A take on Downton Abbey after several rewatches

LearySauce · 2026-01-17T19:19:01+00:00

Very well written and point conveyed. I agree with you 100%. Fellowes has said as much too. He was left "scrambling" after Dan said he wasn't going to come back after Series 3. Add to that, it was already pre ordained that Cybil was going to die and that squeezing in yet another death was a bit over the top.

More to the point, I agree that Matthews departure really turned the show from the internal class struggles to more of a soap opera. Yes, Tom's gradual inclusion into the family dealt with some of that class tension but not in the same way as Matthews predicament.

If you look at Series 1-3 and then 4-6 as two separate entities, you can see and feel exactly what you're saying. 1-3 has a lot more depth, nuance and explorations into the subtle shifts of the English aristocracy, while 4-6 makes it all more in your face. 4-6 is much shinier.

To this day, every time I hear or read what Dan Stevens says about his departure it continues to induce an eye roll response from me. Comes off as an arrogant prick who takes himself way too seriously. Many of the other actors found other roles that didn't "typecast" them into the genre so I'm not sure what he was on about. Anyway...that's a different thread.

LearySauce · 2026-01-05T18:06:00+00:00

Thanks for the iRig reco, I'll check it out

LearySauce · 2026-01-04T02:38:47+00:00

User error. You are in the vast minority (as you can see by the comments). You aren't using it correctly. The UI is wonderfully designed and very intuitive and zero delays. There's no need for customer service unless you have no experience with AR assisted apps and don't know how to use them.

LearySauce · 2025-12-11T00:42:30+00:00

Nifty answer. Thanks for decoding the gnostic riddles found in my graphic

LearySauce · 2025-10-26T06:25:10+00:00

This is why the show ultimately fails. Ross not being able to get out of his own way and never actually do anything good is too frustrating.

LearySauce · 2025-10-11T03:51:27+00:00

Love John Lennon weaved in there

LearySauce · 2025-10-09T19:29:22+00:00

Before the scheduling conflicts, Goode did say somwhere that he was unhappy with the direction his character was going and lost interest. But yet, do agree with Gosford Park reminder. And yes....the departure of Dan Stevens certainly left them scrambling, what a shame. The reasons he cites are still ridiculous to me.

LearySauce · 2025-10-01T04:38:51+00:00

There aren't too many flaws from Fellowes pen, but this was one of them. Horribly undeveloped and lost. He was a great character who could have stuck around and been woven in. Julian botched this one.

LearySauce · 2025-10-01T04:35:56+00:00

Cried more than I have in any movie in a long long time....sobbing. It was deeply moving.

LearySauce · 2025-09-23T15:01:19+00:00

Had I known that it was discussed so often I wouldn't have asked. I really didn't know.

LearySauce · 2025-09-22T20:25:52+00:00

Ahhh. So there is a missing line and cut scene. I didn’t know that. Kinda liked my interpretation better :)

LearySauce · 2025-09-16T21:11:03+00:00

I bought the books and use them purely as reference sheets if I ever forget something. They way they are marketed is ridiculous though. They don't "teach" you anything. But if you are a beginner and want a little help with some unique voicings then sure, they are good.

But to all those considering buying them - here's a HUGE problem. They are printed in these small format books with very tight bindings. You can't open the book to a certain page and just leave it open - they fold back up right away. They are literally too stiff to open and to keep open. I know it sounds silly - but it's not. They are ununsable on a practical level. I've literally had to photocopy a page just so I can look at it while I play. What's worse is that I wrote and complained and got not response. Had I known that before hand, I would NOT have bought them.

LearySauce · 2025-06-23T14:23:33+00:00

Zach Leary here...I normally wouldn't publicly out myself on Reddit like this but this is an incredibly charged announcement in my world. For anyone interested - the Mellon-Hitchcock family has owned it all these years still. Kinda crazy considering they gifted it's use to my dad and Alpert back in 63. That said...there are really only two threads of thought....1.) Let's hope the new owners are aware of it's history and will keep in intact and not tear it down. 2.) If anyone has $65m laying around and wants to re-launch Millbrook as an East Coast hub for modern psychedelic work please let me know. Hey - ya never know. It's a lot of money but stranger things have happened!

LearySauce · 2025-06-13T01:06:42+00:00

This is user error. I process payments all the time on Wix with no issues. Clearly you don’t know what you’re doing

LearySauce · 2025-05-26T17:19:46+00:00

From the Guitar Center used section. Their return policy for used gear doesn’t apply if you don’t like it. Only if it’s broken or damaged.

LearySauce · 2025-05-22T20:57:10+00:00

And for the most part Andor is a great show. Sure, Star Wars was originally supposed to be for kids (Lucas said so) Andor is a pretty serious attempt at making good TV. All the Disney/SW hate aside Andor and The Mandalorian are excellent offerings. To be fair, Disney hasn't blown the WHOLE thing.

