Tonight's Sherlock was the finest bit of TV since, well the last episode of Sherlock.
TSE, I know that you are a man of rare intellect and irrepressible good humour, and I can only assume that you wrote your post with the latter attribute in mind.
Sherlock was cr@p. Really, really, cr@p. In fact it's been cr@p since the very first episode - although the pilot (which they scr@pped) was excellent. It was so cr@p that Mrs J left after an hour and did not come back for twenty minutes, preferring instead to argue with someone on a blog. (*) And she's a dirty girl who really fancies Benedict Cumberbatch. (1)
It utterly wasted good actors. It is yet another example of Jessop's first (and so far only) rule of Benedict Cumberbatch: anything that Benedict Cumberbatch appears in is cr@p, but he will be the best thing in it.
(*) It is a trait we share. One day we shall find ourselves anonymously arguing with each other on some blog ...
I can safely say that the verdict of the Tyndall household from daughter 13 to Grandmother 92 and all generations imbetween is that you are utterly, completely and spectacularly wrong.
I am not sure there is very much 'must see' TV these days but Sherlock is definitely one of the rare examples.
it was like Dr Who in that it was an overly complicated plot, that was hard to follow and rather too clever for itself.
Dr Who needs to get back to some of what made it work, people running screaming from monsters, and a building of sinister intent. It all got a bit silly with River Song and has not recovered.
Sherlock is heading the same way. I do not share your opinion of Downton though.
Best series of the last year was the brooding and melancholic "The Returned".
I haven't seen tonight's Sherlock but I fear it is one of those HUGELY over-rated UK TV dramas that lefties, luvvies and middlebrows drool over, for some inexplicable reason. Dr Who is the same. They are just Not That Good.
By contrast the same people sneer at Downton Abbey, which is a brilliant sugar rush of soap opera plotting and characterisation, and far superior in craftsmanship - one of the few British dramas that matches some of the better US series (though nothing in Britain equals the best - e.g. Breaking Bad, Spartacus, Sopranos)
Coincidentally, I've just watched episode 5 series 9 of Grey's Anatomy. It was compelling, clever, artful, seriously researched, well acted, and nicely moving - better than almost anything new or old on British TV. And this is series NINE, FFS, and they make 24 episodes a YEAR.
I think by-elections in Surbiton, Hampstead & Kilburn and Sutton Coldfield would be fascinating.
Who would Dan Hodges support in Hampstead? But we all wish that his mother remains in good health.
Well, given recent trends, Dan Hodges could be the Labour candidate in Hampstead and Kilburn.
I was thinking, Glenda gets a great movie offer, she decides to resign her seat, and we have a by-election.
She's a very good actress.
Dan Hodges, the LABOUR candidate? He's left the party I believe because Ed refused to back military intervention in Syria. (I'm sure there's all sorts of reasons why people have left the Labour Party over the years, this one seemed amongst the more unusual). I presumed he would be standing as an independent in Doncaster? He he mop up all the anti-Miliband vote? If Farage is thinking of Sheffield Hallam, why doesn't Hodges take on Doncaster? I think peter Hitchens lives in Oxfordshire. I wonder if he's thought about standing in Witney?
Hodges writes for the Telegraph, and confines his (political) comments to attacking Labour and particularly Miliband. He's a Conservative in all but name, and I expect him to declare for them by 2015. A betting market on that outcome would be interesting.
Dan Hodges is not and will never be a Conservative.
His aspiration is for an electable Labour Party.
Hence his disappointment with, lack of faith in, and, criticism of Ed Miliband.
He criticises Labour and its leader at every opportunity. He chooses to offer no criticism of Cameron or any of the other Conservatives in the Government. He takes regular advantage of a platform offered by a Conservative-supporting newspaper.
I could be describing Dan Hodges. Equally I could be describing George Osborne.
Mr Phil
Are you saying that Dan Hodges is not a saint?
If you are, then the comparison with George Osborne is most odorous.
Obamacare comes into full force today, or the bits that haven't been gutted by Obama with executive orders do.
There are some new terms that are being deployed ever more frequently - 29ers, 49ers, orphans, and ghosts.
29ers - these are part time (and previously full time) employees whose hours have been reduced to less than 30 a week. Think restaurants, stores, factories etc. Folks who work less than 30 hours a week are not required to be covered by employers under Obamacare. Many of my daughter's friends are affected by this. It is pervasive.
49ers - these are businesses that have chosen to keep their headcount below 50 as Obamacare will not apply to them. This too is pervasive.
The two items above are having a devastating effect on employment prospects.
Orphans - people who have signed up for Obamacare via either a state or federal exchange, yet their information is not transferred to an insurance company from the web site.
Ghosts - folks known to the insurance companies as signed up, but their information is not on one of the healthcare application websites, so their identity and eligibility cannot be confirmed.
When I first moved to Atlanta, before I had a job, I needed insurance coverage for myself and family. I talked to a couple of brokers and had over 30 plans to choose from, each of which had many options as to coverage, and all were reasonably priced.
Checking the healthcare website, there are 3 - THREE - companies proving care in my area. There are NO options - other than paying higher premiums to buy down deductibles and copays. I have no say in coverage at all. Premiums are slightly lower, but deductibles and copays are WAY up. In other words your cost of healthcare is MUCH higher than it used to be. Subsidies will help some folks, but not that many.
Obamacare is a disaster - and it's going to get worse. To reduce expenses, the companies have reduced reimbursement costs to almost Medicaid levels, so the new doctor and hospital networks are much smaller than the old ones. Sloane Kettering and Cedars Sinai have both announced they won't participate in the Obamacare plans, so if you have cancer you're now in even bigger trouble.
Thaks to Obamacare you may have insurance, but accessing medical care just got much more difficult.
Luckily it doesn't affect me - yet. According to government figures in the Federal Register, up to 90 million folks with employee coverage will be forced onto the exchanges this fall.
Hodges expected a job when David Miliband became leader of the Labour Party. Ed won and Hodges has never forgiven him for the money he has lost because of it. It then didn't take him long to leave the Labour Party.
He writes for a right wing paper and plays to it's readership. He doesn't actually need any insiders as all he has to say is "nameless" or "one that would like to remain nameless". This did lead to the humorous episode where a "Tory source" gave him his *Ahem* marginal poll info. When a number of people asked him or the Tory Party to confirm this information.....it went all quiet. The fact that no one would back this poll up was very highlighting. For one it showed that his sources are, how can I be polite, not all he makes out. Also, his friends in the Tory Party left him to hang out to dry.
Oh, and quite a few on here hang on his every word.
All very entertaining.
compouter
Hodges. Someone for the lefties to get cross over.
The X factor and Britains got talent are also massively popular around the world, but they too are dross.
Mind you, I do not like TV much at all, so my opinion doesnt count for much. I prefer the radio and the tinternet. TV is just pablum that is the major cause of brain rot and the decline of Western civilisation.
it was like Dr Who in that it was an overly complicated plot, that was hard to follow and rather too clever for itself.
