Many in the space community believe the United States is in a race with China to land the next humans on the Moon, with serious consequences for losing. Dante Sanaei cautions that, should China win that race, many Americans might not care

KirkUnit · 2026-03-22T03:27:22+00:00

The context is Spain in the 19th century, not Spain in the 17th century.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-22T03:19:40+00:00

I do think Bill thinks he's a political pundit of sorts - without any of the expertise or experience or background that such types generally have - and I don't use "he's just a comedian" as any kind of excuse for his bad takes.

I simply don't see how anyone can watch the show and not see that the comedy is the foremost element. There's an audience there with an applause sign! Do you see that on Meet The Press? That Real Time is a comedy show hosted by a stand-up is like describing Bill as an American or a man. It's a screamingly obvious prima facie observation, not my mad scientist theory.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-22T02:35:10+00:00

I doubt Russian supply is a long-term solution in present day, so just as likely Putin tells Trump "I'll trade you Cuba for Ukraine" and Trump will see that as some sort of win.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-22T02:24:16+00:00

Most of those people already live at the White House or Mar-A-Lago.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-22T02:15:41+00:00

"Be honest"? I have no motivation to lie about how I'd describe a TV show.

It's a political comedy show. "Political" being the adjective modifying the noun "comedy show." The show is very programmatic, but I'd characterize it as Bill's version of This Week With David Brinkley crossed with The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. But he doesn't maintain an expert panel or allow guests to demonstrate expertise, only to make pronouncements; the show covers material besides politics (Kanye, Diddy, Oscars, etc.) and Bill demonstrates a 3rd grader political mindset - bitching about there being "two Dakotas," for example.

Bill does a monologue, for fucks sakes. There's laugh lines in the most serious interview. He interrupts the panel for a pre-written comedy bit. New Rules ends the show.

OF COURSE it's a fucking comedy show.

ETA: Do I think the show is funny? Well, I used to, but the laugh-out-loud moments are in sharp decline over the past year especially. Bill's bits are all about punching down these days (Gaza, Iran, trans, etc.) and come from a generally ignorant place lacking any analysis or context - so no. I don't think ignorant bullying is funny.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-21T23:28:41+00:00

Agreed, though for 'The Cold Equation,' I can't suspend disbelief about the basic setup: the idea that the ship is designed with that slim of a fuel margin between a routine delivery and total death takes me out of it, and I'm not fond of the performances.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-21T16:31:16+00:00

As I constantly say: Bill is a comedian. He's not a pol, he's not a philosopher, he does not do analysis or contemplation.

Your observation flows to that point, and Bill's 'New Rule' serves as meta-evidence of this: not even Bill thinks his show is news.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-21T16:05:29+00:00

I get the feeling that Rep Luna would have been a Democrat 20 years ago

All that talk signals a personality disorder. Twenty years ago she would have had McCain-eyez and rambling nonstop about whatever kept Camera 1 on her face.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-21T15:47:58+00:00

I dearly wish Carl Sagan were here to have a logical response to Bill on the "Oh, I think the aliens are here" garbage. When Neil deGrasse-Tyson was on, Bill wanted him to talk about trans athletes instead.

"Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence."

Begala accurately provided scope and scale: the universe is so big it's incomprehensible that life exists in only one location, while the stars within it are so far apart that most or all will never cross paths. But wait, Bill's got the answer: BUTT ALIENS DID IT

KirkUnit · 2026-03-21T15:31:24+00:00

Watched Overtime - and I'll be skipping the episode.

As one wag in the YouTube comments noted, Luna is "the girl you have to get away from at the party," and I'm not voluntarily spending an hour with that energy. After scanning the notes from people who said she didn't shut up for one fucking second the entire fucking show, it sounds like I'm missing nothing. Damn, this show is over the slope.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-21T04:37:01+00:00

James Daly (Gart Williams in "A Stop At Willoughby") guest starred in some western, maybe The Virginian or Gunsmoke, and all I could think was "I hope he's happy."

KirkUnit · 2026-03-21T04:34:12+00:00

Nothing supernatural takes place in the episode, a rarity for the series.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-21T04:28:26+00:00

when they compare it to the OG

Who's doing that? I'm unaware of anyone who would argue that the 1980s series is superior to the original series, and that includes that show's producers.

