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I saw Aziz Ansari on an episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, liked him, so I thought I'd give his show, "Parks and Recreation" a whirl. Well, I haven't watched any of it yet, but I'm going to watch the pilot perhaps tonight, and I didn't want to lose all this title-tag information, so I'm posting now, will edit later. BTW, I don't summarize plots - just as I didn't with my Complete! Series! Of! Night! Gallery! Commentaries! I write these both as a (hopefully entertaining) supplement for people who have either just watched the episode, are in the middle of watching it, or are simply trying to refresh their memory in the future (that's why I include pictures that I think are representative of each episode); these are definitely not "reviews," and are just as much for my own future reference as for other people's benefit (I figure, if I'm going to spend five minutes jotting down notes for myself, why not spend seven minutes making things enjoyable for others?) Halfway into the third episode, I see no reason not to continue watching Parks and Recreation (I really like it!), so let me know if you want to see anything more than what I'm already doing (there is no better "guide" than watching the episode itself, and these commentaries aren't unlike reading the morning paper after you've already watched the Monday Night Football game). *** SPOILERS *** List of Characters in Parks and Recreation which contains look-ahead descriptions of what they end up doing. Season One 1. "Pilot" - Apr 9, 2009: <--- Leslie falls into the pit. Written by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, Directed by Greg Daniels [Notes: I'd never even heard of this show before this evening. From what I can gather from the pilot episode, this is very much of a tongue-in-cheek, self-aware farce, somewhat along the lines of "Arrested Development," but in a pseudo-documentary manner, as if the whole thing is being filmed like the live episode of "ER," "Ambush." Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) takes her mid-level bureaucrat role very seriously (and I suspect this series has more than its share of bloopers from the actors laughing when they shouldn't), Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) is a cocky, lackadaisical, skirt-chaser as Knope's underling for the Department of Parks and Recreation in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana, and Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones) is a parody of a serious, concerned citizen. I can tell after ten minutes that the fourth wall is broken perhaps more often than I'd prefer - time will tell whether or not this gets to be too much. Mark Brendanawicz (Paul Schneider) is a funny satire of a "go-getter" - a friend of Leslie's (who slept with her five years before and briefly forgot he did) - and Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) plays the hilarious injured musician-boyfriend of Ann's - he hurt his leg falling into the pit, and uses a robotic clamp to grab beer bottles, etc. (his opening scene is really very funny). Summer intern April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza) is a archetypal gum-chewing, disconnected teen, and Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) is the seemingly Libertarian boss whom Leslie needs to ask for permission to turn the pit into a park. Seven major characters were introduced during this half-hour in a very easy-to-digest fashion, and I loved this pilot episode.] 2. "Canvassing" - Apr 16, 2009: <--- The team studying canvassing brochures written by (who else?) Leslie Written by Rachel Axler, Directed by Seth Gordon [Notes: I don't know if I'm going to get tired of this, but so far it's pretty darned entertaining. I read that before the Pilot was shown, Leslie was written to be a less-likable character, and I think it was a really good idea making the audience like her more; otherwise, it would have been a chore to get through this. I'm writing this as I'm watching (going back-and-forth), and so far my least-favorite character is Mark Brendanawicz because he's just so blatantly chill, but maybe that difference - which is standing out a little too much right now - will make him grow on me going forward. The sex-offender scene was a riot, and fortunately not too overplayed (that's a good sign, although it could have been even more subtle). Subtlety will be so important in this series - the man who stood up at the town-hall meeting, complaining about the loud guitar playing, overacted his role at first, and it's little things like that which can ruin a series (although his "You suck!" comment was funny) - I'm writing this, turning a blind eye to the fact that it ran for seven seasons. Oh, this show is shaping up to be quite amusing.] 