Dr Who needs to get back to some of what made it work, people running screaming from monsters, and a building of sinister intent. It all got a bit silly with River Song and has not recovered.
Sherlock is heading the same way. I do not share your opinion of Downton though.
Best series of the last year was the brooding and melancholic "The Returned".
I haven't seen tonight's Sherlock but I fear it is one of those HUGELY over-rated UK TV dramas that lefties, luvvies and middlebrows drool over, for some inexplicable reason. Dr Who is the same. They are just Not That Good.
By contrast the same people sneer at Downton Abbey, which is a brilliant sugar rush of soap opera plotting and characterisation, and far superior in craftsmanship - one of the few British dramas that matches some of the better US series (though nothing in Britain equals the best - e.g. Breaking Bad, Spartacus, Sopranos)
Coincidentally, I've just watched episode 5 series 9 of Grey's Anatomy. It was compelling, clever, artful, seriously researched, well acted, and nicely moving - better than almost anything new or old on British TV. And this is series NINE, FFS, and they make 24 episodes a YEAR.
Downton is MASSIVELY popular around the world for a reason. It has universal narrative values, brilliantly executed. It's not the Ring Cycle, but it doesn't try to be.
The Returned started well, but by episode three a wheel came off the plot, and by episode 6 was ludicrously and laughably bad, with so many non sequiturs and longueurs I watched it only out of morbid pity - then I stopped. Total merde.
The Killing, series one, from Denmark, remains the benchmark for European drama - the only Euro drama that matches (even betters?) the best made in America since 2000.
I think by-elections in Surbiton, Hampstead & Kilburn and Sutton Coldfield would be fascinating.
Who would Dan Hodges support in Hampstead? But we all wish that his mother remains in good health.
Well, given recent trends, Dan Hodges could be the Labour candidate in Hampstead and Kilburn.
I was thinking, Glenda gets a great movie offer, she decides to resign her seat, and we have a by-election.
She's a very good actress.
Hodges writes for the Telegraph, and confines his (political) comments to attacking Labour and particularly Miliband. He's a Conservative in all but name, and I expect him to declare for them by 2015. A betting market on that outcome would be interesting.
Dan Hodges is not and will never be a Conservative.
His aspiration is for an electable Labour Party.
Hence his disappointment with, lack of faith in, and, criticism of Ed Miliband.
He criticises Labour and its leader at every opportunity. He chooses to offer no criticism of Cameron or any of the other Conservatives in the Government. He takes regular advantage of a platform offered by a Conservative-supporting newspaper.
I could be describing Dan Hodges. Equally I could be describing George Osborne.
Mr Phil
Are you saying that Dan Hodges is not a saint?
If you are, then the comparison with George Osborne is most odorous.
I've tended to assume your comments Avery are at least partially ironic. But sometimes I wonder if you really do worship St George. That such a shallow, narrow minded second rate political schemer should in your mind be confused with an heroic economic genius seems rather sad.
Hodges expected a job when David Miliband became leader of the Labour Party. Ed won and Hodges has never forgiven him for the money he has lost because of it. It then didn't take him long to leave the Labour Party.
He writes for a right wing paper and plays to it's readership. He doesn't actually need any insiders as all he has to say is "nameless" or "one that would like to remain nameless". This did lead to the humorous episode where a "Tory source" gave him his *Ahem* marginal poll info. When a number of people asked him or the Tory Party to confirm this information.....it went all quiet. The fact that no one would back this poll up was very highlighting. For one it showed that his sources are, how can I be polite, not all he makes out. Also, his friends in the Tory Party left him to hang out to dry.
Oh, and quite a few on here hang on his every word.
All very entertaining.
compouter
Hodges. Someone for the lefties to get cross over.
Speaking of crossovers.....are you again going to fail with, I mean, make another prediction on your polling crossover?
I think by-elections in Surbiton, Hampstead & Kilburn and Sutton Coldfield would be fascinating.
Who would Dan Hodges support in Hampstead? But we all wish that his mother remains in good health.
Well, given recent trends, Dan Hodges could be the Labour candidate in Hampstead and Kilburn.
I was thinking, Glenda gets a great movie offer, she decides to resign her seat, and we have a by-election.
She's a very good actress.
Hodges writes for the Telegraph, and confines his (political) comments to attacking Labour and particularly Miliband. He's a Conservative in all but name, and I expect him to declare for them by 2015. A betting market on that outcome would be interesting.
Dan Hodges is not and will never be a Conservative.
His aspiration is for an electable Labour Party.
Hence his disappointment with, lack of faith in, and, criticism of Ed Miliband.
He criticises Labour and its leader at every opportunity. He chooses to offer no criticism of Cameron or any of the other Conservatives in the Government. He takes regular advantage of a platform offered by a Conservative-supporting newspaper.
I could be describing Dan Hodges. Equally I could be describing George Osborne.
Mr Phil
Are you saying that Dan Hodges is not a saint?
If you are, then the comparison with George Osborne is most odorous.
I've tended to assume your comments Avery are at least partially ironic. But sometimes I wonder if you really do worship St George. That such a shallow, narrow minded second rate political schemer should in your mind be confused with an heroic economic genius seems rather sad.
People said the same about Jesus when he was performing miracles, Mr. Booth.
When it comes to Gods, there are always more doubters than believers.
I think by-elections in Surbiton, Hampstead & Kilburn and Sutton Coldfield would be fascinating.
Who would Dan Hodges support in Hampstead? But we all wish that his mother remains in good health.
Well, given recent trends, Dan Hodges could be the Labour candidate in Hampstead and Kilburn.
I was thinking, Glenda gets a great movie offer, she decides to resign her seat, and we have a by-election.
She's a very good actress.
Hodges writes for the Telegraph, and confines his (political) comments to attacking Labour and particularly Miliband. He's a Conservative in all but name, and I expect him to declare for them by 2015. A betting market on that outcome would be interesting.
Dan Hodges is not and will never be a Conservative.
His aspiration is for an electable Labour Party.
Hence his disappointment with, lack of faith in, and, criticism of Ed Miliband.
He criticises Labour and its leader at every opportunity. He chooses to offer no criticism of Cameron or any of the other Conservatives in the Government. He takes regular advantage of a platform offered by a Conservative-supporting newspaper.
I could be describing Dan Hodges. Equally I could be describing George Osborne.
Mr Phil
Are you saying that Dan Hodges is not a saint?
If you are, then the comparison with George Osborne is most odorous.
I've tended to assume your comments Avery are at least partially ironic. But sometimes I wonder if you really do worship St George. That such a shallow, narrow minded second rate political schemer should in your mind be confused with an heroic economic genius seems rather sad.
People said the same about Jesus when he was performing miracles, Mr. Booth.
When it comes to Gods, there are always more doubters than believers.
I'm fairly sceptical on the issue of Mr Christ. History is full of people who claimed they were performing miracles when of course it was really a load of bull.
I wonder whether you're actually some sort of lackey at the Treasury hoping for promotion from the dear leader, or do you actually believe all this stuff?
I think by-elections in Surbiton, Hampstead & Kilburn and Sutton Coldfield would be fascinating.
