirky, first-person shooter that doesn’t take itself too seriously, \u003ci>Borderlands 2\u003c/i> offers hardcore, heart-pounding gun fights against a fleet of unique and powerful enemies. Whether you want to fight pirate ninjas that attack with ship anchors or super badass construction robots that create new enemies as you frantically try to destroy them, \u003ci>Borderlands 2\u003c/i> is the game for you. The sheer volume of content, built-in re-playability, and yet-to-be-released extras make it a great value for the money and a joy to play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"order": 8
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},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"order": 1
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"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
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"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
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"order": 9
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"hidden-brain": {
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"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
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"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
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"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"order": 18
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},
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"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
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"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
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},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"masters-of-scale": {
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"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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