3. "The Reporter" - Apr 23, 2009: <--- Shauna Malwae-Tweep talking with Leslie. Written by Daniel J. Goor, Directed by Jeffrey Blitz [Notes: Yes, this is a *lot* like "Arrested Development" in that there are humorous scenes that are less than one-second long (I'm thinking now about the online Scrabble move FISHING -> IS). Oh, how I love the little moments like when Mark walks out with his arm around the reporter, Shauna Malwae-Tweep (Alison Becker) - the entire scene takes about one-quarter second - it's this rapid-fire, 50-funny-things-in-30-minutes, slapstick-like, machine-gun comedy that I liked about Arrested Development (although that show may have been a touch *too* subtle for mass acceptance). I wonder if "America's Funniest Home Videos" with Bob Saget was the precursor of this type of humor. In a 30-minute show, 26 minutes of it would be either commercials or Bob Saget yucking it up, and all you wanted was for Bob to Shut! Up! and play the next videos in rapid succession. You have to love the allophone (with "t" and "d") when Shauna comes trotting out of Mark's pick-up truck: "Hi! Sorry I'm late!" ... "Do ... you ... live near Mark?" "No, not at all." Yeah, Mark is growing on me, all right. And Leslie's subsequent seat-recline was laugh-out-loud funny. Does anyone think that Leslie looks like "someone we all know?" (And to a lesser degree, same with Mark? I can think of people I've met in my past who look a lot like them.) Through this episode, the director appears to be breaking the fourth wall with restraint, so it's actually a plus at this point rather than an annoyance. Andy's off-camera "Men are dawgs!" type of comments are uproarious. I had an audible "Oh no!" when Mark said, "I wouldn't say ... *romantically* involved ...." How did I not know this show existed?] 4, "Boy's Club" - Apr 30, 2009: <-- Ann and Leslie crashing the "Boy's Club" Written by Alan Yang, Directed by Michael McCullers [Notes: Dog-poop fights: If you can't lick 'em, join 'em. During the "apology video" to women politicians, I looked at the timer, and realized I was almost halfway through the episode - without commercials (on Amazon), this show *flies* by. One thing that can slip by the viewer in these episodes is the cinematography - the camera work is remarkable, and I have to think it's as much directorial skill as camera work because the timing is just so awesome. Leslie remarks on Ron's "full moustache," and in the next quarter-second, the camera moves in for a droll close-up; then it's over. And I love the allegory of dog-poop fights with Leslie's personal Watergate (because she opened a gift basket from a potential contractor). I kind of wish I wasn't writing these notes because every time I laugh out loud (like during Leslie's tearful filmed confession), I cut over here to write something. Hmmm ... The chase down the street on crutches and without pants! Writing detailed commentary about this show is like reviewing individual dishes at Minibar - it just doesn't work, but man oh man I'm loving this show so far.] 5. "The Banquet" - May 7, 2009: <--- Leslie sporting a mannish do. Written by Tucker Cawley, Directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller [Notes: They're really making the most out the murals on the wall of the Parks and Recreation building which, in case anyone doesn't already know, were ubiquitous things from Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "Works Progress Administration" - we have some here in Washington, DC. If anyone has a chance to go into the impressive Ariel Rios Federal Building on 11th and Penn (where the EPA is headquartered), make sure to walk up or down the awesome spiral staircases (where hangs a Foucault Pendulum): On each floor (on both sides of the building), there are WPA murals which look a *lot* like the ones in Parks and Recreation. If you know any EPA employee, ask them to give you a tour of this amazing building - it's worth a special effort just to see the staircases and murals. I swear, so far my favorite character in this show is Andy (the injured husband) - every single thing he says, or slight move he makes, causes me to giggle. I am so glad I'm writing this show up because if I wasn't, I could go through the entire series in about four days - I don't think I've yet seen a minute-long slice without it being funny. "The Banquet" may be my least-favorite episode of the first five, but it was still a winner - how did this show not have ten-million viewers?] 6. "Rock Show" - May 14, 2009: <--- Andy gets his cast off (and gets cast off by Ann) Written by Norm Hiscock, Directed by Michael Schur (2) [Notes: Finally! Some character development! And some plot advancement, but they had to wait until the season finale to do it. The one major storyline here is Ann throwing Andy out of the house after learning that he waited an extra two weeks before having his cast removed (because "he liked her serving him dinner"), and the two minor storylines are Leslie and Paul nuzzling (after hooking up once about five years ago), and Paul subsequently falling into the pit like Andy did, apparently hurting himself (but we don't really know since the season ended). This was refreshing, having some degree of continuity to the series other than "The Pit" (which is featured in one of Andy's awful rock songs in this episode - his band is just terrible. Rather than having this be "a show about nothing" like Seinfeld (or, should I say, "a show that deeply examines one seemingly unimportant construct, like "a meeting, or "a canvassing," etc. which is what Seinfeld did), it's refreshing to have the characters change (even a little bit) and grow, so the viewer feels they're investing something into the series, rather than simply watching random episodes and not missing a thing if they don't. Leslie's date with the older bureaucrat made me shiver - that was *really* creepy, in a very amusing sort of way - that man (Ron Perkins) played his role perfectly. One other thing: When Andy got his cast off, it was *gross*! And, Season One is a wrap and a thumbs-up. Note: All six shows had different directors and writers (eleven people total) except for Michael Schur, who worked on two episodes.