Who would Dan Hodges support in Hampstead? But we all wish that his mother remains in good health.
Well, given recent trends, Dan Hodges could be the Labour candidate in Hampstead and Kilburn.
I was thinking, Glenda gets a great movie offer, she decides to resign her seat, and we have a by-election.
She's a very good actress.
Hodges writes for the Telegraph, and confines his (political) comments to attacking Labour and particularly Miliband. He's a Conservative in all but name, and I expect him to declare for them by 2015. A betting market on that outcome would be interesting.
Dan Hodges is not and will never be a Conservative.
His aspiration is for an electable Labour Party.
Hence his disappointment with, lack of faith in, and, criticism of Ed Miliband.
He criticises Labour and its leader at every opportunity. He chooses to offer no criticism of Cameron or any of the other Conservatives in the Government. He takes regular advantage of a platform offered by a Conservative-supporting newspaper.
I could be describing Dan Hodges. Equally I could be describing George Osborne.
Mr Phil
Are you saying that Dan Hodges is not a saint?
If you are, then the comparison with George Osborne is most odorous.
I've tended to assume your comments Avery are at least partially ironic. But sometimes I wonder if you really do worship St George. That such a shallow, narrow minded second rate political schemer should in your mind be confused with an heroic economic genius seems rather sad.
i just find it like sofa popcorn - I watched S1 in a single day and LOL several times at the clunking cliches. I really adored Julian Fellowes first outing with Gosford Park - I've seen it a dozen times.
I read his book Snobs and thought it was very predictable and a low grade rehash of Gosford Park - Downton Abbey is more of the same but as a soap opera.
I've no desire to watch it unless I was totally desperate.
On another board we mercilessly pick apart stories in another series = plot holes, out of character dialogue, bad CGI, contradictory actions - and follow/examine everything the cast members/writers/showrunners tweet or say in interviews. It rivals the expertise of PB about by-elections or current affairs and polling!
I guess being a nerd on one subject can hop off into another more easily than I realised!
Ask anyone how much TV they watched last week. Chances are it would add up to about 20 something hours. Ask them then to describe what they saw, and how they benefited from it. Few if any people will be able to describe even the rudiments of what they saw.
They were just wasting the few waking hours that they have between the workplace and the bed. They are the real zombies. Potboiling thrillers are marginally better, but not by much.
Real meaning in life derives from our interactions with others and our reflections on events and experiences. It is why politics and hence PB are interesting. It is why work is interesting. It is why TV is boring, because there is no interaction and very little reflection.
The X factor and Britains got talent are also massively popular around the world, but they too are dross.
Mind you, I do not like TV much at all, so my opinion doesnt count for much. I prefer the radio and the tinternet. TV is just pablum that is the major cause of brain rot and the decline of Western civilisation.
it was like Dr Who in that it was an overly complicated plot, that was hard to follow and rather too clever for itself.
Dr Who needs to get back to some of what made it work, people running screaming from monsters, and a building of sinister intent. It all got a bit silly with River Song and has not recovered.
Sherlock is heading the same way. I do not share your opinion of Downton though.
Best series of the last year was the brooding and melancholic "The Returned".
Downton is MASSIVELY popular around the world for a reason. It has universal narrative values, brilliantly executed. It's not the Ring Cycle, but it doesn't try to be.
The Returned started well, but by episode three a wheel came off the plot, and by episode 6 was ludicrously and laughably bad, with so many non sequiturs and longueurs I watched it only out of morbid pity - then I stopped. Total merde.
The Killing, series one, from Denmark, remains the benchmark for European drama - the only Euro drama that matches (even betters?) the best made in America since 2000.
I write stories for a living; you are a doctor. This is my area of expertise. So I'm right. And you're wrong.
When it comes to pb arguments about NHS reorganisation, feel free to pull rank on me, similarly.
He's a Conservative in all but name, and I expect him to declare for them by 2015.
Does that make him a LINO - Labour in name only? :-)
He is not Labour in any way. Even when he wa sin the Labour Party, he was a Blairite which is not quite Labour.
So that's your way of saying no quite Labour leader has won a working majority in 47 years and counting?
That is basically it. Of course Blair could have won without reaching to the centre-right, but firstly he wanted big majorities and secondly and perhaps most importantly, he just didn't believe in the Labour party in any way shape or form. I donthink history will judge the Blair era in the Labour party as a strange one. I mean what were people like Dan Hodges doing in the Labour Party?
I would count 1997 as definitely Labour. Great achievements were made. Minimum wage, for instance is something we should all be proud of. In fact, I remember some Blairite warning that this could price British business out of the market etc. Bullshit !
I still think the long term effect of the minimum wage will be negative to workers.
It provides a base for low paid and low medium paid jobs to be leveled down to. Those that will suffer are the employees that used to earn minimum wage plus 20 pc or so.
If you provide a minimum don't be shocked when it is used for leveling down.
I am convinced that if the minimum wage hadn't been introduced when it was, the mass immigration of cheap labour from Eastern Europe from 2004 onwards would have led to a going rate for unskilled jobs of around £3 per hour
Hodges expected a job when David Miliband became leader of the Labour Party. Ed won and Hodges has never forgiven him for the money he has lost because of it. It then didn't take him long to leave the Labour Party.
He writes for a right wing paper and plays to it's readership. He doesn't actually need any insiders as all he has to say is "nameless" or "one that would like to remain nameless". This did lead to the humorous episode where a "Tory source" gave him his *Ahem* marginal poll info. When a number of people asked him or the Tory Party to confirm this information.....it went all quiet. The fact that no one would back this poll up was very highlighting. For one it showed that his sources are, how can I be polite, not all he makes out. Also, his friends in the Tory Party left him to hang out to dry.
Oh, and quite a few on here hang on his every word.
All very entertaining.
compouter
Hodges. Someone for the lefties to get cross over.
Speaking of crossovers.....are you again going to fail with, I mean, make another prediction on your polling crossover?
Mind the gap, compouter.
And no, I don't mean the one between the platform and the train carriage.
Ask anyone how much TV they watched last week. Chances are it would add up to about 20 something hours. Ask them then to describe what they saw, and how they benefited from it. Few if any people will be able to describe even the rudiments of what they saw.
They were just wasting the few waking hours that they have between the workplace and the bed. They are the real zombies. Potboiling thrillers are marginally better, but not by much.
Real meaning in life derives from our interactions with others and our reflections on events and experiences. It is why politics and hence PB are interesting. It is why work is interesting. It is why TV is boring, because there is no interaction and very little reflection.
The X factor and Britains got talent are also massively popular around the world, but they too are dross.
Mind you, I do not like TV much at all, so my opinion doesnt count for much. I prefer the radio and the tinternet. TV is just pablum that is the major cause of brain rot and the decline of Western civilisation.
it was like Dr Who in that it was an overly complicated plot, that was hard to follow and rather too clever for itself.
Dr Who needs to get back to some of what made it work, people running screaming from monsters, and a building of sinister intent. It all got a bit silly with River Song and has not recovered.
