Live Long and Prosper
Every time I contemplate getting rid of my Netflix subscription, they reel me back in. This time, it's the return of the terrific House of Cards for season 3. It opens with now President Frank Underwood urinating on his father's grave. As my father pointed out, you wouldn't have seen Ian Richardson doing that in the British version. Episode 1 was nonetheless a solid start, largely focusing on Doug Stamper's recovery (having been presumed dead at the end of Season 2), Claire Underwood's political ambitions and the president's dwindling approval ratings.
Netflix's content distribution encourages binge watching, but I'll have to try and find a more leisurely viewing schedule. In late 2013 I watched all five seasons of Breaking Bad in two weeks. That was unwise.
In other news, Mark Watson is currently in the process of a 27 hour comedy show for Comic Relief. Watson is the pioneer of these marathon efforts, having previously performed 24 hour shows in Edinburgh and Melbourne. I attended one in 2009 and lasted about 11 hours before I had to leave proceedings. In my defence, I had already been up 14 hours by the time the show started. But it was tremendous fun and a triumph of community spirit.
I mostly remember the show starting 15 minutes late and Watson starting to orchestrate a practical joke suggesting that Scotland was now in its own time zone 15 minutes after GMT. With the co-operation of Stephen Fry on Twitter amongst others, the story gained so much traction that leading experts were called out to deny it. Elsewhere there was a long jump competition, with the unforgettable sight of John Bishop in his underwear.
Watson has harnessed this spirit to encourage others to perform sponsored 27 hour tasks for charity. Kudos in particular to Pete Dillon-Trenchard for raising £620 through his dangerous addiction to watching Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.
It would be remiss of me not to note the sad passing of Leonard Nimoy yesterday, a man whose work touched so many lives. I'll be watching the superb Star Trek inspired episode of Futurama "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" later as a tribute. Live long and prosper.
Netflix's content distribution encourages binge watching, but I'll have to try and find a more leisurely viewing schedule. In late 2013 I watched all five seasons of Breaking Bad in two weeks. That was unwise.
In other news, Mark Watson is currently in the process of a 27 hour comedy show for Comic Relief. Watson is the pioneer of these marathon efforts, having previously performed 24 hour shows in Edinburgh and Melbourne. I attended one in 2009 and lasted about 11 hours before I had to leave proceedings. In my defence, I had already been up 14 hours by the time the show started. But it was tremendous fun and a triumph of community spirit.
I mostly remember the show starting 15 minutes late and Watson starting to orchestrate a practical joke suggesting that Scotland was now in its own time zone 15 minutes after GMT. With the co-operation of Stephen Fry on Twitter amongst others, the story gained so much traction that leading experts were called out to deny it. Elsewhere there was a long jump competition, with the unforgettable sight of John Bishop in his underwear.
Watson has harnessed this spirit to encourage others to perform sponsored 27 hour tasks for charity. Kudos in particular to Pete Dillon-Trenchard for raising £620 through his dangerous addiction to watching Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.
It would be remiss of me not to note the sad passing of Leonard Nimoy yesterday, a man whose work touched so many lives. I'll be watching the superb Star Trek inspired episode of Futurama "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" later as a tribute. Live long and prosper.
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