My brief, initial impressions of replacing Stuart with Noah: risky, but potentially brilliant. Risky, because the American audience - though it *thinks* it was hungering for intelligent, educated, well-informed, political satire, was possibly hungering merely for intelligent, educated, well-informed, political satire from an *American point-of-view*, and Noah's much-more-global perspective might be a little *too* educated for the American mass viewership. I'm pretty sure it's what *I* want (Hell, take Jon Stewart, and throw several languages and ethnicities into the mix, and blend it all with Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, and POW! You have the perfect satire, if, if, if, Trevor Noah can pull this off with the fearless bravado that the great Jon Stewart so masterfully did for 16+ years - oh my goodness Stewart was excellent in this role!) I have two polar-opposite scenarios in my mind: 1) Trevor Noah raising American audiences up to his level. Viewership will sink at first, simply because there is nothing like this on television. If Comedy Central can withstand the pressure of declining ratings (and if Noah sticks to his guns, ratings *will* decline in the short-, perhaps medium-term), this could be looked upon as one of the most brilliant moves in the history of television, and The Educating Of America. 2) Trevor Noah dumbing down his routine to conform with the current level of American viewership, which may result in an *increased* audience at first, mainly due to curiosity, but will ultimately die a slow death because this will be going against Noah's grain, and he won't be able to pull it off. If this show is to be a long-term success with Noah as host, American viewers will need to raise their game - and you know what? It's the same way I feel about this website, because I refuse to dumb it down to pander to boneheads just so I can get a larger audience. *The audience can educate themselves and come up to our level*, or they can go read Eater and The Washington Post. We have the chance to become the world's leader in political satire; not just for American politics, but for World politics. Let's do it, Damn It! Why shouldn't we better ourselves? Stewart was awesome, but I have to think that even *he* would be in favor of this as a long-term strategy. I'm as excited about this visionary selection as I am the Nationals signing Max Scherzer. Yes, it's one hell of a gamble, but what truly great thing isn't?

Having recently re-watched "The Candidate," Robert Redford's 1972 political satire about California politics, I decided to watch its "companion piece from the next generation," Warren Beatty's "Bulworth" from 1998. Thirty minutes into the film, it seems like a strange, love-child of "The Candidate" and "Network" (remember Howard Beale (Peter Finch) losing it, and screaming, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!"). That said,"Bulworth" is going to have to get better for me to like it as much as either of those two films. I'm not going to write up a long review of this, but it really grew on me over time. I started out not liking it *at all*, but then I saw that Beatty was taking some serious risk, and not going for a wide audience - who, exactly, *was* his target audience? There's doubt in my mind as to what this movie was even about, other than a politician growing stones large enough to speak the truth - this one goes straight to my heart because I *don't* think it's parody that partisan politics is corrupt in *both parties*. The day everyone is required to be an independent, and the two-party system is done away with is 1) the day a snowball freezes in Hell, and 2) the day I begin caring about politics and politicians again. As for the ending(s), I had a troubled feeling, but I honestly don't think it changes anything, because the gist of the parody was in the middle of the film. My respect for Warren Beatty went way up for having the courage to make this movie - perhaps the best political parody I've ever seen because it went, in its own *very* quirky way, directly to what desperately needs addressing.