Sherlock is heading the same way. I do not share your opinion of Downton though.
Best series of the last year was the brooding and melancholic "The Returned".
Downton is MASSIVELY popular around the world for a reason. It has universal narrative values, brilliantly executed. It's not the Ring Cycle, but it doesn't try to be.
The Returned started well, but by episode three a wheel came off the plot, and by episode 6 was ludicrously and laughably bad, with so many non sequiturs and longueurs I watched it only out of morbid pity - then I stopped. Total merde.
The Killing, series one, from Denmark, remains the benchmark for European drama - the only Euro drama that matches (even betters?) the best made in America since 2000.
I write stories for a living; you are a doctor. This is my area of expertise. So I'm right. And you're wrong.
When it comes to pb arguments about NHS reorganisation, feel free to pull rank on me, similarly.
I'm still right, and you're still wrong. I do this for a living.
I haven't watched it recently but I saw a fair number of episodes in the early series.
I didn't like any of the characters. I found none believable or sympathetic. All of them appeared two dimensional to me.
Appreciation of Downton is a proxy for IQ testing. People with an IQ from 105-135 do not get it (quite seriously, try this on your friends). People with an IQ sub 105 (average to stupid) enjoy it as soap opera, supersmart people (IQ over 135) clearly perceive its uncanny genius.
I am unsurprised that so many pb-ers fall in the middlebrow "I like Radio 4 and Doctor Who and dislike Downton" category.
Never watched Downton Abbey or Sherlock, haven't watched Dr Who since about 1983 and thought it was rubbish then
Never been able to get Sci Fi or spacey stuff, always seemed stupid (and a bit uncool)
The Sopranos is the greatest show ever in my book, haven't seen Breaking Bad or Spartacus.
Good Sci Fi is indeed rare, but like good westerns allows exploration of universal themes. Star Trek (the original series) was good at this, as were the better Westerns such as The Outlaw Josey Wales. Most are drossy space or horse operas, that make up for their paucity of plotting with special effects.
There are some that can be appreciated on several levels. The film Starship Troopers is quite engaging as a shoot em up horrer flick, but also has some interesting themes about genocide and fascism.
But Downton, Meh. Its Sunday night unchallenging viewing to doze off to.
I haven't watched it recently but I saw a fair number of episodes in the early series.
I didn't like any of the characters. I found none believable or sympathetic. All of them appeared two dimensional to me.
Appreciation of Downton is a proxy for IQ testing. People with an IQ from 105-135 do not get it (quite seriously, try this on your friends). People with an IQ sub 105 (average to stupid) enjoy it as soap opera, supersmart people (IQ over 135) clearly perceive its uncanny genius.
I am unsurprised that so many pb-ers fall in the middlebrow "I like Radio 4 and Doctor Who and dislike Downton" category.
Never watched Downton Abbey or Sherlock, haven't watched Dr Who since about 1983 and thought it was rubbish then
Never been able to get Sci Fi or spacey stuff, always seemed stupid (and a bit uncool)
The Sopranos is the greatest show ever in my book, haven't seen Breaking Bad or Spartacus.
I think by-elections in Surbiton, Hampstead & Kilburn and Sutton Coldfield would be fascinating.
Who would Dan Hodges support in Hampstead? But we all wish that his mother remains in good health.
Well, given recent trends, Dan Hodges could be the Labour candidate in Hampstead and Kilburn.
I was thinking, Glenda gets a great movie offer, she decides to resign her seat, and we have a by-election.
She's a very good actress.
Hodges writes for the Telegraph, and confines his (political) comments to attacking Labour and particularly Miliband. He's a Conservative in all but name, and I expect him to declare for them by 2015. A betting market on that outcome would be interesting.
Dan Hodges is not and will never be a Conservative.
His aspiration is for an electable Labour Party.
Hence his disappointment with, lack of faith in, and, criticism of Ed Miliband.
He criticises Labour and its leader at every opportunity. He chooses to offer no criticism of Cameron or any of the other Conservatives in the Government. He takes regular advantage of a platform offered by a Conservative-supporting newspaper.
I could be describing Dan Hodges. Equally I could be describing George Osborne.
Mr Phil
Are you saying that Dan Hodges is not a saint?
If you are, then the comparison with George Osborne is most odorous.
I've tended to assume your comments Avery are at least partially ironic. But sometimes I wonder if you really do worship St George. That such a shallow, narrow minded second rate political schemer should in your mind be confused with an heroic economic genius seems rather sad.
People said the same about Jesus when he was performing miracles, Mr. Booth.
When it comes to Gods, there are always more doubters than believers.
I'm fairly sceptical on the issue of Mr Christ. History is full of people who claimed they were performing miracles when of course it was really a load of bull.
I wonder whether you're actually some sort of lackey at the Treasury hoping for promotion from the dear leader, or do you actually believe all this stuff?
It's all in the results.
Did Jesus's water taste like wine?
Does George's growth stand up?
Facts lead me to faith, Mr. Booth, not vice-versa.
Good Sci Fi is indeed rare, but like good westerns allows exploration of universal themes. Star Trek (the original series) was good at this, as were the better Westerns such as The Outlaw Josey Wales. Most are drossy space or horse operas, that make up for their paucity of plotting with special effects.
There are some that can be appreciated on several levels. The film Starship Troopers is quite engaging as a shoot em up horrer flick, but also has some interesting themes about genocide and fascism.
But Downton, Meh. Its Sunday night unchallenging viewing to doze off to.
I haven't watched it recently but I saw a fair number of episodes in the early series.
I didn't like any of the characters. I found none believable or sympathetic. All of them appeared two dimensional to me.
Appreciation of Downton is a proxy for IQ testing. People with an IQ from 105-135 do not get it (quite seriously, try this on your friends). People with an IQ sub 105 (average to stupid) enjoy it as soap opera, supersmart people (IQ over 135) clearly perceive its uncanny genius.
I am unsurprised that so many pb-ers fall in the middlebrow "I like Radio 4 and Doctor Who and dislike Downton" category.
Never watched Downton Abbey or Sherlock, haven't watched Dr Who since about 1983 and thought it was rubbish then
Never been able to get Sci Fi or spacey stuff, always seemed stupid (and a bit uncool)
The Sopranos is the greatest show ever in my book, haven't seen Breaking Bad or Spartacus.
I think it's more to do with the spacey (lack of) atmosphere than any of the plots... Find it rather spooky and depressing, where as I am partial to a western...
"I did get off, thanks" one of my favourite lines in a movie
I think facts cannot lead to faith, but they may lead to belief.
Just as science is true whether you believe it or not, so to a degree is economic growth.
Faith is a more transcendental phenomenon, one that requires belief without supporting evidence. It is why faith can be so mis-guided, or alternatively simply be in advance of the facts.
I think by-elections in Surbiton, Hampstead & Kilburn and Sutton Coldfield would be fascinating.
Who would Dan Hodges support in Hampstead? But we all wish that his mother remains in good health.
I've tended to assume your comments Avery are at least partially ironic. But sometimes I wonder if you really do worship St George. That such a shallow, narrow minded second rate political schemer should in your mind be confused with an heroic economic genius seems rather sad.