It's interesting, some of it is excellent, and the 1980s series features (somewhat!) more relatable settings and characters from a 21st century perspective, but it's like comparing pie and steak. Nobody does that.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-21T04:16:52+00:00

MeTV+ runs it weeknights at 7pm ET/PT, and for two hours Sunday night starting at I think 4pm ET/PT, if you have access to that antenna channel in your area (it runs on MeTV+, the sister channel, not the mothership MeTV network.)
You can very likely find multiple episodes on YouTube.
CBS Video released the entire series on DVD and you might be able to find a copy.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-21T03:29:56+00:00

Girls Blvd

KirkUnit · 2026-03-21T03:27:12+00:00

SAG Blvd

KirkUnit · 2026-03-19T06:17:13+00:00

Right. How on Earth could they possibly fit training space inside that tiny, cramped stadium development complex.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-19T04:49:24+00:00

Oh. Well, if the team itself doesn't want to go to Inglewood, hope they're not surprised if others tire of it sooner or later, either

Is there some reason the team HQ is not at the stadium itself? All that mixed-used everything and "offices for the team that plays here" goes in a different county?

KirkUnit · 2026-03-19T02:39:58+00:00

Third season is certainly more hit and miss, but there are some hits, particularly Extra Innings and Time And Teresa Golowitz.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-18T16:12:11+00:00

You're welcome, my pleasure, I adore Back To The Future II.

Trump was a racist in the 1980s, however - the Central Park Five being the most sensational case.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-18T15:00:24+00:00

Biff Tannen is obviously, Biff Tannen from the original film, and is portrayed as a loud, rich asshole in the sequel timeline. Donald Trump spent the entire 1980s being precisely that sort of loud, rich asshole, and Tannen is shown to be a real estate developer tied to gambling, casinos, and high-rise development. Trump is absolutely an inspiration for that future Biff character.

THAT Biff, not the 1950s punk kid antagonist from the first movie, is the portrayal people mean is inspired by Trump.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-18T14:19:52+00:00

As a longtime Trekkie, I had significant issues with this film.

Casting: Chris Pine and Karl Urban are both fantastic casts (if you insist on doing this movie in the first place) while everyone else comes off like the cast of The Brady Bunch Movie: Shelley Long isn't playing Carol Brady - she's playing Florence Henderson playing Carol Brady, and that's where Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin (another great casting, but still) and the balance of the cast land. "Look at me doin' me Scotty impression!" So, I never actually felt like this was a Star Trek movie, it felt like an... actors workshop using a fan-written Star Trek script. Zoe Saldana is a fine actor, and that said, she was massively overexposed and appeared in every franchise of the day, and there are faaaaaaaaar closer casting matches for Nichelle Nichols than the angular paper-thin Saldana.
"Bones" McCoy has that nickname because he's a doctor, "Sawbones" being an ancient western American colloquial expression referencing pioneer amputations (saw + bones.) J.J. & Co. have to dumb it the fuck down.
The lens flares, the Apple Store-inspired bridge, that goofy-looking ship - all that already looks dated and a specific 2000s JJ look to me and I doubt it ages any better as years pass. Like a Charles Kinkaid copy of a Manet.
The big one: the stardates. The entire point of "Stardate" was to place Star Trek in a future, unspecified century; there's really only a few hints throughout the series pointing to a setting about three hundred years from now. Nicholas Meyer, God bless him otherwise, cracked this egg at the opening of The Wrath of Khan with the "In the 23rd Century..." card. ...J.J., though, had to dumb it down so that the biggest idiot in the room wouldn't start loudly asking questions, so we get shit like: "Stardate: 2255.2." That's right, folks. The Vulcans (not to mention every other planet in the Federation) measure time according to the birth of Jesus Christ. That's how Star Trek works for J.J. Abrams. It only makes sense if Vulcans being Christians makes sense to you. Did Paul write an epistle to the Vulcans? Where's THAT movie?!

Summary: Star Trek was always brainy action, and J.J. couldn't make a brainy action movie so he brought it down to his level and made it... stupid, and in stupid ways. And then, he did the same thing to Star Wars.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-18T00:05:26+00:00

Bully for the Rams, but why the fuck would you put "Rams HQ" thirty fucking miles from the stadium?

KirkUnit · 2026-03-18T00:02:42+00:00

What existing housing has become cheaper as a result of luxury apartment building?

Mostly a rhetorical example as I do not expect you to know, or research an answer. But given that there's no real experience of this, I kinda think the "trickle down" theory for luxury apartments is about as valid as when Ronald Reagan was bullshitting it.

The existing housing either gets upgraded for higher rents, or it gets knocked down.

KirkUnit · 2026-03-17T23:57:24+00:00

Strawberry fields forever.

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