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Guys! GUYS GUYS GUYS! You know what this weekend is, right? GAME OF THRONES WEEKEND NOT AN APRIL FOOL’S PRANK THOSE ARE THE WORST THIS IS FOR REAL! It’s crazy how last weekend was Mad Men weekend and this weekend is Game of Thrones weekend. I’m sure I used the word “crazy”correctly. But you have to admit, that’s two good weekends in a row, when usually you’re lucky to even get one good weekend ever. You have to admit that. You have to. Do it. Admit it. In any case, congratulations to all of us. A Lannister always watches Game of Thrones this weekend. Winter is coming to my house to watch Game of Thrones this weekend. Uhhh, what’s another one? “Hey is that a dragon on your shoulder? No! It’s Game of Thrones is on HBO this Sunday awesome can’t wait.” Perfect.
After the jump, the five Highest Rated comments, as voted on by you, the Lowest Rated comment, the winner of the Alicia Silverstone Feeding Her Child Mama Bird Style Caption Contest, and the Editor’s and Associate Editor’s Choice.
This Week’s Highest Rated Comments
| #5 |  |
R2D2, Esq. | Mar 26th | Score:65 |
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Tiny, tiny, sidenote. Did anyone else notice that Roger no longer smokes Lucky Strikes? He was smoking Camels in this episode. It’s the most perfectly petty and miniscule act of revenge for him. |
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| Posted in: Well, So, Let’s Talk About Mad Men | |||
| #4 |  |
king curtis | Mar 26th | Score:70 |
| Posted in: Well, So, Let’s Talk About Mad Men | |||
| #3 |  |
werttrew | Mar 26th | Score:74 |
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Some random thoughts: *Oof. I disagree, Gabe. This episode was really good! Dare I say one of the best episodes of Mad Men ever? I am now looking forward to the rest of the season. I don’t think I can make any serious claims against your objections, but I do think the good in the episode far outweighed the bad. What I liked is how so many characters had these small stories—with small reactions—that each said something profound about the characters. Take Joan’s cattiness to her mother and her desperate foray back into SCDP to rescue her job. The baby gets handed around like a hot potato, and with each person’s reaction (Roger, Peggy, Megan, Pete) we get a subtle reminder of their stories. And Joan’s return is so automatic and natural that it’s clear that a traditional stay-at-home mom career is not for her. Or Lane’s adventures with the wallet—his desperation for affection and money are so clearly evident, but in the end, he doesn’t succumb. Is it out of nobility? Is he really a “gentleman”? Or is out of fear ? Is he happy that he’ll be at those offices “for the rest of his life,” or is he trapped? Great little vignette. Granted, however, that the birthday party drama got stretched too far. *Betty is apparently going to be missing from much of this season due to January Jones’ pregnancy and new baby. But because she’s the worst this can only make Mad Men better, right? *Vulture posted the original French-language “Zou bisou bisou”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vFOzG3GYqo *Race. Do you guys remember the very first episode of Mad Men? The very first episode of Mad Men—essentially the pilot—dealt with race in the ‘60s in an incredible way. There was this subtle emphasis on silent African-Americans. They were there in the elevators, they were there in the offices, they were there in the homes—but as silent, “faceless” workers. They literally had almost no say in the lives of the white Americans—omnipresent but ignored. This was a theme that Mad Men abandoned, for better or worse. African-Americans were pretty much literally invisible after that, save for the occasional maid or Muhammad Ali reference. I am not going to quibble with the show too much on this point—it is portraying a very segregated society, so it isn’t off-bounds to show very few African-Americans in the Sterling-Cooper-Draper-Pryce universe—but I also was disappointed that there wasn’t more done with race. All that to say that the opening scene with the protestors and the final scene of the begrudged hiring of an African-American secretary due to a backfired prank has risen my hopes that the show will return to its promise of the first episode. *What is the show about? It’s about re-creating, right? Recasting/reforming/denying the old past, making one’s own future? Dick Whitman becoming Don Draper; secretaries becoming trophy wives