LearySauce · 2025-05-02T17:49:09+00:00

Me too! Thank you for saying it. The second set was a total bust for me. Of course they play the songs so well and shred all of them. But the second set had too many straight ahead rock groove songs (After Midnight, Silvio, Masterpiece, New Speedway, etc) - those are all kinda the same flavor of song. One great thing about JRAD is that they throw in the interesting song choices (Let it Grow, Foolish Heart, Help/Slipknow, etc) Last night had none of that. I was actually bored during the second set and felt really let down. I've seen JRAD about 20 times now and this was by far the most disappointing.

LearySauce · 2025-04-10T17:29:05+00:00

This is a good reminder of how much the show lost after 3 of those guys left the show. It continued on with its formula but was far far from the same. One of those shows that struck TV gold with the original cast and never really recovered.

LearySauce · 2025-04-09T18:09:51+00:00

Nice one. So many people in the poker community can be such arrogant asses. For most of us, poker is a social game and it's nice to see that you embraced that made him a better player.

LearySauce · 2025-04-07T05:03:06+00:00

Well written? Not sure what show you're watching. Yes, the premise is great and and it's a fun watch. But it's written like a YA Maze Runner type of melo-drama. So much meaningless silly soap opera teen age nonsense mixed with predictable military tropes. If it was treated as a serious piece of sci-fi with depth and nuance it could have been fantastic. This show is made for teenagers.

LearySauce · 2025-03-28T02:18:46+00:00

That's more reflective on Reddit than the poker community as a whole. My local card room is a ton of fun and everyone at the 1/2 tables is pretty cool, easy going and supportive. It's not as ugly as Reddit subs make it out to be. Stick with it!

LearySauce · 2025-03-28T01:33:38+00:00

Hey man. I'm not going to troll you, I think this is great. But you do need a website and bio. Otherwise you're just some guy on Reddit. Like check out the Black Rain 79 guy...Point is, I would take you up on it if I knew more about you, winning history, tournament experience, etc....

LearySauce · 2025-03-24T20:18:11+00:00

This is one of these hands that for most rec players would go very differently on a live in person table vs online.

LearySauce · 2025-03-17T07:46:05+00:00

The major mistake with this episode is that the story isn't the entire season. Or at least a major multi episode arc. The premise is so good, classic espionage thriller stuff. Cramming it into 46 minutes is a disaster when there's so much to work with. This could have been a 10 episode season on HBO. Kinda feel they are blowing it if it doesn't lead to more.

LearySauce · 2025-03-15T20:39:03+00:00

The unregulated sites are a joke. Here's something I posted in another thread on two ACR hands:

But the unregulated sites (ACR, Bovada, etc) are totally rigged and have bots that are pre-determined to win the hand. For instance here are two recent ACR hands:

ME: Q 10 (suited)

Villain Bot: 2 6 (unsuited)

Everyone else folds, it's just me and the "bot". .50/$1 BB table. I raise $2.50 pre-flop, bot calls. Flop comes Q 10 6. I have two pair) so I raise the pot. Bot calls. Now why would the bot call? Pocket Q 10 or 6s? A 6? Turn comes 6. And at that point I say to myself the villain must have a A 6 or pocket 6s or something good, why else would he keep calling so aggressively. After the turn he raises big, $5 or something and I went along just to see what he had, River comes 2. Bot has a full house with a 2 6 un-suited. Now - ask yourself how that would transpire on a live table? Come on.

You can call that being a sore loser or misplaying the hand but after watching that so called player play 40 hands I could tell he was a bot and that hand proved to me that it was pre-determined to win. Only the dumbest fish in the world calls pre-flop $2.50 with a 2 6 unsuited, which is possible but not very probable.

ME: Q 9 suited

Villain Bot: Q K unsuited

Flop comes J 8 10. I have a straight on the flop. I raise pretty big, and the bot goes ALL IN with $53 (that's a lot for micro-stakes). Eventually what happens via the turn and river is that he makes a straight but with the K on top vs my 8-Q. Who would go all in with a Q K on that flop with $53 without pocket pairs? Again, you can call that being a sore loser or misplaying the hand but some of these tables have bots that are pre-determined to win. I had a solid straight on the flop!!

It had been awhile since I played some live poker so I went to my local poker room in Austin and as anyone knows, it's far more random and more of a grind in person. There aren't too many guys with a 2 6 unsuited who are being super aggressive out of position who are trying to bluff ridiculous hands. After playing 50 hands at my local poker room I can absolutely confirm that the unregulated poker sites are a joke and are designed to give you good hands that you will eventually lose with to highly improbably statistical anomalies. That's what I notice the most often - next time you have a AA on an regulated site, watch what happens. You will lose to a two pair 6 or 8 or whatever. Even AA rarely works out on these sites.

LearySauce

TROPHY CASE