People said the same about Jesus when he was performing miracles, Mr. Booth.
When it comes to Gods, there are always more doubters than believers.
I'm fairly sceptical on the issue of Mr Christ. History is full of people who claimed they were performing miracles when of course it was really a load of bull.
I wonder whether you're actually some sort of lackey at the Treasury hoping for promotion from the dear leader, or do you actually believe all this stuff?
It's all in the results.
Did Jesus's water taste like wine?
Does George's growth stand up?
Facts lead me to faith, Mr. Booth, not vice-versa.
I haven't watched it recently but I saw a fair number of episodes in the early series.
I didn't like any of the characters. I found none believable or sympathetic. All of them appeared two dimensional to me.
Agreed about the two-dimensional aspect, though I think it's watchable in a detached sort of way, like reading a he-said she-said Ken Follett book and idly wondering what happens next. My dad's family was from a Downton sort of background (they used to live here: http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/cavers-castle-seat-of-clan-douglas-up-for-sale-1-3142244 - hence the Palmer referred to in the article ) - talking to the descendants, I gather they had their strengths and weaknesses, but the preoccupation with class was much less overt than in what I've seen of Downton. The old Upstairs, Downstairs series struck me as more accurate, though probably too cosy for the rougher edge of reality.
I think facts cannot lead to faith, but they may lead to belief.
Just as science is true whether you believe it or not, so to a degree is economic growth.
Faith is a more transcendental phenomenon, one that requires belief without supporting evidence. It is why faith can be so mis-guided, or alternatively simply be in advance of the facts.
Enough philosophy for one night, methinks.
But there are certain individuals whose talents and achievements enable one to fuse belief and faith into a legitimate form of worship.
This is the philosophical basis for my appreciation of St. George, Dr. Sox.
When conversing with Mr. Booth, I feel as Hamlet did when talking to Horatio:
There are more things in heaven and earth, Mr Booth, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy
Don't like Sherlock Holmes so have never watched any of the TV adaptations. Can't see what the fuss is about re Benedict Cumberbatch, frankly. Rather like Downton.
But the programme I did enjoy this Xmas was "Death comes to Pemberley" which was better than PD James' novel and - I will probably get lynched for this - the actor playing Darcy (Matthew Rhys) - was rather better as Darcy than Colin Firth.
I've just finished watching an unbelievably good Thames TV series of from the 1970s called Danger USB. Brilliantly made and telling a story of WW2 that I've not heard about before - bomb disposal.
They really made great TV programmes in the late 70s
Don't buy the boxed set - you can get it for nothing on YouTube
Freudian slip there, I'm afraid. Don't you practise safe hex?
It was Danger UXB.
I remember watching it as a kid. Liked it then, but can't make a judgment on my opinion of it now. At the time, I remember being surprised there wasn't a second series.
It looks like the Palmer-Douglases didn't mend the roof when the sun shined, Nick.
I fear so. My wife and I had a look at it a few years ago - quite a desolate place though the surroundings are nice. My aunt (now 96) remembers staying there when she was young. If I remember rightly, one of the family who inherited it went in for gambling and high living and things went downhill. Perhaps when I put £5 on a by-election, it's a weak descendant of his genes pathetically trying to regain life?
Luckily it doesn't affect me - yet. According to government figures in the Federal Register, up to 90 million folks with employee coverage will be forced onto the exchanges this fall.
I would have totally agreed with you before stumbling by accident into the fandom of a TV show. It's huge - and the discussions we get into about it's take on life provokes an incredible amount of honesty/sharing personal experiences of situations/differing perspectives on almost everything you can think of/nerdy knowledge about so many subjects from classical history/theology/ comparisons with other genres.
I've learned more in the few months I've lurked and then contributed than I have done in ages on PB which I find has become unwelcoming, too partisan and not something I really enjoy very much after 6yrs of being a stalwart.
I'm sure some posters here would be delighted if I never darkened it's doors again. I hope I find interesting again - but I've certainly emigrated in all but a lingering affection way.
Real meaning in life derives from our interactions with others and our reflections on events and experiences. It is why politics and hence PB are interesting. It is why work is interesting. It is why TV is boring, because there is no interaction and very little reflection.
The X factor and Britains got talent are also massively popular around the world, but they too are dross.
Mind you, I do not like TV much at all, so my opinion doesnt count for much. I prefer the radio and the tinternet. TV is just pablum that is the major cause of brain rot and the decline of Western civilisation.
it was like Dr Who in that it was an overly complicated plot, that was hard to follow and rather too clever for itself.
Dr Who needs to get back to some of what made it work, people running screaming from monsters, and a building of sinister intent. It all got a bit silly with River Song and has not recovered.
Sherlock is heading the same way. I do not share your opinion of Downton though.
Best series of the last year was the brooding and melancholic "The Returned".
Downton is MASSIVELY popular around the world for a reason. It has universal narrative values, brilliantly executed. It's not the Ring Cycle, but it doesn't try to be.
The Returned started well, but by episode three a wheel came off the plot, and by episode 6 was ludicrously and laughably bad, with so many non sequiturs and longueurs I watched it only out of morbid pity - then I stopped. Total merde.
The Killing, series one, from Denmark, remains the benchmark for European drama - the only Euro drama that matches (even betters?) the best made in America since 2000.
When it comes to pb arguments about NHS reorganisation, feel free to pull rank on me, similarly.
I loved The Sopranos to begin with and then it IMO became slow, repetitive, predictable and I endured it to get to the end.
I gave it a 6/10 on IMDb. I think Sherlock is terribly overrated and it's got the same self-satisfied ring of Dr Who. Elementary IMO is much better and I really like it. I say this as a total Sherlock nerd who loved Clive Merrison's version in the R4 series.
I haven't watched it recently but I saw a fair number of episodes in the early series.
I didn't like any of the characters. I found none believable or sympathetic. All of them appeared two dimensional to me.
Appreciation of Downton is a proxy for IQ testing. People with an IQ from 105-135 do not get it (quite seriously, try this on your friends). People with an IQ sub 105 (average to stupid) enjoy it as soap opera, supersmart people (IQ over 135) clearly perceive its uncanny genius.
I am unsurprised that so many pb-ers fall in the middlebrow "I like Radio 4 and Doctor Who and dislike Downton" category.
Never watched Downton Abbey or Sherlock, haven't watched Dr Who since about 1983 and thought it was rubbish then
Never been able to get Sci Fi or spacey stuff, always seemed stupid (and a bit uncool)
The Sopranos is the greatest show ever in my book, haven't seen Breaking Bad or Spartacus.
I've just finished watching an unbelievably good Thames TV series of from the 1970s called Danger USB. Brilliantly made and telling a story of WW2 that I've not heard about before - bomb disposal.
They really made great TV programmes in the late 70s
Don't buy the boxed set - you can get it for nothing on YouTube
Freudian slip there, I'm afraid. Don't you practise safe hex?
It was Danger UXB.