and/or advertising creative; “Peggy, listen to me, get out of here and move forward. This never happened. It will shock you how much it never happened.” Just like advertising is about shaping perceptions, so the characters are about re-creating themselves in a new world, albeit with varying degrees of trauma and failure. So what has worried me about the last few seasons is that this thematic idea has kinda lost its momentum. The narrative drive is simply not there. It is funny how Don Draper seems increasingly unimportant and uninteresting in the drama that he’s the nominal lead in. The Dick Whitman story seems like a minor sideplot, Peggy’s transformation into a career woman seems all but assured. Where are the stakes? Let me compare it to Breaking Bad, which just had its best season ever. BB has the gradual corruption of Walter White at its heart—the high school teacher family man slowly turning into a villain. This gives BB an incredible forward momentum—the entire series has a satisfying arc. But what is the equivalent for Mad Men? What is Don Draper becoming? It is a little…opaque. Realistic, perhaps, but not entirely satisfying drama. |
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| Posted in: Well, So, Let’s Talk About Mad Men | |||
| #2 |  |
Frank Lloyd Wrong | Mar 26th | Score:78 |
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Yes, this definitely was a slow-paced episode in comparison to the break-neck speed of seasons 1-4. |
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| Posted in: Well, So, Let’s Talk About Mad Men | |||
| #1 | Ryan Alarie | Mar 23rd | Score:89 | |
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Also white. He definitely should have chosen to be white if he was going to be walking around in public. |
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| Posted in: That’s Your Boyfriend: Geraldo Rivera | |||
[Ed. Note: I'm sorry, guys, but you're just flat out wrong. The idea that I would somehow come at the first episode of the season of Mad Men and complain that it had a slow pace as if the show didn't used to have a slow pace before is nonsense. I'm well aware of the show's regular pacing thanks! And I happen to appreciate it very much. That's what I meant in that whole opening paragraph of that post about how I'd seen people complain that nothing happened and I thought THEY were just complaining about Mad Men being Mad Men, but this was different. It's one thing to pause and ruminate and have breathing room. It's another for every single pairing of characters to have the exact same conversation about Don's fucking party. It's not that the show was slow and deliberative, it was almost moving BACKWARDS. On top of that, though, is just the straight up awkward editing and some of the ham-fisted "comedy" and it just wasn't that good. I hope this week's episode is great! But last week's wasn't! And it's not enough to just point out things that would have been great about the episode if it had been good. You can do that with anything. Virtually everything that is bad had some version of itself that would be good if it was just totally different. Otherwise, great week everyone. You only BIFFED IT on one thread!]
This Week’s Lowest Rated Comment
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redundant | Mar 23rd | Score:-6 |
| FIRST! | ||
| Posted in: This Week In Movie Trailers, You Guys | ||
[Assoc. Ed. Note: WORST! Haha.]
This Week’s Caption Contest Winner
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topknot | Mar 28th | Score:52 | |
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Chewless. |
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| Posted in: The Videogum Why Don’t YOU Caption It? Contest: Alicia Silverstone Feeding Her Child Mama Bird Style | |||
[Ed. Note: Congratulations, topknot! You earned it.]
This Week’s Associate Editor’s Choice
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Mans | Mar 29th | Score:21 | |
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This is why I am happy that Youtube didn’t exist when I was this age. And why I am happy that my parents didn’t have a green screen in the living room. And why I am happy I didn’t have friends or any sort of peer group. |
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| Posted in: The Official Song Of The Summer, 2012: The Stack Boys “Snapbacks” | |||
[Assoc. Ed. Note: This is all very true, and it can't be said enough. Also: You should probably listen to "Snapbacks" one more time before you enter your weekend.]
