Many exciting things are happening tonight! On the USA Network, Mr Robot starts its second season tonight. On FX, Tyrant presents the second episode of its third season, which was very exciting last week. Annet Mahendru, formerly Nina on The Americans, shows up on Tyrant tonight as Nafisa Al-Qada. And even Aquarius on Thursday nights is worth noting. But since we can't talk about what we haven't seen, I've talked a bit about motifs in the films of Ingmar Bergman and especially in Fanny and Alexander. I'm interested in taking this podcast deeper into the bedrock of cinema, upon which everything, including the television we're enjoying tonight, rests.



Podcast 10: Bergman's Motifs as a way of understanding Bergman's movies

I've heard it said many times that the sitcom Seinfeld was about "nothing," yet that has never made any sense to me. The show has always been about something generally, and each episode was about something specifically.

Was Seinfeld really about nothing? Podcast for 14 July 2016.

HBO's new eight-part miniseries The Night of... starring John Turturro as a&nbsp;cool, cynical, ex-commie-in-the-21st-century&nbsp;attorney who promises to unravel some pretty knotty legal problems, or that's my guess after watching the first episode.&nbsp;"The Beach," which is the first episode, is a&nbsp;college kid's night (or nightmare) out. His&nbsp;joy ride in his dad's taxi leads into a devil's Rube Goldberg machine of incriminating evidence against our young protagonist. Every possible witness, event, and physical evidence fall&nbsp;to point at the kid and create&nbsp;the perfect wrong conclusion. Riz Ahmed is the guest star of the first two episodes, and his co-star seems to be the&nbsp;palpable tension that wraps around characters and viewers alike in this cop-show noir. Viewers have just enough time to make sure they've seen episode one before episode two comes out this Sunday night.

HBO's THE NIGHT OF....

New movies on&nbsp;AMAZON PRIME.&nbsp;YOUTUBE's Free Association programming: left to its own devices, the YouTube on your phone will lead your big-screen TV and your 5.1 sound system down paths you've never tread before.&nbsp;Headline story: a peek at what's happening in&nbsp;ASIAN CINEMA and a plaint over why it's so hard to get here in the States, even by streaming.

Asian Cinema / YouTube's Free Association / New on Amazon Prime

 THE NIGHT OF...'s first episode leads a college kid looking for a good time into the devil's Rube Goldberg machine of incrimination. ﻿

HBO's THE NIGHT OF...

Someone has made a beautiful video on YouTube that reveals they have been telling us all along who Jon Snow's parents were. Some of these were couched discreetly in double entendres, but others were pretty blunt. Why didn't I know?

Jon Snow's Patrimony

Someone has made a beautiful video on YouTube that reveals they have been telling us all along who Jon Snow's parents were. Some of these were couched discreetly in double entendres, but others were pretty blunt. Why didn't I know?



A Brief Report on your Child’s Progress at School [Firstname] threw up on [hisher] prison dinner tray Because [SheHe] had been drinking whiskey That was later discovered in the alley above the tennis courts; A urine test for marijuana was given but was negative. And if [SheHe] is discovered smoking in the dorm a Third time [SheHe] will be suspended for a week. Parents will have to bear the expense of a Trip down and up the mountain and Roundtrip airfare Madurai-Mumbai. [SheHe] shows little respect for the property of others Especially religious materials and is Rumoured to have burned a blue jeans Bible in [hisher] stove. [SheHe] has actively engaged in Eve Teasing in Hindi in numerous classes and We have zero tolerance for that kind of love. [SheHe] has been diagnosed with hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder and [hisher] daily dose of Ritalin has been tripled Resulting in a significant decrease of daily incidents. [SheHe] with friends takes a taxi daily around the lake Where [SheHe] smokes along a quiet country lane; We have infiltrated this group and an investigation is pending. [SheHe] was suspiciously the first to report a used Condom thrown on the roof of the piano block— The envious eyes of the science teachers bled tears. We admire [Firstname]’s leadership skills and feel Certain that if only [SheHe] would study [SheHe] would maintain scholastic probation. It is a pleasure having [Firstname] as a student in our school.

POEM: A Brief Report on Your Child's Progress at School

Montague's Seduction comes from the Indian section of Counting Stars at Forty Below.

POEM: Montague's Seduction

The Bowling Instinct In the bag she carries a bowling ball of a Head—it was mine, I think, Or thought (when I could still think). Now I know it is filled with pictures That pander to the baser instincts— The Martha Stewart nesting instinct, Blue-batik-cloth-covering-the-table instinct, Abundant-brass-candlesticks- Handmade-by-sweating-innocents-of-our-globally Acquisitive-taint instinct, like an Automated teller’s cash slot, the Mouth of the head prattles forth Fresh crisp cash for a whisper in the ear instinct. Eres monja sin rascar. Como se puede pasar? None tread so deep but the Buddha, And the Carmelites fall asleep at her prayer requests, But the superficial protestants, Smile-coated rage at her bland affect faced with Their monotheistic monomania which forges their most secret doubts, They will lock her in a cell in the catacombs beneath the Pantheon

POEM: The Bowling Instinct

A well-traveled blogger staying in one place for a little while and reflecting on my travels and a few other ideas. I blog daily at dmasonwest.com.

Feral Thinker