I remember watching it as a kid. Liked it then, but can't make a judgment on my opinion of it now. At the time, I remember being surprised there wasn't a second series.
It looks like the Palmer-Douglases didn't mend the roof when the sun shined, Nick.
I fear so. My wife and I had a look at it a few years ago - quite a desolate place though the surroundings are nice. My aunt (now 96) remembers staying there when she was young. If I remember rightly, one of the family who inherited it went in for gambling and high living and things went downhill. Perhaps when I put £5 on a by-election, it's a weak descendant of his genes pathetically trying to regain life?
Some strong alliances being forged or attempted there, Nick. A Cavendish, a Bowes-Lyon and even a Bouvier (though I guess not directly connected to Jacqueline).
Ivan Lyon's story is one of great distinction and I am surprised he didn't receive the highest military award.
Country houses and castles are not easy to keep. Inheritance taxes, employment costs, diminishing returns from agriculture and English Heritage absolutism has put paid to that. Many get snapped up for a song by the new winners as a badge of success, who then spend years and millions financing archaeological digging at English Heritage's insistence. Finally they open for weddings, never recover their costs and the new owners decide to cut their losses and return to a more 'normal', comfortable and less ostentatious accommodation.
Still there are a few examples of this process leading to worthwhile ends. Anyone with £8 million to spare and a desire to live on the Somerset-Dorset border might consider Whitestaunton Manor. Bought and restored very sensitively and imaginatively by a Dorset born emigre to the US, who made his millions by selling minimalist jewelry in NYC and LA, it is a classy job.
Luckily it doesn't affect me - yet. According to government figures in the Federal Register, up to 90 million folks with employee coverage will be forced onto the exchanges this fall.
Link, please.
on page 34552 of the Federal Register, the June 17,2010 issue
But the programme I did enjoy this Xmas was "Death comes to Pemberley" which was better than PD James' novel and - I will probably get lynched for this - the actor playing Darcy (Matthew Rhys) - was rather better as Darcy than Colin Firth.
I got hooked on Pride and Prejudice after catching the Darcy proposal scene by chance one night. Rented the video that weekend, then read the book.
I would have totally agreed with you before stumbling by accident into the fandom of a TV show. It's huge - and the discussions we get into about it's take on life provokes an incredible amount of honesty/sharing personal experiences of situations/differing perspectives on almost everything you can think of/nerdy knowledge about so many subjects from classical history/theology/ comparisons with other genres.
I've learned more in the few months I've lurked and then contributed than I have done in ages on PB which I find has become unwelcoming, too partisan and not something I really enjoy very much after 6yrs of being a stalwart.
I'm sure some posters here would be delighted if I never darkened it's doors again. I hope I find interesting again - but I've certainly emigrated in all but a lingering affection way.
Real meaning in life derives from our interactions with others and our reflections on events and experiences. It is why politics and hence PB are interesting. It is why work is interesting. It is why TV is boring, because there is no interaction and very little reflection.
The X factor and Britains got talent are also massively popular around the world, but they too are dross.
Mind you, I do not like TV much at all, so my opinion doesnt count for much. I prefer the radio and the tinternet. TV is just pablum that is the major cause of brain rot and the decline of Western civilisation.
The Killing, series one, from Denmark, remains the benchmark for European drama - the only Euro drama that matches (even betters?) the best made in America since 2000.
When it comes to pb arguments about NHS reorganisation, feel free to pull rank on me, similarly.
Intriguing, Plato. What is the site, if I might ask?
Luckily it doesn't affect me - yet. According to government figures in the Federal Register, up to 90 million folks with employee coverage will be forced onto the exchanges this fall.
Link, please.
on page 34552 of the Federal Register, the June 17,2010 issue
Your summary of it seems to be wrong (except to the extent that any number below the number you cited is "up to" that number, including zero). It means they'll have to make some kind of change to the plan, not that they'll be thrown onto the exchanges.
Luckily it doesn't affect me - yet. According to government figures in the Federal Register, up to 90 million folks with employee coverage will be forced onto the exchanges this fall.
Link, please.
on page 34552 of the Federal Register, the June 17,2010 issue
Your summary of it seems to be wrong (except to the extent that any number below the number you cited is "up to" that number, including zero). It means they'll have to make some kind of change to the plan, not that they'll be thrown onto the exchanges.
No,I got it from the Federal Register. The quote is referenced in the article you quote, The Kaiser foundation also did some research, The exact quote from the register is -
the department's mid-range estimate is that 66% of small employer plans and 45% of large employer plans will relinquish their grandfather status by the end of 2013
- the employer mandate has been delayed by a year so now means the end of 2014.
Sen Mike Enzi announced this on the Senate floor in mid 2010, which is what initially alerted me to what was going on. He was met with ridicule from Democrats.
There is no 'change to the plan'. Plans have to meet the Obamacare requirements. The switch is already beginning.
Asking me for a link, then when I give you the reference, calling me a liar for some reason is not really constructive. OK?
Luckily it doesn't affect me - yet. According to government figures in the Federal Register, up to 90 million folks with employee coverage will be forced onto the exchanges this fall.
Link, please.
on page 34552 of the Federal Register, the June 17,2010 issue
Your summary of it seems to be wrong (except to the extent that any number below the number you cited is "up to" that number, including zero). It means they'll have to make some kind of change to the plan, not that they'll be thrown onto the exchanges.
No,I got it from the Federal Register. The quote is referenced in the article you quote, The Kaiser foundation also did some research, The exact quote from the register is -
the department's mid-range estimate is that 66% of small employer plans and 45% of large employer plans will relinquish their grandfather status by the end of 2013
- the employer mandate has been delayed by a year so now means the end of 2014.
Sen Mike Enzi announced this on the Senate floor in mid 2010, which is what initially alerted me to what was going on. He was met with ridicule from Democrats.
There is no 'change to the plan'. Plans have to meet the Obamacare requirements. The switch is already beginning.
I follow this closely because it will affect me.
The plan loses grandfather, it has to be changed to meet Obamacare requirements. That doesn't mean everyone on it gets thrown onto the exchanges.
Luckily it doesn't affect me - yet. According to government figures in the Federal Register, up to 90 million folks with employee coverage will be forced onto the exchanges this fall.
Link, please.
on page 34552 of the Federal Register, the June 17,2010 issue
Your summary of it seems to be wrong (except to the extent that any number below the number you cited is "up to" that number, including zero). It means they'll have to make some kind of change to the plan, not that they'll be thrown onto the exchanges.
No,I got it from the Federal Register. The quote is referenced in the article you quote, The Kaiser foundation also did some research, The exact quote from the register is -
the department's mid-range estimate is that 66% of small employer plans and 45% of large employer plans will relinquish their grandfather status by the end of 2013
- the employer mandate has been delayed by a year so now means the end of 2014.
Sen Mike Enzi announced this on the Senate floor in mid 2010, which is what initially alerted me to what was going on. He was met with ridicule from Democrats.
There is no 'change to the plan'. Plans have to meet the Obamacare requirements. The switch is already beginning.
I follow this closely because it will affect me.