Have you been watching Colbert lately? Over the last couple of weeks, for the first time, The Late Show has better ratings than The Tonight Show. His monologues are funny yet pointed. His take on the Flynn fiasco: it's funny cause it's treason "Sean Spicer, the M.C. Escher of bullshit." LOL

I'm about 25% of the way into "Breakfast of Champions," by Post-Modernist, Counter-Culture grump, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. The only other work I've read by Vonnegut is "Slaughterhouse-Five," and a beginning Vonnegut reader should probably start there, as it's most likely his best novel. "Breakfast of Champions" is a fine book, but "Slaughterhouse-Five" is its equal, and more important historically. It would be pointless, as usual, to summarize the plot in this, or any other, book for you, so instead I seek intelligent discussion about the novel - I would love for this forum to evolve into a gigantic Book Club, where we can all chime in whenever we feel like it, about anything we want to chime in about. My limited experience with Vonnegut is that he is cynical and nihilistic, hates people and what they've done to both the planet and to themselves, and has little or no hope for the future of mankind. And yet, he expresses those sentiments with biting humor, sarcasm, and literary weaponry. He's an important author, not necessarily a great writer, and the world would be a better place if everyone fit one or two of his works into their repertoire while not necessary buying into his entire philosophy. **SPOILERS FOLLOW** As a reader's guide, here are some brief Chapter descriptions: Epilogue: Homage to Phoebe Hurty by the author, nicknamed Philboyd Studge. 1. Introduction to the novel's two main characters, Dwayne Hoover and Killgore Trout. 2. More depth about Hoover and Trout; the tale of Kago and the Zeltoldimarians. 3. Trout gets his first fan letter, and is invited to the Midland City Arts Festival. 4. Hoover briefly descends into madness, and is clearly having some trouble. 5. Trout goes to Manhattan to prepare for the Arts Festival; his novels are detailed. 6. Hoover continues his insanity, with more details given about his escapades. 7. Trout is intrigued with and inspired in a pornographic theater, seeing meaning there. 8. Trout wanders down 42nd Street, and is battered by the Pluto Gang, scaring NYC. 9. Hoover checks in his own Holiday Inn at an odd hour, falling asleep like a lamb. 10. Trout gets picked up by the Lincoln Tunnel; rides in an olive truck through NJ. 11. Hoover gazes across highway; sinks into dimples; Wayne Hoobler is in Fairyland. 12. Trout heading west past Philadelphia in truck; chats with driver; his son is Leo. 13. Pontiac dealership has Hawaiian Day; Sacred Cave owned by Hoover's stepbrothers. 14. Truck in WV; Rosewater's mines; Books used for toilet paper; Hoover's a Hoobler. 15. 38-page chapter; Patty Keene; Bannister memorials; Penis sizes; Hoover and Francine. 16. Truck approaches cave; "Now It Can Be Told"; Adam and Eve; Trout closer to Hoover; 17. Bunny Hoover is a gay pianist; Military school; Bunny's mom expanded on; Skid Row 18. Truck is close, Hoobler misses prison; Author incognito; Keedsler and Kerebekian. 19. Cocktail lounge; Ned Lingamon; Eldon Robbins; Swimmer; Temptation of St. Anthony 20. Maritimo Brothers; Plastic in Sugar Creek; Milo; The Smart Bunny; Trout checks in 21. Lounge; Lynching in Shepardstown; E=MC2; Robo-Magic; Goodbye, Blue Monday 22. Lounge; WO1 Jon Sparks; Crispus Attucks; Bird calls; Hoover confronts Trout at last 23. Y-O-U; Hoover goes on rampage; Hoover attacks Hoobler; Payton Brown; Fairyland 24. Martha; Christmas Cards; Ukwende and Miasma; Eddie Key; Trout's fingertip; ETC. 25. Epilogue; Elgin Washington; Kazak; Trout transported; Weeping for parents; ETC.