This Week’s Editor’s Choice
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lawblog | Mar 29th | Score:49 | |
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“With my luck, he’d probably retweet my address to a bunch of hairdressers on the way back from a flower convention.” —Darson Caley |
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| Posted in: A Friendly Chat With Gabe And Kelly: Spike Lee Tweeted An Incorrect Address For George Zimmerman | |||
[Ed. Note: This is good. It just really wraps up the whole week in a nice little bow. Thank you, lawblog.]
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MANS WAS BACK? How did I not know this? Why did my Mans RSS feed not work? Dammit, it’s flooded by Muse shit.
Mine is all about Honus Honus
I DIDN’T KNOW EITHER.
MANS IS BACK YOU GUYS!
Leave it to Mans to announce his return by winning a spot in the Ball. No big deal guys.
It’s M. C. Hammer’s birthday, and also Friday, so let’s dance
i got the winner right here.
come monday, i’m gunna be like
I recently watched the 50 cents movie Gun with fat Val Kilmer. It was pretty bad. Not even enjoyable laugh at it bad, just bad. Didnt make much sense neither and was kind of unrealistic. Just mentioning this here because I remember you guys made fun of that movie one time.
ANY HOO, if you think I’m going to do all the heavy lifting for another “Reverse Commentator Videogum Ball” then you got another thing coming. I aint doing nothing of the kind.
Steve, Steve, Steve. With great power comes great responsibility. You invented the Reverse Commentator Videogum Ball, you need to curate it.
And THEY call US savages.
The men do, at least….
THEY call US savages
Your avatar just reminded me that there’s a NEW BOB’S BURGERS THIS SUNDAY!!!! (also, winter is coming)
You’re breaking my balls, Steve
Thanks Bing, for those erotic search results.
We’ve finally found the REAL meaning of thanksgiving!
Are you guys excited that everyone’s going to be talking about healthcare again for the next couple months?
Well hopefully the supreme court will rule it unconstitutional soon and then we can all just go die.
lol….. SIGH
I admit. I never had good weekends until now.
This was really tough to admit with Jon Stewart shooting himself a couple dozen times while posting this.
you must type awful slow
Yay! I’m in the ball! And it’s almost Sunday!
I can dig this. Game of Acorns. I want more.
I enjoyed this comment.
This one, not so much.
that one, though…
I’ve been seeing a lot of these squirrel pictures lately and I want to know are they taxidermied? Does someone possess the patience and “squirrel-whispering” abilities to get an actual squirrel into a tiny costume? Are they photoshopped?
This image is just a picture of a squirrel eating a nut and someone photoshopped all the wardrobe and props because I guess they felt the squirrel’s pose was similar to Ned Stark’s.
However, I know that Sugar Bush Squirrel is a real live squirrel that its owner dresses in costumes and photographs, and has actually posed like this before in U.S. military soldier gear, bowing his head to a rifle with a helmet resting on it in honor of the American soldiers lost in the Iraq War. Not even a joke. This is a real thing.
This is correct.
I’ve been crazy busy the last week or two, but I’m still here in spirit I promise. Thread of the week because you guys: baby taints. BABY TAINTS. Baby taints.
Okay, I’m going to go scotch and forget my life for two and a half days.
???????????
What the hell? That link was there yesterday! Ah well it was the mad men post about baby taints. WHY WON’T YOU LET ME SHOW EVERYONE MY BABY TAINTS, INTERNET?
Didn’t realize until yesterday that my Geraldo comment from last week had netted a +47, a personal best. By last week’s numbers, it would have made the ball, and I was psyched… until I remembered the Mad Men thread. Alas, it was more than I deserved, given my relatively low volume of activity.
But for personal bests, and for the return of Mans to the realm of the monsters, I shall bring the funk.
You’ve made the Monsters’ Ball in my heart, groverjefferson.
You’re welcome, Gabe!
Also, special big ups to king curtis forthis brilliant image.
Oh man, thanks lawblog! I couldn’t have done it without you!