The plan loses grandfather, it has to be changed to meet Obamacare requirements. That doesn't mean everyone on it gets thrown onto the exchanges.
The administration's prediction of who would be affected by the individual market changes were remarkably prescient, so there is no reason to assume that this prediction would not be accurate.
Tellingly neither the insurance industry nor the administration has denied these numbers.
Nobody said 'everyone' would be thrown onto the exchanges, but the extra taxes and regulations etc make a major earthquake in the corporate health insurance business a distinct possibility. Indeed it is starting to happen.
You said that 'my summary of it appears to be wrong'. How or where, exactly? The quote is exact, the 29ers, 49ers, ghosts and orphans are happening.
I live with this disaster every day.
Remember, this is not some unintended consequence. This is what Obamacare was designed to do.
The web site isues - now mainly fixed - were just the beginning.
The whole idea was to get young healthy folks to sign up for Obamacare, and their premiums were inflated to cover the extra costs of the old and unhealthy folks.
The young have worked out that Obamacare is a very bad deal for them, and it is much cheaper to pay the fine. Subsequent executive fiats have let young folks buy catastrophic plans or do without insurance and avoid the fine for this year, which actually makes things worse, although politically expedient in the short term.
This means that the risk pool is not as predicted by the pricing model, which means that next year's premiums, to be calculated in the 2nd quarter, will rise substantially for 2015.
We don't know this definitively, as the administration will not release either demographic data nor who has actually paid for a plan. They merely say the number who have 'selected' a plan, equivalent to the amazon shopping cart. Historically the Obama admin. has trumpeted any and all data that makes them look good so it tells its own story. Insurance doesn't take effect until the company receives the first payment. The state exchange data supports this.
The other worrying data is the number that have been pushed into Medicaid rather than private insurance. Info from the 14 state exchanges suggests that this is larger than expected.
So with fewer young healthy folks, more older unhealthy folks, and more than expected Medicaid, (who don't pay a penny for coverage), the financial model for Obamacare is starting to implode.
Enter the 'risk corridor', a recently revealed part of Obamacare. This essentially says that if the insurance companies take a bath from the Obamacare risk pool being sub-optimal, the federal government will bail them out to the tune of billions of dollars.
Look for the Republicans to introduce 'no bailout' legislation.
Initially the web site not working was an easy target. As time moves on, the problems become more complex, subtle, and harder to explain. This appears to be the gift that keeps on giving for Republicans. The question remains as to whether they will find a way to screw this up.
Comments
I am not sure there is very much 'must see' TV these days but Sherlock is definitely one of the rare examples.
Dr Who needs to get back to some of what made it work, people running screaming from monsters, and a building of sinister intent. It all got a bit silly with River Song and has not recovered.
Sherlock is heading the same way. I do not share your opinion of Downton though.
Best series of the last year was the brooding and melancholic "The Returned".
Are you saying that Dan Hodges is not a saint?
If you are, then the comparison with George Osborne is most odorous.
There are some new terms that are being deployed ever more frequently - 29ers, 49ers, orphans, and ghosts.
29ers - these are part time (and previously full time) employees whose hours have been reduced to less than 30 a week. Think restaurants, stores, factories etc. Folks who work less than 30 hours a week are not required to be covered by employers under Obamacare. Many of my daughter's friends are affected by this. It is pervasive.
49ers - these are businesses that have chosen to keep their headcount below 50 as Obamacare will not apply to them. This too is pervasive.
The two items above are having a devastating effect on employment prospects.
Orphans - people who have signed up for Obamacare via either a state or federal exchange, yet their information is not transferred to an insurance company from the web site.
Ghosts - folks known to the insurance companies as signed up, but their information is not on one of the healthcare application websites, so their identity and eligibility cannot be confirmed.
When I first moved to Atlanta, before I had a job, I needed insurance coverage for myself and family. I talked to a couple of brokers and had over 30 plans to choose from, each of which had many options as to coverage, and all were reasonably priced.
Checking the healthcare website, there are 3 - THREE - companies proving care in my area. There are NO options - other than paying higher premiums to buy down deductibles and copays. I have no say in coverage at all. Premiums are slightly lower, but deductibles and copays are WAY up. In other words your cost of healthcare is MUCH higher than it used to be. Subsidies will help some folks, but not that many.
Obamacare is a disaster - and it's going to get worse. To reduce expenses, the companies have reduced reimbursement costs to almost Medicaid levels, so the new doctor and hospital networks are much smaller than the old ones. Sloane Kettering and Cedars Sinai have both announced they won't participate in the Obamacare plans, so if you have cancer you're now in even bigger trouble.
Thaks to Obamacare you may have insurance, but accessing medical care just got much more difficult.
Luckily it doesn't affect me - yet. According to government figures in the Federal Register, up to 90 million folks with employee coverage will be forced onto the exchanges this fall.
Hodges. Someone for the lefties to get cross over.
Mind you, I do not like TV much at all, so my opinion doesnt count for much. I prefer the radio and the tinternet. TV is just pablum that is the major cause of brain rot and the decline of Western civilisation.
I've tended to assume your comments Avery are at least partially ironic. But sometimes I wonder if you really do worship St George. That such a shallow, narrow minded second rate political schemer should in your mind be confused with an heroic economic genius seems rather sad.
I haven't watched it recently but I saw a fair number of episodes in the early series.
I didn't like any of the characters. I found none believable or sympathetic. All of them appeared two dimensional to me.
When it comes to Gods, there are always more doubters than believers.
I wonder whether you're actually some sort of lackey at the Treasury hoping for promotion from the dear leader, or do you actually believe all this stuff?
I will try out your Downton Abbey theory on my friend.
t-witter.com/DailyMirror/status/418520887734718464/photo/1/large
I read his book Snobs and thought it was very predictable and a low grade rehash of Gosford Park - Downton Abbey is more of the same but as a soap opera.
I've no desire to watch it unless I was totally desperate.
On another board we mercilessly pick apart stories in another series = plot holes, out of character dialogue, bad CGI, contradictory actions - and follow/examine everything the cast members/writers/showrunners tweet or say in interviews. It rivals the expertise of PB about by-elections or current affairs and polling!
I guess being a nerd on one subject can hop off into another more easily than I realised!
They were just wasting the few waking hours that they have between the workplace and the bed. They are the real zombies. Potboiling thrillers are marginally better, but not by much.
Real meaning in life derives from our interactions with others and our reflections on events and experiences. It is why politics and hence PB are interesting. It is why work is interesting. It is why TV is boring, because there is no interaction and very little reflection.
For Sean's IQ gradings to work you need to ask preliminaries about class and ethnic origin.
And no, I don't mean the one between the platform and the train carriage.
Just don't expect me to think it worthwhile, or to pay for it. I recognise that mine is a minority view on the subject.
Never been able to get Sci Fi or spacey stuff, always seemed stupid (and a bit uncool)
The Sopranos is the greatest show ever in my book, haven't seen Breaking Bad or Spartacus.
There are some that can be appreciated on several levels. The film Starship Troopers is quite engaging as a shoot em up horrer flick, but also has some interesting themes about genocide and fascism.
But Downton, Meh. Its Sunday night unchallenging viewing to doze off to.
Did Jesus's water taste like wine?
Does George's growth stand up?
Facts lead me to faith, Mr. Booth, not vice-versa.
I think it's more to do with the spacey (lack of) atmosphere than any of the plots... Find it rather spooky and depressing, where as I am partial to a western...
"I did get off, thanks" one of my favourite lines in a movie
http://youtu.be/o1DcFhaCCwI
Just as science is true whether you believe it or not, so to a degree is economic growth.
Faith is a more transcendental phenomenon, one that requires belief without supporting evidence. It is why faith can be so mis-guided, or alternatively simply be in advance of the facts.
Enough philosophy for one night, methinks.
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/cavers-castle-seat-of-clan-douglas-up-for-sale-1-3142244 - hence the Palmer referred to in the article ) - talking to the descendants, I gather they had their strengths and weaknesses, but the preoccupation with class was much less overt than in what I've seen of Downton. The old Upstairs, Downstairs series struck me as more accurate, though probably too cosy for the rougher edge of reality.
I think facts cannot lead to faith, but they may lead to belief.
Just as science is true whether you believe it or not, so to a degree is economic growth.
Faith is a more transcendental phenomenon, one that requires belief without supporting evidence. It is why faith can be so mis-guided, or alternatively simply be in advance of the facts.
Enough philosophy for one night, methinks.
But there are certain individuals whose talents and achievements enable one to fuse belief and faith into a legitimate form of worship.
This is the philosophical basis for my appreciation of St. George, Dr. Sox.
When conversing with Mr. Booth, I feel as Hamlet did when talking to Horatio:
There are more things in heaven and earth, Mr Booth,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy
But the programme I did enjoy this Xmas was "Death comes to Pemberley" which was better than PD James' novel and - I will probably get lynched for this - the actor playing Darcy (Matthew Rhys) - was rather better as Darcy than Colin Firth.
It was Danger UXB.
I remember watching it as a kid. Liked it then, but can't make a judgment on my opinion of it now. At the time, I remember being surprised there wasn't a second series.
Most of the family scattered. The best-known one was of your political persuasion, a very pre-Thatcherite Tory who thought Churchill was a bit wet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stuart,_1st_Viscount_Stuart_of_Findhorn
though the most interesting relative was probably http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Lyon .
I've learned more in the few months I've lurked and then contributed than I have done in ages on PB which I find has become unwelcoming, too partisan and not something I really enjoy very much after 6yrs of being a stalwart.
I'm sure some posters here would be delighted if I never darkened it's doors again. I hope I find interesting again - but I've certainly emigrated in all but a lingering affection way.
I gave it a 6/10 on IMDb. I think Sherlock is terribly overrated and it's got the same self-satisfied ring of Dr Who. Elementary IMO is much better and I really like it. I say this as a total Sherlock nerd who loved Clive Merrison's version in the R4 series.
Ivan Lyon's story is one of great distinction and I am surprised he didn't receive the highest military award.
Country houses and castles are not easy to keep. Inheritance taxes, employment costs, diminishing returns from agriculture and English Heritage absolutism has put paid to that. Many get snapped up for a song by the new winners as a badge of success, who then spend years and millions financing archaeological digging at English Heritage's insistence. Finally they open for weddings, never recover their costs and the new owners decide to cut their losses and return to a more 'normal', comfortable and less ostentatious accommodation.
Still there are a few examples of this process leading to worthwhile ends. Anyone with £8 million to spare and a desire to live on the Somerset-Dorset border might consider Whitestaunton Manor. Bought and restored very sensitively and imaginatively by a Dorset born emigre to the US, who made his millions by selling minimalist jewelry in NYC and LA, it is a classy job.
Details here: http://bit.ly/19Kkdj5
I shall have to watch this PD James one.
http://youtu.be/f1Uq5ZAscVg
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2013/10/31/obama-officials-in-2010-93-million-americans-will-be-unable-to-keep-their-health-plans-under-obamacare/
...and didn't happen to see it while perusing page 34552 of your copy of the Federal Register. The way this works best is if you just link to where you got the information from when you make a claim.
Your summary of it seems to be wrong (except to the extent that any number below the number you cited is "up to" that number, including zero). It means they'll have to make some kind of change to the plan, not that they'll be thrown onto the exchanges.
the department's mid-range estimate is that 66% of small employer plans and 45% of large employer plans will relinquish their grandfather status by the end of 2013
- the employer mandate has been delayed by a year so now means the end of 2014.
Sen Mike Enzi announced this on the Senate floor in mid 2010, which is what initially alerted me to what was going on. He was met with ridicule from Democrats.
There is no 'change to the plan'. Plans have to meet the Obamacare requirements. The switch is already beginning.
Asking me for a link, then when I give you the reference, calling me a liar for some reason is not really constructive. OK?
I follow this closely because it will affect me.
Tellingly neither the insurance industry nor the administration has denied these numbers.
Nobody said 'everyone' would be thrown onto the exchanges, but the extra taxes and regulations etc make a major earthquake in the corporate health insurance business a distinct possibility. Indeed it is starting to happen.
You said that 'my summary of it appears to be wrong'. How or where, exactly? The quote is exact, the 29ers, 49ers, ghosts and orphans are happening.
I live with this disaster every day.
Remember, this is not some unintended consequence. This is what Obamacare was designed to do.
The whole idea was to get young healthy folks to sign up for Obamacare, and their premiums were inflated to cover the extra costs of the old and unhealthy folks.
The young have worked out that Obamacare is a very bad deal for them, and it is much cheaper to pay the fine. Subsequent executive fiats have let young folks buy catastrophic plans or do without insurance and avoid the fine for this year, which actually makes things worse, although politically expedient in the short term.
This means that the risk pool is not as predicted by the pricing model, which means that next year's premiums, to be calculated in the 2nd quarter, will rise substantially for 2015.
We don't know this definitively, as the administration will not release either demographic data nor who has actually paid for a plan. They merely say the number who have 'selected' a plan, equivalent to the amazon shopping cart. Historically the Obama admin. has trumpeted any and all data that makes them look good so it tells its own story. Insurance doesn't take effect until the company receives the first payment. The state exchange data supports this.
The other worrying data is the number that have been pushed into Medicaid rather than private insurance. Info from the 14 state exchanges suggests that this is larger than expected.
So with fewer young healthy folks, more older unhealthy folks, and more than expected Medicaid, (who don't pay a penny for coverage), the financial model for Obamacare is starting to implode.
Enter the 'risk corridor', a recently revealed part of Obamacare. This essentially says that if the insurance companies take a bath from the Obamacare risk pool being sub-optimal, the federal government will bail them out to the tune of billions of dollars.
Look for the Republicans to introduce 'no bailout' legislation.
Initially the web site not working was an easy target. As time moves on, the problems become more complex, subtle, and harder to explain. This appears to be the gift that keeps on giving for Republicans. The question remains as to whether they will find a way to screw this up.
Recent actions are not enxouraging.