There is a WONDERFUL interview with Peter Dinklage in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/magazine/peter-dinklage-was-smart-to-say-no.html?smid=FB-nytimes&WT.mc_id=MG-E-FB-SM-LIN-PDW-033012-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click"NYT right now.
Also: remember when he thanked his dog sitter at the Emmys? That was the best.
goddamn coding fingers.
Ed.Monsters’ Note: I’m sorry, guysGabe, but you’re just flat out wrong. You only BIFFED IT on one post!
Hooray Game of Thrones weekend!
STRIKETHROUGH FAILHow it should’ve looked:
Ed.Monsters’ Note: I’m sorry,guysGabe, but you’re just flat out wrong. You only BIFFED IT on one post!Hi everyone. I defended my Master’s thesis yesterday. So that means I’m changing my username to GradStudentsWereTheWorst.
Except that would take work, and it’s the weekend!
congrats!
Is there an explanation why the caption contest was moved from tuesday evenings ? We all need structure in our lives and this willy nilly scheduling of posts can only lead to anarchy, barbarism and fucking in the streets.
It’s a slippery slope people (especially when everyone’s fucking in the streets)
‘Dancing In the Streets’ is actually the radio-friendly version of ‘Fucking In the Streets.’
Well then how about a little FANTASY version of the Reverse Commentator Ball?
Here are the top five best blog posts of the week, the worst blog post of the week and the editor choice from the videogum blog posts which only exist in my world of fantasy…
#5. This blog post is nothing but Alison Brie gifs
#4. Hunt for the Worst Movie essay and analysis: Hawk the Slayer
#3. An open letter of apology to the internet for having enthused about LOST for so long
#2. A bunch of obscure southern televangelist stuff uploaded from old Church of Subgenius vhs tapes
#1. Some random goofy internet video crap I would not have found on my own
[Ed. note: congratulations you earned it. Plus I really appreciated the long drawn out analysis on Hawk the Slayer, one of the forgotten gems of the 80s. Rad movie.]
Worst blog post of the week:
This blog post has nothing but some Downtown Abbey re-caps and Glee re-caps all over it
[Ed. note: really any re-caps of shows I dont watch frankly.]
Editor Choice:
Spike Lee is an asshole
[Ed. note - yes he's an asshole but it needs to be pointed out that his decision to do shitty 90s style music video editing and hyperventilating "style" crap all over the Malcolm X production meant that we will never be able to really savor Denzel Washington's performance, which I suspect might be one of the best performances, but we can't really see it or hear it because Spike Lee is an asshole. However the documentary 4 Little Girls redeems alot of what I dont like about this guy because that is one seriously rad film. Its like he was able to pull check the usual bad aesthetic choices and just let the tragedy of that story speak for itself. Its a tragic and beautiful film worth seeing again. But in regards to the Malcolm X movie, I think we deserved better than that.]
HAPPY WEEKEND
This strikes terror in my heart.
Are they jumping out of joy or fear? “The wonderful thing about Tigger is Tigger’s a terror machine!”
I would thank Geraldo’s assholishness for my first (and probably only) Monster’s Ball, but I’ll wait until he makes an actual apology instead of the “I’m sorry you got offended by my incredibly reasonable statement” bs non-apology that has become the norm these days.
i don’t know if people disagreeing with gabe on his mad men post are ALL suggesting that gabe didn’t give it thoughtful consideration. maybe some people also gave it thoughtful consideration and came up with a different idea. sometimes that happens.
YAAAY! I won something!
I never win anything. I’m so proud right now.
Congratulations!
what do i do now? whats my prize? how do i top this? will my life ever be the same? i am so excited i could pee!
This is pretty much it. It’s all downhill from here.
i am kinda dissapointed noone commented on the pee/depardieu thing.
Hugh Jackman commented.
By peeing his pants.
(still got it.)
You also won for awesome avatar, so there’s that, too!
aw, thanks! now wheres my fucking trophy?
It’s in….. your pants!